Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-23

include many plants which are not
botanically related to the true grass
es, such as the c~lovers. alfalfa, ct
cetera. The grasses furnish the
principal food of both man and
beast and r the foundation Of ag-
riculture.
Singularly enough, the most i'm
portant grasses. the cereals, are not
known in the wild state and their
cultivation extends so far back into
antiquity that ven their places of
origin are unknown. Either their
wild counterparts have become ex-
tinct, or the cereals have been so
developed and changed by c~ultiva-
ton that their wild forms are no
longer recognizable.
Many Species in This Country
Altogether there are about 1,4OO
species Of grass growing In the
United States. In one state alone,
Washington, some 275 species are
round. Originally almost one-half
the area of the United States con-
sisted of prairies, the principal her.
page of which was grasses. and the
existence of this vast domain of
grassland has v been fully ex-
planned since it has been discovered
tina trees grow readily enough on
these prairies once they have been
introduced there.
OF all the hay grasses cultivated
in the United States, timothy is by
far the most important, it's acre
age~being four times as great as
that of all the others put together,
and equalling that of all hay plants
incllI6inO clOUnr and o1fa1fa
Timothy had become the most
important hay grass in the United
States as early as 1907" says Mr..
Piper land it has since held this
position unchallenged. It's reputa-
ton as a feed depends upon its
high p~alatability, combined with
moderate nutritive value, so that it
is practically impossible to injure
ar animal by overlooking.
"Redtop is the only grass of
much prominence as a hay plant
among the many grasses belonging
to the genus Agrostis. 1t was early
introduced into the American colo
MES. This grass has been known
under many common names such as
whitetop, lorin. white bent and
herds grass, but as all of these
HdUleS UtlOIlS ilOIc pADpcliy ~
other grasses they should not be
used for redtop. 1t Is a perennial
grass, and natures at about the
same time as timothy.
Bermuda grass is the most i'm
portant pasture grass in the South.
where it shows marked preference
for clayey soils, but grows more or
less abundantly on sandy soil. 1t
| a,aura &c for pnrfh os NJ rVland-
Kansas and the warmer valleys of
Washington and Oregon. In Vir-
ginia and Maryland where it is more
troublesome as a weed than valua-
BILE as a forage it is commonly call
ed wire grass"
Other important cultivated grass
es mentioned by Mr.. Piper are or
chard grass, carpet grass. Canada
blue grass, tall meadow cat G"ass,
meadow fescue. foxtail millet,
Rhodes grass, Napier grass. Sleeps
fescue, red fescue. Para grass, Jap
anese millet, italian rye grass.
Rhode Island bent. Dallas grass and
Sudan grass.
Mr. Piper does not discuss the
problem of developing the best
grasses for golf courses, but ex-
perts of the Department of Agri-
culture have assisted in experiment
tai work in that line at the several
country clubs around Washington
Golf courses need a heavy springy
turf for the fairways and a softer
grass for the putting greens that
can be cultivated to a velvety
smoothness. Great difficulty is ex'
perienced in getting grasses thai
will not burn out in dry hot weather
and crab grass is the bane of the
green keepers. Just at present the
Columbia Country Club at Chevy
Chase. Md. seems to have come
nearest the solution of the problem
with a species of bent grass fol
green's that holds its OWL undei
adverse weather conditions and al
ways affords an admirable putting
surface.