GRASS CULTURE AND RANGE IMPROVEMENT 29 



is more susceptible to drought than most other grasses in the dry 

 Plains, many plants being killed or damaged badly in recent years. 

 This species is highly regarded as a palatable and fattening summer 

 forage in the famous Flint Hills district of eastern Kansas and the 

 Osage section of eastern Oklahoma, but is considered much less palat- 

 able in comparison with other species in the western parts of these 

 States. It is a mediocre winter forage in the cured stage but reclaims 

 abandoned land more rapidly than turkey foot. The light fuzzy seeds 

 are produced on tall stems and are easily harvested, but they shatter 

 readily, are low in germination, and difficult to drill without special 

 mechanism. 



SAND LOVEGRASS 



The value of sand lovegrass has rarely been appreciated or men- 

 tioned by investigators, and it has not been considered of sufficient 

 importance to be assigned a common name, although it is referred to 

 here as sand lovegrass. Most lovegrasses are of a weedy nature, but 

 this one is so highly relished by livestock that it has been largely 

 eliminated except in the protection of sand sagebrush, skunkbrush, and 

 other pasture shrubs. It is one of the most important species on sage- 

 infested land in northwestern Oklahoma and occurs sparingly on 

 other sandy areas in the region, especially where it has been partly 

 protected from close grazing. 



This species is a medium-tall, vigorous, leafy bunch grass, capable 

 of remaining green most of the summer in the face of severe drought . 

 It renews growth fairly early in the spring and retains its luxuriant 

 green condition until late fall, when the leaves and stems turn red- 

 dish brown. The tall, suberect stems and spreading panicles are 

 prolific seed producers (fig. 15). The seeds are extremely small, do 

 not shatter readily, thresh clean from the glumes, weigh about 60 

 pounds to the bushel, and usually have a high percentage of germina- 

 tion. The number of seeds per pound is similar to that of sand drop- 

 seed, 1 pound per acre, well distributed, being sufficient to provide 

 a satisfactory stand under reasonably favorable conditions. This 

 grass could be included advantageously as a component of grass mix- 

 tures for sandy land. 



TEXAS BLUEGRASS 



Texas or plains bluegrass is an important grass on sandy pastures 

 in the eastern part of the southern Great Plains. This dioecious 

 species starts growth extremely early in the spring, goes dormant in 

 midsummer, and renews vigorous growth in the fall. It spreads 

 rapidly by underground stems and makes a fairly dense sward where 

 moisture is plentiful or grazing not too severe (fig. 16). Because of its 

 high palatability and active growth when other plants are dormant 

 overgrazing has caused its virtual elimination, except in the protec- 

 tion of sage and other shrubs, where it still retains the nucleus for 

 rapid recovery. 



Hitchcock (36) and Silveus (63) describe this grass as having been 

 cultivated for winter pasture. Lamson-Scribner (1^1) reported in 

 1896 that this grass had been introduced into cultivation in the 

 Southern States and was highly regarded as a permanent pasture 

 grass. Successful crosses with Kentucky bluegrass are reported by 

 Oliver (48). 



