16 CmCULAIt 17 8, IT. S. DEPAETMEKT OF AGRICIJLTUBE 



COMMON BEOMEGRASS 



Common bromegrass {Brovius inermis), known also as smooth 

 brome, awnless brome, field brome, Hungarian brome, and common 

 brome, is a long-lived perennial and one of the most successful of the 

 cultivated species introduced in the mountains of the West. It does 

 well from the foothills to above timber line. In Alaska it is re- 

 garded as the most satisfactory grass for hay and pasture thus far 

 introduced (8). It produces a good stand on soils that are fairly 

 moist and not too shallow or rocky, and it resists drought well. 

 The strong, well-developed rootstocks enable the plant to repro- 

 duce satisfactorily at high elevations and also to witlistand trampling 

 and grazing. It is a heavy seed producer, except near timber line. 

 Under the more favorable conditions obtaining on mountain ranges 

 this grass produces a rank stand 2 or 3 feet in height, but on poor 

 sites the growth may be thin and not more than 10 to 12 inches 

 high. The carrying capacity accordingly varies with soil and mois- 

 ture. Yields as high as 3% tons per acre have been reported on 

 the best soils and under the best growth conditions, but on ordinary 

 mountain range the average yield is hardly half that amount. Al- 

 though according to chemical analyses common bromegrass is not 

 quite so nutritious as some other grasses, livestock do remarkably 

 well on it. Its marked drought resistance gives it a wide sphere 

 of utility. (PI. 1,A.) 



Common bromegrass spreads fairly rapidly in good soil, and the 

 stand normally thickens in a few years. Under the best conditions 

 for germination and seedling growth a full stand will be attained 

 the second year. This, however, requires sowing at the rate of about 

 25 pounds of seed to the acre, and under western range conditions it 

 is frequently more practical to sow about 15 pounds to the acre and 

 graze only lightly the first few years. The use of common brome- 

 grass as a hay and cultivated pasture grass, especially under dry 

 farming, has been outlined in another publication (25) . 



KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS 



Kentucky bluegrass {Poa pratensis) has given good results in 

 establishing a stand of excellent forage on mountain grazing lands, 

 where the annual precipitation averaged well over 15 inches, espe- 

 cially on limestone soils. (PL 1, B.) It is an excellent forage for 

 all classes of livestock, produces an abundance of leafage, and, if 

 moisture is ample and air temperatures do not rise above 90° F., 

 remains green, palatable, and nutritious throughout the summer. Its 

 chief drawbacks are the long time it takes for the establishment of a 

 satisfactory stand and the high cost of the seed. 



This species grows well in the moister regions of the West where 

 the soil is not water-logged. It is commonly, though locally and 

 usually rather scatteringly, established on western mountain grazing 

 lands, either throtgh accident or design, and it is not impossible that 

 certain varieties or forms of the species may even be native in some 

 localities. Kentucky bluegrass occurs sparingly in unusually favor- 

 able sites of the Southwest^ but experimental reseeding tests with 

 this species in that region have been unsuccessful ; the seedlings gen- 



