58 



The list of grasses introduced for improvement of Hawaiian pas- 

 tures is a good index of the desire and efforts of stockmen to improve 

 their conditions. The grasses in the above list are not yet naturalized. 

 The grasses marked with (1) were mentioned with the more impor- 

 tant grasses because of relationship or similar habits of growth. In 

 Australia Eleusine segyptiaca is spoken of as being a better grass than 

 E, indica, but the latter is much more common in Hawaii. The 

 grasses marked with (2) are some of the better grasses found upon 

 the dry plains of the western United States, and those marked (3) 

 are mentioned in Australian publications as being very valuable upon 

 their dry lands. 



None of the American grasses has succeeded, although the tall 

 grama or side oats grama has been quite favorably mentioned, and 

 fuzzy top has succeeded to a small degree upon Niihau and Kauai. 

 Several of these, including the grama grasses, the buffalo grasses, the 

 saccatons, the agropyrons, and smooth brome grass are so valuable 

 under the dry conditions of the West that it seems as if more deter- 

 mined efforts should be made to establish these on the dry lands of 

 Hawaii. One thing must be kept in mind in regard to new grasses, 

 the finer the grass or the more palatable, the closer will the stock 

 keep it grazed and the less chance will it have to reseed itself, to 

 spread, or to survive the dry season. Secondly, the smaller the areas 

 seeded to a new grass, the less chance does it have to succeed under 

 range conditions. The seeding of somewhat larger areas and pro- 

 tecting until better established might aid in overcoming the difficul- 

 ties. The failure of many of these grasses may be attributed to poor 

 seed or to bad weather conditions. In Hawaii grasses are somewhat 

 hard to start; the seeds are small and if planted deeply the young 

 plants never come through to the surface. If planted shallow, the 

 seed sprout with good conditions of moisture but the surface layer 

 of soil dries rapidly on account of wind and sun, and the young plant 

 dies before being able to root well and secure moisture from the damp 

 soil beneath. 



Of the Australian grasses mentioned in this list only the smut grass 

 is spreading. This is found on all islands, and may be native. It is 

 more common in Kula than elsewhere, according to the observation 

 of the writer. It is very drought-resistant,- but tough and wiry and 

 better feed for horses than for cattle. It is so persistent, however, 

 that it might be of value with other secondary grasses, like sand bur 

 and yard grass, for planting adjacent to algaroba belts. The Mitchell 

 and Wallaby grasses and Eragrostis hrownii should be given further 

 trial. 



Of the other grasses, Chrysopogon montanus has shown up well 

 in trials at the experiment station, teff grass is an important grass on 

 the dry plains of Northern Africa, Panicum bulbosum, P. spectabile, 



