. Bulletin. Gramineae -- United States; Forage plants -- United States. 22 that it may have a special mission worthy the cousideration of stockmen aud farmers—to reclaim alkali lands. It grows tall enough to be cut, and both its leaves aud small twigs are eaten by stock. I know of no instance where stock have had to depend upon it entirely for food, but as a rule they know what is nutritious, so that it is quite probable that the "Careless AVeed'' has a special value as a forage plant. A reliable sheepman of Concho County says that sheep eat it greedily. It pro- duces enormous quantities
. Bulletin. Gramineae -- United States; Forage plants -- United States. 22 that it may have a special mission worthy the cousideration of stockmen aud farmers—to reclaim alkali lands. It grows tall enough to be cut, and both its leaves aud small twigs are eaten by stock. I know of no instance where stock have had to depend upon it entirely for food, but as a rule they know what is nutritious, so that it is quite probable that the "Careless AVeed'' has a special value as a forage plant. A reliable sheepman of Concho County says that sheep eat it greedily. It pro- duces enormous quantities of seed, and every year reseeds the land where it grows. A Mitchell County sheepman thinks that sheep eat it because of its tonic properties. It has a bitter principle that suggests such an idea. On the high plains of Nevada and Utah, and in Arizona and New Mexico a similar species {)almeri) furnishes a considerable part of the winter forage for both cattle and sheep. Cat- tlemen who have held cattle on the range in Arizona say that a salt bush, sweet sage {A. canescens), Yery similar to this in many respects, is a principal reliance in that sec- tion for all classes of stock. Beggar Weed {Besmodium paniculatum).—There is some prejudice in the minds of many persons against this ex- cellent forage plant because of the fact that its seeds have a way of fastening themselves to one's clothes. But this is only an incident that ought not to be considered in de- ciding upon its value for for- The fact is, horses, cattle, and sheep are all fond of it. It thrives best in low and moist soils, but it is also to be found on the uplands. The specimens collected grew in a rich, moist, sandy loam. The stems are rather inclined to be woody, but when growing thickly, as fre- quently happens in this section, the entire bush is easily convertible into hay. As a renovator of wornout soils or as a green manure no better nor cheaper fertilizer can be used than to turn under the rank growth of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectforageplantsunitedst
