Fyrgiase} pS A, CREE Ali MUHIEH Fe PRISE ROR IE RU RREC PIR ERY ELI UIs hott) BEE Re PUAN Hh : vi FUR IRRS ARE LA I DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. SPECIAL REPORT—No. 63. T BH XX GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES: BEING A SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES AND GENERA, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GENERA, AND A. TIST OF THE SPHOIES, PREPARED BY Dr. GEO. VASEY, BOTANIST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. pp [4] WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 1883. CONTENTS, Vasey, George. The grasses of the United States: being a synopsis of the tribes and genera, with descriptions of the gemera and a list of the species, 1883, Vasey, Yeorge. The agricultural grasses of the United states : also, The chemical composition of American grasses by Clifford Richardson. 1°84, Vasey, George. Investiggion of grasses of the arid " districts of Kansas, vebraska, and Colorado. 1886, Fealler, G.C. and Tracy, £.}., Report of an investigation of the grasses of the arid districts of “exas, New Mexico, Arizona, Kevzda, and Utah, 1888, Vasey, George. The agricultural grasses and forage plants ne a I re . Vasey, George. Report of the Tepartment of ‘griculture for 1888, Sewzll, J,A, Grass and forage experiment station at Garden Se Xamses, 1891, . ; Tracy, S.M. Cooperative branch stations in the South. 2853. In compliance with current copyright law, U. C. Library Bindery produced this replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1984 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original 1998 IPRA; or TS UNIVERSITY \ CF 4 \ Ry Cal roRNIA, / : a THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. INTRODUCTION, Many inquiries have been made for some work giving an account of the Grasses of the United States, especially of those growing west of the Mississippi River. Descriptions of these grasses are chiefly to be found in various reports of the Government, Pacific Railroad Survey, Geological Surveys, &c., most of which are now inaccessible to the or- dinary reader. The present paper is an attempt to give a systematic synopsis of our grasses so far as known at the present time, with descriptions of the genera and alist of the species. Our knowledge of some species is yet imperfect, and one object of this paper is to awaken such interest in the subject as may lead to further study and investigation of the same. The synopsis of the tribes and genera is chiefly a translation from the recently published ‘Genera Plantarum?” of Messrs. Bentham and Hooker. The characters have been drawn up very briefly, but, it is hoped, with sufficient fullness to lead to the intended result. In draw- ing the characters of the genera the best authors have been consulted, a careful examination of specimens has been made, and the nomencla- ture conformed to the most recent views of the floral structure. The list includes, doubtfully, some species of which we have imperfect infor- mation, and which may have to be excluded or changed in the future. It is impossible to describe and classify so large a number of objects except by the use of technical words. Any person seeking a clear and accurate knowledge of the subject will find it necessary to become ac- quainted with the technical language which is universally employed in science. SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICAN GRASSES. Series 1.—PANICACEZ. Spikelets articulated with the pedicel below the outer glumes, and consisting of one fertile terminal flower, and usually an inferier one which is male or sterile. 4 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. TRIBE 1.—PANICEA. Fertile spikelets perfect, rarely by abortion unisexual (monwcious or dicecious), spicate or paniculate. Outer glumes usually two, rarely one or none, flowering glume indurated in fruit, or at least more rigid than the outer ones, unawned. TRIBE 2. MAYDEAZ. Spikelets unisexual ; the male flowers terminal, spicate or paniculate ; the female ones below, spicate, disarticulating (except in Zea) with the joints of the rhachis. TrIBE 3.—ORYZEAZA. Spikelets perfect, or rarely unisexual, paniculate or spicate. Outer glumes usually minute or absent, the lower apparently inclosed by two one-nerved glumes, the upper of which is generally considered a palet. TRIBE 4.—TRISTEGINEZXE. Spikelets perfect, paniculate or sparsely fasciculate. Glumes three or four, the two or three inferior ones empty, membranaceous; the termi- nal or flowering one awnless or often terminated with a geniculate awn, and with a hyaline or thinly membranaceous palet. TRIBE 5—ZOYSIEZE. Spikelets usually perfect, or some of them imperfect, articulated singly or in fascicles with the inarticulate rhachis of the simple spike; flowering glumes membranaceous; generally the outer or empty ones smaller and hyaline. TRIBE 6.—ANDROPOGONE ZA. Spikelets arranged along the rhachis of the spike or the branches of the panicle most commonly in twos, or the terminal ones in threes, homogamous or heterogamous in every pair. Flowering glume smaller than the empty ones, hyaline, often bearded. Series 2.—POACEA.. Spikelets usually not articulated with the pedicel below the glumes; the rhachis continuous above the persistent lower glumes, and disarticu- lating with the flowers or persisting. The spikelets consist rarely of a single flower, or of one perfect and one or two inferior imperfect ones, or of from two to many flowers with the upper ones or some of them im- perfect; the rhachis sometimes produced beyond the upper flower as a stipe-like pedicel or as an imperfect flower. The lower glumes are rarely depauperate or wanting. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 5 TrIBE 7.—PHALARIDE A. Flower perfect, solitary and terminal ; glumes one-nerved or keeled. (Same as Oryzex, with the addition of two empty glumes below the joint.) In Phalaris the third and fourth glumes are reduced to mere pedicels or bristles. TrIBE S.—AGROSTIDE_E. Spikelet perfect, one-flowered ; rhachis often prolonged beyond the flower into a bristle or stipe. TRIBE 9.—AVENEZE. Spikelets two-flowered, rarely many-flowered, often paniculate. Flow- ering glumes usually provided with a dorsal or sometimes a terminal awn, or awnless in some equally two-flowered genera. TRIBE 10.—CHLORIDE.ZE. Spikelets one to many flowered, sessile and secund in two rows along the rhachis of one-sided spikes. TRIBE 11.—FESTUCACEA.L. Spikelets two to many flowered, variously paniculate or rarely race- mose. Flowering glumes awnless, or terminated by one to many awns. TRIBE 12.—HORDEACE.ZE. Spikelets one to many flowered, sessile on the teeth or excavations of the rhachis of thé simple spike. TRIBE 13.—BAMBUSE XE. Tall grasses, often woody, at least at the base. Leaves flat, generally articulated with the sheath, spikelets one to many flowered ; stamens 3, 4, or many. SYNOPSIS OF THE GENERA. TrI1BE 1.—PANICACEZ. GROUP l.—Branches of the simple panicle spike-like, or variously branched, not produced beyond the spikelets. Genera: 1. Reimaria; 2. Paspalum; 3. Anthwenantia; 4. Amphicar- pum; 5. Eriochloa; 6. Beckmannia; 7. Panicum; 8. Oplismenus; 9. Setaria. GROUP 2.—Spikes or racemes simple, solitary or rarely paniculate. Spikelets surrounded by or intermixed with abortive branches of the panicle, forming a lobed or bristly involucre, which is deciduous with the spikelet. Genera : 1. Cenchrus; 2. Pennisetum. 6 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. GroUP 3.—Spikes one to many on a common peduncle, rhachis pro- duced beyond the uppermost spikelet. Genera : 1. Spartina; 2. Stenotaphrum. GroUP 4.— Anomalous genera : 1. Pharus. TRIBE 2.—MAYDEZ. Genera : 1. Coix; 2. Tripsacum. TRIBE 3.—ORYZEZ. Genera : 1. Hydrochloa; 2. Zizania; 3. Luziola: 4. Leersia. TRIBE 4. —TRISTEGINEZE. Genera : 1. Thurberia. TRIBE 5.—ZOYSIEZE. Genera : 1. Hilaria; 2. Aegopogon; 3. Tragus. TRIBE 6.—ANDROPOGONEZ. Group 1.—Spikelets paniculate. Genera : 1. Imperata; 2. Erianthus. Group 2.—Spikelets sessile in the excavations of the joints of the spikes. Genera : 1. Elionurus; 2. Rottbeellia; 3. Maunisuris. GrOUP 3.—Spikelets (one of the pair at least, pediceled), spicate orrace- mose. Genera : 1. Ischemum; 2. Heteropogon; 3. Andropogon; 4. Chrys- opogon; 5. Sorghum. : TRIBE 7.—PHALARIDEZ. Group 1.—Rhachis articulated above the outer glumes. Genera : 1. Phalaris; 2. Anthoxanthum ; 3. Hierochloa. GROUP 2.—Rhachis articulated below the spikelet. Genera : 1. Alopecurus. TRIBE S.—AGROSTIDE Z. SuBTRIBE 1.—STIPE AE. Spikelets paniculate. Rhachis not produced beyond the flower ; beard of the flowering glume terminal. Genera: 1. Aristida; 2. Stipa; 3. Oryzopsis; 4. Milium; 5. Muhlen- bergia; 6. Brachyelytrum. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 17 SUBTRIBE 2.—PHLEOIDE XE. Spikelets in a dense spike-like or ovoid panicle. Rhachis produced be- yond the flower in a bristle, or naked. Flowering glumes awn- less, or produced in one to three straight bristles. Genera: 1. Lycurus ; 2. Heleochloa; 3. Phleum. SUBTRIBE 3.—SPOROBOLE XE. Spikelets usually small, loosely spicate or variously paniculate. Rhachis not produced beyond the flower; glumes unawned, or the flow- ering glume rarely produced in a short straight beard. Genera: 1. Coleanthus; 2. Phippsia; 3. Sporobolus. SUBTRIBE 4.—EUAGROSTE.Z. Spikelets generally small; variously paniculate. Flowering glume usually with a more or less twisted dorsal awn; rarely mucro- nate or awnless. GRrouP 1.—Rhachilla not produced beyond the flower. Genera: 1. Epicampes; 2. Agrostis; 3. Polypogon; 4. Arctagros- tis; 5. Cinna. GROUP 2.—Rhachilla produced beyond the flower in a bristle which may be glabrous or most frequently hairy. Genera : 1. Gastridium ; 2. Apera; 3. Deyenxia; 4. Ammophila. TRIBE 9.—AVENE ZA. SUBTRIBE AIRE A. Spikelets two-flowered, paniculate or rarely spicate ; not produced be- yond the flowers; flowering glumes awnless or rarely with a thin short awn. Genera: 1. Aira. SUuBTRIBE EUAVENE_E. Spikelets two to many flowered ; rhachjlla more or less produced beyond the flowers ; flowering glumes commonly with a dorsal or ter- minal geniculate awn. Genera: 1. Corynephorus; 2. Deschampsia; 3. Holeus; 4. Tri- setum ; 5. Avena; 6. Arrhenatherum; 7. Danthonia. TRIBE 10.—CHLORIDEZE. GRrOUP 1.—One or rarely two fertile flowers in the spikelet. Genera : 1, Cynodon; 2. Ctenium; 3. Chloris; 4. Trichloris; 5. Gymnopogon ; 6. Schedonnardus; 7. Bouteloua. Group 2.—Two to many fertile lowers in each spikelet. Genera : 1. Eleusine ; 2. Leptochloa ; 3. Buchloé. 8 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. TrIBE 11.—FESTUCACEAZ. SUBTRIBE 1.—PAPPOPHORE ZA. Spikelets usually few-flowered ; flowering glumes three to many awned. Genera : 1. Pappophorum ; 2. Cottea. SUBTRIBE 2.—TRIODIE ZA. Spikelets many-flowered, rarely one or two flowered, rhachilla glabrous or short pilose; glumes one to three nerved, or rarely many- nerved, three-toothed, three-divided, or three-awned. Genera: 1. Triodia; 2. Diplachne ; 3. Triplasis ; 4. Evemochloa. SUBTRIBE 3.—ARUNDINEZ. Tall grasses with a many-flowered panicle; spikelets two to many flowered; rhachilla or the flowering glumes generally long pilose ; flowering glumes three-toothed, or one to three awned. Genera: 1. Arundo ; 2. Phragmites. SUBTRIBE 4.—SESLERIE A. Spikelets capitate, subspicate, or appressed in a spike-like panicle; flowering glumes three to five nerved. Genera : 1. Monanthochloe ; 2. Munroa; 3. Lamarckia. SUBTRIBE 5.—ERAGROSTE A. Spikelets variously paniculate ; flowering glumes, mostly three nerved, rarely one-nerved. Genera: 1. Koeleria; 2. Eatonia; 3. Dissanthelium ; 4. Catabrosa; 5. Eragrostis. SUBTRIBE 6.—MELICE XZ. Flowering glumes three to five or many nerved, more or less involute, the upper two or more empty or imperfect. Genera : 1. Melica; 2. Diarrhena; 3. Streptogyne. SUBTRIBE 7.—EUFESTUCE.Z. v Flowering glumes five to many nerved, the upper one empty, style short, stigmas plumose; leaves generally narrow, without transverse veins. Genera : 1. Pleuropogou; 2. Uniola; 3. Distichlis; 4. Dactylis; 5. Briza; 6. Poa; 6. Graphephorum; 8. Glyceria; 9. Festuca; 10. Bromus. TrIBE 12.—HORDEACE XE. SuBTRIBE —TR ITICE.ZE. Spikelets solitary at the nodes, three to many flowered, rarely two-flow- ered; spike usually stout. Genera : 1. Lolium; 2. Agropyrum. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 9 SUBTRIBE 2.—LEPTURE.E. Spikelets one to two flowered, solitary at the nodes; spikes slender. Genera : 1. Lepturus. SUBTRIBE 3.—ELYME_E. Spikelets two to many at each joint of the rhachis. Spike generally stout, Genera: 1. Hordeum; 2. Elymus; 3. Asprella. TRIBE 13.—BAMBUSEZ. Genera : 1. Arundinaria. DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERA. REIMARIA, Flugge. Spikelets acuminate, in unilateral subsessile spikes, with one perfect terminal flower and one exterior empty glume, which is membranaceous, three to five nerved, acute, abeut equaling the fertile glume. Fertile glume and palet indurated or membranaceous, finely punctulate. Sta- mens 2, styles 2, distinct to the base. Stigmas long and plumose. Culms ascending, diffusely branched at the base. R. oligostachya, Munro. Florida. This species varies from the character of the genus in usually having a second outer glume either fully or imperfectly developed in a portion of the spikelets of each spike. : ; R. acuta occurs in Cuba, and will probably also be found in Southern Florida. PASPALUM, Linn. Spikelets ‘obtuse or rarely short acuminate, each fvith one terminal perfect flower, in one or two rows along one side of the solitary or pan- iculate flattened spikes. Glumes 3 (or rarely 2, the lower one wanting), the two outer ones membranous, equal, or in a few species the outer one smaller or disappearing; the flowering glume more or less concave, becoming indurated, embracing the shorter palet, which is of the same texture. Stamens 3, styles 2, distinct to the base. Stigmas plumose. Spikes simple, terminal, or subdigitate, or approximate or scattered along the general peduncle; spreading or reflexed. 1. P. cespitosum, Flugge. (P. Blodgettii, Chap.). Florida. 2. P.compressum, var. imberbe, Munro (P. platycaule, Poir). Florida, Georgia, and westward to Texas. 3. P. conjugatum, Berg. Mississippi. 4. P. digitaria, Poir. Florida and the Gulf States. 10 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. P. distichum, L. (P. vaginatum, Sw.). South and West. P. distichum, var. monstrosa, Munro. Florida. 6. P. dilitatum, Poir (P. ovatum, Trin.). Virginia to the Gulf States. 7. P. elatum, Richard in Herb. Paris. Texas. 8. P. Floridanum, Mx. Maryland to Florida and westward. 9. P. fluitans, Walt. Southern States. 10. P. gigauteum, Bald. Florida. 11. P. leeve, Mx. Common eastward and southward. 12. P. lentiferum, Lam. (P. praecox, Walt.). Southern States. 13. P. lentiginosum, Presl. Texas. 14. P. lividum, 7rin. Texas and Mexican border. 15. P. notatum, Flugge. Louisiana. 16. P. plicatulum, Mz. (P. undulatum, Poir). South and West. 17. P. rectam, Nees. Florida. 18. P. racemulosum, Nutt. Florida and Gulf States. 19. P. reimarioides, Chap. Florida. 20. P. remotum, Remy (P. pubiflorum, Rupt.). Texas. 21. P. setaceum, Mz. Common. P. setaceum, var. ciliatifolium (P. ciliatifolium, FIl.). South. 22. P. virgatum L., var. platyoxon, Doell. South Carolina. 23. P. Walterianum, Schultz. Southern States. ANTHZENANTIA, Beauv. Spikelets loosely racemed on the erect branches of the contracted panicle, composed of one terminal perfect flower, and one lower male or neuter one, its glume like the outer empty one hairy—there being thus two flowering glumes and an empty one. Panicle oblong, lax, the branches slender, many-flowered. Flowering glume of the perfect flower rigid-membranaceous, not indurated. 1. A. rufa, Benth. (Panicum rufum, Kth. Aulaxanthus rufus, Ell). Southern States. 2. A. villosa, Beauv. (Panicum ignoratum, Kth. Aulaxanthus ciliatus, Ell). Southern States. AMPHICARPUM, Kth. “Spikelets of two kinds, those of the simple terminal panicle perfect but not fertile; the fertile ones mostly borne at the ends of subter- ranean runner-like pedicels, these flowers larger than the others. The spikelets consist of one terminal flower, two nearly equal empty outer glumes, and, frequently, the rudiment of another. 1. A. Purshii, Kth. (Millium amphicarpum, Pursh.). New Jersey. 2. A. Floridanum, Chap. Florida. ERr10CcHLOA, H. B. RK. Spikelets with one perfect flower and two empty, hairy, nearly equal outer glumes, with a peculiar cup-like or annular swelling of the pedicel THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 11 just below the spikelet. The spikelets are nearly sessile in one or two rows along one side of the slender branches of a simple panicle. The perfect flower much as in Paspalum, the flowering glume obtuse or sometimes mucronate. 1. E. punctata, Hamel. (Millium punctatum, L. Paspalum punctatum, Flugge). Texas. . punectata, var. mollis (K. mollis, Ath. Panicum molle, Mx.). Florida. . sericea, Hunro. Texas. . annulata, Ath. (Paspalum annulatum, Kth.). Florida. . grandiflora, Trin. (Helopus grandiflorus, Trin.). Arizona. Lo EEE E a to BECKMANNIA, Host. Spikelets subsessile, crowded in two rows upon the short simple or compound branches of the long, narrow panicle; consisting of two per- fect lowers, the terminal one only fertile (or in American specimens the lower flower is suppressed), and two subcoriaceous, obovate or boat- shape, compressed and inflated empty glumes. The glume of the per- tect flower or flowers is lanceolate, acute or acuminate, and of rather thinner texture than the empty glumes. 1. B. erucaeformis, Host. Mountain regions west of the Mississippi. PaAaNICcUM, Linn. Spikelets with one perfect terminal flower, and usually a second male or rudimentary one below. Outer empty glumes two, one of which is smaller than the other, often very small, or rarely wanting. The glume of the terminal flower with its palet is usually of a coriaceous texture and obtuse or obtusish. Inflorescence spicate or paniculate. 1. P. agrostoides, Spreng. Common. 2. P. amarum, Ell. Atlantic coast. 3. P. anceps, Linn. Common. P. anceps, var. strictum, Chap. Tlorida. 4. P. angustifolium, Chap. Florida to Texas. 5. P. autumnale, Bosc. South and West. 6. P. bulbosum, H. B. K. New Mexico and Arizona. P. bulbosum, var. minor (P. maximum, var. bulbosum, Auct.). New Mexico and Arizona. 7. P. capillare, Linn. Common. P. capillare, var. flexile, Gattinger. Tennessee and South. P. capillare, var. minimum, Engel.? Western. 8. P. ciliatissimum, Buckl. Texas. 9. P. clandestinum, Linn. Common. P. clandestinum, var. pedunculatum, Torr. Common. 10. P. colonum, Linn. (P. Walteri, Ell.). South and West. 11. P. consanguineum, Kth. (P. angustifolium, Kil.). Chiefly South. 12. P. commutatum, Schultz (P. nervosum, Muhl.). East and South. 12 13. 9 ON WIN FEHR AS vg RY oV] — 33. 34. 35. 36. 317. 39. L Proe-oe | -J > et eS go pd - BCE RRC RRR RR RC ERC EEC ECE RCE REE THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. . ecrusgalli, Linn. Common. . crusgalli, var. hispidum. Common. . crusgalli, var. muticam. Texas and westward. . Curtissii, Chap. South. . debile, Pour (P. hians, Ell. P. melicarium, Mz.). South. . depauperatum, Muhl. Common. . dichotomum, Linn. Common. . discolor, Spreng. Ilorida. . fasciculatum, Sw. Florida to Texas. . filiforme, Linn. Common. . fuscum, Swz. Florida to Texas. . gibbum, Ell. North Carolina to Texas. YP. . glabram, Gaud. (Digitaria glabra, RE. & S.). Rare. . grossarium, Linn. Ballast ground, Philadelphia. . gymuocarpum, Chap. South Carolina to Texas. . jumentorum, Pers. (P. maximum, Jacq.). Introduced in Florida. . latifolium, Linn. Common. . laxiflorum, Lam. (P. dichotomum, var. Auet.). Common. . leucophieum, H. B. K. Florida to Texas and Arizona. . microcarpum, Muhl. Common. giganteum, Scheele? (P. diffusum, Swe.?). Texas. microcarpum, var. sphaerocarpon (P. spheerocarpon, Ell. P. di- chotomum, var. sph@rocarpon, Gr.). Common. . miliaceum, Linn. Cultivated and sparingly naturalized. obtusum, H. B. K. Texas and southwestward. . paspaloides, Pers. Southern States to Texas. pauciflorum, Ell. Common. plantagineum, Linn. Ballast grounds, Philadelphia. proliferum, Lam. Common. . proliferum, vir. geniculatum (P. geniculatum, Ell). South. prostratum, Lam. Louisiana and Alabama. . ramulosum, Mx. (P. dichotomum, var.). Common. . repens, Linn. Naturalized at Mobile. . sanguinale, Linn. (Digitaria). Common. . scabriusculum, Ell. Southern States. . scoparium, Muhl.? Southern States. . serotinum, Mz. (Digitaria villosa, Fll.). Southern States. . striatum, Lamr. Florida. tenuiculmum, Chap., non Meyer. Florida. Texanum, Buckl. Texas. Urvilleanum, Kth. California. velutinosum, Nees? New Mexico and Arizona. . verrucosum, Muhl. Near the Atlantic coast? . viscidum, Ell. (P. scoparium Lamr.?). Common. . xanthophysum, Gray. Northern and Eastern States. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 13 OPLISMENUS, Beauv. Spikelets clustered along the distant, sessile branches of the simple panicle, with one perfect terminal flower and three empty glumes; the lowest glume nearly as large as the others and awned, the second and third glumes also awned or pointed. 1. O. setarius R. & S.? (Panicum hirtellum, Lam.). Florida to Texas. SETARIA, Beauv. Spikelets in a cylindrical spike-like, or sometimes an interrupted, panicle. Below the articulation of the spikelets are several (or some- times one ?) bristles which are supposed to be abortive branchlets, which are persistent after the fall of the spikelets. The spikelets contain one terminal fertile flower (its glume and palet indurated and striate), and usually a lower male or sterile one. The outer empty glumes and the lower flowering one are membranaceous. 1. S. composita, Kth. Florida. 2. S. corrugata, Schultz. Florida. 3. S. glauca, Beauv. Naturalized. Common. S. glauca, var. penicillata, Willd.? Texas. S. glauca, var. levigata, Chap. Florida. 4. S. Italica, Kth. Introduced and cultivated. 5. S. setosa, Beauv. Texas and New Mexico. S. setosa, var. caudata (Panicum caudatum, Lam.). Texas and New Mexico. R 6. S. uniseta, Fourn. Texas. 7. S. verticillata, Beauv. Naturalized. Common. 8. S. viridis, Beauv. Naturalized. Common. CENCHRUS, Linn. Spikelets much as in Panicum, inclosed 1 to 3 together in a thick, coriaceous, spiny involucre, or bur, these arranged in an oblong or cylin- drical panicle. 1. C. echinatus, Linn. South. 2. C.incertus, M. 4. C. (C. strictus, Chap.). Southern States. 3. C. myosuroides, H. B. K. South and West. 4. C. tribuloides, Linn. Common. PENNISETUM, Pers. Spikelets with one terminal perfect flower, and a second male or neu- ter one below it, solitary, or two to three together, closely surrounded by an involucre of usually numerous simple or plumose bristles which disarticulate from the pedicel with the spikelets. The spikelets are crowded in a spike-like panicle, or on pedunculated spike-like branches. The lower empty glume is small, the second and that of the sterile 14 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. flower are membranaceous, many-nerved, and longer than the perfect flower, the glume of which is thicker and more rigid. 1. P. setosum, Rich? Florida. SPARTINA, Schreb. Spikelets one-flowered, much flattened, sessile along one side of the long, triangular rhachis or spikes, which are racemose on the panicle; outer glumes strongly compressed with a rigid keel, unequal, awnless; flowering glume membranaceous, compressed, carinate, awnless: palet nearly equaling its glume, two-keeled. 1. S. cynosuroides, Willd. Common. 2. S. gracilis, Hook. Saline plains in Rocky Mountains, also Florida. 3. S. juncea, Willd. Marshes near the coast. 4. 8. polystachya, Willd. Marshes near the coast. 5. S. stricta, Roth. Marshes near the coast. S. stricta, var. glabra, Gray. Marshes near the coast. S. stricta, var. alternitlora, Gray. Marshes near the coast. STENOTAPHRUM, Trin. Spikelets two-flowered, the terminal one perfect and fertile, the lower one male or imperfect, the lowest empty glume short and obtuse, the second the largest, the two flowering glumes rather smaller, palets of both flowers similar in texture. The spikelets are imbedded, singly or two or three together, in alternate excavations of the broad flattened rhachis of a spike-like panicle. 1. S. Americanum, Schkr. Southern States, near the coast. PHARUS, Linn. Flowers moncecious in a terminal panicle. Spikeletsin pairs, unequal, the smaller one pediceled, its flowering glume membranaceous and with 6 stamens ; the larger one sessile, its flowering glume indurated and involving the membranous palet and the pistil; empty glumes two, nearly equal, membranaceous. 1. P. latifolius, Trin. South Florida. Cox, Linn. Flowers moncecious in terminal and lateral cymose panicles, the upper part male, the lower part female. Male spikelets two-flowered, empty glumes two, the flowers membranaceous. The pistillate spikelets, one to two flowered, are inclosed within a bract which becomes a round, bony, shining involucre; they have each two empty membranaceous glumes, the terminal flower pistillate and fertile, the lower flower neutral. 1. C. lachryma, Linn. Hardly naturalized. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 15 TRIPSACUM, Linn. Flowers moncecious in jointed spikes, the upper part of which is male and the lower female. The upper or male spikelets are sessile, in pairs at each joint of the triangular rhachis; each spikelet contains two mem- branaceous male flowers, the outer glumes coriaceous or rigid. The pis- tillate spikelets are single and imbedded in the joints of the thickened cartilaginous rhachis, two-flowered, the upper flower fertile, the lower neutral; the outer empty glume is thickened and cartilaginous, the in- ner much thinner and pointed ; the flowering glumes and palets are thin and scarious. At maturity the rhachis breaks up at the joints with the imbedded spikelets. 1. T. dactyloides, Linn. Common. 2. T. Floridanum, Porter. Florida. 3. T. Lemmoni, Vasey. Arizona. HYDROCHLOA, Beauv. Flowers in small, simple, moncecious spikes, mostly included in the sheaths of the upper leaves. Spikelets three or four in each spike, the upper one staminate and exserted. Spikelets one-flowered, consisting of two hyaline scales, which may be considered glumes or palets, the usual outer glumes being absent. Stamens 6, styles 2, stigmas elongated. A small semi-aquatic grass. 1. H. Caroliniensis, Beauv. . Florida to North Carolina. Z1ZANIA, Linn. Flowers in large, diffuse, moncecious panicles. Spikelets one-flowered, consisting of two membranaceous scales (glumes or palets), the lower glumes absent or reduced to a cup-like ring; stamens 6, styles 2, dis- tinct or united. In the fertile spikelets the lower scale or glume is tipped with a straight awn. Tall aquatic grasses. 1. Z. aquatica, Linn. Wild rice. Common. 2. Z. miliacea, Mx. Wild rice. Less common. LuzIiora, Juss. Flowers in moncecious panicles, the male and female spikelets vari. ously arranged. Spikelets one-flowered, with two nearly equal mem- branaceous scales (glumes or palets), the lower glumes wanting or reduced to minute scales. Stamens usually more than 6, styles 2, short and distinct. 1. L. Alabamensis, Chap. Alabama. LEERSIA, Swartz. Flowers in one-sided panicled spikes or racemes. Spikelets one- flowered, with two chartaceous scales (glumes or palets), which are strongly compressed or conduplicate, awnless, bristly ciliate on the 16 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. keels, the lower one much broader and inclosing the seed. Stamens 1 to G6. stigmas 2, grain flattened. Perennial grasses, the leaves and sheaths rough with minute prickles. . L. hexandra, Swz. Florida to Texas. . L. lenticularis, Mx. South and West. L. monandra, Swz. Florida. . L. oryzoides, Swz. Common. L. Virginica, Willd. Common. CU WO HH THURBERIA, Benth. Pauicle rather long and loose. Spikelets narrow, one-flowered, and with an awn-like pedicel, outer glumes equal and coriaceous, the flower- ing glume nearly as long, chartaceous, compressed, the apex obliquely truncate and terminating in a long twisted awn; palet somewhat shorter ‘and narrower, membranaceous; stamens 3, styles distinct. 1. T. Arkansana, Benth. (Limnas, Steudel, Greenia, Nutt., Sclerachne, Torr.). Arkansas and Texas to Florida. Trinius made a second species, from Texas (T. pilosa), but it is proba- bly only a pubescent form of the first. Dr. Chapman says “spikelets two-flowered,” which must be a mistake. HILARIA, H. B. K. Inflorescence in terminal spikes; the spikelets in small clusters of three, closely sessile at the joints of the rhachis, the central spikelet containing a single fertile flower, either female or perfect ; the two lat- eral spikelets each with two or three male flowers. The spikelets are so closely sessile as to require much care to separate them properly. The outer glumes of the spikelets are unlike, mostly thin, rigid, and strongly nerved, some, lobed or bifid, dentate or lacerate at the apex, some, awnless, and some, awned between the lobes. 1. H. cenchroides, H. B. K., var. Texana. Texas and New Mexico. 2. H. Jamesii, Benth. (Pleuraphis, Torr.). Texas and New Mexico. 3. H. mutica, Benth. (Pleuraphis mutica, Buckl.). Texasand New Mexico. 4. H. rigida, Benth. (Pleuraphis rigida, Thurber). Arizona. ZAGoroGoN, H. B. K. Inflorescence in loose, one-sided, terminal and lateral, spikes or ra- cemes; the spikelets are one-flowered in clusters of two or three, one of which is usually sterile or male only. The outer glumes are cuneate, -emarginate, aristate, and shorter than the flowering glumes, which are three-nerved and three-awned; the palets are two-nerved and two- awned. Stamens 3, styles 3. 1. A. cenchroides, Willd. Texas. 2. ZB. geminiflorus, H. B. K. New Mexico and Arizona. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 17 TrRAGUS, Hall. Flowers in rather close terminal spikes; the spikelets in clusters of 2 to 5, mostly 3, one of which is imperfect. The perfect spikelets are one- flowered, with dissimilar glumes, the lower one minute and membran- aceous, the upper one concave, subcartilaginous, and beset with stout hooks; the flowering glume is firmly membranaceous and acute; the palet is shorter and thinner, two-nerved. Stamens 3, styles distinct. 1. T. racemosus, Hall. Introduced. Rare. IDMPERATA, Cyr: Inflorescence densely spicate or in a spike-like panicle, the spikelets - usually in pairs, one sessile and the other pediceled along the slender rhachis of the short branches of the panicle, with long silky hairs at the base and on the outer glumes. Spikelets with ore perfect and one neu- tral flower, the outer glumes thin, nearly equal, silky ; the flowering glumes smooth and hyaline; palet usually truncate and jagged at the top. Stamens 2, styles 2. 1. I. arundinacea, Cyr. Mexican border. 2. I. caudata, Cyr.? Florida. ERIANTHUS, Michz. Panicle terminal, narrow and dense, or lax and open, the branches spike-like, 2 to 5 at each joint. Spikelets by pairs (one sessile, the other pediceled) on the narrow rhachis, both alike, each two-flowered, the lower flower consisting of one membranaceous glume and no palet, the upper flower perfect, its glume and palet shorter, membranaceous, the glume bifid and awned from the tip. The two lodicules are distinct and broader than the palet. A tuft of hairs around the base of each spike- let, except in E. strictus. 1. E. alopecuroides, Ell. Diffuse but not common. E. alopecuroides, var. brevibarbis (E. brevibarbis, Mr.). Southern. E. alopecuroides, var. contortus (E. contortus, Ell.). Southern. 2. E. strictus, Bald. Florida. Erioxvrus, H. BD. K. Spikelets compressed, in pairs (one sessile and one pediceled) at each alternate joint of the simple spike, the sessile with one perfect flower, the pediceled spikelet with a sterile flower. The true palet is wanting in all the flowers, the apparent palet being a thin, five-nerved glume, so that, as Mr. Bentham states, there are four glumes in each spikelet, the outer one the largest and thickest, the other thin and membranaceous, all rather acute. : 1. E. ciliaris, H. B. K. Texas and westward. 2. E. candidus, Trin. Texas and westward. 3. E. Nuttallianus, Benth. (Andropogon Nuttallianus, Chap.). Florida, 2 GR 18 THE GRASSES OF TIIE UNITED STATES. RoTTB®ELIA, Linn. Flowers in terminal and lateral cylindrical spikes. Spikelets in pairs at each joint of the rachis, one sessile and imbedded in an excavation of the rhachis, the other short pediceled, erect, and appressed. The ses- sile spikelet has two thick outer glumes, two hyaline ones and a hyaline palet, with the stamens and pistil. In other words. there is one ter- minal perfect flower and a rudimentary or sometimes a male one below. The pediceled spikelet is usually imperfect, male only, or reduced to empty glumes. 1. R. cylindrica, Chap. Florida to Texas. 2. R. rugosa, Nutt. Southern States. 3. R. corrugata, Bald. Southern States. MANISURIS, Swartz. Spikelets in pairs in the one-sided notches of the articulate rhachis of a simple spike, one sessile and half imbedded in a cavity of the rha- chis, with one perfect flower, the other on a short appressed pedicel and reduced to two empty glumes. Outer glumes of perfect flower two, the lower globular and hard, the second smaller and concave, thin but rigid. Third and fourth glumes small and hyaline. Palet, none; the fourth glume usually considered a palet. 1. M. granularis, Swz. Introduced. Texas and New Mexico. IsceZEMUM, Linn. ‘Spikelets in pairs in the alternate notches of the articulate flexuous thachis of simple spikes, one sessile with one perfect lower and a male one below it, the other pediceled and similar or defective. The sessile spikelet has two thickish outer glumes and two thin hyaline flowering -glumes, the upper one usually awned. The palea are small and hya line, sometimes absent. 1. TI. leersioides, Munro. Introduced in California. HETEROPOGON, Pers. Spikelets one flowered, monceeecious, in pairs in the notches of the rha- chis of a one-sided spike, one sessile and pistillate, cylindrical, turned to one side of the spike, the other pediceled and staminate, imbricate on the other side of the spike. The lower outer glume is hard and .convolute ; the upper, thinner and keeled: the third glume is thin and hyaline; the fourth, or flowering glume, terminated with a bard, twisted awn ; palets very small and thin or wanting. 1. H. contortus, R. & S. (Andropogon contortus. L.). Texas and South- west. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 19 2. H. Allioni, R. & S. (Andropogon Allioni, Caud.). New Mexico and Arizona. 3. H. melanocarpus, (Andropogon melanocarpus, Ell). Florida and Georgia. TRACHYPOGON, Nees. - Spikelets arranged and constituted as in Heteropogon, except that the sessile spikelet is male and the pediceled one pistillate. 1. T. Montufari, Nees. Arizona. ANDROPOGON, Linn. Inflorescence in simple or paniculate spikes. Spikelets in pairs in the alternate notches of the rachis, one sessile and fertile, the other pedi- celed and sterile (either male or empty). Fertile spikelet with two more or less coriaceous outer glumes, a third hyaline empty glume, and the fourth or flowering glume also hyaline and awned. The sterile spikelet similar, but empty or male only and unawned. Palet small and hyaline or wanting. 1. A. arctatus, Chap. (A. tetrastachys, var. Chap.). Florida. 2. A. argyreus, Schultes (A. argenteus, Ell. non D. C.). Florida. 3. A. brachystachyns, Chap. Florida. 4. A. clandestinus, Hale ined. (A. Elliottii, Chap.). Florida to Texas. A. clandestinus, var. stenophyllus, Chap. Florida. A. clandestinus, var. corymbosus, Chap. Florida. 5. A. dissitiflorus, Mx. (A. Virginicus, L. in part). Common. A. dissitiflorus, var. vaginatus, Chap. (A.vaginatus, Chap.). Florida. A. dissitiflorus, var. tetrastachyus, Chap. (A. tetrastachyus, Hil). Florida. : A. dissitiflorus, var. gracilis, Chap. (A. gracilis, Carp.). Louisiana. 6. A. furcatus, Muhl. Common. . A. furcatus, var. Texas to Colorado. 7. A. hirtiflorus, Kth. Arizona. 8. A. hirtifolius, Presl., var. glabrescens, Munro. New Mexico. 9. A. macrourus, Mz. Common. A. macrourus, var. glaucopsis, Chap. Florida. A. macrourus, var. viridis, Chap. Florida. 10. A. maritimus, Chap. (A. scoparius, Mx. in part). New Jersey to : Florida. 11. A. oligostachyus, Chap. Florida. 12. A. saccharoides, Swz. (A. argenteus, D. (.). Texas to Arizona. 13. A. scoparius, Mx. Common. 14. A. tener, Kth. Florida and westward. CHRYSOPOGON, Trin. Flowers loosely paniculate. Fertile spikelets one-flowered, sessile between two pedicellate male or barren spikelets at the end of the 20 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. slender branches of the panicle, with, sometimes, one to three pairs of spikelets on the branch below the terminal three. Fertile spikelets with the lower glume larger and coriaceous; the second narrower, thick, keeled, pointed or awned ; the third hyaline and empty; the fourth or flowering glume hyaline and awned. Palet minute or none. 1. C. nutans, Benth. (Sorghum nutans, Gr.). Common. 2. C. avenaceus, Benth. (Sorghum avenaceum, Chap.). Southern. 3. C. secundum, Benth. (Sorghum secundum, Chap.). Southern. 4. C. pauciflorum, Benth. (Sorghum pauciflorum, Chap.). Southern. SORGHUM, Pers. Spikelets much as in Chrysopogon, differing chiefly in habit and in the glumes of the fertile spikelets becoming more hardened after flower- ing. 1. S. halapense, Linn. Introduced and sparingly naturalized. S. vulgare is extensively cultivated, but not naturalized. PHALARIS, Linn. Spikelets one-flowered, compressed, densely crowded in an ovoid or cylindrical spike, or on the densely flowered branches of a panicle. The outer glumes are acute, boat-shaped, keeled, becoming coriaceous or cartilaginous; within these the flower consisting of two glumes, some- times called palets, inclosing the stamens and pistil ; below the flower one, or sometimes two, small scales or bristles, which are considered abortive glumes. 1. P. arundinacea, Linn. North and Northwest. 2. P. amethystina, Trin. California and Oregon. 3. P. Canariensis, Linn. Sparingly naturalized. 4, P. intermedia, Bosc. (P. Californica, H. d" 4.) Texas to California. P. intermedia, var. angusta, Chap. (P. angusta, Nees). Texas to Cali- fornia. ANTHOXANTHUM, Linn. Panicle somewhat spiked. Spikelets one-flowered, with two pairs of empty glumes, the outer pair acute, keeled, the first or lowest half as long as the second: the third and fourth glumes (second pair) are much shorter, thin, two-lobed, pubescent, and awned on the back; the fifth and sixth glumes (commonly considered the perfect flower) are still smaller, the fifth broad, thin, and three-nerved, the sixth (commonly considered the upper palet) narrow, hyaline, one-nerved. No true palet Stamens 2, styles 2, distinet. 1. A. odoratum, Linn. Sweet vernal-grass. Naturalized. HiErROCHLOA, Gmelin. Spikelets three-flowered in an open panicle ; the terminal flower per- fect, but with only two stamens, the two lower flowers male only, each THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 21 with three stamens; the two outer glumes thin and secarious, acutely keeled, the glumes of the male flowers thicker, sometimes short-awned, each inclosing a narrow, thin, bifid, two-keeled palet; the upper or. perfect lower has a one-nerved glume in place of the usual palet. 1. H. alpina, R. € S. High mountains. 2. H. borealis, BR. & S. Northern and subalpine. 3. H. macrophylla, Thurb. California and Oregon. 4. H. pauciflora, R. Br. Melville Island. ALOPECURUS, Linn. Flowers crowded in a eylindrical spike. Spikelets one-flowered. Outer glumes strongly compressed, boat-shaped, keeled, nearly equal, frequently united at the base; third or flowering glume shorter, keeled, with a slender dorsal awn, frequently more or less united below by the opposite margins, and inclosing the stamens and styles; without a palet. 1. A. agrestis, Linn. Sparingly naturalized. 2. A. alpinus, Sm. Rocky Mountains. 3. A. geniculatus, Linn. Frequent. A. geniculatus, var. aristulatus (A. aristulatus, M2.). Common. . A. pratensis, Linn. Naturalized. 5. A. saccatus, Vasey. Oregon. HS ARISTIDA, Linn. Spikelets one-flowered in a spicate, or an open branching panicle generally oun filiform pedicels; outer glumes unequal, often bristle- pointed; flowering glume narrow, rolled around the flower, terminating with a trifid awn, or apparently three-awned. Palet small and thin, inclosed in the flowering glume. 1. A. bromoides, H. B. K. New Mexico to California. 2. A. Californica, Thurb. Southern California. 3. A. condensata, Chap. Florida. 4. A. desmantha, Rupt. Texas. 5. A. dichotoma, Linn. Common. 6. A. dispersa, Trin. New Mexico, Arizona. 7. A. Floridana? (Streptachne Floridana, Chap.). Florida. 8. A. gracilis, Ell. Common. 9. A. gyrans, Chap. Florida. 10. A. Humboldtiana, Tr. & Rup. New Mexico to Arizona. 11. A. lanata, Poir. Florida and westward. 12. A. oligantha, Mx. Common. 13. A. Palmeri, Vasey. Southern Arizona. 14, A. purpurea, Nutt. Texas and westward. A. purpurea, var. Fendleri (A. Fendleri, Steud.). Texas and New Mexico. A. purpurea, var. longiseta (A. longiseta, Steud.). Texas and New Mexico. 22 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. A. purpurea, var. Californica, Vasey. California. 15. A. purpurascens, Poir. Frequent. : A. purpurascens, var. palustris? (A. virgata, var. palustris, Chap.). Florida. 16. A. ramosissima, Engel. Illinois and Missouri. 17. A. scabra, Kth. Florida. 18. A. Scheidiana, Tr. & Rup. Texas and New Mexico. 19. A. simplicifolia, Chap. Florida. 20. A. spiciformis, Ell. Southern States. 21. A. stricta, Mx. Common. A. stricta, var. Texensis, Vasey. Texas. 22. A. tuberculata, Nutt. Western. 23. A. virgata, Trin.? STIPA, Linn. Spikelets one-flowered, terete, spicate or paniculate. Outer glumes membranaceous, keeled; flowering glume narrow, coriaceous, rigid, in- volute, with a simple, twisted awn from the apex; palet usually small and inclosed by the flowering glume. Stamens generally 3. The flowering glume has a hardened, often sharp-pointed and bearded, pedicel or stipe at its base. 1. S. avenacea, Linn. Common. 2. S. chrysophylla, Dese. California. 3. S. comata, Trin. Texas to California. 4. S. coronata, Thurb. California. 5. S. eminens, Cav. California. 6. S. fimbriata, H. B. K. New Mexico and Arizona. 7. S. Kingii, Bolander. California and Nevada. 8. S. Mongolica, Turcz. Rocky Mountains. 9. S. occidentalis, Thurb. California. 10. 8. Parishii, Vasey. California. 11. S. pennata, var. Neo Mexicana, Thurb. Now Mexico, Texas. 12. S. Richardsonii, Link. Rocky Mountains. 13. S. setigera, trod Texas to California. 14. S. spartea, Trin. Illinois and westward. 15. S. speciosa, Tr. & Rup. California and Nevada. 16. S. Sibirica, Lam.? California. 17. 8. Stillmanii, Bolander. California. 18. 8. stricta, Vasey. California, Oregon, Nevada. 19. S. tenuissima, Trin. Mexican border. 20. 8. viridula, Trin. Rocky Mountains. ORryzOPSIS, Michz. Spikelets one-flowered. Differing from Stipa in the shorter and broader flowering glume, often oblique at the top; the awn usually short, slender, twisted, and very deciduous. BD fe 00 OO NSP ob THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 . asperifolia, Michx. New York and New England. . canadensis, Torr. New York, Pennsylvania, New England, Wis- consin. . melanocarpa, Muhl. New York and New England. . micrantha, Thurb. Rocky Mountains. O. cuspidata, Benth. (Eriocoma cuspidata, Nutt.). Rocky Mountains. O. Webberi?, Benth. (Eriocoma Webberi, Thurb.). California. . O. exigua, Thurb. Oregon. MivriuM, Linn. Spikelets panicled ; outer glumes membranaceous, equal and convex, the flowering glume and its palet coriaceous, much as in Panicum, but the articulation with the rhachis is above the outer glumes. All the glumes are unawned and there is no sterile pedicel. 