Grasses and Sorghums 163 



envelops part of the internode ; the blade continues from the 

 sheath and is the most apparent part of the leaf ; the ligule 

 is at the upper part of the sheath where it joins the blade and 

 it varies in size considerably in the different species. (5) The 

 blossoms are formed in a head which varies materially in 

 different species as, for example, the head of wheat and oats, 

 or of corn and timothy. 



95. Number of grasses cultivated for hay and pasture. 

 According to Montgomery some fourteen hundred species of 

 grass are found in the United States and about five thousand 

 in the world. Of this large number, however, only a few are 

 cultivated extensively in the United States for hay and pas- 

 ture and a few others are of local importance in certain areas. 

 There are reasons why so few of the many grasses are planted. 

 A grass must produce seed that can be easily and cheaply har- 

 vested and it must be productive and persistent. Most of 

 the natural wild grasses fail in one or more of these respects. 

 The grasses commonly cultivated in America are described on 

 subsequent pages. 



96. Uses of grasses. The grasses that are planted prin- 

 cipally for hay and pasture are of great economic value to 

 farmers. In some sections hay is the chief crop. Hay cured 

 properly is a palatable feed for live-stock and it will keep for a 

 long time, thus extending the period during which the grass can 

 be fed. The use of grass as pasture is important. In some 

 sections, especially where land is cheap or of such nature that 

 it is not easily tilled, the cheapest way to keep cattle, sheep, 

 and horses during the summer is to let them run on pasture. 



Grasses, also, are used extensively for lawns. The fine leaves 

 and creeping habits of some varieties make them especially 

 useful for this purpose. Kentucky blue-grass, where it will 

 grow, is one of the best grasses for lawns. Bermuda-grass is 

 much used for lawns in the South. 



97. Soils for grasses. The type of soil considered to be 

 best for grass is a fertile clay loam. The fibrous root system 



