FODDER CROPS. 7l 



grass, yielding a large amount of hay, which is said to be of excellent 

 quality. It has made a splendid showing at the experiment station 

 at Berkeley, where it is now being propagated for distribution. The 

 climate and soil seem to suit it well. It thrives best on comparatively 

 moist soils and is well worth trial in mountain valleys and bottom 

 lands as a mixture with other grasses. 



Sheep fescue (Festuca ovina) is a valuable bunch grass for pas- 

 tures on dry, sandy soils, especially if used in mixtures. Seed of the 

 native varieties growing on the open ranges could be collected with 

 little expense and used in the preparation of permanent pastures. 



Awnless brome grass (Bromus inermis), though a native of Europe, 

 was introduced into California from New Zealand about the year 1880 

 by the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of California. 

 It is a perennial with stout, creeping rootstocks and stems 2 to 5 feet 

 high, and is useful both for pasture and meadow. It is a good winter 

 grower. Its nutritive value is comparatively low, but it is well worth 

 trial on the poorer sandy soils along the coast, as it is one of the most 

 promising grasses for such situations. It is unusually resistant of 

 drought, and when once established is somewhat difficult to eradicate. 

 If sown alone, about 3 bushels per acre is recommended. 



Tall oat grass (Arrheiiatherum elatius), a perennial, has been found 

 well adapted to the climatic and soil conditions at Berkeley. It 

 makes an earlier start than almost any other winter grass grown, 

 and produces a heavy stand of ha} T . Professor Scribner reports that 

 on rich, clayey loam it has been known to yield 17,015 pounds of 

 green fodder, 6,380 pounds of hay, and 13,612 pounds of green after- 

 math per acre. It grows rapidly, blossoms early, and when cut dries 

 out readily. On good soils three or four cuttings may be obtained 

 during the season. The early winter growth is much relished by 

 stock, but it is said that later in the season it becomes somewhat 

 bitter and cattle do not care for it excejjt in the form of hay. It is 

 therefore best adapted for permanent winter pastures which are to 

 be laid off as summer meadows. Tall oat grass is not suited to heavy, 

 moist soils, but thrives best on loamy sands or loams. It is said to 

 grow on soils too poor to produce other crops, and therefore seems 

 particularly well adapted to cultivation on the sandy bluff soils of the 

 coast and the white-ash prairies as a substitute for mesquite (Holcus 

 lanatus), to which it is far superior, both in quality and yield. It 

 should also be tried, along with other grasses, in the mountain val- 

 leys at the headwaters of the Eel and Russian rivers. It is doubtful 

 whether it would do well or prove as serviceable as other crops on the 

 bottom lands of the Eel River and of Humboldt Bay. 



As it does not form a very compact turf, tall oat grass should be 

 sown in company with other grasses, particularly those which form a 

 good leafy bottom and have running rootstocks, such as white bent. 

 As it makes a good stand the first year, it might be sown with orchard 



