452 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



abundantly and is spreading. Very little is known 

 of its forage value. It grows two to five feet high 

 and may be worthy of more attention than it has 

 received. In the Hawaiian islands it is a rather 

 serious weed in the cane-fields. 



IV. The Plains Region 



The eastern edge of the Plains region may be 

 considered in two divisions, namely, the north and 

 the south. In the north, brome grass {Bromus iner- 

 mis, see page 445) is the most important perennial 

 hay and pasture plant. It takes the place in that 



Broom-corn millet. There are several varieties 

 of broom-corn millet grown in the Dakotas. The 

 seed Is several times larger than that of the foxtail 

 millets. It is sown after the manner of wheat, 

 mostly for its seed, which is used as feed for all 

 kinds of stock. 



Sorghum. The several varieties of sorghum, 

 both saccharine and non-saccharine, find their most 

 important development as farm crops In the Plains 

 region, especially from Nebraska southward. The 

 ordinary sweet sorghums are grown largely for hay 

 and for fodder. These crops are all resistant to 

 drought and are relished by all kinds of stock. In 

 Kansas and southward kafir (Figs. 577, 

 578) is largely grown both for grain and 

 fodder. A variety of sorghum closely related 

 to kafir, known variously as milo, dwarf milo 

 and yellow milo, is of special value in the 

 Panhandle region of Texas. [See Kafir and 

 Sorrg'h,umi\ 



Alfalfa is the most important hay plant 

 of this region. It will be noticed more par- 

 ticularly below. 



In this region large quantities of wild 

 prairie grasses are cut for hay. The hay 

 is found on all the western markets, where 

 it usually sells at about half the price of 

 timothy hay. 



Fig 675. Native pasture. Pottain Ranch on soutli fork of Hum- 

 boldt river, Elko county, Nevada. Looking down stream. 



V. The Rocky Mountain States 



section occupied by both timothy and blue-grass 

 farther east. It is usually sown in the spring, either 

 with or without a grain crop, at the rate of about 

 twenty pounds of seed per acre. Home-grown seed 

 is much superior to the imported, largely because 

 imported seed is the refuse from the European seed 

 trade. The first year it yields large quantities of 

 excellent hay. If cut for seed a good crop will pro- 

 duce 500 to 700 pounds of seed per acre. Later the 

 grass becomes sod-bound, and unless broken up, 

 and rolled and harrowed into condition again, it no 

 longer yields profitable crops of hay or seed. It is, 

 however, a good pasture grass for a number of 

 years. It is beginning to be grown in rotation in 

 that section much as timothy is grown in the East. 



Millet is important in the same region. This is 

 true both of the foxtail millets and of the broom- 

 corn millets. Brome grass extends as far south as 

 northern Kansas, but does not succeed south of 

 central Kansas. The millets, especially the foxtail 

 varieties, extend to central Texas. 



The eastern edge of the Plains region is the only 

 section in which millets are of first importance. 

 It will be noticed more later. [See Millet.] 



Foxtail millets. There are many varieties of 

 this group, the most common being Common millet, 

 or Hungarian-grass, and German millet. Common 

 millet is grown most largely in the Northwest, Ger- 

 man millet mostly in the South. The seed of German 

 millet is largely grown in one locality in central 

 Tennessee. Hungarian-grass is grown more or less 

 throughout the country, being frequently found in 

 small areas on dairy-farms in the North, even in 

 New England. 



In this section alfalfa is by far the most impor- 

 tant hay and pasture plant. It is grown mostly on 

 irrigated land in the mountain states and to the 

 west. 



Timothy and clover, orchard - grass and the 

 cereals, especially wheat and oats, occupy more or 

 less important places in the economy of the farm 

 in this section. In some of the mountain parks an 

 excellent quality of wild hay is secured. In one of 

 these, South Park, Colorado, a species of rush 

 (Jujicus Balticus) is extensively cut for hay, and 

 this hay on the Denver market outranks timothy 

 as a feed for horses. In northern Montana, in the 

 Milk river valley, a wild grass, known locally as 

 blue-stem (Agropyron oceidentale), is grown ex- 

 tensively for hay, and it is generally considered as 

 superior to timothy for horses. This same grass 

 prevails more or less generally in Colorado and tlie 

 Dakotas, and, when present in considerable quan- 

 tity in the native hay, adds greatly to its feeding 

 value. It is especially adapted to wet lands and 

 irrigated areas. It is nutritious and palatable, and 

 relished by horses. Slender wheat-grass {Agropyron 

 tenerum), which is a bunch grass, also does well on 

 dry land and is very hardy against cold. It is a 

 promising forage grass in the Dakotas and the 

 Canadian Northwest, where it may be considered a 

 standard grass. 



VI. Pacific Coast 



Alfalfa. In this section alfalfa outranks all 

 other grasses and forage plants. It is almost the 

 only hay crop grown on irrigated lands. We may 



