GRASS CULTURE AND RANGE IMPROVEMENT 49 



Broadcasting mature hay, containing an abundance of ripe grass 

 seeds, may be adopted as a promising method of seeding until seeds 

 become cheaper in price and more generally available. 



Broadcast seedings may be covered with an empty drill. Surface 

 packing after seeding is advisable if sufficient crop residue is present 

 to prevent soil blowing. 



Livestock should be excluded during the first growing season and 

 part of the next from areas being reseeded with grass. Limiting 

 the grazing to the winter season for several years would be effective 

 in promoting complete coverage. 



Clipping at a height of about 8 inches is advisable in controlling 

 weeds on newly seeded areas. 



Blue grama, gelleta grass, plains bristlegrass, bluestem (western 

 wheatgrass), side-oats grama, and several other native grasses offer 

 considerable promise for use in revegetation work and may be expected 

 to give best results when seeded in mixtures with each other. On heavy 

 soils it is desirable to seed them in combination with widespread sod- 

 ding of buffalo grass. A few introduced grasses, particularly weeping 

 lovegrass and a strain of quackgrass, show promise for use under 

 special conditions. 



Crested wheatgrass and smooth brome (bromegrass) are poorly 

 adapted to the drier parts of the southern Plains, although they are 

 satisfactory in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and about 100 

 miles north of Akron, Colo. 



It is not advisable to introduce grass seed from the North, if well 

 adapted local seed is available, although seed from farther south may 

 be used advantageously, if susceptibility to cold and drought are not 

 also introduced. 



Reseeding depleted pastures, though more difficult than on culti- 

 vated land, may be successful in favorable seasons when adapted seed 

 is sown early in the spring before weeds and other plants start 

 growth. Late fall seedings have been successful when cold-hardy 

 strains were used. 



The indications are that contour furrowing offers possibilities for 

 improving pastures by preventing run-off and erosion and providing 

 a place for establishing foundation plants for natural revegetation. 



Mowing has been successful in controlling sand sagebrush on native 

 pastures and in improving the growth of associated grasses. 



Grubbing pricklypear below the crowns and removing them from 

 the field have effectively controlled this pest. The operation is labor- 

 ious, but fairly economical and decidedly advisable if performed be- 

 fore the pastures become thickly infested. Firing has been, suggested 

 as a means of controlling heavy infestations, but must be preceded 

 and followed by the exclusion of livestock. 



Deferred and rotation grazing appears to offer the surest means 

 of improving badly damaged pastures and maintaining them in 

 thrifty condition. 



