PLANTS FOR EXPERIMENT 177 



less widely known to the general public, includ- 

 ing some that are rarely seen even by the agri- 

 culturist. 



My experimental work with these various 

 grasses has been as diverse as the qualities of 

 the plants themselves. 



In some cases I have selected for increase of 

 productivity, and in others for increase of chem- 

 ical constituents, or for beauty of plume, or 

 ability to resist drought or frost or wind or mois- 

 ture; or, again, for compact growing or for 

 ability to spread, or for length and breadth of 

 leaves, or for striping of foliage. 



The grasses are so numerous and so diversified 

 that there is opportunity for almost indefinite 

 choice as to lines of development, and there are 

 few other groups of plants that offer greater 

 possibilities. 



To casual inspection, to be sure, most of the 

 grasses seem rather uniform, commonplace, or 

 unattractive. They lack the beautiful flowers 

 that so many other plants present, and their 

 forms, if almost universally graceful, are for the 

 most part lacking in picturesqueness. Add that 

 the grasses present great difficulties to the botan- 

 ical student because of the minuteness of their 

 flowers and the vast number of species more or 

 less closely related, and you may readily under- 



