odie oF bit nv? recent Pir. sett iP mpige satay snes nee te A cna Lae , iliac ote teense oer ows rge Btn aaitwhentn rice ry : pescado conn et Otis tye bs ARV (ilar rreervrini aoe st ata Pr alot FSF a ont Uda dade” ie tietnareeonsiaveeretegl ren treet te Manner mre beng te be antes SM atihine ote a hae - Br eemaat tte wena L fo iin ata ah ae nat rat tf maa “ . y ‘ i, oe ion t ¥ 4 P ; . - y F R iy » i a F , | , x * ‘ . ft ‘ - . i . . - ae ’ ‘ - 7 * , ‘ ‘ ' eo ; " ‘ * J * fo = OF , ‘ Y “ ) ‘ay, { ne aah t: 8 a Cy) * 4 . A ’ 4 J ' 4 4 rate | A 1 , 4 tii i 2 i ri , x ‘ - c - . a ‘ Tew he Ae Pyare s! ey 3. Germ. 1. Spikelet, Magnified. FOWL MEADOW. See p. 44. 2. Flower. PRACTICAL TREATISE ON GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS: COMPRISING THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, COMPARATIVE NUTRITIVE VALUE, METHODS OF CULTIVATING, CUTTING AND CURING, AND THE MANAGEMENT OF GRASS LANDS. BY CHARLES L. FLINT, A.M., SECRETARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, MEMBER OF THR BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY, ETC. ETC. NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 321 BROADWAY. LONDON: N. TRUBNER & CO., 12 PATERNOSTER ROW. LSahs po 5% : - : ie * H - ” Se rg : * Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, “* 3 7 ’ Pei ; tee a wa . ' . i “ By Gzoncz P. Purvam & Co., In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of J 7 @ & is wae eh grt a k ABO es aa. Uy yy ch Na ges tl 3 praees i; a "abs ~ Ce UR Faas Aas ; PREFACE. It has been my endeavor, in the following pages, to treat my subject in a plain, simple manner, so as to enable the farmer to distinguish between the different species of grass by means of the descriptions given, and to awaken an interest in the pursuit of the subject, treating cursorily of the natural history of the grasses, and indicating to the reader the vast field of study which lies open to him in this department. The illustrations, which will ‘be found to be very care- fully and accurately drawn, will tend to render the under- standing of the text more easy, and thus make interesting to all much that would be attractive only to the scientific student of botany if they were omitted. In looking at the subject in its economical aspect, I have tried to give all that is known to be of value, and have presented the conclusions of practical men in regard to points about which the opinions of individuals actively engaged in agriculture differ. It has been my object, in a word, to give the work an eminently practical character, and not to make it merely a collection of doubt- ful theories and vague generalities. It must be left to the reader to determine how far I have accomplished this » purpose. 1V PREFACE. The local names of many species of grass are so numerous that I can hardly hope to have given them all, in every case, though what are known to me I have given as synonyms. Should the work meet with such favor as to call for another edition, I shall attempt to make it less imperfect in this respect. It may not be irrelevant to remark here that but little is known of the real economical value of some of the grasses which I have described, and it is by no means impossible that many of our wild grasses which we now look upon as almost worthless, may be found at some future time to possess valuable nutritive qualities, and thus be added to our list of grasses which may be profitably cultivated. It seems to be altogether unnecessary to multiply authorities, either here or in the body of the work, to prove the importance of the subject. Perhaps the most forcible expression of opinion on this point may be found in the French writer who asserts that the term grass is only another name for beef, mutton, bread and clothing ; and in the Belgian proverb— No grass, no cattle; no cattle, no manure; no manure, no crops!” For myself I can only say that if my researches,—imperfect as they doubtless have been,—shall have the effect of creating a - more general interest in the subject, and leading to more careful inquiry and more general and accurate inyestiga- tion, I shall be amply rewarded for any labor I may have undergone in the preparation of these pages. Boston, Feb., 1857. GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. I propose to speak of the grasses, a family of plants the most extensive and the most beautiful, as well as the most important to mankind. It embraces nearly a sixth part of the whole vegetable kingdom; it clothes the globe with perpetual verdure, or adorns it at fixed seasons with a thick matted carpet of green, none the less beautiful for rts simplicity, and it nour- ishes and sustains by far the greater part of the animals that serve us and minister to our wants. When we consider the character of our climate, and the necessity of stall feeding during five or six months of the year, for which we are dependent mainly on the grasses, we shall see that in an economical point of view, this subject is one of the most important that can occupy the farmer’s attention. The annual value of the grass crop to the country, for pasturage and hay together, is not less than $300;000,000. I shall endeavor to give a brief account of the natural history or description of all the useful grasses found in our fields and pastures, partly because it is essential to a complete under- standing of the subject, and partly because there is at present no popular treatise on the subject within the easy reach of our farmers, and something of the kind is needed for reference ; but I.shall confine myself mainly to a plain and practical treat- ment of the subject, making such suggestions as I think may be useful, on the cultivation, cutting and curing of the grasses for hay, the comparative value of the different varieties, and the general management of grass lands. - This subject, familiar to me from my earliest recollection, has occupied my attention almost exclusively, during the past 1 2 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. year. Within this period I have been able to make an exten sive collection, embracing nearly all the varieties of our New England grasses, for preservation in the Agricultural Museum connected with my office. ‘The grasses are variously divided, classified and arranged. They are sometimes designated as natural or artificial; the former comprising all the true grasses,—that is, plants with long, simple, narrow leaves, each leaf having many fine veins or lines running parallel with a central prominent vein or mid- rib, and a long sheath (Hig. 1.) divided to the base, which seems to clasp the stem, or through which the stem seems to pass, the stem being hollow, with very few exeeptions, and closed at the nodes or joints; and the latter—the artificial— comprising those plants, mostly leguminous, which have been cultivated and used like the grasses, though they do not properly belong to that family, such as the clovers, sainfoin and medic. In common language the term is often used ina sense not strictly proper, being not unfrequently applied to any herbage which affords nourishment to herbaceous animals, including, of course, not only many leguminous plants like clovers, but some others which would more properly be- called forage plants. But in botanical language, and speaking more precisely, the grasses, Graminee@, embrace most of the grains cultivated and used by man, as wheat, rye, Indian corn, barley and rice, all of which will be at once recognized as having leaves and stems very similar in shape and structure to most of the plants al larly called grasses. As the general appearance of plants is often greatly modified by climate, soil and modes of cultivation, it is important to fix upon certain characteristics which are permanent and unaltered by circumstances, by means of which the particular genus and species may be identified with ease and certainty. It is evident that these characteristics could not be simply in the leaves, or the stems, or the size of the plant, because there will be a great difference between plants growing in a poor, thin, sandy soil, and others of the same species on a deep, rich loam. Bota- nists have, therefore, been compelled to resort to other peculiari- ties to distinguish between different species; and the terms used > ? ( NATURAL HISTORY. 5 i eo . Blorets NY i} PS CEB Sg ikelets Y) i es » WY MA / my WY ] Q) N Vy, “ f oven Ciclyan . ( 4 ; Sh AN Sottiesetereeee Lateral Branches =< ~ on | cule a. Lo . 7 cs Spied magnilicd a i Y NATURAL HISTORY. . 5 to express these, like the terms used in other departments of natural history, are technical; and hence, in detailing the natural history of the grasses, the use of technical language to a greater or less extent, cannot be avoided. I shall endeavor, however, by the use. of plates and synonyms to bring the de- scription of species within the easy comprehension of every one who will carefully éxamine the subject. The flowers of the grasses are arranged on the stem in spikes, as where they are set on a common stalk without small stalks or branches for each separate flower, as in Herds-grass, ( phlewm pratense,) or in panicles, or loose subdivided clusters, as in orchaud grass, (dactylis glomerata.) A panicle is said to be loose or spreading, as in redtop, (agrostis vulgaris,) when the small branches on which the flowers are set, are open, or ex- tended out freely in different directions; it is said to be dense, or crowded or compressed, when the branches are so short as to give it more or less of the spike form. The spikelets (Fig. 2) have.a calyx, (Fig. 4) containing one, two or more florets, (Fig. 8.) This whole arrangement will be seen in Fig. 1, which represents a stalk of the common annual spear grass, (poa annua,) a plant familiar to every one as often troublesome in gravel walks and on hard, dry soils. Here the joint, the stem or culm, clasped.by the sheath of the leaf, the leaf itself, the ligule and the spikelets, all distinctly appear, and the reader will do well to make-himself familiar with the few technical terms used by a study of this figure, in con- nection with Fig. 2, where the spikelet is so magnified as to show the florets ahd the calyx very distinctly, all of which are generally very easily seen with the naked eye, and Fig. 8, showing a floret still more magnified, with its two palez, the outer palea being the longer and generally keeled,—that is, having one, three or more longitudinal ribs, often having on the back, base or sum- mit, an awn or beard of different lengths, as in the oat and brome grasses, the inner palea with two separate fringed ribs, each on a fold at the side. The calyx, bract or outer scale of the spikelet, is shown very much magnified in Fig. 4, composed of two glumes, the upper and lower, the upper glume being the larger. One or both of the glumes are sometimes wanting. In Fig. 5, is shown the pistil magnified, consisting of the nectary, composed of one or two fleshy scales, (in some plants 6 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. of this family both on one side, in some, entirely wanting,) and the germ, ovary, or seed bearing portion of the pistil. The stamens are also seen in the same figure, consisting each of a bag filled with a fine powder or pollen, supported upon a stalk or filament which is analagous to the stalk or stem of a leaf, while the bag which holds the pollen, called, the anther, corres- ponds to the blade or body -of the leaf. These are essential parts of the flower. Ata particular stage of its growth, the anther, bursting, scatters its pollen, some of which, lighting upon the summit of the stigma, is said to fertilize it, when the new seed begins to enlarge, and a germ is formed capable of producing other plants.* This process is very apparent.to the observation of the farmer in the case of Indian corn, on which the pollen is so abundant that it may be shaken off in clouds. It falls upon the stigmas or “ silks,” one of which is attached to each embryo seed or germ; and without this particle of pol- len, the seed would not be capable of attaining maturity. The same is seen less palpably in the other grasses, as, for instance, in Herds-grass. The same arrangement occurs in this whole family of plants, though it is more evident in Indian corn, on account of its size, than in the smaller grasses. The anther, as will be seen, consists of two cells—very prominent and hanging, supported on the long, slender filaments, and forked or divided at the end. The two short and smooth styles rise from the summit of the ovary, and the stigmas are feathery or rough, sometimes branched or compound. Only one seed is contained in each ovary, and each seed is covered, when mature, with a thin husk or hull called the pericarp, which originally formed the germ or ovary ; and the ripe seed or fruit is only the ovary arrived at maturity. The substance or albumen of the seed of all the grasses is mealy or farinaceous, as wheat, for instance, or rye, or Indian corn, which are most used as seeds, on account of their size and productiveness. These are the prominent characteristics of this great and universally diffused order of plants, constituting, as it does, the chief support of animals as well as men. They belong, as has * The germ is the first part of the seed that is distinctly formed, and hence, if Indian corn is plucked while “in the milk,” or in a green state, fit for boiling, it will germinate the next year as well asif it were allowed to ripen. NATURAL HISTORY. I been seen, to other plants than those commonly called grasses, the order graminex, as I have already stated, embracing the grains, as wheat, barley, rye, and many others, while it does not include the clovers, which properly belong to the order of leguminous plants. r These characteristics, or at least the most important of them, will be very easily kept in mind, as the long, narrow and lance shaped leaves, and the mealy nature of the seeds which makes nearly the whole family valuable and nutritious; but in study- ing the distinctive characteristics of the different species and varieties particularly valuable or interesting to an agriculturist as forage plants, it will be necessary to depend more upon the technical terms already referred to, though these will be avoided, or explained in the context as far as possible. It will have been observed that considerable importance is given to the flowers and seeds as distinguishing characters of the grasses. It will often be found difficult from the mere external appearance of a variety of grass to determine to what species, or even to what genus it belongs, so great is the resem- blance between the different species of this class of plants ; but , with the aid of a small magnifying glass there will very seldom be much difficulty in determining the species, especially if the plant is taken while in blossom. Indeed, it will often be pos- sible, to arrive at a conclusion from an inspection of a few of the more evident characters. I shall limit myself mainly to a description of those species which it may be for the intérest of the farmer to cultivate, or at least to encourage in his pastures, with such others as should be known to be avoided. In the arrangement of species I shall follow mainly the natu- ral order adopted by Professor Gray, to whom, as well as to many others, | am indebted for no small assistance, in studying the specific characteristics of many of the specimens collected and presented in the following pages. The reader will find that a frequent reference to figures 1, 2, 8, 4 and 5 will greatly aid him in becoming familiar with the technical terms applied to the organs or parts of the flower which it is desirable to understand, and by means of which he will soon learn to distinguish the different species more readily. In giving the scientific names, the first word that occurs in 8 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. parenthesis is the name of the genus; the second, that of the species; as for instance, in Herds-grass, (phlewm pratense,) phleum is the generic name, pratense the specific. often contains many species. The grasses which are described more or less minutely in the following pages, are named in A genus TaBLE I. List of Grasses and Forage Plants. Wild or Common Name. Botanical Name. Blgasdslak: Culty’d. Place of growth. Rice Grass, Leersia oryzoides, . August, wild, Low wet places. White Grass, . Leersia Virginica, . August, Be Damp woods. Indian Rice, Zizania aquatica, August, ck Borders of streams. Meadow Foxtail, Alopecurus pratensis, May, cultiv’d, | Fields and pastures. Floating Foxtail, Alopecurus geniculatus, | July, Aug. wild, Wet meadows, ditches Slender Foxtail, Alopecurus agrestis, July, ae Fields and pastures. Wild Water Foxtail, Alopecurus aristulatus, | June to Aug.| ‘ In wet meadows. Timothy, or Herds-grass, | Phleum pratense, June, July, . | cultiv’d, | Fields and pastures. Rush Grass, Vilfa aspera, . September, wild, Dry sandy soils. Late Drop-seed, Sporobolus serotinus, September, Us . Wet sands. p Redtop, . Agrostis vulgaris, . July, cultiv’d, | Fields and pastures. English Bent, Agrostis alba, July, ce Fields and pastures. Fiorin, Agrostis stolonifera, July, ce Moist meadows. Brown Bent, . Agrostis canina, June, July,.| - —- | Fields and pastures. Tickle Grass, . Agrostis scabra, June, July, . | wild, Old fields. Southern Bent, Agrostis dispar, July, cultiy’d, | Fields, pastures. Annual Beard Grass, Polypogon monspeliensis| June, July, . | wild, Near the coast. Wood-reed Grass, Cinna arundinacea, July, August,| ‘ Shady swamps. Nimble Will, . Muhlenbergia diffusa, August, Sept.| ‘ Dry hills, woods. Mexican Muhlenbergia, . Muhlenbergia Mexicana, | August, as Low grounds. Sylvan Muhlenbergia, '. | Mublenbergia sylvatica, | August, Sept.| ‘ Rocky woods. Awnless Muhlenbergia, . | Muhlenbergia sobolifera, | August, Sept. | Open rocky woods. Willdenow’s Muhlenber- ae a é 5 . |Muhlenbergia Willdenoyii] August, Sept. | ‘‘ Open rocky woods. Awned Brachyelytrum, . | Brachyelytrumaristatum) June, M3 Rocky woods. Blue Joint Grass, Calamagrostis Canadensis} July, us Wet grounds. Glaucous Small Reed, Calamagrostis coarctata, | August, ah Wet grounds. Beach Grass, Sea Reed, . | Ammophila arundinacea,} August, acre Drifting sands. Upright Sea Lyme Grass, | Elymus arenarius, . -| July, cultiv’d, | Drifting sands. Mountain Rice, Oryzopsis melanocarpa, | August, wild, Rocky woods. —— a me aT NATURAL HISTORY. TABLE I.— Continued. Common Name. Botanical Name. Time of Wild or Blossoming. | culty’d. Place of growth. Feather Grass, Poyerty Grass, Fresh Water Cord Grass, Salt Reed Grass, Rush Salt Grass, Salt Marsh Grass, . Sand Grass, Orchard Grass, Pennsylvanian Eatonia, . Rattlesnake Grass, . Obtuse Spear Grass, Long Panicled Manna Grass, . ° - Meadow Spear Grass, Pale Manna Grass, . Spike Grass, June Grass, Blue Grass, Annual Spear Grass, Rough Stalked Meadow, Wood Meadow Grass, Sea Spear Grass, Common Manna Grass, . Wavy Meadow Grass, Water Spear Grass, Fowl Meadow, Creeping Meadow, . Strong-scented Meadow, Slender Meadow, Quaking Grass, Small Fescue Grass, Sheep’s Fescue, Meadow Fescue, Tall Fescue Grass, . Hard Fescue Grass, Red Fescue Grass, . Slender Fescue, Stipa ayenacea, Aristida dichotoma, Spartina cynosuroides, . Spartina polystachya, Spartina juncea, Spartina stricta, Tricuspis purpurea, Dactylis glomerata, Eatonia Pennsylvanica, Glyceria Canadensis, Glyceria obtusa, Glyceria elongata, . Glyceria nervata, . Glyceria pallida, . . Brizopyrum spicatum, . Poa pratensis, Poa compressa, Poa annua, Poa trivialis, . Poa nemoralis, Poa maritima, Poa fluitans, . Poa laxa, Poa aquatica, Poa serotina . Eragrostis reptans, Eragrostis pozeoides, Eragrostis pilosa, . Briza media, . Festuca tenella, Festuca ovina, Festuca pratensis, . Festuca elatior, Festuca duriuscula, Festuca rubra, Festuca loliacea, July, wild, September, .| ‘ August, av) gene Auguet, Aliant’: August, sain es August, rol) Be August, Sept. | ‘ June, cultiy’d, June, wild, July, . By aide August, aalieies June, July, .| ‘ June, July, . | wildand cultiv’d, July, wild, August, Bil June, July, . | cultiv’d, . |July, August, Ys April to Oct. | wild, July, cultiv’d, June, wild, July, . Bl ped June, . Bil te July, . |e August, mallets July & Aug. | cultiv’d, July & Aug. | wild, Aug. & Sept. | ‘ August, Bilis he; June, . Bil ase July, . i elk June, cultiy’d, June, . c & June, July, . Ls June, . . ae - - wild, - - cultiv’d, Dry sandy woods. Sandy fields, pine barrens. Banks of streams. Brackish marshes. Salt marches, beaches Sea coast. Dry sands on the coast. Fields and pastures. Moist woods. Wet bogs. Borders of ponds. Woods and swamps. Moist and wet mea- dows. Shallow water. Salt marshes. Fields and pastures. Dry road sides and pastures. Fields and pastures. Fields and pastures. Fields and pastures. By the sea side. Moist and muddy ditches. High rocky hills. In wet soils. In wet soils. Sandy river banks. Sandy fields, road sides. Sandy and gravelly places. Pastures. Dry sterile soils. High pastures and hills. Fields and pastures. Fields and pastures. Fields and pastures. Sandy places by the sea. Moist meadows, pas- tures. 10 TABLE I1.— Continued. GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Common Name. Botanical Name. Bio e ssn Md. Place of growth. Nodding Fescue, Festuca nutans, July, wild, Rocky woods. Crested Dog’s Tail, . Cynosurus cristatus, July, cultiv’d, | Fields and pastures. Willard’s Bromus, . Bromus secalinus, June, July, . f° Fields, and in grain Smooth Brome Grass, Bromus racemosus, June, | wild, Grain fields. Soft Chess, Bromus mollis, June, ee Fields and pastures. Wild Chess, Bromus Kalmii, June, July, .| “ Dry open woods. Fringed Brome Grass, Bromus ciliatus, July, Aug. ub Rocky hills, woods. Meadow Brome, Bromus pratensis, . July, = Dry arid pastures. Common Reed Grass, Phragmites communis, . | September, ee Swamps and edges of Perennial Rye Grass, Lolium perenne, June, cultiv’d, Fiells ond pastures. Italian Rye Grass, . Lolium Italicum, . June, se Fields and pastures. Bearded Darnel, Lolium temulentum, July, = - | Grain fields. Many-flowered Darnel, Lolium multiflorum, June, July, . | cultiv’d, | Fields and pastures. Couch, or Twitch Grass, | Triticum repens, June, July, . | wild, Fields and pastures. Squirrel-tail Grass, Hordeum jubatum, June, ue Salt marshes. Lyme Grass, Elymus Virginicus, July & Aug. e Banks of rivers. Canadian Lyme Grass, Elymus Canadensis, August, ef River banks. Slender Hairy Lyme, Elymus striatus, July, oe River banks. Bottle-brush Grass, Gymnostichum Hystrix, | July, ed Moist rocky woods. Wood Hair Grass, . Aira flexuosa, June, e Dry rocky hills. Hassock Grass, Aira czespitosa, June, July, .| “ Marshy wet bottoms. Wild Oat Grass, Danthonia spicata. June, * Dry pastures. Downy Persoon, Trisetum mollis, July, we Rocky river banks. Downy Oat Grass, . Trisetum pubescens, July, oe Poor dry pastures. Meadow Oat Grass, Avena pratensis, July, ty Pastures. Yellow Oat Grass, . Avena flayescens, . July, cultiv’d, | Fields and pastures. Tail Meadow Oat Grass, . | Arrhenatherum avyena- ceum, 5 : . | May, June, . be Fields and pastures. Meadow Soft Grass, Holeus lanatus, June, ee Fields and pastures. Creeping Soft Grass, Tfoleus mollis, July, Aug. wild, Fields and pastures. Seneca Grass, . Hierochloa borealis, May, ef Wet meadows. Sweet-scented Vernal, .|Anthoxanthumodoratum) May, June, .| *‘ Fields and pastures. Reed Canary Grass, Phalaris arundinacea, July, as By running streams. Common Canary Grass, . | Phalaris Canariensis, July, August,| cultiv’d, | Gardens. Millet Grass, . Millium effusum, . June, wild, Damp cold woods. Hairy Slender Paspalum, | Paspalum setaceum, August, ee Sandy fields by the - Slender Crab Grass, Panicum filiforme, August, 6 Dry san on the coast. NATURAL HISTORY. TABLE I.— Continued. 11 Common Name. Botanical Name. Wild or eulty’d. Time of Blossoming. Place of growth. Smooth Crab Grass, Finger Grass, . Agrostis-like Panic, Prolific Panic Grass, Hair Stalked Panic, Panicum glabrum, Panicum sanguinale, Panicum agrostoides, Panicum proliferum, Panicum capillare, August, Sept. | wild, Aug. to Oct. te . | July, August,} ‘* July, August, | ‘ August, Sept. | Fields and waste places. Neglected fields and gardens. Wet meadows and river banks. Brackish marshes. Dry sandy fields. Tall Smooth Panic, Panicum virgatum, August, All Moist sandy soils. Broad-leayed Panic, Panicum latifolium, June, July, .| ‘ Damp thickets. Barn Grass, Panicum crus-galli, August, Sept.| ‘ | Rich cultivated e grounds. Bristly Foxtail, Setaria verticillata, July, Aug. .{| ‘ | About farm-houses. Bottle Grass, . Setaria glauca, July, . ||P ey Fields & barn-yards. Green Foxtail, Setaria viridis, July, Aug. .| “* Cultivated fields. Bengal Grass, . Setaria Italica, duly, Aug. cultiv’d, | Fields and ditches. Bur Grass, Cenchrus tribuloides, August, wild, Sands near the coast. Gama Grass, . Tripsacum dactyloides, | August, Bl ass Moist places on the Finger-spiked Wood, Andropogon furecatus, .| September, .| ‘ Sterile, cooky hills. Purple-wood Grass, Andropogon scoparius, . July to Sept. U Sterile, sandy plains. Indian Grass, . Sorghum nutans, . August, sales Dry soils. Indian Millet, Sorghum yulgare, . July, cultiy’d, | Cultivated fields. Hungarian Millet, . Panicum germanicum, . - - cS Cultivated grounds. Chinese Sugar Cane, | Sorghum saccharatum,.| July, . ; ce Fields and gardens. Red Clover, Trifolium pratense, June, July, . ec Fields and pastures. White Clover, | Trifolium repens, . May to Sept. . Le Fields and pastures. Lucern, . Medicago sativa, June, July, . ge Fields and pastures. Sainfoin, . Hedysarum onobrychis, | June, July, . ue Cultivated fields. Rice Grass, Cur Grass, Fatse Rice, (Leersia oryzoides,) grows very common in wet swampy places. Stems from two to three feet high, panicle erect, spreading with rough, slender branches, leaves narrow or long, sheaths exceedingly rough and sharp to the hand, drawn from the end backward. Florets oval and white, spikelets flat. Flowers in August. Native of the Levant. Name from Leers, a German botanist. It is a beautiful grass, said to be useful at the South, where it is cultivated to some extent, and may be cut several times in a season. Itis said there to make a valuable hay. Here it is regarded as a weed, and thorough draining will destroy it. The 12 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. fine specimens of this grass in the State cabinet, were obtained at Westborough. Wuite Grass, Vircintan Cur Grass, (Leersia virginica,) is rather smoother than the preceding ; panicle oblong, spiked, flowers considerably smaller—white ; found in damp woods. Flowers in August. Native of North America. Inpran Rice, or Water Oats, (zizania aquatica,) is also found in swampy borders of streams, in shallow water, and on the borders of ponds, and is common. It grows from three to nine feet in height, with flat, long, lanceolate leaves. Flowers in August, and drops its seed, when ripe, at the slightest touch. This furnishes food for water fowls, and was also used by the aborigines for food. Native of North America. MeEApow FoxraiL, (alopecurus pratensis.) Generic char- acteristics: Spikelets, one flowered, glumes compressed and keeled, united at the base, lower palea awned on the back, upper palea wanting, stamens three, styles generally united, stigmas long, panicle compressed into a cylindrical spike like the tail of a fox, from which it derives its name. Native of Great Britain. The specific characters are, an erect, smooth stem, two or three feet high, with swelling sheaths, spikes cylindrical, obtuse, equalling the sharp cone-like glumes, awn twisted and twice the length of the blossom. The spike not so long as that of Timo- thy. Flowersin May, in fields and pastures. Perennial—intro- duced. Fig. 6 shows the root, stem or culm, and spike of this grass, and Fig. 7 the blossom somewhat magnified. The meadow foxtail closely resembles Herds-grass, but may be distinguished from it as having one palea only. The spike or head of meadow foxtail is soft, while that of Timothy or Herds-grass is rough. It flowers earlier than Timothy, and thrives on all soils except the dryest sands and gravels. It is ? common in some sections of this State, as the western part of Worcester County, where it is disliked by many farmers as a field grass, being very light in proportion to its bulk. It is a valuable grass for pastures, on account of its early and rapid growth, and of its being greatly relished by stock of all kinds. The stems and leaves are too few and light to make it so desirable as a field crop. It thrives best on a rich, moist, strong soil, and the quantity of its nutritive matter when NATURAL HISTORY. 15 raised on such soils is consider- ably greater than on sandy soils. As a pasture grass, its luxuriant aftermath, being in value nearly one-fourth greater than its first spring growth, recommends it still more highly. In this respect it is superior to Timothy, the aftermath of which is generally but slight. For lands designed to be laid down to permanent pasture it will make a prominent part of the seed. Where it occurs in fields, it loses largely its nutritive value if cut in the blossom. It is regarded in Eng- land as one of the most valu- able of the native pasture grasses, forming there a very considerable portion of the sward, vegetating with great luxuriance, and start- ing up vigorously when eaten off by stock, producing seed in abun- dance, and enduring any amount of forcing and irrigation. It does not acquire its full perfection and hold of the soil until three or four years after being sown. The aftermath exceeds the flowering crop in quantity as well as in eee ee oY oxtail. nutritive matter. The grass loses seventy per cent. of its weight in drying, and the hay contains about sixty-seven hundredths per cent. of nitrogen. The seed of meadow foxtail is covered with the husks of the flower, soft and woolly, while the larger valve is furnished with an awn. There are five pounds of seed in a bushel, and 76,000 seeds in anounce. An insect attacks the seed while it is forming, and it is also subject to blight, and hence the seed is some- what difficult to procure and is held at ahigh price. We have many grasses superior to it for cultivation, but for permanent 14 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. pastures it is superior to Timothy, which is not a suitable pasture grass. StenpeR Foxtain, (alopecurus agrestis.) (Fig. 8.) This grass is rarely found here, never, indeed, except when intro- Fig. 8. Slender Foxtail. Fig. 11. Floating Foxtail. duced in foreign seed, and therefore, scarcely deserves a detailed description. It is recognized by its long, slender panicle, taper- ing at each end, and the long awn which projects far beyond NATURAL HISTORY. 