6 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



value among the grasses at present cultivated in the 

 United States. They may be considered, therefore, as 

 the major grasses. It is the aim in the discussion to 

 take these in the order of relative importance ; whether 

 they have been so placed, may justly be regarded as open 

 to dispute because of the diiEculties to be encountered 

 in making such a comparison. Though correctly placed 

 at the present time, the order of relative importance may 

 change, as public attention becomes more and more cen- 

 tered upon their relative adaptation and properties in 

 the future. It may be questioned as to whether meadow 

 foxtail is deserving of the attention given to it and yet 

 it has not only been extensively cultivated in north- 

 western Europe but is there highly prized. There 

 would seem to be no good reasons why it should not 

 render similar service in certain areas of this country, 

 when more attention comes to be given to the growth 

 of permanent pastures, for which it is more especially 

 adapted. 



Chapters XII to XIV discuss what may be consid- 

 ered the minor grasses worthy of cultivation. Some of 

 these are of much economic importance, as, for instance, 

 western rye grass {Agvopygrum tenerum), but distri- 

 bution of all, or nearly all, of them is more sectional 

 than is that of the major grasses. Chapter XII dis- 

 ciisses grasses highly useful in producing food for ani- 

 mals but which are so difficult of eradication that it 

 would seem unwise ever to sow them on lands that are 

 again to be cultivated. It was thought best, howeVer, 

 to include them since because of the extreme difficulty 

 in eradicating them, it is all the more important that 



