COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF GRASS SEED: FIELD WORK. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The soil and climatic conditions of different portions of our country 

 are such that the plants which can be grown successfully in one 

 place may prove an entire failure at some other point. For the 

 Eastern and Southern United States the forage problems are much 

 simpler than for the semiarid and mountainous regions of the West 

 and Southwest. The conditions in the regions subject to prolonged 

 drought make it impossible to grow without irrigation the grasses 

 and forage plants so successfully cultivated in other parts of the 

 country. There are, however, many valuable native grasses and 

 forage plants found in these regions which have become adapted to 

 the prevailing conditions. Experiments have already shown that 

 some of these plants may be successfully and profitably introduced 

 into cultivation, and further investigations will no doubt reveal 

 others. The present deteriorated condition of the ranges and the 

 increasing demand for winter forage shows the necessity of a thor- 

 ough investigation of all plants which may be used in improving 

 these conditions. The purposes in view have been to collect seeds, 

 roots, and specimens for study and experimentation and to secure all 

 the information possible regarding the forage conditions in the regions 

 visited. Seeds and roots of valuable varieties ada; ted to the follow- 

 ing conditions were sought particularly : Arid regions, alkali soils, 

 subalpine and alpine regions, over-irrigated and seepage lands, and 

 wet meadows. Collections were also made of grasses which gave 

 promise of usefulness as soil or sand binders. 



In prosecuting the field work the following persons were, by your 

 recommendation, employed as special field agents : Prof. David Grif- 

 fiths, Mr. Emil Lange, Mr. William Shear, and Mr. Elias Nelson. 

 Besides these, the Chief of the Division and others of the force 

 engaged in the work at various points during the season. 



AREA COVERED AND APPRECIATION OF WORK. 



Field work was carried on in Virginia, Massachusetts, Colorado, 

 Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. 



Professor Griffiths and Mr. Lange worked in Montana, beginning 

 at Billings Later they proceeded to the Flathead Valley and spent 

 about six weeks in the northwestern part of the State. They suc- 

 ceeded in securing a large quantity of seeds, roots, and specimens of 

 many valuable native species and also important information relative 

 to the forage conditions and needs of that region. 



In his report to this office Professor Griffiths says : 



There appeared to be a greater interest in the forage problem than I have ever 

 seen manifested before. We found that the people with whom we came in con- 



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