15 the palea, (Figs. 9 and 10.) It is distinguished from the common meadow foxtail by its slender panicle, its larger spike- lets, its larger ligule and the roughness of the stem and leaves. It possesses no particular agricultural value. Flowers in July. Annual. Native of Great Britain. Fioatine Foxrain, (alopecurus geniculatus.) Stem ascend- ing, bent and forming knees at the lower joints, as shown in Fig. 11; awn projecting beyond the palea, (Fig. 12,) which is rather shorter than the obtuse glumes ; anthers linear, upper leaf as long as its sheath ; root perennial, fibrous, joints smooth, long and narrow, of a purple tinge ; leaves flat, sharp, roughish on both sides, serrated on the edge. Inflorescence simple panicled ; spikelets numerous, compressed, erect, with a one awned floret as large as the calyx. Floret of one palea, awn slender. Found in moist meadows, ditches, ponds and slow streams, floating on the water. It is distinguished from meadow foxtail in having the upper sheath about the length of its leaf, and by the projecting awn, while in the meadow foxtail the upper sheath is more than twice the length of its leaf. Flowers in July and August. It is a grass not much relished by stock of any kind, while it yields. but a small amount of herbage. The Witp Water FoxtalL, (alopocurus aristulatus,) also grows in wet meadows, but is of no special agricultural value. Native of Great Britain. Timoruy, or Herps-crass, (phlewn pratense.) Generic char- acters: Panicle spiked, spikelets compressed, palea shorter than the awned glumes, the lower one truncate, usually awnless ; styles distinct, filaments hairy, spike dense, rough, or harsh. So called from an ancient Greek term signifying cat’s tail, the name by which it is still most frequently known in Great Britain. Specific characteristics: Spikes cylindrical or elongated ; glumes hairy on the back, tipped with a bristle less than half their length leaves long, flat, rough, with long sheaths ; root fibrous, often bulbous—perennial. Grows best on moist, peaty soils. (Fig. 13.) In Fig. 14 is seen a flower somewhat magni- fied. This grass—universally known and highly valued among the farmers of New England—is said to have received its name more than a century and a half ago from one Herd, of Piscata- qua, who is. said to have found it growing in a swamp there. 16 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. The name of Timothy, by which it is more generally known over / wet the country and abroad, was i : obtained from Timothy Han- son, who cultivated it exten- sively, and according to some accounts, introduced it into England, from whence it is supposed to have been origi- nally brought to this country. It forms a large proportion of what is called English hay. In point of nutritive matter, Sin- clair says, the ripe crop greatly exceeds the crop at the time of flowéring. If this is so, it is owing in part to the size and quantity of its mealy seeds. As many as thirty bushels, of forty- six pounds to the bushel, have been obtained to the acre. The results obtained by Prof. Way will be found on a subse- quent page in the discussion upon the nutritive values of the various grasses. It may be re- marked, in passing, that there are many considerations to de- termine the time of cutting and curing grass, besides its nutri- tive value at different stages of its growth, as its palatability at the time of blossoming, and the greater growth of aftermath which is lost by allowing the grass to ripen. This subject will form the topic of a subsequent section. As a crop to cut for hay it is probably unsurpassed by any other grass now cultivated. Though somewhat coarse and hard,—especially if allowed to ripen its seed, yet if cut in the blossom, or directly after, it is greatly relished by all kinds of stock, and especially so by horses, while it possesses a large per- ——s Seay om panene a FS a Sr: =< aC ss: = ae : t > Fig. 13. Timothy, or Herds-grass. —— NATURAL HISTORY. ar centage of nutritive matter in comparison with other agricultural grasses. It is often sown with clover, but the best practical farmers are beginning to discontinue this practice, on account of the different times of blossoming of the two crops. Timothy being invaribly later than clover, the former must be cut too green, before blossoming, when the loss is great by shrinkage, and when the nutritive matter is considerably less than at a little later period, or the clover must stand too long, when there is an equally serious loss of nutritious matter in that. It thrives best on moist, peaty or loamy soils of medium tenacity, and is not suited to sandy or light gravelly lands; for though on such soils, by great care it can be made to grow and produce fair crops, some other grasses are better suited to them and more profitable. It grows very readily and yields very large crops on favorable soils. I have known instances where its yield was four tons to the acre of the best quality of hay, the Timothy constituting the bulk of the grass. It is cultivated with ease, and yields a large quantity of seed to the acre, vary- ing from ten to thirty bushels on rich soils. In one respect, perhaps, it must be admitted that this grass is inferior to meadow foxtail, and that is in the quantity of its aftermath ; for while that of the latter is very great, the after- growth of Timothy is but slight, and if allowed to stand too long and then mown in a dry time, it starts so slowly as to leave the ground exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, unless indeed there happens to be a rapid growth of clover to protect it. The comparative value of this grass will be referred to hereafter. It is proper to say in this connection that it is fre- quently attacked by an insect apparently just before the time of blossoming, which causes the stalk to die. The ravages of this insect seem to have increased within the last few years. My attention has been repeatedly called, by observing and practical farmers, during the last few months, to the very large number of dead Herds-grass stalks. Rusu Grass, or Roucu LeEAvep VILFA, (vilfa aspera,) and Hippen Firowerep Vitra, (vilfa vagineflora,) are sometimes found here; the former, rarely on dry hills and sandy fields, or pine plains; the latter, somewhat more frequently on similar soils and situations, both flowering in September, and neither considered of any value for cultivation. The Lats 3 18 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. FLOWERING VILFA, (vilfa serotina,) is somewhat common in sandy swamps. It is a very delicate grass, flowering at the same time with the preceding. Late Drop SEED, (sporobolus serotinus,) is sometimes found in low, swampy places, with smooth, slender, flatish stems, leaves few and slender, panicle spreading, with hairy branches, clumes ovate, obtuse and half the length of the palea. Flowers in September. It is a delicate grass of no special agricultural value. Reptop, Frvetop, BurDEN’s Grass, DEw Grass, Herps-Grass of Pennsylvania and Southern States, (agrostis vulgaris,) Fig. 15. Plants of this genus have one flowered spikelets in a loose open panicle; glumes nearly equal, the lower longer than the palez, which are thin and naked; stamens three—perennial. The specific characters are, stems erect, slender, round, smooth and polished ; roots creeping, panicle oblong, leaves linear, ligule very short, lower palea mostly awnless and three nerved. Flowers in July. Pastures and moist meadows very common—introduced. The term agrostis was the ancient Greek word for field, and was applied to all varieties of grass that grew there. This valuable grass, so common in all cur cultivated fields, has been an inhabitant of our soils for more than a century. It was called simply English grass by Eliot, Deane and other early writers, and by the English, Fine Bent. Indeed, the whole genus agrostis is commonly known in England as ** Bent Grass.” This grass is often sown with Timothy and clover, in which case, the clover, of course, soon disappears, being biennial, when Timothy follows, after which redtop usually takes its place, and with some wild grasses forms a close sward. In Pennsylvania and States further south, it is universally known as Herds-grass—a name applied in New England and New York to phleum pratense alone. Itis of somewhat slow growth, but of good or medium quality. It is suited to moist soils, though common to all. This grass is probably rather over- rated by us. It makes a profitable crop for spending, though not so large acrop is obtained as from.Herds-grass. It is a good permanent grass, and consequently well suited to our pas- tures, standing our climate as well as any other grass. It should be fed close in pastures, for if allowed to grow up to NATURAL HISTORY. 19 seed the cattle refuse it; and this Y J fact seems to show that it is not so much relished by stock as some of the other pasture grasses. The fact that cattle eat any grass greedily in the spring, is no proof of its excel- lence or nutritious qualities ; since, then, all grasses are tender and full of juice, and many varieties of both grasses and shrubs are readily eaten, which at a more advanced stage of growth are refused. It is to be re- ek gretted that Prof. Way, in his val- uable investigations into the nutri- tive value of the grasses, did not =_ include this in the list analyzed by him. At present we have no accu- rate and reliable means of compari- son of this with other species of grass. The flower of the true redtop is seen magnified in Fig. 16. This grass goes by various names, and is greatly modified by soil and \ | cultivation. On a moist, rich soil f it grows larger than on a poor, thin W soil, and not only larger Y | ‘ but has a darker, purplish 7 color, with a stem varying from eighteen inches to two feet or two and a half feet high; while on thin, Fig. 15. Redtop. Fig- 16. poor, gravelly soils, it sel- dom grows over twelve inches, and often not over five or six inches high, while it has a lighter color. In the latter situations it goes by the name of Finetop, and is universally seen in old, dry pastures. In some sections of the State, as in Bristol County, it goes by the name of Burden’s or Borden’s grass, or Rhode Island Bent, and is highly esteemed. Finetop may be regarded as a variety of redtop, produced by the character of the soil. 20 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Dew Grass, Waite Top, Wuitt Bent, EneuisH Bent, Bonnet Grass, (agrostis alba.) Generic characters same as those of redtop. Specific characters: Stem erect, round, smooth, polished, having four or five leaves with roughish sheaths, striated, upper sheath longer than its leaf, crowned with a long, acute, ragged ligule ; joints smooth, branches numerous, recumbent, rooting at the lower joints where they come in contact with the ground, as in Fig. 17; panicle somewhat narrower than in redtop, light- ish green, or with a slight tinge of purple; lower or inner palea one-half the length of the upper, and shorter than the glumes ; five nerved, awnless—perennial. Native of Europe. White top may be known from redtop by the sheaths being rough to the touch from above downwards, and the ligule being long and acute, and the keel of the large glume of the calyx toothed nearly to the base. In agrostis vulgaris the sheaths are smooth, ligule short and obtuse, and the keel of the large glume toothed only on the upper part. It may be known from Brown Bent, (agrostis canina,) by having an inner palea in its floret, while in brown bent the inner palea is wanting. This grass is very common on the Connecticut River meadows where it appears to be indigenous, and is there called the English bent. Fiori, (agrostis sto- lonifera,) is only a variety of the white top, or agrostis alba, which gained great notoriety some years ago in Ireland and England, volumes having been written in its praise, while it received the execrations of those who found it. troublesome to eradicate on account of its creeping and stoloniferous roots. This grass belongs peculiarly to moist places which are occa- sionally overflowed. Fig. 17 represents it, and Fig. 18, a mag- nified flower. This grass is often used in the manufacture of bonnets. It is called Dew grass in some sections. Brown Bent, or Doce’s Bent Grass, (agrostis canina,) another variety of agrostis, has for its specific characters, a floret of one palea, sheaths smooth, ligule long, and grows from one to two feet high, awnless. The root is perennial and creep- ing. The stem is erect, slender, leaves flat and linear. The palea shorter than the glume and furnished with a long awn on the back, bent; spikelets at first greenish, afterwards brown or slightly purple. Meadows and pastures, and wet, peaty eee NATURAL HISTORY. 21 places—introduced. Flowers in June and July. Itis of no special agricultural value. Harr Grass, or Fry Away Grass, TICKLE Grass, (agros- tis scabra,) is another species belonging to this genus, with a panicle very loose and spread- ing, purplish. Flowers in June and July. Mainly remarkable for the long hairy branches of its extremely loose panicle. Com- mon in old fields and drained swamps. It is of no particular agricultural value. Very com- mon at the West, in Ohio, Illi- nois, Michigan, and about Lake Superior. The large, loose pan- icles are exceedingly delicate‘and brittle when the plant is ripe and dry, and easily break away from the stalk when they are blown about by the wind, scattering their seeds far and wide; and hence it is frequently called “Fly Away Grass.” This illustrates one of | the admirable contriy- / ances of nature for the distribution of the Fig. 17. English Bent. Fig. 18. seeds of grasses and other plants; sometimes by means of birds, sometimes by a sort of wing attached to the light seed, and sometimes by the force of the wind alone, as in this case, when plants start up where no seed had been sown by the hand of man, and often to our astonishment. THIN Grass, (agrostis perennans,) is still another varicty of agrostis, with a panicle diffusely spreading, pale green ; branches short, divided and flower-bearing from or below the middle; found in damp, shaded places. Flowers in June and July. 22 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. The ALPINE Brown Bent, the Upricut FLowrrep Bent, and many other species of agrostis might be mentioned. Of all the species of this genus, the redtop and white top are the most common as agricultural grasses among us. The Fiorry, (agrostis alba, var. stolonifera latifolia,) Vy or Broap LEAVED CREEPING = | Bent, has been more highly aN commended in Europe than ZZ either of these. In the Wo- > ; burn experiments which will NS, be alluded to, this last was "2 found to be inferior in nutri- — tive value to orchard grass and meadow fescue, (fes- tuca pratensis,) and superior to meadow foxtail (alopecu- yus pratensis.) The SouTHERN BENT, (ag'ros- tis dispar,) (Fig. 19,) has been highly extolledin France. It is a native of the United States ; was at one time highly é commended in England, but was very soon discarded. It furnishes a hay of rather coarse quality, yields a large produce on good, deep sands and calcareous soils. It tillers very much, and when once rooted is very vigor- ous and lasting, and Se Sc 4 Se a 62 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. variety of names, as Quake grass, Quack grass, Squitch grass. It is important to destroy it if possible, and the means of doing it will be alluded to on a subsequent page. : SQUIRREL-TAIL GRASS, (hordeum jubatum,) is widely diffused over our salt marshes. Its specific characters are a slender stem, smooth, about two feet high, with rather short leaves, and low, lateral, abortive, neutral flowers on a short pedicel, short awned, the perfect flower bearing an extremely long awn about the length of the similar hairy glumes, all spreading. It is com- mon on moist sands and marshes on the sea shore. Flowers in June. The common two-rowed barley, (hordeum distichum,) belongs also to the same genus as well as the common four or six-rowed barley, (hordeum vulgare.) Lyme Grass, WILD Ryn, (elymus virginicus,) is frequent along the banks of rivers. Its generic characteristics are two to four spikelets at each joint of the rachis, all fertile, each one to seven flowered, glumes both on one side of the spikelet, palez two, lower one usually awned, mostly perennial, some species annual. Specific description: Spike upright, dense and thick on a short peduncle usually included in the sheath ; two or three spikelets, together, two or three flowered, smooth, shortly awned, stamens three, stems stout, from two to three feet high, leaves broad and rough. Flowers in July and August. Of no special value as an agricultural grass. CanapIAN Lyme Grass, (elymus canadensis.) Spike rather loose and curving at the extremity, spikelets mostly in pairs of three to five, long awned, rough, hairy flowers, the lance awl- shaped glumes, tipped with shorter awns, stem three to four feet high, root creeping, leaves broad, flat, linear, sheaths smooth and ligule short. Flowers in August. It is common on the banks of rivers. Stenper Harry Lyme Grass, (elymus striatus,) is sometimes found in rocky woods and on the banks of streams, as the most slender and smallest flowered species of this genus. It flowers in July, and is so rare and of so little value as an agricultural grass, as not to need further description. Upricut Sra Lyme Grass, (elymus arenarius.) This grass, which much resembles beach grass, grows from two to five NATURAL HISTORY. 63 feet high, with a perennial long creeping root, stem erect, round, smooth, leaves long, narrow, hard, greyish, pointed, grooved, rolled in, smooth behind and rough on the inner surface. It flowers in July. Differs from the common beach grass in having a short obtuse ligule, and spikelets without footstalks, of three or four florets, while beach grass has a long and pointed ligule, and spikelets with footstalks, and of only one floret. Sinclair calls this grass the sugar cane of Great Britain. It contains a large quantity of saccharine matter, and it is proba- ble that mixed with beach grass, as it is in Holland, it would be valuable to cut up and mix with common hay for winter feed. It is used precisely as beach grass is here, to prevent the encroachments of the sea, and to arrest the drifting of sand. It is not found growing wild in this country as beach grass is. I have cultivated it, by way of a partial experiment, on Nahant Beach, and it has been sown in other parts of the country. Borrie-Brusu Grass, (gymnostichum hystrizx,) is found rather commonly in moist rocky woodlands, and along shaded banks of streams, and may be known by its loose upright spike and spreading spikelets, smooth sheaths and leaves, smoothish flow- ers tipped with an awn three times their length. Flowers in July. Woop Harr Grass, or Common Harr Grass, (aira flexuosa,) is a common grass on our dry and rocky hills, and road sides, and high upon Wachuset Mountain. The generic name is the Greek daira, darnel, or tares, and its characteristics are, two flowered spikelets, in an open diffuse panicle ; flowers both per- fect, shorter than the glumes, hairy at the base, lower palea three to five nerved, awned on the back, grain oblong, smooth. Specific characters: Stems slender, one to two feet high, nearly naked, leaves dark green, often curved, bristle-formed, branches of the panicle hairy, spreading, mostly in pairs, lower palea slightly toothed, awn starting near the base, bent in the middle, longer than the glumes, which are purplish—perennial. Flowers in June. This plant is sometimes found 3,500 feet above the level of the sea. Sheep eat it readily. Of no value for cultivation. Fig. 62 represents this grass in blossom, and Fig. 63 a magnified flower of it. It contains when dry but .63 per cent. of nitrogen. Hassock Grass, (aira cespitosa,) also belongs to this genus 64 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. aira. Stems erect, round, rough- ish, in close tufts, leaves flat, A: linear, acute, with rougbish stri- ated sheaths, upper sheath longer than its leaf, panicle pyramidal or oblong, large, at first drooping, afterwards erect, with branches spreading in every direction ; awn barely equalling the palea, outer palea of lower floret shorter than the glumes, membranous, jagged or four-toothed on the summit, hairy at the base, with slender awn rising from a little above the base, and extending scarcely above the palea. Dis- tinguished from aira flexuosa in the awn of the lower floret not protruding beyond the glumes of the calyx. In aira flexuosa the awn of the lower floret protrudes more than one-third its length beyond the glumes. It has an unsightly look in fields and pastures, on account of its growing in tufts or clusters or has- \ socks. Cattle seldom i touchit. Prefers stiff or \ marshy bottoms, where the water stands. June. Water Harr Grass, (aira aquatica.) Fig. 64. This grass Mr. Curtis calls the sweetest of the British grasses, and equal to any foreign one. Its stems and leaves, when green, have a sweet and agreeable taste like that of liquorice. Water fowls are said to be very fond of the seeds and the fresh green shoots. Cattle also eat it very readily. Itis strictly an aquatic, but can be cultivated on imperfectly drained bogs and muddy bottoms. Not common. It flowers in July. Fig. 63. Fig. 62. Wood Hair Grass. NATURAL HISTORY. 65 Fig. 64. Water Hair Grass Fig. 65. Downy Oat Grass. Witp Oar Grass, Waite Tor, (danthonia spicata,) is com- © mon in dry, sunny pastures, with a stem one foot high, slender, with short leaves, narrow sheaths, bearded ; panicle simple, spikelets seven flowered, lower palea broadly ovate, loosely hairy on the back, longer than its awl-shaped teeth—perennial. Flowers in June. It is called white top in some localities, but is not the grass most commonly known by that name—the agrostis alba. 9 66 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Downy Persoon, (trisetwm mollis,) is a grass with dense panicles, much contracted, oblong or linear, awn bent or diverg- ing, lower palea compressed, keeled, leaves flat and short ; found on rocky river banks and mountains, about one foot high. It flowers in July. Of no agricultural value. The Downy Oat Grass, (trisetum pubescens,) is a very hardy perennial grass, naturalized on chalky soils, and on such soils its leaves are covered with a coating of downy hairs which it loses when cultivated on better lands. It is regarded as a good permanent pasture grass on account of its hardiness and its being but a slight impoverisher of the soil, and yielding a larger per cent. of bitter extractive than other grasses grown on poor, light soils. It is therefore recommended abroad as a prominent ingredient of mixtures for pastures. It flowers early in July. Fig. 65 represents this plant as it appears in blossom. Formerly classed as avena pubescens. Meapow Oat Grass, (avena pratensis, Fig. 66,) is a peren- nial grass, native of the pastures of Great Britain, growing to the height of about eighteen inches. It furnishes a hay of medium quality. Flourishes best on dry soils. Flowers in July. Figs. 67 and 68 represent the flowers of this grass magnified. The YELLow Oat Grass, (avena flavescens, now generally classified as trisetum flavescens,) can scarcely, perhaps, be regarded as naturalized here. It is a perennial plant of slow growth and medium quality, furnishing a hay containing about 1.79 per cent. of azote or nitrogen ; suitable for dry meadows and pastures. It is sometimes regarded as a weed, growing about eighteen inches high. It fails if cultivated alone, but succeeds with other grasses, and is said to be the most useful for fodder, of the oat grasses. It grows best with the crested dog’s tail and sweet scented vernal. It contains a larger pro- portion of bitter extractive than most other grasses, and for that reason is recommended by some English writers as a valuable pasture grass. It flowers in July. Fig. 69 represents this grass, and Fig. 70 a flower of it magnified. Tart Mrapow Oat Grass, or TaLL Oat Grass, Carrhena- therum avenaceum,) is the ayena elatior of Linneus. Specific characters: Spikelets open panicled, two flowered, lower flower staminate, bearing along bent awn below the middle of the back; leaves flat, acute, roughish on both sides, most on the NATURAL HISTORY. 67 Ip Wh \ / RN» Fig. 67. Fig. 66. Meadow Oat Grass. ig. 70. Fig. 69. Yellow Oat Grass. inner; panicle leaning slightly on one side, glumes very unequal; stems from two to three feet high, root perennial, fibrous, sometimes bulbous. It is readily distinguished from other grasses by its having two florets, the lower one haying a long awn rising from a little above the base of the outer palea. Introduced. Flowers in June and July. Shown in Fig. be A magnified spikelet is seen in Fig. 72. This is the Ray grass of France. It produces an abundant 68 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. SW /} NW: ‘Kt \ WZ AW Fig. 72. Fig. 71. Tall Meadow Oat Grass. Vig. 75. Fig. 78. Meadow Soft Grass. supply of foliage, and is valuable either for hay or for pasture, and has been especially recommended for soiling purposes, on account of its early and luxuriant growth. It is often found on the borders of fields and hedges, woods and pastures, and some- _ times very plenty in mowing lands. After being mown it shoots up a very thick aftermath, and on this account, partly, is regarded as nearly equal for excellence to the common foxtail, (alopecurus pratensis.) NATURAL HISTORY. 69 It grows spontaneously on deep, sandy soils, when once naturalized. It has been cultivated to some extent in New England, and is esteemed by those who know it, mainly for its early, rapid and late growth, making it very well calculated as a permanent pasture grass. It will succeed on tenacious clover soils. Meapow Sorr Grass, VreLvet Grass, (holcus lanatus,) has its spikelets crowded in a somewhat open panicle, and an awn with the lower part perfectly smooth. The generic characters are, two flowered spikelets jointed with the pedicels, glumes boat-shaped, membranaceous, inclosing and exceeding the flowers ; lower flower perfect, its lower palea awnless and point- less, upper flower staminate only, bearing a stout bent awn below the apex. Stamens three; grain free, slightly grooved. This species grows from one to two feet high, stem erect, round, root perennial, fibrous, leaves four or five, with soft, downy sheaths, upper sheath much longer than its leaf, inflated, ligule obtuse, joints usually four, generally covered with soft, downy hairs the points of which are turned downwards; leaves pale ereen, flat, broad, acute, soft on both sides, covered with deli- cate slender hairs. Inflorescence compound panicled, of a greenish, reddish or pinkish tinge; hairy glumes, oblong, tipped with a minute bristle. Florets of two pales. Flowers in June. Introduced. In Fig. 73 is seen a drawing of this grass, and in Figs. 74 and 75, its flowers magnified. This beautiful grass grows in moist fields and peaty soils, but Ihave found it on dry, sandy soils on Nantucket, and specimens have been sent me from Boxford and other places where it grew on upland fields, and was cultivated with other grasses. It is productive and easy of cultivation. It is of but little value either for pasture or hay, cattle not being fond of it. When once introduced it will readily spread from its light seeds which are easily dispersed by the wind. It does not merit cultivation except on poor, peaty lands, where better grasses will not suc- ceed. This grass loses about .63 of its weight in drying, and the hay contains about 1.92 per cent. of nitrogen. The Creepinc Sort Grass, (holcus mollis, Fig. 76,) not yet naturalized here. It is of no value, and is regarded as a troublesome weed. _ Distinguished from the preceding by its 70 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. x : rat tt tt eh EOE rte br So Le ~ TP = % = ney — S GSES y rf i Z Fig. 76. Creeping Soft Grass. Fig. 81. Fig. 79. Sweet-scented Vernal. awned floret and its creeping root. The flowers of this grass are seen magnified in Figs. 77 and 78. SENECA Grass, or VANILLA Grass, (hierochloa borealis,) has spikelets three flowered, flowers all with two paleex, branches of the panicle smooth; grows from twelve to eighteen inches high. Stems erect, round, smooth, panicle somewhat spreading, rather one sided, leaves short, broad, lanceolate, rough on the inner side, smooth behind; spikelets rather large. ee NATURAL HISTORY. 71 Grows in wet meadows. Flowers in May. Common and gen- erally diffused, but of no value for cultivation, on account of its powerful, creeping roots and very slight spring foliage. It derived its generic name, hierochloa, holy grass, from two Greek words, signifying sacred grass,—from the fact that it was customary to strew it before the doors of the churches on festi- val and saint’s days, in the north of Europe. In Sweden it is sold to be hung up over beds, where it is supposed to induce sleep. Sweer Scentep VERNAL Grass, (anthoxanthum odoratum.) Specific characteristics: Spikelets spreading, three flowered, lateral flowers neutral, with one palea, hairy on the outside and awned on the back; glumes thin, acute, keeled, the upper twice as long as the lower; seed ovate, adhering to the palea which incloses it; root perennial. Flowers in May and June. Stems from one and a half to two feet high. Introduced from Europe. This grass is seen in Fig. 79. This is one of the earliest spring grasses, as well as one of the latest in the autumn. It is almost the only grass that is fragrant. It possesses a property peculiar to this species, or possessed by only a few others, known as coumarin. It is said to be this which not only gives it its own aromatic odor, but imparts it to other grasses with which itis cured. The . green leaves when bruised give out this perfume to the fingers, and the plant may thus be known. The grass has but little value of itself, its nutritive properties being slight; nor is it much relished by stock of any kind, but as a pasture grass on almost all soils, and with a large mixture of other grasses, it is very valuable for its early growth, and this gives it the character of a permanent pasture grass. It is not uncommon in our pastures and road sides, growing as if it were indigenous. I have found fine specimens of it on dry soils at Nantucket and elsewhere. The aftermath or fall growth of this beautiful grass is said to be richer in nutritive qualities than the growth of the spring. Though itis pretty generally diffused over the country, it is only on certain soils that it takes complete possession of the surface and forms the predominant grass in a permanent turf, as it is said to do in some sections around Philadelphia. The flavor of the spring butter sold in that city is ascribed by some 72 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. to the prevalence of this grass. There seems to be nothing inconsistent in this supposition, since it is well known that dis- agreeable flavors are often imparted to the milk and the butter by the substances taken as food by the cow, as turnips, for instance, or cabbages, or cauliflowers; and if an objectionable flavor may be imparted by one substance, it is reasonable to sup- pose an opposite flavor may be given by another. Much, of course, depends on the manufacture ; as poor butter is found in the Philadelphia market, as in any other, while as good could be, and is found, in the Boston market as any in the world. The best butter, I learn on inquiry, is as expensive in the former city as elsewhere, while it is true that a high price will command and obtain a good article wherever the art of butter, making is at all understood. I am informed by Dr. Emerson, of Philadelphia, to whom I am indebted for valuable specimens of this grass, that he has made experiments in flavoring other grasses with a slight addition of benzoic acid in the form of an essence, previous to feeding them out to milch cows, and that the flavor of the best Philadelphia spring butter was thus imparted to the butter made from them. A curious and beautiful peculiarity is exhibited in the seeds of this grass, by which they are prevented from germinating in wet weather after approaching maturity, and thus becoming abortive. The husks of the blossom adhering to the seed when ripe, and the jointed awn by its spiral contortions, when affected by the alternate moisture and dryness of the atmosphere, act like levers to separate and lift it out from the calyx even before the grass is bent or lodged and while the spike is still erect. If the hand is moistened and the seeds placed in it, they will appear to move like insects, from the uncoiling of the spiral twist of the awns attached to them. The flowers of the sweet scented vernal grass are seen in Figs. 80 and 81. There are 923,200 seeds in a pound, and eight pounds ina bushel. It cannot be said to belong to the grasses useful for general cultivation. Reep Canary Grass, (phalaris arundinacea.) Generic characteristics: Spikelets crowded in a dense or spiked panicle, perfect flower flattish with two neutral rudiments of flowers, one NATURAL HISTORY. 