1. M. effusum, Linn. New England, New York, and Northwest. MUHLENBERGIA, Schreb. Spikelets one-flowered, small, paniculate, articulated above the outer glumes; flowering glume with a very short, usually hairy callus. Outer glumes variable in size, from small or minute to nearly as large as the flowering glume, sometimes bristle-pointed, keeled, persistent, thin; * flowering glume three to five nerved, rigid or thinnish, mucronate or awned, sometimes with a long capillary awn from the apex between the short teeth, frequently pubescent below; palet about as long as the flowering glume and of similar texture. 1 tee 1 11. 12, 13. SoFEness SEEEREEEEEE EER . ambigua, Torr.? Rocky Mountains. . arenicola, Buckl. Texas to Florida. . Berlandieri, Trin. Texas and New Mexico. . capillaris, Ath. Middle and Southern States. . capillaris, var. filipes M. A. C. Southern States. . comata, Benth. (Vaseya comata, Thurb.). Rocky Mountains. . debilis, Trin. Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. . diffusa, Schreb. Common. . distichophylla, Kth. New Mexico and Arizona (Epicampes sp. ?). dumosa, F. L. S. Arizona. . glomerata, Trin. Common. . glomerata, var. brevifolia, Vasey. California. glomerata, var. longiglumis, Vasey. Nevada. . gracilis, Trin. Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. gracilis, var. major, Vasey. New Mexico and Arizona. . gracilis, var. breviaristata, Vasey. Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. . gracillima, Torr. Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. . Mexicana, Trin. Common. : . Mexicana, var. filiformis. Common. 24 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 14. M. pauciflora, Buckl. Texas. 15. M. pungens, Thurb. Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. 16. M. setifolia, Vasey. Texas. 17. M. sobolifera, Trin. Common. 18. M. sylvatica, 7. & G. Common. + M. sylvatica, var. Californica. California. M. sylvatica, var. flexuosa. New Mexico and Arizona. M. sylvatica, var. setiglumis. Nevada. 19. M. trichopodes, Chap. Florida to Texas. 20. M. Texana, Thurb. New Mexico and Arizona. 21. M. virescens, Trin. New Mexico and Arizona. 22. M. Willdenovii, Trin. Common. y 23. M. Wrightii, Vasey ined. New Mexico and Colorado. BRACHYELYTRUM, Beauv. Spikelets one-flowered and with a sterile rudiment, appressed, in a simple racemose panicle; outer glumes minute, unequal, the upper and larger about half a line long, persistent; flowering glume chartaceous, rigid, produced at the apex into an awn 8 to 10 lines long; palet hya- line, two-keeled, bifid at the apex. The rudiment (continuation of the rhachilla) is bristle-like, half as long as the palet, and partly lodged in the groove on its back. 1. B. aristatum, Beauv. Common. B. aristatum, var. Engelmanni. ? 1Lycurus, . B. K. Spikelets one-flowered, single on the short branches of the spike-like panicle, both the outer and the flowering glumes awned ; outer glumes small, membranaceous, the upper, one awned, and the lower, two or three, the awns longer than the flower; flowering glume and palet of thicker texture (as in Muhlenbergia). There are sterile spikelets intermixed with the fertile ones. 1. L. phleoides, H. B. K. HELEOCHLOA, Host. Spikelets one-flowered, perfect, crowded in a spike or spike-like pan- icle, which is partly included in the bract-like sheath of the upper leaf. Outer glumes membranaceous, acute, complicate, carinate, not awned ; flowering glume similar, keel thickish and herbaceous; palet rather shorter, compressed, two-nerved or two-keeled. 1. H. scheenoides, Host. (Crypsis schenoides, Lam.). On Ballast- ground. PHLEUM, Linn. Spikelets one-flowered, in small clusters, crowded into a dense spike- like cylindrical panicle; outer glumes one-nerved, mucronate or short THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 25 awned; flowering glume membranaceous, shorter and broader than the outer glumes, in our native species truncate and toothed at the apex; palet hyaline, narrow. In some species there is a small rudiment or bristle below the flower. 1. P.alpinum, Linn. Mountains of New England and Rocky Mountains. 2. P.pratense, Linn. Native in elevated mountainous districts, also in- troduced and cultivated as Timothy. COLEANTHUS, Seid. Spikelets one-flowered, very small, perfect; outer glumes wanting; flowering glume membranaceous, one-nerved, keeled, acuminate or short aristate ; palet shorter and wider than the flowering glume, two-keeled, acutely two-toothed. A minute annual grass. Stamens 2, stigmas 2, sessile. 1. C. subtilis, Seid. Sauvie’s Island, Oregon. - PHIPPSIA, R. Br. Spikelets one-flowered, outer glumes minute, unequal, membranace- ous; flowering glume thin, three to four times longer than the outer ones, obscurely three-nerved, keeled, acute; palet a little shorter, two- keeled, two to four toothed at the apex. 1. P. algida, Br. Melville Island and Arctic regions. SPOROBOLUS, R. Br. (including Vilfa, Beauv.). Spikelets one, rarely two flowered in a contracted or open panicle. Outer glumes unequal, the lower one shorter, often acute, unawned, one to three nerved, membranaceous; flowering glume mostly longer, un- awned; palet about equaling the flowering glume and of the same text- ure, prominently two-nerved. Seed mostly loose in a hyaline or rarely coriaceous pericarp. 1. S. airoides, Torr. Rocky Mountains and Plains. 2. S. argutus, Kth. Arizona. 3. S. Arkansana, Nutt. Texas and Arkansas. 4. S. asper, Kth. Common. 5. S. aspericaulis? 6. S. asperifolius, N. & M. Colorado, West and South. 7. S. compressus, Kth. New Jersey. 8. S. cryptandrus, Gr. Common. S. cryptandrus, var. flexuosus Thurb. New Mexico and Arizona. 9. S. cuspidatus, Torr. Northwestern. 10. S. Domingensis, Trin. Florida. 11. S. depauperatus, Torr. Rocky Mountains and Plains. 12. S. filiculmis, Thurb. ined.? Western Texas. 13. S. Floridanus, Chap. Florida. 26 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 14. 8. gracillimus, Thurb. California. 15. S. heterolepis, Gr. Illinois and westward. 16. S. Indicas. R. Br. Naturalized South and West. 17. S. interruptus, Vasey. Arizona. 18. S. junceus, Kth. Florida. 19. S. Jonesii, Vasey. California. 20. S. ramulosus, Kth. Rocky Mountains and Plains. 21. 8S. serotinus, Gr. New England to New Jersey. 22. 8. tricholepis, Torr. Rocky Mountains. 23. S. vaginatlorus, Torr. Common. 24. S. Virginicus, Beawv. Virginia and southward. 25. S. Wolfii, Vasey. Rocky Mountains (Vilfa minima, Vasey). 26. S. Wrightii, Munro. Western Texas and New Mexico. EPICAMPES, Presi. Spikelets much as in Sporobolus, but contracted in a long, narrow, and dense panicle. Outer glumes somewhat unequal, membranaceous, convex on the back, scarcely keeled, obtuse, three-nerved ; flowering glume mostly equaling the outer ones, sometimes three to five uerved, entire or sometimes awned from the apex; palet hyaline, about equaling the flowering glume, two-nerved or two-keeled. 1. E. macroura, Benth. (Cinna macroura, Kth.). New Mexico. 2. E. rigens, Benth. (Cinna macroura, Thurb.). California. Muhlenber- gia Berlandieri, and M. distichophylla probably belong here. AGROSTIS, Linn. * Spikelets one fiowered in a contracted or open panicle; outer glumes nearly equal or the lower rather longer, and longer than the flowering glume, one-nerved, acute, unawned; flowering glume shorter and wider, hyaline, three to five nerved, awnless, or sometimes awned on the back ; palet shorter than the flowering glume, frequently reduced to a small scale or entirely wanting. Stamens usually 3, grain free. 1. A. arachnoides, Ell. Southern States to Texas. 2. A. asperifolia, Trin. California. p> 3. A. canina, Linn. Mountainous districts. A. canina, var. alpina. Mountainous districts. A. canina, var. rupestris. Mountains of North Carolina. 4. A. elata, Trin. Common. 5. A. exarata, Trin. Common west of Mississippi. A. exarata, var. littoralis Vasey. Oregon. 6. A. exigua, Thurb. California. 7. A. foliosa, Vasey ined. California and Oregon. 8. A. geminata, Trin. Oregon to Alaska. 9. A. humilis, Vasey. Oregon. 10. A. microphylla, Stendel. California and Oregon. ” THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 2% 11. A. mucronata, Presl. California. 12. A. perennans, Tuck. Common. 13. A. scabra, Willd. Common. 14. A. Scouleri, Trin. California and Oregon. 15. A. tenuis, Vasey. California. 16. A. varians, Trin. California and Oregon. 17. A. verticillata, Vill. Texas to California. 18. A. virescens, AH. B. K. Arizona. 19. A. vulgaris, With. Red-top. Common. A. vulgaris, var. alba. Common. POLYPOGON, Desf. Spikelets one-flowered in a contracted, mostly spike-like panicle; pedicels of the spikelets rather clavate and usually articulated below the glumes; outer glumes nearly equal and long awned from the apex; flowering glume smaller, thinner, generally hyaline, and generally pro- longed at the apex into a slender awn; palet thin, sometimes consider- ably shorter than its glume. 1. P. Monspeliensis, Desf. Introduced and naturalized. 2. P. littoralis, Sm.? Introduced and naturalized. ARCTAGROSTIS, Gris. Spikelets one-flowered, in a contracted panicle ; rarely with a minute bristle-like rudiment; outer glumes persistent, thin, the upper rather longer and three-nerved, the lower one-nerved ; flowering glume as long as the outer one, or longer, narrow, lateral nerves obscure, awnless ; palet about as long as its glume, two-nerved, obtuse, or obtusely two- toothed. ! 1. A. latifolia, Gris. (Vilfa arundinacea, Trin.). Alaska. CINNA, Linn. Spikelets one-flowered, much flattened, in an open, spreading panicle; outer glumes lanceolate, acute, strongly keeled, hispid on the keel, the upper somewhat longer than the lower; flowering glume manifestly stalked above the outer glumes, about the same length, three-nerved, short-awned on the back near the apex; palet nearly as long as its glume, only one-nerved (probably by the consolidation of two, Bentham); stamen 1. 1. C. arundinacea, Linn. Common northward. . 2. C. pendula, Trin. Common northward. GASTRIDIUM, Beauv. Spikelets one-flowered, in a loose, tapering, spike-like panicle ; outer glumes extended into long acute points, and with an enlarged ventri- cose base, obscurely keeled, the lower longer than the upper; flowering 28 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. glumes very thin, about one-fourth as long as the outer ones, hairy on the back, truncate and dentate at the apex, usually emitting from near the apex a slender awn as long as or longer than the glumes; palet thin, as long as its glume. - 1. G. australe, Beauv. Sparingly introduced. APERA, Adans. Spikelets one-flowered, small, loosely paniculate, the rhachilla pro- duced beyond the flower in a short bristle ; outer glumes persistent, un- equal, thinly membranaceous, keeled, acute, not awned, upper one larger, three-nerved; flowering glume somewhat shorter, membranaceous, apex shortly two-toothed, with a slender awn from the back below the apex; palet thin, rather shorter than its glume, two-keeled and two-toothed. 1. A. spica venti, Beauv. (Agrostis spica-venti, L.). Introduced on ballast. DEYEUXIA, Clarion (Calamagrostis of American authors). Spikelets one-flowered, in a contracted or open panicle, usually with a bristle-like or penicillate hairy rudiment opposite the palet (a contin- uation of the rhachilla); outer glumes about equal, keeled, awnless, membranaceous, or scariose; flowering glume usually with a ring of hairs surrounding its base, entire or two to four toothed, usually bear- ing an awn on the back; palet narrow, thin, two-nerved, two-keeled. 1. D. ®quivalvis, Benth. (Agrostis equivalvis Trin.). Oregon. 2. D. Aleutica, Trin. California to Alaska. 3. D. Bolanderi, Thurb. California. 4. D. Breweri, Thurb. California. 5. D. Canadensis, Beauv. Common. 6. D. confinis, Nutt. Pennsylvania to Iowa. 7. D. crassiglumis, Thurb. California. 8. D. deschampsioides, Trin. California to Alaska. 9. D. Howellii, Vasey. Oregon. 10. D. Langsdorfiii, rin. White Mountains, New Hampshire, to Rocky Mountains and to Alaska. 11. D. Lapponica, Kth.? Rocky Mountains to Alaska. 12. D. Nuttalliana, Steudel. Pennsylvania to Virginia. 13. D. Pickeringii, Gr. New Hampshire to Massachusetts. 14. D. Porteri, Gr. Pennsylvania. 15. D. purpurascens, RE. Br.? Alaska. 16. D. rubescens, Buckley. California and Oregon. 17. D. stricta, Trin. White Mountains to Rocky Mountains. D. stricta, var. robusta, Vasey. Rocky Mountains. 18. D. strigosa, Boug.? Alaska." 19. D. sylvatica, D. C. Rocky Mountains. 20. D. Tweedii, F. L. S. Rocky Mountains. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 29 AMMOPHILA, Host. Spikelets one-flowered, in a contracted spike-like or an open, diffuse panicle, with or without a bristle-like rudiment opposite the palet; outer glumes large, nearly equal, rigid, thick, lanceolate, acute, keeled, five-nerved ; flowering glume similar in texture, about equal in length, sometimes mucronate at the apex; palet as long as its glume, of similar texture, two-keeled, sulcate between the keels; hairs at the base of the flower usually scanty and short. 1. A. arundinacea, Host. Sea-coast. 2. A. brevipilis, Benth. (Calamagrostis brevipilis, Gr.). New England to Florida. 3. A. longifolia, Benth. (Calamagrostis longifolia, Gr.). Illinois to Rocky Mountains. AIRA, Linn. Spikelets two-flowered, small, in a loose or rarely contracted panicle with capillary branches, the rhachis rarely produced into a minute bris- tle; outer glumes thinly scarious, nearly equal, acute; flowering glumes shorter, thin, and hyaline, finely pointed or shortly bifid, with a fine dorsal awn below the middle, which is twisted at the base; palet two- nerved ; style short. . 1. A. caryophylla, Linn. Introduced and naturalized. 2. A. preecox, Linn. Introduced and naturalized. DESCHAMPSIA, Beauv. (Aira of authors). Spikelets two-flowered, mostly in a loose panicle with slender branches, rhachis hairy and produced into a hairy bristle, which rarely bears an empty glume; outer glumes acute, keeled, with scarious mar- gins; flowering glumes obtuse or more or less four-toothed, with a fine dorsal awn below the middle. Palet prominently two-nerved, often two- toothed. 1. 2. . atropurpurea, Wahl.? White Mountains. . cespitosa, Beauv. North and West. . c@spitosa, var. Bottnica (Aira Bottnica, Wahl). California and Oregon. cespitosa, var. arctica. Rocky Mountains. . cespitosa, var. longiflora, Trin. California. . danthonioides, (Aira danthonioides, 7rin.). California and Oregon. . elongata, (Aira elongata, Hook.). California and Oregon. . flexuosa, (Aira flexuosa, Linn.). Atlantic States. . holciformis, Presl. California. . latifolia, (Aira latifolia, Hook.). California and Oregon. PEED OED “oo NSS 30 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. CORYNEPHORUS, Beauv. Spikelets two-flowered, with the rhachilla produced into a short hairy bristle; glumes much as in Deschampsia, but distinguished by the pe- culiar articulate club-shaped awn of the flowering glumes. 1. C. canescens, Beauv. Introduced on Ballast ground, Philadelphia. Hovrcus, Linn. Spikelets two-flowered, crowded in an open panicle, the lower flower perfect, the upper one male only, and with a minute hairy rhachilla or rudiment at its base. Outer glumes nearly equal, compressed, membra- naceous, large (fully inclosing the two flowers); flowering glumes half shorter, the lowest awuless, the upper with a short dorsal awn. 1. H. lanatus, Linn. Velvet-grass. Extensively naturalized. 2. H. mollis, Linn. Introduced on Ballast ground, Philadelphia. TRISETUM, Pers. Spikelets two to three, rarely tive flowered, in a dense or open pani- cle, the rhachis usually hairy and produced into a bristle at the base of the upper flower; outer glumes unequal, acute, keeled, membranaceous, with scarious margins; flowering glumes of similar texture, keeled, acute, the apex two-toothed, the teeth sometimes prolonged into bristle- like points, the middle nerve furnished with an awn attached above the middle, which is usually twisted at the base and bent in the middle; palet hyaline, narrow, two-nerved, two-toothed. 1. T. barbatum, Steud. California. 2. T. canescens, Buckley. California. 3. T. cernuum, 7rin. California. 4. T. interruptum, Buckley. Texas. 5. T. montanum, Vasey. New Mexico and Rocky Mountains. 6. T. palustre, Linn. Eastern and Southern States. 7. T. subspicatum, Beauv. White and Rocky Mountains. 8. T. subspicatum, var. molle Gr. Rocky Mountains. AVENA, Linn. Spikelets usually large, two to five flowered, the uppermost generally imperfect, in a loose panicle, the rhachis hairy below the flowers; outer glumes nearly equal, lanceolate, acute, scarious; the flowering glumes of firmer texture (in some species cartilaginous), shortly bifid at the apex, with a long dorsal twisted awn below the apex; palet similar in texture to its glume, narrow, prominently two-nerved, two-toothed. 1. A. fatua, Linn. Wild oats. Extensively naturalized in California, . A. pratensis, Linn. A. versicolor, Vill.? Oregon and Alaska. A. sativa, Linn. Common oat, rarely escaped from cultivation. A. Smithii, Porter. Pennsylvania. . A. striata, Miche. Mountains of New York and New England. Gus oto THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 31 ARRHENATHERUM, Beauv. Spikelets two-flowered in an open panicle, the rhachis hairy and pro- duced beyond the upper flower into a stipe or rudiment; the lower flower male only, the second perfect or female; outer glumes unequal, keeled, very thin, acuminate ; lowering glumes five to seven nerved, that of the lowest or male flower with a dorsal, twisted awn attached near the base, that of the fertile flower with a short, straight awn near the tip; palet narrow, hyaline, two-keeled. 1. A. avenaceum, Beauv. Tall oat-grass. Introduced and cultivated. DANTHONIA, D. C. Spikelets three to five, or many flowered, in a panicle or simple ra- ceme ; the rhachis hairy and produced beyond the flowers in a stipe or imperfect flower ; outer glumes narrow, keeled, acute, usually as long as the spikelet; flowering glumes convex on the back, of firmer texture, seven to nine nerved, with two rigid or scarious terminal teeth or lobes, and with a flattish, twisted and bent awn between the teeth; palet broad, two-keeled, obtuse or two-pointed. 1. D. Californica, Boland. Rocky Mountains and California. . Californica, var. unispicata, Thurb. California. . compressa, Austin. Mountains of the Alleghany range. . intermedia, Vasey. Rocky Mountains to Canada. . sericea, Nutt. Southern Atlantic States. . spicata, Beauv. Common. Pris COS oos CYNODON, Pers. Spikelets sessile in two rows on one side of the slender spikes, which are digitate at the end of the peduncle or culm ; one-flowered with a short pediceled, naked rudiment of a second flower; outer glumes nearly equal, keeled; flowering glume boat-shaped, broader, promi- nently keeled; palet narrower, prominently two-keeled. 1. C. dactylon, Pers. Bermuda grass. Naturalized and cultivated. CTENIUM, Pauz. Spikelets densely imbricated in two rows on one side of the rhachis of the usually solitary terminal spike, elegantly pectinate, with one per- fect and one or more imperfect or neutral flowers; outer glumes very unequal, the lower small, the upper large and bearing on the middle of the back a recurved awn tuberculate at the base; usually only one of the flowering glumes has a palet; glumes of the perfect and lower im- perfect ones are mucronate or aristate at the apex, the upper imperfect ones awnless. 1. C. Americanum, Spreng. Southern States. 32 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. CHLORIS, Swz. Spikelets crowded in two rows on one side of simple spikes which are digitate or fasciculate at the summit of the culm; one (the lower) per- fect, and one to several imperfect flowers in each spikelet ; outer glumes thin, keeled, awnless; flowering glumes of thicker texture, obtuse, usually awned, sométimes truncate and obtuse; palet folded, with two promi- nent nerves. 1. C. alba, Presl. New Mexico and Arizona. C. alba, var. aristulata, Torr. New Mexico and Arizona. 2. C. cueullata, Bisch. Texas. 3. C. elegans, H. B. K.? Texas and New Mexico. 4, C. Floridana, Chap. (Eustachys). Ilorida. 5. C. glauca, Chap. (Eustachys). Florida. 6. C. petraea, Thurb. (Eustachys petraa, Desv.). Florida. 7. C. verticillata, Nutt. Texas. TRICHLORIS, Fournier. Spikelets sessile in two rows on the rhachis of long spikes which are crowded, or in approximate verticils, near the apex of the culm: like Chloris the spikelets have one (the lower) perfect, and from one to three imperfect flowers, the glumes of which are three-awned at the apex ; outer glumes unequal, acute or the upper aristate; palet of the fertile flower narrow, hyaline, two-nerved. 1. T. latifolia.? Texas and New Mexico. 2. T. plurifiora.? Arizona. GYMNOPOGON, Beauv. Spikelets sessile and remotely alternate on long and filiform branches of the panicle, each with one, or rarely two perfect lowers and a bristle- like rudiment, or an awn-like pedicel ; outer glumes long lanceolate, as long as the spikelet, nearly equal, keeled, acute; flowering glume cylindrical, involute, two toothed or lobed at the apex, and from the midrib a straight slender awn: palet included in its glume, narrow, two-keeled ; glume of the imperfect iowers also terminated with a long aw. : 1. G. brevifolius, Trin. Southern States. 2. G. racemosus, Beaur. New Jersey and southward. SCHEDONNARDUS, Steudel. Spikelets one-flowered, solitary at each joint of the slender triangular rhachis of the paniculate spikes, and partly immersed in an excavation; the spikes alternate and distant; outer glumes acuminate, unequal, the longer equaling the flowering glume, which is linear-acuminate, and thickish at the keel; palet shorter and thinner. 1. S. Texanus, Steudel (Lepturus paniculatus, Nutt). Illinois to Texas. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 BOUTELOUA, Lag. Spikes numerous in a racemose panicle or one terminal,; spikelets densely crowded in two rows on one side of the rhachis, each consisting of one perfect flower, and a stalked pedicel bearing empty glumes and one to three stiff awns; outer glumes unequal, acute, keeled, membra- naceous; flowering glume broader, usually thicker, with three to five lobes, teeth, or awns at the apex; palet narrow, hyaline, entire or two- toothed, enfolded by its glume. 1. B. aristidoides, H. B. K. New Mexico and Arizona. 2. B. Burkei, F. L. 8. Texas. 3. B. eriopoda, Torr. New Mexico to Arizona. 4. B. feena, Torr.? New Mexico to Arizona. 5. B. hirsuta, Lagas. Illinois to Rocky Mountains and Plains. 6. B. Havardii, Vasey. Texas. 7. B. Humboldtiana, Gris. New Mexico to Arizona. 8. B. oligostachya, Torr. Texas to Arizona. B. oligostachya, var. intermedia. Texas to Arizona. 9. B. polystachya, Benth. Texas to Arizona. B. polystachya, var. major, Vasey. Texas to Arizona. 10. B. pusilla, Vasey. New Mexico. 11. B. racemosa, Lag. (B. curtipendula, Gr.). Illinois to Texas and Arizona. 2 12. B. Texana, 5S. W. ined. Texas. 13. B. trifida, Thurb. Texas to Arizona. 14. B. Rothrockii, Vasey. Arizona. ELEUSINE, Gaert. Spikes two to five or more, digitate at the summit of the culm, some- times a few scattering ones lower down; spikelets sessile and crowded along one side of the rhachis, two to six or more flowered, the uppermost flowers imperfect or rndimentary; outer glumes membranaceous, shorter than the spikelet; flowering glumes usually obtuse; palet folded, two- keeled. 1. E. Indica, Gaert. Yard-grass, Crab-grass. Extensively naturalized E. Indica, var. brachystachya. On Ballast ground, Philadelphia. 2. BE. XKgyptiaca, Pers. (Dactylotenium, Gaert.). Southern States. 3. E. corocana. Gaert.? On Ballast ground, Philadelphia. LEPTOCHLOA, Beauv. Spikelets several (rarely one) flowered, perfect, sessile in two rows along one side of the slender, usually numercus spikes or branches of the panicle; outer glumes keeled, obtuse or acute, awnless, or mucro. nate; flowering glumes usually obtuse, prominently nerved, awnless ; palet prominently two-nerved. 1. L. mucronata, Kth. Common. 3 GR 34 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. BucHLOE, Engelm. Spikelets dicecious, or rarely moncecious, heteromorphous. Male plant.—Spikelets two to three flowered in short one-sided two- ranked spikes, of which there are two or three at the summit of the culm; spikes four to five lines long, composed of five or six closely approxi- mated spikelets; outer glumes unequal, one-nerved, the lower one half as long as the flower above it, the upper shorter; flowering glumes and palets of equal length, membranaceous, the flowering glume three- nerved, the palet two-nerved. Female plant.—Spikelets closely approximated in short capitate spikes, which are mostly near the ground, and partly inclosed in the bract-like sheaths of theupper leaves; spikelets one-flowered, all the upper glumes indurated and cohering at their bases with the thickened rachis, the lower glume of the lowest spikelet lanceolate with an herbaceous tip, or two to three cleft, thickened and adnate to the upper glume; the lower glumes of the other spikelets free, much smaller, membranaceous, ovate- lanceolate, acute, one-nerved, the lowering glume shorter, three-nerved, tricuspidate ; palet two-nerved. 1. B. dactyloides, Engelm. Plains, Texas to British America. PAPPOPHORUM, Schreb. Spikelets in a dense spike-like, or narrow and loose, panicle, with two to four approximate flowers, usually only the lowest perfect, the others male or rudimentary ; outer glumes membranaceous, many-nerved, awn- less; flowering glumes broader and thicker, convex on the back, pubes- cent, produced above into nine to thirteen straight, subulate awns; palet smaller, two-keeled. 1. P. boreale, Led.? Texas and Southwest. 2. P. apertum, Munro. Texas and Southwest. COTTEA, Kth. Flowers in a loose contracted panicle; spikelets six to nine flowered, of which the two or three lower are perfect and the upper male or neu tral ; outer glumes membranaceous, acute, convex on the back, prom- inently many-nerved, one to three toothed at the apex; rhachis and base of flowers hairy; flowering glumes broad, convex on the back, some- what five-lobed, nine to eleven awned, the awns straight and unequal; palet two-keeled, bifid at apex. 1. C. pappophoroides, Kth. Texas and Southwest. Tr10DIA, R. Br. Spikelets several to many flowered in a strict spike-like or an open spreading panicle, some of the upper flowers male or imperfect; outer glumes keeled, acute or acutish, awnless; flowering glumes imbricated THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 35 rounded on the back, at least below, hairy or smooth, three-nerved, either mucronate, three-toothed or three-lobed at the apex, or obscurely erose, often hardened and nerveless in fruit; palet broad, prominently two-keeled. 1. T. acuminata, Benth. (Tricuspis acuminata, Munro). Texas to Ari- zona. 2. T. albescens, Benth. (Tricuspis albescens, Munro). Texas to Ari. zona. 3. T. ambigua, Benth. (Tricuspis ambigua, Chap.). Southern States. 4. T. avenacea, H. B. K. 5. T. mutica, Benth. (Tricuspis mutica, Torr.). Texas to Arizona. 6. T. pulchella, H. B. K. Texas to Arizona. 7. T. seslerioides, Benth. (Tricuspis seslerioides, Torr.). Common. 8. T. stricta, Benth. (Tricuspis stricta, Nutt.). Texas. 9. T. Texana, Benth. (Tricuspis Texana, Thurb.). Texas. 10. T. trinerviglumis, Benth. (Tricuspis trinerviglumis, Munro). Texas. DIPLACHNE, Beauv. Spikelets many-flowered, narrow, sessile or nearly so, and distant on the long slender branches of the panicle, usually in two rows, but not regular as in Leptochloa ; outer glumes keeled, acute, not awned ; flowering glumes one to three nerved, with a thin or hyaline shortly two-lobed apex, the keel produced into a short point or awn between the lobes; palet thin, prominently two-nerved. 1. D. dubia, Benth. (Leptochloa dubia, Nees). Texas. 2. D. fascicularis, Beauv. (Leptochloa fascicularis, Gray). Common. 3. D. imbricata, Benth. (Leptochloa imbricata, Thurb.). Arizona. 4. D. rigida, Benth. (Leptochla rigida, Munro). Texas. 5. D. viscida, F. L. 8. Arizona. TRIPLASIS, Beauv. Panicle simple and scanty, partly included in the leaf-sheath; spike- “lets remotely two to five flowered; outer glumes much shorter than the flowers, membranaceous, one-nerved; flowering glumes two-lobed or two-cleft, its midnerve extended into an awn between the lobes, three- nerved, strongly fringed on the nerves; palet shorter, two-keeled, long ciliate on the keels. 1. T. Americana, Beauv. (Uralepis cornuta, Nutt.). South. 2. T. purpurea, Chap. (Uralepis purpurea, Nutt.). North and South. 3. T. sparsiflora, Chap. Florida. ErREMOCHL®E, S. Watson. Panicle short and contracted, simple or nearly so; spikelets four- flowered, the two lower tlowers neutral, the third flower perfect and 36 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. fertile, the uppermost reduced to a stipitate villous triple awn; outer glumes membranaceous, carinate, one nerved, acute, glabrous, nearly equal ; flowering glumes three-nerved, two-cleft to the middle, the nerves strongly villous, extended into awns, of which the middle one is longest; the lobes in the neutral flowers obtuse, in the perfect flower attenuate. Palets shorter, two-keeled, two-toothed at the apex. 1. E. Bigelovii, 8S. W. New Mexico. 2. E. Kingii, S. W. Nevada. ARUNDO, Linn. Tall grasses with an ample panicle, spikelets two to many flowered, the flowers rather distant, silky, villous at the base and with a conspic- uous silky-bearded rhachis, all perfect; outer glumes narrow, unequal, glabrous, lanceolate, keeled, acute ; flowering glumes, membranaceous, slender, awl-pointed ; palets much shorter than the glumes, two keeled, pubescent on the keels. 1. A. Donax, Linn. River banks, Mexican border. PHRAGMITES, Trin. Only differing from Arundo in the lowest flower of the spikelet being male only and glabrous. 1. P. communis, Trin. Common. MONANTHOCHL@®E, Engelm. Spikes very short, two to three flowered, diecious, sessile, single or fascicled at the distant nodes of the culm, terminating short, leafy- bracted branches, almost hidden by and seeming like a continuation of them, very similar in the two sexes; outer glumes similar to the distich- ous, leafy bracts; flowering glumes linear, rigid, obtuse; palets hya- line, two-nerved, infolding the stamens or styles. 1. M. littoralis, Engelin. Near the coast, Florida, Texas, to California. MunroA, Torr. Spikelets two or three together in small, sessile, leafy heads or clus- ters terminating the numerous fasciculate and lateral branches, and at the nodes, each about three-flowered, the upper flower imperfect; outer glumes shorter than the flowers, lanceolate, acute, hyaline, one-nerved ; flowering glumes larger, herbaceous, rather rigid, three-nerved, entire or two-toothed, the central nerve excurrent in a mucro or short awn; palets hyaline, narrow, two-keeled, complicate. 1. M. squarrosa, Torr. Arid plains of the West. LAMARCKIA, Mébench. Panicle short and dense, the spikelets one-sided on the crowded branches, fertile and sterile intermixed in small clusters ; fertile spike- THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 lets short and two-flowered, the lower flower perfect, the upper one rudi- mentary and long-awned, outer glumes lanceolate-subulate, one-nerved, thin, about equaling the spikelet, flowering glume stalked, oblong, char- taceous, five-nerved, bifid, and emitting between the teeth a slender awn; sterile spikelets slender, with ten to twelve distant, broadly-obtuse, empty glumes above the two lower, much longer, linear, acute ones. 1. L. aurea, Moench. Introduced. California. K@&LERIA, Pers. Spikelets three to five flowered, compressed, numerous in a dense spike-like cylindrical or interrupted panicle; outer glumes membrana- ceous, keeled, unequal, lanceolate, about as long as the spikelet, scari- ous on the margin; flowering glumes similar, more scarious or hyaline, rarely mucronate, the upper one usually smaller and imperfect; palet very thin, acutely two keeled, two-toothed. 1. K. cristata, Pers. ‘Common. EATONIA, Raf. Spikelets usually two-flowered and with an abortive rudiment or ped- icel, numerous, in a contracted or slender panicle, very smooth; outer glumes unequal, the lower narrowly linear, keeled, one-nerved, the upper broadly obovate, shorter than the spikelet, three-nerved, not keeled, scarious margined; flowering glumes oblong, obtuse, compressed, char- taceous; palet narrow, hyaline. 1. E. obtusata, Gr. Common. 2. E. Pennsylvanica, Gr. Common. E. Pennsylvanica, var. filiformis, Chap. Florida. DISSANTHELIUM, Trin. Spikelets two to four flowered, all fertile, in a narrow panicle; outer glumes herbaceous, narrow and acute, keeled, the lower one-nerved, the upper three-nerved, both much longer than the flowers; flowering glumes ovate, obtuse or obtusish, obtusely keeled, three to five nerved, the outer nerves near the margin, scarious at the tip, pubescent espe- cially on the marginal nerves and keel; palet narrow, strongly two- keeled, nearly equaling its glume. 1. D. Californicum, Benth. (Stenochloa Californica, Nutt.). California. CATABROSA, Beauv. Spikelets two to three flowered, in a loose panicle; outer glumes hya- line-membranaceous, shorter than the flowers, the lower short and nar- row, the upper obovate, three-nerved, erosely dentate at the apex; flowering glumes membranaceous, obtuse, prominently three-nerved; 38 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. palet little shorter than its glume, prominently two-keeled. An aquatic grass. 1. C. aquatica, Beaur. Rocky Mountains. ERAGROSTIS, Beauv. Spikelets, several, usually many-flowered, pedicellate or sessile, in a loose and spreading, or narrow and clustered, panicle, the rhachis of the spikelet usually glabrous and articulate under the flowering glumes, but often tardily so and sometimes inarticulate. Outer empty glumes unequal and rather shorter than the flowering ones, keeled, one-nerved; flowering glumes obtuse or acute, unawned, three-nerved, the keel prom- inent, the lateral nerves sometimes very faint; palet shorter than the glume, with two prominent nerves or keels, often persisting after the glume and grain have fallen away. 1. E. alba, Presl. New Mexico and Arizona. . Brownei, Nees.? Florida. . capillaris, Linn. Common. . ciliaris, Linn. Florida to Texas. . conferta, Trin. Florida to Texas. . curtipedicellata, Buckl. Texas. . Frankii, Meyer. Common. Mexicana, Link.? Texas and New Mexico. Neo Mexicana, Vasey.? New Mexico. . nitida, Chap. South Carolina to Florida. . oxylepis, Torr. Texas, Arkansas, and New Mexico. . pectinacea, Miche. Common. . pectinacea, var. refracta, Chap. Southern States. pectinacea, var. spectabilis, Gray. Common. fod SEP S UEP op ro HEE EEE EEE EE EEE EEE 13. E. pilifera, Scheele. New Mexico to California. 14. pilosa, Linn. Introduced. 15. poxoides, Beauv. Introduced. Common. poweoides, var. megastachya, Gr. Introduced. Common. Purshii, Sehrad. Common. reptans, Nees. Common. . tenuis, Gray. Common. lugens, Nees.? Texas and New Mexico. . limbata, Fourn.? Texas and New Mexico. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. MELICA, Linn. Panicle narrow and strict, or lax and spreading, or racemose and secund ; spikelets two to many flowered, usually convolute around each other, the upper one to three smaller and imperfect; outer glumes mem branaceous or hyaline, acute or obtuse, awnless, the lower three to five nerved, the upper sometimes seven to nine nerved, the lateral nerves vanishing within the scarious margin. lowers somewhat distant; THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 39 flowering glumes of thicker texture, becoming somewhat coriaceous, rounded or flattish on the back, five to nine nerved, the lateral nerves vanishing below the apex, the central one sometimes ending in a point or an awn; palets shorter than their glumes, two-keeled, ciliate on the keels and apex. 1. M. acuminata, Bolander. California and Oregon. 2. M. aristata, Thurber. California and Oregon. M. Brandegii, Vasey. Colorado. M. bromoides, Gray. California. M. bulbosa, Geyer. California and Rocky Mountains. M. bulbosa, var.? Oregon. M. fugax, Bol. California and Oregon. M. Harfordii, Bol. California and Oregon. M. Hallii, Vasey. Rocky Mountains. M. imperfecta, Trin. - California and Oregon. M. imperfecta, var. inflata, Bol. California and Oregon. M. imperfecta, var. flexuosa, Bol. California and Oregon. 10. M. mutica, Walt. Common East. M. mutica, var. diffusa, Gray. Texas and Southwest. M. mutica, var. glabra, Gray. South. M. mutica, var. pauciflora, Porter. Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado. 11. M. stricta, Bolander. California. Lo Su © wae DIARRHENA, Raf. Panicle narrow and loose; spikelets three to five flowered, the one or two uppermost imperfect; outer glumes unequal, shorter than the flowers, coriaceous, the lower narrow, acute, keeled, one-nerved, the upper larger, ovate, five-nerved, keeled, acute, or mucronate; flowering glumes broadly ovate, rigidly coriaceous, rounded on the back, three- nerved, the nerves prominent and uniting at the apex in a strong cus- pidate or awl-shaped tip; palets shorter than their glumes, rigid, broad, two-keeled. Stamens2. Grain very large, rather longer than the flower, oblong, obtusely pointed. 1. D. Americana, Beauv. Ohio, Illinois, and southward. STREPTOGYNE, Beauv. Spikelets one to four flowered, cylindrical, shortly pedicellate, in unilateral subsessile spikes, the lower flowers perfect; outer glumes unequal, the outer one small, the upper longer, wider, convolute, many nerved, acute ; flowering glumes longer, more rigid, closely con- volute, terminated in a straight, slender awn, upper flowers gradually smaller and empty; palet narrow, membranaceous, two-keeled, bifid, closely inclosed in its glume. 1. S. crinita, Beauv. This is credited to the Southern United States by Grisebach, but we have not seen it. 40 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. PLEUROPOGON, R. Br. Spikelets in a long, simple raceme, many-flowered, long, compressed ; the rachis smooth, zigzag, disarticulating under each flower at maturity; outer glumes shorter than the lowest flowers, unequal, membranaceous, the lower one-nerved, the upper three-nerved, awnless; flowering glumes much longer, narrow, herbaceous to subcoriaceous, with a smooth rounded callus at the base, prominently seven-nerved, truncate or bifid at the apex, the midnerve terminating in a straight awn; palet nearly as long as its glume, strongly two-nerved, two-keeled. 1. P. Californicum, Benth. (Lophochlena Californica, Gr.). California. 2. P. refractum, Benth. (Lophochl@na refracta, Gr.). California. 3. P. Sabinii, Brown. Melville Island, Arctic America. UNI10LA, Linn. Spikelets closely many-flowered, very flat and two-edged, one or more of the lowest flowers neutral and consisting only of an empty glume; glumes lanceolate, complicate-keeled, rigid or coriaceous, the flowering ones larger, many-nerved, usually acute or pointed, entire; palet rigid, two-keeled, the keels narrowly winged. Stamens 1 to 3. 1. U. gracilis, Michz. Common. 2. U. latifolia, Michx. Common. 3. U. nitida, Baldw. Florida. 4. U. paniculata, Linn. Virginia to Florida. DisticHLIS, Raf. Spikelets dicecious, many-flowered, compressed, crowded in a dense spicate or capitate, or rather open panicle; outer glumes herbaceous, narrow, keeled, acute, shorter than the flowers; flowering glumes rigidly membranaceous or subcoriaceous, keeled, many-nerved, acute; palet complicate, two-keeled, the keelsnarrowly winged. The pistillate flowers are more rigid than the staminate, styles long with stigmas exserted from the top of the palet. 1. D. maritima, Raf. (Brizopyrum spicatum, Hook.). Sea-shore and in- terior saline grounds. DaAcryLIs, Linn. Spikelets three to five flowered, in dense fascicles or glomerate clus ters at the ends of the short branches of a close, short panicle. Outer glumes unequal, lanceolate, acute, rigid, with hyaline margins, keeled, one to three nerved; flowering glumes larger, more rigid, keeled, five- nerved, mucronate or bristle-pointed, ciliate on the keel; palet little shorter than its glume, narrower and thinner, two-keeled. 1. D. glomerata, Linn. Orchard grass. Cultivated. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 41 BRri1zA, Linn. Spikelets many-flowered, paniculate, ovate or roundish, flattish-tumid. Outer glumes unequal, persistent, three to five nerved, scarious mar- gined, concave or ventricose; flowering glumes, imbricated, appressed or spreading, broad or roundish, ventricose, often heart-shaped at the base, five to many nerved; palet much shorter than its glume, hyaline, on the margin two-nerved. 1. B. media, Linn. Naturalized in some places. 2. B. minor, Linn. Naturalized in some places. Poa, Linn. Spikelets somewhat compressed, usually two to five flowered, in a narrow or loose and spreading panicle, the rhachis between the flowers glabrous or sometimes hairy, the flowers generally perfect, in a few species dicecious; outer glumes commonly shorter than the flowers, mem- branaceous, keeled, obtuse or acute, one to three nerved, not awned; flowering glumes membranaceous, obtuse or acute, five or rarely seven nerved, the intermediate nerves frequently obscure, often scarious at the apex and margins, smooth or pubescent, often with a few loose or webby hairs at the base; palet about as long as the flowering glumes, prominently two-nerved or two-keeled. 1. P. abbreviata, RB. Br. Oregon to the Arctic coast. 2. P. alpina, Linn. Mountains of New England and Rocky Mountains. P. alpina, var. minor. Rocky Mountains. P. alpina, var. purpurascens, Vasey (Poa purpurascens, Vasey). Oregon and Rocky Mountains. 3. P. alsodes, Gr. New York, New England, and Alleghany Mountains. P. alsodes, var. occidentalis, Vasey. Rocky Mountains to Oregon. 4. P. andina, Nutt. Rocky Mountain region. P. andina, var. Rocky Mountain region. 5. P. angustata, R. Br. Melville Island, Arctic Ocean. 6. P. annua, Linn. Common. P. annua, var. stricta Vasey. Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. 7. P. arachnifera, Torr. Texas. 8. P. arctica, R. Br. Rocky Mountains to Alaska. 9. P. Bolanderi, Vasey. California to Oregon. 10. P. brevifolia, Muhl. Principally Atlantic States. 11. P. caesia, Sm. Mountains of New England and Rocky Mountains. P. cwmsia, var. stricta, Gr. Mountains of New England and Rocky Mountains. 12. P. Californica, (Sclerochloa Californica, Hunro). California to Oregon: 13. P. compressa, Linn. Common. 14. P. debilis, Torr. New York, New England, and northward. 15. P. Douglasii, Nees. California. 16. P. Eatoni, 8. W. Utah and Nevada. 42 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 17. P. flexuosa, Muhl. Atlantic and Western States. P. flexuosa, var. occidentalis, Vasey, ined. Colorado to Oregon. 18. P. glumaris, Trin. Alaska to St. Lawrence River. 19. P. gracillima, Vasey, ined. Oregon and Washington Territory. 20. P. Kelloggii, Vasey, ined. California. 21. P. Kingii, 8. Watson. Nevada. 21. P. laxa, Henke. Mountains of New England and Rocky Mountains. 22. P. leptocoma, Trin. Alaska. 23. P. nemoralis, Linn. Rocky Mountains. 24, P. Nevadensis, Vasey. Utah and Nevada. 25. P. pratensis, Linn. Extensively cultivated and indigenous in mount. ain districts. 26. P. paucifiora, Benth. (Atropis paucifiora, Thurb.). California. 27. P. pulchella, Vasey. Orecon and Washington Territory. 28. P. serotina, Elrh. Chiefly east of the Mississippi. P. serotina, var. gracilis, Vasey. Rocky Mountains. P. serotina, var. flexicaulis, Vasey. Rocky Mountains. 29. P. scabrella, Benth. (Atropis scabrella, Thurb.). California. 