PREFACE. 



Latterly there has been much discussion and diver- 

 gence of opinion regarding the comparative merits of 

 the different cultivated grasses. Some authorities 

 praising beyond measure certain varieties and de- 

 preciating others ; while other authorities as strenu- 

 ously advocate the opposite. 



Others again advocate the use of forage plants 

 and grasses hitherto unknown to our agriculture, and 

 so far has all this gone that a large section of the 

 agricultural public is puzzled what guide to follow. 

 Again it may be noted — if one may draw inferences 

 from the queries addressed to the agricultural press, 

 and from the results of many conversations held by the 

 writer with farmers, and with people who sell seeds in 

 different parts of the United Kingdom — that there is a 

 surprising lack of information on the subject of the 

 parasites that injure or destroy the forage plants and 

 the weeds that rob or stifle them. 



Under those circumstances it appears to the writer 

 that there is room for a work, the plain and practical 

 object of which is to bring within handy reach the 

 essence of the opinions of the best British, Conti- 

 nental, and American authorities, many of whom are of 



