12 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



The wild hay crop is much more important than is 

 generally believed. No less than 15,417,000 acres of 

 wild grasses were cut for hay during the census year, 

 though the area is rapidly diminishing. The average 

 yield is 1 . 1 tons per acre, or the same as that given for 

 " other tame grasses." The distribution of the wild 

 ha}' crop is shown in Fig. 3. The chief acreage is 

 shown to be in the States bordering the western edge 

 of the timothy region. In Iowa, Wisconsin, and part 

 of Minnesota, wild hay is cut chiefly on wet lands ; 

 farther west, mostly on upland prairies ; still farther 

 west, in swales and draws in the arid region. The 

 principal grasses constituting this wild hay, and the 

 possibility of domesticating some of them, are men- 

 tioned later in this volume. 



RECAPITULATION 



The following table presents the. statistics for hay 

 and forage crops in more compact form. The figures 

 are from the Census of 1900: 



ACREAGE OF HAY AND FORAGE 







A verage yield 





A cres 



in tons per 







acre 



Wild, salt, and prarie grasses . . . . . . . 



i5,457,ooo 



1.1 





1,744,000 



1.6 



Alfalfa, or lucern .... 



2,094,000 



2.5 





4, 104,000 



1-3 



Other tame and cultivated grasses. . .. . 



31,302,000 



1.1 



Grains cut green for hay 



3,884,000 



?3 



Total . 



58,585,000 



1.2 





3,107,000 



2.6 





61,692,000 



1-3 



