NATIVE PASTURE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



43 



species, but in spite of this it is a valuable adjunct to the hay crops where it is included 

 and is readily grazed by cattle. 



No. 8881 was collected at The Dalles, Oreg., August 22, 1907. The sample represents 

 the plant in a state of early maturity, cut 2 inches high. 





Percent- 

 age of 

 moisture. 



Water-free basis (per cent). 



Material analyzed. 



Ash. 



Ether 



extract. 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Nitrogen- 

 free 

 extract. 



Protein. 



Pento- 

 sans. 



Our sample No. SSS1 



6.05 



9.58 

 7.00 



1.92 

 2.02 



31.95 

 36.30 



51.79 

 46.39 



4.76 

 8.29 



23.80 













Average of all 





7.65 



2.00 



35.21 



47.74 



7.40 











i South Dakota Bui. 69, p. 9. Wyoming: Bui. 76, p. 58; Bui. 87, p. 88. 

 SPARTINA JUNCIFORMIS Engelm. and Gray. 



Spartina junciformis is also a salt-loving plant, being found along the Gulf coast 

 from Texas to Florida. It is usually accepted by stockmen as an indication of the 

 presence of common salt in the soils. Among the Mexican population of southwest 

 Texas the grass is universally known as sacahuiste, and. this is the common popular 

 designation of the plant even among the Americans. It is an exceedingly important 

 and useful grass from many points of view. It is largely grazed along the coast and is 

 often the mainstay during long periods of drought, and some herds live on it continu- 

 ously. Cattle and horses will eat the old growth when driven to it, but the common 

 way of handling it is to burn the old grass off in small areas at intervals of two or three 

 weeks, thus covering the entire pasture and furnishing fresh growth during the entire 

 season. Stock appear to be fond, of this young growth. 



This species has been in the past, and is to some extent yet, extensively used as a 

 thatch plant, and it appears to the casual observer much better adapted for this 

 purpose than for forage. Its durability is certainly remarkable when properly laid 

 upon roofs. Buildings have been seen which were thatched with this grass over 30 

 years ago and are still in fairly good condition. 



Like Sporobolus airoides, which inhabits alkaline soils in more interior situations, 

 Spartina juncifonnis has two distinct habits of growth. About the inland limit of its 

 development it is likely to be found in very large, compact bunches, while closer 

 to the coast, where conditions are more favorable and its growth is consequently more 

 abundant, its bunch character is to a large extent obliterated. 



No. 9064 was collected near Cactus, Tex., March 12, 1908. The sample consists of 

 young growth, 4 to 6 inches high, and probably none of it was over three weeks old. 

 Its percentage of moisture was 3.67. Other constituents (on a water-free basis) were 

 as follows: Ash, 12.33; ether extract, 1.97; crude fiber, 31.05; nitrogen-free extract, 

 46.28; protein, 8.37; pentosans, 23.59. 



SPOROBOLUS AIROIDES Torr. 



Sporobolus airoides, to which the name alkali saccaton has been applied by some, 

 is one of the most important native pasture and hay grasses of the alkaline river and 

 lake bottoms from South Dakota to Texas and westward. In some sections it is known 

 as salt-grass. It has two distinct habits of growth. In portions of the valley of the 

 Rio Grande and its tributaries, particularly the Pecos, it forms a continuous, smooth, 

 quite uniform growth, approaching a turf. In other situations it grows in bunches. 

 On the whole, the latter is the more common and characteristic aspect. While able 

 to withstand large amounts of soluble salts in the soil, such conditions do not appear 

 to be necessary for its perfect development. Upon the saline bottoms of the valley of 

 the Little Colorado in Arizona, for instance, it may make a uniform growth, or it may 

 grow in bunches 2 feet high; and upon the sandy bluffs and hillsides, under still 