30. P. stenantha, Trin. Oregon to Alaska. P. stenantha, var. brevifolia, Vasey. Oregon. 31. P. sylvestris, Gray. New England to Texas. 32. P. tenuifolia, Nutt. Rocky Mountains. 33. P. trivialis, Linn. Indigenous in Eastern and Middle States. P. trivialis, var. Californica, Vasey. California nad Oregon. P. trivialis, var. occidentalis, Vasey. New Mexico. 34. P. Wardii, Vasey. Utah. GRAPHEPHORUM, Desv. Spikelets two to five flowered, rather terete, in a narrow or loose panicle. Outer glumes membranaceous, mostly nearly equaling the rather remote flowers, membranaceous or subscarious, keeled, three to five nerved; flowering glumes membranaceous to subcoriaceous, rounded on the back or obscurely keeled, faintly or strongly nerved, entire or denticulate, mostly acute, or sometimes mucronate; a tuft of villous hairs at the base of each flower; palet narrow, as long as its glume two-nerved or two-keeled. 1. G. festucaceum, Gray. British America to Alaska. 2. G. Fischeri, Gray, (Dupontia Fischeri, RE. Br.). Melville Island. G. Fischeri, var. psilosantha, Gray. 3. G. flexuosa, Thurb. Western plains. 4. G. fulvum, Gray (Colpodium fulvuam, Led.). Arctic America. 5. G. melicoides, Beauv. New England, New York, Michigan to Canada, G. melicoides, var. major, Gray. Michigan. G. melicoides, var. Californica, Vasey, (Trisetum subspicatum, var. muticum, Zhurd.). California. 6. G. Wolfii, Vasey (Trisetum Wolfii, Vasey). Rocky Mountains. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 43 This is a very anomalous genus, a portion being closely related to Trisetum, and a portion should probably be carried into other genera. GLYCERIA, R. Br. Spikelets terete or flattish, several to many flowered, in a narrow or diffuse panicle, the rhachis smooth and readily disarticulating between the flowers; outer glumes shorter than the flowers, unequal, membra- naceous, one to three nerved, unawned; Howering glumes membra- naceous to subcoriaceous, obtuse, awnless, more or less hyaline and denticulate at the apex, rounded (never keeled) on the back, five to nine nerved, the nerves separate and all vanishing before reaching the apex; palet about as long as its glume, two-keeled, entire or bifid at the apex. 1. G. acutiflora, Torr. Maine to Penn. 2. G. aquatica, Sm., var. Americana, Vasey. Common. 3. G. distans, Wahl. Common. G. var. airoides, (G. airoides, Nutt.). Rocky Mountains and Plains. 4. G. maritima, Wahl. Near the coast. 5. G. procumbens, Sm. California coast, and Ballast ground, Phila- delphia. 6. G. elongata, Trin. New England and Michigan. 7. G. fluitans, ER. Br. Common. 8. G. Lemmoni, Vasey. Alkaline soils, California and Nevada. 9. G. nervata, Trin. Common. 10. G. obtusa, Trin. Near the Atlantic coast. 11. G. pallida, Trin. Virginia and northward. 12, G. pauciflora, Presl. Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast. FESTUCA, Linn. Spikelets three to many flowered, variously panicled, pedicellate, rhachis of the spikelets not hairy; outer glumes unequal, shorter than the flowers, the lower, one nerved and the upper, three nerved, narrow, keeled, acute; flowering glumes membranaceous, chartaceous, or sub- coriaceous, narrow, rounded on the back (not keeled), more or less dis- tinctly three to five nerved, acute or tapering into a straight awn, rarely obtusish ; palet narrow, flat, prominently two-nerved or two-keeled. 1. F.amethystina, Linn. California and Oregon. . duriuscula, Linn. Sea-coast and sandy plains. . gracillima, Hook. California and Oregon. Jonesii, Vasey. Utah and Nevada. . microstachys, Nutt. California and Oregbn. . macrostachya, Torr. in P. R. R. Reports, not recently collected. . Myurus, Linn. Naturalized, common. . nutans, Willd. Common. . nutans, var. major, Vasey. Illinois and westward. ® D> WW Mt keg he 44 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 9. F. occidentalis, Hook. California and Oregon. 10. F. ovina, Linn. Indigenous and extensively naturalized. F. ovina, var. brevifolia, 8. Wats. Rocky Mountains and northward. F. parviflora, Ell. South Carolina. F. paucifiora, Thund.? California fide Thurber. 11. F. pratensis, Linn. Introduced and naturalized. 12. F. Richardsonii, Hook. Arctic coast. 13. F. rigida, Kth. (Scleropoa rigida, Gris.). On Ballast ground, New York. 14. F. rubra, Linn. Introduced, also indigenous. F. rubra, var. Baikalensis. Alaska. F. rubra, var. littoralis, Vasey. Oregon. 15. F. scabrella, Torr. White Mountains, Rocky Mountains to Oregon. 16. F. sciurea, Nutt.? Texas, Arkansas. 7. F. spectabilis, Jan. On Ballast ground, Philadelphia. 18. F. tenella, Willd. Common. F. tenella, var. aristulata, Torr. Texas and westward. Bromus, Linn. Spikelets five to many flowered, in a dense or lax or diffuse panicle, subterete or compressed, the rhachis between the flowers glabrous; outer glumes more or less unequal, shorter than the lowest flower, mem- branaceous, acute, awnless or short mucronate, one to nine nerved; flowering glumes membranaceous to rigid and subcoriaceous, rounded on the back or compressed and keeled, five to nine nerved, acute, or awned from below the mostly two-cleft apex; palet rather shorter than the glumes, two-keeled, the keels rigid and ciliate; grain adhering to the palet. . Aleutensis, Trin. Alaska. ; . asper, Linn. Sparingly naturalized. . breviaristatus, Thurb. Rocky Mountains to California. . carinatus, H. & A.? California. . ciliatus, Linn. Common. . ciliatus, var. purgans, Gray. Common. . ciliatus, var. minor, Munro. Texas and New Mexico. . depauperatus, Presl. Nootka Sound. . erectus, Huds. Sparingly naturalized. grandiflorus, Thurb. California and Oregon. Kalmii, Gr. Northern and Rocky Mountains. Kalmii, var. aristulata, Torr. Texas and New Mexico. sos Sof S00 bt Hodder IER pe Qs 10. B. maximus, Desf., Sparingly naturalized in California. 11. B. mollis, Linn. Naturalized. 2. B. racemosus, Linn. Naturalized. 3. B. rubens, Linn. Sparingly naturalized. 14. B. secalinus, Linn. Extensively naturalized. 15. B. sterilis, Linn. Sparingly naturalized. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 45 16. B. squarrosus, Linn. Sparingly naturalized. 17. B. subulatus, Gris.? Alaska. 18. B. tectorum, Linn. Sparingly naturalized. 19. B. unioloides, Willd. Texas to Arizona. LorrumM, Linn. Spikelets several-flowered, solitary on each joint of the continuous rhachis of the simple spike, placed edgewise against the rhachis, the glume wanting on the inside, the outer empty glume as long as or longer than the spikelet; flowering glumes rounded on the back, not keeled ; palet shorter, two-keeled. 1. L. perenne, Linn. Naturalized and cultivated. 2. L. temulentum, Linn. Sparingly found in wheat fields. 3. L. arvense, With. Sparingly naturalized. AGROPYRUM, Beauv. (Triticum, in part, of authors). Spikelets several-flowered (three to nine or more), compressed, alter- nately sessile on the continuous or slightly notched rhachis of the sim- ple spike, and with the side against the rhachis; outer glumes nearly equal and opposite, membranaceous or herbaceous, one to three nerved, scarcely keeled, tapering to a point or awned ; flowering glumes similar to the outer ones, rounded on the back, three to seven nerved, pointed - or awned from the apex; palet nearly as long as its glume, the two prominent nerves almost marginal, scabrous ciliate. 1. A. ®gilopoides, Turcz. Rocky Mountains. 2. A. caninum, R. & 8. (Triticum caninum, L.). Common. 3. A. dasystachyum, (Triticum dasystachyum, Gr.). Rocky Mountains to Alaska. : 4. A. repens, Beauv. (Triticum repens, Linn.). Extensively naturalized, A. repens, var. tenerum, Vasey. Rocky Mountains. A. repens, var. compactum, Vasey. Rocky Mountains. A. repens, var. acutum, Vasey. Rocky Mountains. 5. A. glancum, R. & 8S. (Triticum repens, var. glaucum, Vasey). Rocky Mountains. 6. A. strigosum, (Triticum strigosum, Kth.). Rocky Mountains. 7. A.violaceum, (Triticum violaceum, Hornm). White and Rocky Mount- ains. LEPTURUS, R. Br. Spikelets one to two flowered, single and sessile at each joint of the alternately excavated rhachis of the simple spike; outer glumes per- sistent, rigid, narrow, acute ; flowering glumes much shorter, thin, hya- line; palet hyaline, two-nerved. 1. L. Bolanderi, Thurb. California. 2. L. incurvatus, Trin. On Ballast ground. 46 THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. HorDEUM, Linn. Infloresence a dense spike, with two or three spikelets at each joint of the notched rhachis; spikelets one-flowered, with an awl-shaped rudiment of a second flower, the central spikelet of the cluster perfect and sessile, the lateral oues short-stalked and imperfect or abortive; outer glumes side by side, two to each spikelet or six at each joint, slender and awn-pointed or bristle form ; flowering glume herbaceous, shorter, oblong or lanceolate, rounded on the back, not keeled, five- nerved, acute or long awned ; palet shorter, two-keeled. 1. H. nodosum, Linn. Introduced along the coast. 2. H. pusillum, Nutt. Saline plains of the interior. 3. H. murinum, Linn. Naturalized in California. 4. H. jubatum, Linn. Common North and West. ELymus, Linn. Spikelets two to four at each joint of the rhachis of the simple stout spike, sessile, one to six flowered; outer glumes two for each spikelet, nearly side by side in its front, forming a kind of involucre for the cluster, narrow, rigid, one to three nerved, acuminate or awned ; flow- ering glumes herbaceous, rather shorter, oblong or lanceolate, rounded on the back, not keeled, acute or awned ; palet shorter than its glume, two-keeled. 1. E. arenarius, Linn.? 2. E. Canadensis, Linn. Common. . Canadensis, var. glaucifolius, Gray. Common. . condensatus, Presl. Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. . condensatus, var. triticoides, Thurb. Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. . dasystachys, Trin. Oregon and northwest coast. - Macounii, Vasey. Saskatchewan plains. mollis, Trin. Sea-shore, Atlantic and Pacific. . Sibiricus, Linn. White Mountains to Rocky Mountains. . Sitanion, Schultz (Sitanion, Raf.). Rocky Mountains. . striatus, Willd. Common. . striatus, var. villosus, Gr. Common. . Virginicus, Linn. Common. 3. © Pook HEHE EEE HE 10. ASPRELLA, Willd. (Gymnostichum Sehr). Spikelets two to three, or sometimes solitary at each joint of the rhachis, raised on a very short callous pedieel, loosely two to four flow- ered (when solitary flatwise on the rhachis), in a loose terminal spike. Empty glumes none, or small, awn-like, and deciduous; flowering glumes, narrow, lanceolate, rounded on the back, three to five nerved above, long-awned from the apex; palet two-keeled. 1. A. Californica, Benth. (Gymnostichum Californicum, Bol.). California. 2. A. hystrix, Willd. (G. hystrix, Sckr.). Eastern United States. THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 47 ARUNDINARIA, Mich. Spikelets many-flowered, flattened, racemose or paniculate, the upper- most lowers imperfect; outer glumes very small, membranaceous, the upper one larger; flowering glumes much larger, membranaceo-herba- ceous, convex on the back, not keeled, many-nerved, acuminate, mu- cronate or bristle-pointed ; palet shorter than its glume, prominently two-keeled. 1. A. macrosperma, Michx. Southern States. 2. A. tecta, Muhl. Maryland, Illinois, and south. ‘Whole number of Zeer .... of cee ececer sees iiiciiinns,. 114 Whole number of Species ... cov nvive. sas cisninnsnnnnrs sien os 589 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUI TURE, THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES UNITED STATES DR. GEORGE VASEY, BOTANIST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ALSO THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN GRASSES, CLIFFORD RICHARDSON, ASSISTANT CHEMIST. tr WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1884. 2218 WASHINGTON, D. C., July 1, 1884. SIR : I herewith submit a special report on the grasses of the United States which are either native or naturalized and which have more or less agricultural value. Respectfully yours, GEO. VASEY, Botanist of the Department. ‘Hon. GEORGE B. LORING, Commissioner. REPORT. Every thoughtful farmer realizes the importance of the production on his land of a good supply of grass for pasturage and hay. He, who can produce the greatest yield on a given number of acres, will be the most successful man; yet this is a subject which has been, and still is, greatly neglected. In the United States we have many climates, many kinds of soil, many geological formations, many degrees of aridity and moisture. It must be apparent that one species of grass cannot be equally well adapted to growth in all parts of this extensive territory ; yet hardly a dozen spe- cies of grasses have been successfully introduced into our agriculture. True it is that this number answers with a tolerable degree of satisfac- tion the wants of quite an extensive portion of the country, chiefly the northern and cooler regions. But it is well known that in other local- ities the same kinds of grasses do not succeed equally well, and one. of the most important questions for those regions is to obtain such kinds as shall be thoroughly adapted to their peculiarities of climate and soil. This is particularly the case in the Southern and Southwestern States, the arid districts of the West, and in California. The solution of this question is largely a matter of experiment and - observation. : The grasses which we have in cultivation were once wild grasses, and are still such in their native homes. The question then arises, can we not select from our wild or native species some kinds which will be adapted to cultivation in those por- tions of the country which are not yet provided with suitable kinds? Many observations and.some experiments in this direction have already been made, and if proper research is continued, and sufficiently thorough experiments are followed up, there is no reason to doubt that proper kinds will be found for successful cultivation in all parts of the country. GRASSES OF THE GREAT PLAINS. The plains lying west of the one hundredth meridian, together with much broken and mountainous interior country, nearly treeless and arid, in New Mexico, Western Texas, and Arizona, are nearly useless for the purposes of ordinary agriculture, but are becoming more and more im- portant as the great feeding ground for the multitudes of cattle which supply the wants of the settled regions of our country, as well as the constantly increasing foreign demand. The pasturage of this region consists essentially of native grasses, some of which have acquired a 6 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. wide reputation for their rich nutritious properties, for their ability to withstand the dry seasons, and for the quality of self-drying or curing, 80 as to be available for pasturage in the winter. This quality is due probably to the nature of the grasses themselves and to the effect of the arid climate. It is well known that in moist countries, at lower altitudes, the grasses have much succulence ; they grow rapidly, and their tissues are soft ; a severe frost checks or kills their growth, and chemical changes immediately occur which result in rapid decay; whereas in the arid climate of the plains the grasses have much less succulence, the foliage being more rigid and dry, and therefore when their growth is arrested by frost the tissues are not engorged with water, the desiccat- ing influence of the climate prevents decay, and the grass is kept on the ground in good condition for winter forage. General Benjamin Alvord, of the United States Army, has recently published an article on the subject of these winter-cured grasses, and states that they only acquire this property on land which is 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. The region having such an altitude includes, he says, all, nearly up to the timber line, of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico; five-sixths of Arizona, one-half of Dakota, one-fourth of Texas, one-fifth of Kansas, and one-sixth each of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory, embracing about one-fourth of the area of the whole United States. Many of the grasses of this extensive region are popularly known as “bunch grass,” from their habit of growth ; others are known as ‘ mes- quite” and “ gramma grass.” These consist of many species of differ- ent genera, some of them more or less local and sparingly distributed, others having a wide range from Mexico to British America. The most important of the ‘ bunch grasses ” may be briefly mentioned as follows: Of the genus Stipa there are several species ; Stipa comata and Stipa setigera occur abundantly in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California, reaching to Oregon. In Colorado, Kansas, and all the prairie region northward, stretching into British America, Stipa juncea is the principal one of the genus. On the higher plateaus and near the mountains the Stipa viridula is very common, extending from Arizona to Oregon and British America. Somewhat related botanically is Eriocoma cuspidata, a very rigid bunch grass, with a fine, handsome panicle of flowers. It is equally widespread with the preceding. An- other widely diffused grass is Aira cespitosa, varying much in size and thriftiness according to the altitude and amount of moisture where it grows, but always having a light, elegant spreading panicle of silvery- gray flowers. One of the most extensively diffused grasses is Keleria cristata, varying in height from to 1 foot to 23 feet, with a narrow and closely- flowered spike. Several species of fescue grass (Festuca) are inter- mixed with the vegetation in varying proportions; the most impor- tant of these, probably, are Festuca ovina in several varieties, and THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 Festuca scabrella, the latter especially in California, Oregon, and Wash- ington. The genus Calamagrostis (or Deyeuxia, as it is now called) furnishes several species which contribute largely to the vegetation of this re- gion. They are mostly tall, stiff, and coarse grasses, but leafy and some of them very nutritious. Of these Deyeuxria sylvatica and Deyeuxia stricta are the least valuable. Perhaps the best of them is Deyeuxia canadensis, which is soft and leafy. Next in value, probably, is De- yeuxia aleutica of California and Oregon, extending into Alaska. Cal amagrostis (Ammophila) longifolia, confined chiefly to the plains east of the Rocky Mountains, is tall and reed-like, growing in dense clumps, from 4 to 6 feet high. Several species of Andropogon are diffused from Arizona to British America, but are not found on the western coast. The principal species are Andropogon scoparius, A. furcatus and A. (Chrysopogon) nutans. Some of them are known under the name of blue-joint. Other grasses also widely spread, but in more sparing quantity are several species of Poa and Glyceria. Several varieties of Triticum (Ag- ropyrum) repeus, or Couch grass,occur abundantly in saline soils, and also Agropyrum glaucum, which is widely known as blue-stem and is considered among the most nutritious of grasses. Brizopyrum spicatum now called Distichlis maritima, and some species of Sporobolus,also form extensive patches or meadows in saline soils. Besides, there is a large number of grasses of low growth and of more spreading habit, which are known in the southwest and east of the Rocky" Mountains under the names of mesquite and buffalo grasses. The former belong mostly to the genus Bouteloua, the most important species being B. racemosa or tall mesquite, and B. oligostachya or low mesquite. The true buffalo grass is botanically Buchloé dactyloides, which in many places forms ex- tensive fields or areas. It is of a low and densely-tufted or matted habit. Another similar grass, spreading out in low, wide patches is Munroe squorrosa. The above-mentioned species form the larger proportion of the grassy vegetation of the great plains. GRASSES OF MONTANA. Prof. F. L. Scriber, of Girard College, Philadelphia, an accomplished botanist, spent the past summer in Montana in an investigation of the agricultural capabilities of the country, and he has furnished some val- uable notes on the grasses of that region, from which we give the fol- lowing selections : “ Beckmannia eruceformis.—Grows along" the wet banks of streams, rivers, and irrigating ditches, never away from a constant and abundant supply of water. In favorable localities it attains the height of 3 feet, and yields an abundance of tender herbage. Well adapted for cultiva- tion. : “ Hierochloa 'borealis.—Common along the streams and rivers in the 8 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. mountainous districts, frequently occupying extensive areas to the ex- clusion of all other grasses. “Alopecurus glaucus.—Very common along mountain streams and fre- quently covering acres of the so-called mountain meadows. Its slender but leafy culms grow to the height of 3 feet or more, and it is called in some localities ‘native timothy,” which it resembles in habit. It yields to the acre a great bulk of fine, long, bright-colored hay, for which pur- pose it is often harvested and highly valued. It has little value for grazing. It grows most luxuriantly between the altitudes of 5.000 and 6,000 feet. Under cultivation I see no reason why this grass should not become as celebrated on the great western plateau as is its near rela- tive, the meadow foxtail, in the moist climate of England. “ Stipa comata.—Common on the bench lands, growing in soil too gravelly and thin for Poa tenuifolia. In richer soil it grows tall and produces a great abundance of forage. ’ “ Stipa viridula.—This is the most valuable of the Stipas, growing in light, sandy loam, frequently covering large areas to the exclusion of other species. In favorable localities it attains the height of 3 feet. The associated species are Stipa comata, Poa tenuifolia,and Keleria cris- tata. “ Eriocoma (Oryzopsis) cuspidata, abundant on the lower sandy bench lands bordering the Missouri. Itisone of the esteemed ‘bunch grasses’ and thrives on soil too sandy for other valuable species. ‘ Phleum alpinum, called ‘native timothy; it grows in mountainous regions near streams, ascending to the altitude of seven or eight thou- sand feet. At elevations between five and six thousand feet I have seen this grass growing in rich open woods along with common timothy (Phlewm pratense), and it was the more luxuriant of the two—not so tall, perhaps, but growing to the height of 2 feet, with larger and more leafy culms. I see no reason why, in the region where this grass grows nat- -urally in such luxuriance, it may not take the place in cultivation of the well-known and justly valued timothy of the East. “Agrostis exarata.—Grows only along the rich, moist banks of streams in the mountain districts. Apparently a valuable grass to introduce into cultivation. : “ Deyeuxia Canadensis.—Common along streams. There is a species allied to Deyeuxia neglecta, perhaps only a variety of it, that grows upon the dry bench lands along with Poa. tenuifolia and Ke er wa cristata, and so closely resembling the latter in habit that at a little.distance it is difficult to distinguish the one from the other. ¢ Deschampsia cwspitosa is common in moist meadows even when the soil is highly alkaline. It yields an abundant growth of stalks and leaves, and may have some value, but it is not recognized as a forage plant. ¢* Bouteloua oligostachya, the + buffalo grass,’ of Montana. Abundant on the lower benches at elevations of from 3,000 to 4.500 feet, and THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 9 regarded as one of the most valuable of the forage grasses. It stands tramping better than any other species, and comes in when other species have been tramped out. Its fine, curly leaves make a dense turf of highly nutritious herbage. The true buffalo grass (Buchlo¢) was not seen.’ i « Keeleria cristata, called ¢ June grass,’ is very common on the bench lands, disputing possession with Poa tenuifolia. These two may be said to be the most common grasses of the low districts. « Distichlis maritima, or ‘salt grass,” is common in alkaline soil along the rivers. It is of little or no value for forage, and considered a great nuisance in agriculture, as its tough and matted roots form a sod that is almost impossible to be broken up. : : “ Poa.—All the Poas, wherever growing in abundance, yield much ex- cellent food for stock. On the mountain tops we find Poa alpina, Poa lara, and Poa ceesia. Poa Nevadensis is common along mountain streams, and on the slopes we find Poa serotina and Poa nemoralis. Poa pratensis is truly indigenous, and grows abundantly along the streams and rivers. Poa tenuifolia, in its various forms, may be called the grass of the coun- try. [It constitutes the chief forage upon the dryest bench lands, where it is called bunch grass, or, on account of its reddish color, ¢ red-top.’ Another local name is ‘red-topped buffalo grass’ In dry situations its culms are low and slender, and the foliage is confined to the dense radical tuft, the leaves of the stem being very short and of little ac- count. When growing in rich soil, along streams or on land naturally irrigated, it makes a luxuriant growth of stems and foliage 2 to 6 feet high; and a field of Poa tenuifolia in bloom presents as fine an appear- ance as does a field of Kentucky blue grass in the East,>and the pro- duce per acre, I should think, nearly the same. This and Keeler: cristata are usually associated, and both bloom about the same time, June 15 to 30. As fine a field of natural grasses as I saw in Montana contained Poa tenuifolia, Kee'eria cristata, Stipa viridula, and Stipa comata as the leading species, the Poa being the most abundant. In this field the Stipas were unusually fine, overtopping the other grasses. “ Festuca scabrella, the ‘ great bunch grass’ and ¢ buffalo bunch grass,’ is one of the principal grasses of the country. It is the prevailing species on the foot-hills and mountain slopes at from six to seven thousand feet. In respect to elevation above the sea, the following is the order of the most important grasses of the grazing lands of Montana: Bouteloua oligos- tachya, Poa tenuwifolia, Keleria cristata, and Agropyrum glaucum occupy the low lands and benches; then Agropyrum divergens; above this is Festuca ovina, var., and above all comes Festuca scabrella. In any of the mountain valleys the belts of altitude occupied by these grasses are well defined: First and lowest, Poa tenufolia prevails; between this and Festuca ovina there is usually, though not always, a belt of Agro- pyrum divergens. Usually, at about 6,000 feet, Festuca ovina gives way to Festuca scabrella. The latter may be regarded as the more abundant 10 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. and valuable species of the two. It is rather too hard a grass for sheep, but there is no more valuable grass on the ‘ summer ranges’ for cattle and horses. It makes excellent hay for horses, and is cut in large quan- tities for this purpose. It grows in Jarge tussocks, making it rather a difficult grass to mow with a machine. Festuca ovina, var. prevails in the mountain regions on a line of altitude just below Festuca scabrella, growing in close bunches, and yields a large amount of forage for all kinds of stock. “ Agropyrum glaucum. ‘blue-joint’ and ‘blue-stem,” is the most highly praised of the native grasses for hay. Wherever this grass oc- cupies exclusively any large area of ground, as it frequently does in the lower districts, especially near Fort Benton, it is cut for hay. Natur- ally, it does not yield a great bulk, but its quality is unsurpassed. It has a tough, creeping root, like the ¢ couch grass’ of the Eastern States, and by some is regarded as a variety of it. After two or three cuttings the yield of hay diminishes so much that it is scarcely worth the harvest- ing. An effectual way to increase the stand of grass after a succession of cuttings, as proved by actual experiment, is to drag over the sod a short-toothed harrow, which breaks up the roots or underground stems, and each fragment of root then makes a new plant. “ Hordeum jubatum, or ‘fox-tail grass,’ is common on the low lands, especially where there is moisture. It is looked upon as one of the worst of weeds. Its presence with other grasses destroys their value entirely for hay. “ Elymus condensatus, or ‘ wild-rye grass,’ is the only species that is known popularly. It grows along the streams and rivers, often covering extensive areas. Itis valued chiefly as a winter forage grass. It yields a great bulk of coarse hay, but is rarely harvested. When growing in fields of ‘blue-joint’ the blue-joint is cut and the rye grass is left stand- ing. If cut before flowering it makes a good hay, but if left until it comes into flower, it is not only too hard for hay, but is too hard to cut, except with a bush-seythe.” In connection with this subject the question arises, what effect will continued pasturage have upon the perpetuity of the grasses composing these great pasture-fields? Probably in the course of time certaiu spe- cies will disappear, being unable to withstand the constant tramping. and cropping by cattle and sheep, and it will be necessary to fill their place with more hardy species. If this is not done by self-propagation it will then become necessary for the proprietors of the land to make selection from the native species which prove hardy, or to seek out suit- able species from other countries. It can hardly be doubted thatamong our very many native species there are those which will meet the re- quirements of the occasion, but much careful observation aud many trials and experiments will need to be made before the question is satis- factorily determined. To an intelligent performance of this work a knowledge is first required of the characteristics, habits, and names of THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 11 the species now occupying the ground, and a very important aid to the acquisition of this knowledge will be found in the present work, with ‘its descriptions and figures of a large number of the common grasses now prevailing in different parts of the country. A careful study of these and comparison with the living plants will enable an ordinary ob- server to identify the grasses which may come under his observation. A chapter is also presented on the structure and characteristics of grasses in general, their various organs and parts, and the technical terms by which they are distinguished. : Where the species of a genus or'order of plants are so numerous and so closely related as they are in the case of the grasses it is impossible, without an immense repetition of words, to describe accurately the dif- ferences between different kinds by the use of popular language. Any one, therefore, who may wish to obtain an accurate acquaintance with them will find it necessary to learn something of the botanical terms used in describing plants. We hope, therefore, that the reader will not be dis- mayed by the use of the technical descriptions, but will consult the glossary, where the terms are explained. Among the younger readers, and especially, we may hope, among agricultural students, there are many who will be glad to have precise and scientific descriptions, for this is an age of progress, and an age when even the labor of the farm may be enlivened and beautified by mental improvement and by a scientific knowledge of the common ob- jects of life. For a close study of the, flowers of grasses a small magnifier or lens, single or double, will be needed. One magnifying five to ten diameters will be sufficient, and such a one can generally be purchased at a jewel- er’s for a dollar or two. Within the limits of the United States there are about six hundred species of grasses, mostly native, a few naturalized from other coun- tries. Many of these species are either too small, too coarse, too sparse, or in some other way wanting in the character needed for a good agri- cultural grass. But it is certain that among this great number there are some which will be found suitable for cultivation at least in special districts. We have here selected from all parts of the country about . one hundred and twenty species for description and illustration. GENERAL REMARKS ON GRASSES. - The name grass in popular usage is by no means a definite term, as it is often applied to plants which have no botanical relationship. In a popular sense it includes the sedges, rushes, various plants with Qrass- like leaves, and sometimes such widely different plants as clover. On the other hand, many persons will be surprised on being informed that all the cereals, as wheat, barley, rye, oats, sugar-cane, sorghum, Indian corn, rice, and bamboo are true grasses. In this paper, however, we consider mainly such grasses as are used for pastures, meadows, or fod- der purposes, or which have some importance in that direction. 12 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF GRASSES. A grass possesses the following parts: (1) the root, (2) the culm, (3) the leaves, (4) the flowers. : (1.) The roots are the fibrous ramifications which extend downward into the ground and appropriate the water or other liquid nutriment to be conveyed into the stem and leaves. (2.) The stem or culm is the ascending part which commonly rises above ground, either erect or reclining. Sometimes the culm is hori- zontal and subterranean, sending out erect branches and fibrous roots at the joints. These are called creeping stems, or, improperly, creeping roots. They are botanically called rhizomes, and sometimes are sev- eral feet long. In some grasses there isa kind of bulb at the base of the stem, in which is stored a concentration of nutriment for the support of the plant under peculiar circumstances, as in protracted drought. This bulbous formation is a part of the stem, and not of the root. The stem or culm of grasses is usually cylindrical and hollow ; sometimes it is more or less compressed or flattened. It is divided at intervals by transverse thickened portions called joints or nodes, at which points leaves and sometimes branches are given off. These nodes tend also to strengthen the stem. Stems are usually simple and unbranched, except at the top, where they commonly divide into the more or less numerous branches of the panicle or flowering part. But some stems give rise from the side joints to leafy branches, which may, like the main stem, produce smaller panicles at the top. ; (3.) The leaves take their origin at the nodes or joints in two ranks—that is, they are placed alternately on opposite sides of the stem at greater or less distances—thus, the first leaf will be on one side, the second on the opposite side a little higher up, the third still higher and directly over the first, the fourth over the second, and so on. The leaves consist of three parts: (1) the sheath, (2) the ligule, and (3) the blade. The sheath is that part which clasps the stem. It is generally open on one side, as will ‘be readily observed in the leaves of a corn- stalk, but in some grasses the sheath is partly or even completely closed together by the adhesion of the opposite edges. The sheath is analogous to the stem or petiole of the leaves of many higher plants. The ligule : At the point where the blade of the leaf leaves the stem, at the top of the sheath and on the inner side, there is usually a small, thin, leaf'like organ, called the ligule or tongue. Thisis sometimes half an inch long, more commonly only two or three lines, and sometimes it is almost absent or reduced to a short ring, but its length and size is very constant in the same species. This ligule represents the stipules which occur at the base of the leaves in many of the higher plants. The blade or lamina of the leaf is the expanded part which is commonly called leaf. In the majority of grasses the leat is long and narrow ; that is, many times longer than wide. There is one central nerve, called THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 13 the midnerve or midrib, extending to the point of the leaf, and numerous fine lines or nerves on each side running parallel to each other, and not connected by transverse nerves and not giving oft branches as in the higher plants. These leaves are. in some species rough, in others smooth, hairy, or downy, &e. The agricultural value of a grass depends mainly upon the quantity, quality, size, and nutritive properties of the leaves. (4.) The flowers: The flowers of the grasses are generally at the end of the stem or the side branches, sometimes very few in number, some- times in great abundance, sometimes in a close spike, and sometimes in a panicle, with many spreading branches or rays. The flowers may be single on the branches or on the pedicels, or they may be variously clus- tered. In the common red-top (Agrostis alba or A.vulgaris), there is a. single flower at the end of each of the small branchlets of the panicle. Each of these flowers is inclosed by a pair of small leaf-like scales or chaff, called the outer or empty glumes. The flower consists of (1) the essential organs and (2) the envelopes. The essential organs are the stamens and pistils, which may readily be seen when the grass is in bloom. The stamens, of which there are usually three in each flower, consist of the anther and filament, the anther being the small organ which contains the pollen or dust which fertilizes the pistil or female organ, and the filament being the thread-like stem on which the anthers are borne. The pistil is the central organ of the flower, and consists of three ‘parts, the ovary, the style, and the stigmas. In most of the grasses the styles are divided ‘into two branches which have a handsome plumose appearance. The stigmas are the delicate parts at the extremity of these branches which receive the pollen for the fertilization of the flower, and the ovary is that part at the base which contains the future seed. The envelopes of the flower are usually two leaf-like scales or husks in- closing between them the stamens and pistil ; these scales face each other, one being a very little higher on the axis than the other, and also usually smaller and moredelicate in texture. This smaller scale is called the palet ; the other larger and usually coarser one is called the flower- ing glume ; its edges generally overlap and partly inclose the palet. The flower constituted as above described, together with the pair of outer or empty glumes at the base, form what is-called a spikelet. In many cases, however, there,are two three, or more flowers, sometimes even ten to twenty, in one spikelet, in which case they are arranged alternately on opposite sides of the axis, one above the other, with a pair of empty or outer glumes at the base of the cluster. Such may be seen in the blue grass (Poa pratensis), fescue grass (Festuca), and many others. There are innumerable modifications of these floral organs, and upon the differences which exist in them the distinction of genera and species are based. In some cases the glumes are entire in outline, in some they 14 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. are toothed and lobed, and sometimes running out into a slender point called an awn, sometimes with a bristle or awn on the back, &c. They also vary in size from the twentieth part of an inch to an inch or more in length. Authorities consulted.