GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS OF HAWAII. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The grazing industry is one of the important and profitable enter- 

 prises of Hawaii. Continual summer has eliminated the necessity 

 of storing feed for use in winter, although in recent years there has 

 arisen the problem of supplying feed during periods of long-continued 

 drought. 



The land that forms the basis of all of the ranches of Hawaii is 

 rough, broken, steep, rocky, forested, or is unfitted for general agri- 

 cultural purposes. Formerly large areas of arable land were included 

 in the ranches, but much of this has been withdrawn. Eventually all 

 arable land will be put to more economic use. 



In the early days, because of the large areas of excellent pasture 

 which were entirely unused, many domestic animals escaped, ran 

 wild in the mountains, and there greatly increased in numbers. 

 These wild animals became so destructive to the forests as seriously 

 to threaten other industries which had developed, and laws were 

 passed reserving certain areas for forest purposes, and all wild ani- 

 mals were ordered to be killed. But even now many wild cattle 

 and goats are to be found. 



The development of the sugar industry has created a great demand 

 for domestic animals for draft purposes and for food for the employees. 

 At an early date, then, the business of ranching was undertaken by 

 corporations and by private interests. 



Beyond the establishment of lines and fences and the slaughtering 

 of the cattle for use, little was done in the way of improving the meth- 

 ods of management on the cattle ranches, but in more recent times 

 many steps to do this have been taken, including — 



(1) The importation of pure bred stock. 



(2) The introduction of tame grasses and other forage plants. 



(3) The destruction of undesirable grasses and weeds. 



(4) The growing of crops and storage of feed for live stock during 



periods of drought and shortage of feed. 

 Ranching is now a definite enterprise and not a haphazard venture. 

 The establishing of the forest reserves; the withdrawal of tillable 

 land for the growing of sugar, pineapples, and other crops; and the 

 67092°— Bull. 36—15 2 (7) 



