REDTOP AND ORCHARD-GRASS 



'T* HESE two grasses have nearly the same distri- 



* bution in this countrj-. They are both of 



^^ secondarj- importance, compared, with tim- 



othj'. "^Tiile more widely distributed than 



anj^ other grass, they are really important in only a 



few localities, as will be seen in the following: 



REDTOP (Agrostis alba) 

 {Herd's-gyass of Pennsylvania and the South) 



Of the perennial farm grasses in the northern 

 part of this countrj-, timothy ranks first ; Kentucky 

 blue-grass is a fair second ; while redtop (Fig. 29) is 

 a poor third. In only one or two localities does red- 

 top rise to first rank. These are in southeastern Illi- 

 nois and adjacent parts of Kentucky, and in the Xew 

 England States. In the first-mentioned region the soil 

 is a heavy clay, iaclined to be wet, to which class of 

 soils redtop is particularly adapted. Nearly all the 

 redtop seed of the countrj- is grown in this locality-. It 

 rises to considerable importance in Xew England, and 

 is again more or less prominent in certain sedlions of 

 the arid 'W'est, where irrigation is pradticed, and along 

 the southern edge of the timothj' region. Over the 

 timothy region, except in Xew England and the above- 

 mentioned localities in Illinois and Kentucky, it is gen- 

 erally looked upon with disfavor. The most valuable 



146 



