Agnes Chase: The Indomitable Woman Who Made Us See Grass Differently

April 29, 1869

On this day, dear readers, we celebrate the birth of Agnes Chase - a woman of diminutive stature yet possessed of such formidable determination that she quite literally changed how the world views grass. Yes, grass! That ubiquitous carpet beneath your garden boots deserves far more reverence than you've been giving it.

Agnes was an agrostologist - a fancy term for one who studies grass with uncommon devotion. While you and I might merely tread upon it, Agnes examined it with scholarly precision that would make even the most pedantic botanist blush with inadequacy.

Self-taught and brilliantly resourceful, Agnes first secured a position as an illustrator at the USDA's Bureau of Plant Industry in Washington. There she served as assistant to botanist Albert Spear Hitchcock, a man who recognized her talents if not her right to equal expedition funding.

When Hitchcock's superiors - those short-sighted gatekeepers of scientific advancement - approved funds only for himself, declaring botanical expeditions the domain of "real research men," did Agnes retreat to the greenhouse in defeat? Certainly not!

Our intrepid heroine simply raised her own funding with the cleverness that would become her hallmark. She forged alliances with missionaries across Latin America, securing accommodations that wouldn't deplete her modest resources. As Agnes so pragmatically observed:

"The missionaries travel everywhere, and like botanists do it on as little money as possible. They gave me information that saved me much time and trouble."

While male botanists debated whether women possessed the constitution for fieldwork, Agnes was already scaling one of Brazil's highest mountains, returning triumphantly with her skirt transformed into an impromptu specimen bag, brimming with botanical treasures!

Her magnum opus, the First Book of Grasses, was translated into Spanish and Portuguese, educating generations of Latin American botanists who, with far more perspicacity than their American counterparts, recognized her contributions decades before proper acknowledgment arrived in her homeland.

When Hitchcock retired, Agnes naturally assumed his position. And when retirement age came knocking at her door? Agnes showed it the same disdain she had shown every other obstacle in her path. Six days a week, she continued her work, presiding over the world's largest grass collection beneath the distinctive red towers of her beloved Smithsonian.

At the remarkable age of 89, Agnes became only the eighth person honored as an honorary fellow of the Smithsonian. A journalist covering this belated recognition noted that "Dr. Chase looked impatient, as if she were muttering to herself, 'This may be well and good, but it isn't getting any grass classified, Sonny.'"

Her devotion to the humble grass extended beyond mere scientific inquiry. Agnes cleverly titled one of her books **The Meek That Inherit the Earth**, drawing upon biblical references with scholarly precision.

As reported in The St. Louis Star and Times:

"Mrs. Chase began her study of grass by reading about it in the Bible.

In the very first chapter of Genesis, ...the first living thing the Creator made was grass...

In order to understand grass one needs an outlook as broad as all creation, for grass is fundamental to life, from Abraham, the herdsman, to the Western cattleman; from drought in Egypt to the dust bowl of Colorado; from corn, a grass given to Hiawatha because in time of famine he prayed not for renown but for the good of his people, to the tall corn of Iowa."

Agnes herself declared with characteristic insight:

"Grass is what holds the earth together. Grass made it possible for the human race to abandon his cave life and follow herds. Civilization was based on grass, everywhere in the world."

So the next time you casually tread upon your lawn or admire the swaying ornamental grasses in your garden beds, dear readers, spare a thought for Agnes Chase - the remarkable woman who understood that in the humble blade of grass lies the very foundation of our civilized existence. Your garden quite literally stands upon her shoulders.