96 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 
North, and it is not so particular as to soils in that re- 
gion as it is in the South, where the long, hot summer 
season is fatal to it, except under the most favorable 
conditions. In the extreme southern portion of its 
range it is decidedly shade loving, and even as far 
north as Minnesota it luxuriates in the shade of open 
woodlands. ‘The writer has seen large areas of blue- 
grass cut for hay in woodlands in the vicinity of Min- 
neapolis. It makes excellent hay, but the yield is low. 
BLUE-GRASS PASTURES 
While blue-grass is more generally distributed over 
the northeastern portion of the United States than any 
other grass except timothy, it is only in comparatively 
limited areas that it is sufficiently productive to induce 
farmers to,devote their best landstoit. Fine blue-grass 
pastures are common in the Blue-Grass Region of Ken- 
tucky, in central and northern Missouri, eastern Kan- 
sas, on alluvial soils in eastern Nebraska, in all of Iowa 
(except the northwestern portion), in Illinois, Indiana, 
and Ohio. Elsewhere they are less frequently seen, and 
much of the land occupied by blue-grass is so overgrown 
with weeds and brush, and so badly managed generally, 
as to be of little value. No grass equals it for pasture 
purposes in open woodlands and on rough, untillable 
land throughout its range, but on good arable land, 
where the ordinary crops can be grown, its usefulness 
is limited to comparatively small areas. Yet it isin just 
these areas that the best horses and cattle are found in 
this country. 
In the northern portions of its range blue-grass fur- 
nishes most feed in spring and fall, remaining dormant 
