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CIRCULAR 17 8, U. S. DEPARTMEN"T OF AGRICULTURE 



rapid development of perennial plants. Downy chess or bromegrass 

 is valuable for use as a first aid in this way. It starts very quickly 

 and grows rapidly during the brief wet period following the melting 

 of the snow or during the rainy period on the warmer sites over much 

 of the West, and forms a dense stand that dries up and remains on 

 the ground for the remainder of the year if not grazed or burned. 

 Although no experimental tests have been made, volunteer stands of 

 downy chess, both as green plants and as tangled mats of dry vegeta- 

 tion, have effectually checked erosion over extensive areas in the 

 intermountain region and elsewhere, where original plant cover had 

 been destroyed by overgrazing and fire. This has been noted espe- 

 cially at elevations between 2,100 and 7,000 feet in west-central Idaho, 



F-223114 



Figure 5. — Erosion being checked by the establishment 

 of grass in the gullies following the washing in of 

 seed from an artificially reseeded area above 



on both the basaltic and loose granitic soils on steep slopes. Once 

 established, this annual bromegrass will eventually be largely re- 

 placed by more permanent and valuable perennials, provided grazing 

 is properly regulated and fires are kept out. Because its period of 

 palatability is short and since it constitutes a high fire hazard when 

 dry, downy chess should not be employed in artificial range reseeding 

 if ^ other effective species without these drawbacks are available. 

 Wild oat (Avena fatua)^ and rescue grass (Bromm unioloides) are 



