10 FORAGE CROPS 
character of the climate, it has not been possible 
successfully to grow the grasses which do well in 
the northern and central parts of the country. 
Timothy, orchard-grass, red-top and other-grasses, 
which serve to very good purpose for pasturage and 
hay in the North and West, are not well adapted 
to these regions. Therefore, special crops, which 
may or may not be adapted to rotations, answer 
an excellent purpose in providing grass, where the 
production of live-stock and the maintenance of 
soil fertility are matters of special importance. In 
many of the southern states, varieties of grasses 
have been introduced that possess such peculiari- 
ties of growth as to enable them not only to sur- 
vive but to provide hay and pasture of an excel- 
lent quality, while at the same time protecting 
the soil from losses due to washing from heavy 
rains, so prevalent in the South. Bermuda grass 
is probably one ef the most useful for the South ; 
its characteristics are discussed not so much in 
reference to its place among other forage crops in 
a rotation, as to its special usefulness in providing 
a satisfactory forage that is suitable for the con- 
ditions which exist there. 
In many of the colder regions, also, grasses 
whose value is established do not always survive 
the hard winters. These conditions have been 
met by the introduction of plants that, in a meas- 
ure, will take the place of those which are not to be 
