INTRODUCTION 11 



The general practice in Europe is to sow both meadows 

 and pastures to complex mixtures of grasses. In marked 

 contrast the American .practice is to sow pure cultures or 

 very simple mixtures. 



Of the above list only seven can be said to be much 

 cultivated in America; namely, timothy, redtop and 

 orchard-grass, alfalfa, and red, white and alsike clovers. 

 The remainder are relatively much neglected, though most 

 of them have distinct value, at least in special areas. 

 Neglect of their greater use is perhaps due to the ascen- 

 dancy which timothy has in American favor and to an 

 actual lack of knowledge concerning their merits. 



6. Botany of forage crops. The greater numbers of 

 forage crops are either grasses (Graminece) or legumes 

 (Leguminosce) . There are definite reasons why this i^ 

 the case. On prairie or meadow lands in all parts of the 

 world, grasses make up a large percentage of the herbage. 

 This is particularly true in areas where wild herbivorous 

 animals existed in large numbers, as on our western 

 prairies and in south Africa. The two facts are corre- 

 lated. Without the grasses the abundant herds of animals 

 could not have existed, and with the abundant herds few 

 plants are so well adapted as the grasses to withstand 

 heavy grazing and trampling. The reason for this lies 

 in the fact that the growing part of a grass leaf is near its 

 base and so is not injured when the upper part is bitten 

 off, while with most other plants the growing point is 

 terminal and therefore easily destroyed by grazing animals. 

 Furthermore, many grasses are amply provided with 

 vegetative means of spreading and reproducing, so that 

 even if continuously cropped short, they nevertheless 

 survive. The other plants most like the grasses namely, 

 the rushes and sedges are, with a few exceptions, not 



