GRASSES FOR PASTURES, MEADOWS, LAWNS 227 



First : wild prairie and timber grasses. 



Second : cultivated meadow and pasture grasses. 



Third : lawn grasses. 



164. Wild Grasses. — When the white man first 

 began to settle in the territory now known as the United 

 States, the land was covered either with timber or with 

 wild grasses. Gradually the timber has been cut away 

 and the prairie grasses have been broken up to make 

 way for cultivated fields. There yet remain, and will 

 probably always remain, however, vast stretches of 

 prairie in the western plains and in the extreme western 

 parts of the United States where wild grasses are abundant, 

 supporting millions of head of cattle, sheep and horses, and 

 yielding large quantities of wild hay. 



165. Cultivated Grasses. — The principal grasses which 

 have come to occupy an important place for meadow and 

 pasture purposes are : 



Timothy, the standard meadow grass. 

 Kentucky blue grass, a pasture grass, which is used 

 also for, lawns. 



Redtop, which is used for both pastures and meadows. 

 Brome grass, used for both meadows and pastures. 

 Bermuda grass, likewise used for both purposes. 

 Millets and sorghums, which are annual meadow grasses. 



Timothy 



166. Where and how Timothy is grown. — This plant 

 occupies first place among the cultivated hay, or meadow 

 grasses of the United States. It is grown largely in the 

 states east of the Missouri River and north of the fortieth 

 parallel, in the high parks of the Rocky Mountain region, 

 and far northward even into Alaska. 



