MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



453 



fairly state that aside from maize it is. the most 

 valuable forage plant known to man. Many fields 

 are reported that have yielded satisfactory crops 

 for a quarter of a century or more. It succeeds 

 generally on irrigated soils throughout the West 

 and on good non-irrigated prairie soils in the 

 Plains region from the Dakotas to southern Texas. 

 Farther east it is more choice of soils, being diffi- 

 cult to grow except on rich alluvial soils or on 

 upland soils heavily charged with lime. It is be- 

 coming well established on alluvial lands along the 

 Red river in Louisiana and Arkansas and along the 

 Mississippi river as far north as southeastern Mis- 

 souri. It may be grown readily on good prairie 

 soils in Missouri, Iowa, southern Minnesota, south- 

 ern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. In central 

 New York it has long been established on a peculiar 

 limestone soil. Perhaps one of the best alfalfa 

 soils in the country is that found in what is known 

 locally as the Cane Brake in Alabama and Missis- 

 sippi, a narrow strip of prairie land heavily charged 

 with lime, running across the central part of the 

 state of Alabama and turning northward into 

 northeastern Mississippi. In the localities men- 

 tioned, this crop is not difficult to start, though in 

 some sections inoculation with alfalfa bacteria is 

 necessary when the crop is first introduced. When 

 this crop is difficult to grow, it is well to sow the 

 seed from the middle to the latter part of August 

 in the North, from the middle of August to the 

 middle of September in middle latitudes, and either 

 in September or March for the South. The number 

 of cuttings increases southward, being three in a 

 season in the northern states, four in the latitude 

 of southern Missouri, four to six in northern Louisi- 

 ana, eight to nine along the Rio Grande river, and 

 eight to eleven in southern California. 



Aside from its use for dairy and beef cattle, 

 alfalfa is perhaps the best hog pasture in this 

 country. The feeding value of the hay is such that 

 brood sows can be wintered on it without other feed 

 very satisfactorily. It is also an excellent pasture 

 for horses and mules. Because of its tendency to 

 cause bloat, cattle and sheep should not be pastured 

 on alfalfa except with great caution. [For further 

 information, see the article Alfalfa, page 192.] 



On non-irrigated lands the cereals, especially 

 wheat, are grown for hay very largely on the 

 Pacific coast. Wild oats (Fig. 543) are a bad weed 

 in that section. It is customary to cut those sec- 

 tions of wheat-fields for hay in which wild oats are 

 most prevalent. Barley and oats are also used 

 extensively in some localities for hay. In western 

 Oregon and western Washington timothy and clover 

 occupy much the same place that they do in the 

 timothy region of the East, but in that section 

 orchard-grass and Italian rye-grass, particularly 

 the latter, are much more appreciated than they 

 are in most other parts of the country. Meadow 

 fescue is also frequently met with in western 

 Oregon. Along the northern Pacific coast, espe- 

 cially on sandy and peaty soils, velvet-grass is 

 almost universal. It is generally regarded as a 

 pest because of its low yield of hay and because 

 stock will not eat it until starved to it. However, 



they can be made to acquire a taste for it, after 

 which they will thrive on it. It yields about half a 

 ton of hay per acre. 



Native Meadows and Pastures of the Plains and 

 Ranges. Figs. 676, 677. 



By P. Beveridge Kennedy. 



The native or unsown meadows and pastures, 

 existing on unbroken or wild land, extend over such 

 a vast extent of country, with such varied charac- 

 teristics of soil and climate, that only the larger 

 phases of the subject can be treated in a discussion 

 of this natare. Some of the leading species compris- 

 ing the grazing flora may be mentioned. The native 

 hay lands and grazing lands are not necessarily ten- 

 anted by grasses and clovers alone, as we shall see. 



The Southwest. 



The greater part of Arizona, New Mexico and 

 Texas is included in this region. Poplars and wil- 

 lows are abundant along the rivers, while mesquit 

 and creosote bush cover large 

 stretches on the sandy and grav- 

 elly mesas. The native meadows 

 in the northern part consist 

 largely of saccaton and salt- 

 grass, which furnish forage of 

 a poor quality. Farther south 

 there is an open prairie coun- 

 try. In some sections of New 

 Mexico and Texas on the mesa 

 lands, the grama-grasses fur- 

 nish considerable summer" and 

 winter pasturage. In the ex- 

 treme southwest, in the Texas 

 prairie section, the wheat- 

 grasses, blue-stems, gramas, 

 wild-rye, mesquit-grass, switch- 

 grass, needle-grass and buffalo- 

 grass furnish considerable 

 native pasturage in seasons of 

 good rains. 



The important grasses enter- 

 ing into the composition of the 

 native meadows and pastures 

 are, the western wheat -grass 

 (Agropyron), feather and bushy 

 blue-stem (Andropogon), three 

 grama-grasses {Bouteloua), Ari- 

 zona millet (Choetochloa), wild- 

 rye (Ulymus), everlasting grass 

 (Erioehloa), curly mesquit (Hila- 

 ria), wild timothy (Muhlenber- 

 gia), white-top (Triodia), galleta 

 or black grama (Hilaria), alkali 

 saccaton (Paniewm), needle- 

 grass, {Aristida), buffalo-grass 

 (Bulbilis), bunch drop-seed grass 

 (Sporobolus), and saltgrass {Dis- 

 tichlis). 



The following plants, other 

 than grasses, are of great importance.on the ranges 

 for forage : Mesquit beans (Prosopis, p. 308), screw- 

 bean (Prosopis), lupines (Lupinus), milk -vetches 



Fig. 676. 



A Sage-brush. One 



of the Artemisias. 



