CHAPTEE XXXIV 



CHARACTERISTICS OF ECONOMIC GRASSES AND 



LEGUMES 



THE term "grass" in common usage is sometimes applied to 

 all plants cut for hay, including the clovers and alfalfa. While true 

 grasses do include cereals, as corn and wheat, the clovers should not 

 be considered as grasses. There are other grass-like plants, such as 

 the sedges, found growing in wet meadows, and often cut for hay, 

 that are not true grasses from the botanist's standpoint, but to all 

 practical purposes should be considered with grass. 



Number of Cultivated Grasses. There are in the world some 

 5000 species of grass, and in the United States about 1400 kinds. 

 However, out of this vast number scarcely 50 have come into culti- 

 vation. Of the 50 perhaps not more than 20, excluding cereals and 

 millets, are cultivated enough so that seed is readily obtainable on 

 the market. In fact, there are only about five grasses extensively 

 cultivated, namely, timothy, blue-grass, rye-grass, redtop, and 

 orchard-grass. Of secondary importance are meadow fescue, tall 

 oat-grass, brome-grass, Bermuda grass, and Canada blue-grass. 



All of the secondary grasses are important in certain limited areas 

 or for special purposes. A few other grasses are very useful for cer- 

 tain purposes, but the above ten grasses probably represent 99 per 

 cent of the sowings. 



Some Important Requirements. At first it seems remarkable 

 that a bare dozen grasses out of 5000 have attained a place as culti- 

 vated grasses. Few grasses, however, fulfil certain essential qualifi- 

 cations, which might be summarized as follows : 



1. They must produce seed cheaply. In this respect most of the 

 native grasses fail. For example, the great prairie region of the 

 central States is covered with a dense growth of native grasses. 

 Most of these grasses make excellent pasture and hay, and several 

 attempts have been made to bring some of them into cultivation. 



At the Nebraska Experiment Station and other points, during 

 the period 1898 to 1902, more than 200 of these grasses were tested 



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