PERSONS ENGAGED AND TERRITORY COVERED. 11 



F'. I.anison-Scril)n('r, 189()-U)0() California, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, 



Michigan, Oregon, South Carolina, Washing- 

 ton, Wyoming. 



A. Laiuson-Scribner, 1900 Florida, jNhissachusetts, Oregon, Washington. 



C. L. Shear, ISOo-lDOl Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, 



Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, 

 Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming. 



J. ('. Smitli, isit.'i-isits (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 



Missouri, Nebraska, New ^Mexico, South Da- 

 kota, Tennessee, Texas. 



William Shear, 1900 Colorado. 



S. M. Tracy, 1S97 Alabama, Florida, (ieorgia, Louisiana, Missis- 

 sippi, Texas. 



E. N. Wild IX, 1S97 South Dakota. 



T. A. Williams, lS9(i-1900. Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, 



Idaho, jNIaryland, Minnesota, Missouri, iVIon- 

 tana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, 

 North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, 

 Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming. 



It will be observed from this list that the greatest amount of work 

 has been done in the South, on the Great Plains, -and in the Rock}' 

 Mountain region. The work in these regions was naturally undertaken 

 first on accoimt of our insufficient knowledge of th(^ forage plants and 

 conditions and on account of the great importance of the forage problems 

 in these regions. 



PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS. 



At the beginning of the investigations bj' the Division exact knowl- 

 edge of the grasses and forage plants of the greater part of the range 

 lands of the country west of the Mississippi River was very limited. 

 Some field work had been done in certain portions of the West under 

 the direction of Dr. George Vasey, former botanist of the Department 

 of Agriculture. The various Government surveying parties had made 

 collections of more or less importance at various places, and a few 

 private collectors had also done considerable work in this direction.^ 

 The greater part of this work, however, had been devoted to the col- 

 lection of the plants found, without" giving special attention to the rela- 

 tive value and importance of the species as forage. 



PRINCIPAL PROBLEMS AND REQUIREMENTS AT THE BEGINNING 



OF THE WORK. 



While the purelj'^ botanical explorations of this part of the country 

 had afforded material for a catalogue of most of our grasses, yet verjj^ 

 little was known of their distribution, abundance, and relative \alue 



^See preface to Bull 16, Div. Agrost. for further account of work previous to the 

 establishment of this Division. 



