SALTBUSHES 



SALTBUSHES 



565 



prevent loss of leaves it should be turned as little 

 as possible. It should not be allowed to get too 

 dry before cocking but should cure in the cock 

 some time before stacking. The average yield of 

 hay is one to one and one-half tons per acre. The 

 protein content of the hay is higher than that of 

 alfalfa. 



Sainfoin is not well adapted to pasturing, owing 

 to the slowness with which the plant sends out 

 new shoots. It is said that when used as pasture 

 it does not cause bloating, as is the case with most 

 related plants. 



Literature. 



Stebler and Schroter, The Best Forage Plants, 

 pp. 93-99, Translation by McAlpine ; Michigan 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, Annual Report 

 1890, p. 29 ; United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, Division of Agrostology, Bulletin No. 22 

 Wyoming Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 16 

 Washington Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 41 

 Missouri Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 2 ; Bu- 

 reau of Plant Industry, Bulletin No. 13 ; South 

 Dakota Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 40 ; Ten- 

 nessee Experiment Station, Vol. XI, Bulletin No. 

 3 ; California Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 

 147 ; Kentucky Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 

 98 ; North Carolina Experiment Station, Bulletin 

 No. 98. 



SALTBUSHES. Atriplex, spp. Chenopodiatxce. 



By P. Beveridge Kennedy. 



The saltbushes, or saltbrushes, as they are some- 

 times called, are low, shrubby, much - branched 

 plants, valuable as forage only where the condi- 

 tions of soil or moisture will not permit of the 

 growing of more palatable crops, such as the 

 grasses, clovers and vetches. They are among the 

 few plants that are tolerant of alkali. Where the 

 winters are cold they are often annual, but in 

 California and the Southwest they are perennial. 



Distribution. 



Many miles of range country in eastern Oregon, 

 eastern Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona 

 and New Mexico are covered by saltbushes. In 

 fact, a large proportion of the range feed in many 

 of the western states, during the fall and winter 

 months, consists of one or more of the annual or 

 perennial saltbushes. The greater part of this area 

 could not produce any other forage crop, owing to 

 the abundance of alkali in the soil and the scarcity 

 of water. 



Experiments are now in progress, notably at the 

 Arizona Experiment Station, to introduce some of 

 the most promising native species on the depleted 

 stock ranges. The efforts are meeting with some 

 degree of success, and it is to be hoped that some 

 sure methods of sowing on the open ranges may be 

 devised. 



Native and introduced saltbushes. 



The American species of economic value are shad 

 scale (Atriplex canescens), Nuttall's salt sage (A. 



Nuttallii), spiny salt sage (A. confertifolia), scrub 

 saltbush, Utah saltbush [A. truncata) and tumbling 

 saltbush (A. volutans). Of these, the shad scale is 

 of most importance [see page 310]. 



Of the introduced saltbushes, several types are 

 now in cultivation, all native of Australia. These 

 are : the Australian saltbush (Atriplex semibaccata), 

 slender saltbush (A. leptocarpa), gray saltbush (A. 

 halimoides), round-leaved saltbush (A. nummularia) 

 and annual or bladder saltbush (A. holoearpa). Of 

 these, only the Australian saltbush has attained 

 any large degree of prominence from an agricul- 

 tural standpoint. So far it has proved of perma- 

 nent value only in California and, to some extent, 

 in Arizona. 



Culture. 



Saltbushes are generally raised from seeds, 

 though cuttings may be used. On alkali soils the 

 seed should be sown early, on the surface of the 

 soil and rolled lightly. In such soils, if the seed is 

 covered it usually rots and fails to come up. On 

 non-alkaline soils it may be slightly covered with 

 advantage. One-eighth of an inch deep is sufficient. 

 If the seed is placed much deeper than this the per- 

 centage of' sprouted seed will be greatly reduced. 

 On the alkali soils in California seeding should be 

 done early in October, before the rains come. It 

 may be an advantage to start the seeds in boxes 

 and transplant to the field in rows about seven 

 feet apart on alkali soils, and four feet apart on 

 light soils, the' plants being placed one to four feet 

 apart in the rows. 



The chief use of the Australian saltbush is for 

 soiling purposes. If it is fed green with straw, 

 stock does fairly well on it. The best method is to 

 change the feed gradually, as animals usually do 

 not care for saltbush until they have acquired a 

 liking for it. At first, only a little of the saltbush 

 hay should be fed with a considerable quantity of 

 meadow hay ; then, by degrees the quantity of 

 meadow hay should be diminished until the pro- 

 portions are about equal. 



The dried-up annual species are eaten to a con- 

 siderable extent during the fall and winter, and 

 the seeds which collect underneath the perennials 

 are liked by both cattle and sheep as a sort of 

 relish. 



Although no digestion experiments have been 

 conducted to determine the nutritive value of the 

 saltbushes, yet their chemical composition indicates 

 that they are of good quality. 



Literature. 



Farmers' Bulletin No. 108, United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture; Wyoming Experiment 

 Station, Bulletin No. 63; California Experiment 

 Station, Bulletin No. 125; Division of Agrostology, 

 United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 

 No. 13, p. 24 ; Division of Botany, Bulletin No. 

 27 ; Arizona Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 38, 

 p. 291 ; Idaho Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 

 38, p. 250; South Dakota Experiment Station, 



