Gunnison news-champion and tribune., 1905-07-14
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VyTIo ~ 0mAn
oa~bVAA0CnnGn6 60uOo'
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!. CIV eA0

ns-eds II ssssai ss,d reg,oas and -
thai ssackm mea sad rsnchsaeu saJDc-
sAiiy are su,esessed IN " the dssslxp-
meat o forage plAass Il hssdy,
dFossh sess.s'aG 4sslst'ss ! Asss
esssa s&sersnseas.aR IN . sosll wsG
sloAG skese l,nes hos too or sAsss
yssrs wsth sosse II the grs.sss -
coaseadsd fog .emi arid coadstsoas.
The Sesslts OF these exTor.0sa1s
have thoroughly impressed u.e visA
the value of bronze grass known -
brosnus Inermus l hnd this assss
TO t's very hardy and espsble u -
ssstsnS a great amount f ds0naA.
Three years ago the fosepsTt Il tAas
aaoath ] obts,nsd fev sssds q sAis
grass and sowed 1t On q pssee q
hlgh ground where 1t could be IRA
gated. Ii had only just sot started
when the water wss sh~t oG fvoa
the ditch. 1t struggled sloaS the
balance Of the season without water
and WAS yet green when oil ve9sss-
ton around 1t was dried up, but
had made very little progress The
following spring IT came from under
the snow green aud strong ID
made rather a slow growth for =
while but by the middle of June
had commenced to head up and by
the hrsi Of August had reached =
height of two feet which proved to
,e It's growth for the season. 1t
was the last thing 10 show the effects
of frost. 1t was walered three times
during the season. In habit it is q
close, dense grower, stoollne heavily
1t resembles timothy somew hat, but
has much heavier growth of blades,
some single punches last year put
ting up as many as fifty seed stocks
with promise Of nearly double that
number this year. Last year ! SOW
ed more of this grass with practically
the same results. Some Of it was
sown very thick but 40 far has not
made as strong and vigorous growth
rs that that was sown thinner
There are a number of different va
rietics but bromus inermus is, |
believe, generally considered TO be
at the head of the list. | have un-
derstood from reliable sources that
Oregon bronze was superior to it, but
| have not been able so far to get
any of the seed Of this variety.
As to the proper time and method
OF seeding, my experience has con
WINGED me that the ground should
have thorough surface cultivation
and the seed should be narrowed or
brushed in. 1t is very light and
chaffy and unless we'll covered has
poor chance to germinate. | think
the proper time to seed would be as
late in the fall as the ground could
be worked. 1t would then get the
benefit of all the spring moisture.
Frost and freezing do not seem to
affect it.
To secure good stand it seems to
require considerable moisture until
it gets well rooted, after which it
thrives with very little moisture.
My experience with this grass has
led me to beliete that it will make
strong vigorous growth in any place
and under any conditions that our
own native blue stem will grow.
While its chief value perhaps would
be as pasture grass, yet as hay, it is
eaten very greedily by stock, and if
looks 60 for anything it should
occupy a place very close to timothy
or red top in feeding value. From
its habits of growth ] believe it
would prove of great value on our
ranges. If sown in the fall, on the
greater part of our ranges the spring
moisture would probably sufficiently
root it to carry it through the dry
season. II is certainl y well worthy of
a thorough test.
! have also experimental some
with orchard grass and meadow fes-
cue, and believe them both to be
very Valuable grasses, tnOugh mol
able to resist as much drouth as the
bronze grass, but much more than
either timothy or red top and think
they would yield as heavy crop of
hay, where water is obtainable for
two or three irrigations during the
These three grasses sown
together would certainly make fine
combination for either pasture or
Discussing this paper, w. L. Ben
net of Doyleville stated that his ex-
perience was mostly with meadow
fescue. 1t stood drouth very well.
On patch which received no irri-
CATION at all the second summer il
grew Is inches high. He preferred