VII 



THE BLUE-GRASSES 



KENTUCKY BLUE-GRASS (Poa pratensis) 



"Ever smelt Kentucky grass, 



Or heard about its blueness ? 

 Seems as if the whole blamed world 

 Was bursting out with newness. 



" Skies and folks alike all smiles — 

 Gracious ! you are lucky 

 If you spend a day in June 

 Down in old Kentucky." 



— Alfred Munson. 



I T> Ilub-grass (June grass, Kentuckj' blue-grass), 

 t ~VI Fig. 1 8, is the standard pasture-grass of the 

 liS^ml country — at least, in those sedlions where 

 tame pastures are mostly found. When the 

 American farmer speaks of grass he usually means 

 blue-grass. It is the one grass celebrated in song and 

 story. In the Blue-Grass Region of northern Kentucky, 

 and in many parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, 

 and Ohio, blue-grass pastures are the pride of the 

 thrifty farmer. Its palatability to all classes of stock, 

 the evenness of the sod it forms, the beautiful color of 

 its verdure, and its increasing produdliveness with 

 age, if properly handled, all conspire to make blue- 

 grass the king of pasture-grasses. 



It is in the Blue- Grass Region that fine horses and 

 90 