—In the preparation of this work reference has been had to many authorities, both scientific and practical. Among those who have written practically on the uses and the cultivation of grasses the following-named works have been consulted and frequently gnoted. Flinton Grasses and Forage Plants; Grasses and their Culture, by Hon. J. Stanton Gould; Manual of Grasses atthe South, by C. W. Howard; The Grasses of Tennessee, by J. R. Killebrew ; The Farm- er’s Book of Grasses, by Prof. D. L. Phares, of Mississippi. It is not thought necessary here to take up a systematic classification of the grasses farther than their arrangement in regular sequence, as the classification will be found fully described in the special report No. 63. WINTER GRAZING IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. An article by General Benjamin Alvord, in a recent Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, with the above title, is deserving of extended publication and of careful study. Our space will only allow us to give an abridgment of the article. General Alvord says: ! During the last fourteen years a revelation has dawned on the people of the United States, respecting the resources for winter grazing in the whole Rocky Mountain re- - gion. It is now known that all land over about 3,000 feet above the level of the sea has these qualities, viz, that without shelter, all the domestic animals can find ample food on the nutritious, summer-cured grasses of those plateaus, and that myriads of those animals are yearly raised by the great capitalists and others in our Western regions. The experiment has now for so many years been tried that it is not con- sidered at all problematical, and although winters of great severity may occur, it is admitted that on an average the losses in the herds by the vicissitudes of the weatner do not exceed 5 per cent. of the whole number. General Alvord then proceeds to explain why this fact was so long unknown : Surely it is extraordinary that so salient a fact as to the resources of this country should not have been fully known until the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1869. My Army station from 1852 to 1865 was in Oregon or Washington Territory, and at Omaha from 1867 to 1871. Thus, I was thrown in the course of my official travels into regions giving me opportunities for observation, which I embraced. But I must confess that notwithstanding my knowledge of the benefits of the cured bunch- grasses in Oregon, east of the Cascade Mountains, and my large intercourse with emi- grants yearly arriving on the Pacific slope, and with the officers and scientists of many exploring expeditions, it was not until during my residence in Omaha and my journeys over the Union Pacific Railroad that I knew of the immense resources for winter grazing on the Rocky Mountain plateaus which cover probably one-fourth of our whole territory. Our total area is 4,000,000 square miles, and we can safely add that the region for winter grazing is about a million of square miles, if not more—not including any portion of Alaska. The moment California, New Mexico, and the other THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 15 territories were acquired from Mexico in 1848, our Government turned its attention to the Pacific slope, and to the necessity of a Pacific railroad, and sundry exploring ex- peditions were organized in 1853 to examine the various routes—northern, southern, and central. These expeditions, and those preceding, of Lewis and Clarke, of Long, of Bonneville, and of Frémont, gave to the world a great mass of information of all kinds concerning those little known regions. Each of the Pacific railroad exploring parties had scientists of the greatest repute in various branches of investigation, as geology, botany, and natural history, and had with them experienced guides, hunters, woodsmen, mountaineers, and prairie-men; and all these were as ignorant as the rest of the winter resources of that vast domain. The reason was that all the explorations were made in summer, each party returning to winter in lower altitudes in the settle- ments without any attempt to discover and unveil the winter characteristics of the mountain regions. We learned at Omaha that the discovery of the resources of the Rocky Mountain plateaus for winter grazing was really made during the war by the parties under that enterprising man, the late Edward Creighton (afterward president of the First Na- ‘tional Bank of Omaha), who had taken the contract to build the telegraph line from Omaha to San Francisco. One winter their animals were left to graze in the elevated pastures of those regions, and were found in the spring in splendid order for the prose- cution of their labors. This fact was utilized by Mr. Creigton, and it was the founda- tion of his large fortune, made in great part by stock-raising in Western Nebraska and Wyoming. These facts soon became known. By the time the Union Pacific Railroad was completed, in 1869, the enterprising capitalists and herdsmen of the West were aroused and ready to avail themselves of this new and promising mode of investment. General Alvord proceeds further, as follows: We will now undertake to explain the anomaly that the grasses of the arid plateaus are ready at all seasons for grazing, whereas in winter in all the lower altitudes they are not. Heat and moisture will cause the-grasses in autumn and in winter to rot. With us they decay and, unless cut in season, cured and made into hay, are lost to use. In the arid Rocky Mountain plateaus the grasses, as they stand on the soil, are cured in the sun during the summer, the action of heat retaining and concentrating in the stalks the sugar, gluten, and other constituents of which they are composed. This is true of the bunch grasses, the buffalo and grama, and many similar grasses which pervade those regions. It is so cold and so dry in those elevations that there are neither heat nor moisture to rot them. And the snows are so fine (save in some exceptional seasons) in that cold atmosphere, that they are so blown by the winds into drifts, that four-fifths of the soil is never covered by them. Thus, the grass is ever accessible to the domestic and other animals, while the snow is so fine that it falls from their backs; therefore they are not encumbered with a coating of frozen snow, which in the lower regions would go far toward killing the poor brutes. They find shelter in the hollows, bushes, and forests during very severe weather. In the natu- ral abodes of the buffalo, antelope, and other wild animals, it is found that our valued domestic animals can in like manner survive the winter. Countless millions of buf- faloes have ever subsisted on the buffalo grass. Although our domestic animals gen- erally prefer the other grasses, the buffalo grass does not fail to be one of their re- sources. The difficulties in lower altitudes than those I have described have been that after a warm spell and a thaw, the snow freezes to a crust and the grass is matted down by the ice, and kept from the stock. East of the Cascade Mountains, in the arid por- tion of Oregon, bunch grasses and cured grasses are found near the Dalles, where it is only 300 or 400 feet above the sea. In December, 1852, I witnessed such a thaw, fol- lowed by freezing, which kept the oxen from getting to the grasses, and consequently large nnmbers died of starvation. If they had been wintered near Fort Boise or any- 16 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. where 3,000 feet above the sea, they would have thriven on the rich bunch grasses ever accessible on those plains. Sheep should always have shelter from the cold winds, but no other stock requires it. In Texas the grazing grounds are mostly at so low a level above the sea that the grasses rot in winter. Hence, in the latter part of winter, the animals there are often poor, and it is difficult to provide food for them. Thus it isthat the vast herds started from Texas to be driven to market acquire flesh and improve every hundred miles of their journey north, as they reach new and well-advanced pastures. But we must now allude to another element which prepares the elevated regions for winter grazing, viz, that the climate is much warmer than in the regions east of it in the same latitude. The isothermal lines all ascend in moving westward. At Omaha cattle and horses must have shelter ih winfer, but none is needed at Fort Laramie. The extreme severity at Fort Buford, Dak. 1,900 feet above the sea is, in like manner, contrasted with the weather at Fort Phil Kearney or Powder River, 6,000 feet above the sea, or with the winter climate of Forts Custer and Keogh. Scientists are not yet able to assign satisfactory reasons for these anomalies; per- haps they are inscrutable. Why in ascending the slopes of the Rocky Mountain pla- teaus a warmer climate should be encountered is a proper field for future consideration and investigation. It still remains a paradox. We can make the following statement as to the region higher than 3,000 feet above the sea, fit for winter grazing. It includes all, nearly up to the timber line, of Mon- tana, Idaho, Wyoming. Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico, and five-sixths of Arizona, one-half of Dakota, one-third of Nebraska, one-fifth of Kansas, one-fourth of Texas, and one-sixth each of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory. This embraces, as we have already said, about one-fourth of the area of the whole United States. ; Strange enough, all the best authorities who have had opportunities for comparison say that those regions farthest north are the best. Brisbin, page 90, says: “Montana has undoubtedly the best grazing grounds in America, and parts of Dakota stand next.” The writer thus engages in a consideration of the elevated plateaus of South America. Asia, and Africa, and a comparison with those of our own country, and thus proceeds as follows : I shallnow give some account of the various grasses which are found on the plateaus, and which are summer-cured. In Appendix C will be found a letter to me, of March 1, 1883, from Dr. George Vasey, botanist of the Department of Agriculture, who has complied with my request to give me a concise statement of the names of the prin- cipal grasses. In general parlance it has been supposed that what are called ‘ bunch ” grasses are in the northern portions of the Rocky Mountain range, and that the ‘gama’ or ‘‘grama’ grasses were peculiar to the southern territories in New Mexico and Arizona- But I am satisfied, from personal inquiries of travelers (Marcy and Dutton among others), as well as from the statements of the botanists, that both the ‘bunch’ grasses and others are found in each region. But it seems probable that the ‘‘gama” and ‘“grama ” grasses are found in the greatest abundance in the more southern portions. The ‘‘buffalo” grass or grasses (for the term 1s applied to more than one kind) are found throughout all the ranges of the buffalo from north to south. The term “bunch” grass was given because it grows in tufts or bunches a foot or more in height, sometimes two feet apart, so that the aspect from surrounding hills would often be that of a desert region. A green carpet isnever or rarely seen. The buffalo grass grows as a low tuft, and it is summer-cured as it grows, like the other grasses under consideration. By the courtesy of General F. A. Walker, Superintendent of the Census, I had the privilege of reading (before publication) a full and interesting paper by Prof. William THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 17 H. Brewer on ‘‘ Pasture and Forage Plants.” In the following statement I have often availed myself of some items from it. The term ““ bunch grass” has been applied to several kinds, and we will name those prominently known : : The Festuca scabrella is the one best known on the Pacific slope, ranging from Cali- fornia to Oregon and Idaho. The Festuca occidentalis is also found there. The Festuca ovina (or sheep grass) in several varieties is found through the whole region of winter grazing, and seems the world over to be fonnd wherever sheep graze. Eriocoma cuspidata is one of the valuable bunch grasses generally prevalent. Of the grasses termed ‘‘ grama” Eragrostis poeoides and Eragrostis oxylepis are called grama grasses. The former in Texas is sometimes called one of the buffalo grasses. Munroa squarrosa, Mr. Brewer says, is a buffalo grass of the north, and one of the grama grasses of Texas. Calamagrostis longifolia has a wide range and is sometimes called ‘“mesquit” and grama grass, and Calamagrostis canadensis, sometimes called ‘““ blue joint.” The terms ‘‘ gama” and ‘‘grama” are not interchangeable. Mr. Brewer says that . Tripsacum dactyloides is the ‘gama grass” of the South—a tall, coarse grass, from 3 to 7 feet high—and is found from Texas to Illinois and Connecticut. Though much confusion of names is in popular use in reference to all the grasses it seems to be admitted that the term ¢‘ buffalo grass” is applied most justly to Buchloe dactyloides. It is one of the most nutritious of grasses and pervades the whole range of the Rocky Mountain plateaus. The following is.the letter of Dr. Vasey, referred to iu the preceding paper: DEAR SIR: In reply to your request I offer the following remarks on the native grasses of the great plains and arid portions of the West. These grasses furnish the chief resource of the immense herds of buffaloes and the vast droves of domestic ani- mals which feed upon the plains, and from the habit of growth are, for the most part, known by the name of bunch grasses. They are chiefly grasses of rigid aspect, at least as respects their culms and leaves, some of them, however, forming a diffuse and ele- gant panicle of flowers. The most important of the bunch grasses may be briefly mentioned as follows: . Of the genus Stipa there are several species. Stipa comata and Stipa setigera occur abundantly in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and the drier regions of California, reach- ing to Oregon. In Colorado, Kansas, and all the prairie region northward, stretching into British America, the Stipa juncea is the principal one of the genus. On the higher plateaus and near the mountains the Stipa viridula is very common, extending from Arizona to Oregon and British America. Somewhat related botanically is Eriocoma cuspidata, a very rigid bunch grass with a fine, handsome panicle of flowers. It is equally widespread with the preceding. Another widely-diffused grass is dira caespi- tosa, varying much in size and thriftiness according to the altitude and amount of moisture where it grows, but always having a light, elegant, spreading panicle of silvery-gray flowers. One of the most exteusively- diffused grasses is Koeleria cristata, varying in height from one foot to two and a half feet, with a narrow and closely-flowered spike. Sev- eral species of fescue grass (Festuca) are intermixed with the vegetation in varying proportions; the most important of these are probably the Festuca ovina, in several varieties, and Festuca scabrella, the latter erpecialiy in California, Oregon, and Wash- ington. The genus Calamagrostis furnishes sovoinl species, which contribute largely to the vegetation of this region. They are mostly tall, stiff, and coarse grasses, but leafy, and some of them very nutritious. Of these Calamagrostis sylvatica and C. stricta are 2218 GR ——2 18 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. least valuable. Perhaps the best of them is Calamagrostis canadensis, which is soft and leafy. Next, perhaps, in value is Calamagrostis aleutica, of California and Oregon, extending into Alaska. Calamagrostis longifolia, confined chiefly to the plains east of the Rocky Mountains, is tall and. reed-like, growing in dense clumps, from four to six feet high. Several species of Andropogon are diffused from Arizona to British Amer- ica on the plains, but are not found on the western coast. They are, however, not properly called bunch grass, as their habit of growth is more spreading. The princi- pal species are .dndropogon scoparius, 4. furcatus,and A. nutans. Some of them are known through the plain region as blue-joint or blue-stem. Others, more sparingly spread, are several species of Poa and Glyceria. Several varieties of Triticum repens or couch grass occur abundantly in saline soils, and are among the most nutritious of grasses. Brizopyrum spicatum and species of Vilfa and Sporobolus also form extensive patches or meadows in saline soil. Besides the grasses already mentioned there are a large number of low growth and more diffused habit, which are known in the South- west and east of the Rocky Mountains under the names of mesquit and buffalo grasses. The former belong mostly to the genus Bouteloua, the most important species being B. curtipendula, or tall mesqnit, and B. oligostachya and B. hirsuta, or Jow mes- quit. The true buffalo grass is botanically Buchloe dactyloides, which in some places . forms extensive fields of its low and densely-tufted growth. Another similar grass spreading eut in low patches is Munroa squarrosa. The above-mentioned species form the larger proportion of the grassy vegetation of the great plains. : Respectfully, : i GEO. VASEY, Botanist. General BENJAMIN ALVORD. REPORTS ON GRASS AND GRASS CULTURE FROM ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES. In 1882 circulars were sent out by the Commissioner of Agriculture to agriculturists and farmers in all parts of the country asking infor- mation as to the natural pasture grasses of this district, what kind of natural and cultivated grasses were used for hay and pasture, and what grasses could be suggested for experiment. A large number of reports were received and compiled by the assistant botanist, W. P. Conant, and a summary of the results is herewith given. As a general thing the cor- respondents were not acquainted with the botanic or technical names of the grasses, and gave the common or local name where there was one. It frequently happens that the same grass will have different local names even in places not far remote from each other, and also that the same name will be applied to grasses very unlike. Many have no common name and are referred to as wild grass, woods grass, swamp grass, &ec. So, in examining the reports, a perplexing difficulty was often en- countered in not being able to determine to what species a grass be- longed from the name given. In some instances this difficulty was ob- viated by obtaining specimens of the plants referred to: in éthers they were not sent or failed to reach here. The reports were sent in with commendable promptuness, and all evinced a great interest in the subject, and expressed a strong desire to aid the undertaking by all means in their power. . THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 19 WASHINGTON TERRITORY AND OREGON. From Washington Territory twelve reports were received, and from Oregon thirty-one. They are so much alike that we consider them to- gether. NATIVE PASTURE GRASSES. Bunch-grass is found in the drier places and on the hills ; wild pea- vine and a few wild grasses in the timber; clover upon bottom-lands; wild rye-grass, a species of elymus, upon Jowlonds, and a variety of mixed grasses upon the prairies. Several species of grass are called bunch-grass, the principal of which are Poa tenuifolia Nutt, Festuca scabrella, Eriocoma cuspidata, and some of the species of: Stipa. Bunch-grass, which formerly was the principal pasture grass upon the uplands, has become about extinct, partly from the land being taken for cultivation and partly from overfteeding. Its place has been taken by wild chess ( Bromus secalinus) and other poor grasses. But little native grass is cut for hay; some little wild red-top, wild- rye grass, salt-marsh grass upon tide-water, and, east of the Cascades, a little bunch-grass is cut. CULTIVATED GRASSES. Timothy is found universally distributed throughout this section, and has become so well established that some consider it indigenous. It has so tenacious a hold upon the soil that it can scarcely be killed out. As a hay grass, timothy has no superior ; for a pasture grass, it gives out too early in July. Next in general diffusion come the clovers ne orchard grass. Red- top, also, is quite common. Kentucky blue-grass, though not so exten- sively introduced, seems well adapted to some portions of this section. The soil and climate of Oregon and Washington Territory are ad- mirably adapted to the culture of grass, and any kind will do well if allowed a fair chance. There is a great diversity of soil; and often on the same farm all kinds may be found, from the black sandy loam to red clay. From some, come inquiries for a grass that will do well upon lands worn out by constant wheat-cropping ; others say that they are sowing clover on their exhausted lands to recuperate them, and no better ad- vice can be given the former than to do likewise. By this means the tired lands can soon be restored to fertility. A better way, and one which the intelligent farmers will soon learn to follow, is to avoid depleting the land at all, but by a suitable rota. tion of crops, among which the clovers and grasses should have a prom- inent place, the lands can be kept in a normal state of fertility, and, being naturally rich, will yield a generous reward to the BSAA toil. 20 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. CALIFORNIA. From California thirty-seven reports were received. They give the following as the principal grasses: NATIVE PASTURE GRASSES. Wild oats (Avena fatua), alfilavia (Erodium cicutarium), bur-clover (Medicago denticulata), wild clovers, of which there are several species, and bunch-grass, in the order named. In the northern part of the State a little wild rye-grass (Elymus), wild red-top, and wild pea-vine are found. : Accounts from the central and southern counties state that the native bunch-grass, which formerly furnished a nutritious feed for a large part of the Pacific slope, has of late years become about extinct, and in some sections the alfilaria, bur-clover, and other forage plants, which were found on the uncultivated lands during spring and early summer, are slowly bat surely dying out, and their places are being taken by a worthless grass that nothing will eat green or dry. Mr. C. O. Tucker, of Ballena, attributes this gradual disappearance of the native grasses to the constant and too close pasturage at and prior to the time for maturing their seeds, and to a too persistent pas- turage with sheep at other times, causing the ground to become thor- oughly trodden and compacted. This has been followed during the last few years by unusually hot and dry summers. He knows of no section where the need of useful forage plants is more severely felt than here. Mr. Mart. Walker, of Saint Helena, says that there is an intense de- sire among farmers to obtain a grass capable of-resisting the intense heat and drought of summer, and afford grazing for cattle during that period, and if possible one that will grow on poor soil. For the want of some such resource many districts are fast becoming worthless. He says that this results from the system of continuous cropping to which the land has been subjected for the last thirty years. NATIVE GRASSES CUT FOR HAY. Except wild oats and bur-clover but little native grass is cut for hay. In the northern part of the State a little wild-rye grass, wild red top, and in some localities rushes are cut. CULTIVATED GRASSES. The various grains, as wheat, rye, and barley, cut when in the milk, are principally relied upon for hay in many parts of California. They come as volunteers, or very often after the grain is taken off a ¢ half cast” of seed is sown on the stubble at the first rain in the fall and bharrowed in. Wild oats are cut extensively, and alfalfa (Medicago sativa), often called lucern, is cultivated largely for hay, especially in THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 21 the southern part of the State, where by irrigation large orops are made. In the soétieny and central counties timothy and clover are cut to some extent, and are commented on favorably. Thus far but very lit- tle attention has been given to this snbject. The general system of farming in vogue here is so different from that of other parts of the country, and so few experiments have been made, that no particular grasses or forage plants can be recommended at this time. Further experiments and developments will have to determine the important question. [IDAHO AND MONTANA. Bunch grass is common throughout the hill country. In thelowlands the wild rye grass and other coarse grasses are found. Timothy is found successfully cultivated everywhere. In Idaho clover is culti- vated extensively, especially in the Boise Valley, where some very large crops are reported. Some farmers have put their whole places in it. The small red clover is preferred. Alfalfa succeeds well in Montana. Timothy and clover are recommended for the bottoms, and alfalfa for the ¢ bench lands.” All the grasses would succeed well with attention. The soil and climate are well adapted to their growth, and all things seem favorable to ‘their culture, both for pasture and hay. All the farmers have to do here is to avoid the mistake made in many new sec- tions, that of overpasturing and continuous cropping, and for years to come they will have a never-céasing source of wealth. UTAH. The principal native pasture grasses of Utah are the bunch grass, wire grass (Juncus Balticus), salt grass) Vilfa depanperata), and buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides). The wire grass and salt grass are cut for hay. Lu- cern, or alfalfa (Medicago sativa), is cultivated for forage and hay to a greater extent than anything else, and succeeds well. Insome counties scarcely any other forage plant is cultivated. Clover is reported successful in some places and timothy in others, though neither has been cultivated largely. NEW MEXICO. The gramina grass ( Bouteloua) is common on the high ground through- out New Mexico. On the river bottoms there is a little blue grass. Al- falfa has been cultivated more than any other forage plant, and on the bot- toms will thrive after the second year without irrigation. The millets have been raised some, and should receive more Setention, No experi- ments worthy of note, are reported. The reports from Utah and New Mexico were so few in number, and the area so great and so diversified that no suggestions can be made as to what grasses will be best adapted to this section. Many experi- ments will have to be made to determine this. 22 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. TEXAS. NATIVE GRASSES. From Texas there were sixty-nine reports. The natural pasture grasses consist of the mixed grasses usually found on the prairies which occupy so large a part of the State. The sage or sedge grass holds a prominent place among them; but when overpastured it is run out, and the mesquite, both hardier and better, takes it place. The mesquite is found in the northern, central, and southern parts of the State, but not much in the northeastern part. The term mesquite is used somewhat indefinitely, being applied to a number of grasses, but here it is probable that the buffalo grass of the plains (Buchloe dactyloides) is meant. It is found chiefly on the black lands. The gramma grass (Bouteloua), of which there are some patches, is rapidly disappearing, and is being replaced by the mesquite. Prairie grass thus far has been the chief reliance for hay as well as pasture. Texas has always been a great stock-raising State, and while the range was uninterrupted no attention was given to cultivating grass or to improving pastures. But of late years portions of the State have been rapidly filling up, and the range consequently diminishing, so now the farmers are giving considerable attention to improving their past- ures and to the hay crop. This, intelligent farmers write, should re- ceive all the encouragement and assistance possible. Mr. Talley says that the greatest difficulty in making the culture of Kentucky blue grass a success is in getting it to live the first year, The same remark is applicable to most of the grasses. The main reason of failure, he says, is not so much on account of the drought as on account of the nature of the soil. It is loose and porous, aud dries up very quickly on the surface; hence.they often find it difficult to get a ¢ stand” of turnips in the fall or a “stand ” of millet in the spring. The soil holds moisture well below the depth of 2 inches. He further says: I have taken great interest in investigating the subject of grasses, and my labors were awarded by finding a much greater variety on my place than I had ever sus- pected, and all I have to do is to cultivate and take care of what I already possess, and cut the weeds to prevent their shading and smothering out the grasses already in the ground. Texas is naturally a great State, and only needs fair attention to succeed. Johnson grass and Bermuda are receiving considerable attention, and for the most part are spoken of favorably. Bur, or California clover, does well in this State, and is highly es- teemed in California for the feed it affords, though the burs or seed- pods stick to the wool of sheep and impair its value. Alfalfa is culti- vated largely here, and does very well. Timothy, orchard grass, and clover are not reported on so favorably as could be wished. The millets are cultivated quite extensively and do well. Mr. Clarke, THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 of Hempstead, Waller County, Texas, has recently sent to the Depart- ment samples of several kinds, among which were specimens of the so- called double-headed German millet 44 feet high, and estimated to yield 3 tons to the acre. Mr. W. H. D. Carrington, of Austin, says that there is but one native grass cultivated for hay, and that is what is called Colorado bottom grass ; sometimes called goose grass, and in some places Green River grass (Panicum Teranum). The method of culture most commonly adopted is the same as that for crab grass. It comes voluntarily after corn is “laid by.” A few farmers have found it so profitable that they plow and harrow their land in winter and cut the grass as soon as it ma- tures. In this way they secure two crops annually. It is preferred by all kinds of stock to Hungarian grass or to oats in the sheaf. It seeds itself freely. The hay sells now (February, 1882), at $25 per ton, while prairie hay sells at from $10 to $12 per ton. This might be intro- duced into the other Southern States without requiring any change in the method of culture generally pursued. It is figured and described in the report for 1879. THE SOUTHERN STATES. The returns from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louis- iana are so similar in general character that they are considered to- gether, differences being noted as they occur. NATIVE PASTURE GRASSES. By an examination of the returns from this section, crab grass (Pani- cum’ sanguinale) is found to be the most extensively diffused pasture grass for summer and fall grazing, while crow-foot (Eleusine Indica) is quite common in Georgia and Florida. The sedge grass also holds a prominent place as a pasture grass in Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, being reported from nearly one-half the counties. Several grasses are called sedge and broom sedge. They are for the most part some species of Andropogon or Stipa. Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) is reported in over one-third of the counties, and is probably growing in many more, and though an intro- duced grass it has become so well established that it is generally re- ferred to as a native. The wild pea vine is also plentiful and in some places quite popular. In Florida it is said to do well on the poor sandy soil, and to endure the heat and drought of summer. Mexican clover (Richardsonia scabra) is spreading over the sandy uplands along the coast. Tick trifoil, or tickseed, two species of Desmodium, is frequent in rich woods, and is esteemed as a milk-producing plant. Nimblewill (Muhlenbergia Mexicana and diffusa) are found in open woods in the northern and central counties. In Alabama and Mississippi, Japan clover (Lospaony striata) has spread extensively over the roadsides and uncultivated fields. It will 24 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. grow upon all soils, even the poorest, and withstands the heat and drought of summer remarkably well. It spreads rapidly, and some say it will root out the broom sedge and even Bermuda. It is rather a coarse plant, and should be tried only in places unsuitable for the bet- ter grasses. In Louisiana, crab grass, though still common, is gradually giving place as a pasture grass to Bermuda and white clover. Several species of clover seem to be spreading over this section; some of them are said to afford considerable seed. The bur, or California clover (Medicago denticulata), is reported in two counties of Alabama, and has been successfully tried in Georgia. In California it is highly esteemed. Paspalum ovatum is found in Texas and Louisiana. It is highly spoken of as a pasture grass by those who have examined it. (See re- port of the botanist for 1880.) Numerous other grasses are found growing with the foregoing species but generally are of no particular value, and having for the most part no common names, they are spoken of as wild grasses, &c. In regard to native pasture grasses, Mr. Hawking, of Hawkiunsville, Ala., says: There is but very little grass of any kind here, except the wild varieties which come spontaneously on all old fields with the broom sedge, and our very best pastures are on these old fields. Old fields when turned out usually grow weeds the first two years, and require about four years for them to become sodded with broom sedge. Burn this oft in early spring, and with sufficient cattle it need never be burced again, as the cattle will keep it down. I have an excellent pasture of 150 acres of this kind, which will keep in good condition thirty head of cattle, half as many mnles when not at work, and some hogs. NATIVE HAY GRASSES. 2 : In this section crab grass is cut very extensively, being reported from nearly every county where any attention at all is given to hay. Crow-foot, as a crop grass, is chiefly confined to Georgia. Some of the coarse swamp grasses are cnt to a considerable extent in certain local- ities. CULTIVATED GRASSES. Over one-half of the reports from this section state that no attempts have been made to cultivate grass for hay. They rely entirely upon the volunteer grasses, the principal one being crab, which some con- sider to be superior to the so-called cultivated grasses. The chief reasons given in favor of crab grass as a pasture grass and for hay are that it is indigenous, and therefore well adapted to with- stand the effects of the climate ; that the ground has only to be smoothed after the corn is “laid by,” and it comes voluntarily; that it never fails, and does well on poor and sandy soil. ; In the remaining counties more or less introduced grasses have been THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 25 / cut for hay, consisting principally of herds grass (red top), the clovers, timothy, and orchard grass in the order named. Bermuda grass is reported to be cut for hay to a greater extent than any other, except the crab grass. The millets are cultivated for hay, and are deserving of more attention, for, being annuals, they can be grown successfully in all parts of the South. In Louisiana the cow-pea is considered one of the best forage crops, and its cultivation is extending. In the Red River district sorghum of various kinds is largely raised for food. JOHNSON GRASS. Johnson grass is steadily growing in favor and its cultivation extend- ing. It is being introduced on the low, wet prairie lands of Texas, and the reports are quite favorable. It is essentially a hay grass, and may be cut three or four times a year. It should always be cut before the seed stalks run up, else it will be too coarse. It is even more difficult to exterminate when once well set than Bermuda, hence should not be allowed to seed. The best way to eradicate it is by frequent plowings in July and August, exposing the roots as much as possible to the sun. It will not bear tramping. Both this grass and Bermuda are regarded as a great blessing, or as an unmitigated evil, according to the standpoint from which they are viewed. The exclusive cotton-planter is apt to look upon them with unabated hostility, while those who are beginning to diversify their crops look upon these and other grasses as a great boon. In these States hay should be secured early enough in the season to allow the meadows to get a good start before the summer drought sets in, so that the roots may have a good protection during this trying period. Meadows should not be pastured until the fall rains set in, and then only lightly, and never when the ground is soft from much rain. Care should be taken not to pasture too late in the spring, thereby preventing the grass from growing tall enough to cut before the heat of summer. According to the reports, the farmers are accus- tomed very generally to pasture too closely, which causes great injury, if not destruction, to the grass. PERMANENT PASTURE. For a permanent pasture grass the Texas blue grass (Poa arachni- fera) promises to Le one of the very best grasses yet brought to the attention of the South. It is a strong, deep-rooted grass, with an abundance of foliage, and seems to possess all of the characteristics necessary for a grass to be successful in most parts of the South. It grows in woods or open prairie, and thrives upon a variety of soils, poor as well as rich, but has not, so far as reported, been tried upon a dry, sandy soil. This grass seems worthy of earnest consideration by 26 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. all interested. As it is figured and so fully described in another part of the report more need not be said here. The Texas blue grass dies down during the heat of summer and springs up with the first fall rains and lasts till summer again. Ber- muda comes in early spring and lasts till frost comes, thus being a summer pasture grass. WINTER PASTURE. From several places, especially in Georgia and Alabama, requests come for a grass that will make good winter pasture, and if possible one that will succeed upon weak. sandy soil. The cultivated grasses best adapted for winter pasture at the South are the tall meadow oat grass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum), which will thrive on more sandy soil than most of the cultivated grasses (though it prefers a rich upland), and will yield more green food in winter than any other grass. Orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata) is next in value. It does well in orchards and thinned woods, and will do well on any rich, dry soil. After being cut or eaten down by stock it springs up again with great rapidity, thus rendering it of peculiar value as a pasture grass. Ex- periment demonstrates that these grasses will thrive and do well in the northern and central counties of the Gulf States, an d ought to sue- ceed in all sections, except, perhaps, on a very dry, sandy soil. These two grasses are thought to endure the heat and drought better than other eunltivated grasses. Italian rye grass (Lolium Italicum) is one of the very best grasses for this section. By being sown and harrowed in at the first fall rains it will be ready for pasture by midwinter, and will afford a rich pasturage during the latter part of winter and spring, and can then be plowed under for the following crop, thus enriching the land as well as furnishing abundant winter feed. By only pasturing very lightly a crop of hay can be cut and the stubble turned under for a following wheat or other grain crop. The attention cannot be too strongly called to this useful grass. Wild rye grass (Elymus) and wild meadow barley (Hordeum pratense), also the common cultivated rye and barley, make excellent pasture. BERMUDA GRASS. " Bermuda grass has of late attracted more than usual attention. It has been referred to and discussed by so many of the correspondents that an idea of the estimation in which it is held cannot be better given than by making a few extracts from their letters. Mr. Hawkins, of Barbour County, Alabama, says that he is very certain now, and has been for years, that the great want of the South is a grass with which the tired lands may be seeded, and some return had while the land is being recuperated. Bermuda, he says, is the grass to do this if it seeded, and could be easily destroyed when the land is wanted for cultivation. These difficulties, he says, operate suf- THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 27 1 ficiently to almost exclude it from the tillable land. A correspondent from Mississippi says: Bermuda is the grass for this country, resisting both the drought of summer and the frost of winter, and affording a richer pasturage than any other grass. With this for pasture and the Johuson grass (Sorghum halapense) for hay, stock-raising will be more profitable than cotton. Georgia has taken thellead in introducing Bermuda grass. In the central part of the State it is found in every county, and is steadily growing in favor. The report of the State board of agriculture for 1881 says: The hay crop of Georgia has been unusually fine in 1881. The clovers and cul- tivated grasses made heavy crops before the summer’s drought commenced. Large harvests of Bermuda hay were realized in some of the counties of Middle Georgia, where this valuable grass is being more highly appreciated every year. It makes a hay inferior to none, with the advantage of being permanent when once well set. Quite a number of farmers now realize a better income from lands set in Bermuda than they did from the same when in cotton. Another correspondent says: Bermuda, beyond all doubt, is the best grass for pasture, but for hay we need other grasses, and T am satisfied that Johnson grass is the one tor that purpose. These two grasses have the power to make this section a great stock country. Such expressions as this frequently occur in the reports: ¢ Bermuda is the best, but the farmers are afraid of it.” Mr. F. Seip, of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, says: Of all the usual cultivated grasses none can compare in general usefulness to the Bermuda. It is invaluable as a pasture grass for all kinds of stock, furnishing, through nearly the entire year, and even in winter, under some circumstances, an extraordinary amount of food. For hay purposes it cannot be: surpassed. Under. favorable circumstances it will yield more to the acre than any other known grass, with the exception possibly of lucern (Medicago sativa) and Johnson grass, the latter being too coarse to make superior hay. Again Mr. Seip says of Bermuda : It can only be recommended for permanent pastures or meadows, as it ic very diffi- cult to eradicate, but still it is practicable to remove it. The best methed, I think, is summer plowing repeated frequently, followed by oats in the fall and winter, and after the oat crop by a heavy crop of pease. If this is well done there will be no trouble in making a crop of corn or cotton the following year. Colonel Lane, in ¢ Forage Plants of the South,” says, in reference to destroying Bermuda : Upon ordinary upland I have found no difficulty in destroying it by close cultiva- tion in cotton for two years. It requires a few extra plowings to get the sod thor- oughly broken to pieces. The breaking should be done with a small plow first and a harrow run over it once or twice in winter or early spring. Take advantage of the dry hot monthsof summer to have the grass that may be found alive plowed and hoed, and exposed as much as possible to the sun. In ordinary seasons so much of the grass will be killed the first year that but little interference with the next crop need be apprehended. \ 28 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Bermuda is essentially a Southern summer-pasture grass, and as such possesses superior qualities. It will thrive upon poor soil and stand the heat and drought of smmnmer. It is nutritious, and is eaten by all kinds of stock. It is permanent when once well set, provided it is pas- tured ;: otherwise, the broom sedge and other grasses will run it out. It requires tramping to flourish. The objections it encountered during the first years of its introduction have gradually given way, as the farmers have seen more of it and have become better acquainted with its nature and habits. To make hay it requires a rich soil—a soil rich enough to produce good crops of timothy and the more valuable grasses. It is an ameliorating crop. A field kept in Bermuda a few years will be- come so enriched that should it be wanted for cultivation the increased crops will more than pay for the extra labor and expense required the first year on account of the sod. Often in the reports a request is made for a grass that will do well on their exbausted lands and yield some return while they are being re- cuperated. Lands naturally fertile, but depleted by cropping, if not ¢ turned out in commons,” can be recuperated by proper management through the agency of ameliorating crops, the particular ones to be used varying with the different conditions of location, nature of soil, &e., and cannot be entered into minutely here, but which the intelligent cultivator will soon learn to determine. Immediate and constant returns, as some ask for, should not be ex- pected from a soil already exhausted. But in ashort time, by generous treatment, they can be brought to a condition to once more reward the toiler for his labor, and will prove in the end to be much more econom- ical than to ‘turn the fields out” and wait thirty or forty years for the slow process of natural recuperation, expending meantime ones ener- gies in clearing and bringing into cultivation new tracts, to be in turn abandoned and ¢ turned out.” Some ask for a grass that will do well upon a soil naturally poor or barren. Such a soil will not yield anything without fertilizing except a few worthless weeds or some of the coarser plants. Good grasses will not grow on land that will not produce medium crops of grain. By using fertilizers and turning under green crops the productiveness can be increased so as to give fair returns, and then by suitable rotation the land can be continuously improved. EXPERIMENTS. In nearly one-half of the counties, according to the reports, no ex- periments introducing new grasses have been made, while in many of the other counties they have been made only on a small scale, and were too often abandoned as failures before they had been fully tested. Fail- ures frequently result from not fully understanding the nature and re- THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 29 quirements of the grasses, especially during the early stages of their growth. Mr. J. J. Barclay, of Wheeler, Ala., says: I have experimented on my place with most of the cultivated grasses, and find they do well if protected from the tramping and depredations of stock for one season. * * * Tam confident of their success and feel that their introduction into this portion of the South will be of incalculable benefit to the country and people, and especially attractive to the immigrant, whose first question is, ‘‘ Do grasses grow in your State ?” Another says that orchard grass, tall meadow oat grass, and Johnson grass will do well if properly attended to and the ground suitably pre- pared. Mr. Hawkins says that his experiments show that any of the grasses will do well upon rich loam, or on moist, stiff land, or on moist, sandy land. Mr. D. P. Hurley, of Pike County says: I.would add, on the important subject of grasses, that their cultivation is sadly neglected, not because the climate is hostile or the soil unadapted, nor because they caunot be successtully cultivated, but for the reason that diversified agriculture is practically disfavored. Mr. P. M. Morehouse sent from Texas a sample of Kentucky blue grass, grown on the open prairie, without shade or extra care after well set. It has withstood the heat and drought of summer for three years extremely well. Yet there are large tracts of country, often embracing counties, where a meadow of grass is not to be found. Mr. Hawkins says that he does not know of a meadow of cultivated grass in South- eastern Alabama. Similar statements come from Louisiana. This un- favorable condition has arisen from several influences which can only be referred to here. Among them may be mentioned the custom of exclusive cotton planting which has been so sedulously followed for so many years, leaving but little time for anything else; also the habit of “turning out” fields when depleted instead of recuperating them by ameliorating crops. Another is the reluctance and hesitation which persons naturally feel about changing old-established ways for untried methods, without the encouragement and aid of example to guide them in their new enter- prise. The want of seed has been quite an impediment to increased attention being given to the grass crops. The correspondents say that a liberal distribution of grass seed would relieve a deeply-felt need and do much toward determining the important question of extending grass. culture. Fifth inquiry. ¢ Please suggest any grasses that might be useful in your section.” ! The replies to this request were somewhat limited, and often rather suggestive than definite. There are but few to be added to those al- ready mentioned. But for convenience, all of the grasses recommended for trial will be given: here, together with such suggestions as the gen- 30 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. eral tenor of the reports and correspondence, and information obtained elsewhere, would seem to warrant. They recommend as follows: For Washington Territory and Oregon.