The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-07-23
BIG GRASS CROP
near MOSCOW
Thousands of Acres of New Varieties
OF Grass Now Being Cut
Good Yield.

pal grasses sown for seed are orchid
tall meadow oat, bronze and English
! blue. All have been tested and
found adapted to the peculiar semi
arid conditions OF the Palouse conn
try. There Is great demand for the
seed among the local farmers of bo+h
states, and many acres will he sowp
10 permanent pastures or meadows
| for making hay.
over 100 prominent varieties of
grasses have been planted at the stare
experiment station and on private
farms. or these at least fifty of the
| best are reported to be suited to the
| soil and climate. This indicates a
RADICAL change in the farming condi-
| tons. Some OF the most represen-
tat1ve farmers will seed their rolling
hills to grasses and pasture the fields
with stock Of the finest breeds OBJ
ta1nable. AS an indication of future
plans, there are scores of large barns
| being erected and the farms are
Fenced to admit OF diversified agrlcul-
| ture. More miles of fencing have
been built this year than for the past
five years.
| There are about 1000 varities of
grasses growing on the surface of the
earth. All have some value for food
| medicines, liquors, forage or manu-
| featuring purposes. Some grow only
| in the humid climate and are not
adapted to the Palouse country. Others
are natives of the cold or hot coun-
| tries and possess no value here. OF
the 800 cultivated grasses of North
! America it is estimated that at least
100 OF the best forage plants can be
grown successfully in the Palouse.
Among those having the greatest value
are the Russian bromes, orchard and
| meadow fescues, redtop, tall oat. Eng
| lish and Kentucky blue and similar
grasses.
The tall meadow oat Is one of the
best grasses for general farm pur-
| poses. 1t Is tall perennial coming
to this country from western Asia.
The plant resemb les oats so closely
| that some would mistake a field for
| that cereal. The straw grows to the
| height of six feet or more in the Pa
| louise hills. 1t has some qualities not
! possessed by the other grasses.
Among thee are the advantages of
! early, quick and late growth. 1t can
De pastured in the spring. harvested
| later for hay and used for pasture
| again in the fall and winter. The seed
IS very light, weighing only fourteen
pounds to the bushel To secure a
good crop two bushels should be
| SOwn to the acre.
Other Grasses Planted.
|
where it has been grown for many
| centuries. It has a high nutritive
value and is considered much superior
| to timothy for general farm feeding.
The grass does well on any soil. but
| seems to be the most profitable ON
black hillside lands When mixed with
other hay crops it makes an ideal
| forage plant. The mixtures on che
,owlands of the Palouse give from
three to five tons of fine hay to the
acre. There are 400 acres Of this
grass being cut for seed. The straw
Will be used in feeding cattle and
sheep.
The English bluegrass is supposed
TO be the hardest in cultivation. It's
leaves are formed very early in the
spring. making it a good dairy grass
Tor pasture. 1t is relished by sheep
and general farm stock. The stems
remain green for weeks and the color
does not change after cutting for hay.
The plant has a great mass of creeping
rootstocks, which makes it grow on
the driest soil and give luXuriant feed
for farm animals. The grass is be-
ing utilized in seeding the stony
waste lands.
The bronze grass is known under
several names. such as Hungarian
bronze. Austrian bronze, smooth bronze
and whatever different seedsmen see
fit to call it. 1t comes from Russia
and is especially we'll adapted to the
dry, hilly slopes of the Moscow noun
lains and that portion Of the wheat
country where moisture is an uncer-
tainty. If sOwn at the rate of twenty
five pounds to the acre the seed makes
a splendid catch crop and the follow
ing season a fine tuft is formed. The
grass possesses no value the first
year In some places it may seem to
be dead and worthless, but comes out
and has an excellent crop the second
season. Four hundred acres of this
grass have been cut for the first crop
of seed. Later a second crop will be !
harvested.
Four years ago the number of ex-
detrimental grass fields were few. The
farmers did not believe that tame
grasses could be grown on the lands
formerly occupied by the wild bunch
grass of the plains. They have held
TO this theory in many districts even
to the present day. But change is
coming over the entire PalOuse wheat
country. What was once referred to as
the land of four months farmers and
occasional grain crops will soon be
one Of the richest agricultural farm
ing districts of the northwest, with
nice homes and fine stock on the hills