42 FORAGE CROPS IN NEBRASKA. 



Stipa robusta. — A native of the Rock}' Mountain regions and the 

 western portion of the Great Plains, where it is a common constituent 

 of the native bay. The station plot sown in 1S97 withstood the drought 

 of 1901 and gave good crops of hay in 1902 and 1903. This grass is 

 worthy of an extended trial. 



PASTURES AND MEADOWS. 

 XATIVE GRASSES. 



Since the native grasses and forage plants play such an important 

 role in the agricultural economy of Nebraska, it will not be out of 

 place to discuss them briefly. The} T have been very thoroughly studied 

 hy Dr. C. E. Bessey and other botanists of the State and for detailed 

 information the reader is referred to articles by Dr. Bessey in the 

 reports of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture from 1S86 to 

 1896, to the Phytogeography of Nebraska, hy Pound and Clements, 

 the Flora of the Sand Hills, by Rydberg, and to various articles on 

 the grasses of Nebraska by Webber. Smith, and others. 



The agricultural grasses are divided into two types, according to 

 root formation — bunch grasses and sod formers. The bunch grasses 

 form a crown which increases from year to year and becomes in time 

 a raised tussock. Where bunch grasses abound there is no continuous 

 sod but a succession of tussocks with bare soil between which sup- 

 ports a variety of other plants scattered here and there. Some of the 

 common bunch grasses are bluestem, switch-grass, and Indian grass. 

 Sod formers have rootstocks or stolons by which they spread, forming 

 a continuous sod. Buffalo grass and Kentucky bluegrass are examples 

 of this type. 



The grasses may also be divided into those which grow tall enough 

 to make hay, and are sometimes called "tall grasses." and the strictly 

 grazing grasses of the western plains, called "short grasses." 



Hay is made from the tall grasses which are found on all unbroken 

 prairie of the eastern portion of the State. In the wet places or 

 sloughs, there are various swamp grasses (chiefly slough-grass, Spar- 

 tina cynosuroides), which, when cut young, furnish a fair, though 

 coarse, hay. The most important hay grasses are: Little bluestem 

 (Andropogon scoparius Michx.). Big bluestem (Andropogon furcatvs 

 Muhl.), Indian grass (Andropogon nxitwns L.), Switch-grass (Pan- 

 icwm virgatum L.), and Side-oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula 

 Michx.). These live grasses form the great bulk of the prairie hay 

 throughout the eastern half of the State. In the western portion these 

 grasses are confined to the river bottoms, draws, and other moist 

 spots, and often are found in sufficient abundance for mowing. These 

 same grasses are also used for native pasture. But in the grazing 