—Italian rye grass, tall meadow oat grass, Kentucky blue grass, Texas mesquite, and Bermuda. For California.—Timothy, large red clover, the millets, orchard grass, Italian rye grass, white clover, Guinea grass (Panicum jumentorum) Bermuda, alfalfa, and Johnson grass. For Idaho and Montana.—All the grasses for bottom lands, and al- falfa for ¢ bench lands.” For Texas.—Alfalfa, Bermuda, timothy, the clovers, orchard grass, Johnson grass, and the millets in the order named. For Georgia.—Kentucky blue grass, orchard grass, herds grass (called red top in New England), timothy, the clovers, and alfalfa, in the order named. For Florida.—Bermuda, alfalfa, Guinea grass (Panicum jumentorum), orchard grass, Johnson grass, and clover. For Alabama.—Orchard grass, Kentucky blue grass, timothy, herds grass (red top), Johnson grass, alfalfa, and California clover. For Mississippi.—Orchard grass, herds grass (red top), the clovers, Kentucky blue grass, and the millets. For Louwisiana.—Kentucky blue grass, orchard grass, Bermuda, tim- othy, herds grass (red top), the clovers, and alfalfa. The above are the principal forage plants enumerated for trial. It will be observed that in some instances instead of suggesting new grasses for trial those are named which have already been so fully tried that there is no question about their success. It appears from the reports and correspondence that the principal need of Washington Territory and Oregon is a pasture grass for the dry hills in place of the nearly extinct bunch grass; some are desirous that Bermuda and Texas mesquite be tried. The latter has already been reported as successful in several counties. There is some uncer- tainty concerning what grass is referred to, as several go under the name of mesquite. It is probable that some mean the Buchloe dactyloides, the buffalo grass of the plains, a valuable pasture grass and similar in habit to Bermuda. In Texas it is called mesquite. The suggestion of these correspondents appear worthy of attention. In Southern California some wish Bermuda to be tried for their pas- ture land which cannot be plowed, and where the bur-clover, &ec., is being tramped out. They also think that the Guinea grass (Panicum Jumentorum) might possibly succeed. The suggessions from Florida were from only a few counties ; "the general impression seems to be that crab grassand other native grasses are superior to the so-called cultivated ones. Some think that a grass will have to be obtained from Cuba or the tropics to be suited to the climatic conditions existing there.’ THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 31 DESCRIPTION OF GRASSES. PAspALUM, Linn. Flowers in narrow, mostly linear, spikes, of which there may be one, or several crowded at the summit of the stem, or they may be more or less numerous, and arranged along the general peduncle. The spike- lets are mostly obtuse and arranged in one or two rows on each side of the generally elevated crest or midrib of the flattened rhachis. The spikelets contain each one perfect lower inclosed within two outer mem- branaceous glumes; rarely one of the outer glumes muh reduced or wanting. The glume of the perfect flower, called the flowering glume, is more or less convex or rounded on the back, usually thick and indu- rated, and incloses the shorter palet, which is of similar texture with the three stamens and two distinct plumose styles. This genus has its range principally in the Southern States. They are mostly perennials, varying much in form and habit. Some are tall and erect, some decumbent or spreading, and otbers have the habit of sending out prostrate runners which take root at short intervals and thus spread and form dense patches. Several species may often be found in the same field. Professor Phares, of the Agricultural and Me- chanical College of Mississippi, says: They are all succulent, tender, nutritious, hardy, thrifty, and relished by all grass- eating animals. They fill the soil with a matting of roots and cover the surface densely with luxuriant foliage from early spring till autumnal frosts. PASPALUM LAEVE. (Smooth paspalum.) This species grows from 2 to 4 feet high. The stem and leaves are smooth or smoothish, the lower leaves long and firm, the upper ones shorter and distant. Near the top of the culm are three to five slender spreading spikes, each from 2 to 3 ‘inches long and 1 to 2 inches dis‘ant. There are a few longish hairs at the base of the spikes where they sepa- rate from the stem. The spikelets, or what becomes the seed, are oval, smooth, about one-tenth of an inch long, close together in two TOWS, which are wider than the narrow, slightly wavy rhachis. Professor Phares (above quoted) says he has a neighbor who has been feeding this grass for twenty-five years; and for many years has had a meadow of it from which without ever having seeded, he annually mows about 2 tons of hay per acre. It should be cut before the seeds get ripe enough to fall off. (Plate 1.) PASPALUM DILITATUM. (Hairy-flowered paspalum.) This species is quite similar to the preceding, but taller and stouter. The culms are from a thick perennial rootstock, erect, 3 to 5 feet high, smooth, and with three to five leaves from as many smooth, purplish joints. The leaves at the base of the culm are numerous, about a foot 32 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. long and one-third to one-half an inch wide. They are smooth on both sides and roughish on the margins. The raceme is from 5 to 8 inches long, composed of from five to ten somewhat spreading spikes, which are 3 inches or more in length, and 1 or 2 inches apart on the rather slender axis, the upper ones are gradually shorter, all with a few long hairs at the base. The spikelets are closely arranged in four rows, two on each side of the narrow and nearly straight axis, in alternate pairs. They are about one and a half lines long, ovate, acutely pointed, crowded and overlapping each other, compressed, and the margins clothed with silky hairs. The two outer or empty glumes are ovate, acute, five- nerved, nearly smooth, except the fringe of thin white hairs on the mar- gin. The flowering glume is thick and firm, and very delicately punc- tate under a magnifier. The palet fits inside the margin of the flower- ing glume and inclosing the stamens and styles. This species has been found in Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. It is also a South American species. It has been called Paspalum ovatum, but the name first given is the proper one. It was described in the Agricultural Report for 1880, and has since then been noticed and ex- perimented with by several persons. (Plate 2.) Several other species of the same general appearance and habit occur in the Southern States, among which may be named Paspalum lenti- Serum, P. Floridanum, and P. plicatulum. Quite recently another spe- cies has been brought to our notice by Mr. H. B. Richards, ot La Grange, Tex. It has been called Paspalum remotum, and Mr. Richards states that it roots at every joint and sends up shoots like a layered grape- vine; it remains green all winter, and it is almost impossible to destroy it by cultivation. Plowing spreads it, as every stem broken off takes root again. It can ouly be killed by digging out every particle and ex- posing it to the hot sun. All soils seem to be equally acceptable to it; it grows as well in the shade as in the sunshine. Drought does not seem to affect it. Stock like it both in winter and summer. A single seed or joint has been known to spread over an area of five or six feet in diameter in a single season, with a perfect mat of grass firmly rooted all over. It evidently will bear close pasturage and hard tramping. The difficulty of eradicating it will De an objection to it in the opinion of some, but where it is desirable to make a permanent pasture this fea- ture would seem to be an advantage. More extended observation and experiment with this grass is highly desirable. ! Another species of Paspalum, having the same creeping habit, has been observed in several of the Southern States. It is the Paspalum platycaule. It is a grass of lower growth and smaller size than the pre. ceding. Itoccursin all the Gulf States, as well asin the West Indies and in South America. Mr. Benjamin Brodnax, ot Morehouse Parish, Lou- isiana, has given a very full account of its habits in a Southern agricalt- ural paper. He says the mode of growth is flat to the ground, taking root at every joint and spreading in every direction. It effectually kills THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 out every other grass or weed, as it forms a thick sod and is evergreen. It looks like Bermuda grass and is equally prolific, but it possesses one trait that Bermuda grass does not, that is, it is easily got rid of. It is only necessary to plow shallow, turn the sod over, and in a week har- row and your grass is gone. All grazing animals eat it in preference to any other except Bermuda grass. . It grows on a great variety of soil, but thrives best in good soil. Some of the joints send up culms or stalks which are very fine and wiry, with a few slender seed-bearing spikes at : the summit. The runners extend out several feet, taking root at all the joints, which are usually only 1 or 2 inches apart. It grows too close to the ground and is too short for a good grass for hay, but for grazing it has many good properties. Like the preceding species, it should receive attention from farmers, with careful experiments. Paspalum setaceum is a species which is widely spread both in the Northern and Southern States. It grows usually 13 to 2 feet high in dry, sandy, or gravelly soil, some forms having smooth and others very heavy leaves. It seems to have very little practical value. (Plate 3.) DIGITARIA. This genus is usually considered as a section of the genus Panicum, but it will be most convenient here to retain the old name. It serves to connect Paspalum and Panicum, and in the structure of the flowers dif- fers from Paspalum very little except in commonly having an additional empty glume to the spikelets. This glume in sometimes very small and occasionally absent. The flowers or spikelets are arranged like those of Paspalum on one side of a narrow flattened axis or spike, and there are several spikes crowded together at or near the summit of the culm. DIGITARIA SANGUINALE (Panicum sanguinale). Crab grass. This is an annual grass, which, although a native of the Old World, has become spread over most parts of this country, and, indeed, over most tropical countries of the globe. It occurs in-cultivated and waste grounds, and grows very rapidly during the hot summer months. The culms usually rise to the height of 2 or 3 feet, and at the summit have from three to six slender flower spikes, which are from 4 to 6 inches long. The culms are bent at the lower joints, where they frequently take root. ‘This grass is well known to farmers and planters in the South under the name of crab grass. Professor Killebrew, Tennessee, says: : It is a fine pasture grass, although it has but few base leaves and forms no sward, yet it sends out numerous stems or branches at the base. It serves a most useful purpose in stock husbandry. It fills all our corn-fields, and many persons pull it out, which is a tedious process. It makes a sweet hay, and horses are exceedingly fond of it, leaving the best hay to eat it. Professor Phares, Mississippi, says that the corn and cotton fields are often so overrun with it that the hay which might be secured would 2218 GR—3 34 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. be more valuable than the original crop. It is some times mowed from between the rows, some times cut across the ridges with the corn. Any good piece of ground that has had this grass matured on it the preceding year may be plowed and harrowed smoothly and then rolled in May, and it will soon be covered with a rich growth. If the season is favorable two mowings should be made. Digitaria villosa is a very similar species of the Southern States, with a perennial, creeping rootstock, the stem decumbent and bent below at the hairy joints. The leaves with their sheaths are very hairy. The external glume of the flower is scarcely one-fourth as large as the up- per ones. It probably is frequently confounded with the preceding, and has the same qualities. (Plate 4.) PaxicuMm. (Panic grass.) The botanical character of this genus are as follows: Flowers in spikes, racemes, or panicles. The spikelets consist of one perfect flower (the upper or terminal one in the spikelet), and usually a second male or rudimentary one below it. Outer empty glumes two, one of which is smaller than the other, often very small, rarely absent. The glume of the perfect flower and its palet are usually of a coriaceous or leathery texture, and obtuse or obtusish. The grasses belonging to this genus are extremely numerous, and of widely different general appearance. We have about fifty native species, most of which have little practical value except as adding more or less to the wild forage of our woods and fields. But some species, both native and foreign, are of the highest agricultural value. We shall notice a few of those which seem best adapted to cultivation in this country. PANICUM JUMENTORUM. (Guinea grass.) A large, vigorous, perennial grass, attaining in good soil a height of from 6 to 10 feet, the leaves are 1 to 2 feet long, and frequently an inch or more wide, rough -on the edges, and with a few scattered hairs on the surface; the sheath is long and nearly smooth, except near the joints, which are soft-hairy. The panicle is from 1 to 13 feet long and diffusely branched, the upper branches single and 3 to 4 inches long, the lower ones two to five together and 6 to 10 inches long; the flowers are thinly scattered along the rather slender branches nearly the whole length on slender, rather short pedicels. The spikelets aie about 13 lines long, smooth and rather acutely pointed; the lowest glume is about one-third the length of the spikelet; the second glume is slightly longer than the perfect flower and five to seven nerves. The lower flower is staminate or male only, the glume and palet thin, the upper flower perfect, much thicker, and finely wrinkled transversely. This grass is a native of Africa, but has been introduced into many tropical countries, and in the West Indies is extensively cultivated for pasturage. It has been introduced in Florida, but is yet very little / THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 3D known in the Southern States. It has been confounded with the John- son grass, which is very different, and is botanically Sorghum halapense. It (the Panicum jumentorum) seldom matures seed in this country and may be propagated by dividing the roots or by obtaining the seed from foreign countries. The best time to set out the roots is in March and April. If so treated it is said that they will be ready for the first mow- ing by the last of May, and that with favorable weather mowing may be repeated about every six weeks until frost occurs. The roots are tender and easily killed by frost, and should therefore be protected by mulching during the winter. It is too tender to be cultivated except in the very warmest portions of our country. An analysis made at the Department of Agriculture in 1878 shows it to be very rich in nutritive materials. (Plate 5.) PANICUM BARBINODE. (Para grass P.molle Swz. in Annual Report, 1883.) This is quite similar in general appearance to the preceding, but has smaller leaves, and a shorter, less spreading panicle, with shorter, more densely-flowered branches. The spikelets are closer together and very short-pediceled, the lowest glume is about one-fourth as long as the spikelet. Itis said to be a native of Africa. It has been introduced into South America, and in Brazil is largely cultivated for pasturage, and is said to be unequaled for the quantity and quality of the feed which it produces. Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, Ala., states that it has been some years introduced in that vicinity, and that it is extremely pro- ductive and valuable. It has also been introduced in Florida. (Plate 6.) PANICUM MILIACEUM. (Millet grass.) This annual species grows 2 to 3 feet high, with a large, open nod- ding panicle of flowers. The stem is thick and branching above, the nodes or joints swollen, the leaves, and especially the sheaths, are soft hairy. The leaves are numerous and about 6 inches long. The flowers and seeds are at the ends of the slender pedicils, and when ripe become yellow in color. It is a native of Asia, where it has been cultivated for ages, and in many parts is an important article in the food supply of the natives. It is algo cultivated in Egypt, Turkey, and Southern Europe. It has been cultivated to a limited extent in this country for forage, and will thrive and ripen in the Northern as well as the Southern States. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: : Millet is one of tlie best crops we have for cutting and feeding green for soiling purposes, since its yield is large, its luxuriant leaves juicy and tender, and much rel- ished by milch cows and other stock. The seed is rich in nutritive qualities, but it is very seldom ground or used for flour, though it is said to exceed all other kinds of meal or flour in nutritive elements. An acre well cultivated will yield from 60 to 70 bushels of seed. Cut in the blossom, as it should be for feeding to cattle, the seed is compar- atively valueless. If allowed to ripen its seed, the stalk is no more nutritious, proba- bly, than oat straw. > 36 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Of the native species of Panicum we will notice a few : Panicum TEXANUM. (Texas millet.) This grass is a native of Texas, and was first described and named by Prof. S. B. Buckley in 1866. It is an annual, growing from 2 to 4 feet high, at first erect, then becoming decumbent and widely spread- ing, sparingly branched, very leafy, the sheaths and leaves soft hairy, the margin of the leaves rough, the blade of the leaf 6 to 8 inches long, and one-half to 1 inch wide, the upper leaves reaching to the base of the panicle, or nearly so; the panicle is 6 to 8 inches long, strict or close, the branches alternate, erect, simple, 3 to 4 inches long, with some- what scattered sessile spikelets. The branches of the panicle are rough, the pedicels with scattered hairs, especially near the flowers; the spike- lets are oblong, somewhat pointed, 2 to 24 lines long, sparsely hairy; the lower glume is half or two-thirds the length of the upper one, acute, five-nerved, the lateral nerves uniting with. the mid-nerve below the apex, the upper empty glume prominently five to seven nerved, pointed; the flowering glume of the sterile flower is five to seven nerved, its palet thin and transparent, as long as the glume, the perfect flower ovate or oblong-ovate, acutish, transversely wrinkled with fine reticu- lated lines. It is a grass of rapid, vigorous growth, many stalks proceeding from the same root, growing very close and thick at the base, succulent, and yielding a large amount of forage. Mr. Pryor Lea, of Goliad, Tex., has had it in cultivation a HT of years, and states as follows : I consider it far superior to.any grass that I ever saw for hay. It is a much more certain crop than millet, and cultivated with less labor, and all kinds of stock pre- fer it. In this region it is regarded, in the condition of well-cured hay, as more nu- tritious than any other grass. It grows only in cultivated ground; it prospers best in the warmest season of the year; its luxurious growth subdues other grasses and some weeds, with the result of leaving the ground in an ameliorated condition. Mr. H. W. Ravenel, of Aiken, S. C., says he has been cultivating Panicum Texanum for several Years. It is hardy and naturalized there, freely seeding and propagating itself, coming up in his grounds with other grasses, and much larger and better than any of them for hay and forage. ee The experiments of Professor Phares and others, in Mississippi, sub- stantially confirm the statements of Mr. Lea, although it is said that it will hardly hold its own against the commou crab grass (Digitaria sanguinale). It has been called concho grass in some parts; in others Colorado bottom grass. It is stated that on the Colorado bottoms, in Texas, many of the farmers have devoted their farms entirely to its production, finding it more profitable than corn or cotton. It is cut twice and sometimes three times in a year, yielding about one and a half tons per acre at each cutting. (Plate 7.) THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 37 PANICUM PROLIFERUM. This species has a wide range of growth, being found in the North- ern and Western as well as the Southern States, growing late in the season, generally in low waste grounds. The stems are flattened, erect- ish, or decumbent, spreading and rooting at the lower joints. It is a useful grass as helping out the supply of wild fodder, but does not pre- sent particular promise for cultivation. But in the Southern States, from South Carolina westward, there occurs a variety of this grass, called Panicum proliferum, var. geniculatum, or sprouting crab grass. It is an annual, growing in low moist ground. The stems are at first erect, then becoming decumbent and spreading, frequently attaining a length of 6 or 7 feet, bent and rooting at the lower joints. It has much the same habit as the Panicum texanum, but the stems are more flat- tened and smoother ; the leaves are smoother and longer. The stems are sometimes nearly an inch thick at the base and very succulent. The leaves are sometimes 2 feet long and half to three-fourths of an inch wide. The lower joints give out numerous branches, which de- velop flowering panicles that are partly inclosed in the large leaf- sheaths. The main stem is also terminated by a diffuse panicle some- times 2 feet long. Large specimens have a handsome appearance. The spikelets are pale green, rarely purplish, about one line long. The neutral flower is a little longer than the perfect one, the lower empty glume broad and short, the upper acute and strongly seven-nerved. Mr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, says of it: : In damp grassy places it prefers rich ground throughout the coast region. It com- mences to vegetate vigorously in the hottest part of the summer, throwing out nu- merous shoots from the joints, forming large-branched bushes. The foliage is rich and tender, and the succulent, thick stems are sweet and juicy. After cutting, it throws out numerous sprouts from the lower joints, which grow rapidly, so as to al- low repeated cuttings until frost. It is through all stages of its growth much relished by horses and cattle. (Plate 8.) PANICUM AGROSTOIDES. (Red-top Panicum.) This is a perennial grass, commonly growing in large clumps in wet meadows or on the muddy margins of lakes and rivers. It grows 4 to 6 feet high, is erect ip habit, and develops its.reddish panicles from several of the joints as well as at the apex. The stem is somewhat flat- tened and very smooth, as are the sheaths; the leaves are 1 to 2 feet long, about halt an inch wide, and somewhat rough on the margins and midrib. The terminal panicle is 6 to 12 inches long, at firs§ somewhat close, but becoming quite open and diffuse. The lateral panicles are shorter and partly inclosed by the sheath at the base. The branches of the panicle are mostly 1 or 2 inches long, and rather densely flowered nearly to the base. The spikelets are a little more than a line long, on very short pedicels, mostly racemose on one side of the branches, oblong, acute, the lower empty glume ovate, acute, half as long as the 38 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. upper one, which is rather long-pointed and five-nerved; the lower or sterile flower is a little shorter than the longer glume and a little shorter than the perfect flower, which is oblong, obtuse, and under a lens shows a few beards at the apex. This grass produces a large amount of foli- age which makes fair hay if cut before flowering time; if left later it contains too many wiry stalks. It may be utilized as a hay crop in low grounds, but it is doubtful if it can be made productive on dry, tillable land. (Plate 9.) : PANicuM ANCEPS. (Two-edged Panic grass.) A perennial grass, when well developed resembling the preceding, but of a smaller, lighter growth, generally found in moist clay soil. It has a flattish erect stem, 2 to 3 feet high, with smooth leaves a foot or more Jong, of a bluish-green color, and mostly near the base of the stem. The rhizoma, or root-stock, is thick, scaly, and creeping near the surface of the ground. The panicle is 6 to 12 inches long, with short branches near the top, the lateral branches 3 to 6 inches long, rather distant, erect or somewhat spreading. Usually there are also several smaller lateral panicles from the upper joints of the culm. The spikelets are about a line and a half long, a little longer than those of Panicum agrostoides, oblong, lanceolate, a little curved, and sessile, or on very short pedicels. The lower empty glume is broadly ovate, and about half as long as the five to seven nerved upper one. The lower glume of the sterile flower is as long as the upper empty glume and much like it in texture, while the palet is thin, obtuse, and much shorter. The perfect flower is one-third shorter than the upper empty glume, oblong; the flowering glume and its palet, as in most species of Panicum, is thick and hard in texture. This cannot be considered a valuable grass, but it frequently occurs in neglected and poor land in sufficient quantity to afford considerable grazing for stock. It makes its growth late in the season, usually reaching the flowering stage in August. Dr. Mohr, of Mobile, remarks that it is not much relished by stock, being rather harsh and dry. Professor Phares says it forms strongly-rooted spreading clumps, often completely carpeting the ground with very pretty, glossy, light-green foliage. (Plate 10.) PANICUM CRUS-GALLI. (Barn-yard grass.) This is an annual grass, with thick, stout, erect, or procumbent culms, usually 2 to 4 feet high, and branching at the base. The leaves are long, sometimes 1 to 14 feet, and half an inch to an inch wide, rough onthe margins, the sheaths sometimes hairy, sometimes smooth, and the lower ones much thickened at the base. The panicle, like the entire plant, is variable in size, sometimes 3 inches, sometimes a foot or more long, lanceo- late in outline, and composed of a number of alternate, mostly simple, rough branches, or frequently the branches are glomerate and much THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 39 subdivided. The panicle is, in different varieties, narrow and with few short, simple branches, or large and dense with long and spreading branches. The glumes are also variable, being sometimes awnless and sometimes provided with long, rough awns or beards. These variable features have been indicated by special names, as variety mutica, the form without beards; var. hispida, a form with rough, hairy-leaf sheaths ; variety echinata, a form with long, rough awns to the glumes. The spikelets are densely crowded on the spikes or branches of the panicle. The glumes are usually more or less rough, with oppressed, stiff hairs, the outer empty one very broad, with a very short point one-third as long as the pointed upper one, the glume of the sterile flower still longer and frequently having a long, strong awn sometimes an inch or more in length. ‘The perfect flower is ovate, smooth, pointed, and contains a large flattened orbicular seed. This grass is found in almost all parts of the world. It is frequently found in barn-yards, and hence the com- mon name. , In the Northern States it is esteemed as a rough, coarse weed ; in the South it is often utilized and considered a very useful grass. Dr. Charles Mohe, of Mobile, says of it: An annual, 2 to 3 feet high, bearing its roughly-awned flowers in dense, one-sided panicles, composed of numerous crowded spikes; it grows luxuriantly, particularly in the lowlands of the coast; is greedily eaten by horses and cattle, and makes a hay of good quality. Itis justly regarded as am excellent grass, particularly before it ripens its seed, as in the latter stages of its growth the long and stiff awns of its spikes tend to make it somewhat unpalatable. : Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says : In Louisiana, Mississippi, and some other States it is mowed annually. Some farmers assure me that they harvest four or five tons of hay per acre. It may be cut twice each season by making the first mowing as soon as it begins to bloom. I know no one who plants it; but it annually reseeds the ground and requires no cultivation or other care, save protection from live stock and the labor of harvesting. Being a coarse grass, with long leaves and large succulent stems, it requires care to cure well, In one county in Mississippi hundreds of acres are annually mowed on single farms. Cows and horses are very fond of it, whether green or dry. Farmers who have tested it most thoroughly for many years prefer it to the best corn fodder. (Plate 11.) PANICUM VIRGATUM L. (Tall Panic grass; Switch grass.) A tall perennial grass, 3 to 5 feet high, growing mostly in clumps in moist or even in dry sandy soil, very common on the sea-coast, and also in the interior to the base of the Rocky Mountains. The culms are erect, firm, and unbranched; leaves 1 to 2 feet long, flat, rough-mar- gined, otherwise smooth, one-third to one-half inch wide. The panicle is large and diffuse, rather pyramidal, from 6 inches to 2 feet long, the branches angular, rather verticillate, the lower in fives or more, decreas- ing above, flowering mostly near the extremities. The lower branches are frequently half as long as the panicle and much subdivided. The 40) THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. spikelets are usually short-stalked, variable in size, but usually about two lines long, ovate, sharp-pointed, commonly purplish. The lower empty glume is from halt to two-thirds as long as the upper, both are pointed, sometimes long pointed ; the lower glume is three nerved, the upper one five to seven:nerved; the lower flower is male, nearly as long as the upper glume, its glume five to seven-nerved and acute, its palet one-quarter shorter, thin, two-nerved. The perfect flower is shorter than the lower one, smooth, oblong, and obtuse. This is a good and prolific grass if cut when young; when ripe it becomes harsh and unpalatable. It forms a constituent of the native grasses of the prai- ries, particularly in moist localities. (Plate 12.) PANICUM DIVARICATUM. (Cane-like Panicum.) A tropical and subtropical species found in our country only in Flor- ida and the Gulf States near the coast. It is a shrubby plant, the culms being woody and persistent, like the small kind of cane. Only the leaves and young shoots are eaten by cattle. The larger stems are of the size of a goose-quill. It is smooth and decumbent, with short, spreading branches. The leaves are lanceolate, 2 to 3 inches long by four to five lines wide, gradually pointed. The panicles terminate the branches, are 2 to 4 inches long, with comparatively short divergent branches and few flowers. The spikelets are obovate, tumid, about ‘two lines long, smooth. In the districts where it grows this grass may be utilized, as an analysis of its composition gives a very good result. (Plate 13.) PANICUM GIBBUM. A perennial species, growing in swamps and low wet ground in the Southern States, from North Carolina to Florida and to Texas. The stem is decumbent, branching, and rooting at the lower joints. The panicle is 3 to 5 inches long, and narrow from the erect, appressed branches. The spikelets are oblong or lance oblong, rather obtuse, al- though narrowed above. The lower glume is small, about one-fourth as long as the upper one, which is strongly eleven-nerved, swollen at ‘the base, and twice as long as the smooth, fertile lower. The leaves are smooth or rarely somewhat hairy, half an inch broad and 6 to 8 inches long. The whole plant is of a deep green color. The flowers drop off soon after flowering. This grass, if it occurs in abundance, would be of considerable value, as it furnishes a good deal of nutri- tious matter. (Plate 14.) PANICUM OBTUSUM. (Obtuse-flowered Panicum.) A perennial species of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It has a strong, running root-stock, which at intervals sends up flowering culms, which are about 13 to 2 feet high, very smooth, pale green, with nu- merous smooth, narrow, erect, stiff, long-pointed leaves, and a narrow linear panicle, 3 to 4 inches long, composed of about half a dozen THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 41 short, alternate, sessile branches, the lowest about an inch in length, the upper very short, and all densely crowded with the sessile flowers. The two outer glumes are of nearly equal length, or the lower one rather the longer, which is different from the ordinary rule of the ge- nus. They are obtuse, five to seven-nerved, and fully as long as the male or sterile flower, which is also obtuse. The perfect Hower is of equal length with the sterile one, very smooth, shining, delicately stri- ate longitudinally, and obtusish. Leafy runners, 2 to 3 feet long, are sent out form the base, which at intervals form thickened woolly knots or nodes which eventually take root. This grass will evidently have great endurance of drought, and is deserving of trial with reference to its agricultural value. PANICUM CAPILLARE. (Old Witch grass; Hair-stalked Panic grass.) An annual grass varying in height from 6 inches to 2 feet, often branching at the base. It has a large terminal panicle, which, when mature, is very diffuse, with long capillary branches. The leaves and sheaths are usually covered with long spreading hairs. It is very com- mon in cultivated grounds, making its growth late in the summer, and , after maturity the tops break off and are blown about and accumulate in quantities in fence corners. There is a smoothish form growing in Texas and the Western Territories. The grass is generally rejected by cattle, especially the very hairy forms. It is one of the most worthless kinds. (Plate 15.) : There are many other species of Panicum which- have some value as wild forage where they prevail, but they are generally scanty in foliage, thin in habit of growth, or otherwise unsuitable for cultivation. SETARIA. The structure of the flowers in this genus is the same as in Panicum, of which genus it is by some botanists considered only a section. It is characterized as follows. The spikelets collected into a cylindrical or elongated spike-like, or sometimes interrupted, panicle. Below the ar- ticulation of the spikelets are several (or one) bristles or stiff hairs, which are supposed to be abortive branchlets, and which are persistent after the fall of the spikelets. SETARIA ITALICA. (Hungarian grass, Italian Millet, German Millet.) This grass is supposed to be a native of the East Indies, but it has been extensively introduced into most civilized countries. It has long been cultivated as a fodder grass both in Europe and in this country. It is an annual grass of strong rank growth, the culms erect, 2 to 3 feet high, with numerous long and broad leaves, and a terminal, spike-like, nodding panicle, 4 to 6 inches long, and often an inch or more in diam- eter. The panicle is composed of a great number of small closely- crowded branches, each ot which consists of a small group of several 42 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. clusters of spikelets, at the base of each of which there springs two or three bristles, sometimes short and sometimes so long as to give the head a very bristly appearance. The bristles are roughened or barbed by numerous teeth-like processes on the margin, pointing towards the apex. The spikelets are about 1 line long; the lower glume is about one-third as long as the upper one, which, with the glume of the sterile flower, is 6btusish and about the length of the perfect lower. There is a great difference in the different varieties and forms of this grass, so much so that some of them have been considered different species, but the general opinion of botanists is that they are all varying forms of the same species, dependent upon the character of the soil, thickness of seeding, moisture or dryness, and time of sowing. It owes its value as a fodder plant to the abundance of its foliage and to the large quantity of seed produced. In some instances objection has been made to this grass on account of the bristles which surround the seed, and which have been said to penetrate the stomachs of cattle so as to cause inflam- ation and death. But it is plain that this opinion is not generally held, as the cultivation of the grass is widely extended and everywhere recommended. For forage it should be cut as soon as it blooms, when of courseait is worth nothing for seed, but is most valuable for forage and exhausts the land much less. If left for the seed to mature they are very abundant and rich feed, but the stems are worth- less while the soil is more damaged. The matured stems are very hard, indigestible and injurious, and the ripe seeds will founder more promptly than corn, and some- times produce diabetes if mouldly and too freely used. If cut at the right stage the whole plant is a safe and very valuable forage. On good soil if the ground be moist it will be ready for mowing in sixty days from seeding and produce from two to four tons of hay per acre. It is folly to sow it on poor land.—Professor PHARES. (Plate 16.) SETARIA SETOSA. (Bristle grass, Fox tail.) A native species growing in New Mexico, Texas, and southward into Mexico and South America. It grows about 2 feet high. The stem and leaves are smooth except a fine hairy ring at the joints. Theleaves are 6 to 10 inches long, narrow, and gradually tapering to a long point. There is a tuft of short white hairs at the top of the leaf sheath. The panicle is 4 to 6 inches long, erect or slightly nodding at the top, nar- rowly eylindrical with very short sessile branches, usually somewhat interrupted below, sometimes the lower branches are longer and the panicle looser. 1t has much the appearance of the other species which we called Pigeon grass. The axis of the panicle is scabrous. The lower glume is broadly ovate, more than half as long as the upper, clasping the base of the spikelet, three-nerved, acute, the margins scarious and minutely pubescent ; the upper glumeisalsobroadly ovate, short-pointed, five-nerved, about as long as the perfect spikelet; the glumes of the sterile flower are much like the upper empty glumes and also five-nerved ; its palet is about two-thirds as long as the glume, and much narrower ; THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 43 the perfect flower is oblong, very finely striate and dotted. The bristles are variable in length, about one to each spikelet, usually three to four times as long as the spikelet. We know little as to the agricultural value of this species; as it is found in the arid districts it is deserving the attention of farmers of that section. (Plate 17.) SETARIA GLANCA. (Pigeon grass, Bottle grass.) A native of most tropical and many temperate climates, and has been introduced into most cultivated fields, springing up or growing after the cutting of wheat and early grain, and making its growth in the latter part of the season. It is generaly an annual, but southward it assumes a perennial form. It grows about 2 feet high, with leaves 6 to 9 inches long, one-fourth to one-third of an inch wide, and generally smooth. The panicle is terminal, cylindrical, 2 to 3 inches long, and about one-third of an inch wide, dense and spikelike from the numerous, approximated short branches or clusters of flowers. These clusters consist of from one to three spikelets, having at the base of each a cluster of from six to ten bristles, which are two to four lines long, and finely barbed up- wardly. When mature they assume a tawny yellow color. The spike- lets are a little over a line long, oblong ; both the outer glumes are short and broad, the lower one third and the upper two-thirds as long as the flower; the glume of the male or lower flower is broadly ovate, obtusish and five-nerved, its palet is of equal length and two-nerved ; the perfect flower is oblong, beautifully striated longitudinally, wrinkled and dotted transversely. This grass is often found with the next (8. Viridis), in stubble fields, and furnishes a considerable amount of fodder, which is as nutritious as Hungarian grass, but not as productive. The figure (Plate 18) does uot represent a sufficient quantity of bristles. SETARIA VIRIDIS. (Green Pigeon or Foxtail.) This species has the general habit and appearance of the preceding; it differs in the commonly looser, longer, and more tapering, less erect spike, in the smaller spikelets, shorter lower glume, less distinctly transversely wrinkled seed, and in fewer bristles, which are of a green- ish color. It grows in the same situations and commonly with the pre- ceding. The seeds of both kinds are eagerly sought for by birds and poultry, especially among the stubble after harvesting wheat. PENICILLARIA SPICATA. (African cane, Egyptian Millet, East India Miilet, Cat-tail, and Pearl Millet.) A tall, erect, thick stemmed grass. It grows to the height of 6 feet or more, and the stock is terminated by a compact, dense, cylindrical spike resembling the common cat-tail, frequently a foot long and an inch in thickness, which is studded with the small obovate sessile grains, sur- rounded at the base by an abundance of short, coarse hairs or bristles. 