ROOTS, TUBERS, AND OTHER SUCCULENT FEEDS 145 
Range and Desert Plants.—The common plants growing in 
the deserts and mountain ranges of western United States are sage 
brush, greasewood and species of salt bush (Atriplex). These plants 
are able to grow in the regions mentioned because of their ability to 
withstand extreme drought and a considerable amount of alkali in 
the soil which would kill other vegetation. Sheep and other stock 
are, however, able to browse on these plants and derive considerable 
nourishment from them. Their value for stock feeding is not defi- 
nitely known, as but few chemical analyses or digestion trials have 
been made with them, and there are no comparative feeding trials 
on record with these plants. The Arizona Experiment Station has 
published analyses of salt bushes and greasewood” which show 
that they contain high percentages of crude protein, fiber, and ash, 
with medium amounts of. nitrogen-free extract and fat. The fol- 
lowing’ average results were obtained in the analyses of different 
range forage crops: 
Composition of Air-dry Range Forage Plants, in Per Cent 
: -|Nitrogen- 
Crude . No. of 
Water Ash protein Fiber , i bs ae Fat samples 
Salt bush.......... 6.10 17.20 12.89 | © 24.53 37.44 1.78 4 
Australian salt bush 6.30 17.90 14.13 20.75 38.81 2.11 1 
Greasewood........ 4.55 14,41 19.81. 24,50 34.28 2.45 1 
Water grass....... 7.60 _ 11.76 8.88 33.62 36.53 1.61 | 
Grama grass.......| 7.17 9.87 4.03 30.90 46.51 1.52 fet 2 
As in the case of all plants a in-arid regions, the per- 
centage of ash in these forage plants¢ts very high, but the fiber con- 
tent is no higher than in average grades of hay, except in the case 
of the water grass. According to the results of the chemical analyses 
made, greasewood contains more protein and no more fiber than 
alfalfa hay of good quality, but, in the absence of digestion experi- 
ments and carefully-conducted feeding trials, definite judgment can- 
not be pronounced as to its nutritive value. The Colorado station. 
found the native and Australian salt bushes to have the following 
digestion coefficients, according to the results obtained in trials with 
sheep : 78 
Digestion Coefficients for Sali Bushes, in Per Cent’ 
‘ Nitrogen- 
D: ; : 
Ae thee Protein Fat Fiber : ane Fat 
Native salt bushes....... 46 | 66 52 | 8 49 | 72 
Australian salt bushes...| 60 85 24 27 64 60 
2 Report, 1903, p. 349. 
3 Bulletins 93 and 135. 
' 40 
