The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1902-06-25
Bronze Grass.


sian bronze grass, has been tested
quite thoroughly on the station farm,
and on neighboring farms near Mos
COW.
Bronze grass was introduced into
this country from Europe where it is
indigenous to many sections 1t is
also found IN many paris of Asia
In some parts Of Europe it is said 70
Withstand droughts $50 sever as TO
destroy all other fodder plants. .
Cold does not injure the grass except
to kill the stems and leaves. 1t does
not do well in shaded places. The
best results with this grass are OBJ
tanned when it is sown on warm sun
ny exposures On the station farm
it does not grow as rapidly on the
MOI tn hillsides as on the south. The
warmer the exposure the better the
grass seems to grow. While the
grass is a native of the semi-arid
regions of Europe, we have seen it
produce excellent results in this
country where the annual rainfall
is ut least 80 inches. This would
place it in the list with other grasses
as far as growing in moist land is
COZ cerned In Europe it is found
growing wild on uncultivated areas,
and out of the way places.
1t is safe TO say that this grass has
found coDgenial conditions over large
areas in the northwest, and will prove
of inestimable value in sections where
1T is not so easy to grow other grasses.
1t is better adapted to pasture than
hay; and yet it makes very good hay,
end yields we'll Yields of two to
four tons per acre are not uncommon
reports in this section, The follow
ing report is made by A. Rubeck
OF Freeman, Wash. He says: ''Bro
mus inermis is the coming grass for
either hay or pasture. Everything
will eat it, IN it's green state, that eats
grass, and for hay, if cut in the proper
time, before it forms seed and gets
hai d, horses or cattle will leave clover
or timothy hay and go to Bromus
This. is his experience and he further
states that Sin ordinary wheat land
it will cut two 10 four tons per acre. "
Last year the yield of bronze grass
on the station farm for hay, was
about the same as that Of the tall
meadow oat grass; and better than
any other grass, as the reader will
find under the head of Nyield Of hay"
in plat experiment report in this
bulletin. For dry hill lands, and for
pasture, we would recommend the
bronze graes as one worthy of ex-
tended trial
1t has not proved success when
mixed with other grasses. At the
Nebraska station, bronze grass crowd
ed out all the other grasses by the
end of the second year. The rass
spreads by means of underground
stems, thus enabling it to make
dense sod after a few years. On
this account there is no cause for
alarm il the seeding is raj her thin
the first year. 1t will thicken up
very rapidly the second and third
years. The surest method of getting
a good stand is TO seed in the spring,
OH land prepared as for other grasses;
and SOW Is to 20 pounds of seed per
acre. 1t will not injure the bronze
grass to pasture in fall, when seeded
the spring before.
At the Washington experiment
station, located at Pullman, over two
cows per acre were pastured on bronze
grass from April TO October. We
shall conduct some pasture tests
with COWS this season
SEEDING UNCULTlvATED LANDS.
There is considerable inquiry re-
garding the use of bronze grass for
the range lands, where the native
grasses have disappeared. Not much
has been reported SO far in this di-
rection; but some work has been
done, and it seems to be very prom
ising. 1t takes longer to get good