154 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 
plants to grow on their rice-fields. Redtop is a grass 
that is worth trying for this purpose. It may not 
prove to be adapted to the climatic conditions of the 
section in question, but it is adapted to that class of 
soils. 
ORCHARD-GRASS (Dactylis glomerata) 
(Cocksfoot of England and New Zealand) 
Orchard-grass (Fig. 31) illustrates well the fact 
that after the agricultural authorities have had their 
say, the farmer himself is the court of last resort in all 
matters of farm practice. All over the timothy region 
orchard-grass has been repeatedly urged upon the 
farmer by agricultural writers, but the farmer, for the 
most part, has just as persistently refused to grow it. 
This grass also illustrates another fa¢ét—namely, that 
a grass may have many excellent qualities, and yet be 
outclassed by other grasses because of one or two appar- 
ently minor faults. We have seen that blue-grass, in 
spite of its low yield, its failure in midsummer, and 
the difficulty of securing a sod of it, is still the great 
pasture-grass in this country (in the North), because 
of its palatability, its high nutritive quality, its in- 
crease of yield with age, and the pleasing appearance 
of the sward. 
Orchard-grass is the earliest grass to start up in 
spring, remains green during long, hot summers and 
late into the fall; it furnishes abundant feed, and is 
fairly well liked by stock; but it grows in tussocks, 
and therefore does not make an even sod. It must 
also be cut promptly when grown for hay, or its qual- 
ity rapidly deteriorates. The seed is also expensive. 