44 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. This millet has been more or less cultivated, especially in the Southern States, for many years. Jn rich ground it is said to yield an immense amount of forage, for which purpose it should be cut before it has ma- tured, and may be cut many times during the season. It is extensively cultivated in India and there forms an important article of food for the natives. SPARTINA. A genus of coarse, perennial grasses, growing mainly in marshy ground, from extensively-creeping, scaly root stocks. The leaves are long and tough and the sheaths smooth. The flowers are produced in racemed spikes, the spikes varying in size and arrangement in different species. The flowers are arranged in two ranks on one side of a trian- gular axis, being closely sessile and more or less imbricated. The spike- lets are one-flowered, much flattened laterally. The outer glumes are strongly compressed and keeled, acute or bristle-pointed, the keel mostly rough-hispid, the upper one longer and larger than the obtusish flower. . The flowering glume is strongly compressed and is shorter than the thin membranaceous palet. There are about five species in the United States. SPARTINA CYNOSUROIDES. (Fresh-water Cord grass, Fall Marsh grass.) This species has a wide range, from near the coast to the Missouri River. In the Western States it is very plentiful, often forming a large part of the grass of the sloughs and wet marshes of that region. Itis coarse and stout, growing from 3 to 5 feet high, with leaves 2 to 3 feet long. The top of the culm for about 1 foot is occupied by from five to ten flower spikes, which are from 13 to 3 inches long, and the spike- lets are very closely imbricated. The outer glumes are unequal, the lower one linear-lanceolate, the upper one lanceolate, with a long, stiff point. The flowering glume is about as long as the lower glume, the upper half of the stout keel strongly hispid. The palet is thin mem- branaceous, two-nerved, and longer than its glume. This grass is frequently cut for hay, but it is a very coarse, inferior article, unless cut when very young. It gives good feed very early in the spring, but becomes so coarse as soon to be rejected by the cattle when anything better is procurable. In the bottom lands of the Mis- sissippi it is abundant, and has to some extent been manufactured into paper. (Plate 19.) SPARTINA JUNCEA. (Marsh grass, Salt grass, Rush salt grass.) A slender, rigid grass, usually 1 to 2 feet high, from a creeping, scaly rhizoma ; leaves involute, rush-like, and rigid; panicle composed of three to five linear, alternate, shortly-peduncled, spreading spikes 1 to 2 inches long and an inch or more distant on the culm. The spikelets are crowded. The outer glumes are very unequal, acute, the upper one THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF.THE UNITED STATES. 45 linear-lanceolate, strongly compressed, and keeled, four or five lines long, the margins membranaceous, the middle thick, and the keel scabrous; the lower one is less than halt as long as the upper, narrow and thin. The flowering glume is about four lines long, lanceolate, obtuse, nem- branaceous, compressed, and with a thick midrib which is roughish near the apex; the palet is thin, as broad and somewhat longer than its glume. This grass forms a large portion of the salt marshes near the sea-coast. It makes an inferior hay, called salt-hay, which is worth about half as much per ton as timothy and red-top. (Plate 20.) TRIPSACUM DACTYLOIDES. ((rama-grass, sesame-grass.) A tall, perennial grass, found both North and South, with solid culms from thick creeping rhizomes, broad and flat leaves, and with flower spikes 4 to 8 inches long produced from the side joints and from the top, either singly or two or three together. The upper portion of these spikes is staminate or male, and the lower portion pistillate and pro- ducing the seeds. The upper or male portion of the spikes drops off after flowering. The fertile portion is much thickened, somewhat flat- tened and angled, and the fertile flowers and seeds are deeply embedded in it. This part of the spike at maturity easily breaks up into short joints. The staminate flowers are three to four lines long, sessile, and in twos at each joint of the axis. Each spikelet is two flowered, the outer glumes are somewhat thick and coriaceous, oblong, the lower one obscurely many-nerved, the upper one of thinner texture, boat-shaped, five-nerved and scarious-margined; the flowering glumes and palets are equal in length to the outer glumes, very thin and membranaceous, awnless; the anthers open by two pores at the apex. The pistillate spikelets are single at each joint; also two-flowered ; the outer empty glume is ovate, cartilaginous thickened, the inner glume much thinner, and pointed. One of the flowers is neutral, the other fertile, the flow- ering glumes and palets very thin and scarious. The stigmas are long, purple, and feathered. Mr. Howard, in the Manual of Grasses for the South, says: This is a native of the South, from the mountains to the coast. The seed stem was up to the height of 5 to 7 feet. The seeds break off from the stem as if from a joint, a single seed at a time. The leaves resemble those of corn. When cut before the seed stems shoot up they make a coarse but nutritious hay. It may be cut three or four times during the season. The quantity of forage which can be made from it is enormous. Both cattle and horses are fond of the hay. The roots are almost as large and strong as cane roots. It would require a team of four to six oxen to plow it up. It can, however, be easily killed by close grazing, and the mass of dead roots would certainly enrich the land. As the seeds of this grass vegetate with uncertainty, it is usually propagated by setting out slips of the roots about 2 feet apart each way. On rich land the tussocks will soon meet. In theabsence of the finer hay grasses this will be found an abundant and excellent substitute. The hay made from it is very like corn fodder, is quite equal to it in value, and may be saved at a tithe of the ex- pense. This account is concurred in by other writers. (Plate 21.) | 46 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. EUCHL®ENA LUXURIANS. (Teosinte, Guatemala grass.) This grass is a native of Mexico and Central America, but has been introduced into cultivation in various parts of the world, and recently in the Southern States. It is closely related to Indian corn (zea mays). It has the male flowers in a tassel at the top of the stalk. The fertile flowers are from the lateral joints, not like maize, on a thickened axis, but on a very slender stem, and inclosed in a loose external husk. Prof. Asa Gray writes in the American Agriculturist for August, 1880, respecting this plant, as follows: The director of the botanic garden and government plantations at Adelaide, South Australia, reports favorably of this strong-growing corn-like forage plant, that the prevailing dryness did not injure the plants, which preserved their healthy green, while the blades of other grasses suffered materially. The habit of throwing out voung shoots is remarkable, sixty or eighty rising to a height of 5 or 6 feet. Further north, at Palmerston (nearer the equator), in the course of five or six months the plant reached the height of 12 to 14 feet, and the stems on one plant numbered fifty- six. The plants, after mowing down, grew again several feet in a few days. The cattle delight in it in a fresh state, also when dry. Undoubtedly there is not a more prolific forage plant known : but as it is essentially tropical in its habits, this luxu- riant growth is found in tropical or subtropical climates. The chief drawback to its culture with us will be that the ripening of the seed crop will be problematical, as early frosts will kill the plant. To make the Teosinte a most useful plant in Texas and along our whole southwestern border, the one thing needful is to develop early- flowering varieties, so as to get seed before frost. And this could be done without doubt if some one in Texas or Florida would set about it. What it has taken ages to do in the case of Indian corn, in an unconscious way, might be mainly done in a human life-time by rightly-directed care and vigorous selection. ZEA MAYS. (Indian corn.) This plant is too well known to need more than a botanical descrip. tion. The staminate or male flowers are produced at the apex of the stalk in a large, branched panicle, a foot or more in length. The branches of the panicle are rather slender, 8 to 10 inches long, with a few shorter subbranches near the base. They are flower-bearing through their entire length. The flowers are in small clusters of two to four spikelets at each joint of the flattened axis, on very short, slender pedicels, or some of them almost sessile, the different clusters somewhat overlapping each other. The spikelets are each four to five lines long and two-flowered. The outer glumes are membranaceous, lanceolate, and acute or acumi- nate, sparsely hairy, five to nine nerved, and delicately purple striped. The flowering glumes and palets are nearly es long as the outer glumes, lance oblong, alike in texture, very thin membranaceous, the glume three-nerved, the palet two-nerved, both delicately fringed on the mar- _ gins near the apex with soft white hairs. Stamens, three in each flower. The female or pistillate flowers are produced from lateral joints of the stem on a hard, thickened, cylindrical spike or axis, called the cob, in longitudinal rows (usually eight to sixteen). The spikelets are closely sessile and packed in the rows. The structure of the spikelets is some- THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 47 what obscure. The glumes and palets are reduced to a few scales at the base of the large grain, and are usually unnoticed. At the apex of each grain is produced a long thread-like style, varying from a few inches to a foot long. The entire axis, or ear of corn as 1t is called, is enwrapped by a number of leaf-like bracts, commonly called the husks. The long thread-like styles extend beyond and protrude from the point of this envelope, where they may be fertilized by the pollen falling upon them from the male flowers in the terminal panicle. There is a variety of maize in which each kernel or grain of the corn is enveloped by a husk of three or four pieces three-fourths of an inch to 1 inch long. [It is supposable that these are the normal envelopes, which in other varieties have become abortive. Z1ZANTA AQUATICA. (Wild rice, Indian rice, Water oats.) This grass is botanically related to the common commercial rice (Oryza sativa), but is very different in general appearance. Itis widely diffused over North America, and is found in Eastern Siberia and Japan. It grows on the muddy banks of rivers and lakes, both near the sea and far inland, sometimes in water 10 feet or more deep, forming patches or meadows covering many acres or extending for miles. Its ordinary growth is from 5 to 10 feet high, with a thick spongy stem and abun- dant long and broad leaves. The panicle is pyramidal in shape, 1 to 2 feet long, and widely branching below. The upper branches are rather appressed and contain the fertile flowers, and the lower branches con- tain only staminate ones. The spikelets are one-flowered, each with one pair of external husks or scales, which are by some botanists called glumes, and by others called palets. These husks or glumes in the fertile flower are nearly or quite an inch long, with an awn or beard as long or twice as long. The grain inclosed between them is half an inch long, slender, and cylindrical. The glumes of the staminate flowers are about half an inch long and without awns, each flower containing six stamens. These flowers fall off soon after they expand. The fertile flowers also drop very readily as soon as the grain is ripened. The grass abounds in the small lakes otf Minnesota and the Northwest, and is there gathered by the Indians for food. The husk is removed by scorching with fire. It is a very palatable and nutritious grain. Some attempts have been made to cultivate the grass, but the readiness of the seed fo drop must interfere with a successful result. Near the sea-coast multi- tudes of reed birds resort to the marshes where it grows and fatten upon the grain. The culms are sweet and nutritious, and cattle are said to be very fond of the grass. (Plate 22.) LEERSIA. A genus of rough-leaved grasses growing for the most part in marshy or moist ground throughout nearly all parts of the United States. There are about five species, two of which are contined to the Southern 48 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. States; the others, at least two of them, are very common, though rarely occurring in great quantity. They are sometimes cut for hay. They cannot be recommended for culture, but may be utilized wherever they grow spontaneously. The flowers grow in spreading panicles. The spikelets are sessile, on short one-sided branches or spikes. The spike- lets are one-flowered, possessing but two scales, which may be called glumes or palets, which are strongly compressed, without awns, bristly ciliate ort the keels, the lower one broader and inclosing the seed. Stamens, one to six; stigmas, two; grain flattened. The two common species are: 1. LEERSIA ORYZOIDES. (White grass, Cut grass, False rice.) This is a handsome grass, the culms decumbent. It is commonly called rice grass, from its strong resemblance to common rice. The leaves are pale green, frequently a foot or more long, prominently veined below, very rough on the margins and on the sheaths. The panicle is about 1 foot long, diffusely branched, the branches mostly in twos, and an inch or two distant. The spikelets are very flat, about two lines long, nearly sessile, and mostly toward the ends of the long branches. The glumes are unequal, the lower one much the broader; the palets are wanting. The leaves are so rough on the margins as readily to cut the hand if roughly drawn through it. 2. LEERSIA VIRGINICA. (Small-flowered White grass.) In this species the panicle is much smaller and narrower, and the branches appressed. The spikelets are smaller, the glumes narrower and smoother, and there are but two stamens. The leaves are narrower and smoother than in the first. HILARIA JAMESIL This grass was formerly called Pleuraphis Jamesii. It is a native of the arid regions extending from Mexico to Colorado, growing in clumps from strong, scaly runners or rhizomas. The base of the culm is usu- ally covered with the dried leaves of the preceding year. The culms are from 1 to 14 feet high, with a few short, rigid, light green, or bluish green leaves, which are more or less involute. Each culm is terminated by a simple, loose spike, 1 or 2 inches long, with alternate clusters of sessile spikelets. These clusters are quite complex in structure, each one containing three spikelets, one central and two lateral. The centra] spikelet consists of a single fertile flower, and the lateral spikelets each of two male flowers. The lower glume in each lateral spikelet is awned about the middle. The two outer glumes of the central spikelet are bifid or two lobed, strongly nerved, and with the nerves extended into awns reaching beyond the apex of the glume We do not know to what extent this grass prevails, nor what may be its agricultural value. (Plate 23.) THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF. THE UNITED STATES. 49 ANDROPOGON. There are numerous species of this genus. They are perennial grasses, mostly tall, and with tough, wiry stems. Some of them occur in nearly all parts of the country from New England to Florida and west to Ari- zona. They are most abundant, however, in the Southern States, where they have been employed for permanent pastures. When they occur in quantity they can be utilized, but to be of value they should be kept from sending up their strong stews as these are universally rejected by cattle and horses. They are not to be recommended for cultivation, but their place should as soon as possible be supplanted by more vala- able grasses. ; We will mention the more common kinds : 1. ANDROPOGON VIRGINICUS. (Broom grass, Broom sedge.) This species has an extended range on the eastern part of this conti- nent, growing in a great variety of soils and situations, but mostly on dry hills, abandoned fields, or stony woods and pastures. The culms are from 2 to 4 feet high, and very leafy; the leaves two-ranked at the base, smooth except a few long hairs on the margins and at the throat of the sheath. The panicle is long, narrow, and leafy, 1 to 2 feet long, composed of numerous lateral branches from the upper joints. These branches are several times subdivided and partly inclosed in the long-leat sheath, each ultimate sheath or bract inclosing usually a pair of loose, slender flower spikes. These spikes are about 1 inch long, comprising ten or twelve joints, each joint giving rise to one sessile fer- tile spikelet, and a hairy pedicel longer than the fertile flower, at the summit of which there is the vestige of a flower, or a mere bristle-like point. The fertile spikelets are one-flowered and consist of two outer thickish glumes and two thin transparent inner ones, one of which has a slender awn three or four times its own length; the upper one is by some considered as a palet, and is not awned. (Plate 24.) 2. ANDROPOGON SCOPARIUS. (Wood grass, Broom grass.) This grass usually grows from 2 to 3 feet high, the flowering spikes coming out in small elusters from many of the side joints on slender, graceful peduncles. The spikes have a small bract near the base, and consist of a slender axis, with from six to ten alternate joints. At each joint there is one sessile, fertile spikelet, and a flatttened hairy pedicel or stalk nearly as long as the fertile spikelet, and at its apex a rudi- mentary flower, consisting of a single awned glume. The fertile spikelet has two outer, empty, narrowly lanceolate glumes, about four lines long. The flowering glume is very thin, and furnished with a twisted awn twice as long as the flower. The palet is also very thin and shorter than its glume. Mr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, says of this grass: One of our most common grasses, covering old fields and fence-rows, and extensively growing in the dry sandy soil of the pine woods. Much despised as it is as a trouble- 2218 GR 4 50 THE AGRICULTURAL -GRASSES OB THE UNITED STATES. some, unsightly weed, it has its good qualities, which entitle it to a more charitable consideration. In the dry pine woods it contributes, while green and tender, a large share to the snstenance of stock. (Piate 25.) 3. ANDROPOGON MACROURUS. (Heavy topped Broom grass.) This species is frequent on low sandy ground near the coast, from New Jersey to Florida and thence westward to Texas. It has a stout culm 2 to 3 or even 4 or 5 feet high, bushy branched at the summit, loaded with numerous flower-spikes, which form thick leafy clusters. The spikelets have the same general structure as the preceding. The fertile lower has a capillary awn three or four times as long as its glume, and the sterile flower, which is usually present in the genus, is reduced to a mere point at the apex of th e slender plumose pedicel. (Plate 26.) 4. ANDROPOGON FURCATUS. (Finger-spiked Broom grass, Blue Stem.) This is the tallest of our species. It grows erect to the height of 5 or 6 feet, in rocky or hilly ground, or at the West it is abundant on the native prairies, where it is frequently called blue stem. The leaves are long and frequently somewhat hairy on the sheaths and margins. The spikes are in small clusters of three to six, terminating the stalk, and also several clusters from the side branches. The spikes are usually 2 to 3 inches long, rather rigid, and contain ten to twenty points each. At each joint there is one sessile, perfect flower, and one stalked one, which is male only, otherwise it is nearly like the fertile one. The outer glumes are about 4 lines long, the upper ones tipped with a short stiff awn. The flowering glume of the perfect flower is twisted and about one-half inch long. This species, as above stated, is abundant on the prairies of the West, where it is one of the principal hay grasses of the country, and is exten- sively cut and cured for winter use. (Plate 27.) CHRYSOPOGON NUTANS. (Indian grass, Wood grass.) This is a near relative of the Andropogons; is also related to the genus Sorghum, and is known in the botanical works as Sorghum nutans. It is a tall, perennial grass, having a wide range over all the country east of the Rocky Mountains. It grows rather sparsely and forms a thin bed of grass. The stalks are 3 to 4 feet high, smooth, hol- low, straight, and having at the top a narrow panicle of handsome straw- colored or brownish flowers, 6 to 12 inches long, which is gracefully drooping at the top. The spikelets are at the ends of the slender branches of the loose panicle, generally of a yellowish color. At the base of each spikelet are two (one on each side) short, feathery pedicels, the flowers which they are supposed to have been made to support have entirely disappeared. The outer glumes are about three lines long, both alike lanceolate, obtusish, coriaceous five to seven nerved, the lower one sparsely hairy, and with hairs at the base and on the stalk below. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 5] Within the outer glumes are two thin hyaline glumes, one nearly as long as the outer glumes, and a shorter one with a twisted and bent awn half an inch or more in length. The true palet is very minute or wanting. This grass when it occurs in quantity is frequently utilized for hay making, for which purpose it should be cut early. There are three other species occurring in the Southern and Southwestern States not of much value in an economic view. (Plate 28.) SORGHUM HALAPENSE. (Cuba grass, Johnson grass, Means grass, False Guinea grass, Evergreen millet, Arabian millet.) A tall perennial grass, with strong, thick, undergrowing root-stocks, and an abundance of long and wide leaves. Its stems attain a height of 5 or6 feet, with a large and spreading panicle. In botanical charac- ters it does not differ much from the preceding genus, except in habit and in the flower glumes becoming more hardened after flowering. The panicle when well developed is a foot or more in length, with the lower branches 5 or 6 inches long, and whorled, the upper ones, fewer and grad- ually shorter, becoming widely spreading, subdivided and flower-bear- ing to below the middle. The spikelets on the short branchlets are in pairs at each joint and in threes at the extremity. Of the pairs, one is sessile and perfect, the other is stalked and male only. Of those at the extremity, one is sessile and perfect, and two stalked and male only. The spikelets are about two lines long, ovate-lanceolate. The outer glumes of the fertile spikelets are acute, coriaceous, smooth, and shining, or with a few sparse hairs; the veins, (5 to 9) are obscure externally, but internally are plain and sometimes beautifully cross-veined. Within these thick outer glumes are two thin delicate leaflets, by some called palets, by others considered to be inner glumes, the shorter of which occasionally bears a twisted awn or beard half an inch long. The male spikelets are on stems or pedicels one line long. They are as long as the perfect flowers, but the outer glumes are much thinner, and they contain only three stamens. The flowers and seeds are similar to those of broom-corn, which belongs to the same genus. This grass has been often called Guinea grass, but that name prop- erly belongs to a quite different plant, Panicum jumentorum, of which see an account elsewhere. The underground root stocks are sometimes half an inch thick, very succulent, and are eagerly sought for and eaten by hogs. The grass spreads and is readily propagated from these root- stocks, every joint being capable of developing a new shoot. Mr. N. B., Moore, of Augusta, Ga., has cultivated this grass for over forty years, and prefers it to all others. He says it is perennial, as nutritious as any other, when once set is difficult to eradicate, will grow on ordinary land, and yields abundantly. My meadow consists of 100 acres of alluvial land; the grass should be cut when from 2 to 4 feet high; on such land as mine it will afford three or four cuttings if the season is propitious. . 52 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Many farmers and planters especially object to this grass because of the difficulty of eradicating it. But Mr. Hubert Post says it is not as hard to get rid of as many suppose. He says that one of hisneighbors, in 1878, broke up some 15 acres, which he has since successfully planted in cotton with no trouble from the grass. He also says that in this Johnson grass a kind Providence has given the South a mine of wealth, which could easily be made a foundation for wealth and prosperity such as the South has never seen. The history of the grass in this country is said to be as follows: Governor Means, of South Carolina, obtained some of the seed from Turkey as early as 1835. He planted it on his plantation, where it is stilled called Means grass. In 1840or 1845 William Johnson, of Alabama obtained some of the seed and sowed it upon his farm, whence it derived the name of Johnson grass. It is said to have been introduced into California from Australia, and has there been cultivated under the name of evergreen millet. It has been tried in Kansas with very promising results. A farmer there obtained some seed from his brother in Cali- fornia, who had cultivated it successfully on a very dry soil on an upland farm. This farmer finds it to be in Kansas perfectly hardy, rapid in growth, affording three cuttings in one season, and producing a heavy growth of after-math for tall grazing. Horses and cattle are fond of it both in its dry and green condition. Probably no grass gives better promise for the dry arid lands of the West. In Utah it has been culti- vated under the name of Arabian millet grass. (Plate 29.) SORGHUM VULGARE. (Sorghum sugar cane, Broom corn, Chinese sugar cane,{Guinea corn, Doura corn, Indian millet, Chocolate corn, Pampas rice, African millet, &c.) The above-named grasses are generally believed to be all varieties of Sorghum vulgare. Most of them are well known and cultivated for var- ious purposes other than for hay or forage. The Doura corn has been extensively cultivated in some of the arid western counties of Kansas, where the grain is used for feed for hogs and cattle and also as human food. The seeds of the other varieties are probably also valuable for feed for stock. The sugar corn has been extensively cultivated at the North and West, and has lately received an extraordinary impulse from the development of successful methods of manufacturing sugar from its’ juice. It is also frequently sown thickly for a forage crop, and in good seasons and with proper cultivation furnishes a very heavy yield. The botanical character may be briefly given as follows: Flowers in an ample terminal panicle, loose and spreading, or close and compact, erect or nodding. The flowers are on the small branches near their ex- tremities. If examined while young it will be observed that there are two kinds of flowers, one perfect and finally producing seeds, the others containing only stamens or empty. The male or sterile flowers are on THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 53 short stalks, one or two at the base of each perfect flower, which is ses- sile or without a stalk. At or near maturity the sterile flowers drop oft, leaving still remaining the short stem or stems on which they were borne. The perfect spikelet has two outer glumes, which are tough and leathery, and two thin transparent inner ones, one of which is two- lobed at the apex, and between the lobes extended into a short, rigid, bent and twisted awn or beard. Stamens, three; stigmas, plumose. The sterile spikelets are narrower, the outer glumes without the leathery text- ure, nerved longitudinally, the two inner ones thin and delicate, desti- tute of the awn and containing three stamens or empty. PHALARIS. This genus is defined as having spikelets with one perfect lower and one or two rudimentary flowers, or mere sterile pedicels, within the outer glumes and below the proper flower. The outer glumes are compressed and boat-shaped, acute, strongly keeled, becoming coriaceous or cartilaginous. The inner or true flower consists of two thin glumes, sometimes called palets, inclosing ‘the sta- mens and pistils. No proper palet present. PHALARIS ARUNDINACEA. (Reed canary grass.) A perennial, grass with strong creeping rhizomas, growing from 2 to 5 feet high, usually in low or wet ground. It ranges from New England and New York westward to Oregon, and northward to Canada, also in the mountainous parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia. It is common, also, in the north of Europe. The culm is stout, smooth, and leafy; the leaves are mostly from 6 to 10 inches long, and about half an inch wide, the upper ones shorter. The ligule is about two lines long, rounded or obtuse. The panicle is from 2 to 4 inches long, narrow and spike-like ; the branches short and crowded above, rather distant below, slightly spreading when in flower. The spikelets are three lines long; the outer glumes nearly equal, nearly smooth, boat-shaped, oblong-lanceolate, acute, three to five nerved, the keel scabrous and slightly thickened near the apex. The flowering glumes are one-third shorter, ovate, thick, somewhat hairy externally. The two sterile pedicels are about one-third as long as the flowering glumes and feathered. The stout stems bear five or six leaves, which are 6 to 8 inches long, and a quarter to a half inch wide, smoothish except on the edge, striate and pointed. The ligule is conspicuous, thin, and rounded. This grass is said to be extensively used for fodder in Sweden, and is liked by cattle. Mr. J. S. Gould says of it : . In the province of Scania it is mown twice a year. The peasantry there use it as a thatch for their cottages and hay stacks and find it is more durable than straw. It is very certain that cattle in our country do not relish it either as pasture or hay, and they will not touch it as long as they can get anything better. When cut very young, say when about 1 foot high, and used for soiling, cattle eat it better than any other way. H4 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. The well-known ribbon grass of the garden is a variety of this grass, and will, it is said, easily revert to the normal type. In mountainous regions it may be worth trial for meadows. (Plate 30.) PHALARIS INTERMEDIA. (Southern reed Canary grass, Gilbert's Relief grass, Stewart’s Canary grass, California Timothy grass.) This species resembles the foreign Canary grass (Phalaris Canarien- sis), which produces the seed commonly: sold as food for Canary birds. It is, however, a taller and more robust species, growing 2 to 3 feet high, with a stout, erect culm and broad linear leaves, which are from 4 to 10 inches long. The spike is oblong and compact, 1 or 2 inches long. There is a variety called var. angustata, in which the spike is 3 or 4 inches long. The spikelets are much like those of the preceding spe- cies (P. arundinacea), having one perfect tower and two abortive ones. The outer glumes in P. intermedia are lanceolate and nearly alike and have a narrow wing extending down the keel. The glumes of the fer- tile flower are nearly like those of P. arundinacea already deseribed. - This species grows in South Carolina and the Gulf States, extending to Texas, then stretching across to the Pacific coast and occurring through California and Oregon. It has frequently been sent to the Department from the Southern States as a valuable winter grass. Mr. Thomas W. Beaty, of Conway, S. C., writes as follows: The grass I send yon was planted last September, and the specimens were cut on the 9th of March (following). You will notice tbat it i$ beading out and is just now in a right condition for mowing. It is wholly a winter grass, dying down in the lat- ter part of April and first of May, and it seems to me should be a great thing for the South if properly introduced and cultivated, or rather the ground properly prepared and the seed sown at the right time. It would afford the best of green pasturage for sheep and cattle all winter. It is what we call Gilbert's relief grass. Many years ago Dr. Lincecum, of Texas, experimented with this grass and recommended it very highly. In California it is called California timothy, and is said to have little or no agricultural value. It is an an- nual or biennial. Professor Phares says: The variety angusiata is much larger and more valuable. It grows 2 to 3 feet high, and in swamps 5 feet, with many leaves 4 to 10 inches long, the spike some- what resembling the head of timothy ; stock like it well, especially as hay. Mr. D. Stewart, of Louisiana, having tested other grasses, prefers this for quantity and quality for winter and spring grazing, and for soiling for milk cows. There is much testimony from many parts of the South of the same import, and this grass isdoubtless worthy of extended, careful testing. ? (Plate 31.) ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM. (Sweet vernal grass.) A perennial grass, native of Europe, much employed as a part of mixed lawn grasses, and also frequently found in meadows. It grows thinly on the ground, with slender culms, seldom more than 1 foot to 18 inches in height, and scanty in foliage. The panicle is 2 to 3 inches long, narrow and close, but expands considerably during flowering time. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 55 The spikelets are clustered, three to four lines long, and with one per- fect flower. There are two pairs of empty glumes ; the outer pair is un- equal; the lower are about half as long as the second ; both are acute and keeled. Within these glumes is a second pair, about half as long as the first, thin, two-lobed, hairy, and with an awn or bristle on the back longer than the longest outer glume. These may be considered as abortive or defective flowers. Between these inner glumes is the fertile flower, consisting of another pair of glumes, inclosing the floral organs. These glumes are commoniy called palets; they are less than a line long, thin and transparent, the lower one broad and three-nerved, the upper narrow and one-nerved. There are two stamens and two styles. This grass is very fragrant and gives a pleasant odor to hay which contains it. Mr. J. Stanton Gould says: It is nowhere considered a very valuable variety for hay, as the culms are wide apart, very thin, and bear but few leaves; hence it gives a light crop of hay. (Plate 32.) HIEROCHLOA BOREALIS. (Vanilla or Seneca grass, Holy grass.) This is a perennial grass of northern latitudes, growing in moist meadows near the coast, also in low marshy ground in some parts of Illinois and other States bordering the Great Lakes, and in the mountains of Colorado and northward. The name Hierochloa means sacred grass, so called because it, with other sweet-scented grasses, was strewed before the church doors in the north of Europe. The culms grow from 1 to 2 feet high, with short lanceolate leaves, and an open pyramidal panicle from 2 to 5 inches long. The spikelets are three- flowered, the third or terminal one perfect, but with only two stamens; the two lower flowers of the spikelet are male only, cach with three stamens. The two outer glumes are thin and scarious, acutely keeled; the glumes of the male flowers are thicker, slightly pubescent, and fringed on the margins with soft brownish hairs, sometimes with a very short awn from the apex, and inclosing a narrow, bifid, two-keeled palet; the upper or perfect flower has a one-nerved glume in place of the usual palet. This grass is very sweet-scented and is often used to perfume drawers, &e. It grows commonly in the northern parts of Europe, as Norway, Sweden, and Russia. In our country it does not appear to be adapted to general cultivation. There are two other species native to this country. (Plate 33.) (1.) Hierochloa alpina growing on mountains at high altitudes, and (2) Hierochloa macrophylla, a largeleaved, robust species, growing in California, whose value for agricultural purposes is undetermined. ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS. (Meadow Fox tail.) This is a perennial grass, native of Europe, but has been introduced and is frequently found in meadows in the Eastern States. It has con- siderable resemblance to timothy, but will be readily distinguished by 56 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. an examination. It ordinarily grows about 2 feet high but frequently in good soil reaches 3 feet or more. The culms are erect, with four or five leaves at pretty uniform distances. The sheaths are long and rather loose, particularly on the upper one. The blade of the leaf is 3 or 4 in- ‘ches long, about one-quarter inch wide, at the base and tapering gradu- ally to a point. The panicle terminates the stalk and is a cylindrical spike 2 or 3 inches long, dense, soft, and with the awns of the flowers con- spicuously projecting. The spikelets are single-flowered, between two and three lines long. The outer glumes are strongly compressed, boat- shaped, keeled, nearly equal, sometimes slightly united together at the base, and have a line of soft, short hairs on the keels. These glumes closely inclose the flower, which is of nearly the same length, and consists of a flowering glume (formerly called the lower palet) and the floral or- gans, but without any true palet. This flowering glume is folded upon itself and incloses the stamens and styles. It gives rise on its back near the base to a fine awn, which extends two or three lines beyond the glumes. Mr. J. S. Gould says: It flourishes in May, nearly four weeks in advance of timothy, and is one of the earliest grasses to start in the spring. Pastures well covered with this grass will af- ford a full bite at least one week earlier than those which do not have it. It does not flourish in dry soils, but loves moist lands; no grass bears a hot sun better, and it is not injured by frequent mowings, on which account, as well as for its early verdure, it is valuable for lawns. There is a variety of this grass called A. alpestris, growing in the Rocky Mountains, which may possibly be utilized there. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: It is a valuable pasture grass 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 shoots up its flowering stalks so much earlier than timothy, that it need not be mistaken for that grass, though at first sight it considerably resembles it. It is superior to timothy as a permanent pasture grass, enduring the cropping of sheep and cattle Letter, and sending up a far more luxuriant aftermath. It is justly re- garded, therefore, as one of the most valnable of the native pasture grasses of England forming there a very considerable portion of the sward and enduring a great amount of forcing and irrigation. Though forming a close and permanent sod when fully set, it does not acquire its full perfection and hold of the soil until three or four years after being sown. (Plate 34.) ALOPECURUS GENICULATUS. (Water Fox tail.) This species, especially the variety aristulatus, is native to this coun- try. It is commonly found on the muddy bauks of streams and lakes, and sometimes is found in wet meadows and ditches. It seldom grows more than a foot in height; the stem is usually bent at the lower joints, and the sheaths of the leaves are more or less swollen, especially the upper one. It is of no value for cultivation, being only useful for the amount of grass it may contribute to the wild forage where it grows. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 57 ALOPECURUS ALPINUS. A species resembling the Alopecurus pratensis grows in alpine mead- ows in the Rocky Mountains. ARISTIDA. This is a genus of grasses of which many species are found in the United States, Mexico, and South America. They are principally an- nual grasses aud are of little value, unworthy of cultivation, but in some regions, particularly the arid Western plang they furnish a por- tion of the wild forage. ARISTIDA PURPURASCENS. (Beard grass, Three-awned grass.) This species grows in many of the States east of the Mississippi River, usually in poor, sandy, or clay soil, in thin woods or barren fields. It grows usually about 2 feet high, with a slender, smooth culm, narrow leaves, which are inclined to be involute when dry, and with a narrow, loose, spike-like panicle a foot or more long, which usually gracefully droops or bends. The branches are short, appressed, mostly single at the joints of the axis, and each having seldom more than two or three spikelets. The spikelets are single-lowered, the outer glumes are nar- rowly linear, four or five lines long, the lower one slightly the longer, both usnally sharply pointed. These glumes inclose the flower, which consists of a slender, almost cylindrical flowering glume about three lines long, having a short-pointed, hairy base, and a long, three-bearded apex. This glume enrolls the narrow, thin palet and the floral organs. The awns or beards are widely spreading, the middle one about an inch long, the two lateral ones somewhat shorter. (Plate 35.) ARISTIDA PURPUREA. (Western Beard grass. Purple Three-awned grass.) This species prevails extensively west of the Mississippi River, from British America to Mexico, and is abundant on the plains of Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas. It grows usually 1 to 14 feet high, with slender culms, branching at the base, and with short, involute leaves. It is an exceedingly variable species, or there are several distinct va- rieties. The panicle is 6 to S inches long, rather narrow, erect, or flex- uous. The spikelets are much like those of the preceding species, but usually bone and with longer awns or beards. [n some varieties these awns are 2 or 3 inches long, widely diverging, and purplish colored, the whole panicle having a gracetul and feathery appearance. Like the other species, this is an inferior grass, but furnishes a con- siderable amount of wild forage. (Plate 36.) ARISTIDA BROMOIDES. A small, apparently annual, grass, growing in New Mexico, ‘Arizona, and Southern California. It grows in tufts, the culms from 6 to 12 inches high, slender, erect, and generally unbranched. The spikelets are seven to eight lines long, including the awn. (Plate 37.) 58. