232 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



has isolated twenty-two varieties of brome-grass 

 {Bromus inermis I,eyss.) as distindl, for instance, in 

 their agricultural characters, as the ordinary varieties 

 of wheat (see Fig. 48). He has also isolated a larger 

 number of varieties of blue-grass (^Poa pratensis) , dif- 

 fering to a remarkable degree in characfter of growth, 

 and, consequently, in agricultural value. 



It is probable that all the standard grasses can like- 

 wise be separated into varieties, some of which would 

 be a marked improvement over these grasses as ordi- 

 narily grown. Much work of this charadler is now in 

 progress, and it will be only a few years till farmers 

 may be supplied with improved varieties of most of 

 the important grass crops. 



GRASS FADS 



A word of caution to farmers concerning much- 

 advertised new grasses may not be out of place, though, 

 unfortunately, those who most need this caution will 

 never see these pages. Every few j-ears some enter- 

 prising seedsman discovers a new forage plant that, to 

 quote from the seedsman's catalogue, "produces 

 eighty tons of green feed per acre, is indestrudlible 

 both by fire and water, and furnishes shade in summer 

 and shelter against the storms of winter. ' ' Unfortu- 

 nately, thousands of farmers have spent their hard- 

 earned dollars for these much-advertised seeds at prices 

 that amaze those who are familiar with their adlual 

 market value, only to learn that they are worthless 

 weeds, or some old and well-known forage plant that 

 is masquerading under a new name. 



The two most prominent fads of this kind in recent 



