36 BULLETIN 1170, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



sparingly of coarse or dry grass foliage. Cattle consume a much larger pro- 

 portion of the coarse grass forage. Horses, even more than cattle, prefer grass 

 to weeds and browse. 26 



It is not only a matter of interest, but one of importance to know 

 what a steer likes or dislikes while he is grazing native vegetation. 

 It has often been said that " a steer will eat anything he is obliged to." 

 This is literally true, but he always shows a marked preference for 

 certain species of plants over others. 27 This preference may to a 

 large extent determine the best system of grazing in order to make 

 the maximum utilization of the vegetation and avoid overgrazing. 



The palatability for cattle of the grass species is high. It is esti- 

 mated that the grasses of this section of the Great Plains are 90 per 

 cent palatable. This means that there are but few grasses that cattle 

 will not eat readily and at any time without being forced to do so 

 because of the shortage of forage. 



The following grasses enter more or less into the feed of grazing 

 animals and are listed in their order of palatability: Bouteloua ' 

 gracilis (blue grama), Andropogon furcatus (big bluestem), Stipa 

 comata (western needle grass), Koeleria cristata (prairie June- 

 grass), Bouteloua curtipendula (tall grama), Andropogon scoparius 

 (little bluestem), Muhleribergia cuspidata (prairie rush-grass), 

 Calamovilfa longifolla (big sand-grass), Stipa spartea (porcupine 

 grass), and Aristida longiseta (wire-grass or triple awn-grass). 

 Further discussion of most of the above grasses and their chemical 

 composition may be found in other publications of the department. 28 



Blue grama is placed at the head of the list, because it is the one 

 grass that cattle do not hesitate to graze at any time during the 

 season after it has reached the grazing stage early in June. In 

 the early season, while it is green and fresh, cattle eat it readily. 

 In the autumn, after it has matured, the cattle will nose down 

 through other species to obtain blue grama. This grass, which 

 passes under the names of " grama " and " buffalo grass," has a 

 better reputation for grazing in the Great Plains than any other 

 single species of grass unless it is the true buffalo grass (Bulbilis 

 dactyloides) , with which it is often confused in the popular mind, 

 which, however, occurs sparingly in this part of the Great Plains. 29 



Big bluestem is placed second in palatability because it is grazed * 

 with extreme relish by the cattle during the early part of the season. 

 This grass is not an upland species, but thrives best along river 

 bottoms ; it occurs, however, in several small ravines in the pastures. 

 This is the first grass that the cattle " clean up " early. They 

 graze it close at once and will often pick over an area that has 

 already been closely grazed while there is abundant feed in other 

 parts of the pasture. This has been observed each year since the 

 experiment started. However, in the fall when they have a chance 

 to eat this grass on an area that has not been grazed that season, 

 they will not graze it until other feed becomes scarce. There is a 

 good reason for this seasonal choice. In the spring big bluestem is 



20 Jardine, James T., and Anderson, Mark. Range management on the National For- 

 ests. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 7!)0, 98 pp., 4 figs., 32 pis. 1019. 



27 Thornljer, J. J. The grazing ranges of Arizona. Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 65, 360 pp., 

 6 figs., 12 pis. 1910. 



28 Griffiths. David, George L. Bidwell, and Charles E. Goodrich. Native pasture 

 grasses of the United States. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 201, 52 pp., 9 pis. 1915. 



29 Sarvis, J. T. Composition and density of the native vegetation in the vicinity of the 

 Northern Great Plains Field Station. In Jour. Agr. Research, v. 19, pp. 63-72, 2 figs., 

 pis. 12-14. 1920. 



