234 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



years were sachaline, a well-nigh worthless representa- 

 tive of the smartweed family, and penicillaria (Fig. 49), 

 which proved to be only pearl millet under another name. 

 Many other instances might be mentioned. These 

 new crops soon find their place in agriculture. Some 

 of them have turned out to have considerable value in 

 certain sections of the country. Brome- grass {Bromus 

 inermis) is a case in point. This grass began to be 

 widely advertised about ten years ago in this country. 

 It has turned out to be a valuable pasture grass in the 

 Prairie States, and may in time win a place in all the 

 Northern States, but it is absolutely worthless south 

 of Missouri and Kentucky. For several years past 

 Turkestan alfalfa has been the most prominent fad 

 with farmers. It has not yet found its place in Amer- 

 ican agriculture, but will undoubtedly do so in the 

 near future, for the State experiment stations and the 

 Department of Agriculture are giving it a thorough 

 trial all over the country. 



Farmers will find it to their advantage to wait till 

 these trials are finished. Experiments are costly. 

 Individual farmers can usually avoid such expense by 

 leaving this work to those whose business it is to con- 

 duct experiments. Exorbitant claims for any new 

 crop should be viewed with suspicion. Much useless 

 expense would be saved to farmers by writing to the 

 better class of agricultural journals, the experiment 

 stations, and the National Department of Agriculture 

 for information concerning any new and much-adver- 

 tised crop, for these authorities are usually in posses- 

 sion of all the reliable information to be had concerning 

 such things. 