73 on each side at its base, awnless, two shining palex, closely inclosing the smooth, flattened grain ; stamens three. Specific description : panicle very slightly branched, clustered, somewhat spreading when old, but not so much generally, as appears in Fig. 82; glumes wingless, rudimentary florets hairy, stem round, smooth, erect, from two to seven feet high, leaves five or six in number, broad, lightish green, acute, harsh, flat, ribbed, central rib the most prominent, roughish on both surfaces, edges minutely toothed, smooth, stri- ated sheaths. Flowersin July. Grows on wet grounds by the sides of rivers and standing pools, best suited to somewhat tenacious soils. A beautiful variety of this species is the Rippon or Srripep Grass of the gardens, familiar to every one.’ The reed canary grass grows in the utmost luxuriance at the State Farm, at Westborough, and produces a large and early crop. It will bear cutting two or three times in a season, but if not cut early, the foliage is coarse. || Cattle are not fond of it at any stage Bi. of its growth, but if cut early and i well cured, they will eat , it in the winter if they can get nothing better. For some _ experiments with this hay in compari- son with others, see p. 61. This grass is common in low, rich soils where the water is either stand- ing or sluggish, and is not unfrequently produced by transplanting the roots of the striped grass into suitable soils. In one instance within my knowledge, it came in and produced an exceedingly heavy crop, simply from roots: of ribbon grass 10 Fig. 82. Reed Canary Grass. Fig. 83. T4 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. which had been dug up froma garden and thrown into the brook to get them out of the way. Several other instances of a smilar nature have also come to my notice. One farmer has propagated it extensively in his wet meadows by forcing the ripe seed panicles into the mud with his feet. As the stripe of the ribbon grass is only accidental, dependent on location and soil, it constitutes only a variety of the reed canary grass and loses the stripe when transferred to a wet and muddy soil. The cut, Fig. 82, was made from a specimen too far advanced to show this grass as it ordinarily appears; the panicle or head is too spreading and not sufficiently long. I have fine speci- mens with panicles three times as long as appears in the draw- ing, and more in the shape of a spike of Timothy. To ascertain the exact nutritive qualities of this grass when cured as hay, a careful analysis has been made at my request, by Prof. E. N. Horsford, of Cambridge, with the following result: Of water, the specimen contained 10.42 per cent.; ash, -5.31 per cent.; nitrogen, .55 per cent.; nitrogenous ingredi- ents, flesh forming principles, 3.53 per cent.; woody fibre, starch, gum, sugar, &c., 80.73 per -cent.* It will be seen by * The following are the details of this valuable analysis :— 1st. Of the Leaves stripped from the Culms or Stalks ; 2d. Of the Stalks from which the Leaves and Joints were removed; and 8d. Of the Joints. : ‘ Weight of different portions of the Plant. Grammes. Ary. Gr’s. I. Leaves of four Stalks, air-dried, weighed, . - : c - 2.9289 2.8989 Il. & 33 D oe ue 5 “siaee eA © - 2.8740 I. Four Stalks, without Joints, or Leaves, air-dried, weighed, . - 4.1167 sae TI. “ «“ “ “ ‘“ : . 8.2018 te I. Joints of four Stalks, air-dried, weighed, . 0 4 i : -5161 II. he Us 66 bie ¢ ° ‘ 5 fs : -4088 isis Average Total, 5 : : - 7.0205 Grammes. Average weight of Stalks with Taio and Joints, 1.7551 Grammes. Water Determination. I. Of the Leaves, .9284 grammes lost at a temperature of 212° Fah. .1014 grammes—equal to 10.98 per cent. II. Of the Stalks, 1.9836 grammes lost at t 219° Fah. .1902 grammos—equal to 9.58 per cent. Ill. Of the Joints. 2.4529 grammes lost at 212° Fah. .2630 grammes—equal to 10.72 per cent. Ash Determination. I. Of the Leaves, air-dried, 2.9289 grammes gave .2590 grammes Ash—equal to 8.85 per cent. II. Of the Stalks, air-dried, 4.1167 grammes gave .1475 grammes Ash—equal to 3.58 per cent. Ill. Of the Joints, air-dried, .5161 grammes ga e .0181 grammes Ash—equal to 3.50 per cent. NATURAL HISTORY. 75 reference to a subsequent page, containing analyses by Prof. Way, that this grass is very far inferior to many of the grasses examined by him. The panicles of this grass if allowed to stand after the time of flowering, become filled with ergot, or long, black spurs, issuing from between the glumes, and occu- None of the above ashes effervesced with acid, indicating the absence of carbonates. They gave but the faintest reaction for lime. Indeed micro- scopic, as well as chemical examination, showed the Ash to be composed almost entirely of Silica. Nitrogen Determination. I. Of the Leaves, 1.4370 grammes, air-dried, gave .2600 grammes of Platino-Chloride of Ammo- : nium—equal to 1.13 per cent. of Nitrogen, and 7.21 per cent. of Nitrogenous ingredients. II. Of the Stalks, air-dried, 1.6009 grammes gave .0205 grammes Platino-Chloride of Ammo- *nium—equal to .08 per cent. of Nitrogen, and .51 per cent. of Nitrogenous ingredients. III. Of the Joints, air-dried, 2.4529 grammes gave .1789 grammes Platino-Chloride of Ammo- uium—equal to .45 per cent. of Nitrogen, and 2.87 per cent. of Nitrogenous ingredients. The preceding resultsgin tabular form, appear as follows :— Relative Weight of different portions. Average of one percentage. Leaves of four Stalks, . : : . 2.8989 grammes. -7247 grammes. 41.29 Four Stalks, . : C 5 ; - 3.6592 -9148 52.12 Joints of four Stalks, . : “| : 4624 1156 6.59 100.00 Average weight of ene plant without the roots, . : : ‘ 1.7551 grammes. Percentages. Nitrogenous Woody Fibre, Starch, Water. Ash. Nitrogen. Ingredients.* Sugar, &c. Leaves, . > 10:98 8.85 1.18 7.21 72.96 Stalks, . . 9.58 3.58 .08 51 86.33 Joints, . Oia 3.50 A5 2.87 82.91 For comparison as to the relative nutritive values, there follow some deter- minations made of hay from several localities by Henneberg and Thos. Way. Hay analyzed gave Nitrogen. Nitrogenous Ingredients. For Leaves,. . . 1.18 For Stalks, . : .08 5.71 per cent. 8.53 per cent. For Joints, . 5 : 45 Slovenia e.5 it. ce Ue 1.57 TOOLS Hay, No.1, saline soil, . us 1.49 Sie SS ‘“ "No. 2, May, LS rive 1.89 8.87 & aa une; ei i 1.49 77 Me S. October,\.. F 5 1.70 10.85, It will be seen that some of the samples contain nearly three times as much of Nitrogenous Ingredients as the sample submitted for examination, and it will be inferred from this consideration that, other things being equal, the hay at the head of the list is decidedly inferior in nutritive value. * Three parts of Nitrogen correspond with 19.16 parts of Nitrogenous Ingredients, as yegetablg albumen, fibrin and casein. + Estimated according to percentages of different parts. 76 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. pying the place of grain. This, if there were no other reason, would be sufficient to determine that it should be cut at or before the time of flowering. I have never seen rye worse affected than my specimens of this grass are. The effects of this mysterious disease are well known. The noxious power it exerts on the system of animals which receive even a small portion of it, is oftentimes dreadful, producing “ most hor- rible gangrenes, rotting of the extremities, internal tortures and agonizing death; it has been known to slough and kill not afew human beings who have accidentally or inadvertently eaten grain or flour infected with it.” The flower of the reed canary grass is shown in Fig. 83. The variety called striped grass, (colorata,) is exceedingly hardy and may be propagated to any extent by dividing and transplanting the roots. In moist soil it spreads rapidly and forms a thick mass of fodder which mili be repeatedly cut without injury, though it is of little value for feeding stock. The Common Canary Grass, ( phalaris canariensis,) is cul- tivated in gardens, and to some extent in fields and waste places for the sake of the seed for the canary bird. It has a spiked, oval panicle, glumes wing-keeled ; rudimentary flowers smooth and half the length of the perfect one. Flowers in July and August. Mituer Grass, (millium effusum,) is found growing com- monly in moist, shady woods, mountain meadows, and on the borders of streams. Panicle widely diffuse, compound, glumes ovate, very obtuse, leaves broad and flat, thin, root perennial, flower oblong. Flowers in June. Introduced. Of no value for cultivation, the foliage possessing but slight nutritive quali- ties. The seeds are sought by birds. It will thrive trans- planted to open places. Harry SLenDER PaspaLum, (paspalum setaceum,) has an erect or decumbent, slender culm, from one to two feet high, leaves and sheaths hairy, spikes slender, smooth, mostly solitary on a long peduncle, spikelets narrowly two rowed. Flowers in August. Itis found on sandy fields and plains near the coast, and is rather common. Stenper Cras Grass, (panicum filiforme,) is another species of the subgenus digitaria, or finger grasses, and resembles the last somewhat, but the upper glume equals the flower, while the NATURAL HISTORY. it lower is nearly wanting, and the spikes are more erect. It flourishes on sandy, dry soils, especially near the coast. Flow- ers in August. Of no value for cultivation. Smooth Crap Grass, (panicum glabrum,) resembles the last, with the spikes digitate, three to four, spreading, rachis flat and thin, spikelets ovoid. It is common in cultivated grounds, waste places, and on sandy fields. Flowers in August and September. A troublesome weed. Fincer Grass, Common Cras GRASS, (panicum sanguinale.) The panic grasses are widely spread and common over the State. The generic characters are, two flowered panicled spikelets, flowers with or without awns, glumes two, lower one short or . minute, the upper long as the fertile flower, upper flower per- fect, closed, flattish, awnless, stamens three. The stems of the finger grass are from one to two feet high, erect, spreading, leaves and sheaths hairy, spikes four to fifteen, digitate, upper glume half the length of the flower, lower one small. This grass grows on waste or neglected cultivated grounds and gardens, and yards, and is generally regarded as a troublesome weed. Introduced. Flowers from August to October. AGROSTIS-LIKE Panic Grass, (panicum agrostoides,) differs from the preceding species in having the stems flattened, upright, two feet high, leaves long, sheaths smooth, spikelets on the spreading branches crowded and one sided, ovate, oblong, acute, purplish. It is common on wet meadows and borders of rivers. Flowers in July and August. Prouiric Panic Grass, (panicum proliferum,) grows on brackish marshes and meadows, and is common along the coast. It sometimes appears on dry places. Cattle are fond of it. It differs from the preceding in having culms thickened, succu- lent, branched and bent, ascending from a procumbent base, and spikelets appressed, lance-oval, of a pale green color. Hair Stacked Panic Grass, (panicum capillare,) grows in sandy soils and cultivated fields every where. Its culm is upright, often branched at the base, and forming a tuft, sheaths flattened, very hairy, panicle pyramidal, hairy, compound and very loose, spikelets scattered on long pedicels, oblong, pointed. Flowers in August and September. TaLL SmooTtH Panic Grass, (panicum virgatum.) Stems 78 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. upright, three to five feet high, leaves very long, flat, panicle large, loose and compound, branches spreading when grown, and drooping, spikelets scattered, oval, pointed, glumes usually . purplish. Grows pretty commonly in moist, sandy soils, and flowers in August. BROAD-LEAVED Panic Grass, (dihion latifolium.) This is a grass with a perennial, fibrous root, and stem from one to two feet high, and leaves broad, long, taper-pointed, smooth or slightly downy, branches of panicle spreading, spikelets long, obovate, downy. Flowers in June and July. It is common in moist thickets and woods. Of no value for cultivation. The HippEN-FLOWERED Panic GRASS, (panicum clandestinum,) the YELLow Panic Grass, (panicum xanthophysum,) the PoLy- MORPHUS Panic Grass, (panicum dichotomum,) the Frw-FLow- ERED Panic Grass, (panicum depauperatum,) the Warty- FLOWERED PANIC GRASS, ( panicum verrucosum,) are sometimes found, the first, in low thickets and along the banks of rivers, not very common; the second, on dry and sandy soils, pine plains, rare ; flowers in June; the third, in dry and low grounds, not very common, flowers in June and July; the fourth, on dry, sandy hill-sides, more common than the preceding; the fifth, in sandy swamps, near the coast. None of these are valuable for cultivation, nor are they troublesome as some of the preceding species of panic are, on account of their places of growth. Barn Grass, or BARNYARD GRASS, (panicum crus-galli,) is more common. Its spikes are alternate and in pairs, sheaths smooth, rachis bristly, stem from two to four feet high, stout, erect, or somewhat procumbent, leaves: half an inch broad, panicle dense, pyramidal, glumes acute, awn variable in length and sometimes wanting, outer palea of the neutral flower, usually awned; one or two varieties have rough or bristly sheaths. It grows on moist, rich or manured soils and along the coast in ditches. Flowers in August, September and Oc- tober. . Some experiments have been made to cultivate this common species in the place of millet, to cut for green fodder. It is rel- ished by stock and is very succulent and nutritive. HuNGARIAN MILLeT, Mona DE Honerin, (panicum germani- cum,) has been cultivated to some extent in this State, from NATURAL HISTORY. 79 seed received through the Patent Office. It is an annual forage plant introduced into France in 1815, where its cultivation has become considerably extended. It germinates readily, withstands the drought remarkably, remaining green even when other vegetation is parched up, and if its development is arrested by dry weather, the least rain will restore it to vigor. It has numerous succulent leaves which furnish an abundance of green fodder, very much relished by all kinds of stock. lt flourishes in somewhat light and dry soils, though it attains its greatest luxuriance in soils of medium consistency and well manured. It may be sown broadcast and cultivated precisely like other varieties of millet. This millet is thought to contain a somewhat higher percentage of nutriment than the common millet, though I am not aware that it has been analyzed. A practical farmer of Worcester county says of it: “I have raised the ‘‘ Moha de Hongrie,” on a small scale only. In my garden it has grown thick and fine. “As it isa leafy plant and remains green until its seeds mature, I think it may prove valuable for fodder, both green and dry. It grows and matures in about the same time as the common millet. ** ] have now one bushel of seed, grown on six, square rods. This quantity will enable me to test it practically, another. season.” This plant is seen in Fig. 84, which gives a correct repre- sentation of it. The BristLy Foxralu, (setaria verticillata,) is a grass some- times, though rarely, found about farm houses. It has cylin- _ drical spikes two or three inches long, pale green, somewhat interrupted with whorled, short clusters, bristles single or in pairs, roughened or barbed downwards, short. Not cultivated. BotrLe Grass, sometimes called Foxratn, (setaria glauca.) This is an annual with astem from one to three feet high, leaves broad, hairy at the base, sheaths smooth, ligule bearded, spike two to three inches long, dense, cylindrical, bristles six to eleven in a cluster’, rough upwards, perfect flower wrinkled. The spike is of a tawny or dull orange yellow when old. Flow- ers in July. Itis common in cultivated grounds and barnyards. Introduced. The Green Foxram, sometimes also called BotrLe Grass, 80 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. (setaria _ viridis,) has a spike cylindri- cal, more or less & compound, green, bristles few in a cluster, longer than the spikelets, flower perfect, striate lengthwise and dotted. It is common in cultivated grounds. The BencaL Grass, sometimes called Miter, (setaria italica,) also belongs to this genus. It has a compound spike, thick, nodding, six to nine inches long, yellowish or purplish, bristles two or threg in a cluster. Introduced from Hurope. Bur Grass, or Hepcenoc Grass, (cen- chrus tribuloides,) is somewhat common on sandy soils on the coast, or ne the salt water, where the spikes are whitish. It is regarded as a troublesome weed on account of its prickly burs. Flowers in August. Gama Grass, or SESAME Grass, (trip- sacum dactyloides,) though not often found in this State is one of the largest and most remarkable grasses, though not one that would be considered of any value where better could be had. Its stalk is from four to seven eet high, and the \ leaves look not very unlike those of Indian i corn. Grows on moist soils near the y coast. Flowers in August. OT etme FINGER-SPIKED Woop Grass, (andropogon furcatus.) Of this genus about sixty species are known to botanists. But few of these are indigenous to this country. Its generic char- acteristics are, a neuter or staminate lower flower, glumes and pale often wanting, upper flower perfect, glumes awnless, lower palea awned. Flowers in panicles and spikes. Specific description: Stems four feet high, leaves nearly smooth, spikes digitate or generally by threes and fours, lower NATURAL HISTORY. 81 flower awnless; the spikelets are roughish, downy, awn bent. Flowers in September. This grass is common on sterile soils, rocky banks and hill-sides. Not cultivated. PurrPLeE Woop Grass, or Broom Grass, (andropogon sco- parius,) and the Inpran Grass, or Woop Grass, (andropogon nutans,) grow on sterile and dry, barren soils, and sandy plains, and are common, though of no value for Peietion. They flower from July to September. The CHINESE SuGar Cane, (sorghum saccharatum ? not yet finally classified.) Panicle open or spreading, spikelets two or three, the lateral ones sterile, the middle or terminal one fertile, glumes tough and hard, sometimes awnless, stamens three. Specific description: Stem from six to fifteen feet high, according to the oil on which it grows, erect, smooth, leaves linear, flexuous, gracefully curving down at the ends, resem- bling Indian corn in its ea**y growth, and broomcorn, to which it is nearly allied, at matttrity. Flowers in a panicle at the top, at first green, changing through the shades of violet to purple, when more advanced. See Fig. 85, taken from a plant somewhat over seven feet in height. This plant has lately been introduced and used both for forage and the manufacture of sugar and molasses or sirup. In some instances it has been used for making vinegar, brandy and other liquors. As it is a true grass, and is at present exciting considerable interest throughout the country, it is proper to notice it in this connection. The genus sorghum embraces over thirty species, most of which originated in Asia, where some of them have been culti- vated time out of mind. Specimens of the sorghum sacchara- tum were introduced into France by means of the seed, about six or eight years ago, where they have been cultivated with considerable success. So far as we know, this species is the best and most valuable for cultivation for the various purposes alluded to. Most of the seeds first used in this country were obtained -from France, through the efficient agency of the Patent Office, at Wanaee having been first cultivated in the spring of 1855. Any positive assertions with respect to the value of this plant, would, perhaps, be premature, but I have had very good 11 82 - GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. opportunities of observation upon it, and have met many indi- viduals from different latitudes who have cultivated it with great success, and numerous experiments upon it are still in progress, which will determine its relative value and its modes of cultivation. It is, undoubtedly, very rich in saccha- rine matter in all latitudes within the geographical range of Indian corn. It has been said that the percentage of sugar decreases somewhat in the higher latitudes; but this does not seem to have been established as a fact, and the opposite con- clusion, will, very probably, be arrived at, even though the percentage of sugar found to be crystallizable should be greater in more tropical regions. The plant grown in Massachusetts the past year contained about twenty-three per cent. of sugar, while that grown in the District of Columbia contained but fourteen per cent. And this accords with what we know of Indian corn, since it is pretty well established that the corn grown in high latitudes is richer in saccharine matter than that grown at the South. The meal of northern corn is also better, and will bring at all times a considerably higher price in the market. Of the Chinese sugar cane about seven-eighths of the whole plant consist of juice, especially when grown in a southern latitude where the juice is somewhat more abundant, the cane being more succulent there; and we may readily credit the statement that vinegar has been made from this juice at the rate of fifteen hundred gallons to the acre. When cut for sugar the most favorable time is just after it has passed the blossom, or when the seed is “in the milk,” and if raised for this purpose the time of planting should be later than that of Indian corn. The leaves are stripped off and the stalk is crushed in any convenient mills or rollers, though more suitable mills will undoubtedly be constructed. Should it be found on more careful trial to be equal to what is reported of it, it will make an entire revolution in the sugar growing interests of the country, and thus become a plant of great national importance. It is said that the crop of sugar raised in Louisiana has gradually decreased from nearly five hundred thousand hogsheads in 1853, to less than one hundred thousand, in 1856, while the price of sugar and molasses—a greater amount of which is consumed in this, than in any other NATURAL HISTORY. 85 country on the globe, in’ proportion to the population—is loudly calling the attention of farmers and planters to its production ; and the Chinese sugar cane is regarded by some as a substi- tute for the species of sugar cane most commonly cultivated there, the saccharum officinarum. But I propose to speak of it in this connection mainly as a forage plant, though it may prove perfectly practicable and’ profitable to cultivate it for the purpose of making sugar and molasses. Some years ago the practice of sowing Indian corn in drills for the purpose of cutting up green for fodder, was recommended by a progressive agriculturist, and though at first ridiculed, it soon came to be planted in small patches of a few rods square, by practical farmers here and there, till now it is regarded as almost an indispensable crop, not only to carry a stock of cattle through a severe summer drought, when our pastures are short and dry, but to cut and cure in large quan- tities for winter use. The weight and value of an acre of fodder is very great. Of late years there has been an inclina- tion to use sweet corn for this purpose, under the supposition that it possessed a larger quantity of saccharine matter in its stalks and leaves than the yellow varieties. When the use of sweet corn was first recommended, it was said that cattle were so much more fond of it than of yellow corn, that they would select its stalks if tied up in a bundle with the stalks of yellow corn. ‘The same is now asserted of the Chinese sugar cane, and as it comes to me very well authenticated, I see no reason to doubt it. Of the economy of the culture of corn to feed out green in the manner alluded to, there can be no question, and no thrifty and prudent farmer thinks of neglecting it; for if we suffer from drought, as we are liable to every season, he is sure to reeret it. Now if a substitute of superior value can be found, of as easy and simple cultivation, every farmer will avail him- self of it. Whether this substitute will be found in the Chinese sugar cane, remains, perhaps, to be proved; but so great has been its success thus far as to lead us to anticipate its adoption and extensive cultivation for that purpose. In one case authentically reported, nearly ten tons of fodder were raised on an acre, cut up and cured, and weighed three months after cutting. This is not at all surprising whenewe consider 86 GRASSES AND ee PLANTS. that even larger yields of Indian corn have been and are fre- quently obtained, when raised, cut and cured in the same manner. When grown for fodder, two or three cnttings may be obtained from it, the first being made just before the time of blossoming, when the plant immediately starts up with a vigorous growth and renews its leaves, and sends up its flowering panicles with great rapidity. No less than five cuttings were obtained in Florida during the last year, but the seasons in more northern latitudes would not admit of somany. It is well known that Indian corn will shoot up the second time in the same manner, when once cut or eaten down while green. This plant grows best in a dry soil and hot sun, in both of which it can be accommodated as far north as New England. It should be planted at or just after the time of Indian corn, and it will mature its fruit in about one hundred days from the seed. For the purposes of sugar making it is best cultivated on rather poor, warm soils, but for feeding out to fattening animals, it should be cultivated on richer ones. If raised for sugar it is better harvested somewhat late in the season, when the temperature ranges from 45° to 55°, when it is not so apt to suffer from the acetous fermentation to which it will be lable if cut earlier. Butif raised mainly for the seed, it would be well to plant it somewhat earlier in the spring, in which case it might be cut earlier in the fall. Though the seed is now exceedingly dear on account of its scarcity and the extensive demand for it, yet it is estimated that it can be raised at the price of oats, fifty and sixty bushels to the acre havipg been obtained without any extraordinary care. The seed can be made into bread or into a beverage resembling chocolate, or fed to poultry and other farm stock. The Chinese sugar cane, if sown with a view to obtaining its seed, or to attaining its full and perfect development, should be cultivated in hills after the manner of planting Indian corn, and hoed and cultivated in the same manner; but if sown for fodder, it will be found to yield a more luxuriant crop in drills, as we cultivate Indian corn for that purpose. In the former case, one quart of seed will suffice for an acre as it tillers very much, each seed sending up several shoots or seed bearing stems; in thé latter case, a larger quantity would be required. NATURAL HISTORY. 