152 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



even beyond it. Orchard-grass is popular in this sedlion, 

 and for the same reason. Both of these grasses thrive 

 much farther south than timothy. Redtop is one of 

 the few grasses that remain green the year around in 

 the South; in facft, it will stand greater extremes of 

 climate, as far as temperature is concerned, than any 

 other of our farm grasses, and it is also grown in more 

 States than any other. Florida is the only State in 

 which it has not been mentioned by correspondents. 

 It is of very little value, however, in the central and 

 southern portions of such States as Alabama, Missis- 

 sippi, and IvOuisiana. In the hill country of north 

 I^ouisiana, on moist clay, valley soils, redtop is said to 

 be the best of all the grasses. This grass occurs in a 

 semi- wild state in nearly all parts of the country. 



The map (Fig. 30) shows approximately the dis- 

 tribution of redtop as a farm grass. By comparing 

 this map with that on page 161, showing the distribu- 

 tion of orchard-grass, it will be seen that the distribu- 

 tion of these two grasses is remarkably alike. Of the 

 two, orchard-grass is really much the best, but red- 

 top is more generally grown. It is only outside of 

 the limits of the timothy region that redtop becomes 

 second to orchard-grass in the preference of farmers. 

 Orchard-grass yields a larger amount of, and better, hay 

 (if cut right) and more pasture than redtop, and is con- 

 sidered more palatable, but it is surpassed by timothy 

 in most of these respedls, and becomes prominent only 

 where it does not have to compete with timothy. Red- 

 top is preferred for sowing with timothy, because it is 

 not so early as orchard-grass and makes a more even sod. 



Redtop is the most variable of all the cultivated 



