6 LEAFLET 104, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
plants to mature and the seed to shatter, so that the entire area is 
eventually covered with volunteer plants, has some possibilities. 
The strips should be about 100 feet apart and at right angles to the 
prevailing winds. The seed may be sown with a hand seeder from 
a moving car or horseback. Another and probably better method 
is to seed the strips with a grain drill in single or double rows about 
36 inches apart. 
TREATMENT 
Ordinarily a close-drilled field of crested wheatgrass does not re- 
quire any attention during the year that it is sown. In a favorable 
season a light hay crop may be obtained; but usually there is not 
enough growth to pay for the labor of harvesting. If weeds, become 
very troublesome the field may be clipped, but ordinarily it is better 
not to mow during the year of seeding. After the first year weeds 
- give little trouble in close-drilled fields. Row seedings require 2 or 3 
cultivations during the season. 
UTILIZATION 
In the areas to which it is adapted, crested wheatgrass fills a unique 
place as a pasture grass, and it is probable that its greatest usefulness 
will be for this purpose (fig. 3). In palatability the hay compares 
most favorably with the high quality of western-wheatgrass hay. 
Analyses of plants cut at different stages of growth show that crested 
wheatgrass has a higher nutritive value at most stages than slender 
wheatgrass or bromegrass. 
The average analyses of crested wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass, 
and bromegrass cut at various stages of growth are given in table 1. 
The samples were taken at about 2-week intervals from April 10 to 
August 25. 
TABLE 1.—Average composition of crested wheatgrass, bromegrass, and slender 
wheatgrass 
< Ether | Crude | 
Kind of grass Ash extract. | protein Crude fiber 
Percent Percent Percent Percent 
Crested swiheaterdss sss. ies «Seer ai eae a epee 7. 02 2. 33 14. 25 24. 86 
Slender wheaterasseo-ce oso - | jG i Seager ee 8. 00 RPT 11. 67 27. 48 
BT OMIGEEASS SSG ese he Ss Ee tn 2 ee 8. 65 2. 24 13. 23 FASS 
The hay is eaten readily by all classes of livestock, horses being 
particularly fond of it and often preferring it to bromegrass hay. 
If the best quality of hay is to be obtained, the grass should be 
cut shortly after it comes into bloom. The hay cures readily, and 
with favorable weather can be stacked or stored soon after being 
mowed. Where the grass is adapted, yields have ranged from three 
fourths of a ton to 1 ton of cured hay per acre over a period of years, 
with considerably higher yields in the more favorable seasons. 
Crested wheatgrass is a very valuable pasture grass in the north- 
ern Great Plains when used in mixtures or in combination with 
other grasses or legumes that provide more feed during the heat 
of summer when crested wheatgrass is dormant. The use of mix- 
