GRASSES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 



IJS^TEODUCTION. 



The most distinguished agriculturists ard farmers 

 of America agree in opinion that the knowledge of 

 the comparative merits and value of all the different 

 species and varieties of grasses, and consequently of 

 t'iie best mode of cultivating them, is very much be- 

 Jiind that of the other branches of practical agricul- 

 ture. Timothy {Phleum Pratense) has received 

 more attention than all the other grasses combined ; 

 it is indebted, most probably, for this distinction, to 

 its value as a hay crop and the preference given it in 

 t'le markets of large cities. Orchard Grass {Dactylis 

 Glomerata.) however, is speedily superceding it in 

 many sections of the country through the successful 

 practice and recommendation of advanced and en- 

 lightened farmers. 



"Grass," says an eminent professor, "commonly 

 forms one single idea ; and a farmer, when he is look- 

 ing over his fields, does not dream that there are up- 

 wards of three hundred species of grasses, of which 

 thirty or forty may be at present under his eye." In 

 this age of progress it is no longer excusable that the 

 humblest farmer should be ignorant of the above 

 facts. Comparatively speaking, some grasses are of 



