2 John Mallory Bates 



stock. In some swales and marshes where hay can be cut in the 

 drier years, they outbulk the grasses ten to one, and the hay 

 passes unquestioned in the market with no detriment to either 

 horses or cattle. 



The Study of the Sedges 



After studying the sedges for twenty- four years, I can say that 

 while they are undoubtedly as difficult as any of the flowering 

 plants, there are none that give greater pleasure to the earnest 

 student of systematic botany, for it is the difficult things in life 

 that call out our resources and develop our powers. Yet I ob- 

 serve that but few college or university students have shown an 

 interest in them, and fear that it is because the sedges bear a bad 

 reputation. I imagine, also, that it is partly because the collector 

 finds that he can do little with them in bloom, beyond settling the 

 genus, and he does not always have the opportunity to follow up 

 the same set of plants into fruiting time and so complete his work. 

 As I wish to increase the number of sedge students, especially 

 among high school teachers, who have the opportunity of collect- 

 ing all over the state, I venture to insert some practical suggestions 

 that will facilitate the work. 



Collect only (after a few studies in the floral construction of 

 several genera) in fairly mature fruit, one to two months (a 

 little more or less) after blooming. If over-ripe, save achenes in 

 packets labeled exactly as is the plant. If scales are dropping, 

 include them in good quantity with achenes. Use Britton's 

 Manual, because it covers practically all our Nebraska forms. 

 Use Gray's seventh edition Manual because it has the most scien- 

 tific and practical keys that have so far been given to American 

 students. It is a delight to use them. Proceed slowly; exercise 

 great patience with your own success for a time. If you get a 

 name from one whom you trust, go through all the steps as if you 

 knew nothing about the name, and prove him right or wrong, as 

 the case may be. A road often trod grows shorter with use. I 

 can not say too emphatically, study sedges by groups of the most 

 closely related species. Collect; collect; collect! Mount and 

 lay away an abundance of good material on each sheet without 



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