87 As a fodder plant it has been found not to increase the quantity of milk, milch cows fed upon it having fallen off very decidedly, while they rapidly increased in flesh, and the quality and richness of the milk was found to be improved. This may, therefore, be found to be an objection to its use with some, to whom the quantity is indispensable and the quality of no con- sequence ; but even such may find it desirable to cure and feed it to cows in winter. It was raised in Dorchester during the past year from seed raised there the year previous, which is conclusive proof that the seed can be ripened in this latitude so as to germinate, though for all practical purposes it is not material to us whether it will ripen here readily or not, if it is found to do so in the Middle States. As already intimated, the results of experiments have been successful, and these experiments will be carefully repeated the coming season. A farmer in the State of New York, whose communication appears in the volume of the Patent Office Report on Agricul- ture, for 1855, says: “The proper time for planting, I should say, would be the same as that of early corn, as I find it quite hardy, and stalks of it cut down the end of October made fresh shoots after two rather heavy frosts, and still were good for feed. From twenty-five plants I obtained half a bushel of ripe seed. “The mode of cultivation I would recommend, would be to. sow after the ground is well manured and deeply ploughed, in drills four feet apart, the plants two feet asunder in the drills, with not more than one plant in a place, as each sends up from four to six shoots. When the plants are well started, say a foot in height, turn over the earth on each side with a plough, after which keep them clear of weeds with the hoe. ** When well cultivated and in good soil, the plant attains from ten to fourteen feet in height and produces excellent fodder from the root to the top. I believe a heavier weight of nutri- tious feed for all kinds of cattle can be procured from it in a given space of ground, than from any other plant, and I think it will prove of great benefit to every section of the country where it is introduced, not only as a green feed during the hot months, but after being cut up and cured like the corn plant, 88 GRASSES ANDgPORAGE PLANTS. its stalks may be steamed during the winter, and given to horses, oxen or cows, which will commence eating at one end and not leave them till entirely consumed. The seeds, also, I have no doubt, will prove valuable as a feed for poultry, as I find they eat them with avidity. I look upon this plant as of great value as a forage crop, and possibly, it may be profitably cultivated for sugar, as the juice contains nearly ten per cent. of saccharine matter as clear as crystal, and on a very small scale, beautiful clarified sugar was produced by my friend Dr. Ray.” Other statements are equally unqualified in the expression of confidence in the value of this plant. I subjoin the following practical suggestions on the cultivation of it, from a valuable little manual by Mr. Hyde, of Newton Centre, who has experi- mented with it. He says :— ‘«‘ Select a warm and dry soil, such as you would select for Indian corn. Prepare your ground precisely as you would for corn, either by spreading your manure, or putting in hills,—about the same distance between the hills, where the ground is rich. In planting, which should be done early, put into each hill six or eight seeds. Cover lightly with well pulverized soil,— say, three-fourths to one inch deep; pull out all but four or five at second hoeing. If planted in drills, seed enough should be used so that after hoeing there may be a stalk to every four or five inches ; from a pound and a half to two pounds of seed should be used. Cultivate and hoe as with corn; care should be taken that the ignorant do not hoe up the young plants, taking them for barn-grass, which they very much resemble. When the panicles appear they should be cut off of all that which is intended for sugar or sirup making. When the plant has just passed into bloom, the stalk may be used for sirup, but will continue to grow better until the seed is in the milk-stage, or little later. The stalks should be cut close to the ground, with a bill-hook or some such tool, and stripped of their leaves, and the green, succulent top cut off, when they are ready for the mill; the jeayes and top may be fed green to cattle, or dried. NATURAT@BLISTORY. 89 The stalks should be passed through the mill twice or more, until most or all of the juice is expressed. The juice should not be allowed to stand long after being expressed, but boiled at once, if possible. A slow fire should be made under the kettle,—which should be of brass, or much bet- ter of copper,—and the juice should not be allowed to boil until the green scum has all been taken off. Lime-water may be used to aid in clarifying and to neutralize the acid; the exact quantity is not yet determined, but to every five gallons of juice, say from one to two teaspoonfuls of powdered lime, or the same dissolved in water, and strained, before being put into the juice. ' When all the green scum has been removed, the fire may be increased, and the juice boiled down until nearly as thick as common molasses in hot weather, when, if intended for sirup, it should be removed from the fire, for this completes the pro- eess: If intended for sugar, it should be allowed to boil longer, and until it will ‘ string into threads,’ or present an appearance of being sufficiently boiled to grain, when it should be thrown off into troughs, or coolers, at once. J am not able to give exact information in regard to the time it should be boiled to erystallize readily. Further experiments will determine. If made into sugar, it should be removed from the coolers to casks with holes bored in them, so that the molasses may drain off and leave the sugar dry, as it should be. These casks are generally placed on timbers, with a cement cistern underneath to hold the drippings, or molasses. After remaining in the “purgery’ until sufficiently drained, it comes out fit for sale, or use. If cultivated exclusively for fodder, it should be planted as early as the weather will allow, and quite as thick as stover- corn. When the panicles appear, or even before, it may be cut either for soiling or for drying, and the roots will at once throw up another crop. If it is desired, the juice may be fermented, like the juice of apples, being put into casks at the mill, and treated like cider. The begass, or waste, may be dried and used for fuel, or for making paper, or_rotted down for manure. If the storms should blow down the seed-cane, no fears need be entertained, as it will remain weeks in that condition without 12 90 GRASSES AND BORAGE PLANTS. injury. I must here caution all persons who grow this cane against planting it in the vicinity of broomcorn, Dourah corn, or Guinea corn; for it readily mixes with these plants, and it would render the seed worthless for planting.” As already suggested, more accurate investigations are re- quired to determine the relative importance of this plant for the various economical purposes alluded to. If it should be found, on chemical analysis, that the large percentage of saccharine matter in the plant consists of what is called glucose, a sub- stance of comparatively little value, incapable of crystalliza- tion to any extent, instead of a saccharine substance capable of easy granulation, it would very materially affect the value of the plant for the purposes of sugar making, but could hardly affect its real value as a forage plant. This point will soon be determined. : If, as has been stated, it is found to be suitable for the manu- facture of alcoholic liquors, it should, perhaps, be regarded by the philanthropist as an important addition to our cultivated crops. It is well known that enormous quantities of our best erains are now withdrawn from their legitimate use as food for man, for the manufacture of these articles. Many distilleries use upwards of two thousand bushels of Indian corn or other grains, on an average, every day, and the consumption of grain for these purposes throughout the country is incredibly large. The Chinese sugar cane will probably be found to be an exhauster of land, requiring large quantities of the phosphates and silicates of the soil for the development of the hard coating of its stems. It has been estimated that nine tons of it to the acre would take from the soil fourteen hundred pounds of mineral substances. This would seem to indicate a dry, gray- elly, or a sandy soil, as best suited to supply it wants. InDIAN Grass, Woop Grass, (sorghum nutans,) is a grass sometimes found on our dry, sterile soils, with a panicle oblong, somewhat compressed, from six to ten inches long, stem from three to five feet high, leaves linear, grayish, sheaths smooth, spikelets light brown and glossy, drooping when mature, hairy at the base, awn twisted. It flowers in August. Inpran MILLET, (sorghum vulgare,) isa cultivated species and has several well marked varieties, one of which is the Broom- NATURAL — 91 corn. It is called Guinea corn in the West Indies, Dourah in Arabia, and Nagara in the north of China. It is sometimes used as a forage plant. As already intimated, more than thirty species supposed to belong to this genus are known to have been introduced into France, though it is very probable that a more accurate classifi- cation will distribute many of them among the other genera. The tall cereal which has long been cultivated in the south of Europe and in Barbary, under the general name of sorghum, resembles Indian corn in quality, and is often called small maize. Its stemscontain a pretty large per cent. of saccharine matter, and it is useful to cut green as a forage plant. -Indian millet, when raised on good soil and under favorable circumstances, is said to yield a larger quantity of seed to the acre than any other cereal grass known, not excepting even Indian corn. Its nutritive quality is nearly equal to that of wheat. The common millet is the panicum miliaceum. InpiAn Corn, Maize, (zea mais,) is a well known plant of American origin, a true grass, and one of the most beautiful and useful of this great family. Its value asa forage plant has already been alluded to in speaking of the Chinese sugar cane, and need not be dwelt upon here. Subject as we are, to the severest droughts, which parch up and essentially injure our pastures, this plant has been found to be of the utmost impor- tance to cut up green, affording an abundant and nutritious fodder, exceedingly succulent and greatly relished by cattle of all kinds, keeping them in good condition, while without this or some similar substitute our stock would inevitably suffer. The varieties cultivated for the purpose of fodder should be those with the largest and most succulent leaves. Some of the varieties of sweet corn are usually preferred, but on this point farther and more accurate investigations are greatly needed. It is estimated that on an average from six to eight tons of dry fodder may be procured from an acre sown in drills and properly cultivated, and that this would be equal to about four or five tous of good hay. ‘This is a reasonable estimate, as far larger crops are often obtained. The particular advantage of raising what are called forage plants, either to cut up green for soiling or to cure for winter use, over our ordinary mowing lands is, that they give on the 92 GRASSES AND FORAGE, PLANTS. same extent of land a far lara amount of nutriment for ani- mals. They give this product immediately, or at least, in a very few months from the time of sowing, while permanent mowing lands, or the perennial grasses, require a great length of time to arrive at perfection, varying from one to four or five ° years. The amount of fertilizing materials drawn from the air and stored away in the soil by means of the roots, and. capable of benefiting the crops of the succeeding year is very consider- able, while, in the natural grasses, it remains under the turf and does not come into use till the sward is broken and sub- mitted to culture. We may choose for forage culture plants which start up early in spring and are capable of being used even before the natural grasses have attained a size to make them particularly valuable for grazing. Besides, the mass of manure which may be made from the product of an acre of land by the use of forage plants, owing to the increased yield, over and above what would be obtained from the same acre in the natural grasses, is an item too rarely taken into the account. Moreover the plants usually called forage plants, like the clovers, lucerne and green corn fodder, may have some advyan- tage over root culture, their expense being generally less, their product, dried, more easily stored, and kept with less danger of injury and decay, and the mode of feeding out to animals attended with less trouble. Rep Cuover, (érifolium pratense.) We have given our whole attention, in the preceding pages, to what are strictly and properly called the natural grasses. We now come to consider, very briefly, the artificial. Curious as it may appear, the arti- ficial grasses were cultivated first in point of time, in England, the red clover having been introduced and grown there about the year 1653; sainfoin, 1651; yellow clover in 1659, and white clover about the year 1700; while not one of the natural grasses was cultivated till nearly a century later, with the excep- tion of perennial rye grass, first cultivated in 1677. About the year 1759 the custom of sowing the chaff and seed dropped from the hay stack, along with the artificial grasses and rye grass began, and soon after—between 1761 and 1764—the cul- tivation of Timothy and orchard grass was intréduced from, America. The culture of the bent grasses, the slieep’s fescue NATURAL HISTORY. 93 and the crested dog’s tail, began soon after. In 1766, the London Society for the Encouragement of Arts offered pre- miums for the collection of the seeds of some of the grasses then found growing wild, such as the meadow foxtail, the meadow fescue, the sweet scented vernal grass, &c., and in 1769 the same society offered additional rewards for farther investigations and experiments on the culture and comparative value of the natural grasses. But little was done, however, till the experiments undertaken by the Duke of Bedford, in 1824. In this country the extensive and practical cultivation of the natural grasses seems to have been commenced at an earlier date than in England, for Jared Eliot, writing about the year 1750, speaks of the culture of Timothy as having been adopted sometime previously. Indeed, the necessities of our rigorous climate compelled attention to this branch of husbandry soon after the establishment of the colony, in 1620. The climate of England, on the other hand, admitted a greater degree of reli- ance on the wild luxuriance of nature, and this mode of man- agement was brought over by the first settlers and attempted for some years, the few cattle they had being kept on poor and miserable swale hay, or often upon the hay obtained from the salt marshes. The death of their cattle from starvation and exposure was of very common occurrence, and not unfrequently the farmer lost his entire herd. The treatment of animals now, as they were treated during the whole of the first century of the colony, would make the owner liable to prosecution for cruelty. This treatment was, in part, owing to the poverty of the settlers, but more, probably, to the ideas and practices in which they had been early trained in a different climate. For- tunately for the poor dumb beast a more enlightened policy now governs the mass of men, and this policy has led to greater care and attention to the cultivation of the grasses. But in this country, the culture of the natural grasses takes the precedence in point of time from the causes already indi- cated, and the minds of men are so influenced by the routine of ordinary practice, that the introduction of clover in the early part of the last century met with great prejudice, which is now nearly, if not quite extinct. Red clover, though not properly included in the family of 94 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. : grasses, is now not only extensively cultivated, but is found to be’ one of the most valuable and economical forage plants. It belongs to the pulse family, or legwminose, which includes the larger portion of forage plants called artificial grasses, in dis- tinction from the eraminee, the true, and often called the natural grasses. The generic name, trefoil, or trifolium, is derived from the Latin tres, three, and folium, a leaf; and the genus can generally be very readily distinguished by the num- ber and arrangement of its leaves in three leaflets, and flowers in dense, oblong or globular heads. Specific description: Stems ascending, somewhat hairy, leaf- lets oval or obovate, often notched at the end and marked on the upper side with a pale spot, heads ovate and set directly upon the stalk instead of upon branches. This species is regarded as by far the most important of the whole genus. It has sported into a number of varieties, one of which is biennial, another perennial, the latter by long cultivation becoming biennial, while the former,—as is true of most biennial and many annual plants,—assumes, to some extent, the character of a perennial and can be made to last three or four years or even more, by simply preventing it from running to seed. This plant is seen in Fig. 86, its leaf is shown in Fig. 87, and its fruit magnified in Fig. 88. The introduction of clover into England, it is often said, produced an entire revolution in her agriculture, and indeed, when we consider how important a part it plays in our own system of farming, we can with difficulty imagine how our ancestors ever got on at allin farming without it. Be this as it may, it is certain that it led to many of the most important improvements in the rotation of crops. Clover is very properly regarded as a fertilizer of the soil. The action of its long and powerful tap roots is not only mechanical,—loosening the soil and admitting the air,—but also chemical, serving to fix the gases important to enrich the earth, and when these roots decay they add largely to that black mass of matter we call the soil. It serves, also, by its luxuriant foliage, to destroy annual weeds which would spring up on newly seeded land, especially after imperfect cultivation. But one of the most valuable uses of it, and one too often overlooked, is to shade the surface and thereby increase its fertility. NATURAL HISTORY. 95 Fig. 86. Red Clover. ' Fig. 87. ’ Clover is emphatically a lime plant, and the soils best adapted to it are tenacious or stiff loams. The careful analysis of Prof. Way found no less than 35.89 per cent. of lime in the inorganic constituents of red clover, and that of Boussingault 82.80 per cent., while intelligent practice has arrived so nearly at the same conclusion, that the term “clover soils” is now almost universally used to indicate a tenacious loam, containing more or less of lime in its composition. Another great advantage in favor of the cultivation of clover, consists in its rapid growth. But a few months elapse from the sowing of the seed before it yields, ordinarily, an abundant and nutritious crop, relished by cattle of all kinds. Clover seed should always be sown in the spring of the year, in the climate of New England. It is often sown upon the late snows of March or April and soon finds its way down to the soil, where, aided by the moisture of early spring it quickly germi- nates and rapidly shoots up its leaf stalks. An accurate and valuable analysis of this plant, both in its green and dry state, will be found in a tabular form on a sub- sequent page, while a more extended notice of its culture and 96 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. the mode of curing it, with the results of practical experience as to its value, will also be given in their proper place. Wuite CiLover, DutcH CLover, HonrysucKLe, (trifolium repens,) is equally common with the red, and often forms a very considerable portion of the sward or turf of pastures and fields of a tenacious and moist soil. Specific description: Stems spreading, slender and creeping, leaves inversely heart-shaped, flower heads small, white, pods four seeded, root perennial. Flowers from May to September. Fig. 89. A magnified flower is seen Fig. 90. White clover is widely diffused over this country and all the countries of Europe. It is indigenous probably both to England and America. When first cultivated from seed collected from wild plants, at the beginning of the last century, it was recorded of a farmer that he had “sowed the wild white clover which holds the ground and decays not.’ Its chief value is as a pas- ture grass, and it is as valuable for that purpose as the red clover is for hay or for soiling, though there are some who place a low estimate upon it. It easily accommodates itself to a ereat variety of soils, but grows most luxuriantly in moist grounds and moist or wet seasons., Indeed, it depends so much upon a general distribution of rains through the season, that when they are sufficiently abundant it comes in profusely even where it was not observed in other years, and hence such sea- sons pass under the term of “ clover years.” It is not appar- ently so much relished by stock as from its sweetness we should be led to expect, but it is, on the whole, to be cherished for permanent pastures, and improved, as it undoubtedly may be, by a proper selection and culture of varieties. or an accurate analysis of this plant the reader is referred to a subsequent page. Lucernr, ALFALFA, (medicago sativa, Fig. 91.) This genus of leguminous plants has been known and cultivated from time immemorial. This particular species, lucerne, was brought from Media to Greece in the time of Darius, about five hundred years before Christ, and its cultivation afterwards extended among the Romans, and through them to the south of France, where it has ever since continued to be a favorite forage plant. It does not endure a climate as severe as red clover, requiring greater heat and sunlight; but in a latitude equally suited to NATURAL HISTORY. 97 both plants it would be somewhat difficult to say which should have the preference. In some respects it is decidedly superior, as in being perennial, and consequently remaining long in the soil. I have seen fine specimens of it in South Boston, where the seed was sown in 1824, still maintaining its vigorous hold Fig. 89. White Clover. Fig. 90. of the soil and growing with remarkable luxuriance. The crop of lucerne is as abundant as red clover, and is equally well relished by cattle, both green and dry. Its yield of green fodder continues later in the season than that of red clover. Lucerne sends down its tap roots in mellow soils, to enor- mous depths, having been found in sandy soils thirteen feet in length. The leaflets are in threes, obovate, oblong, toothed, the flowers pale blue, violet, or purple, shaped as in Fig. 92, the fruit in downy pods, having two or three twirls, as in Fig. 93. Lucerne is cultivated in Chili and grows wild in the utmost luxuriance in the pampas of Buenos Ayres, where it is called alfalfa, which is simply the com- mon lucerne, slightly modified by climate, and may be regarded as a variety. The cultivation of lucerne is somewhat more difficult than —— Fa Se — $447 i Fig. 91. Lucerne. 13 98 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS." that of clover for the first year, requiring a soil, thoroughly mellowed and prepared by clean and careful tillage; and the want of proper attention to this point has led to partial fail- ures in the attempts to raise it in this country. It suffers and languishes in compact clay soils, and does not flourish in light soils lying over an impermeable subsoil, which prevents the water from running off. It will never succeed well on thin soils. But in a permeable subsoil, consisting of loam, or sand or gravel, its roots can penetrate to great depths, and being nearly destitute of lateral shoots, provided with numerous fibrous rootlets, or radical off-shoots, imbibe their moisture and nutri- ment in layers of soil far below the average of other plants. In this respect it differs materially from clover. For lucerne, a suitable subsoil is of the utmost consequence. For the short lived red clover, a suitable surface soil is more important; a want of care and deep tillage, especially a neglect to break through and loosen up the hard-pan wherever it exists, will inevitably lead to failure with lucerne. But when the soil is suitable, it will produce good and very profitable crops for from five to ten or twelve years, and, of course, it does not belong in the system of short rotations. But notwithstanding the large quantity of succulent and nutritious forage it produces, its effect is to ameliorate and improve the soil rather than to exhaust it. This apparent anomaly is explained by the fact that all leguminous, broad leaved plants derive a large proportion of their nutritive mate- rials from the atmosphere, and that a vast quantity of roots are left to decay in the soil when it is at last broken up, varying, of course, with the length of time the plant continues in the soil, while the luxuriant foliage serves to shade the soil and thus to increase its fertility. Much of this rich foliage is scattered and left to decay, as is the case with all similar plants at the time of harvesting, and the growth of the aftermath is also usually very considerable. The fact that it actually increases the fertility of the soil for other plants, has often been proved and may be regarded as fully established. A soil which would bear only a medium crop of wheat at first, produced a greatly increased quantity after being laid down to lucerne a few years till its roots had enriched the soil. ’ Lucerne should not follow immediately after having been. NATURAL HISTORY. 99 grown a few years on the same soil, and then broken up, but after the land on which it has been grown has been cultivated with some other crop or laid down to the natural grasses a length of time equal to that during which it had previously remained in lucerne, it can safely be sown again with it. The seed of lucerne, when fresh and good, is yellow, glossy and heavy. If the seeds are white, it is.an indication that they are not ripe. If they are brown, we may infer that they have been subjected to too strong a heat to separate them from their husks. In either of these cases, it is not safe to purchase or torely upon them. The same may be said of clover, and it is desirable to try them by a simple method which will be indi- cated hereafter in speaking of the selection of seed. As the seeds of lucerne are somewhat larger than clover seed and the plant tillers less, it is necessary to sow a larger quantity per acre. It may be sown in the spring along with grain crops, as clover often is, and not a very large crop should be expected the first year. Lucerne should be cut as soon as it begins to flower, or even earlier. If cut much earlier it is apt to be too watery and less nutritious and cures with greater difficulty; if later, it becomes coarse and hard with woody fibre, and is less relished by cattle. It may be cut and fed green and is an exceedingly valuable plant for soiling cattle, or it may be cut and cured and used like clover hay; but in either case, it must be cut before blossoming. It is thought by many, that lucerne will not endure the climate of New England, but I do not think it satisfactorily proved, and I have been somewhat minute in speaking of it, in the hope of inducing more careful experiments on a scale and under circumstances sufficient to determine its relative value for us. Jam the more anxious on this point from the fact that 1am convinced, after much study and observation of our climate, that we should direct our labors in farming more with reference to the frequent droughts of summer to which we are liable every year, and from which there is no immediate and practicable escape except in thorough drainage and deep tillage, which most farmers are unwilling to undertake at pres- ent. ‘ When properly managed, the number of cattle which can be kept in good condition on an acre of lucerne, during 100 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. the whole season, exceeds belief. It is no sooner mown than it pushes out fresh shoots ; and wonderful as the growth of clover sometimes is, in a field that has been lately mown, that of lucerne is far more rapid. Lucerne will last for many years, shooting its roots—tough and fibrous almost as those of liquorice —downwards for nourishment, till they are altogether out of the reach of drought. In the dryest and most sultry weather, when every blade of grass droops for want of moisture, lucerne holds up its stem, fresh and green, as in the genial spring.” I am, convinced, also, that the failures of attempts to culti- vate lucerne with us may be ascribed, in nearly every instance, to an improper selection of soils, and am inclined to think that amore accurate knowledge of the plant anda more careful observation of its habits of growth would lead to its more gen- eral adoption as an economical forage plant. I have procured fine specimens of lucerne in various parts of this State, where it is very successfully cultivated, but on too lim- ited a scale to determine its comparative value as a farm crop. SAINFOIN, (hedysarum ono- brychis,) differs from lucerne in many important particu- lars. It is a leguminous plant with many stems from two to three feet long, strag- gling, tapering, smooth, leaves in pairs of pointed, oblong leaflets, slightly hairy on the under side, flower stalks high- er than the leaves, ending in a spike of crimson or varie- gated flowers, succeeded by flat, hard pods, toothed on the edges and prickly on the sides, root perennial, and hard and woody. Flowers in July. Wig. 94. The flower . is shown in Fig. 95, and the fruit in Fig. 96. Experiments have been made in introducing. and cultivating it in this State, but without success. It requires a calcareous soil. Fig. 94. Sainfoin. NATURAL HISTORY. 101 In the south of France, where it flourishes best, it is considered an indispensable forage plant, improving the quality and in- creasing the quantity of milk when fed to milch cows, to which it may be given without producing the ‘ hoove,” to which they are subjected when allowed to feed freely on green clover and lucerne. Its stalks do not become ligneous if allowed to stand till blossoming, as those of lucerne do. The amount of fodder obtained from it is less than that from clover or lucerne, but its quality, where it can be successfully grown, is better. Its fruit or seed is said to be far more nutritious than oats. They are eagerly sought by fowls, and cause them to lay. Sainfoin, when green and young, will not endure a severe winter, but after the second or third year will endure a con- siderable degree of cold. It will succeed in very dry soils, sands and gravels. It is grown with great success in some of the southern counties of England. Its seeds have been gen- erally distributed over the country through the agency of the Patent Office, but, so far as I know, they have been followed by no marked success in the way of crops in New England. The-arrow grasses form a limited family consisting of only three species found in New England. They are arranged in the following table :— Taste II. List of Arrow Grasses. (Juncaginee.) Common Name. Systematic Name. Flown Place of growth. Marsh ArrowGrass. . - | Triglochin palustre, . . | August, . | Marshes, both salt and fresh. Sea-side Arrow Grass, . . | Triglochin maritinum, -| July, Aug. . | Salt marshes. Tall Arrow Grass, . ; . | Triglochin elatum, . . | June, July, . | Swampsin Bridgewater The second of these; the sea arrow grass, is Common in our salt marshes, having rush-like leaves of a sweetish taste, relished by cattle, and forming a very good fodder when well cured. Many of the rushes or grass-like plants so common along the borders of our ponds, and called grasses in popular language, are readily eaten in the spring while green and full of juice. They are arranged in the following table :— 102 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. TasiE III. List of Grass-like Rushes. (Juncacea. ) Common Name. Systematic Name. Waenee Place of growth. Common Wood Rush, . .| Luzula campestris, . . | April, May, . | Fields and dry woods. Broad-leaved Hairy Wood - Rush, . : . | Luzula pilosa, . : -| May, . . | Open woods, river banks Small-flowered Wood Rush, . | Luzula parviflora, : -| July, . . | Mountains, West. Mass. Soft Rush, . 