232 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



has isolated twenty-two varieties of brome-grass 

 (Bromus inermis Leyss.) as distinct, for instance, in 

 their agricultural characters, as the ordinary varieties 

 of wheat (see Fig. 48). He has also isolated a larger 

 number of varieties of blue-grass (Poa pratensis) , dif- 

 fering to a remarkable degree in character of growth, 

 and, consequently, in agricultural value. 



It is probable that all the standard grasses can like- 

 wise be separated into varieties, some of which would 

 be a marked improvement over these grasses as ordi- 

 narily grown. Much work of this character is now in 

 progress, and it will be only a few years till farmers 

 may be supplied with improved varieties of most of 

 the important grass crops. 



GRASS FADS 



A word of caution to farmers concerning much- 

 advertised new grasses may not be out of place, though, 

 unfortunately, those who most need this caution will 

 never see these pages. Every few years some enter- 

 prising seedsman discovers a new forage plant that, to 

 quote from the seedsman's catalogue, " produces 

 eighty tons of green feed per acre, is indestructible 

 both by fire and water, and furnishes shade in summer 

 and shelter against the storms of winter. ' ' Unfortu- 

 nately, thousands of farmers have spent their hard- 

 earned dollars for these much-advertised seeds at prices 

 that amaze those who are familiar with their actual 

 market value, only to learn that they are worthless 

 weeds, or some old and well-known forage plant that 

 is masquerading under a new name. 



The two most prominent fads of this kind in recent 



