HAY AND PASTURE PLANTS RECOMMENDED. 41 
Cras Grass (Panicum sanguinale). 
Farmers.of central Texas are divided in their opinion as to this 
grass. Some of them claim for it that it is very valuable both for 
pasturage and hay purposes, while others insist that it is more of a 
nuisance than a blessing, as it reseeds itself, makes its appearance in 
the cultivated fields before the crops are matured, and absorbs the 
moisture in the ground to an extent which prevents the best develop- 
ment of the cultivated crops. It is not necessary in this connection 
to go into the discussion of these differences of opinion. That crab 
grass does furnish a large quantity of good pasturage and a good qual- 
ity of hay without cultivation is an undisputed fact, but it is a question 
whether it injures the cultivated crops more than it is worth to the 
farmer. As farmers throughout the semiarid regions are frequently 
short on stock food, and crab grass, as a rule, can be relied on to fur- 
nish a large quantity and a good quality of grass for pasturage pur- 
poses and for hay, there are sound reasons for the belief that it would 
pay central Texas stockmen and farmers to devote fields to this grass. 
A volunteer crop that grew on a neighboring farm was cut, cured and 
baled, and when the bales were opened several months later the hay 
was found to be sweet, and was greedily eaten by the cattle and horses 
to which it was fed. 
Curty Mesquite (Hilaria cenchroides). 
Ask average central Texas stockmen which are the best pasture 
grasses, and the chances are most of them will say curly mesquite, 
buffalo grass, and needle grass. It is a fact that when these stockmen 
are discussing their pastures, they are specially pleased if they can 
truthfully claim for them that these three grasses, in quantities, are 
to be found in them. The grama grasses are no less valued by them, 
but none of them are in sufficient quantities to make them such impor- 
tant factors in the make-up of the pastures as the others named. As 
between the curly mesquite and the buffalo grass, a large majority, it 
is believed, regard the former as being more valuable, all things con- 
sidered. It commences to grow earlier in the spring than the buffalo 
grass, makes a thick, compact turf for summer grazing, matures on 
its roots, holds its own under almost any amount of rough treatment, 
such as trampling and heavy stocking, and continues green and grow- 
ing when even the buffalo grass and the gramas show the effects of 
the long dry spells of weather that are characteristic of all the section. 
During such times the leaves and stems dry up and look dead, but after 
a warm rain they green out rapidly. Sods of curly mesquite were 
planted near sods of Bermuda grass to test their respective values as 
turf makers. As long as the rains came regularly the latter made a 
better growth than the former, but when the hot and dry weather 
