282 FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 



Vastly more than half of the value to man of all vegetation belongs to one 

 family, the grasses. ''Grass is king. It rules and governs the world. It is 

 the very foundation of all commerce ; without it the earth would be a barren 

 waste, and cotton, gold and commerce all dead." (Solon Robinson.) 



" Of the individual plants on the great prairies of the Nortliwest, 90, yes 

 99 per cent, are grasses !" (Scribner.) 



There are about 300 genera, and 3,100 to 3,200 species. They are most 

 abundant in the temperate zones, where they often clothe large tracts with a 

 growth which is fine, soft and thick. 



In the United States, east of the Mississippi, the grasses constitute abont 

 one-twelfth of all the species of flowering plants. A State like Michigan, 

 Illinois or Massachusetts has been found to contain not far from 130 species 

 of grass. It is not uncommon in the Northern States to find 60 species 

 within a distance of a few miles of each other. 



1. Jungle or Bush Grasses are those which generally grow isolated, in 

 bunches or a few plants here and there. The bamboos are examples for the 

 tropics. In the northern countries many of the smaller grasses have a sim- 

 ilar disposition of growing in tufts ; of this kind we have Deschaynpsia (Aira) 

 ccespitosa, L. (hair grass), ^yewa^ra^e;isis (narrow-leaved, Oat-grass), Festuca 

 elatior, L. (Taller Fescue). 



A few others, if sown alone and not very thick, not closely fed or rolled, 

 will assume the same habit. Of such we have Festuca ovina, L. (Sheep's 

 Fescue), Festuca durmscula, L. (Hard Fescue), Dactylis glomerata, L. 

 (Cocksfoot or ochard grass). 



3. The Aquatic or Water Grasses are those which elect to grow by the mar- 

 gins of rivers, in brooks or ditches, or around the edges of ponds. With few 

 exceptions they are of little value agriculturally. Their presence is a sure 

 indication of lack of drainage. 



3. The Marine or Sea Side Grasses, which are chiefly found near salt water 

 or the Great Lakes. They are generally very coarse and distasteful to- 

 cattle. A great proportion of the plants in these situations, which are cut 

 and cured by the farmers of New England and Long Island, and the Jersey 

 coast, and known as salt marsh hay, are not grasses, but belong to other 

 families of plants. 



4. The Meadow or Pasture Grasses. Most of the grasses of much value ta 

 agriculture belong to this section. They are the leading grasses of our best 

 meadows, pastures, and the grazing lands of the prairies. Some of these 

 are especially suited to upland pastures, thin soils ; poor, stiff soils, hungry 

 clays ; rich, deep loams ; meadows on the banks of rivers, subject to peren- 

 nial floods ; irrigated meadows, in which the water can be entirely controlled. 



The Agrarian Grasses are more properly those which occur in land under 

 tillage. 



Native grazing lands in the West soon change for the worse when they are 

 closely fed by animals; especially is this the case in dry climates. Weeds 

 take their places unless care is taken to introduce cultivated species. 



LIST OF GRASSES FOR THE NORTH. 



The speaker approaches this subject with some want of confidence on 

 account of the great diversity of soils, climate, and uses, the lack of well 

 conducted and accurately reported experiments. He will, therefore, not puzzle 



