10 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



ciples are general rather than specific in their applica- 

 tion. They do not apply equally to the growth of all 

 the different varieties, nor do they apply equally to the 

 growing of the same variety in all sections of the coun- 

 try. 



Adaptation in Grasses. In growing grasses it would 

 not be easily possible to give too much consideration to 

 the question of adaptation. It is not wise to attempt 

 to grow grasses for practical uses in localities not rea- 

 sonably well adapted to their growth, howsoever valuable 

 they be in themselves or as a food for live stock. At 

 the present time, however, the adaptation of several va- 

 rieties of even the more valuable of the grasses is not 

 fully known in this country. The place for experiment, 

 therefore, with a view to throw further light on these 

 is a very wide one, nor should conclusions be reached 

 too quickly in regard to such adaptation in any state 

 or province. Adaptation may be sectional because of 

 soil peculiarities and for other reasons. In Southwest- 

 ern Minnesota, for instance, the adaptation for blue 

 grass is only quite ordinary, whereas in several counties 

 in the northeastern part of the same state it is extraordi- 

 nary. 



When determining which grasses shall be grown in 

 any locality, the aim should be to give the preference to 

 those useful varieties which have the highest general 

 adaptation for that particular locality. For instance, 

 Russian brome grass (Bromus inermis) has high adapta- 

 tion for the conditions that generally prevail over the 

 northwestern states and also the northwestern provinces 

 of Canada, while its general adaption to the southern 



