, 1900-02-19

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cidedly woody, sometimes a shrub sew
eral feet high. Its leaves and abund-
n seeds are greatly lelished by all
browsing animals, 50 much that IL Is
being largely eXterminated WHERE it is
accessible to stock at all times of the
year. 1t is not abundant in Wyoming.
belonging rather to a range to the south
and west of this state. On account of
its shrubby character it can hardly be
recommended for introduction.
Some of the annual species are very
tolerant of alkali, grow rapidly, often
forming plants of great size, and pro-
duce seed in the utmost profusion. 1t
is doubtful if the forage value of these
is equal to the perennial species and
as winter pasture they have little val
ue. On strongly saline soil where
nothing else will grow and from which
prompt returns are desired these may
be properly tried. To secure the best
results the crop must be harvested just
before maturity in order that the SEED
may be retained. OF the several spe-
cies in the state the three briefly de-
scribed below are the most promising.
Utah ~Salt-Sage, (Atriplex ~truncata)
This branches rather freely from the
base, its branches spreading loosely in
all directions and producing a wealth
of succulent leaves. 1t is less tolerant
of alkali than the two follwing but is
very generally distributed on the arid,
alkaline plains. 1t is probably more
readily introduced than the plants that
are native on the more strongly i'm
pregnated soils.
Spreading Salt-Sage, (Atriplex ex-
pansa)-Very similar to the last but
more freely branched and with much
smaller, somewhat triangular leaves.
This occurs on soils often quite en-
crusted with alkali, makes a dense and
vigorous growth and yields a large
quantity OF fair forage which, like the
preceding, must be harvested before it
becomes dry and brittle.
Tumbling Salt-Sage, (Atriplex volu-
tahSy III thlS pant we nave ii TYPICAL
tumbleweed. 1t branches so freely and
intricately that by autumn it is a dense,
subsperical mass. At maturity the
slender tap-root becomes brittle and
soon breaks, after which the plant is
rolled hither and yon by the winds,
scattering its seeds at every bound. 1t
does not seem to be widely distributed,
being scarcely known except in the al
kali basins and on the shores of alkali
lakes. IN lands hat have been aban-
doned becuse of progressive accumula-
ton of alkali this may prove to be Just
the desired plant. If sown thickly it
would shade the ground, preventing
further rise of the salt, absorbing much
of it in its growth and producing at the
same time a great amount of coarse
forage. If harvested a little before ma
tur1ty and preserved in a silo it would
probably yield a superior product.
WINTER-FAT.
Winter Fat, (Eurotia lanata)-In
this near relative of the salt-sages
sometimes called sweet-sage) we have
ona muah u.,..
Tho,ah +, :. u,,so,m s,u~IH.. in
state yet it is becoming exterminated
$50 Ae'oa
uo,au ha,. - 80
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iffnEE
Among the native species of grasses
there are very few that can be recon-
mended for cultivation or alkali soils.
There are several species that will ex-
lst in such soils but only a few that
will prove profitable as pasture or crop
plants. .
Indian Millet, CEriocoma c%uspidata)