570 AGRICULTURE. 



most common grasses in nearly all parts of the country, being 

 variably known as June-grass, green meadow-grass, common 

 spear-grass, and Rhode Island bent-grass, and it is the well- 

 known smooth-stalked meadow-grass, or greensward, of England. 

 There is no grass that accommodates itself to any given locality 

 with greater facility, whether it be the Mississippi Valley, New 

 England, Canada, the shores of the Mediterranean, or the north 

 of Russia. It is found thriving upon gravelly soils, alluvial bot- 

 toms, and stiff clay lands, in the permanent pastures of Missouri, 

 and along the roadsides of Minnesota. Soil and climate cause 

 varieties in its size and appearance, and this protean habit 

 accounts for the various names by which it is known. 



It probably attains its highest luxuriance and perfection as a 

 pasture grass in the far-famed blue-grass district of Kentucky. 

 The central part of Kentucky, an area of 15,000 square miles or 

 more, over limestone foundation, seems to be the richest blue- 

 grass country. 



Trifolium Pratense (Red Clover ; Common Clover). Red 

 clover is so well known to the agricultural community that it 

 requires very little description. It is usually a perennial of a 

 few years' duration, a native of Europe and Asia, but early intro- 

 duced into this country. Its cultivation is said to have begun 

 in England about two hundred and fifty years ago. It is one of 

 the most important of cultivated crops, both for feed for animals 

 and as an improver of the soil. 



Trifolium Hybridum (Alsike Clover). This differs from 

 common red clover in being later, taller, more tender and suc- 

 culent. The flower-heads are upon long peduncles, and are 

 intermediate in size and color between those of white and red 

 clover. The botanical name was so given from its being sup- 

 posed by Linnaeus to be a hybrid between those clovers, but it 

 is now known to be a- distinct species. It is found native over 

 a large part of Europe, and was first cultivated in Sweden, 

 deriving its common name from the village of Syke in that 

 country. In 1834 it was taken to England, and in 1854 to Ger- 

 many, where it is largely grown, not only for its excellent forage, 

 but also for its seed, which commands a high price. In France 

 it is little grown as yet, and is frequently confounded with the 

 less productive Trifolium elegans. 



