16 INTRODUCTION. 



no value to him, whilst others constitute the founda- 

 tion of his riches, as they are the staff of life to the 

 most valuable of the domestic animals. Though the 

 numerous species and varieties of grasses differ so 

 widely from each other in value, yet the simplicity 

 which pervades their whole structure is too great to 

 afford any certain marks of distinction without hav- 

 ing recourse to particular rules, made from a consid- 

 eration of those parts of their structure which are not 

 subject to vary from culture or change of situation. 



The botanical, or discriminating characters, of 

 which these rules consist, are often minute, and some- 

 times perplexing even to professed botanists. To 

 those, therefore, who have made botany no part of 

 their study, the number and difference of value of 

 all the species and varieties of grass will appear com- 

 paratively small, and the necessity and importance 

 of a particular selection proportionally little. The 

 natural consequence resulting from this would be 

 confusion in the choice of seed, all of which is obvi- 

 ated by attention to the characters of each species ; 

 hence the necessity of giving the specific characters 

 of all the valuable grasses treated of in this work. 



The past winter has added another proof to the 

 many already experienced of the necessity that ex- 

 ists throughout the Northern States of feeding cattle 

 under shelter from five to six months of the year ; 

 and although corn-fodder forms a considerable por- 

 tion of our means, yet we are mainly dependant on 

 the grasses for the better part of our supplies. It is 

 therefore evident that grass culture demands more at- 

 tention in the future than has hitherto been given it. 



As it is necessary for a proper understanding of 

 the subject, I shall endeavor to give a brief history 



