REPORT. 



Every thoughtful farmer realizes the imi^ortance 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 J 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 cannot be equally well adapted to 

 growth in all parts of this extensive territory ; yet hardly a dozen spe- 

 cies of grasses have been successfully introduced into our agriculture. 

 True it is that this number answers with a tolerable degree of satisfac- 

 tion the wants of quite an extensive portion of the country, chiefly the 

 northern and cooler regions. But it is well known that in other local- 

 ities the same kinds of grasses do not succeed equally well, and one of 

 the most important questions for those regions is to obtain such kinds 

 as shall be thoroughly adai)ted to their peculiarities of climate and soil. 

 This is particularly the case in the Southern and Southwestern States, 

 the arid districts of the West, aud in California. 



The solution of this question is largely a matter of experiment and 

 observation. 



The 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 sufSciently 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. 



GRASSES OF THE GREAT PLAINS. 



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 nearly useless for the 

 purposes of ordinary agriculture, but are becoming more and more im- 

 portant as the great feeding ground for the multitudes of cattle which 

 supply the wants of the settled regions of our country, as well as the 

 constantly increasing foreign demand. The pasturage of this re'gion 

 consists essentially of native grasses, some of which have acquired a 