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. StirA. (Feather grass, Beard grass.) A genus mostly of coarse, rigid grasses, chiefly Western, in structure and habit resembling the preceding genus. It differs in having the spikelets usually longer and the flowering glume having a single undi- vided awn or beard. STIPA VIRIDULA. (Bunch grass.) A perennial grass, culms 2 to 4 feet high, leafy ; the radical leaves 12 to 18 inches long, those of the stem 4 to 10 inches long, one to two lines wide, involute, and bristle-like at the point: sheaths lorg, smooth, the uppermost inclosing the base of the panicle; panicle very variable in size, from 6 inches to a foot or more, narrow and loose, variable in thick- ness, the branches mostly in twos or threes, erect and appressed, much subdivided ; spikelets, one-flowered on short pedicels; outer glumes four to six lines long, bristle-pointed, nearly equal, lanceolate, three to five nerved,.thin ; flowering glume three to four lines long, cylindrical, covered with short, scattered hairs, which are longer at the minutely two-toothed apex, which is terminated by a slender awn 1 to 14 inches long, once or twice bent, twisted and sparsely pubescent below, scabrous above. The palet is narrow and shorter than its glume, by which the floral organs and it are involved. Widely diffused over the Rocky Mountain region, extending to California, Oregon, and British Amer- ica, furnishing a considerable part of the wild forage of the region. (Plate 38.) STIPA SETIGERA. (Bear-grass, Bunch grass.) A perennial grass, growing in bunches on dry hills and plains from Oregon to Southern California and eastward to Arizona and Texas. The culms are 2 to 3 feet high, erect, somewhat pubescent at the joints, with about three leaves. The sheaths are long and somewhat scabrous, the upper one loose and inclosing the base of the panicle; the blade flat, two or three lines wide, 4 to 6 inches long, roughish and long.pointed ; the upper one nearly as long as the panicle, which is about 6 inches long, loose, the rays mostly in pairs, rather distant, slender, bearing near the extremity the few spikelets on short pedicels. Spikelets one- flowered, the outer glumes one-half to two-thirds of an inch long, the upper one rather shorter, narrow, acute, purplish and threenerved. The flowering glume is nearly cylyndrieal, four to five lines long, spar- ingly hairy above, with a short, stiff point at the base called a callus, and a hardened ring at the apex, to which is attached the slender, twisted awn, 2 to 3 inches long, the lower part of which is softly pubescent. Professor Brewer says this is the most common and most valuable “bunch grass?” of the hills of California. (Plate 3.) S11PA EMINENS. (Feather grass, Beard grass.) A very common species in California on dry hills, growing in rather small tufts with numerous short and narrow root-leaves. It is a per- THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 59 ennial, growing usually 2 to 3 feet high, with rather slender culms, and slightly hairy joints. The leaves are very narrow and convolute, rather rough and rigid, the lower ones about half the length of the culm. The panicle is rather nairow, but open and loose, usually about 6 inches long, at first sheathed by the upper leaf, but becoming exerted; the branches are slender, in pairs, and flower-bearing above the middle. The spikelets, as in the preceding, are single-flowered, tlie outer glumes about half an inch long, very narrow, three-nerved, and long, fine-pointed. The flowering glume is very similar to that of the preceding, rather shorter and smaller, with a ring of very short hairs at the apex, and with an awn about an inch long, which readily separates from its glume. (Plate 40.) Stipa spartea and Stipe comata are two species, also called bunch grasses, which prevail from British America southward, on the plains and in the mountain region, very similar in general appearance to the preceding, but usually with longer awns, sometimes 6 inches long. Mr. Robert Miller Christy, writes about these grasses in Manitoba, where they are common, that there is much complaint concerning them among stockmen on account of the injury they do to sheep by the pene- tration into their wool, and even into the flesh, of the sharp-pointed and barbed awns of the seeds. : Stipa avenacea is the only species prevailing in the Eastern and South- ern States. It is more slender than those previously mentioned, and grows sparsely in open woods or on rocky hills. It is of no agricultural importance. ; ERIOCOMA cUSPIDATA. (Bunch grass.) This grass has a wide distribution, not only on the Sierras of Cali- fornia, but northward to British America, and eastward through all the interior region of Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Nebraska to the Missouri River. It is a perennial, growing in dense tufts, whence its common name of bunch grass. The culms are 1 to 2 feet high, with about three narrow. convolute leaves, the upper one having a long, inflated sheath which incloses the base of the panicle. The radical leaves are narrow, rigid, and as long as or longer than the culm. The panicle is about 6 inches long, very loose, spreading, and flexuous. The branches are in pairs, slender, rather distant, and are subdivided mostly in pairs. The spikelets are at the ends of the capillary branches, each one flowered. The outer glumes are three to four lines long, inflated and widened below, gradually drawn to a sharp- pointed apex, thin and colorless except the three or five green nerves, and slightly hairy. The glumes inclose an ovate flower, which is cov- ered externally with a profusion of white, silky hairs, and tipped with a short awn, which falls off at maturity. This apparent flower is the flowering glume of a hard, coriaceous texture, and incloses a similar: hard, but not hairy, and smaller palet. (Plate 41.) 60 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. MiLivm EFFUSUM. (Wild millet.) A perennial, rather slender, grass. 4 or 5 feet high, growing in damp woods in the northern portions of the United States and in Canada. It is also found in Northern Europe and in Russian Asia. There are four to five joints to the culm, each provided with a leaf which is broad and flat, 6 to 12 inches long, and half an inch wide, smooth above and roughish below. The sheaths are long and smooth. The panicle is loose and spreading, 6 to 10 inches long, the slender branches mostly in fives, of unequal length, the longer ones 2 to 3 inches, and flowering near the extremities. The whorls are from 1 to 2 inches apart. The spikelets are single-flowered, consisting of a pair of thin, concave, smoothish, empty glumes, one to one and one-half lines long, rather exceeding the flowering glume, which is thick and hard, very smooth and shining, and inclosing the palet which is of similar texture. The flowers are in structure similar to those of Panicum, to which this grass is closely re- lated. Hou. J. S. Gould, in the Report of the New York State Agricultural Society, says respecting this grass: Mountain meadows and borders of streams and cold woods. It thrives when trans- planted to open and exposed situations. It isone of the most beautiful of the grasses ; the panicle is often a foot long, and the branches are so exceedingly delicate that the small glossy spikelets seem to be suspended in the air. Birds are very fond of the seed. Mr. Colman says that he has raised 3 tous to the acre of as good nutritious hay as could be grown from it, when sown in May. The plants multiply by the roots as well as by the seed, sending out horizontal shoots of considerable length, which roof. at the joint as they extend. (Plate 42.) MUHLENBERGIA. (Drop seed grass.) There are many species of this genus, mostly perennials. It is char- acterized as having small, one-flowered spikelets, generally in open pan- icles. The outer glumes are variable in size in different species, in some minute, in others nearly as large as the flowering glume, some- “times bristle-pointed, sometimes very blunt, and sometimes toothed at the apex. The flowering glume is longer than the outer glumes, with a short more or less hairy callus at the base, three to five nerved, thin- nish or rigid mucronate pointed, or commonly with a long capillary awn from the apex: the palet as long as the flowering awn and of sim- ilar textuore. MUHLENBERGIA DIFFUSA. (Nimble will, Drop seed, Wire grass.) This species is perennial, low with much-branched, decumbent stems and slender panicles of flowers. The outer glumes are very minute, so small as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye, transparent and obtuse ; the flowering glume little more than a line long, tipped with a fine awn “or beard once or twice its own length. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 61 Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, says: It is hardly more than necessary to mention this grass, which forms in many sec- tions the bulk of the pastures of the woods. It does not grow in fields, but in woods, where, after rains have set in, it carpets the earth with living green. Various opin- ions are entertained as to its nutritive qualities. Some farmers assert that their stock are fond of it, and that on sufficient range cattle, horses, and sheep will go into the winter sleek and fat from this vigorous grass. Others regard it as well nigh worth- less. ; According to the analysis of the chemist of this Department it has a very good amount of nutritive properties. It is considered by some that it is a good butter-producer and gives a good flavor to butter. In cultivation, no doubt, its place can be supplied with much more pro- ductive grasses. (Plate 43.) MUHLENBERGIA MEXICANA. (Wood grass.) A perennial grass of decumbent habit, 2 to 3 feet high, very much branched, from scaly creeping root-stocks. The culm has numerous short joints, which frequently are bent and rooting near the base, and sending out many long, slender, leafy lateral branches. From these branches and from the apex of the culm arise the flowering panicles, which are some- times partially included in the leat sheaths. The leaves are 3 to 4 inches long and two to three lines wide, gradually pointed. The pani- cles are narrow, usually 2 to 3 inches long, and composed of five to ten spike like branches, closely approximated or distant and interrupted below. The spikelets are single-flowered ; the outer glumes are ab- raptly sharp-pointed and nearly as long as the flowering glume, which is narrow, strongly three-nerved, and acute, with usually a few soft hairs at the base and on the nerves. The palet is of equal length with its glume, which is also acute, but not bristle-pointed. This grass is frequently found in moist woods and low meadows or in prairie bogs. It probably would not endure upland culture, but in its native situations it fills an important part among jpdigennus grasses. (Plate 44.) MUHLENBERGIA SYLVATICA. (Wood grass.) This species in habit and appearance is very much like Wit of the preceding. The panicle is looser, the spikelets not so densely clustered, and the flowering glume bears an awn two or three times as long as itself. The outer glumes are generally bristle-pointed, but they vary much in this respect, in some forms being only acute. It inhabits drier situations than the M. Mexican, being found in dry, open, or rocky woods and fence-corners. In agricultural value it corresponds with that species. (Plate 45.) MUHLENBERGIA GLOMERATA. (Spiked Muhlenbergia.) This grass grows in wet, Swampy grounds, chiefly in the northern and western portions of the United States. It is found in Colorado, 62 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. It grows to the heightof 2or3 feet, stiffly erect, and generally unbranched. The culm is hard, some- what compressed, and very leafy. The panicle is narrow, 2 to 4 inches long, composed of numerous close clusters of flowers, becoming looser below, forming an interrupted glomerate spike. The spikelets are closely sessile in the clusters. The outer glumes are linear-lanceolate, gradually tapering into an awn or bristle of equal length. The flower- ing glume is one-third to one-half shorter than the outer glumes and very acute. The root-stock is hard and knotty and furnished with nu- merous short, firm shoots or stolons. In the Eastern States it is util- ized as one of the native products of wet meadows in the making of what is called wild hay. Specimens have been sent from Colorado and Kansas and recommended as an excellent grass for hay. (Plate 46.) MUHLENBERGIA COMATA. (Wooly-eeded Muhlenbergia.) This species is closely related to the preceding. It grows throughout the Rocky Mountain region in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Ne- vada, and California, usually on the sandy or alluvial banks of streams. It grows in tufts from firm, creeping root-stocks. There is reason to think it may be a valuable grass for arid regions. The culms are erect, simple, 2 to 3 feet high, leafy below, the leaves 3 to 6 inches long and roughish, the upper one at first inclosing the base of the panicle, the joint slightly pubescent. The panicle is 2 to 4 inches long, narrow, and close, sometimes interrupted below, generally of a purplish lead color and of soft texture. The spikelets are nearly sessile, the outer glumes very narrow, acute, nearly equal, one-nerved, one and one-half to two lines long. The flowering glume is rather shorter, and surrounded at the base by a copious tuft of long, silky hairs. It is also terminated by a slender awn three or four times as long as the flower. The palet is slightly shorter than its glume and acute. (Plate 47.) MUHLENBERGIA GRACILIS. (Graceful Muhlenbergia.) A perennial grass growing in tufts or loose patches from a creeping root-stock, much branched at the base. The culms are erect, much branched, slender, and wiry, 1 to 14 feet high; the leaves mostly radi- cal, involute, and bristle-like, 2 to 6 inches long, scabrous on the edges. The panicle is erect or somewhat nodding, 3 to 6 inches long, narrow, very loose, the branches erect, rather distant, and mostly single. The spikelets are on short pedicels; the outer glumes unequal, the lower one ending abruptly in a slender point, the upper one three-nerved and three-toothed, the teeth usually prolonged into short awns; the flower- ing glume is somewhat cylindrical, taper-pointed, and with a straight awn about half an inch long; palet as long as its glume without the awn. hs This species, of which there are several varieties, inhabits the arid regions of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. It is too small to be of much econowic importance. (Plate 48.) THE AGRICULTURAL GRBASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 63 PHELUM PRATENSE. (Timothy, Herd’s grass.) This is one of the commonest and best-known grasses. For a hay crop it is, perhaps, the most valuable, especially in the Northern States. The heighth of the grass depends on the soil and cultivation. In poor ground it may be reduced to 1 foot, while in good soil and with good culture it readily attains 3 feet, and occasionally has been found twice that height. It is a perennial grass with fibrous roots. The base of the culm is sometimes thickened and inclined to be bulbous. The culm is erect and firm, with four or five leaves, which are erect and usually from 4 to 6 inches long. The flower spike varies trom 2 to 6 inches in length, is cylindrical and very densely flowered. The spikelets are sessile, single-flowered, and cylindrical or oblong in outline. The outer glumes are rather wedge-form, with a mucronate point or short bristle. The main nerve on the back is fringed with a few short hairs. The flowering glume is shorter than the outer ones and thinner, five-nerved, and toothed at the apex. The palet is thinner in texture and much narrower. This grass, as known in cultivation, is supposed to have been intro- duced from Europe, but it is undoubtedly indigenous in the mountain vegions of New England, New York, and the Rocky Mountains. It is said that about the year 1711 a Mr. Herd found this grass in a swamp in New Hampshire and cultivated it. From him it took the name of Herd’s grass. About the year 1720 it was brought to Maryland by Timothy Hanson and received the name of Timothy grass. It is now the favorite and prevailing meadow grass over a large part of the country. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: As a crop to cut for hay it is probably unsurpassed by any other grass now culti- vated. 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 percentage 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 custom on account of the dif- ferent times of blossoming of the two crops. It grows very readily and yields very large crops on favorable soils. It yields a large quantity of seed to the acre, vary- ing from 10 to 30 bushels on rich soils. (Plate 49.) SPOROBOLUS INDICUS. (Smut grass.) This grass is a native of India, but has spread over most tropical and warm climates. It occurs more or less abundantly in all the Southern States, and is called smut grass, from the fact that after flowering the heads become affected with a black smut. It grows in tufts or loose patches, is erect, from 14 to 3 feet high, with an abundance of long, flat, fine pointed leaves near the base, and a narrow, terminal panicle frequently a foot in length, composed of short, erect, sessile branches, which are very closely flowered. The spikelets are narrow, less than a 64 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. line long ; the outer glumes unequal, thin, and nerveless, the upper one about half as long as the flower, the lower one, still shorter, obtuse or truncate ; the flowering glume and palet are of nearly equal length, membranaceous, lead-coloied, smooth; the glume acute; the palet obtuse. Professor Phares says: It grows abundantly and Iuxnriously on many uncultivated fields and commons, and furnishes grazing from April till frost. It thrives under much grazing and many mowings, and grows promptly after each if the soil be moist enough. Cattle and horses are foud of it if frequently cut or grazed down, but if allowed to remain un- tonched long they will not eat it unless very hungry, as it becomes tough and unpal- atable and probably difficult to digest. Professor Killebrew also speaks favorably of it and recommends it for trial under cultivation. (Plate 50.) SPOROBOLUS CRYPTANDRUS. This species grows chiefly in sandy soil. It is stouter than the pre- ceding, growing in loose tufts; the culms frequently bent at the lower joints, then rising erect to the height of 2or 3 feet. Theleaves are mostly near the base, where thejointsof the calmsareshort; herethesheaths are short and the blades of the leaves 5 to 6 inches long ; the upper sheaths become longer and the blades shorter; the leaves are flat, but become involute in dry weather. The top of the sheath is fringed with fine soft hairs. The long and narrow panicle is for a long time completely inclosed in the very long sheath of the upper leaf, but finally emerges except the base and becomes more or less spreading. The full panicle is from 6 to 12 inches long, the branches mostly alternate or scattered, the lower ones about 1 inch apart and 2 inches long, the upper ones much closer and shorter, all flowering nearly to their bases with the spikelets short stalked and appressed. This species is very common in sandy fields in the Northern and Southern States, as well as over all the dry plains west of the Missis- sippi River, extending from British America to Mexico, where it fur- nishes a portion of the wild pasturage. It deserves observation and experiment as to its value. (Plate 51.) SPOROBOLUS HETEROLEPIS. This species grows in dense, firmly-rooted tufts, principally west of the Mississippi River, from British America to Texas. The culmsare 13 to 3 feet high, erect, smooth. The radical leaves are very long and nar- row ; those of the culm, 3 or 4, with long sheaths and blades, becoming involute when dry. The panicle is from 3 to 8 inches long, rather nar- row and loose ; the branches, two to three together, slender, and with few rather distant lowers. The spikelets are one-flowered, sessile or nearly sessile, on the slender branches; they are about two lines long, unequal, acutely long-pointed, the lower one a little shorter and the upper a little longer than the Hower. The flowering glumes and palet THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 65H are of about equal length and texture; the seed is perfectly round, smooth and shining, thick and coriaceous. A writer on the grasses of the Rocky Mountains and plains in the Agricultural Report for 1870 says: This species may be identified from its long, slender leaves, growing abundantly from the base of the plant, gracefully curving and frequently resting their tips on the ground ; from its tendency to grow branches or stools, and when in fruit, from its small panicle of sharp-pointed spikelets and its round seeds. These when bruised emit a strong, heavy oder, which has been compared to that of Eragrostis megastachya when crushed in the hands; but to most olfactories it is much less offensive, and to some not at all disagreeable. It attains to the average height of about 2} feet in fruit, but in dry seasons large tracts almost exclusively composed of this species are without a single fruiting plant. It is sometimes cultivated for hay, in the absence of the more productive species, and makes an article of fine quality. SPOROBOLUS AIROIDES. (Salt grass.) Culms arising from strong perennial creeping root-stalks, 2 to 3 feet high, thickened at the base and clothed with numerous long, rigid, gen- erally involute, long-pointed leaves, which are smooth and bearded in the throat of the sheath, panicle becoming exerted and diffuse, 6 to 12 inches long, 3 to 4 inches wide ; the branches capillary, scattered, mostly single, or in whorls below, the branches subdivided above the middle and rather sparsely flowered. : : The spikelets are one-flowered, purplish, on short slender pedicels. The outer glumes are unequal, thin, nerveless, or obscurely nerved, ob- long, the lower half as long as the upper, the upper one rather shorter than the flowering glume, which is about one line long, oblong, obtus- ish or minutely dentate at the apex; palet about equal to its glume ; bidentate. A common grass throughout the arid regions of the West, sometimes called salt grass, and affording considerable pasturage in some places. (Plate 52.) AGROSTIS. (Bent grass.) This genus has many species all characterized by having one-flowered spikelets; the outer glumes acute, one-nerved, and awnless, nearly equal, or the lower rather longer, and longer than the flowering glume, which is very thin, three to five nerved, awnless or awned on the back ; palet shorter than the flowering glume, frequently reduced to a small scale or absent. AGROSTIS VULGARIS. (Red top, Fine top, Herd’s grass of Pennsyl- vania Borden’s grass, Bent grass.) A perennial grass, growing 2 or 3 feet high from creeping root-stocks, which interlace so as to make a very firm sod ; the culms are upright, or sometimes decumbent at the base, smooth, round, rather slender, and clothed with four or five leaves, which are flat, narrow, and roughish, from 3 to 6 inches long, with smooth sheaths, and generally truncate 2218 GR D 66 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. ligules. The panicle is oblong in outline, 4 to 6 inches long, open, com- posed of eight or ten joints or whorls, the lower branches mostly in fives, slender, unequal, the longer ones much subdivided. The spike- lets are about a line long, varying from greenish to purple. The outer glumes are lanceolate and pointed, nearly alike in size, smooth, except the more or less roughened keel. The flowering glume is but little shorter than the outer ones, thin and delicate, and occasionally with a minute awn on the keel. The palet is narrow, and from half to three fourths as long as its glume, and inclosing the floral organs. There are several varieties of this grass, which are by some botanists considered a distinct species. Agrostis alba, the Fiorin grass of Ireland, and Agrostis stolonifera are usually considered synonymous, and are distinguished from A. vulgaris by having a closer, more verticillated panicle, and with longer and more acute ligules. Mr. J. G. Gould says of Agrostis vulgaris: This is a favorite grass in wet, swampy meadows, where its interlacing, thick roots consolidate the sward, making a firm matting which prevents the feet of cattle from poaching. It is generally considered a valuable grass in this country, though by no means the best one. Cattle eat hay made from it with a relish, especially when mixed with other grasses. As a pasture grass it is much valued by dairymen, and in their opinion the butter would suffer much by its removal. Professor Phares, of Louisiana, says respecting this grass: It grows well on hill tops and sides, in ditches, gullies, and marshes, but delights in moist bottom land. It is not injured by overflows, though somewhat prolonged. It furnishes considerable grazing during warm spells in winter, and in spring and summer an abundant supply of nutrition. Cut before maturing seed, it makes good hay and a large quantity. It seems to grow taller in the Southern States than it does farther north, and to make more and better hay and grazing. Mr. Flint says: It is a good permanent grass, standing our climate as well as any other, and con- sequently well suited to our pastures, in which it should be fed close ; for if allowed to grow up to seed the cattle refuse it; and this seems to show that it is not so much relished by stock as some of the other pasture grasses. (Plate 53.) AGROSTIS EXARATA. (Northern Red top, Mountain Red top.) This is chiefly a northern species, being found in Wisconsin and west- ward to the Rocky Mountains, also in British America, and California to Alaska. It is very variable in appearance, and presents several varieties. It is generally more slender in growth than the common red top. The panicle is usually longer, narrower, and looser. In all the forms the palet is wanting or is very minute. The form chiefly growing on the Pacific slope from California to Alaska is often more robust than the A. vulgaris, growing 2 to 3 feet high, with a stout, firm culm, clothed with three or four broadish leaves, 4 to 6 inches long. The panicle is 4 to 6 inches long, pale green, rather loose, but with erect branches. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 67 The outer glumes are of about equal length, accuminate, rough on the keel. The flowering glume is one-third shorter than the outer ones, rather acute, four-nerved, the nerves extended into short points or teeth, and rarely with a very short awn on the back. The palet if present is very minute, scarcely as long as the ovary. There is reason to believe that this grass can be made to supply the same valuable place on the Pacific coast that the A. vulgaris does at the East, but it requires investigation and experiment. (Plates 54 and 54a.) AGROSTIS MICROPIYLLA. This is a species belonging to the western coast and the adjacent mountains. It is apparently an annual or biennial, frequently with several culms springing from one root. The radical leaves are few and short. The culms are erect, stiff, 14 to 3 feet high, with four or five rough and rather rigid leaves 3 to 6 inches long, two or three lines wide, and gradually pointed. The sheaths are long and roughish. The pan- icle is 3 to 5 inches long, erect, spikelike, narrow, and densely flowered, sometimes interrupted below. The spikelets are densely crowded on the short, almost sessile, branches. The outer glumes are slightly un- equal, rather more than a line in length; awn pointed, narrowly lanceo- late, scabrous or hispid on the keel. The flowering glume is about half as long as the outer glumes, thin, acute, two-toothed at the summit, and on the back, about one-third below the apex, furnished with a slender awn three times its own length, which is readily seen projecting beyond the outer glumes. There is no proper palet or only a microscopic one. This grass deserves the attention of those who live in its habitat. It may prove a useful species. (Plate 55.) AGROSTIS CANINA. (Dog’s Bent Grass, Mountain Red top.) A grass usually of low size, 6 to 12 inches high, with slender culms. and a light, flexible, expanded panicle, growing in elevated regions or in high latitudes, and with a perplexing variety of forms. The radical leaves are numerous, but short and narrow. The culm has two or three fine short leaves, 1 or 2 inches long, the ligule acnte, short but con- spicuous. The panicle is pyramidal in form, 3 or 4 inches long, of few capillary branches, which are in pairs, horizontal in flower, more erect and close in fruit, dividing near the extremities into a few sparsely flow- ered branchlets. The spikelets are on short, fine pedicels; the outer glumes nearly equal, ovate and acute, one to one-half line long; the flowering glume is about a quarter shorter than the outer ones, thin, . smooth, obtuse, and bearing on the back, about the middle, a fine, straight awn about two lines long; the palet is so minute as to be hardly visible to the naked eye. There are several varieties of this grass growing in mountainous re- gions throughout the United States and in Europe. It forms a close sod, and affords considerable pasturage in those regions. (Plate 36.) 68 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. POLYPOGON MONSPELIENSIS. (Beard grass.) An annual grass frequent in California, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, and Utah, and sometimes found on the Atlantic coast. It is a native of Europe. The culms are from 6 inches to 2 feet high, rather stout, apt to be procumbent at the base, and often branching below. There are usually three or four leaves on the culm, which are broad, flat, 3 to 6 inches long, and somewhat rough; the sheaths are rather loose and striate, and the ligule long and obtuse. The panicle varies from 1 to 4 inches in length, contracted into a dense cylindrical spike, of a shining, yellowish-green color, the long awns or beards of the lowers being very conspicuous. The spikelets are one-flowered, about one line long. The outer glumes are nearly equal, one-nerved pubescent, notched at the apex, the midnerve extended into a slender awn or beard from two to four times as long as the glume. The flowering glume is about half as long as the outer ones, thin, toothed at the apex, and usually having a fine awn about one line long; the palet is smaller, thin, delicate, and without an awn. It is quite an ornamental grass, but of little agricult- ural value. (Plate 57.) CINNA ARUNDINACEA. (Wood Reed grass.) A perennial grass, with erect, simple culms from 3 to 6 feet high, with a creeping rhizoma; growing in swamps and moist, shaded woods in the northern or mountainous districts. The leaves are broadly linear-lan- ceolate, about 1 foot long, four to six lines wide, and with a conspicuous elongated ligule. The panicle is from 6 to 12 inches long, rather loose and open in the-flower, afterwards more close. The branches are four or five together below, about 2 inches long, above in twos or threes and shorter. The spikelets are one-flowered, much flattened, rather crowded on the branches, frequently purple colored. The glumes are linear-lan- ceolate, roughish, acute, and strongly keeled, mostly three-nerved, firm in texture, about two lines long, the lower rather the shorter. The flower is short-stalked within the glumes; the flowering glume is as long as the outer ones, and of the same texture, rather scabrous and three- nerved, and usually with a very short awn near the apex. The palet is rather shorter than its glume, thin and membranaceous, except on the green somewhat rough nerve. This is one of the very rare cases in which the true palet has only a simple nerve, probably, Mr. Bentham says, by the consolidation of two. There is but one stamen. This leafy-stemmed grass furnishes a large quantity of fodder, but experiments are wanting to determine its availability under cultiva- tion. (Plate 58.) There is another species, Cinna pendula, which is more slender, with a looser drooping panicle and more capillary branches, and with thinner glumes. It occurs in the same situations as the preceding, and is more common in the Rocky Mountains and Oregon. | THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 69 DEYEUXIA (CALAMAGROSTIS.) This genus is characterized by having one-flowered spikelets, with the addition at the base of the flowering glume of a small hairy appendage or pedicel, which is considered to be the rudiment of a second flower. In addition to this the flower is also generally surrounded at the base with a ring of soft hairs, and the flowering glume usually bears an awn on its back, which is generally bent and twisted. “Our species have been until recently included in the genus Calamagrostis, which is principally a very similar European genus. DEYEUXIA (CALAMAGROSTIS) CANADENSIS. (Blue Joint, Small Reed grass.) A stout, erect, tall perennial grass, growing chiefly in wet, boggy ground or in low, moist meadows. Its favorite situation is in cool, ele- vated regions. It prevails in all the northern portions of the United States, in the Rocky Mountains, and in British America. In those dis- tricts it is one of the best and most productive of the indigenous grasses. It varies much in luxuriance of foliage and size of panicle, according to the location. The culms are from 3 to 5 feet high, stout and hollow, hence in some places it is called the small reed-grass. The leaves are a foot or more long, flat, from a quarter to nearly half an inch wide, and roughish ; the stem and sheaths smooth. ; The panicle is oblong in outline, open, and somewhat spreading, es- pecially during flowering; it is from 4 to 6 or even 8 inches in length, and 2 or 3 inches in diameter, of a purplish color; the branches are mostly in fives at intervals of an inch or less. These branches vary in length from 1 to 3 inches, the long ones flowering only toward the ex- tremity. The spikelets are short-stalked, the outer glumes about one and one-half lines long, lanceolate and acute; the silky white hairs at the base of the flowering glume, are about as long as the glume; those “on the sterile pedicel also nearly as long. 'The flowering glume is thin and delicate, about as long as the outer glumes, and somewhat finely toothed at the apex, three to five nerved, and bearing on the back, be- low the middle, a delicate awn, reaching about to the point of the glume, and not much stouter than the hairs. The proper palet is thin, oblong, and about two-thirds the length of its glume. Mr. J. S. Gould says: It constitutes about one-third of the natural grasses on the Beaver Dam Meadows of the Adirondacks. It is certain that cattle relish it very much, both in its greem state and when made into hay, and it is equally certain that the farmers who have it on their farms believe it to be one of the best grasses of their meadows. (Plate 59.) ¥ DEYEUXIA SYLVATICA. (Bunch grass.) A coarse perennial grass, growing in large tufts, usually in sandy ground in the Rocky Mountains at various altitudes, also in California, 70 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. ‘Oregon, and British America. It furnishes an abundant coarse forage in the regions where it is found. The culms are from 1 to 2 feet high, erect, rigid, and leafy ; the radicle leaves are frequently as long as the culm, two or three lines wide, sometimes flat, but generally involute and rigid. The culm leaves are from 3 to 6 or 8 inches long, rigid and rough. The panicle is narrow and spike-like, 3 to 5 inches long, erect, rather dense, sometimes interrupted below, and varying from pale green to purple. The branches are mostly in fives, very short and rough. The spikelets are about a quarter of an inch long, on short, rough pedi- cels; the outer glumes are nearly equal, ovate-lanceolate, long and sharp pointed, the upper one three-nerved, the lower one-nerved. The flower- ing glume is about one-third shorter, of similar texture, three-nerved, four-toothed at the apex, and bearing on the back a twisted and bent awn longer than the glume. The hairs at the base are scanty and short, those of the rudiment about balf as long as the flower. The palet is about half as long as its glume, thin, two-nerved, and two toothed at the apex. (Plate 60.) DEYEUXIA HoweLLIL. (Howell’s grass.) Culms densely tufted, 1 to 2 feet high, erect or somewhat geniculate below, smooth ; radical leaves numerous, as long as the culm, firm, but not rigid, inclined to be involute, the ligule conspicuous. about one and one-half lines long, scarious; culm with three or four leaves which are 4 to 6 inches long, the upper one nearly equaling the culm. Panicle pyramidal, loose and spreading, 3 to 4 inches long, the branches mostly in fives, the lower ones 1 to 13 inches long, numerously flowered above the middle. Spikelets pale green or tinged with purple, outer glumes lanceolate, acute, two and one-half to three lines long, nearly equal, membranaceous, the upper three-nerved, the lower one-nerved ; flower- ing glume slightly shorter than the outer ones, lanceolate, acute, three to five nerved, the apex bifid, usually with four mucronate points, a conspicuous strong awn one-half inch long, inserted on the back about the lower third, a tuft of short hairs, and a hairy pedicel about half as long as the floret; palet nearly as long as its glume, thin, acute, and two-toothed at the apex. This grass has recently been discovered in Oregon by Mr. T. J. Howell, and also in Washington Territory by Mr. W. N. Suksdorf. From its habit of growth and the great abundance of foliage, it gives promise of being a valuable grass for cultivation. (Plate 61.) AMMOPHILA. This genus differs very little from Deyeuxia, but chiefly in the absence of the awn on the back of the flowering glume. AMMOPHILA ARUNDINACEA. (Sea-sand reed, Beach grass, Mat grass.) This is the Calamagrostis arenaria of the olden books. The entire plant is of a whitish or pale-green color. It grows on sandy beaches THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 71 of the Atlantic at least as far south as North Carolina, and on the shores of the Great Lakes, but has not so far been recorded from the Pacific coast. Italso grows on the sea-coast of the British Isles and ot Europe, It forms tufts of greater or less extent, ‘its long creeping roots ex- tending sometimes to the extent of 40 feet, and bearing tubers the size of a pea, interlaced with death-like tenacity of grasp, and form a net- work beneath the sand which resists the most vehement assaults of the ocean waves.” The culms are from 2 to 3 feet high, rigid and solid ; the leaves long, involute, smooth, rigid, and slender-pointed; the pan- icle dense, 6 to 10 inches long, close and spike-like ; the spikelets are about half an inch long, compressed, crowded on the very short branch- lets. The outer glumes are nearly equal, five to six lines long, com- pressed, lanceolate, chartaceous, smooth excepton the thin keel; the flow- ering glume is a little shorter, acute or slightly mucronate at the tip, obscurely five-nerved ; the palet about as long as its glume, two-keeled. The hairs at the base are rather scanty, and about one-third as long as the flowering glume ; tbe hairy pedicel is of about the same length. This grass has no agricultural value, but from time immemorial its util- ity in binding together the loose sands of the beach and restraining the inroads of the ocean has been recognized and provided for in some places by law. Mr. Flint, in his work on grasses, says that the town and harbor of Provincetown, once called Cape Cod, where the Pilgrims first landed, one of the largest and most important harbors in the United States, sufficient in depth for ships of largest size, and in extent to anchor three thousand vessels at once, owe their preservation to this grass. The usual way of propagating the grass is by transplanting the roots. The grass is pulled up by hand and “placed in a hole about a foot deep and the sand pressed around it by the foot. There are undoubtedly many places on the sea-coast where this grass would be of inestimable value in restraining the encroachment of the ocean. It would also be useful in forming a dense turf for the protection of dikes and banks subject to water-washing. AMMOPHILA LONGIFOLIA. This grass, formerly called Calamagrostis longifolia, has recently been transferred by Mr. Bentham to genus Ammophila. It grows on the sandy plains of the interior from British America to Arizona, and on the borders of the Great Lakes. It has strong running root-stalks,like the preceding, but is much taller, the culms being 3 to 6 feet high, stout and reed-like ; the leaves long, rigid, and becoming involute, with a long thread-like point. The panicle is quite variable, from 4 to 16 inches long, at first rather close, but becoming open and spreading, the branches in the smaller forms being 2 or 3 inches long, and in the larger ones often 10 or 12 inches and widely spreading. The outer glumes are lanceolate, unequal, smooth, and chartaceous, the upper one three to four lines long, the lower about one-fourth shorter. : 72 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. The flowering glume and palet are of equal length and similar texture with the longest outer glume ; the copious hairs at the base are more than half as long as the flower. There is no sterile pedicel or rudiment. This grass is too coarse to be of much agricultural value, but would be useful for the same purposes as the preceding. : DESCHAMPSIA. (Aira of the books.) This genus has two-flowered spikelets, the upper flower usually small- er than the lower, generally in a loose panicle with slender branches. The axis or stem connecting the two flowers is hairy, and is extended into a hairy pedicel which rarely bears an empty glume or rudiment of another flower. The outer glumes are keeled, rather thin, and with scarious margins; the flowering glumes have a fine awn on the back below the middle. : DESCHAMPSIA CZESPITOSA (aira cwspitose). (Hair grass.) This is an exceedingly variable species, having a very wide distribu- tion in this and other countries. It is somewhat rare east of the Mis- sissippi, but on the elevated plains and in the Rocky Mountains, also in California and Oregon, it is one of the common bunch grasses which afford pasturage to cattle and horses. In the East it is found in the hilly regions of New England and the Alleghanies. The culms form tussocks, are smooth, and grow from 2 to 4 feet high ; the root leaves are very numerous, generally flat, narrow, and from 6 inches to a foot long; those of the culm about 2, and from 1 to 3 inches long ; the ligule is conspicuous and pointed. The panicle is generally pyramidal, 4 to 6 or sometimes 10 inches long, the branches distant, 1 to 3 inches long ; capillary and spreading, the lower ones in fives, those above two or three together, or single, and are flower-bearing mostly above the middle. The spikelets are smooth, on slender pedicels, and are about two lines long. The empty glumes are membranaceous, purple, or yellowish, nearly equal, the upper one a little the longer and about as long as the flowers; the flowering glumes are oblong, toothed at the obtuse apex, thin, scarious margined and delicately nerved; from the back near the base proceeds a slender awn about as long as the glume. The palets are similar in texture, narrow, two-nerved and two-toothed at the apex. The panicle is very handsome, presenting a purple or glossy hue and a loose graceful appearance. We know very little as to the value of this grass. It may be found worthy of cultivation in the arid interior districts. (Plate 62.) : DESCHAMPSIA FLEXUOSA. (Wood hair grass.) A perennial grass, growing in tufts on rocky hills or in sandy woods. The culms are slender, 14 to 2 feet high, and smooth. The leaves are mostly from the root, very numerous, very narrow, involute, and 6 to THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 13 12 inches long. The panicle is rather looser, and with longer, more naked branches, and