ADAPTATION TO ACID OR TO LIMESTONE SOILS 313 



The great popularity of timothy is partly due to the fact that hay 

 of good quality can be made for a period of two to three weeks. 

 Some grasses, as orchard-grass, lose quality so quickly after blossom- 

 ing that the hay must be made in a very short time. As farming 

 operations can not always be adjusted to take care of hay at just the 

 right time, such grasses are usually unpopular. 



Adaptation to Wet or Dry Land. All the cultivated grasses 

 will succeed on. well-drained, fertile land and a moderate supply of 

 moisture. However, such land is also well adapted to growing 

 grain and cultivated crops. The wet lands are usually given over 

 to meadow or pasture, while the dry lands are almost wholly given to 

 pasture purposes. 



It can not be said that any cultivated grasses or legumes prefer 

 very wet or dry soils, but some are much more tolerant to the 

 extreme conditions than others. 



In the following grouping the common legumes have also been 

 included for convenience : 



Plants tolerant of very wet soils : Redtop, alsike clover, orchard- 

 grass, annual rye-grass, perennial rye-grass, Canada blue-grass. 



Not very tolerant of wet or dry soils : Timothy, meadow fescue, 

 red clover, Kentucky blue-grass. 



Tolerant of dry soils: Orchard-grass, smooth brome-grass, 

 alfalfa, sheep fescue, Canada blue-grass. 



All the forage plants may be grown in some degree on almost all 

 soils, but some plants have a much greater range than others. For 

 example, orchard- grass, while capable of withstanding wet soil, and 

 even flooding for a week or ten days, is yet capable of growing on 

 dry soils, and is commonly recommended for the dry hills in the 

 Ozark Mountain region and eastward. Redtop, Canada blue-grass, 

 and white clover also have a great range, and might be considered as 

 plants adapted to all conditions. 



Other grasses have a much narrower range ; for example, the rye- 

 grasses, which always require a rather high degree of moisture, and 

 timothy, which will not do well at either extreme. 



Adaptation to Acid or to Limestone Soils. All the common 

 forage crops will do better on limestone soils, but here again there 

 is a great range in adaptation. Certain plants, as red clover or 



