150 [Assembly 



the scythe ; slock of all kinds ilevour it as greedily as hay or grass. 

 It is perennial — spreads rapidly, and may be easily transplanted. It 

 is a few years since this account was given ; whether the grass held 

 its character or improved as was anticipated it would, is not known. 

 Experiments, as with every thing of the kind no doubt, were necee- 

 sary to establish its character. 



Gama grass is a native of the southern parts of the United States. 

 It has, however, been found wild as far north as the banks of the 

 Connecticut. It is a remarkable grass ; its growth and produce pro- 

 digious, indeed almost incredible, and could not be believed were the 

 statements not made by gentlemen entitled to the fullest confidence. 

 Although stout and coarse, it is succulent, and all kinds of gram- 

 inivorous animals eat it with the best relish. Mr. Magoffin, who first 

 introduced its culture into Alabama, where it is said to abound in its 

 wild state, says that when all surrounding vegetation was destroyed 

 or burnt up by drought, this grass was green and flourishing, and that 

 in the month of July it grew forty-three iaches, and this during a 

 drought. The editor of the American Farmer, some years ago, re- 

 ceived a blade of this gi-ass in a letter, measuring thirty-two and a 

 half inches in length, the growth of twelve days. 



^here are a number of other very useful grasses of our country 

 not hert noticed ; soine of ihcm have a foreign origin, and others, 

 no doubt, are iialives, and ull so domesticated, and iheir good quali- 

 ties so well established by long culture, that we are in the habit of 

 considering them American. Some of our grasses, especially of the 

 dwarf class, and on some accounts among the best, have no common 

 names by which they are generally known. Most of them, no doubt, 

 have botanic names, especially those of foreign origin ; but this is not 

 enouo^h, it renders it difficult to identify them ; their spread and circu- 

 lation are restricted through our land ; they cannot be described in 

 writing so as to be understood. It is proposed, if this subject is pur- 

 sued hereafter, to suggest a remedy for this difficulty, that is, to 

 establish Grass Conventions throughout our country, something like 

 the Fruit Growers' Conventions, to select and give suitable common 

 names to such useful grasses as are not known generally to have any. 

 This, it is thought, will facilitate the transmission of seeds and plants 



