GRASS CULTURE AND RANGE IMPROVEMENT 47 



ways the dominant species in the drier parts of the Plains. Their 

 studies show that the midtall grasses, such as the wheatgrasses and 

 the needlegrasses, were the original and climax vegetation of the 

 area before the advent of the white man. Clements and Chaney 

 (15) conclude that the pressure of overgrazing and drought has 

 largely replaced the midgrasses with their shorter and hardier asso- 

 ciates, leaving what is described as a disclimax of short grass re- 

 sulting from the disturbing factors noted. This conclusion is sup- 

 ported by the appearance of many of the midgrasses in railroad 

 right-of-ways, cemeteries, and other protected areas. 



The presence of the midgrasses under the natural system of rota- 

 tion grazing practiced by the migrating herds of buffalo in the early 

 days supports the suggestion that deferred and rotation grazing may 

 be expected to improve the variety and production of native pasture 

 vegetation. That the short grasses have long been important con- 

 stituents of the range cover and should therefore continue to receive 

 careful consideration in pasture improvement studies is attested by 

 the statement of Sage in 1841, quoted by Ghent (28) , with reference 

 to the Plains in southern Nebraska, that the immense Plains were 

 generally clad with a short curly grass, very fine and nutritious, and 

 well adapted to the countless herds of buffalo and other wild animals 

 that fed upon it. 



SUMMARY 



Results of limited grass investigations conducted in the drier parts 

 of the central and southern Great Plains during the past 50 years, 

 together with general observations by various research workers in 

 the region, are reviewed and used as a basis for offering tentative 

 suggestions concerning grass culture and range improvement. 



Results of detailed surveys conducted at 11 locations in the region 

 showed that 25 to 40 or more years were required in the past for 

 abandoned farm land to revert naturally to a good stand of native 

 grasses. The present limited acreage of native grassland and its 

 denuded condition indicate that natural revegetation may be expected 

 to proceed at much slower rates in the future. 



The processes of natural recovery may be effectively hastened by 

 artificial means, using well-adapted grasses, employing methods of 

 establishment considered most satisfactory at the present time, and 

 taking full advantage of favorable growing seasons. 



Clean-tilled land blows so readily that it is considered a poor 

 method of preparation for grass, except where vegetative spreading 

 species are planted in rows and protected by cultivation most of the 

 first season, or where the grasses are seeded in the fall and protected 

 at intervals by lister furrows or wide-spaced rows of Sudan grass. 



In most of the region, where soil blowing is severe, close-drilled 

 Sudan grass stubble affords a satisfactory seedbed for perennial pas- 

 ture grasses. Sorghums also are used for this purpose but are less 

 satisfactory than Sudan grass. Contour listing the land in ad- 

 vance of seeding the preparatory crop is helpful in controlling run- 

 off and erosion. Tillage previous to listing may be advisable to 

 eliminate weeds and store moisture. 



The preparatory crop of Sudan grass may be drilled parallel with 

 the lister furrows, either solidly or by leaving an undisturbed furrow 



