14:2 NORTH-CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



juicy food during the time of pasturage. For hay. a similar 

 rule should be observed, to supply hay which has been cut 

 before its stalk has become woody and unnutritious. Hence, 

 too, a meadow which is designed for a permanent mowing 

 lot should be sown with grasses which reach the proper stage 

 nearly at the same time. It has been common to sow Timo- 

 thy and red clover together. They are, however, incompat- 

 ible with each other, as the clover comes to maturity" before 

 or in advance of the Timothy. Some grass then, as a general 

 rule, should take the place of Timothy, where it is wished to 

 sow clover. 



105. Grasses grow singly or in clusters and tussocks ; 

 both frequently increase at bottom, or spread out so as to 

 form a turf, a matting or net work of roots woven together so 

 as to form a coherent mass, somewhat analogous to the epi- 

 dermis ; it is a protecting surface, spread over the loose soil so 

 as to confine it and prevent its washing away. If grasses are 

 mown frequently, they are more tender and soft, and under 

 a moist sky assume the delicacy of a green velvety lawn. 

 The grassy surface exerts an important influence over tem- 

 perature, maintaining it more uniformly than if it were earthy. 

 It prevents wide fluctuations which take place when the sur- 

 face is sand, which becomes hot and burning during the day, 

 but cold and uncomfortable during the night. The stability 

 of the earth's surface is maintained by the grasses. 



If, then, we take a proper view of the offices which the 

 grasses perform for us and the earth, we shall set a high value 

 upon them. We generally think of them simply as food for 

 cattle, and it is true that in this light alone, they are of the 

 utmost importance. But this is not all; indeed it is but a 

 small item in consideration of the good they do and the ser- 

 vices they perform. Though humble in their appearance and 

 pretensions, they serve an important office in the turf, in the 

 temperature, and in the stability and permanence of the earth's 

 surface. To be impressed deeply with these facts, we have 

 only to witness the moving sands of the sea-shore and the 

 sand-storm of the desert. 



Important as I have represented them, it is probable that 



