158 AGRICULTURE 



It must not be forgotten that our great cereals, corn, 

 wheat, oats, barley, rice, rye, etc., also belong to the grass 

 family. 



While there are so many varieties of grasses, they pos- 

 sess certain characteristics in common. For example, prac- 

 tically all grasses bear their seeds either ( 1 ) in a spike, like 

 wheat, barley or timothy; or else (2) in a panicle, like oats 

 or blue-grass. Most of the grasses have hollow stems, with 

 nodes, or joints, dividing the stem into sections. 



Some of the grasses are annuals; that is, they make their 

 growth, raise seed and die all in one season, as oats, corn, 

 or wheat. Other grasses are perennials; they live on from 

 season to season without replanting, as timothy, clover, al- 

 falfa, blue-grass, or Bermuda grass. 



Legumes. The legumes differ from grasses in that 

 they bear their seeds in pods, like beans and peas. These 

 pods vary in form from the close, nearly straight pod of 

 the pea to the curled pod of alfalfa. When the seed is 

 ripe, the pod splits open, and the seeds scatter. Most 

 legumes branch more freely than grasses and also send 

 their roots more deeply into the soil. 



Some of the most important legumes are the clovers, 

 alfalfa, soy-beans, cow-peas, the vetches and the ordinary 

 garden peas and beans. 



The legumes differ widely in their manner of growth, 

 ranging all the way from small herbs like clover, to vari- 

 ous vines, shrubs and even trees. Some of the legumes 

 are annuals, some are biennials, and others perennials. 



2. Importance of the Forage Crops 



Forage crops in the United States rank next in value 

 after corn and cotton. The total acreage of improved pas- 

 tures and harvested forage crops is considerably more than 

 all the grain crops combined. The most important forage 