2 ‘i Juncus effusus, . - -| June, . 3 Swampy grounds: com- Slender Rush, A : . | Juncus filiformis, : -| July, . . | Wet banks and shores. Baltic Rush, . | Juncus+balticus, . - -| July, . . | Sandy shores. Smaller Round-headed Rush, | Juncus nodosus, . é -|July, . .| Borders of rivers and Many-headed Rush, . . | Juncus polycephalus, . -| July, . 3 Wet aE oe Sharp-fruited Rush, . . | Juneus acuminatus, . . | August, . | Boggy swamps. Brownish-fruited Rush, .| Juncus articulatus, . ; - - | Wet places. Conrad’s Rush, | Juncus Conradi, . : .| July, Aug. .| Borders of ponds in sandy soil. Toad Rush, . : - . | Juncus bufonius, : . | June, Aug. .! Low grounds, roadsides Slender Rush, : : . | Juncus tenuis, . ° .| June, Aug. . | Low grounds, fields. Greene’s Rush, .- E . | Juncus Greenei, . : .| July, . . Sandy borders of salt marshes. Black Grass, . : . . | Juncus bulbosus, = . | August, . Borders of salt marshes Grass-leayed Rush, ; . | Juncus marginatus, . -| July, . 5 Moist, sandy swamps. Long-fruited Rush, ; . | Juneus Stygius, . - 5 - - | Peat swamps, - Three-leayed Rush, 7 . | Juncus trifidus, og OULYS 2 6 . , Mountain summits. The most prominent and valuable of these plants is the Buack Grass, (juncus bulbosus, var. gerardi,) an inhabitant of salt marshes. This plant has a simple, slender stem, some- what flattened, from one to two feet high. It is considered the best product of the salt marshes and grows most luxuriantly along their borders which are only occasionally overflowed by the tides, often working its way to the uplands where the seed is scattered, in large quantities, in curing. It should be cut early, and when well cured is thought to be nearly equal in value to good English hay. Though not of itself equal in value, weight for weight, fo “‘ goose grass,” (poa maritima, p. 49, Fig. 30,) yet the product per acre is so much larger as to make it a more desirable crop. Most of the salt marsh plants have already been described in the natural history of the true grasses. The “* Goose Grass,” one of the most valuable of them, was mentioned under its synonym, Sea Spear Grass, Fig. 30, p. 4, NATURAL HISTORY. 103 the name “goose grass,’ by which it is more generally known along the shores of Essex county and Cape Cod, having been inadvertently omitted. It. is generally considered one of the best products of the salt marsh when it grows in mixture with other species of plants, as the black grass, for instance, and deserves a more extended notice. It is very well known that large tracts of salt marsh are nearly barren. Sometimes close cutting in the early morning, while the dew is on the grass and when it cuts comparatively easy, kills it out, and from that cause the marsh becomes bar- ren. More often, however, excess of water, either upon the surface or in the soil, from the proximity of ponds which have no outlet, causes barrenness. On all such tracts goose grass springs up and dots the whole surface with circular patches of green, which in, shape are very like ringworms on the human skin. This grass is seldom found alone except on these barren tracts, and upon them it grows so short and thin as seldom to be worth cutting. One will therefore never see any goose grass hay except mixed with other kinds, and generally with black grass. When these tracts begin to improve, either from draining or from any other cause, other grasses make their appearance, and the goose grass grows much more vigorous and becomes valuable. This will continue to be the case for several years, until the roots of the other grasses have taken entire possession of the soil, when the goose grass disappears almost entirely and bides its time, ready to appear again whenever from any cause its intrusive competitors cease to exist. The hay made from the mixture of goose and other grasses —among which black grass generally predominates—is a most valuable fodder. The goose grass is so weighty that it takes but a small quantity, comparatively, for a ton, and cattle eat it with almost as much avidity as oats or any other grain. In fact, no hay is more valuable than black grass with a largé admixture of goose grass, when properly cured. The curing process requires care and time, for goose grass is as full of sap as possible, and requires a much longer expos- ure than black grass, while a very little wet when it is partially cured, materially injures the black grass. We may judge of the properties of goose grass from the 104 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. fact, that in several instances within my own knowledge, cattle have died of hoove from eating it early in the spring. It resembles in the shape of its leaves, and somewhat in its cluster-like growth, that species of garlic which used formerly to be grown in kitchen gardens called cives, or more properly chives. Its seed stalks and seeds are almost precisely like the seed stalks and seeds of the common plantain. It grows both on high and low marshes, but is very seldom worth cutting on those tracts where it grows by itself and without the admixture of other grasses. It is proper to state in this connection that experiments have been made to introduce this valuable grass into our fresh wet meadows, and with good success. Most of the superior salt marsh grasses are greatly improved by ditching, while the poorer and comparatively worthless plants found there very soon die out after this operation and give place to more valuable species. It may be safely asserted that, on an average, the value of the marsh is nearly doubled by it, while the vegetable, peaty matter taken from it is sufficient, if properly used, to pay a considerable portion of the outlay. There is also a small family of plants called the yellow eyed grasses, or the star grasses, consisting of only two species, the first of which is the YELLOw Eyep Grass, (2yris bulbosa,) flowering in July, August and September, growing on sandy and peaty soils, and bogs near the coast; and the second, the Common YELLOW Eyep Grass, (zyris caroliniana,) flowering in August, on sandy swamps. These are beautiful grasses, of no special agricultural value. There is still another great family of plants which, though of no agricultural value.in point of nutritive properties as com- pared with the true grasses, is, nevertheless, extensively used in New England for forage purposes, and consequently deserves a passing mention. I refer to the sedges, and plants constituting the coarse and innutritious herbage properly included in the term, CAREX, a large and prominent genus of grass-like plants, consisting in all of about four hundred and fifty species known to botanists, extensively diffused over all the damp parts of the globe, and in popular language called grasses. A few species NATURAL HISTORY. 105 of carex grow on sandy hills and along the sea shore, but most inhabit marshes, wet meadows, swamps, and the low, wet banks of streams and ditches, and moist woods. Somewhat over a hundred species are found in New England. None of them are of any real agricultural value, though they constitute mainly what we term “ meadow hay,” or more properly swale hay, in eastern Massachusetts. They are nearly destitute of mealy and saccharine principles in which many of the true grasses abound, and are eaten by cattle only when compelled by hunger, in the want of better grasses. It not unfrequently happens, however, that there is an admixture of the higher grasses among the carices or sedges, such as the fowl meadow, the bastard fowl meadow, the white top or some of the other species possessing higher nutritive qualities, and then, of course, the hay made from the swale is proportionably improved, and may thus become of considerable value for winter fodder. The Sedges are arranged in the following table :— TasLtE IV. List of Carices or Sedges, ( Cyperacee.) Common Name. Systematic Name- Tlowaing. Place of growth. Diandrus Sedge, Cyperus diandrus, Aug., Sept., | Wet grounds. Nuttall’s Sedge, Cyperus Nuttallii, August, Salt marshes. Bristle-spiked Galingale, Cyperus strigosus, July toSept., | Swamps and low lands. Gray’s Galingale, . Cyperus Grayii, . | August, Barren, sandy soils. Toothed Galingale, Cyperus dentatus, . | August, Sandy swamps. Dwarf Odorous Galingale, Cyperus inflexus, July to Sept., | Banks of rivers and Schweinitz’s Galingale, . Cyperus Schweinitzii, . August, Shores ges Common Spike-rush, - | Eleocharis palustris, August, Swamps and low lands Olive-fruited Spike-rush, . | Eleocharis olivacea, . | August, Wet, sandy places. Braked Spike-rush, Eleocharis rostellata, . - — | Marshes. Intermediate Spike-rush, Eleocharis intermedia, August, Wet places. Obtuse-headed Spike-rush, . | Eleocharis obtusa, June. July, | Bogs, borders of mud- dy ponds and rivers. Large-tubercled Spike-rush, | Eleocharis tuberculosa, August, Sandy swamps. Hair Club-rush, . | Eleocharis acicularis, . June, July, | Muddy borders of ponds Horsetail Rush, . | Eleocharis equisetoides, - - | Shallow water. Robbins’s Club-rush, . | Eleocharis Robbinsii, . . | July, Ponds and ditches. Slender Club-rush, . | Eleocharis tenuis, .| June, July, | Common in wet places, Black-fruited Club-rush, Eleocharis Melanocarpa, - - | Wet sand. Dwarf Spike-rush, 7 Eleocharis pygmea, August, Salt marshes. 14 106 Tasie 1V.—Continued. GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Common Name. Scaly-stalked Club-rush, Flat-leaved Club-rush, . Floating Club-rush, . Chair-bottom Rush, Olney’s Rush, Torrey’s Rush, Bulrush, Weak-stemmed Rush, . Sea Bulrush, River Rush, . Wood Rush, . Cluster-head Rush, Porter’s Rush, Wool Grass, . Cotton Grass, Harestail, Rusty Cotton Grass, Broad-leayed Cotton Grass, . Narrow-leaved Cotton Grass, Tall Fimbristylis, . Tufted Fimbristylis, Hair-like Fimbristylis, . Umbrella Grass, . ° Bald Rush, Horned Rush, Dwarf Hemicarpha, White Beak-rush, . Small Beak-rush, . Brown Beak-rush, Tall, Slender Beak-rush, Common Beak-rush, Round-head Beak-rush, Smooth Twig-rush, Sessile-spiked Nut-rush, Loose-flowered Nut-rush, Three-clustered Nut-rush, or Whip-grass, Few-flowered Nut-rush, Place of growth. Woods, and in bogs. Sluggish streams: rare. Borders of salt marshes and fresh ponds. Borders of muddy rivers Borders of sandy rivers Salt marshes and salt Borders of lakes and Swamps, shady borders : Time of Systematic Name. Flowering. Scirpus czespitosus, July, Wet mountains. Scirpus planifolius, June, Scirpus subterminalis, August, Scirpus pungens, July, Aug. Scirpus Olneyi, July, Salt marshes. Scirpus Torreyi, . July, Aug. | Borders of ponds. Scirpus lacustris, . July. and ponds. Scirpus debilis, August, and lakes. Scirpus maritimus, August, springs. Scirpus fluviatilis, July, Aug. large streams. Scirpus sylvaticus, July, Wet meadows. Scirpus polyphyllus, July, of ponds. Scirpus lineatus, . July, Scirpus Eriophorum, Eriophorum Alpinum, Eriophorum yaginatum, Eriophorum Virginicum, Eriophorum polystachyon, . Eriophorum gracile, Fimbristylis spadicea, . Fimbristylisautumalis, .. Fimbristylis capillaris, Fuirena squarrosa, Psilocarya scirpoides, . Ceratoschcenus macrostachya Hemicarpha subsquarrosa, . Rhynchospora alba, Rhynchospora capillacea, Rhynchospora fusca, Rhynchospora gracilenta, Rhynchospora glomerata, Rhynchospora cephalantha, Cladium mariscoides, . Scleria reticularis, Scleria laxa, Scleria triglomerata, Scleria pauciflora, July to Sépt. May, June, June, July, Aug. June, July, June to Aug. July to Sept. Aug. to Oct. Aug., Sept. August, July, July, July, Aug. July, July, July, Aug. August, July, August, August, July, July, Bogs in western Mass. Wet meadows, swamps. Peat swamps. Mossy swamps and high mountains. Common in swamps. Boggy meadows. Wet mossy swamps. Salt marshes: rare. Low grounds. Common on sandy fields. Sandy, wet places. Inundated swamps. Borders of ponds: rare. Sandy borders of rivers and lakes. Mossy swamps, mon. Swamps and marshes. com- Low wet grounds: rare. Low grounds. Boggy grounds. Sandy swamps. Borders of ponds, bog meadows. : Sandy swamps and bor- ders of ponds. Sandy swamps. Swamps and moist thickets. Swamps and hills. NATURAL HISTORY. TasLe 1V.—Continued. 107 Common Name. Dwarf Verticillate Nut-rush, Slender Sedge, Few-flowered Sedge, Bristle-stalked Sedge, Willdenow’s Sedge, Back’s Sedge, Two-seeded Sedge, Long-rooted Sedge, Ovyal-headed Sedge, Muhlenberg’s Sedge, Dry-spiked Sedge, . Rose Sedge, Retroflexed Sedge, Bur-reed Sedge, Awl-fruited Sedge, Fox Sedge, Bristly-spiked Sedge, Bromus-like Sedge, Foxtail Sedge, Sartwell’s Sedge, Lesser-panicled Sedge, . Large-panicled Sedge, Three-seeded Sedge, Dewey’s Sedge, White Carex, Systematic Name. | Time of Flowering. Place of growth. a 3 Scleria yerticillata, Carex exilis, Carex pauciflora, . Carex polytrichoides, . Carex Willdenoyii, Carex Backii, Carex disperma, Carex cherelorhiga, Carex cephalophora, Carex Muhlenbergii, Carex siccata, Carex rosea, . Carex retroflexa, . Carex sparganioides, Carex stipata, Carex vulpinoidea, Carex setacea, Carex bromoides, . Carex alopecoidea, Carex Sartwellii, . Carex teretiuscula, Carex decomposita, Carex trisperma, . Carex Deweyana, . Carex canescens, . Little Prickly Sedge, Slender Cluster-spiked Sedge, Broom-like Sedge, . Straw-colored Sedge, Long-stalked Sedge, Square-headed Sedge, Buxbaum’s Sedge, Three-headed pubescent Sedge Green-spiked pubescent Sedge, Carex stellulata, . Carex tenuiflora, . Carex scoparia, Carex straminea, . Carex pedunculata, Carex squarrosa, . Carex Buxbaumii, Carex triceps, Carex virescens, Slender Nodding Sedge, Showy Sedge, Dayis’s Sedge, Rigid Sedge, . Carex gracillima, . Carex formosa, Carex Dayisii, Carex rigida, June, May, . May, June, June, June, May, May, June, May, June, . April, May, May, May, May, June, May, May, July, June, July, . Swamps. Marshes in Danvers. Peat swamps. Low grounds & woods. Moist, shady places. Mount Tom and rocky hills. aipsy swamps and ountains. Mossy swamps. Hill-sides and fields Rocky hill-sides and mountains. : Sandy plains. Moist woods and low grounds. Open woods and moist meadows. Low swampy grounds. Swamps, low grounds. Low grounds: common Wet meadows. Wet swamps. Woods. Swamps: common. Swamps. Peat swamps, wet mountain woods. Moist woods. Wet meadows. Wet meadows. Mossy swamps. Wet meadows and swamps. Borders of woods and fields. Rocky hills and dry woods. Low meadows, thickets Mossy swamps. Woods and meadows. Woods and hill-sides. Moist grounds. Wet meadows. Swamps, river banks. . | Mountain summits. 108 TasiEe 1V.—Continued. GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Common Name. Systematic Name. Piece. Place of growth. Large Bog Sedge, . Carex augustata, . May, Swamps: common. Smaller Bog Sedge, Carex czespitosa, . May, Swamps and banks of streams. Water Sedge, Carex aquatilis, June, July, .| Borders of lakes and Golden-fruited Sedge, Carex aurea, May, June, . Borders of swamps and Fringed Sedge, Carex crinita, 5 A May, June, . | Swamps, river banks. Few-fruited Sedge, Carex oligosperma, June, Mountains, borders of swamps. Inflated Sedge, Carex bullata, May, Swamps: not common. Cylindrical-spiked Sedge, Carex cylindrica, . - - | Swamps: common. Bladder-fruited Sedge, . Carex utriculata, . May, Wet swamps. Awl-fruited Sedge, Carex subulata, May, Cedar swamps. Tall Yellow Sedge, Carex folliculata, . June, Swantps, peat bogs. Swollen-fruited Sedge, . Carex intumescens, June, Wet grounds and open Hop Sedge, Carex lupulina, June, Ps and borders of Rough-fruited Sedge, Carex scabrata, May, Beets brooks. Schweitnitz’s Sedge, Carex Schweinitzii, May, Swamps. Late-fruited Sedge, Carex retrorsa, May, Borders of ponds and streams. Long-pointed Sedge, Carex tentaculata, May, Swamps. Porcupine Sedge, . Carex hystricina, . June, Swamps: common. Cyperus-like Sedge, Carex Pseudo-Cyperus, June, Swamps and sluggish Long-beaked Sedge, Carex longirostris, June, Shady, wae places. Hairy-fruited Sedge, Carex trichocarpa, June, Marshes and lakes. Awned Sedge, Carex aristata, - - | Lake shores. Umbel-spiked Sedge, Carex umbellata, . May, Rocky hill-sides. Pennsylvanian Sedge, . Carex Pennsylvanica, . April, Dry woods and hill-sides New England Sedge, Carex Novee-Angliz, June, Woody hills and moun- Slender-leaved Sedge, Carex filiformis, May, Piat anebiteel Woolly-fruited Sedge, Carex lanuginosa, May, Swamps and borders of Short Woolly-spiked Sedge, . | Carex vestita, May, wojstnaaae soils. Pubescent Sedge, . Carex pubescens, . May, Woods and swamps. Mud Sedge, Carex limosa, June, Mossy swamps. Livid Sedge, . Carex livida, June, Mossy swamps. Large Yellow Carex, Carex flava, . May, Swamps. (Eder’s Sedge, Carex (deri, May, Wet limestone rocks, Pale Pubescent Sedge, . Carex pallescens, . May, Swamps. Torrey’s Sedge, Carex Torreyi, - - | Northward. Striated Sedge, Carex striata, May, Swamps. Granular-spiked Sedge, Carex granularis, May, Wetswamps: common. Loose-flowered Sedge, . . | Carex laxiflora, May, Swamps & moist woods. NATURAL HISTORY. 109 Tasie 1V.—Continued. Time of Common Name. Systematic Name. Flowering. Place of growth. Conical-fruited Sedge, . Carex conoidea, . : -|May, . . | Wet swamps. Slender Wood Sedge, . . | Carex digitalis, . . -| May, . . | Woods and hill-sides. Hitchcock’s Sedge, : . | Carex Hitchcockiana, . -|May, . . | Woods, hill-sides. Small Few-fruited Sedge, | Carex oligocarpa, ; -| May, : . | Woods. Crooked-necked Sedge, . . | Carex tetanica, . 4 -| May, . - | Margin of lakes and Two-edged Sedge, . 5 . | Carex anceps, c : -|May, . : Woeasst Pale, Smooth Sedge, _. .| Carex blanda, . é -| May, . . | Swamps and dry open Crawe’s Sedge, . : . | Carex Crawei, . ' : - - sunue of rivers. Plantain-leaved Sedge, . . | Carex plantaginea, “ . | April, May, . | Shady, rocky ravines. Carey’s Sedge, ; 2 . | Carex Careyana, . ¢ .-| May, . - | Shady, dry woods. Bristled-leaved White Sedge, | Carexeburnea, . : . | May, . . | Limestone hills. Fringed Sedge, _ : . | Carex flexilis, . " .| June, . . | Moist, shady places. Short-beaked Woody Sedge, .| Carexarctata, . . aay, =. - | Moist woods, swamps. Weak Sedge, . : - . | Carex debilis, c : .|May, . . | Moist woods, swamps. Millet-like Sedge, . : . | Carex miliacea, . 7 -|May, . . | Wet swamps. Lake Sedge, . ¢ 2 . | Carex lucustris, . . -| June, . . | Deep swamps, borders of lakes. Tuckerman’s Sedge, . . | Carex Tuckermani, . . - - | Wet swamps. Washington’s Sedge, . . | Carex Washingtoniana, 5 - - | Near summit of Mount Washington. Gray’s Sedge, 5 . . | Carex Grayii, : 6 oiithyiney » . | Swamps and river bor- Bog Sedge, . : ; . | Carex acuta, : : 0 - - |In ae bogs in swamps Sea Carex, | Carex arenaria, . . | June, July, . | Sandy sea shores. This table includes all the species of carex known and described as inhabitants of our low lands, and is thought to be very complete. As already intimated, none of these coarse sedges are rich in nutritive elements, and none are worthy of cultivation. The farmer’s care should be to eradicate them and supply their places with the higher and more nutritious grasses. This may be done by thorough draining, an opera- tion which lies at the foundation of all successful management of low lands, and without which they are comparatively worth- less, while, if properly reclaimed, they are among the best and most productive lands on the farm. The roots of the sedges are perennial, and for the most part creeping, a few being tufted and fibrous. The stems are simple and free from joints or nodes. The leaves are linear, flat, pointed, roughish on the surface and sharp on the edges. 110 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. The grasses whose natural history has been stated in the pre- ceding pages, might be separated into four or five distinet groups, which would facilitate the study of them; for it must have been observed that many of them possess marked peculiari- _ ties of growth. I. We find first the bush or jungle grasses, or such as are not inclined to grow with other species, and form a close, matted turf or sward. Of these we have as examples the Tufted Hair Grass, (aira cespitosa.) Meadow Oat Grass, (avena pratensis.) Tall Fescue Grass, (festuca elatior.) A few others, if sown alone, will assume somewhat the same form, in tufts or cushions, as Sheep’s Fescue, (festuca ovina.) Hard Fescue, (festuca duriuscula.) Orchard Grass, (dactylis glomerata.) This peculiarity in the growth of the last three grasses is prevented by close pasturing, rolling and proper cultivation. These operations improve upon nature, since if left to them- selves they would far more certainly assume the jungle growth, such as is often seen on poor, thin pasture soils, especially in the south-eastern parts of the State, where on the sandy soils this mode of growth is every where observable—a close, fine, matted sward being attained only by careful cultivation. II. The aquatic or water grasses form another distinct group, and among these are the Reed Canary Grass, (phalaris arundinacea,) Common Reed Grass, (arundo phragmites.) Water Spear Grass, (poa aquatica.) Common Manna Grass, (poa fluitans.) Rice Grass, (Leersia oryzoides.) Floating Foxtail, (alopecurus geniculatus.) Wild Rice, (zizania aquatica.) These grasses grow mostly in water and are not cultivated with us as agricultural grasses with the exception, perhaps, of NATURAL HISTORY. — 111 the first. Wild rice grass is sometimes cultivated and yields large crops at the South, and floating foxtail in Europe. III. Marsa or Sart Grasses, among which we have Salt Reed Grass, (spartina polystachya.) Rush Salt Grass, (spartina juncea.) Salt Marsh Grass, (spartina stricta.) Black Grass, (juncus bulbosus.) Beach Grass, (ammophila arundinacea.) Goose Grass, (poa maritima.) IV. Frevp or Pasture Grasses. Under this head may be included.a very large number of species, all of which have been described above. These grasses might be subdivided according to the soils and situations which they naturally affect; for though a grass may sometimes be found or placed in a soil which is not naturally fitted for it, yet no species will arrive at its most perfect development on a soil not well adapted to it. Among these might be mentioned as examples Timothy, (phleum pratense.) Meadow Foxtail, (alopecurus pratensis.) Common Spear Grass, (poa pratensis.) Orchard Grass, (dactylis glomerata.) Perennial Rye Grass, (lolium perenne.) Italian Rye Grass, (lolium italicum.) Redtop, (agrostis vulgaris.) Whitetop, (agrostis alba.) Downy Oat Grass, (avena pubescens.) Meadow Soft Grass, (holcus lanatus.) Meadow Fescue, (festuca pratensis.) Field Barley Grass, (hordeum pratense.) Tall Oat Grass, (arrhenatherum avenaceum.) V. AnnuaL WEEDS, which, though proper grasses; are often very troublesome in cultivated grounds, either on account of their creeping, underground stems, or their rapid and luxuriant growth. Thrifty farming is a ceaseless struggle against these pests, and the farmer is generally careful to keep as clear as possible of them, Among these may be named 112 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Willard’s Bromus, (bromus secalinus.) Soft Brome Grass, (bromus mollis.) Slender Foxtail, (alopecurus agrestis.) Creeping Bent Grass, (agrostis stolonifera.) Couch, or Twitch Grass, (¢riticum repens.) Rough Stalked Meadow Grass, (poa trivialis.) Annual Meadow Grass, (poa annua.) Blue, or Wire Grass, (poa compressa.) Of these, the last four are not always considered: as weeds, since they are sometimes sown as pasture grasses ; but when they appear in cultivated grounds, in gravel walks and avenues, they are exceedingly troublesome and difficult to eradicate. Each of the groups indicated above may be considerably enlarged by a study of the natural history of the deere pre- sented in the foregoing pages. Many of the grasses which have been described, possess but little value for the purposes of cultivation, it is true, but it should not be forgotten that they all have their uses, and these uses in the grand economy of nature are exceedingly impor- tant, however they may appear to our short sighted vision. No plant comes up to the sunlight or expands its beautiful leaves, that does not derive its support in part from the atmosphere, and even though its life be short, it adds materially in its decay to the vast mass of vegetable mould which covers the surface of the globe and forms the richness of the soil. This surface mould has been accumulating for ages in many localities; every plant that grew in ages past bringing down to us ina tangible form the riches with which the air that surrounded it was stored, which now lie waiting the farmers’ use in meadows of exhaustless fertility, in swamps and bogs of yyast, increasing utility in owr agriculture, and in beds of peat, the value of. which we have scarcely begun to appreciate. Thus, the grasses which are not cultivated for their direct nutritive qualities, are not without their value, and they deserve our careful study and attention. NUTRITIVE VALUE. 113 NUTRITIVE VALUE OF THE GRASSES. We have seen that the various species of grass differ very materially in nutritive value; that some contain the greatest quantity of nutritive matter when green or in the flower; others when the seed is ripe and the plant mature; that some yield a luxuriant aftermath, while others can scarcely be said to pro- duce any at all; that some flourish in elevated situations and are best suited to the grazing of sheep, while others grow most luxuriantly on the low lands and in the marshes, and sustain the richest dairies; and that no soil is so sterile, no plain so barren but that a grass can be found adapted to it. Some varieties, indeed, will not endure a soil even of medium fertility, nor the application of any stimulating manure, but cling with astonish- ing tenacity to the drifting sands, while others prefer the heaviest clays or revel in the hot beds of ammonia; some are gregarious in their habits, requiring to be sown with other species, and if sown alone will linger along till the wild grasses spring up to their support; others are solitary, and if mixed with different species will cither extirpate them, usurping to themselves the entire soil, or die and disappear. Nearly every species is distinguished for some peculiar quality, and most are deficient in some, comparatively few combining all the qualities desired by us in alternate field crops, for pastures or permanent mowing, to such an extent as to justify a general cultivation. It is important, therefore, to learn the comparative nutritive value of each species thought to be worth cultivating. This study is naturally attended with great difficulties. It is but recently that accurate researches have been made with a view of arriving at such positive results as would be entitled to full confidence.* It is now very well established that the nutritive value of the food of an animal depends chiefly upon the proportion of nitro- genous substances contained in it. Without doubt, the sugar * In 1824, a very laudable attempt was made in England by the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey, to ascertain the comparative value of most of the grasses which could then be obtained, and the results of the experiments, 16 ‘ 114 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. which is found to be an ingredient of most vegetable substances at some periods of their growth, in some degree contributes to it also. The nitrogenous constituents of any substance, as grass or hay, for instance, may be determined with little diff culty and with great exactness, since it has been found by abundant research, that, when present, they are of nearly the same constitution, and do not vary in their combinations. The determination of the sugar is somewhat more difficult. The constituents of plants may be divided into two classes, one class embracing all those substances of which nitrogen or azote forms a part, and the other consisting of non-nitrogenous bodies. Gluten, albumen, gelatine, casein, legumen and fibrin, belong to the former class, being nitrogenous substances, while starch, gum, sugar, woody fibre, mucilage, &c., are destitute of nitrogen, or non-nitrogenous. Only a small quantity of nitrogen is found in vegetable sub- stances, and it is derived, in part, at least, from the atmosphere in the form of ammonia. On the other hand, nitrogenous sub- stances form a large proportion of the constituents of the blood of animals and appear in their whole system. As there is a con- stant waste in the animal anda continual formation of new tissues,—as the whole body is constantly renewed through the agency of the blood which is converted into flesh and muscle,— there must be a never failing supply of nourishment, and this nourishment for the higher animals is found, as already inti- mated, in the nitrogenous elements of plants. conducted by his gardener, George Sinclair, were detailed in a volume under the title of “ Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis.” This work, which was the first treatise worthy of mention on this subject, became the text-book on the grasses, and has been followed by most subsequent writers, down to the present time. But these experiments must be regarded as very unsatisfactory, both on account of the imperfections of the methods of arriving at the results, (though they were the best then known, and suggested by Sir Humphrey Davy,) and because each species or variety was cultivated only to a very limited extent. The produce per acre, for instance, was calculated, in most cases, from the yield of four square feet. Besides this, very great discrepancies occur in the volume which can with difficulty be accounted for. The analyses recently made by Prof. Way, the distinguished chemist of the Royal Agricultural Society, are more reliable, in my estimation, than any which can be found, and no treatise on the grasses would be complete without giving the valuable results to which he has arrived. NUTRITIVE VALUE. 