are now some Uvo hundred or more European, Australian, and American 

 species. Experiments will be made in the old Enjilish method of propa- 

 gating pasture grasses by inoculating land with ])ieces of turf; but the 

 greatest dependence must be placed upon seed, on account of the ex- 

 pense of the former method. The method of inoculating land, as it 

 is called, is probably the best one for establishing suburban and city 

 lawns, for this is the surest way of obtaining pure cultures, and the 

 value and beauty of the lawn depends as much upon the grasses of 

 which it is composed as Upon the care. The best lawns, and the most 

 pleasing to the eye, are those composed of a single variety of grass. For 

 establishing pastures or hay meadows inoculation is impracticable, be- 

 cause of the time and lal)or required. 



Experiments on a larger scale have been begun at Knoxville, Tenn., 

 Avhere about 8i acres have l)een secured on the grounds of the Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station. About two hundred grasses and clovers are 

 growing there, mostly of those sorts which are sold by seedsmen, and 

 such as are in general cultivation in various parts of the United States. 



The plats in this garden vary in size from a yard square to half an 

 acre. The land is rich, is in excellent condition, and may be taken as 

 fairly representative of a large class of farming lands in the South. 

 Special attention will be paid to the improvement of native forage 

 plants. In this garden the most promising forage plants for the South- 

 ern and Southwestern States will be tried on a large scale, much as 

 they would be if planted by a farmer or stockman. There are laree 

 silos on the farm, and the fodder will be tested as to its feeding value 

 in the form of hay and as ensilage, and also for soiling. The question 

 of grasses and clovers and other ibrage plants suitable to the Southern 

 States will be investigated from as practical a standpoint as possible. 

 Nearly all of the forage plants advertised or recommended by seedsmen 

 as good for the Southern States have been in cultivation there the pres- 

 ent summer, and the work will be continued through a series of years. 

 This kind of work can not be done successfully by the farmer or l)y 

 private means, because decisive results can not be obtained in less than 

 a term of years, and the work can better be carried on l)y those who are 

 trained for it and who have made this branch of agriculture a lifelong 

 study. 



In this connection it might be well to point out the advantages to be 

 derived from such work. If one grass or one clover can be so im- 

 proved that it will thrive on the arid lands of the West, and will grow 

 as well as the sagebrush and creosote bush, and at the same time be of 

 some value as forage, many times the cost of such experiments will be 

 added each year to the material wealth of the nation. If a good forage 

 plant can be found that can be substituted for a poor one on some 

 sterile soil where it was thought good grasses would not grow, it means 

 that two hundred head of cattle can be pastured on land Avhere only 

 one hundred were fattened before. There is no better or more profita- 

 ble line of work open to the Department of Agriculture than the devel- 

 opment of our resources as embodied in the richest grass flora of the 

 world. 



Approved : Jared G. Smith, 



J. Sterling Morton, Acting Agros, 



Secretary. 



Washington, D. C, August 6, 1895. 



