40 



valuable. Where resting of paddocks is possible and overstocking 

 never allowed, pili, fuzzy top, Natal redtop, Rhodes grass, and some 

 of the newly introduced grasses, like Sudan grass and Clirysopogon 

 montanus, are to be recommended. 



PLANTING GRASSES. 



The rocky steep slopes of the ranch lands of Hawaii can not be 

 plowed and prepared for seeding as is done for cultivated crops. 

 (PL IX, fig. 2.) Upon each ranch, however, there is some land which 

 may be fitted in this manner for seeding. Whether or not it will pay 

 to do so depends on local conditions. Klu, guava, pilipiliula, etc., can 

 not furnish much feed. It would be unwise to destroy them, however, 

 if the conditions are such that good grasses will not thrive. The cost 

 of clearing, plowing, fitting, and seeding may vary from $30 to S50 

 per acre and would be justified only on windward sides of the islands, 

 where a good rainfall insures feed at all seasons. In fields sodded 

 with pihpiliula, but clear of guave, lantana, or klu, it will usually pay 

 to plow whether or not other native grasses and weeds are needed. 

 The pilipiliula is easily killed by plowing and the other native grasses 

 and weeds which come up greatly exceed pihpihula in feeding value. 



A cheaper but less thorough method consists in preparing narrow 

 strips of land in the upper pastures at right angles to the prevailing 

 wind and seeding these strips to improved grasses. This allows the 

 grasses to seed, and the wind carries the seed upon the areas between 

 the strips. In practice, however, the stock can not be kept off long 

 enough for the seeding, and they graze tame grasses so closely that 

 no seed is formed. The smaller the percentage of the area thus 

 planted the less likelihood there is of the formation of seed and the 

 spread of the plants. One or more of these strips should be fenced 

 to protect the grasses until seed is formed. One of these strips (or 

 part of one strip if there is but one) should be left with protection 

 as a place from which to obtain seed for further plantings upon the 

 ranch. 



Another method consists in running furrows at intervals across 

 the fields and planting these to grass. Single furrows break up the 

 old turf, pulverize a small portion of soil, and improve conditions 

 enough to give other grasses a fighting chance. Unless one know3 

 the comparative vigor of the old and the new species, such prepara- 

 tion may be wasted effort. 



Another plan, and one used in experimental planting generally, 

 involves fencing an acre or two, preparing the land thoroughly, 

 dividing it into plats for various grasses, and, after seeding, leaving 

 them under protection until all have seeded, when the fence may be 

 removed and the struggle for existence under range conditions 



