30 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS. 
risky to plow the ground, for in narrow bottoms through which large 
volumes of water flow at certain seasons of the year the breaking of 
the land would result in all loosened portions being carried away by the 
first freshet. After this, gullying would follow very rapidly. Ina 
state of nature the sedges (Carex spp.) and the native clovers form very 
effective soil binders in these places, and to disturb them without at the 
same time introducing other plants which serve the same purpose would 
be hazardous. The feed produced by these sedges, however, is rather 
smallin quantity and often poor in quality, especially when hay is desired. 
The rancher therefore introduces timothy and redtop and supplants 
the native forage plants and soil binders without disturbing the soil. 
There appears to be no established time for seeding. Often the seed 
is scattered on the snow. Sometimes it is sown in the fall and at 
other times in the spring, apparently with equally good results. 
Along the Okanogan River and Cow Creek, in Washington, as well as 
in the Warner Mountains, in California, many fields of timothy were 
seen which were established in this way. (Pl. VII, fig. 1.) Some 
fields yield as much as two and a half tons per acre. Along the Okan- 
ogan and other streams in north central Washington there is a great 
deal of brush, especially willow, alder, and wild. rose. The practice 
is to cut and grub these out, burn the brush, and scatter timothy and 
redtop seed at the first favorable opportunity. Of course much more 
seed is required when the land is not plowed, and it usually takes 
several years to secure a good stand. Along Cow Creek some meadows 
established twenty years ago on sod are in reasonably good condition 
to-day, although they have been cut for hay and pastured during the 
winter every year. The Gundlach Live Stock Company, whose hold- 
ings lie between Smoke Creek and the Black Rock deserts, in Nevada, 
follows the practice of running a clod crusher over its meadows in the 
spring after the cattle are taken off, in order to break up the manure 
which would otherwise be raked into the hay the following season. 
Alsike clover sown with redtop and timothy here seems to thrive 
better than red clover, and timothy is in time run out by redtop. 
Neglected and improperly drained meadows are injured very much by 
the encroachment of sedges and rushes, with salt grass and small cord 
grass (Spartina gracilis) appearing in the more alkaline portions. 
The amount of timothy and redtop seed scattered on uncultivated 
land in this region is very great, some large holders, such as the 
French-Glenn Live Stock Company, on the Dunder and Blitzen River, 
and Babcock & Benson and P. H. Schnebly, in the Wenatchee Moun- 
tains, using seed in ton lots. The two last-named holders are just 
inaugurating their experiments and have secured no results, but the 
first has much hay land established in this way, and its operations in 
draining swamp lands will result-in a very large increase in its 
meadows in the near future. 
