GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. 143 



instruments and weapons. A large number of grasses, however, seem to have little or no 

 agricultural value, and, to all appearance, are but little better than weeds on a farm, causing 

 the farmer considerable labor and annoyance in keeping his lands clear of them. There are 

 also probably many valuable species of native grasses growing wild in different sections of 

 our country, now regarded as little better than worthless weeds, which when fully tested may 

 be found to be of great agricultural value. The Department of Agriculture has within a few 

 years past made special efforts in ascertaining the real value of some of these wild 

 grasses, the results of which investigations have been, in a measure, successful; but thus far 

 these experiments have been carried on in this country to only a limited extent. The 

 English are far in advance of us in this respect, the most careful experiments there being 

 made with reference to the value of the various grasses for different soils, situations, and cli 

 mate, as well as in relation to their value as to the season, etc. 



There are over two hundred varieties of grasses cultivated in England for the use of 

 domestic animals, while in our own country .the number of cultivated grasses is very much 

 less, although there is probably no country on the entire globe that possesses so many varie 

 ties of native grasses. A few years in advance of the present will doubtless show great 

 improvement in this department of our agriculture, and the proper tests afforded by science 

 and experience, will acquaint us with the true value of many varieties, now almost unknown. 



What render grasses so peculiarly nutritious, and hence valuable to agriculture, are the 

 large proportions of sugar, starch, fatty matter, albumen, and fibrine contained, not only in 

 the seeds, but also in the stems, leaves, and joints of grass before the seeds are fully 

 matured. 



The importance of grasses, in all systems of agriculture, can scarely be over-estimated. In 

 fact, the proportion of meadow and pasture lands in any region is regarded as a good crite- 

 * rion of the agricultural wealth of that region. 



Wherever the importance of the grass crop has been overlooked in the desire to realize 

 immediate results from special crops, the consequence has generally been an impoverished 

 soil, and an impoverished people; while the farmer with an abundance of pasturage and 

 meadow lands, has in his own hands and under his own control, the very elements of wealth, 

 which, if judiciously employed, cannot fail of good in the result. 



It is not to any one species of grass, or a few species only, that we should depend upon 

 for the sustenance of our stock, but the many species intermingled, each doing its part in the 

 great economy of nature, some starting and maturing early, others late; some preferring 

 low, wet localities, others only dry soils; some seeking the shaded situations for growth, 

 others the most exposed localities, such as the broad open prairies of the West, or the 

 savannas of the South. Some will grow only in the water, others only along the margin of 

 lakes and rivers; some only in fresh water, others only in salt water. Thus we have grasses 

 suited to every section and condition, every soil and climate, from one portion of the conti 

 nent to the other, and no creation in the vegetable world, or any other department of nature s 

 vast laboratory, will be found in vain or useless, however man may regard it. 



The great error in New England farming has formerly been the practice of stinting or 

 robbing the grass lands to feed the hoed crops and the arable lands. Although there is at 

 present a great improvement in this respect over the old-time method, still the practice is not 

 wholly discarded, and more attention should be given to the cultivation of the grass crop than 

 is common in many sections. 



A considerable portion of the department, embracing the description, cultivation, and 

 relative value of the different grasses, is taken from &quot; Grasses and Forage Plants,&quot; of which 

 the editor of this volume is the author. 



As the general appearance of plants is often greatly modified by climate, soil, and modes 

 of cultivation, it is important to fix upon certain characteristics which are permanent and 



