4 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



siderable element in our pastures, a vastly less number gen- 

 erally constituting the sod or turf of any one section. 



It would be foreign to my present purpose to speak of the 

 grasses of the tropics, some of which grow to an enormous 

 size, and are called bamboos, or the rank grasess of warm 

 climates, some of which are much valued, nor even of those 

 species found even here, which grow in a more solitary way, 

 not making a sod. 



It will be seen that the matter of sod or turf depends prin- 

 cipally upon climate, no hot climate produces it, and no re- 

 gion subjected to excessive periodical droughts produces it. 

 Nutritious grasses may grow there, but they do not form a 

 sod, as we use that word. Perennial grasses may occur there 

 of great value, like the various " bunch grasses " of the 

 Pacific States, or the " Kangaroo grass " of Australia. 



Over this matter of climate we have no control, and the 

 finest turf, and the richest pastures of the world are where 

 the climate is mild, the soil not too poor, the summers not 

 too hot, and with some considerable rain during the summer 

 months. The British Islands with their mild winters, their 

 cool, moist summers are noted throughout the world for the 

 excellency and beauty of their pastures. It is the turf of 

 Ireland, with its moist, but mild climate, and its moist soil, 

 which makes it the Emerald Isle. The rich low lands of 

 Holland and Belgium are equally celebrated for the quality 

 of their old pastures, and there the rains of summer are 

 abundant. 



Many mountain regions, rainy, because mountainous, are 

 celebrated for their pastures ; for example, the Alps of Central 

 Europe, where the summers are cool, and the rains are copi- 

 ous and frequent. Switzerland is especially noted for its pas- 

 tures, in fact the very word Alps meant originally an upland 

 pasture, and not merely a high mountain, as we now use it. 

 The upland pastures of Switzerland constitute such a marked 

 feature of the country that they have given their name to the 

 mountains themselves. I shall speak of them again. 



It is then in such or similar climates where we have the 

 richest pastures, that the grasses form a turf, and where this 