115. For every ounce of nitrogen which the animal requires to sustain life and health, he must take into the stomach, in the shape of food, such a quantity of vegetable substances as will furnish him with an ounce of-nitrogen. If we suppose one kind of hay to contain one ounce of nitrogen to the pound, and another to have only half as much, or only an ounce in two pounds, the pound which contains the ounce of nitrogen would go as far to nourish the animal—other things being equal— as the two pounds which contain only the same quantity of nitrogen. The importance of woody fibre to act mechanically in giving bulk to the food, is not, of course, to be overlooked. Nor is this a mere deduction of theory. The experiment has frequently been made, and it is now fully established both by science and experience, that the greater the proportion of nitro- gen which any vegetable contains, the smaller will be the quan- tity of that vegetable required to nourish the animal body, and the less nitrogen any vegetable contains, the greater will be the quantity of it required. Muscle and flesh are composed of nitrogenous principles, while fat is made up of non-nitrogenous matter. Every keeper of stock knows that to feed an animal on oil cake alone, for instance, which is but slightly nitroge- nous, might fatten him, but it would not give him strength of muscle or size ; while if the same animal be kept on the cereal grains, as wheat or Indian corn, alone, his size rapidly increases, his muscular system develops, and he gains flesh without increasing his fat in proportion. It was with reference to these facts that Boussingault formed his tables of nutritive equiva- lents, and they agree very closely with the results of practical observation. The non-nitrogenous substances are necessary for the pro- duction of fat and to supply the animal body with heat, and thus they meet a want in the animal economy, although they do not contribute so directly to nourish and sustain the system. They are, therefore, important in the analyses of articles of food, though not so essential in determining merely their nutri- tive values. From what has been said, the reader will very readily understand the following tables containing the results of the investigations of Prof. Way. The specimens of the various grasses on which his researches were made, were analyzed both 116 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. in their green state as taken from the field, and after being dried at a temperature of 212° Fahr.,a point at which the moisture is found to be entirely expelled and evaporation ceases, and the importance of both determinations must be obvious on a moment’s reflection. The names of the natural grasses and the dates of their collection are arranged in the following table :— Taste V. Natural Grasses. Name, and Date of Collection. NS aaaeaeeeee—————————————— 1 Common Name. Botanic Name. Rested Character of the Soil. Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, .| Anthoxanthumodoratum, .| May 25, | Calcareous loam. Meadow Foxtail Grass, . . | Alopecurus pratensis, . .|Junel, | Calcareons loam, gray- elly subsoil. Tall Oat Grass, . : . | Arrhenatherum ayenaceum, . | July 17, | Forest marble loam. Yellow Oat Grass, . . .|Avenaflavescens, . . «| June 29, | Forest marble loam. Downy Oat Grass, . : . | Trisetum pubescens, rf -| July 11, | Dry calcareous oan Common Quaking Grass, . . | Briza media, . 3 C . | June 29, | Forest marble. Upright Brome Grass, _. .| Bromus erectus, . : . | June 23, | Calcareous loam. Soft Brome Grass, . - . | Bromus mollis, 3 - «| May 8, Stiff loam. Crested Dog’s-tail Grass, . . | Cynosurus cristatus, ; . | June 21, | Calcareous loam. Orchard Grass, . . c . | Dactylis glomerata, . 5 . | June 18, | Caleareous loam on Orchard Grass, seeds ripe, . | Dactylis glomerata, - : . | July 19, Gaaeaae loam. Hard Fescue Grass, . 4 . | Festuca duriuscula, - . | June 18, | Dry calcareous loam. Meadow Soft Grass, . : . | Holeus lanatus, A : . | June 29, | Calcareous loam. Barley Grass, . : : . | Hordeum pratense, . : .| July 11, | Caleareous loam on Perennial Rye Grass, ; .| Lolium perenne, . : . | June 8, Cotes rubbly loam Italian Rye Grass, . ‘ .|Loliumitalicum, . . . | June 13, | Forest marble loam. Timothy, . 3 ; : . | Phleum pratense, . : . | June 13, | Forest marble loam. Annual Spear Grass, d Poaannua, . : = . | May 28, | Loam, with gravelly dune Grass, . - 4 . | Poa pratensis, . - . . | June 11, Dry cule loam. Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . | Poa trivialis, . é : . | June 18, | Calcareous loam. Grass from a watered or irrigated : meadow, : ; .| First Crop, . i F . | April 80, | Caleareous loam. Grass froma watered orirrigated meadow, é : . | Second Crop, . : ; . | June 26, | Calcareous loam. Annual Rye Grass, . 5 P - - - June 8, | Calcareousrubbly loam — = In the same manner, the name and date of collection of each specimen of artificial grass, analyzed, are arranged in table VI. NUTRITIVE VALUE. 117 Tasrr VI. Artificial Grasses. Name, and Date of Collection. Common Name. Botanic Name. Date of | Character of Soil. Red Clover, . " - . | Trifolium pratense, . . | June 7, Tenacious loam. Perennial Clover, . . . | Trifolium perenne, . . | June 4, Calcareous loam. Crimson Clover, . ‘ . | Trifolium incarnatum, . | June 4, Caleareous loam. Cow Grass, : . . | Trifolium medium, . . | June 7, Tenacious loam. Cow Grass, 2d lot, 5 . | Trifolium medium, . . | June 21, | Calcareous loam. Hop trefoil, . i : . | Trifolium procumbens, . | June 13, | Caleareous loam. White Clover, : : . | Trifolium repens, h . | June 18, | Forest loam. Common yetch, . = . | Vicia sativa, : - . | June 13, | Forest loam. Sainfoin, - 5 3 . | Onobrychis sativa, . . | June 8, Dry loam. Lucerne, or Alfalfa, . . | Medicago sativa, . : . | June 16, - = Black Medick, or Nonsuch, . | Medicagolupulina, . . | June 6, Caleareous loam. ——— The inquiries of Prof. Way were directed to ascertain 1. The proportion of water in each grass as taken from the field. 2. The proportion of albuminous or flesh-forming substances, including, without distinction, all the nitrogenous principles. 3. The proportion of oily or fatty matters which may be called fat-forming principles. 4. The proportion of elements of respiration, or heat pro- ducing principles, among which are included starch, gum, sugar, pectic acid, &c.; all the non-nitrogenous substances indeed, except fatty matters and woody fibre. 5. The proportion of woody fibre. 6. The amount of mineral matter or ash. The specimens were picked out, plant by plant, each specimen by itself, from fields in which they were growing naturally, or mixed in the ordinary mode of cultivation, and were not raised expressly for analysis. These tables of analyses, containing as they do the results of profound investigation, and forming as they do one of the most important contributions recently made to the science of agri- culture, are worthy of careful study and will be found to be full of the most valuable practical suggestions. The results of the analysis of the natural grasses in the green state, are arranged in table VII. as follows :— 118 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Taste VII. Analysis of Natural Grasses. (100 parts as taken green from the field.) BH a ¥ le : 8 Name of Grass. : is Te | & ae rae ie a4 8 |£8e| & lgeee| 8 | ss 2 )B4"). 3. (Sse8) ee = < me = = T Sweet-scented Vernal, c : 5 c 80.35 2.05 -67 8.54 (15 1.24 Meadow Foxtail, 5 “ : : : 80.20 2.44 52 8.59 6.70 1.55, Tall Oat Grass, . 5 J. Soke Bee . 72.65 3.54 87 | 11.21 9.37 2.36 Vellow iat) Grand enrol.) )meumem Tne 60.40 2.96 1.04 | 18.66 | 14.22 2.72 Downy Oat Grass, ; 5 " : : 61.50 8.07 92 | 19.16 | 18.34 2.01 Quaking Grass, . : 4 4 5 3 51.85 2.93 1.45 22.60 17.00 4.17 Upright Brome Grass, § ‘i : 59.57 3.78 1.35 83°19 2.11 Soft Brome Grass, . ; , ‘ 76.62 4.05 AT 9.04 8.46 1.86 Crested Dog’s-tail, . c ; , : 62.73 4.13 1.382 } 19.64 9.80 2.38 Orchard Grass, . Sid) 1 MEGA : 70.00 4.06 94 | 13.30 | 10.11 1.59 Orchard Grass, seeds ripe, . / 5 ‘ 52.57 10.93 -74 | 12.61 | 20.54 2.61 Hard Fescue Grass, : : ¢ 69.33 3.70 1.02 | 12.46 | 11.83 1.66 Meadow Soft Grass, . : : - : 69.70 3.49 1.02 | 11.92 | 11.94 1,93 Barley Grass, . . Ce Ria ec ‘ 58.85 4.59 94 | 20.05 | 13.08 2.54 Perennial Rye Grass, . é : ; : 71.48 3.37 91 | 12.08 | 10.06 2.15 Italian Rye Grass, . ; . : 5 75.61 2.45 80 | 14.11 4.82 2.21 Timothy Grass, . . . . . . | b721| 486] 150] 2285 | 1192] 2.26 Annual Spear Grass, . Sess A eR 79.14 2.47 wl | 10:79 6.30 59 June Grass, aieaiies *\ tl Samm et 67.14 3.41 86 | 14.15 | 132.49 1.95 Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . : 5 73.60 2.58 97 | 10.54 | 10.11 2.20 Grass from Irrigated Meadow, . j : 87.58 3.22 81 3.98 3.18 1.28 Grass from Irrigated Meadow, 2d crop, . 74.53 2.78 52 | 11.17 8.76 2.24 Annual Rye Grass, . 5 5 ; 5 69.00 2.96 69 | 12.89 | 12.47 1.99 A glance at the first column of table VII. will show a striking difference in the percentage of water, it being as high as 80 in some instances, while it falls as low as 60, and in one instance to. 51, without considering the second specimen of orchard erass—in which the seed was allowed to ripen, when, of course, the amount of water would be much less than at the period of flowering—or the irrigated grasses. It will be noticed that those grasses which come earliest into flower are generally the most succulent, though this is not uni- formly the case. NUTRITIVE VALUE. 119 It will be seen that the sweet-scented vernal grass and the meadow foxtail contain but 20 parts in 100, of dry, solid mat- ter, while the yellow oat and the downy oat grasses contain nearly double, or about 40 per cent. This difference, though of no great importance in itself, is of some interest in showing that to judge of the quantity of hay a given burden of grass will produce, it is necessary to consider the species of grass which mainly composes the meadow, since it is evident that a - given weight of one variety might make double the quantity of the same weight of another. But the chief interest of the table is to be found in columns three, four and five. The albuminous or flesh forming princi- ples will be found to be double in some instances what they are in others; and in accordance with the principles laid down in, the explanatory remarks which precede the tables, some would appear to be more than twice as nutritive as others, but it should be borne in mind that these differences depend in part on the yariations in the quantity of water, and that the real differences will appear more apparent in the dried specimens. A glance at table VIII. will show that the percentage of water in the artificial grasses as taken from the field, is greater than that of the natural grasses under the same circumstances. The percentage of albuminous or flesh forming principles is generally, though by no means uniformly, less than that of our best grasses. Compare red clover, for instance, with Timothy, and the first striking peculiarity is the difference in the amount of water, in the one case exceeding 81 per cent., leaving but 19 per cent. of solid matter from which the flesh forming and other nutritive substances must be drawn, while in Timothy the water amounts to only little over 57 per cent., leaving 43 per cent. of solid substances containing nutritive principles. This is an important difference to begin with. The percentage of flesh forming principles of the two plants does not, at first sight, appear to differ very materially, the clover containing 4.27 the Timothy 4.86; but a little consideration of the exceed- ing value of this constituent, will show that the latter has an important advantage in this respect over the clover. In fat- forming principles, the Timothy is more than twice as rich as clover, while in heat-producing principles—also very valuable— Timothy far surpasses clover, the one producing 22.85 per cent., . 120 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. and the other only 8.45 per cent. Of waste and useless matter in the shape of woody fibre, Timothy contains the largest per cent., while the larger quantity of mineral matter shows it also to be a greater exhauster of the sojl. The most valuable prac- tical deductions of a similar nature may be made by comparing these tables. Tasie VIII. Analysis of Artificial Grasses. (100 parts, as taken from the field). ba Pea ett 8 aPeia do” |S aiseot ae 3 sea | 2 [eees| & | 8. Name of Plant. pies Gi Ro meee | Hi ads 1 Sco Ei) eee E32 £ Box hey 2 eae 5 © Gopeib seer ahi= a Samm) 4S ee? = = ae iF =e P= Red Clover, s 5 7 - 81.01 4.27 69 8.45 3.76 1.82 Perennial Clover, he RY Seas ip es 81.05 3.64 -78 8.04 4.91 1.58 Crimson Clover,. . . . . «. | 8214! 296 67:| 6.701 6984. ame Cow Grass, . é 5 : ; ¢ - 74.10 6.39 92 9.42 6.25 3.01 Cow Grass,2d specimen, . . . . | 77.57 | 422-| 107 | 44] 493] Lay Hop Trefoil, 3 2 . : 0 ; 83.48 3.39 17 7.25 3.74 1.37 White Clover, . 5 : : : : 79.71 3.80 89 8.14 5.38 2.08 Common Vetch, . “ c : J c 82.90 | 4.04 52 6.75 4.68 reat Bainfoin, . , 2. ¢- 2 4 7e64’ | 482) | 70) | 20.789 eee ne Lucerne, or Alfalfa, . - : - ; 69.95 | 3.83 82 | 18.62 8.74 3.04 | Black Medick, or Nonsuch, a haen ed he 76.80 | 5.70 94 7.73 6.32 2.51 It will be seen in table IX. that in the case of orchard grass and the irrigated meadow, the seeds were ripened, and they should not, therefore, be compared with other grasses taken in the blossom, without considering this fact. It will be seen, too, that the specimens analyzed were in the dry state, much drier than they could be made by the ordinary process of hay making ; for however perfectly the hay is cured it will still contain a very considerable percentage of water, and if artificially dried, as in the trials given above, and then exposed to the air, it will absorb from 10 to 15 per cent. of water, showing that no hay is abso- lutely dry by any ordinary processes. In England, the percent- age of water in well made’ hay is about 16, and hay artificially dried will absorb that amount if exposed again to the air. I do not think the percentage here would be so large, for obvious reasons. In the analysis of the hay of the reed canary grass, NUTRITIVE VALUE. 121 made by Prof. Horsford and given ona preceding page, the percentage was but 10.24. That was a well-cured specimen, taken after it had passed the period of blossoming, and the amount of water is, perhaps, slightly below the average. Taster IX. Analysis of Natural Grasses. (100 parts of the grass dried at 212° Fahr.) Bae tae ele has Ose Name of Grass. Z P 3 al Be é, < 3 4 Sweet-scented Vernal Grass, . . «. | 10.48 3.41 | 48.48 36.36 | 6.32 BrremieyehGNta nee hs 12.32 2.92 43.12 383.83 7.81 TallOatGrass, - . - - + - 12.95 3.19 38.03 84.24 11.59 Yellow Oat Grass, : , : : 4 7.48 2.61 47.08 85.95 6.88 Downy Oat Grass, : ; é = ies ray 2.39 49.78 84.64 5.22 Quaking Grass, . = : 3 " : 6.08 3.01 46.95 35.380 8.66 Upright Brome Grass, : als : 9.44 3.33 82:02 5.21 Soft Brome Grass, .. : : . : 17.29 2.11 388.66 86.12 5.82 Crested Dog’s-tail, . ... swieG. 11.08 3.54 52.64 26.36 6.88 ORAL ERIVE Se, ie 13.53 3.14 44.32 33.70 6.31 Orchard Grass, seedsripe,. . . - 23.08 1.56 26.58 43.32 5.51 Hard Fescue Grass, . : : : Say 12.10 3.34 40.43 38.71 5.42 MeadoweotuGrass.. . 3. - 3. 11.52 3.56 389.25 389.30 6.37 Meadow Barley Grass, : : : a ea lr 2.30 46.68 31.67 6.18 Perennial Rye Grass, . c : F . 11,85 3.17 42.24 85.20 7.54 Italian RyeGrass, . . . Sands 10.10 3.27 57.82 19.76 9.05 Couea\ lige ages 11.36 3.55 53.35 26.46 5.28 Annual Spear Grass, . . ; ; ‘i 11.83 3.42 51.7 30.22 2.88 June Grass, © 3 s ; ‘ : : 10.35 2.63 43.06 88.02 5.94 Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, . ; - 9.80 3.67 40.17 38.03 8.33 Grass from irrigated meadow, . : wa re tea 6.53 82.05 25.14 10.87 Grass from irrigated meadow, 2d crop, 10.92 2.06 43.90 34.30 8.82 | It will be seen that a great difference exists in the valuable constituents of the grasses analyzed in this table, ranging as follows :— : Lowest. Highest. Average. Flesh-forming principles, . . 6.08 17.29 11.68 Fat-producing principles, . aoe 3.67 2.89 Heat-giving principles, . . 98.03 57.82 47.92 16 122 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. Taste X. Analysis of Artificial Grasses. (In 100 parts of the grass dried at 212° Fahr.) cea = ea ae Uae A. Name of Plant. a5 st Ae? ie aq Sos ce me ba e2 a5 & ere 3 Db 2a A Be geSS iS AS = & Spree = a Red Clover, 22.55 3.67 44.47 19.75 9.56 Perennial Cloyer, ; : : ; . 19.18 4.09 42.42 25.96 8.35 Crimson Clover, . : , - : 3 16.60 3.73 387.50 32.39 9.78 Cow Grass, . c 3 . : . - 24.33 3.57 36.36 24.14 11.60 Cow Grass, 2d specimen, . , wes 18.77, 4.77 49.65 18.84 7.97 Hop Trefoil, : : 0 , : ; 20.48 | 4.67 43.86 22.66 8.33 White Clover, . . : : 3 - 18.76 4.38 40.04 26.53 10.29 Common Vetch, . - > : - 23.61 3.06 39.45 27.38 * 6.50 Sainfoin, . : : : : é < 18.45 3.01 45.96 24.71 7.87 Lucerne, or Alfalfa, . : ; . : IPE Io ORE 40.16 34.21 10.11 BlackiMedick.os (cue twat, di's \aalre. Grate 24.60 4.06 33.381 27.19 10.84 A glance at this table will show that the different principles in the artificial grasses vary to a great extent, as follows :— : Lowest. Highest. Average. Flesh-forming principles, . 21276 24.60 18.68 Fat-producing principles, . afoot G 4.17 5.76 Heat-giving principles, . . 33.91 49.65 41.48 The difference in composition exhibited in the natural grasses of table IX. are very marked, and of course, the value of the grasses as compared with each other must vary greatly. Still, the practical value of a grass depends somewhat upon circum- stances which cannot be analyzed, such as the period at which it arrives at maturity, and the particular soil and location of the farmer. It might happen that a grass not in itself so rich in nutritive qualities as another, would be preferred on account of its coming to maturity just at the time when the farmer most needed it. But the particular value of this table is, that it shows the comparative nutritive qualities of the grasses, since all the specimens were collected and investigated in the same manner, at the same period of growth,—or as nearly as_possi- ble,—when in the flower, so that whatever sources of error NUTRITIVE VALUE. 123 might exist to modify the results, they would naturally apply to all alike. The grasses from the irrigated meadow consisted principally of June, or Kentucky blue grass, rough stalked meadow grass, perennial rye grass, meadow soft grass, barley grass, meadow oat grass and a few other species, and it will be noticed that in combination they abound in flesh and fat-forming principles to a greater extent than we should be led to suppose from the composition of any one of them alone. Our favorite Timothy compares very favorably with the other grasses, containing a less percentage of useless matter as woody fibre, than any other, except Italian rye grass and crested dog’s- tail, a grass not common with us, and the irrigated grasses. In point of soluble, heat-producing principles, sugar, gum and starch, it is surpassed by the Italian rye grass, but by no others. The analyses of this grass in its green and dry states in tables VII. and IX., fully justify the preference which we have long shown for the use of Timothy; for, as taken from the field at the time of blossoming, it will be found to contain less water, (table VII.,) a greater percentage of flesh and fat-forming principles, and less useless matter in the shape of woody fibre, than most of the other grasses. The deductions of science certainly correspond,-in this case, with the results of practice. A comparison of tables VII. and IX. with tables VII. and X. will show the comparative advantages of the use of the artificial grasses, in point of albuminous or flesh-forming principles and fatty matters. The carbonaceous or heat-producing principles remain nearly the same throughout, while the percentage of waste matter or woody fibre is less than in the natural grasses. This is an important fact, worthy of the careful consideration of the farmer. : : In the sixth column of table IX. will be found the percentage of ash of each of the grasses analyzed. Table XI. contains a still further analysis of this ash, which gives all the inorganic constituents which the plant derives from the soil and the manures furnished to it. It is important and suggestive to one who will examine it carefully, as indicating the kind of manure which in many cases it may be desirable to apply. The first peculiarity which plainly appears from a glance at the ash analyses, is the very large percentage of silicates and 124 TABLE XI. Artificial Grasses. GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. * Analysis of the Ash of some of the Natural and Common Name. Meadow Foxtail, . Sweet-scented Vernal, Downy Oat Grass, Upright Brome Grass, Soft Brome Grass, Crested Dog’s-tail, Orchard Grass, Orchard Grass, with seeds ripe, . Hard Fescue Grass, Meadow Soft Grass, Meadow Barley Grass, Perennial Rye Grass, . Annual Spear Grass, . June Grass, Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, Timothy, Annual Rye Grass, Yellow Oat Grass, Red Clover, . White Clover, Sainfoin in flower, Sainfoin in seed, . Italian Rye Grass in flower, Italian Rye Grass in seed, . 2 oi 8 pes eae i) | Sa Mo] 5 KS} Pehl ae} o. |e =e (lal ¢lstsl2| 2a 2 |) |a}|o}|Alzlal|alajo pf 7.81 38.75, 6.25| 2.16] .65 3,901.28 AT 27.08 = 0 i 6.82 28.36 10.09) 3.89] 1.26 9.21 2.58 1.18 32.03} -| 7.08 4.90 5.22 36.28 10.82) 3.87, — | 4.723.17| .7281.21) - 4.05"6.68 5.21 88.48 7.53) 5.46] .55 10.28 4.99) .26 20.83} - 10.68.88 5,82 88.84) 9.62) 4.91) 9.07) 6.642.60| .28 30.09.88 - |3.11 6.38 40.11} 7.24] 3.20] - |10.16 2.43) 1824.99) -| 11.60) - 5.81 26.65) 8.60) 3.52) 2.09, 5.82 2.22) 5929.52) -| 17.86 3.09 5.51 82.18, 6.41) 8.96, 2.88, 8.14 3.47| .28 33.06) -| 4.87, 4.76 5.42 28.58 12.07, 3.45, 1.88 10.31 2.83, .7831.84, -| 8.17] .62 6.37 28.81) 8.02) 4.41) 1.82 .81'3.481 31 34.83 -| 3.91 6.66 5.67,56.23, 6.04} 4.29] - | 5.042.429! .6620.268.40| — |1.66 7.54.27.13, 8.73) 5.20) .49 9.64 2.85 2124.67, - se 7.25 2.83 16.03. 9.1110.18 8.29 11.69 2.44 1.57 41.86] -| 47, 8.85 5.94 82.93 10.02| 4.26) .40) 5.63 2.71 283147 ~ 11.95! 148 8.83,37.50 9.13) na 29 8.303.221 2929.40) - 090 = 5.29 31.09 11.29) 4.86) 4.02 14.945.30) .2724.25| -| .70 8.24 6.45 41.79 10.07| 8.45] - | 6.82.2°59 oes = - |6.11 5.28 35.20) 9.31] 4.00] - | 7.98 3.07 2.40 36.06) .78) — | 1.25 9.56] .59) 6.71) 1.85 23.47 22.62 4.08 .26 35.45] -| 2.89 1.53 — | 8.6811.53 72148 03 26.41 8.15 1.96 14.38 3.72) - |4.95 6.87) 8.22) 9.35 3.98415 20 24.30 5.03 .6181.90/ -| 6.24! .78 6.50, 8.49] 7.97 2.33.17.36 29.67,4.59, .58 29.611.25, —-|38.12 6.97 59.18) 6.34 2.20 - | 9.952.928 .7812.45898| —- |2.27 6.40 60.62) 6.82) 1.31) - a 20077 ‘i ~ |5.58 potash contained in the natural grasses, and the very small comparative percentage of silica in the artificial grasses, the red and white clovers. carbonic acid attract our attention in the latter. The large percentage of lime and This table is exceedingly valuable as suggesting the proper course of manur- ing for the most successful cultivation of the various crops con- tained in it. If now we cast our eye at the analysis of some of our com- NUTRITIVE VALUE. 125 TabLe XII. Analysis of Specimens of Weeds, as taken from the field, and when dried. | } Name of Plant. Date of collection, Albuminous | matter. Fatty matter. Heat- producing principles. Wood fibre. Ox-eye Daisy, ( Crysanthemum leucanthemum,)| June 28, | 71.85) 2.12] .999 | 12.64 | 10.51} 1.86 Yellow Buttercup, (Ranunculus acris,) . .| June 18, | 88.15} 1.18] .507|] 6.26} 3.00 91 Sorrel, (Rumez acetosa,). : 3 : .| July 4, | 75.87] 1.90] .545| 7.62) 13.04) 1.51 Driep SPECIMENS OF THE SAME. Ox-eye Daisy, . : : : i : call Te - 7.53 | 8.49 | 45.02 | 87.838} 6.63 Of 02, eS Qi ea Ono (I - | 9.98] 4.28 | 52.69 | 25.84) 7.71 Sorrel, . ~ : A . ; : af = - 7.71] 2.19 | 46.82 | 87.16| 6.12 mon weeds, we shall see how far superior the cultivated grasses are in nitrogenous or nutritive principles. The albuminous principles are very much less than in either the natural or the artificial grasses. A line of investigation, both scientific and practical, equally interesting and valuable with the foregoing, would lead into the | comparative nutritive equivalents of hay and other feeding sub- stances. This is not the place to discuss that subject in full, the line of our present inquiry embracing only the compara- tive nutritive values of the grasses themselves. or convenience of reference, however, I subjoin the following table, CXIII.,) embracing the results of the profoundest researches of many distinguished chemists and practical men, both in the labora- tory and the barn. SBoussingault and others in France, and Fresenius, Thaer and others in Germany, have devoted to these and similar investigations the best part of their lives. It is necessary to remark that tables of nutritive equivalents are liable to imperfections, on account of sources of error which must exist in the nature of things, as difference of soil, climate, season, imperfection of methods of analysis, &c.; but making all allowance for these, and admitting that the table cannot be absolutely, and literally correct or perfect, it possesses great practical value and interest as giving a good general idea of the relative value for feeding purposes, of various agricultural products. 126 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. In regard to the nutritive value, as based on the amount of nitrogen or nitrogenous compounds, it may be remarked that the latest and most careful experiments, conducted by most experienced and competent experimenters, tend to show that this basis is correct, so far as it can be applied to substances so analogous in composition that they can be included in one group; as for example, the different root crops possess a nutri- tive value in proportion to the amount of nitrogen they contain, but the nutritive value of a root ought not to be compared with a succulent vegetable, like clover, for instance, by the propor- tion of nitrogen in each, merely, without taking into considera- tion other properties. In other words, roots may be compared with each other on that basis merely, and grasses with each other, and leguminous plants with each other, but not root crops and grasses. This fact is alluded to as a possible source of error in some of the earlier researches of Boussingault, and not as materially affecting the practical value of the table. The mode of using table XIII. is very simple. Good upland meadow hay,—or what would be called in New England, good English hay,—is taken as a standard of comparison. Now if we wished to produce the same results with carrots as with one hundred pounds of good, average English hay, we must use, according to Boussingault’s column of equivalents, 382 pounds of carrots, or for each pound of hay, 3.82 pounds of carrots, and according to the’ practical experiments mentioned, 366 pounds, 250 pounds, 225 pounds, 300 pounds, and so on, to each 100 pounds of hay. According to the theoretical values of Boussingault, 100 pounds of hay are equal in feeding qualities to 65 pounds of bar- ley, 60 pounds of oats, 58 pounds of rye, or 55 pounds of wheat. While, according to the experiments of Thaer, 100 pounds of hay produced the same effect as 76 pounds of barley, 86 pounds of oats, 71 pounds of rye, 64 pounds of wheat. With regard to the analyses of tables VII., VIII., 1X. and X., some allowance should undoubtedly be made for difference of climate, since it is well known that grasses, as well as other plants, grown rapidly in a hot sun, which we usually have in the months of May, June and July, contain a much larger amount of nutritive and saccharine matter than those grown slower and in a greater amount of available moisture both in 127 NUTRITIVE VALUE. Tasie XIIL. Nutritive Equivalents. (Practical and Theoretical.) THEORETICAL VALUES Practical values, as obtained by experiments in feeding, according to BoussINnGAvuLT FRESENIUS. 2 |82 182 14 [eee] 4 i ARTICLES OF FOOD. r ate tee | le ae eee Be JOS Eel Sree eee hays ee iy Pie + ° sen ‘te |R oR ao on o 5 > Huplishe Havana eae aes te see Sra 2hls0) 1.34 1.15 100 - 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Lucerne, . ° : : c c ; : r aie. thet 1.66 1.38 83 = - - 90 - 90 100 100 - Red Clover Hay, ae ae ha a ee Satta | SO 1.70 1.54 75 |1to 6.08 | 77.9 100 90 - 90 100 100 - Red Clover (green), .« c 5 : ¢ 3 5 é 76.0 - 64 311 = = 430 - - 450 | 425 - - Rye Straw,. . Ritter - ite ec - faa) |e i 80 24 479 |1to 24.40 | 527 7-12) 200 500 150 666 350 - 267 Oat Straw, = a ger he el le Paka 86 .20 | 883 |1to 12.50 | 445 5-12) 200 200 150 190 200 400 200 Carrot Leaves (tops), - : ; A é - é : 70.9 2.94 85 135 - - - - - - - - - Swedish Turnips, ; ; ; - : : : mets aD) 1.83 Li 676 - - ~ 3800 - 800 | 250 200 - Mangold Wurzel, Cees : ke ee ae ; - - - —- {lto 7.26 | 8914 366 400 250 460 250 333 8663 White Silician Beet, . ‘ ; : : 2 : F 85.6 1.43 18 669 - - - - 7 - - - - Gavotte; =. ==. oie te es gees - 7.6 2.40 -80 882 |lto 7.84] 542.1 366 250 225 800 250 270 800 Drighacl He ae aos ae Spee ‘ ee el pee 1.50 36 819 |1to 9.00 | 880 5-12) 216 200 150 200 200 200 200 Pilates terpenes ees yess iis 20 | 888 & = 400 a = = = - ae Beans, . : 7 - 5 2 A 5 " (fe) 5.50 5.11 28 |lto 2.8 84 5-12 30 54 50 73 40 - 380 Peas, . oe Ree Sra ake i 8.6 4.20 38.84 27 |1lto 2.14] 3841 380 54 48 66 40 aia 30 Indian Corn, . “ . 7 5 - ; 4 = i, 1800) 2.00 1.64 70 |lto 6.55 - - 52 - - - 59 - Buckwheat, Rn ane ee lg ec ae Ee) 2.40 2.10 55 |lto 6.05 | 98 5-12 - 64 - - - - = Barley, a ee oe SR tS dente el ts a Ido hea 2.02 | 1.76 65 |lto 4.25 - 83 61 53 76 50 - 85 Onis eek. = Pega ee oaed: fa ls Tae 2.22 1.92 60 |lto 4.08 | 5811-12 39} 71 - 86 60 ~ 374 OU Celi Sea ia Ppt Pate ee as sce 2 LLB 2.27 | 2.00 58 |lto 4.42) 58 1-16 33 55 51 71 50 - 83} Wheat, 5 Bp Shoe ae ea mk! Oa, 2.33 2.09 65 |lto 2.42] 88 56]. 27 §2 46 64 40 ~ 380 ieea(inssel)- =. 2. ee .| 184 | 6.00 | 5.20 22 = en ek Bs ad Muy ORR Abe ae 43 128 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. the atmosphere and the soil, which is ordinarily present in the climate of England. Every observing farmer knows that grasses grown on our low, reclaimed swamp lands, for instance, make less milk, and less flesh and fat in animals, than the same species grown on our dry, upland soils. The same difference must exist, to some extent, between our grasses and the grasses grown in a comparatively moist climate, where they have the advantage of more frequent rains, which push them to a more complete development and give them greater luxuriance, in- creasing, of course, the quantity of their produce, while their quality cannot be improved in the points alluded to. This sub- ject will come more properly under discussion in treating of the INFLUENCE OF THE SEASONS. We now come to consider the influence which the season or the climate has upon the quantity and nutritive quality of grass. Before entering upon this topic, it is proper to remark, that in order to bring together the practical wisdom and judgment of some of the best farmers in the State, as well as to be able to present some statistical information in regard to the product of grass and hay for the past season, I directed the following circular to one or more farmers in every town in Massachusetts, asking for replies from each. Boarp oF AGRICULTURE, STATE ee Boston, Sept. 1, 1856, Dear Sir :—Will you have the goodness to reply to the following inquiries in reference to the grass and hay crop of your town, accord- ing to the best of your judgment and experience? If circumstances prevent your giving it personal attention, will you be kind enough to put it into the hands of some one interested in the subject in your neighborhood, who will do me the favor to answer it? 1. What was the estimated yield of grass and hay in your town this season, as compared with others? If above or below the aver- age, how much? 2. What, in your opinion, is the effect of a wet or a dry season on the quality of grass and hay? Is grass grown in the shade as good as that grown in the sun, and what is the difference ? [This question embraces the intrinsic value.of hay this season as compared with the crops of 1854 and 1855, both comparatively dry seasons, while this-has been unusually wet in most parts of the State.] INFLUENCE OF THE SEASONS. 