The Grasses 275 



of better grass crops as well as other crops on the farm. 

 The Southern farmers have neglected the grasses under 

 the impression that their climate is not adapted to grass 

 simply because they cannot grow the great hay grass of 

 the North, timothy. But there is no part of the country 

 where unaided Nature produces a greater variety of 

 grasses than in the Southern States. 



Many years ago the late Edmund Ruffin, one of the 

 most thoughtful and observant farmers of Virginia, wrote 

 a book giving a description of the coastal plain of Eastern 

 North CaroHna. In that book, Mr. Ruffin said that in 

 his opinion Eastern North CaroUna was destined to be 

 the greatest stock section of the Atlantic coast, because 

 of the wonderful profusion of native grasses. This was 

 over half a century ago, and from that time down to the 

 present the farmers there have been battling with grass for 

 growing cotton continuously, while the grass still comes 

 in as soon as the cotton is left off, and would have made 

 the country richer if the grass had had the first place 

 instead of cotton. 



In any section of the country one must study the adapt- 

 ability of his soil and chmate to grasses, for there are few 

 that succeed equally well in all parts of the country. 

 Near all the larger cities of the Middle and Northern 

 and Central Western States, where the interest of the 

 farmers is in selling hay in the city markets, there 

 is no grass in this country that has or probably ever 

 will take the place of Timothy. 



In all the sections named, Timothy 

 Timothy (Phleum pratense) is the great hay grass. Not 



because it makes the best hay, for in our opinion there are 



