124 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



letter to Eliot from Benjamin Franklin under date of July 

 16, 1747, states that the Herd-grass seed received proved 

 to be " mere timothy." This is the earliest record of the 

 name timothy. This designation is supposed to be derived 

 from Timothy Hansen, who apparently brought the grass 

 from New England into Maryland. Later its culture 

 spread to Virginia, and from there was sent to England 

 about 1760 under the name timothy. In England the 

 grass has been known also as meadow cat's-tail, but 

 the name timothy is now used in nearly all languages. 

 Timothy was the most important hay grass in the United 

 States as early as 1807, and its supremacy has never been 

 seriously threatened. 



107. Agricultural importance. Practically all of the 

 hay grass grown in the northeastern fourth of the United 

 States and in southern Canada is timothy, either alone or 

 in mixtures. An increasing quantity is also being grown in 



445930 

 -189253 

 1-199712 

 -Z7627 

 J2Z934 



208889 



31064 



36352 



C.E69 



FIG. 11. Distribution of timothy, 1909-1910. Figures equal acres. 