129 8. In what month do you prefer to seed down land designed for mowing, and what is the reason of your preference ? 4. What varicties of grass seed do you usually sow for mowing, and what for pepmanent satanic and in what quantities and pro- portions, per acre! 5. Do you prefer to sow grass seed alone in either case, or with some variety of grain? Ifthe latter, why, and with what grain? 6. Have you cultivated or raised orchard, fowl meadow, or blue joint grasses, and with what result as compared with the yield and value of other grasses? 7. At what stage of growth do you prefer to cut grass to make into English and into swale hay, and what is the reason for your preference ? 8. What is the best mode of making hay from Timothy, from red- top, and from wet meadow grass, and at what state of dryness do you consider it made, or fit to get into the barn? {This question embraces, to some extent, the time taken to make it under ordinary circum- stances of good weather, &c. This, of course, varies greatly, but some farmers would dry grass eut in the blossom two good hay days, while others would prefer to cure it less, and get it in on the day it was cut.] 9. Will you state in detail how you make or cure clover, and how, when so cured, it compares in value with other kinds of hay to feed out to farm stock? 10. Have you used hay caps, and if so, with what result, in point of economy? How were they made and at what cost? 11. Have jou used a mowing machine, and if so, what patent, with what power, and with what advantage ? 12. At what height from the ground do you prefer to have your grass cut, and why? 13. Have you used a horse-rake, and if so, what patent, and with what advantage? 14. Do you feed off the after growth of your mowing lands in the fall? Do you think it an injury or’a benefit to the field to feed it off? 15. Do you top-dress your mowing or pasture lands, and if so, what manure do you prefer to use, at what time, and in what quantities do you apply it? 16. What is the best mode of renovating old worn out pasture lands ? 17. If you have any experience in ditching and draining wet meadow, or ditching or diking salt marsh, will you state the result, and the comparative value of the grass before and after the operation? 18. What are the most valuable varieties of salt marsh grasses, and how does the hay made from them compare in value with good English hay? , 17: 130 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. 19. Have you any experience in irrigating mowing or pasture lands, and if so, what is the result? 20. Do you prefer to salt your hay when putting into the barn, and if so, what quantity do you use, per ton? 21. What do you consider the best mode of destroying couch or twitch grass? 22. What is the best mode of destroying the white weed or ox-eye daisy? 23. Will you give any other details not suggested by the above, which, in your opinion, may be considered important, in regard to this crop, and particularly if you have experimented with any varieties of grass not in general cultivation, such as lucerne or alfalfa, rye grass, brome grass, Kentucky blue grass, &c., will you state the results as fully as possible? If you have any varieties of grass found to be valuable but not in general cultivation, the names of which are not known to you, will you send them to this office where the names will! be given? Very respectfully, your obedient servant, CHARLES L. FLINT, Secretary of the Board of Agriculture. I am indebted to the kindness of many enterprising and intelligent farmers for full and valuable answers from more than two hundred towns in the State, and these alone would make a valuable volume of themselves. I can, of course, do no more than extract from them as freely as space will permit, which I shall do at greater length in the subsequent sections. No crop, perhaps, is more dependent on the seasons than the grasses. Every farmer knows that a moist spring, with rains evenly distributed over the months of April, May and June, will insure him the most luxuriant crops of grass and hay; and he knows, also, that a dry, cold spring is fatal to their rapid and healthy development, and that he must, in such a spring, expect a comparatively small crop. These and many similar facts are familiar to the commonest practical observation. It has also been found by observation that the grasses will vegetate when the temperature of the air is above the freezing point of water, 382° Fahrenheit, provided the temperature of the soil ranges from 35° to 40,° while a lower temperature checks their growth. Vegetation, at temperatures higher than these, depends much on the amount of moisture and heat, both INFLUENCE OF THE SEASONS. 151 of the soil and the atmosphere. Grass will not vegetate when the temperature of the air is higher than 66° unless the soil is very moist. When the vapor of the air is at its maximum, or when the air is saturated with moisture, vegetation advances with the greatest rapidity, and this most frequently happens with us in the earlier growing months, April, May and June. But when the moisture in the atmosphere is slight, and the soil becomes dry, and the subsoil is porous, the turf of our fields and pastures suffers from the drought, and scarcely a year passes over us when this does not happen. A writer in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, (quoted in the Farmers’ Magazine, Vol. ix., No. 5, Third Series, ) after many careful observations, comes to the conclusion, First. That the growth of grass is always proportionate to the heat of the air, if a sufficiency of moisture be present in the atmosphere. Second. That in the climate of England the moisture present is rarely sufficient to allow the temperature to have full effect, when that t>mperature exceeds 56°, but that if moisture be artificially supplied, as by irrigation, to catch water meadows, that then vegetation will still proceed in proportion to the heat. Third. That when the temperature of the air is between 36° and 41°, the grass will only vegetate with a fifth part of the force that it will when the temperature is 56°. Thus the land that will keep ten sheep per acre in the latter case, will only keep two in he former. That ‘rom 41° to 46° its growth is two-fifths, or double that of its growth when the temperature is under 41°, and it will then ke p four sheep instead of two. Again, from 46° to 54°, its growth will rise to seven-* nths, or it will keep on the same ground from five to seven sheep, and from 50° to 66°, it gener.ll —unless assisted by an artificial addition of moisture—arrives at its maximum; but if the month of June be very moist, it will cont.nue Bs grow with an increase of force up to 60°. Our climate is very different from that of England. The evaporation from the soil is ordinarily very much more rapid, and the actual amount of moisture in the air is greater, since it is well established that the evaporation is in proportion to the height of the temperature and the extent of water or land sur- face; that in the temperate zones it amounts to about thirty- seven inches a year, while in the tropics it rises to from ninety 182 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. to one hundred inches, and that the atmosphere when at the freezing point contains about a two-hundredth part of its weight of water, while at 52° it contains a hundredth part, or twice as much; at 74°, a fiftieth part, or four times as much, and at 98°, a twenty-fifth part, or eight times as much, and so on in that ratio. Now although the mean annual temperature of the two countries is about the same,—it being near London about 48° 5!, and at Boston 48° 9',—yet the temperature of the growing months of the two countries presents a marked difference, the mean temperature of every one being with us much higher. But the climate of England is proverbially moist, notwithstand- ing that the mean annual fall of rain near London is only little over twenty-five inches, while the quantity which falls at Boston is over forty-two inches. The amount of sensible moisture of the atmosphere is greater in England than here, though the actual amount existing in our atmosphere must excece i that of the atmosphere even in the eastern part of England. Our soil is consequently dryer, and unless we have frequent rains vegetation suffers sooner, and the growth of grass is liable to be checked for the want of moisture. This actually happens more or less nearly every year. But the spring of the past year was an exception, for the quantity of rain in most parts of the State was no only somewhat larger than usual, but it was well dis- tributed over the spring months; that is, it fell frequently and in small quantities. This, as is usually the case, caused an early and remarkably luxuriant growth of grass, while the quality was not generally considered so good as the average. It may be laid down asa well-fixed principle, that the grass crop is better from large quantities of rain falling at once and at longer intervils.—provided it does not come in torrents to prostrate the crop, and that the intervals are not so long as to produce droughts, which are always attended with deleterious effects,—than “from smaller quantities falling with greater fre- quency. The quantity in the latter case will not ordinarily be so great as in the former, but it is more than compensated, it is thought, by the increased valuc. More accurate statistics will throw light on this subject. Asa means of comparison, the following table of the mean monthly temperature and rain at the observatory at Cambridge, during the growing months of 1854, ’55 and 756, will be found INFLUENCE OF THE SEASONS. 153 convenient. The observations were made four times a day, at sunrise, 9 A. M.,38and9 P.M. The latitude being 42° 22! 48", the longitude 71° 1’. Mahitc! ‘Mean Temp. Rain in Bean Temp. Rain in jMeen Temp. Rain in | in 1854. 1854. ; in 1855. 1855. } in 1856. 1856. ae i T ee een : Inches. March, | ase} 2.949 |] 82°81 | “1.159 || 262.98 | “v.970 April, | 42°.9 | 4.842 || 44°.08 | 3.990 || 45°82 | 3.782 May, . | 577 | 5.458 || 58°40! 1.501 || 52°55 | 6.732 Tune: | 65°.9 | 3.585 || 65°48) 9.581 || oso! 2.869 Joly, . | 72°.9| 3.939 || 72°24 | 4.945 || 72°76] 4.048 August, . | 68°.6 | 0.851 || 67°.31 | 2.270 | 67°31 | 14.981 | } | September, . | 61°.4 | 4.36 o 1°45 | 1.216 || 629.98 iM The mean temperature and the rain at Amherst, during the growing months of 1856, was as follows :— ‘ ‘ | Average of Temperature. Amount of Rain. 18 years. Fahr. Inches. Inches. iia UNO OS) IP MARCH i As) oo) dapyhe b DeAS 3.05 ee ie SS AGC AS April 2) oS 2.610 3.27 Res! ct. = Do wo. | May...) eid. e wthobe 3.91 sls n Scche GBB o0 | DUM, oe 4 cian ond 0) ce VRBQO 3.22 meee) 799298 P Tulyy) a9) a8 es. s 6GO19. | August oo. a lO 4.40 Bepuember, . ..:. 60°.79 | September, .9 2). . 3472 3.26 P } The first of these places represents the eastern section of the State, the second, the western; and observations made at Boston, at Bradford, at Salem and elsewhere in the eastern part, do not materiully differ from those at Cambridge, while the observa- 134 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. tions at Williamstown and at Albany, N. Y., do not differ materially, so far as practical deductions are concerned, from those at Amherst. The amount of rain at Worcester, in the central section, in 1854, °55 and 756, was as follows :— Months. eee 1855. 1856. ia ene March, ae | =e] re | age Bepral peas OUI etree 6.69 5.59 3.34 3.98 LIS 5 Oe AY LRM a 6.78 1.64 6.55 4.36 ~ HECTOR ec RP Greets) Ser 3.05 | 4.19 1.44 2.93 Tage be EES Ao giea eggs 2.68 | 3.70 SOTESHS Es ss stl sage Ne nintan. araes 319) 4.06 13.14 5.58 eptember, Aen wey geyh ts ale 5.53 20 5.39 3.47 The amount of rain at Providence, R. I., on our southern border, was as follows :— Months. For 1856. Bae % pene Oo RS "280. "Bat Wily, «) 5 : : 3 : 2 ; 4.10 3.33 une," : : : , 5 : ‘ 2.47 2.95 guly,; ; : j , : : : 4.20 | 2.91 August, . ; ; a eh : : ar) 5.75 | 3.70 19.32 16.46 The amount of rain which fell at Bradford, in Essex county, in the month of August alone, was sixteen inches, the greatest, probably, ever known in one month in New England, while at Nantucket it was but a fraction over one inch; so that while INFLUENCE OF THE SEASONS. 135 the vicinity of Boston and the eastern part of the State, gen- erally, was abundantly supplied, the wet meadows being flooded, and thousands of tons of swale hay ruined, the island of Nan- tucket and some parts of Barnstable and Plymouth counties were suffering severely from drought, vegetation being entirely parched up. So great is the dependence of the grasses upon heat and moisture combined, that, knowing the results of observations of the thermometer and the rain gauge in any section, during the three growing months of April, May and June, one might pre- dict with great certainty the results of the harvest in that section ; and, on the other hand, the returns of practical farm- ers in different sections of the State, indicate so clearly and uniformly the excess above the average, or the partial failure of the crop, that a meteorological map of the State might be con- structed from them. As might be expected, therefore, from what has already been said, the yield of grass and hay throughout most parts of this State during the past year, has been somewhat above the average, the best judges estimating the excess variously from one-eighth to one-half, and it has, doubtless, in some localities, reached this latter estimate, though the general average was not, probably, over an eighth above that of other years. It may be inferred, also, from what has been said, that the quality was not quite equal to the average, and this was unques- tionably the case, where the excess in quantity was due to the excess of moisture and the rains. The remarks of an experienced, practical farmer of Ken- tucky, express very well the general estimate made by our farmers in reply to the second question proposed in the above circular. ‘‘ Just so far,’ says he, ‘“‘as there is shade, is the grass deficient in saccharine and nutritious qualities; that grass which is most exposed to the sun being best. Woodland pas- tures will keep young stock growing and old ones on foot, but will not fatten them. ‘ a ! * | a hh . a Gee dae tive, (av Oe ols oh f aia ay As As bok F ah fii ' hy “piss ih. st iS teed: ata ve Ps pete, af apie a a) 7 1a fi aver; ] i , 2 ) anion gb ish. wont hiya | ere eet 2 ee sO be ° ‘pth ee. Out aN ee eee ne at » A, . “iad ‘i 7 .% Pi a ¥ HEIGHT OF CUTTING. 179 the opinion, that the Heath machine, entered by D. C. Henderson, is entitled to the premium of one thousand dollars, if that premium is awarded the present year. HEIGHT OF CUTTING GRASS. With respect to the height from the ground at which it is best to cut grass, the practice and the opinions of farmers differ widely, for while the answers from about half of the towns say that farmers generally cut as close as possible, the replies from others vary from four inches to one-half an inch. Thus, forty- four towns return, ‘‘as close as possible ;” fourteen towns, “close, or very close ;” sixteen towns, “ from two and a half to three inches high ;” ten towns, “ two inches high;’ twenty- three towns, “from one to two inches;” one town, “ four inches,” while some say, ‘‘ it might be cut too close,” or “‘ close - cutting is injurious,” or “ most pee cut too low,” and many say, ‘* close as convenient.” It would be difficult to deduce any general rule from the replies to the question, “‘ At what height from the ground do you prefer to have your grass cut, and why?’ A farmer of experience in Hampshire county says: “‘I should prefer to have my grass cut high enough to protect the roots from the hot sun. J have seen Timothy grass nearly killed by cutting close in a dry, hot time.” An intelligent, practical farmer in Middlesex county says: *‘T prefer to shave pretty close, within an inch of the ground when smooth enough. I still remember some proverbial sayings of my teacher to this effect: ‘An inch at the bottom is worth two at the top,’ ‘ You are leaving your wages behind you,’ &c. Possibly in very hot, dry weather, on a dry soil, some plants might be injured by a too close shaving, but I should not apprehend any harm, even then, and as a general rule I prefer to have grass cut as close as it conveniently can be.” One of the most experienced, practical farmers of Plymouth county says: ‘ Upland mowing grounds I do not like to have cut close, having an idea that the hot sun and dry weather which often follow the mowing season will have an unfavorable influence on the roots of the grass. Low and wet meadows I like to have mown close as possible. There, the heat of the sun is bene- 180 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. ficial.’ A very successful, practical farmer of Worcester county says: “The height from the ground at which it is best to cut grass, depends on the season, the soil and the grass. No grass, except on moist ground, should be cut so low in a very dry season, as it will do to cut it in a wet season. The natural grasses | like to have cut within about two and a half inches of the ground. Our old fields of cultivated grasses do not afford’ much afterfeed after the clover is run out; what of stubble is left on them is lost, so I like to mow close.” One of the most observing, experienced and practical farmers of Hampden county says: “I prefer grass cut from an inch and a half to two inches, as it starts much quicker to grow when cut at that height, than when shaved close to the earth, as some that are called good mowers do their work. If it is true that all crops are benefited from the ammonia in the atmosphere, as I have no doubt they are, judging from grass side by side, the one cut close, the other two inches high, the grasses should have some leaves left them to receive this bene- fit. Grass cut two inches high will keep growing, while that closely cut will be even weeks before it will show the first signs of life.” Another experienced farmer says: ‘“‘ Where I top-dress imme- diately after, I cut as low as I can, to save all the grass I can. If I do not top-dress I cut from two to three inches high, to protect and nourish the roots. Ido not feed in the fall where I do not top-dress. I intend to manure all my natural upland mowing land and never feed my old fields.” And another: “I like to cut rather near the ground, for the reason that more hay is obtained. If the soil is in good condition, and not too dry, it will start again immediately. I know some say cut high, the stubble will manure the land and protect the roots, &c., but I pre- fer to manure with something better for protection. I top-dress my mowing land and prefer a compost made of woollen waste and meadow mud for soil not very wet; but for a cold, heavy soil, should prefer sand, or sandy loam to mix with wool waste. Apply fifteen cart loads of thirty bushels each, late in autumn.” A farmer of Franklin county says: ‘The farmers here cut their grass as near the ground as they can conveniently, without any particular reason for it, except to increase the quantity of hay.” Another says: “I prefer to have my grass cut at two METHODS OF CURING. 181 inches from the ground, where the land will admit of it. Three inches at the bottom is more valuable than six at the top; be- sides, it leaves the land in better shape for the next year.” Another intelligent, practical farmer says: “It has been diffi- . cult to get mowers that would cut close enough, but the mow- ing machine gives better satisfaction in that respect.” And ‘another: ‘‘ The general practice in this vicinity is, to cut as low as possible, in order to get all the fodder; unquestionably it would be better for the ground and the next crop, to cut the grass a few inches above the ground, to shield the roots, still, I consider, to cut low, followed by a top-dressing, is a better way, and leaves a smoother surface to mow over the following year.” An intelligent farmer of Berkshire county says: ‘“ Three inches. If pared too close, the hot sun kills or impairs the vigor of the roots, and stubble of some length retains the snow and gives protection from the winds of winter.” A very successful, practical farmer of Essex county says: “I prefer to cut English grass about three inches from the ground, believing that cutting it closer lets the rays of the sun to the roots of the grass, the intense heat of which, without any sereen or shade, greatly impairs the growth of the plant, par- ticularly in a dry season.” Another of Middlesex, says: “ Cut Timothy grass rather high; finer grasses, and especially wet meadows, should be cut as close as practicable; on upland, in fine grass, there is great loss to the crop by cutting high; in wet meadows high mowing gives the mosses and cranberries headway, which will eat out the better grasses.” Thus, the testimony on this point is somewhat conflicting ; but many have noticed the injury inflicted upon Timothy by low cutting in dry weather, sufficient, perhaps, to. establish the principle alluded to on a preceding page. Most coneur in say- ing that the finer grasses can be cut lower with safety, partic ularly if the season be not toodry. Much, undoubtedly, depends upon the soil and the season. CURING OF HAY. We have seen that grasses attain their full development at the time of flowering, and then contain the highest percentage of soluble materials, such as starch, sugar and gum, and that 182 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. these, with the nitrogenous compounds, then, also, most abun dant, are of greatest value as furnishing the nutriment of ani- mals, while woody fibre and mineral matter, though important as giving bulk to the food, are insoluble and least nutritious. We have seen, also, that in the transition from the flowering to the ripening of the seed, the starch, sugar, &c., are gradually transformed into woody fibre, in which state they possess no™ nutritive qualities, and are, of course, of little value. This fact, which is perfectly well established by careful experiment and accurate analysis, confirmed as already seen by intelligent practice, is of great importance as indicating the condition in which most of our cultivated grasses should be cut, and our practice is pretty uniformly consistent with it. But there is another equally instructive suggestion in these transforming processes, and it is this: If grass is cut in a con- dition ever so succulent, and before the transition of sugar, &c., into woody fibre has commenced, there will even then be some loss of sugar and starch from the action of heat and moisture, especially if the grass is exposed to the rain in the process of curing, and lignifaction, or change to woody fibre takes place to considerable extent, dependent, of course, on the length of time it is exposed to air and light; so that grass cured with the least exposure to the searching, sifting winds, and the scorch- ing sunshine, is, other things being equal, more nutritious than grass cured slower and longer exposed, however fine the weather may be. In other words, grass over-cured in the process of hay making, contains more useless, woody fibre and less nutritive qualities, than grass cured more hastily and housed before being dried to a crisp. There can be no doubt which of the two would be most palatable to the animal. Some loss of nutritive elements must, therefore, take place in the process of curing, how- ever perfect it may be, and the true art of hay-making consists in curing the grass just up to the point at which it will do to put into the barn, and no more, in order to arrest the loss at the earliest possible moment. And this fact of the loss of sugar and starch, or of their transformation into woody fibre by too long exposure to the sun and wind, I think equally well estab- lished as that any transformation at all takes place, and as equally suggestive. But on this point, far greater difference of opinion exists METHODS OF CURING. 183 among practical farmers, some considering one good hay day sufficient, while others require two and sometimes three, as if it were not possible to dry it too much. Our practice in this respect is, I believe, better than it used to be twenty years ago. Most farmers now think that grass can be dried too much as well as too little, and that the injury and loss in the crop is equally great from over-curing as from housing green. A practical farmer of Hampshire county says: ‘“ One good hay day is sufficient to dry Timothy, redtop or wet meadow. I think farmers lose more by drying their hay too much than by not drying it enough.” An experienced farmer of Hampden county says: “ As far as my experience and observation extend, I think farmers dry their hay too much as a general thing. Grass should never be dried any more than just to have it keep well in the mow. I think it is best to get in hay as green as it will possibly do, for it - contains more juices, which constitute its value.” A practical and experienced farmer of Worcester county says: ‘“* Redtop is a more difficult grass to make into hay than Timothy. To make hay from any grass, it is highly important that the swaths, of the hand scythe, be well shaken ; here lies the secret of making hay evenly, without having green, heavy locks. If the burden is heavy, time in making the hay, if cut in the morning, will be gained by turning it by one o’clock, P. M., and then putting it into good sized cocks while it is warm. If the weather be clear, according to my experience, this hay will do to cart the second day without giving it much attention —the sap has become candied and it is fit for the mow. The exposing the hay to the air on the second day, by pitching, is of essential benefit. When carted the same day it is mown, unless dead ripe, it will be withy, clammy, and will be likely to smoke in the mow ; in which case the hay has lost much of its valuable quality. “To keep it till the third day and expose it to the rays of the sun every day, as some practice, dries out the juices and the stem becomes hard and brittle—the life of the hay is gone to some degree. Our mothers and grand-mothers used to dry herbs in the shade—I hold to curing hay in the cock.” Another practical farmer in the same county says: ‘“‘ My way of making Timothy and redtop is to mow it early in the morn- 184 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. ing, and when the dew is off spread it well. I like to dry it in one day’s sun if I possibly can ; if not, put it into cocks before night, then get it into the barn as green as I can and not have it hurt. Ido not want my hay all dried up. It injures if. Wet meadow I put into the barn on the day it is eut, if the weather is suitable for curing it.” A farmer of Berkshire county says: “ If the weather is good and the grass not too heavy, we cut in the forenoon and get into the barn in the afternoon. If the grass is heavy and the weather not good, cut in the forenoon and turn over the swaths at night, spread and get in the next day. I do not believe in drying hay as much as some do. If not quite dry, two or three quarts of salt to the load will preserve it, and it will be the better.” Another in the same county says: ‘I prefer to cut hay in the blossom on a good hay day in the forenoon, and it is fit for the barn, if raked with the horserake and care is used to turn it over and bring the green grass to the sun, by two or three o’clock in'the afternoon of the same day. Much hay is spoiled by being dried too much.” A farmer of Franklin county says: ‘ Timothy will dry suf- ficient for me in one good hay day. I dry less and less every year. If there is no moisture on it there is little danger of hurting after it is wilted.” He cuts his swale hay before it matures and while it is quite green, and lets his upland grasses stand till they are fully developed and commence changing their deep green color. ‘I think it will keep the same stock longer and better if cut at that age.’’ - Another experienced farmer of - . Berkshire county says: ‘“*‘ My way of making hay is to cut when in blossom, in the morning, shake it out evenly over the ground, turn it over at eleven o’clock, and get it into the barn on the same day if the weather is good. But if the grass is very heavy, I put it into cocks over night. I consider it made as soon as dry enough not to heat in the mow. To get drier than this is an injury to the hay.” One of the most extensive and experienced stock feeders in this State, a practical farmer, says: ‘‘I prefer to cut all English or swale grass from the tenth of June to the first of July, including Timothy and clover in the same time. More than thirty years experience has convinced me that hay secured in the above time,—or just before coming into blossom,—will METHODS OF CURING. 185 make cows give more and better milk and butter, will put more fat on animals for the slaughter, with four quarts of meal per day, than eight quarts of meal with hay well secured from the first of July to the first of-August. That will give the second crop, if you wish, time to grow, and it may be cut the last week in August or the first week in September ; there will then be a crop of fall feed, which most farmers prize very highly. If you do not wish a second crop, the feed by early mowing is very valuable. On the other hand. if the grass is cut late, the hay is not only poor but the feed is mere nothing. Every farmer of my acquaintance admits that the hay cut early is far superior to that cut late, unless it be those that are in the habit of selling hay ; even that class must lose in the weight of their crop by late cutting. Many buyers have not yet learned the difference between early and late cut hay, when the real differ- ence is, oftentimes, from four to six dollars per ton. Working horses and oxen will keep in better condition with half the grain when fed upon early cut hay; will look sleek and their eyes will be bright.” A farmer of Hampshire county says: ‘* My method is to cut with the mowing machine, which leaves the grass perfectly spread. Itis turned over between one and two o’clock in the afternoon, and while still warm and before the evening dew falls it is put into cocks. It is spread and turned the next morning, and at one o’clock is ready for the barn. I cannot tell on paper, the precise point of dryness at which hay should be housed, but with my hands, eyes and nose, I can judge when it is dry enough not to hurt in the mow, and not so dry as to crumble or to have lost any more of its virtues than necessary. The less drying the better, if it does not injure in the mow.” Another practical farmer says: “I prefer two days, but want to have it lay thick together and stirred often the first day and but little the second. In this way the hay retains more of the juices, smells sweeter, looks greener and the cattle like it much better. Hay should be cured so that it will not heat in the mow and no more.” Another says: ‘‘ Hay may generally be dried enough in one good hay day with proper care, to be left over night in the cock and carried to the barn the next after- noon without spreading. Hay may be dried too much as well as too little.’ ‘Timothy and redtop,” says a farmer of Berk- 24 186 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. shire county, “carefully spread as soon as the ground between the swaths is dry, and, if heavy, turned about noon, will dry sufficiently in one day, if a clear one, to be put into the barn before sunset. I believe many dry their hay too much: Never dry it so as to make it brittle when twisted in the hand.” These, and many other extracts of a similar import which might be given, did space permit, indicate with sufficient dis- tinctness the prevailing practice among the best farmers, but as constantly intimated, it is very common to find hay dried far too much. Every farmer is aware of the importance of keep- ing his grass and hay as free from dew and water as possible. An exposure to rain washes out much of the soluble constitu- ents of the grass, leaving a useless, brittle, woody fibre. Grass and hay are greatly injured by remaining too long under a hot sun without being turned. A somewhat different method is adopted for CLover.—The natural grasses when cut for hay are generally spread and dried as rapidly as possible, in order to secure them in the best manner. Experience has proved that the same method is not applicable to the clover crops. It requires a longer time to cure it properly, and if exposed to the scorching sun it is injured even more than the natural grasses, since its succulent leaves and tender blossoms are quickly browned and lose their sweetness in a measure, and are themselves liable to be wasted in handling over. Most good farmers, therefore, prefer to cure it in the cock. A practical farmer of long experienée in Worcester county says: ‘I prefer to mow clover when it is dry, free from dew; let it wilt, and the same day it is mown fork it into cocks which will weigh from forty to fifty weight when fit for the barn. Do not rake and roll it,, that process will compress it too much. ‘‘ According to the weather and my convenience I let it stand —it will settle and turn the rain very well, and will answer to put into the mow while the heads and stalks are yet green and fresh. When fit to cart, the stalks although green, will be found to be destitute, or nearly so, of sap—the sap has candied and the clover will keep. On the day of carting turn the cocks over, expose the bottom to the sun an hour or so, and to a ton of hay add four to six quarts of salt in the mow. ‘‘Good clover—not rank—cured in this way, I consider to METHODS OF CURING. 187 be worth nearly or quite as much as clear Timothy, to feed to a stock of cattle; and for milch cows, I consider it to be by far preferable to Timothy. Good clover hay will keep up the quantity of milk, while Timothy will diminish it.” Another practical farmer of the same county, in one of the best farming towns in the State, says: “ My method of curing clover is this: what is mown in the morning I leave in the swath, to be turned over early in the afternoon. At about four —o’clock, or while it is still warm, I put it into small cocks with a fork, and if the weather is favorable it may be housed on the fourth or fifth day, the cocks being turned over on the morning of the day it is to be carted.. By so doing, all the heads and leaves are saved, and these are worth more than the stems. This has been my method for the last ten years. For new milch cows in the winter, I think there is nothing better. It will make them give as great a flow of milk as any hay, unless it be good rowen. For working oxen and horses its value is about one-quarter less thant Timothy.” A practical farmer of Hampshire county says: “I can hardly state my own opinion of curing clover. When the weather bids fair to be good, I mow it after the dew is off, and cock it up after being wilted, using the fork instead of rolling with the rake, and let it remain several days, when it is fit to put into the barn.” Another in the same county says: “I mow my clover in the forenoon, and towards night of the same day I take forks and pitch it into cocks and let it stand till it cures. The day I cart it I turn the cocks over so as to air the lower part. I then put it into the mow with all the leaves and heads on, and it is as nice and green as green tea. I think it worth for milch cows and sheep as much per ton as English hay.” A farmer of Middlesex county says: “I have found no better hay for farm stock than good clover, cut in season. Jor milch cows it is much better than Timothy. It keeps horses that are not worked hard better than any hay. Andsmall clover, as the rowen crop, is better than any other kind for calves. Clover is not good market hay, as it wastes in removal from the barn. Stable keepers give much more for coarse Timothy that cannot easily be drawn through a rack.’ A farmer of Barnstable county says: ** We mow clover in the forenoon and let it lie in the swath and put it into small cocks in the afternoon. If the 188 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. weather be fair on the third day, open it to the air and sun for two or three hours and then put it into the barn. I have found clover cured in this way keep sweet and free from mould, and of equal value with other hay.” Another says: “1 have tried three different ways of curing clover. One was, to make it in the same manner of other grasses; another, to dry it one day in the swath till wilted and then pitch it into cocks to stand some days, according to circumstances; and the third was, to give it one good day’s sun, turning it over and getting out the water, and mixing it in the barn with old hay or straw. I managed in this way a year ago, the weather being very ‘ catching,’ cut and dried it as much as possible in one day and carted it into the barn the same afternoon. I mixed it with some old swale hay that had been left over, placing a layer of old hay then a layer of clover, building it wp in a square mow. My neighbors laughed at me and said I should burn my barn down by put- ting in that ‘green stuff.’ But I must say I never had better clover hay than that. The cattle would eat all the meadow, or swale hay, as well as the clover. There was not a particle of smoke about it on feeding it out. When cured in this way or by the second method, in the cock, I think clover hay is worth two-thirds as much as good English hay to feed out to farm stock.” From what has been said in these extracts, which might be multiplied, did space permit, it appears evident that good farm- ers appreciate the importance of so curing clover as to preserve its tender and succulent foliage. They are careful not to over- dry it, for fear of loss of the blossoms and the leaves. But it is not uncommon among thriftless farmers, to handle it in such a way that the best parts of it are shaken off and destroyed. The method detailed in the. last extract, of mixing clover with a poor quality of hay or straw, has sometimes been adopted with great success, the clover imparting its fragrant odor to the hay with which it is brought in contact, greatly improving its quality, while its own value is preserved without injury. It is not only a matter of convenience oftentimes, to have the clover so secured in catching weather, but on careful experiment may be found worthy of being more generally practiced. The general testimony of practical farmers as to the value of clover hay as compared with that of Timothy and redtop, METHODS OF CURING. 189 our prevailing natural grasses, varies exceedingly, some making it of equal value, others estimating it at one-half and from that to two-thirds and three-fourths. Corn Fopprer.—The practice of raising Indian corn to cut and feed out green by way of partial soiling, is very common in New England, as already intimated, in speaking of the natural history of the grasses. This culture has been earried still farther by many farmers, and many acres are raised in various parts of the State for the purpose of cutting and curing for winter use. And now that great hopes are enter- tained by many of the utility of the culture and use of the Chinese sugar cane, which, it is thought may be raised, cut and cured in the same way and for the same purpose, it is impor- tant to allude to the most approved methods of curing, though they may already be familiar to most practical farmers. The common practice with regard to this crop, and which has been already partially stated, is to sow in drills from two and a half to three feet apart, on land well tilled and thoroughly manured, making the drills from six to ten inches wide, with the plough, manuring in the furrow, dropping the corn about two inches apart and covering with the hoe. In this mode of culture the cultivator may be used between the rows when the corn is from six to twelve inches high, and unless the ground is very weedy no other after culture is generally needed. The first sowing usually takes place about the 20th of May, and this is succeeded by other sowings at intervals of a week or ten days, till July, in order to have a succession of green fodder. But if it is designed to cut it up to cure for winter use, an early sowing is generalty preferred, in order to be able to cure it in warm weather, in August or early in September. Sown in this way, about three or four bushels of corn are required for an acre, since if sown thickly, the fodder is better, the stalks smaller, and the waste less. The chief difficulty in curing corn cultivated for this pur- pose and after the methods spoken of, arises mainly from the fact that it comes at a season when the weather is often colder, the days shorter, and the dews heavier than when the curing of hay takes place. Nor is the curing of corn cut up green, so easy and simple as that of drying the stalks of Indian corn cut above the ear, as in our common practice of topping, since then the 190 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. plant is riper, less juicy, and cures more readily. The method sometimes adopted is to cut and tie into small bundles, after it is somewhat wilted, and stook upon the ground, where it is allowed to stand, subject to all the changes of the weather, with only the protection of the stook itself. The stooks consist of bunches of stalks first bound in small bundles, and are made sufficiently large to prevent the wind from blowing them over. The arms are thrown around the tops to bring them together as closely as possible, when the tops are broken over or twisted together, or otherwise fastened in order to make the. stook ‘“‘shed the rain”’ as well as possible. In this condition they stand out till sufficiently dried to put into the barn. But Indian corn stooked in this way often becomes musty or covered with dust, while the rains often soak it thoroughly and wash out much of its soluble matter, and its nutritive value is in a great measure lost. Besides, every one knows that to cut up a green plant, as a willow or any other thriftily grow- ing plant or shrub, and set it up with the cut end resting upon the ground where it can still derive moisture from the soil, will prevent its drying. There can be no doubt, also, that the exposure to the sun, wind and rain, greatly injures it by removing much of its sweetness, or changing it to woody fibre, while it takes from it its beautiful fresh green color. To avoid the losses necessarily attending these modes of cur- ing, some have suggested kiln drying as far preferable, and, on the whole, as economical. I have known the experiment tried in one or two instances with complete success, the fodder com- ing out with its fresh green color, and apparently better relished by cattle than that dried in the ordinary way. This method appears to me to be worthy of much more extended and careful experiment. The kiln need not be elaborately or expensively contrived. The process of drying would be short and the labor slight. Another mode which has been suggested is to hang it up in sheds open to the air, precisely as tobacco is cured in the west- ern part of the State. This process would be longer, but the nutritive qualities of the plant would probably be better pre- served than if cured in the open air with the exposure to the frequent changes of the weather. It is hardly necessary to say that if it is proposed to cure in this way, it should be hung METHODS OF CURING. 191 up thinly and the air should be allowed to circulate through it. After being well dried it is taken down and stowed away in the barn for use. This method avoids the trouble of stooking and the liability to injury from rains and dews, which blacken the stalks, though it requires considerable room, and is, of © course, attended with some additional labor. THE HORSERAKE. This implement has come into universal use, and no farmer of any extent would be without one. It met with great oppo- sition and encountered great ridicule on its first introduction, but has survived it all and become indispensable in all thrifty and economical farming. I shall do no more than give the authority of practical farmers in answer to the thirteenth ques- tion of the circular, ‘‘ Have you used a horserake, if so, what patent, and with what advantage ?” To this, an experienced farmer of Middlesex thus replies: ‘I have used various horserakes for fifteen years. Much labor is saved by the use of any kind of horserake that has been introduced within that time. ** Horserakes are on a footing different from mowing machines. Grass may be cut in the morning, in the evening, or in a cloudy day. But hay must be raked at the very right time, or it may be entirely spoiled. It is, therefore, quite important to do work quick when the time for doing it comes. With a good rake a man and horse will gather more hay in half an hour than a laborer with a handrake usually gathers in a long afternoon —that is, one acre; this is considered a half day’s raking by handrake. ‘The independent rake operates quite well. The old revoly- ing rake (Fig. 105) costs about the same. “ - <= a — — ectors. Fig. 109. Hay and Grain Prot FEEDING IN THE FALL. 201 are perforated with holes one foot apart for the insertion of pins to sustain the cap or cover. This (in form of a pyra- mid) should be made as light as possible, so that it may be readily raised by placing the shoulder under the corner. The frame of three by four joists, must be large enough to fall outside the posts and admit of some play. The rafters are small joists nine feet in length, the feet resting upon short pieces of joist placed across the corner of the frame, thereby forming openings for the posts to pass. The tops of the rafters are nailed together over the centre of the frame. Girts should be placed half way from the eaves to the point of the roof to nail covering boards to. These should be good halfinch stuff, and run from the eaves to the rafters. The top of the post should be kept from spreading by stay lathing them. A hay cap of the dimensions given, will hold five tons of hay. The cost I do not know, as this was on the place at the time of my coming on to it.” FALL FEEDING. This is the term applied to feeding off the aftermath of mow- ing lands. This practice is very prevalent, and is justified by experienced farmers rather on the plea of necessity than any other, since most farmers, of careful observation, admit that it is, on the whole, injurious. A large proportion of those who are in the habit of fall-feeding, speak like the following, from a practical farmer of Middlesex, who says: ‘I feed off slightly, although it would probably be better for the next crop if I did not. My cows, however, like it, and as they pay me well at the milk pail, I like to see them enjoy themselves.” Another, in answer to the questions, “‘Do you feed off the after-growth of your mowing lands in the fall? Do you think it an injury or a benefit to the field to feed it off?” says: ‘Ido generally, but consider it an injury to the field.” Another says: ‘TI do feed off, moderately, the after-growth of my mowing fields, and believe the grass worth much more so fed than if left on the ground to rot. A dense mass of dead grass is also much in the way of the scythe and the rake the next year.” A practical farmer of Worcester county says: “I feed off the after-growth of mowing lands only when I am compelled to do so in dry seasons for want 26 202 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. of pasture. I think it an injury to feed off, unless there is a large growth, which is better to be fed off, so that it will not fall down and heat the roots and kill them.” Another says: “I feed my mowing lands in the fall and think it is a benefit to the field in all cases where a top-dressing is used, and of no injury to an old field that is ploughed once’ in three or four years. Where a large growth of after-feed remains on the land it is like mulching trees, kills the grass roots and makes a grand shelter in winter for mice.” A farmer of Hampshire county says: ‘I feed it off and then top-dress it, and think it a benefit to the land, but should con- sider it an injury if I did not top-dress.” An experienced, practical farmer says: “ I feed it off, but think it an injury to the field to do so, and Ishould much prefer not to feed mowing lands at all. The grass holds in longer and is of better quality. I feed it off because it is necessary to eke out a comfortable support for my stock.” And another: ‘To some extent. Ido not think it beneficial to the land to feed much every year, nor very injurious to feed some ; but to feed close, I deem highly injurious.” A very experienced farmer of large observation, in Plymouth county, says: “To some extent, I feed it off, not from choice but convenience. The treading of the cattlé is some injury, and they feed on the best kinds of grass and leave the wild erasses to extend the area of their growth. In my experience, mowing grounds are kept in the best condition by taking off the first and second crops with the scythe, and biennially dress- ing with compost manures.” This accords with the experience of another practical farmer who says: “ My practice is to feed the after-growth or mow it. To take all from the soil without returning an equivalent, would be injurious. My custom is to top-dress my mowing grounds with good compost manure, about fifteen cart loads to the acre, once in two or three years—a portion of lots in one year and a portion the next. Where the ground is not liable to wash—carry the manure off—I prefer spreading the manure in ‘the autumn ; it is dissolved by the fall rains and winter snows, and the grass is benefited in the early spring.” | An experienced farmer of Essex county says: ‘‘ Farmers here are in the habit of feeding off their mowing lands in the fall, FEEDING IN THE FALL. 203 but have no doubt that the crop of grass would be better the next season, not to feed them. Some think the injury not so great as the value of the feed of the after-growth.” A practical farmer of Franklin county says: “I have had considerable experience in both ways, and do not think fall feeding is any injury if it is not fed too close; prefer feeding to mowing the second crop, and prefer feeding with sheep than cattle.’ And another: “The feeding of*dry mowing injures it by causing it to run out, leaving the roots exposed to the winter, while moist land is injured by the cattle’s feet much more than the value of the feed, in both cases taking all off and leaving nothing to renovate the land another season.” An experienced farmer in the same county, and one of the best grazing towns in the State,.says: “It is now more than twenty years since I have allowed any kind of domestic animal to feed upon our mown lands, and my opinion previously has been fully confirmed by my experience. It is a decided benefit to let the after-growth remain upon the land; it is a protection from summer’s drought and winter’s cold. Some of my neigh- bor’s are following my example.” And another: “‘ 1 sometimes feed off my after-grass. When I do feed it off, I take good care to feed it early and leave a good growth to protect the roots of the grass from frost in winter. I think it an injury to feed ; mowings will last longer not to be fed at all, and the land when broken up will produce a better crop of corn or potatoes than i fed.” From these extracts it will appear that the practice of fall- feeding is very general, while the good judgment of practical farmers almost unanimously condemns it as injurious, especially to feed closely and late in the season. The reasons assigned for the practice are chiefly, the necessity generally felt for feed at that season of the year, and the importance, in some situa- tions—particularly on interval lands—of removing all protee- tion for the mice, which frequently prove very destructive to the roots when buried with the snow in winter. All condemn the practice of too close feeding, under all circumstances. The fall growth collects the elements of a thrifty growth in the following spring. These are stored up in the roots over winter for the early use of the plant. If it is closely fed, the spring growth must be proportionably later and feebler. 204 a GRASSES AND FORAGH PLANTS. L Saw 163 a w ¢ £ < cs . segprad Dehn Sth * ~~ CO.98 4 GENERAL TREATMENT OF GRASS LANDS. The importance of having the ground well tilled and thor- oughly prepared by liberal manuring before committing the seed to it, is too apparent to need remark. When the seed is sown, it is the common practice to harrow it in, either with an iron tooth, or a bush or brush harrow, or both, and those who adopt amore careful culture follow these operations with a thorough rolling, which compresses the soil and usually causes an earlier germination of the seed. The importance of this last operation, that of rolling, is too often overlooked. By ref- erence to table XV., the importance of covering at the proper depth is also apparent, since it will be seen that a large pro- portion of the seeds germinated with a very slight covering. But if one thing more than another may be said to lie at the foundation of all real improvement of grass lands, or: lands under a course of rotation, it isa proper system of drainage. Especially is this important for low, wet lands, since it not only frees them from superfluous water, thus making them more sus- ceptible of tillage in early spring, but actually increases their _temperature several degrees, in some cases as much as from eight to ten, and rarely less than from two to four, and admits the air to circulate more freely around the roots of the plants. The aquatic grasses require large and constant supplies of moisture, and when the soil is changed by drainage, the more valuable species of grass may be introduced and cultivated in it. But one of the most important questions which the farmer of New England has to meet, is the proper treatment of his pas- ture lands. Many of our old pastures have been stocked hard time out of mind, and the grasses in them have been literally starved out aid ¢row thin of necessity, while, as the finer and nutritious grasses disappear, nature very kindly covers up the nakedness of the soil with moss, as an evidence of the effect, and not the cause of poverty. They are said to be “ worn” or ‘“‘run out.” Many of them are grown over with bushes and briars and other equally worthless pests, till they carry but one animal to four or five acres, and often require twice that amount GENERAL TREATMENT. 205 to keep an animal on foot, to say nothing of fattening him. It is a well known saying that, ‘ Poor pastures make breachy cattle.” Undoubtedly thousands of acres in this State would be far more profitably covered with pines than with cattle, and many an observing farmer is now convinced of this fact; but still we must have pasture lands, and there are circumstances where it becomes important to improve them and increase their produc- tiveness. Some of them are so situated that they can be ploughed and thus brought in, with other cultivated lands, to the general rotation ; and where this can be done, it may be, on the whole, the best and most economical mode of improving them. A well known farmer of Worcester county says: ‘“ I have renovated my old pasture land by pulling up the bushes by the roots, scarifying the foul or mossy places with the harrow, and sowing on grass seed and clover, both red and white.’”” Another says: ‘‘ Plough, manure and re-seed. Some have sown rye with the grass seed and then let the stock feed on the rye, as it will not produce any seed-stalks—it sometimes lasts three years. This method has been put in practice with marked success. On our hills, ground plaster or gypsum has brought in the white clover the next year after sowing.” Eo 8, 12, 68, 111, 116 ge tie 8, 14, 15, 110 See aes rs . 8, 25, 111, 158 66, 110 . 66 30 . 80 66, 111 46, 47 . 46 Aptis: 51, 58, 112 50, 51, 116 105 80 | 65 33 Elymus, arenarius, “ Virginicus, “Canadensis, me striatus, Eragrostis reptans, st pozeoides, oe megastachya, Me pilosa, Me capillaris, ss pectinacea, Festuca tenella, . ne ovina, oS pratensis, ee elatior, - Oy duriuscula, oe rubra, sf loliacea, nutans, Glyceria Canadensis, ce obtusa, cs distans, gy elongata, as nervata, vo pallida, u acutifiora, | Gymnostichum Hystrix, Hedysarum onobrychis, Hierochloa borealis, Holcus lanatus, Holceus mollis, Hordeum jubatum, He distichum, . te vulgare, Juncagines, Juncacex, Leersia oryzoides, “ Virginica, Lolium perenne, . ‘“ Ttalicum, “ temulentum, . ‘¢ multiflorum, . Medicago sativa, eu, ee 47, 48, 110 47, 48, 111 49, 110 50, 110 : 68 100, 117 eee ag 69, 111, 116 101 . YP aoe . 8, 11, 110 230 Page Millium effusum, 5 - = c ou) Mie Mublenbergia diffusa, 8, 23 cr erecta, . 8, 23 3 glomerata, 8, 28 Ke Mexicana, 8, 24 a sylvatica, 8, 24 sobolifera, 8, 24 ee Willdenovii, 8, 24 as capillaris, : . 8, 24 Moha de Hongrie, - : 3 : Ath Oryzopsis melanocarpa, ; : 8, 30 a: asferifolia, . : : : . 389 Ke Canadensis, . t F 5 . 80 Panicum filiforme, . : ; : 10, 76 Es glabrum, . 3 A 4 WT ‘“* sanguinale, . ¢ he i td iOh Wit re agrostoides, : : : ue citi ue proliferum, . 2 : - 11, 77 &s capillare, . , : : 20 Tir Ue virgatum, . 3 : : Ti ‘c latifolium, - : : : 11, 78 ue clandestinum, . : . 11, 78 ss xanthophysum, . : j 11, 78 ae crus-galli, 5 iis: cs germanicum, , ; : 78, 79 Paspalum setaceum, 76 o Phalaris arundinacea, . 54, 72, 73, 11 “¢ Canariensis, - 5 - a ene Phleum pratense, 5, 8, 15, 16, 17, 18, 111, 116, 118, 121 Phragmites communis, 56, 110 Poa nervata, 9, 34 ‘ serotina, 9, 34, 44, 153 9, 35, 86, 89, 111 9, 35, 41, 102, 111 ‘pratensis, “maritima, Poa compressa, “ annua . trivialis, «* nemoralis, “« fluitans, “ laxa, ‘aquatica, : Polypogon monspeliensis, Setaria verticillata, se Glauca, Setaria viridis, Setaria Italica, Sorghum saccharatum, se nutans, tr vulgare, Spartina cynosuroides, ‘¢ polystachya, ‘¢ -juncea, . tc stricta, . Sporobolus serotinus, . Stipa avenacea, Tricuspis purpurea, Trifolium pratense, Ld repens, Trisetum mollis, . ie pubescens, Triticum repens, Tripsacum dactyloides, Vilfa aspera, ‘* yagineflora, © serotina, Xyris bulbosa, “ caroliniana, Zea mais, ; Zizania aquatica, Page. . 9, 88, 112 5, 9, 39, 112 9, 39, 40, 112 9, 40, 41 42, 110 9, 48 43, 110 8, 23 5 i) 79 80 80 30, 111 18 30 et 92, 117 96, 117 66 Rea. 60, 61, 112 . 80 17 17 18 104 104 ee | 12, 110 " 3 Fi GENERAL INDEX. Aftermath, srowth of, Alfalfa, Allen’s Mower, ‘ Ammonia, importance of, . Analysis of the Grasses, . Annual Beard Grass, Annual Spear Grass, Arrow Grasses, list of, Ash of the Grasses, analysis of, Ashes, use of, as manure, . Barn Grass, Beach Grass, &“ “ culture of, Bearded Darnel, . Bengal Grass, Black Grass, Blue Grass, Blue-joint Grass, . é Bones, value of, as manure, Borden’s Grass, Bottle-brush Grass, Bottle Grass, Brown Bent, Bristly Foxtail, Bur Grass, Canadian Lyme Grass, Chandler Grass, Chess, : Chinese Sugar Cane, Circular Letter, Climate—its effect on vegetation, Clover Seed, time of sowing, 17, 113, 201, 203 96, 97, 99 170, 174, 175 217, 218, 223 74, 118, 121, 124 . ie 35, 39, 112, 116, 118, 121 101 124 214, 216 508 25, 26, 28, 111, 146, 158 26, 28, 29 60 . 80 102, 111 $3, 112 25 219 18, 19 . 468 79 20 79 80 .. 62 60, 61 51, 53, 112 81, 83, 85, 90 . 128 130, 131, 132, 186 139 232 INDEX. Clover, mode of curing, Common Reed Grass, Common Manna Grass, Common Canary Grass, Common Spear Grass, Compost, modes of forming, Corn Fodder, curing of, Couch Grass, : Creeping Meadow Grass, . Creeping Soft Grass, Crested Dog’s Tail, Curing, methods of, Darnel, : Drainage, importance of, . Dew Grass, Downy Persoon, Downy Oat Grass, English Bent, Fall Feeding, practice of, Fall Seeding, False Redtop, False Rice, Feather Grass, Field Barley Grass, Floating Meadow Grass, . Floating Foxtail, Flyaway Grass, : Finger-spiked Wood Grass, Finger Grass, Fiorin, : Food of Animals, . Forest Trees, culture of, . Fowl Meadow Grass, Fresh Water Cord Grass, Fringed Brome Grass, Finetop, Fowl Meadow ae Gama Grass, Goose Grass, ; Grasses, growth in sun ats shade, oe effect of soil and seasons on, is nutritive value of the, fs mixtures of, ts list of the, 186, 188 56, 110 42, 110 ae 35, 37, 38 220, 221, 223 189, 190 G0, 61, 112 45 . 69 50, 51, 116, 118, 121, 146 185, 187 . 56 204, 225 18, 20 me 65, 6, 111 20 201, 203 137, 139, 140 44 11 30 111 eae ’ Vanilla Grass, : : Sa F 2 i: = a. S70 Vegetation, conditions of, ‘ ; : 5 F 130, 131 Velvet Grass, . ‘ ‘ : : : ? 69, 146 Water Hair Grass, - és g : ; : 64, 65. Water Spear Grass, : : : , 2 ; 43, 110 Wavy Meadow Grass, _.. i : ; ; 4 . 43 Weather—its effect on vegetation, : : 2, 128, 131, 135, 136 Weeds, analysis of, is 4 , 5 : - \ 12a White Clover, . 3 f ; ; 96, 97, 120, 122, 146 White Grass, ; , : Ae ag haee : 4 Bye (2 White Top, ; : c , ? ‘ 20, Fy 111, AAG ae ane Wild Oat Grass, . ; ; : 4 . - ee ea Willard’s Bromus, : ; . i 112 We Wire Grass, , , : : i : ; 38, 112 Wild Chess, : 2 : : : ‘ 2 i. ao Wild Rice, ; * : , : . : 12, 110 Wild Water Foxtail, ; : : : P ¢ Ree) Wild Rye, , ‘ : ; : ; , 62 Woburn Experiments, . : i } ; vs 113, 114 Wood Hair Grass, ; : , : , g 63, 64 * Wood Meadow Grass, _ : : : 3 ; . 40 Wood Reed Guass, ; : . aie i. - ey eae Yellow Oat Grass, , : E : , 66, 118, 121, 146 Yellow-eyed Grasses, list of, “ : , : : . 104 Eeratum.—On p. 102, sixth line from the bottom, for p. 49, Fig. 30, read p. 41, Fig. 80. The same occurs in the last line on the same page. 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