bunches of grass cling tenaciously to the ground. What appears to 

 be a wonder grass seems to have some limiting factors,- it does not 

 seem to be able to withstand grazing; the hard solid perennial 

 stems and the tender leaves all seem to go; the grass does not 

 seem to produce a good crop of seed often; and finally, it is con- 

 fined to relatively warm sites. Observations in the field and in 

 the nursery may enable us to use it to a limited extent. 



Muhlenberg ia emersleyi, Bull Grass, is very common in the 

 mountains of southern Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texas. 

 It is a large coarse bunch-grass, often three or four feet high 

 with a plumose head of flowers. It is quite palatable, especially 

 for horses. It has a dense mass of roots and serves as a fair ero- 

 sion control grass. It grows well in the nursery but seems to pro- 

 duce no viable seed or practically none. This grass is not likely 

 to gain any general uso in our program because of its low seed 

 productivity in the nursery. It can be recommended for ornamental 

 purposes . 



♦M uhlenbergi a porteri. This grass played an important part 

 in the early history of the southwest. While its range is probably 

 as great as it ever was, its abundance has decreased under heavy 

 grazing until in many places it has all but disappeared where it 

 was formerly the chief forage. From its habit of occupying clumps 

 of brush, mesquite and catclaws, it is often called Mesquite Grass. 

 Formerly, however, it was called Hoe Grass from the fact that those 

 gathering it hoed it out of the bushes. In fact this was the only 

 way it was collected, hundreds of tons being gathered each year 

 and sold at the forts in early days for horse feed. 



This grass has very long culms, often four or five feet in 

 length on ungrazed plants but the culms which are slender and wiry 

 recurve, fall to the ground and root at the nodes. Thus a single 

 plant often produces a round-topped clump several feet across and 

 three or more feet high. Unlike most of our native grasses, the 

 culms are perennial and large clumps are often the accumulated 

 growth of several years. In spite of the hard, wiry nature of the 

 old culms stock, if given a chance, eat the plants down to the ground. 

 It becomes evident that this species can be grown only where grazing 

 is rigidly controlled. 



It has been found that the seed of this grass germinates 

 readily and the young plants thrive on open ground where no protect- 

 ion from brush is available. A small wisp of hay or brush, however, 

 will often protect the small plant and enable it to become estab- 

 lished. Mr. Collins, Assistant Agronomist on the Gila Project, 

 reports that their best results in seeding denuded areas to grass 

 have been obtained with this species. He also reports that it has 



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