I 



PEEFACE 



The present work is primarily a text-book, but some 

 technical information is included that might more properly 

 be consigned to a reference book. To a considerable 

 extent this reference matter is appended to text para- 

 graphs in the form of notes in smaller type. Although 

 the chief emphasis is placed on Systematic Agrostology, 

 comprising Part II, a brief outline of Economic Agros- 

 tology is presented in Part I. In this part the clovers 

 and other forage plants not belonging to the grass family 

 are referred to in classifying the forage plants and their 

 uses. The reader will observe that by the plan adopted 

 the information on a given grass is not found segregated 

 in a single paragraph or chapter but is scattered to meet 

 the necessities of the classification used. The index 

 makes these scattered paragraphs readily accessible. 



The botanical information concerning each species 

 will be found in the appropriate paragraph in Part II, 

 but the economic information will be found classified in 

 Part I, a part under the chapter on meadow plants, for 

 example, and a part under the chapter on pasture plants. 

 It seems to the author that this method has didactic 

 advantages. In a reference book it might be more con- 

 venient to have all the information on one species placed 

 in sequence. Part I is too elementary to meet the demands 

 of a course in agronomy, but it is hoped that it may be 

 found useful as a bridge to connect the subjects of Sys- 

 tematic Agrostology and Agronomic Agrostology. 



(V) 



