32 CIECULAR 17 8, U. S. DEPAETMEN-T OF AGEICULTURE 



pasture. Such pastures will furnish an abundance of feed at low 

 cost. Information on irrigated-pasture mixtures may best be ob- 

 tained from the western State agricultural colleges. One of the 

 combinations known as " Morton's mixture " is reported by the 

 Colorado Agricultural College to give very good results in that 

 State when used on well-drained irrigated soils at Fort Collins 

 {15). Seeding of this mixture is recommended at the rate of 

 30 to 50 pounds per acre on a well-prepared seed bed. The recipe, 

 on a 50-pound basis, is as follows : 



Pounds 



Common bromegrass '. 15 



Orchard grass 15 



Meadow fescue 10 



Timothy 6 



Yellow sweetclover 4 



Total 50 



For wet lands the following mixture and amount per acre is 

 recommended : 



unds 



Redtop 10 



Timothy 6 



Alsike : 4 



Total 20 



Some of the irrigated pastures so sown are reported to have a 

 grazing capacity of two to three head of mature cattle per acre for 

 four and one-half to six months. This is equivalent to the produc- 

 tion of from 5 to 8 tons of hay per acre without any cost for putting 

 up the hay and feeding it. Other pastures are grazed for a period 

 in the spring before the summer range is ready for use. When so 

 used the subsequent growth produces 1 to 2 tons of hay in addition 

 to considerable fall grazing after the hay is cut. 



THE BEST TIME TO SEED 



In choosing the time of year to seed, the most important considera- 

 tion is that there shall be an ample supply of soil moisture from the 

 time of germination of the seed until seedlings have become fairly 

 well established. Where a dry period is likely to occur during the 

 summer months it is best to sow long enough before this period to 

 allow the seedlings to develop root systems that will enable them to 

 survive the drought. It may be just as well to sow near the close of 

 the dry period, if the number of growing days immediately following 

 it is sufficient to permit the establishment of the plants. Shallow- 

 rooted seedlings are apt to suffer when the soil gets dry, whereas the 

 deeper rooted plants are much better able to withstand such condi- 

 tions. 



Late fall sowing has given the best results/ in the Wallowa Moun- 

 tains of northeastern Oregon, in the mountains of the Pacific north- 

 west generally, and in the Wasatch Mountains of central Utah. This 

 seems to be correlated with the short growing season of the higher 

 elevations of those regions and the uniformly good moisture condi- 

 tions following the melting of the winter's snow in the spring. How- 

 ever, in the high mountain ranges of the Utah region sowing just 

 before the advent of the more copious moisture of midsummer has 



