FARM GRASSES 



OF THE UNITED STATES 



I 



THE GRASS CROP 



HE word 1 ' grass ' ' is used in two senses. Popu- 

 larly it is applied to those plants that furnish 

 hay and pasture. In this sense it includes 

 the clovers, alfalfa, the vetches, spurry, and 

 other plants belonging to various families. Botanic- 

 ally the term is applied only to representatives of a 

 single family, known to botanists as the GraminecB, or 

 true grasses. In this volume, in order to avoid bur- 

 densome phraseology, the word is sometimes used in 

 the one sense and sometimes in the other, but the con- 

 text will always indicate the meaning intended. In 

 the present chapter the term is made to include those 

 plants which are generally grown for hay and pasture 

 purposes. 



According to the Census of 1900, about 18 percent, 

 of the total area of the United States is classed as im- 

 proved land. This does not take into account Alaska 

 or our insular possessions. This 18 per cent, amounts 

 to 414,000,000 acres. Of this, only 289,000,000 is de- 

 voted to harvested crops, including some 15,000,000 

 acres of wild grasses cut for hay. This leaves about 



