Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-23
By FREDERICK
j. HASKLN

extends further southwark. Seed of
Kentucky blue grass IS harvested
mainly in Kentucky, but more cr ess in
Missouri and Iowa also"
Not everything that looks like grass
is grass, but grasses are easily dis
tinguished from all other plants by sew
eral peculiar characteristics. From the
expert we learn that the roots of oil,
whether ANIMALS or perennials, are
slender and thread-li like. The stems are
jointed, usually cylindrical and COM
monty hollow, but solid in such species
as corn and sorghum. In the bamboo
and a few other grasses the stems are
woody. The joint is called a node and
the part between the joints is an inter-
node. The leaves are usually long and
narrow, parallel. veined, and are. at
tached at the nodes, first on one side
and then ON the other, so that they
are in two ranks.
The lower part of the leaf encircles
the stem as a sheath, while the upper
portion, the blade, is more or less flat
tened. In some grasses the blades are
folded, in others inroIled in the bud.
Where the blade and the sheath join
the texture and color are usually diff
ferent, this joining part being known
as the collar.
The flower clusters Of grasses ex-
hibit a great many forms and many
grasses may at once be recognized by
the forms of these clusters. Each
branch appears from the base of an
i~nternode, but for the most part leaves
or rudiments of leaves do not occur in
the flower cluster.
Most people do not think of corn
wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice. sugar
cane and the like as grass, but such is
their botanical classification. On the
other hand, the term grass is popular
ly applied to all the green heritage on
which cattle and other animals feed
and this would include many plants
which are not botanically related to
the true glasses, such as the clovers,
alfalfa, ct cetera. The grasses furnish
the principal food of both man and
beast and are the foundations of agri-
culture.
Singularly enough, the most impor-
tant grasses, the cereals, are not
known in the wild state and their cult
walton extends so far back into an
tiquity that even their places of origin
are unknown. Either their wild coun-
%terparts have become extinct, or the
cereals have been so developed and
changed by cultivation that their wild
forms are no longer recognizable.
Many Species In This Country
Altogether there are about 1000
species of grass growing in the United
States. In one state alone, Washing
ton, some 275 species are found. Orig
inally almost one-half the area of the
United States consisted of prairies, the
principal heritage of which was
grasses, and the existence Of this vast
domain of grassland has never beer
fully explained, since it has been dis
covered that 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, its acreage being
four times as great as that of all the
others put together and equaling that
of all hay plants, including clover and
alfalfa.
Timothy had become the most i'm
portant hay grass in the United States
as early as 1907" says Mr.. Piper.
challenged. It's reputation as a feed
depends upon its high palatability
combined with moderate nutritive
value, so that it is practically impos-
sible to injure an animal by overfeed-
ing.
''Redtop is the only grass of much
prominence as q hay plant among the
many grasses belonging to the genus
Agrostis. 1t was early introduced into
the American colonies. This grass has
been known under many common
names, such as whitetop, florin, white
bent and herds grass, but, as all of
these names belong more properly to
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 impor-
tant pasture grass in the south, where
is shows marked preference for clayey
soils, but grows more or less album
dainty on sandy soil. 1t occurs as
far north as Maryland. Kansas and
the warmer valleys of Washington and
Oregon. In Virginia and Maryland
where it is more troublesome as q
weed than valuable as q forage, 1t is
commonly called wire grass.
Other important cultivated grasses
mentioned by Mr.. Piper are orchard
grass, carpet grass, Canada blue
grass, tall meadow oat grass, meadow
~fescue, foxtail millet, Rhodes grass
Napier grass, sleeps fescue, red fes-
cue, Para grass, japanese millet, Ital-
ian rye grass, Rhode Island bent
|. Dallas grass and Sudan grass.
Mr.. Piper does not discuss the prob
lem of developing the best grasses for
golf courses, but experts of the depart
ment of agriculture have assisted II
experimental work in that line at tho
several country clubs around Washing
ton. Golf courses need a heavy
springy turf for the fairways and
softer grass for the putting greens
that can be cultivated to a ~velvety
smoothness. Great difficulty is expert,
enced in getting grasses that will not
, BURN out in dry, hot weather. ant
crab grass is the bane of the greer
keepers. Just at present the Columbit
/ Country club at Chevy Chase, Md.
J seems to have come nearest the solu'
ton of the problem with a species OF
bent grass for green's that holds itt
I own under adverse weather conditions
and always affords an admirable put
ting surface.