AGRICULTURAL GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS OF THE UNITED 
STATES. : 
INTRODUCTION. 
Every thoughtful farmer realizes the importance of the production 
on his land of a good supply of grass for pasturage and hay. He who 
can produce the greatest yield on a given number of acres will be the 
most successful man; yet this is a subject which has been, and still is, 
greatly neglected. 
In the United States we have many climates, many kinds of soil, 
many geological formations, many degrees of aridity and moisture. It 
must be apparent that one species of grass can not be equally well 
adapted to growth in all parts of this extensive territory; yet hardly a 
dozen species of grasses have been successfully introduced into our 
agriculture. True it is that this number answers with a tolerable de- 
gree of satisfaction the wants of quite an extensive portion of the 
country, chiefly the northern and cooler regions, But it is well known 
that in other localities the same kinds of grasses do not succeed equally 
well, and one of the most important problems for those regions is to — 
obtain such kinds as shall be thoroughly adapted to their peculiarities 
of climate and soil. This is particularly the case in the Southern and 
Southwestern States, the arid districts of the West, and in California. 
‘The solution of this question is largely a matter of experiment and 
observation. 
Phe grasses which we have in cultivation were once wild grasses, and 
are still such in their native homes. 
The question then arises, can we not select from our wild or native 
Species some kinds which will be adapted to cultivation in those por- 
tions of the country which are not yet provided with suitable kinds ? 
Many observations and some experiments in this direction have already 
been made, and if proper research is continued, and sufficiently thorough 
experiments are followed up, there is no reason to doubt that proper 
kinds will be found for successful cultivation in all parts of the country. 
The plains lying west of the one hundredth meridian, together with 
much broken and mountainous interior country, nearly treeless and 
arid, in New Mexico, western Texas, and Arizona, are unreliable for — 
the purposes of ordinary agriculture, but are becoming more and more 
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