fewer flowers than the preceding species. The branches are two to three together at the joints; the spikelets are of about the same size, on longer pedicels, the awn of the flowering glume about half longer, becoming bent and twisted. Sheep are fond of this grass, and where they have access to it, gnaw it close to the ground. It affords, however, but a small amount of feed, and is undeserving of cultivation. : DESCHAMPSIA DANTHONIOIDES. (Aira danthonioides.) A slender annual grass, common in Oregon and California, growing in moist meadows, where, according to Mr. Bolander, it often forms a large portion of the herbage. : From its slender culms and small leaves it cannot furnish a large bulk of hay. The culms vary trom 3 inches to a foot or 2 in height, some- times bent and branching at the base. The leaves are 1 or 2 inches long and very narrow; the upper sheaths are very long. The panicle is loose, very slender, erect, usually 2 to 5 inches long, the lower branches in twos or threes, the upper ones in pairs or solitary, distant, appressed, branching from below the middle, and two-flowered. The spikelets are on slender pedicels. The outer glumes are about three lines long, lanceolate, gradually sharp-pointed, three-nerved, and slightly roughed on the keel. The two flowers are together, shorter than the outer glumes, being each about one line long, with a small tuft of silky white hairs at the base. The flowering glumes have a truncated apex with four small teeth, and the awn, which is inserted on the back about the middle, is three or four times as long as the glume, and usually more or less twisted and bent. (Plate 63.) HoLcus LANATUS. (Velvet grass, Meadow Soft grass, Velvet Mes- quite grass.) \ A foreign grass, which has been introduced and has become tolerably well established in many places. It is a perennial, with a stout, erect culm, 2 to 3 feet high, the leaves, and especially the sheaths, densely clothed with soft hairs feeling like velvet. The culm is leafy and the sheaths loose ; the upper ones longer than the blade, which is three to six lines wide, 4 to 5 inches long, and rather abruptly pointed. The panicle is open and spreading, rather oblong in outline, and 4 to 6 inches long. The branches are mostly in twos or threes, much divided, and softly pubescent. The spikelets are two-tflowered, the lower one being the larger and containing both stamens and pistils, the upper one small and staminate only. The outer glumes are about two lines long, mem- branaceous, boat-shaped, sparingly pubescent, and white, the upper one broader and three nerved, the lower one-nerved, both much longer than the flowers. The flowering glumes are smooth and shining, thicker 74 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. than the outer glumes, the lower flower awnless, the upper one with a short, stout, bent, or hooked awn at the apex. This grass is not held in good repute as an agricultural grass in Europe. In this country, especially at the South, it has frequently been favorably spoken of. Professor Phares says: It luxuriates in moist, peaty lands, but will grow on poor, sandy, or clay hill lands, and produce remunerative crops where few other plants will make anything. It has been cultivated in North Carolina on such land, and after cutting and allowed to grow again, plowed under with so much advantage that other crops were subsequently produced. Hon. H. W. L. Lewis, of Louisiana, has cultivated this grass many years with great satisfaction. It is by no means the best of our grasses, but best for some lands, and on such lands more profitable than other grasses. It seems to have been greatly improved by acclimating in Texas and other Southern States, and this is true of some of the other grasses and forage plants. (Plate 64.) TRISETUM. This genus is characterized as having the spikelets two to three and, rarely, five flowered, the axis usually hairy, and at the base of the upper flower extended into a bristle; the outer glumes unequal, acute, keeled, membranaceous, with scarious margins; the flowering glumes of similar texture keeled, acute, the apex two-toothed, the teeth sometimes pro- longed into bristle-like points, the central nerve furnished with an awn above the middle, which 1s usually twisted and bentin the middle; the palet hyaline, narrow, two-nerved, two-toothed. TRISETUM PALUSTRE. A slender grass, usually about 2 feet high, growing in low meadows or moist ground throughout the Eastern part of the United States. The culms are smooth, with long internodes and few linear leaves, 2 to 4 inches long; the panicle is oblong, 3 to 4 inches long, loose and gracefully drooping, the branches two to five together, rather capillary,1 to 14 inches long, and loosely flowered; the spikelets are two-flowered; the outer glumes are about two lines long, the lower one one-nerved, the upper rather obovate and three-nerved; the lower flower is commonly awnless or only tipped with a short awn; the second flower is rather shorter and with a slender, spreading awn longer than the flower. This is a nutritious grass, but is seldom found in sufficient quantity to be of much value. (Plate 65.) TRISETUM CERNUUM. This grass grows to the height of 2 or 3 feet, with flat wide leaves, which are about 6 inches long, and with an open, spreading, and droop- ing panicle, 6 to 9 inches long; the branches are slender, solitary, or sometimes clustered below, and much subdivided above the middle. The spikelets vary from three to six lines in length and have two to three or, rarely, four flowers in each. The outer glumes are very unequal, the THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 79 lower one being very narrow and awl-shaped, the upper one broad, three- nerved, obtuse, and tipped with a fine point, and longer, sometimes twice as long as the lower. : The flowering glume has two slender pointed teeth, and on the back, near the apex, a slender.awn twice its length. Of this grass Mr. Bolander says that it deserves further attention. It grows on dry hill-sides near the Bay of San Francisco and the Oak- land hills, and also extends northward to Oregon. (Plate 66.) TRISETUM SUBSPICATUM. A perennial grass of the mountainous regions of Europe and North America. It is found sparingly in New England, on the shores of Lake Superior, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon, and northward to the Arctic circle. It varies in height according to the altitnde at which it grows, being sometimes reduced to 3 or 4 inches, at other times running up to 2 feet high. The culms are eréct and firm, smooth, or downy. The panicle is spike-like, dense, and cylindrical or elongated, and more or less interrupted, generally of a purplish color. The spikelets are two to three lowered. The flowers are slightly longer than the outer glumes, slightly scabrous, the flowering glumes acutely two toothed at the apex, and bearing a stout awn which is longer than its glume. This undoubtedly furnishes a considerable portion of mountain pas- turage. (Plate 67.) b AVENA. (Oats and Oat grass.) This genus is closely related to Trisetum, the spikelets are larger and two to five lowered, the uppermost one generally imperfect; the axis is hairy below the flowers, the outer glumes nearly equal; the flowering glumes of firmer texture (in some species cartilaginous), shortly two- _ toothed at the apex, and with a long twisted awn below the point. AVENA FATUA. (Wild oats.) This species is very common in California. It is generally thought to have been introduced from Europe, where it is native, but it has be- come diffused over many other countries, including Australia and South America. Itis thought by some to be the original of the cultivated oat, Avena sativa, that the common oat will degenerate into the wild oat, and that by careful cultivation and selection of seed the wild oat can be changed into the common cultivated oat. But on this question there is a conflict of opinions, and the alleged facts are not sufficiently established. The wild oat differs from the cultivated one chiefly in having more flowers in the spikelets, in the long brown hairs which cover the flowering glumes, in the constant presence of the long twisted awn, and in the smaller size and lighter weight of the grain. It is a great injury to any grain-field in which it may be introduced, but for 76 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES the purpose of fodder, of which it makes a good quality, it has been much employed in Califoriia, It is stated above ‘that the common cultivated oat is believed some- times to degenerate into the wild oat.” The following case. described by Mr. J. G. Pickett, of Pickett’s Station, Wis., certainly seems to afford evidence to that effect. The circumstance can only be other- wise accounted for by supposing the accidental introduction of the wild oat through seed obtained from some foreign source. It also shows how easily this pest is spread after once being introduced into a field. Mr. Pickett writes as follows: Inclosed I send you specimens of a plant known in this section as wild oats. The history of the plant is as follows: In the year 1856 Mr. Lucius Hawley, of this town, threshed with a machine about 15 acres of common white oats from the stack, upon the ground where the crop grew. The straw was indifferently piled up, and so re- mained through the winter. In the following spring the straw was set on fire, but being wet was but partially burned, and what remained was scattered over about an acre of ground, and, with the balance of the field, was plowed under, and the field sown to spring wheat. At harvest time the threshing ground and the land upon which the partially burned straw had been drawn was found to be completely occu- pied by a crop of oats, and so thick upon the ground as to have completely smothered the wheat. Mr. Hawley, supposing the oats were from those of the former crop, did not examine the grain closely, but cut the wheat and oats with a reaper, at the same time keeping the grains separate as much as possible, and he did not discover until stacking the grain that the oats were not the common oats, but something different from any he had seen before. The oats ripening early, had shelled upon the reaper, and were carried more or less over the entire field, and a crop of spring wheat again following, the new oats were found scattered over the whole field. This was the first known of this pest here, and up to this time (March, 1832) it has continued to spread over the country by being mixed with seed wheat and oats, and transported from farm to farm by threshing-machines until the damage done can hardly be estimated- It will effectually run out any crop and take entire possession of the soil. Seeding down the land for three or four years will eradicate the grain, and this is the only remedy yet found. This oat is a winter grain and will not germinate and grow until it has laid in or upon the ground over winter and been frozen. I have known a field of 40 acres sown in the spring with clean wheat seed and nothing else, from which was threshed 600 bushels of these oats, and wheat about equaling the amount of seed sown. The oat, while growing, looks precisely like the common oat, but ripens early and shells easily. The kernel, when ripe, is nearly black, and has attached to it a spiral barbed tail, by which it attaches itself to clothing, grain-bags, and to every crevice about a threshing-machine, fanning-mill, or reaper, and will even penetrate the skins of animals. When cleaned the grain weighs from 12 to 18 pounds per * bushel, and it is only used by finely grinding the grain for stock, or by cutting, before ripening, for hay, of which it makes a good HAI. My own theory of its origin is that by the action of fire and the winter exposure the common oat on the farm of Mr. Hawley changed its variety and nature into this wild winter oat, which is now the worst pest this part of Wisconsin has yet known. (Plate 68.) AVENA STRIATA. (Wild oat grass.) Grows on rocky hills in New England, New York, and northwest- ward. The culms are about 2 feet high, smooth and slender. The leaves are narrow and 4 to 6 inches long; the panicle is slender, 4 to 5 ~ THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 77 inches long, open and drooping; the upper branches are single and un- divided, each with a single spikelet, the lower branches are in twos or threes, with longer pedicels, and sometimes having two or three spikelets. The spikelets are one-half to three-fourths inchlong, and from three to six flowered. The outer glumes are much shorter than the spikelet, thin, scarious on the margins, acute, and purplish. Each of the flowers has a short tuft of hairs at the base. The lower palet is four lines long, seven nerved, sharply two toothed at the apex, just below which rises a slender bent awn. All the flowers of the spikelet are alike, except that the upper ones are smaller. This grass is related to the cultivated oats. Its range is to the northward, being addicted to a cool, elevated country. Its productiveness and value for agricultural purposes has not been tested. (Plate 69.) Avena pratensis and Avena flavescens are two species of Europe, which have been cultivated to some extent in that country, but are little known here. ARRHENATHERUM AVENACEUM. (Evergreen grass, Tall oat grass, Meadow oat grass.) A perennial grass of strong, vigorous growth, introduced from Europe, and sparingly cultivated. Culms, 2 to 4 feet high, erect, rather stout, with four or five leaves each ; the sheaths smooth, the leaves somewhat rough on the upper surface, 6 to 10 inches long, and about three lines wide, gradually pointed. The panicle is loose, rather contracted, from 6 to 10 inches long, and rather drooping; the branches very unequal, mostly in fives, the longer ones 1 to 3 inches, and subdivided from about the middle ; the smaller branches very short, all rather full-lowered. The spikelets are mostly on short pedicels. The structure of the flowers is similar to that of common oats, but different in several particulars. The spikelets consist of two flowers, the lower of which is staminate only, the upper one both staminate and pistillate ; the outer glumes are thin and transparent, the upper one about four lines long and three- nerved, the lower one nearly three lines long and one-nerved. The flowering glume is about four lines long, green, strongly seven-nerved, lanceolate, acute, hairy at base, roughish, and in the lower flower gives rise on the back below the middle to a long, twisted, and bent awn ; in the upper flower the glume is merely bristle-pointed near the apex. The palet is thin and transparent, linear, and two-toothed. This grass is much valued on the continent of Europe. The herbage is very pro- ductive and its growth rapid. When growing with other grasses cattle and sheep eat it very well, but do not like to be confined to it exclu- sively. Mr. Thomas Brigden, of South Lowell, Ala., says, respecting this grass: We obtained seed from the Tennessee Valley under the name of evergreen grass, and it appears at the present time to be by far the most valuable kind that we have ex- 78 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. perimented with; it remains green during the winter, and starts into growth very early in the spring, making a dense, heavy growth from 20 to 30 inches high, and, as far as at present tested, it stands the summer heat well. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says : It is widely naturalized and well adapted to a great variety of soils. On sandy or gravelly soils it succeeds admirably, growing 2 to 3 feet high. On rich, dry upland it grows from 5 to 7 feet high. It has an abundance of perennial, long fibrous roots penetrating deeply in the soil, being therefore less affected by drought or cold, and enabled to yield a large quantity of foliage, winter and summer. These advantages render it one of the very best grasses for the South, both for grazing, being evergreen, and for hay, admitting of being cut twice a year. It is probably the best winter grass that can beobtained. It will make twice as much hay as timothy. To make good hay it must be cut as soon as it blooms, and after cut, must not be wet by dew or rain, which damages it greatly in quality and appearance. For green soiling it may be cut four or five times with favorable seasons. In from six to ten days after bloom- ing the seeds begin to ripen and fail, the upper ones first. It is therefore a little troublesome to save the seed. As soon as those at the top of the panicle ripen suffi- ciently to begin to drop the seeds should be cut off and dried, when the seeds will all thresh out readily and be matured. After the seeds are ripe and taken off the long» abundant leaves and stems are still green, and being mowed make good hay. It may be sown in March or April and mowed the same season ; but for heavier yield it is better to sow in September or October. Not less than 2 bushels (14 pounds, per acre should be sown. The average annual nutriment yielded by this grassin the southern belt is probably twice as great as in Pennsylvania and other Northern States. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: It produces an abundant supply of foliage, and is valuable for pastures on account of its early and luxurious growth. Itgrowsspontaneously on deep, sandy soils when once naturalized. It has been cultivated to some extent in New England, and was at one time highly esteemed, mainly for its early, rapid and late growth, making it well calculated as a permanent pasture grass. It will succeed on tenacious clover soils. (Plate 70.) DANTHONIA. This genus is related to Avena and characterized as follows: Spikelets three to five or many-flowered, the axis hairy and produced beyond the flowers in a stipe or imperfect flower; outer glumes narrow, keeled, acute, usually as long as the spikelet; flowering glumes of firmer tex- ture, convex on the back, seven to nine nerved, with two rigid or scarious terminal teeth or lobes, and with a flatish, twisted, and bent awn be- tween the teeth. This awn is composed by the union of the middle and two of the lateral nerves. DANTHONIA SPICATA. (Spiked Wild Oat grass.) This species grows in small clumps on barren hills or in poor clay lands. The leaves are mostly in a tuft near the ground, short, narrow, and curled in dry weather. The culms are from 14 to 2 feet high, erect and slender. The panicle is only an inch or two long, mostly simple, and of four to seven spikelets, with very short pedicels. The spikelets THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 19 are about five-flowered, the flowering glume loosely hairy, with the teeth about one-fourth its length and very acute. It is a grass of very little value. Hon. J. S. Gould says: As it will grow on hard clay lands where nothing else will, it might be worth while to sow its seeds on such lands, as it is certainly better than nothing; but the better plan is to manure the soil so that it will produce the.richer grasses. (Plate 71.) DANTHONIA COMFRESSA. (Mountain Oat grass.) This species grows in Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. Mr. C. G. Pringle sends it from Vermont growing on dry hillocks along the Waterbury River. It also grows on the summit of the Roan Mountains, North Carolina, over large areas, and furnishes good sum- ‘mer pasturage. Probably it occurs on the other mountains of the Al- leghany range. It differs from the preceding in forming a compact sod, by having more numerous and larger leaves, by a larger, longer, and spreading panicle, and by the longer, more slender awn-pointed teeth of the flowering glumes. (Plate 72.) DANTHONIA SERICEA. (Silky-flowered, Oat grass.) A perennial grass, 2 to 3 feet high, growing in open, sandy woods, with numerous long, slender, radical leaves, and three or four similar ones on the stem, the sheaths soft, hairy the ligule a mere hairy fringe; “culms smooth, flexible; panicle loose and rather contracted, 3 to 4 inches long, and 1 or 2 inches wide; the branches single at the joints, and subdivided from the lower third into a few branchlets, each with one to three spikelets. The spikelets are about seven-flowered, the flowers closely packed and silky hairy; the outer glumes are smooth, half an inch or more in length, longer than all the flowers in the spike- let, linear-lanceolate, the lower one two-nerved and the upper one three-nerved. The flowering glumes are about three lines long, five to seven nerved, the awl-pointed teeth very slender and nearly as long as the rest of the glume, with the middle awn six or seven lines long, sparsely hairy on the back, and copiously white silky on the margins below. This species appears to be confined to the Atlantic States. Its value has not been tested. (Plate 73.) DANTHONIA CALIFORNICA. (The California Oat grass.) A perennial grass of California, Oregon, the Rocky Mountains, and Manitoba; not very common, variable in height, usually 1 to 2 feet, with narrow, convolute and long-pointed root-leaves, those of the culm some- what wider, 3 or 4 inches long, the lower sheaths hairy, especially at the throat. The panicle usually consists of three to five spreading branches, each of which is terminated by a single spikelet. The spikelets are five to seven flowered, widening upwards. The outer glumes are about three-quarters of an inch long, linear-lanceolate, acute, five to seven . 80 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. nerved, and purplish. The flowers are somewhat crowded on the axis. The flowering glumes are broad, obscurely nine-nerved, smooth on the back, the margins below fringed with long, silky hairs, the narrow, stiff, awned-teeth about half as long as the glumes (four or five lines). This is a somewhat ornamental grass, but probably not of much agri- cultural value. (Plate 74.) CYNODON DACTYLON. (Bermuda grass.) A low, creeping perennial grass, with abundant short leaves at the base, sending up slender, nearly leafless flower stalks or cul ms, which have three to five slender, diverging spikes at the summit. The spike- lets are sessile in two rows on one side of the slender spikes; they each have one lower with a short pediceled, naked rudiment of a second flower; the outer glumes nearly equal, keeled; the flowering glume boat- shaped, broader and prominently keeled; the palet narrow and two- keeled. This grass is a native of Southern Europe and of all tropical countries. It is a common pasture grass in the West Indies. In the Southern States it has long been a chief reliance for pasture, has been extravagantly praised by some and cursed by others who find it diffi- cult to eradicate when once established. Its properties have been very fully discussed in Southern journals. It rarely ripens any seed, and the usual methods of reproducing is to chop up the roots with a cutting knife, sow them broadcast, and plow under shallow. Col. T. C. Howard, of Georgia, says: The desideratum to the South is a grass that is perennial, nutritious, and adapted to the climate. While we have grasses and forage plants that do well when nursed, we have few that live and thrive here as in their native habitat. The Bermuda and crab grasses are at home in the South. They not only live, but live in spite of neg- lect, and when p« tted and encouraged they make such grateful returns as astonish the benefactor. Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, says: In Louisiana, Texas, and the South generally it is and has been the chief reliance for pasture for a long time, and the immense herds of cattle on the southern prairies subsist principally on this food. It revels in sandy soils, and has been grown ex- tensively on the sandy hills of Virginia and North and South Carolina. It is used extensively on the southern rivers to hold the levees and embankments of the roads. It will throw its runners over a rock 6 feet across and soon hide it from view, or it will run down the sides of the deepest gully and stop its washing. Hogs thrive upon its succulent roots, and horses and cattle upon its foliage. It has the capacity to withstand any amount of heat and drought, and months that are so dry as to check the growth of blue grass will only make the Burmuda green and the more thrifty. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says : As a permanent pasture grass, I know of no other that I consider so valuable as this, after having transferred it from near the mouth of the Red River to my present re- sidence thirty-five years ago, and having studied it on hundreds of other farms, com- mons, and levees for a longer period. To make good hay and the largest.yield, this THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 81 grass must be mowed from three to five times every summer. Thus briers, broom grass, and other weeds are repressed and prevented from seeding, multiplying, and ruining the meadow. Respecting the difficulty of eradicating this grass from ground wanted for other cultivation, Colonel Lane, of Georgia, says : Upou our ordinary upland I haye found no difficulty in destroying it by close cul- tivation in cotton for two years. It requiresa few extra plowings to get the sod thor- oughly broken to pieces. (Plate 75.) CHLORIS ALBA. : An annual grass, growing in tufts, 1 to 2 feet high, smooth, the culms frequently-branched and bent at the lower joints, decumbent, becom- ing erect; leaves numerous, smooth, the sheaths mostly loose, the blade broad, the upper sheath dilated and at first inclosing the flower spikes, which are eight to fifteen in number, 2 to 3 inches long, and umbellate or fasciculate at the top of the culm or of the lateral branches. The spikelets are sessile and crowded in two rows on one side of the spikes; each spikelet contains one perfect and one or two imperfect or rudi- mentary flowers; the outer glumes are unequal, thin, keeled, the upper one mucronate-pointed, and about one and one-half lines long, the lower one one-third shorter ; the flowering glume of thelower or perfect lower is thick and firm in texture, nearly one and one-half lines long, broad in the middle and narrowed above and below, much compressed, tive nerved, with two short teeth at the apex, and a straight awn two or three lines long between the teeth, the margins toward the top strongly ciliate with long white hairs; the palet is of similar texture, narrow, and nearly as long as its glume ; the neutral or upper flower is shorter, truncate above, of a club-like appearance, smooth, tipped with an awn. Sometimes there is another small imperfect flower or a pedicel above the second, and enwrapped by it. This is a common grass in the arid regions of New Mexico, Arizona, and farther south and west. This grass furnishes a large quantity of foliage, but of its agricultural value we have no information. There are several other species growing in the same region. (Plate 76.) BourELOUA. (Mesquite grass.) This genus, of which there are many species, has generally numerous spikes in a racemose one-sided panicle. The spikes are generally densely flowered and from one-half to 14 inches long. The spikelets are crowded in two rows on one side of the axis, each consisting of oue per- fect flower, and a stalked pedicel bearing empty glumes and one to three stiff awns; the outer glumes are unequal, acute, keeled, membranaceous; the flowering glume broader and usually thicker, with three to tive lobes, teeth or awns at the apex ; palet hyaline, narrow, entire or two-toothed, enfolded by its glume. . 2218 GR——6 82 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. BOUTELOUA OLIGOSTACHYA. (Mesquite grass, Gramma grass, Buffalo grass.) This is a perennial species growing on the great plains from Montana and Dakota southward to Texas. The culms are from one-half to 13 feet high. Near the top there are usually two or three, sometimes more, curved flowering spikes, about 14 inches long; the culm and leaves are smooth ; the outer glumes and the flowering glumes are sparingly soft- hairy, the lobes awl pointed, the sterile lower or rudiment is copiously villous-tufted at the summit of the naked pedicel, its three awns equal- ing the perfect lower. (Plate 77.) BOUTELOUA HIRSUTA. (Bristly mesquite or Gramma grass.) This annual or biennial species has about the same range as the pre- ceding, is of about the same size and general appearance. The upper empty glume is on the back hispid with bristly hairs proceeding from dark, warty glands; the flowering glume is pubescent, three-cleft into awl-pointed lobes ; the sterile flower and its pedicel are glabrous, the three sterile awns longer than the fertile flower. BOUTELOUA POLYSTACHYA. (Low Gramma grass.) This species probably does not reach farther north than northern New Mexico. Itisan annual from 6 to 10 inches high growing in clumps; the culms are slender, branching and bent at the lower joints. The culm terminates in a raceme-like panicle, 3 to 6 inches long, composed of five to seven alternate, narrow, one-sided spikes, which are about 1 inch long and one-half inch to 1 inch apart. The spikelets are generally close but not so dense as in the preceding, and much smaller ; the outer glumes are thin, unequal, oblong, the upper one about one line long, bifid and mucronate pointed; the flowering glume of the perfect flower is oblong, obtuse, three-nerved, the nerves extended beyond the glumes into short awns, with two broad lobes, one on each side of the central awn, and two shall lateral lobes, one on the outer side of each lateral awn, the outer margins ciliate. The rudimentary flower is very short stalked, with three small glume-like scales and three short awns. There are several varieties or forms of this species, some smaller and some larger. It abounds near the banks of streams and furnishes excellent pasturage. (Plate 78.) BOUTELOUA RACEMOSA, (B. curtipendula, GRAY). (Tall Gramma grass.) This species ranges from Mexico to British America, and east of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin and Illinois. It is easily distinguished from the others by its taller growth, and by thelong, slender raceme of twenty to fifty or more slender spikes. These are usually about half an inch long and reflexed. There are from six to ten spikelets on each spike. The outer glumes are lanceolate, acuminate ; the upper about two lines long and scabrous; the flowering glume is oblong, between THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 8&3 two to three lines long, with three short awl-pointed teeth at the apex; the palet is nearly of equal length ; the sterile flower is reduced to one or two minute scales with three short awns, or to a single small awn. The most useful of the gramma grasses is, probably, the Bouteloua oligostachya, but the others aid in furnishing the supply of food for the thousands of animals which are fattened on the great plains. It is doubtful if these grasses would bear the effect of continued tramping and close cropping if the lands were inclosed and pastured. ELEUSINE INDICA. (Yard grass, Crow-foot, Crab grass, Wire grass.) An annual grass belonging to tropical countries, but now naturalized in most temperate climates. Inthe Southern States it is found in every door-yard and in all waste places. The culms are from 1 to 3 feet high, usually coarse and thick, and very leafy, especially below. The leaves are long and rather wide. At the top of the culm there are two to five or more thickish, densely-flowered spikes proceeding from a common point, with sometimes one or two scattering ones lower down on the culm. The spikelets are sessile and crowded along one side of the axis, each being from two to six flowered, the upper flower imperfect or ru- dimentary ; the outer glumes are membranaceous, shorter than the flowers, the flowering glumes usually obtuse ; the palet folded and two- keeled. ; Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: The clumps have many long leaves and stems, rising 1 or 2 feet high, and many long, strong, deeply penetrating fibrous roots. It grows readily in door-yards, barn- yards, and rich cultivated grounds, and produces an immense quantity of seeds. It is a very nutritious grass, and good for grazing, soiling, and hay. The succulent lower part of the stems, covered with the sheaths of the leaves, renders it difficult to cure well, for which several days are required. It may be cut two or three times, and yields a large quantity of hay. (Plate 79.) LEPTOCHLOA MUCRONATA. (Feather grass, Slender grass.) An annual grass, growing from 2 to 3 feet high, the flowers arranged in a long panicled, loose raceme. The branches or spikes are very slender, 1 to 5 inches long, and very numerous, thirty to fifty or more, with the spikelets sessile and continuous in two rows along one side of the spikes. The spikelets are about one line long, three-flowered, the uppermost flower imperfect. The outer glumes are lanceolate, acute keeled, and nearly as long as the spikelet ; the flowering glumes are obtuse or sometimes slightly mucronate, one-half line long, keeled, and with strong, somewhat pubescent, lateral nerves. This is a handsome grass when full grown, the panicles on thrifty specimens becoming 2 feet long, the slender branches arranged along the main stem in a feather-like manner, hence the name. It grows from Virginia, west and south, becoming quite common in the South- S34 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. ern States. It affords a small amount of grazing during the summer. Professor Phares says: Its growth is very rapid, although it has little root and is easily uprooted. Al- though it contains a good percentage of nutritious matter, it is of little agricultural - value. Its assurgent leaves and stems and immensely large panicles occupy so much space that a comparatively small number of plants would occupy an acre of ground, while it has so little weight that the product of several acres of the finest growth of it would be required to produce a single ton of hay. (Plate 80.) BucHLOE DACTYLOIDES. (Buffalo grass, False Mesquite grass.) This grass is extensively spread over all the region known as the great plains. It is very low, the bulk of leaves seldom rising more than 3 or 4 inches above the ground, growing in extensive tufts or patches, and spreading largely by means of stolons or offshoots similar to those of Bermuda grass, these stolons being sometimes 2 feet long, and with joints every 3 or 4 inches, frequently rooting and sending up flowering culms from the joints. The leaves of the radical tufts are 3 to 5 inches long, one or one-half line wide, smooth, or edged with a few scattering hairs. The flowering culms are chiefly dieecious, but sometimes both male and female flowers are found on the same iis but in separate parts. The flowering stems of the male plant are 4 to 8 inches high, bearing three or four slender leaves, and at the summit two to four short contiguous spikes, which are about half an inch long. These spikes consist usually of five to six sessile spikelets, alternate, in two rows, on the lower side of the flattened, scabrous axis. The spikelets are two to three lines long and mostly two-flowered. The outer glumes are unequal and one-nerved, the lower one half as long as the flower above it, the upper one shorter. The flowering glumes and palets are of equal length, membranaceous, the flowering glume three-nerved, the palet two-nerved. The flowering stalk of the female plant is shorter than the leaves, 1 to 2 or sometimes 3 or 4 inches high, sometimes almost concealed among the leaves at the joints of the stolons. The sheaths of the two or three uppermost leaves of the culm are dilated and inclose the spikes or clusters of flowers. Of these spikes there are two or three, each consisting of three to five spikelets. The spikelets are single-flowered and of a somewhat complex structure, the parts analagous to those of the male flowers, but thickened, indurated, and modified. All the upper glumes are indurated and united at their bases with the thickened axis, the lower glume of the lowest spikelet being lanceolate, with an herbaceous tip or two to three cleft, thickened and united to the upper glume, the lower glume of the other spikelets free, much smaller, ovate-lanceolate, acute, and one-nerved, the flowering glume shorter, three-nerved, and three-toothed at the summit. It is hardly necessary to recapitulate the virtues of this widely cele- brated grass. It plays an important part in the feeding and fattening of the vast herds of cattle, which have now mostly displaced the baile, whose favorite food it was supposed to be. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 85 Prof. S. B. Buckley, of Austin, Tex., says: This is one of the best grasses of Texas for pasturage, if not the very best; being perennial it affords food for stock both summer and winter. Even in midwinter it presents a green covering over many hills and prairies in this vicinity. It is also the best grass for lawns indigenous to Texas. It thrives on every variety of soil, grow- ing on poor graveily uplands, and also in rich river bottoms, but it mostly abounds on the prairies, among the mesquite trees scattered over their surface, throughout a lar -e portion of our State, whence it is commonly called mesquite grass in Texas. This name, however, is given to two or three other species of grass which are asso- ciated with it. It is not difficult to eradiate, nor is it ever troublesome in cultivated fields, because it has so few seeds. All kinds of stock are extremely fond of it, from which we infer that it is very sweet and nutritouns. In extreme droughts all the grasses seem dead, but a rain will make this grass green and growing in a few hours. Even when dry, weather-beaten, and seemingly dead it is still good food for stock. Whether this grass can be successfully subjected to cultivation re- mains to be seen. (Plate 81.) TriODIA. (Tricuspis.) This genus, which contains numerous species of very different size and aspect, is characterized as follows: Spikelets, several to many-flowered, someof theupper ones male orimperfect ; theonter glumes keeled, acute, or acutish, awnless ; the flowering glumes imbricated. rounded on the back, at least below, three-nerved, the marginal nerves usually hairy, mucronate, three-toothed or three-lobed at the apex, or obscurely erose, often hardened and nerveless in fruit; the palet broad, prominently two-keeled. TRIODIA SESLERIOIDES. {Tricuspis seslerioides.) (Tall Red top.) This grass grows from 3 to 5 feet high. The culms are very smooth; the leaves are long and flat, the lower sheaths hairy or smoothish. The panicle is large and loose, at first erect, but finally spreading widely. The branches are single or in twos or threes below, and frequently 6 inches long, divided, and flower-bearing above the middle. The spikelets are on short, pedicels, three to four lines long, and five or six flowered. The outer glumes are shorter than the flowers, unequal and pointed; the flowering glumes are hairy toward the base, having three strong nerves, which are extended into short teeth at the summit. It is alarge and showy grass when fully matured, the panicles being large, spread- ing, and of a purplish color. It grows in sandy fields, and on dry sterile banks, from New York to South Carolina, and westward. This is eaten by cattle when it is young, but the culms are rather harsh and wiry and not relished by them. It is, however, cut for hay where it naturally abounds. (Plate 82.) ’ TRIODIA TRINERVIGLUMIS. (Tricuspis trinerviglumis.) Another perennial species of this genus, growing in Colorado, Ar- kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and southward. The culms are 2 to 3 feet high, and rather stout; the radical leaves are somewhat rigid, 6 to 12 86 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. inches long, narrow, acuminate-pointed, inclined to be involute, the sheaths more or less hairy. The smooth culm has three or four leaves, which are 4 to 8 inches long, and slender-pointed. The panicle is nar- row and spike-like, 6 to 9 inches long, composed of five or six alternate, somewhat distant, and closely erect branches, the lower ones 1 to 2 inches long, and consisting of six to ten sessile, alternate spikelets, each of which are eight to ten flowered, and four to six lines long. The outer glumes are lanceolate, acute, smooth, nearly equal, somewhat faintly three-nerved, and three to five lines long ; the flowering glumes are oblong, three-nerved, two to three lines long, entire or obscurely dentic- ulate at the apex, acute or obtusish, the nerves and margins densely hairy for about two-thirds the length, also the base and axis hairy. The palet is one-third shorter, two-keeled, minutely toothed at the apex, hairy on the keels below. Little is known of its abundance or agricultural value. (Plate 83.) Triodia stricta is another species of Texas and the Southwest, much larger, stouter, and more rigid than thepreceding. TRIODIA ACUMINATA. .(Tricuspisacuminata.) A low species, growing in tufts, from 6 to 12 inches high, the leaves short and narrow, but abundant near the ground ; the culms are erect, slender, with one or two short leaves, and terminated by an oblong, spike-like panicle about an inch long, composed of a few crowded ses- sile or nearly sessile branches, each with one to three spikelets. The spikelets each contain eight or ten crowded flowers. The outer glumes are nearly equal, lanceolate, acute, chartaceous, one-nerved, about three lines long : the lowering glumes are about three lines long, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acute, three-nerved, the mid-nerve extended into a short stiff awn, the margins fringed with long white hairs, and the back below, with the axis, hairy. The palet is about one-third shorter than its glume, folded back on the two keels, sparingly hairy, and the keels scabrous pubescent. This is a native of the arid regions of Texas, New Mexico, and southwestward. (Plate 84.) TRIPLASIS PURPUREA. (Tricuspis purpurea.) (Sand grass.) An annual grass, growing in tufts in sandy soil along the Atlantic coast, and also in sandy districts in the interior. The culms are about 1 foot high, rather decumbent at the base, with eight to ten short joints, and an equal number of narrow, awl-shaped leaves, 2 to 3 inches long, which are bearded with hairs at the top of the sheaths. There are usu- ally several lateral panicles of flowers as well as a terminal one. The lateral ones are inclosed within the sheaths; the terminal one usually exerted, but short and simple. The spikelets are two to five flowered ; the glumes much shorter than the spikelet; the flowers rather distant from each other; the flowering glumes and palets strongly, fringed on THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 87 the nerves; the flowering glumes two-lobed or two-cleft at the summit, with the mid-nerve extended into a short awn between the lobes. This grass has very little practical value. DIPLACHNE. (Leptochloa.) This genus is characterized as having the spikelets narrow, sessile, or nearly so, on the long slender branches of the panicle, usually in two rows, but not continuous as in Leptochloa, the outer glumes keeled, ‘acute, but not awned ; the flowering glumes one to three nerved, with a thin or hyaline, shortly two-toothed or two-lobed apex, the keel pro- duced into a short point or awn between the lobes; palet thin and prominently two-nerved. DIPLACHNE FASCICULARIS. (Leptochloa fascicularis.) (Spike grass.) An annual grass of vigorous growth, 2 to 3 feet high, growing in brack” ish marshes or wet ground near the sea-coast, and, also, far inland in the Mississippi Valley, Texas, Arizona, &c., in alkaline soil. The radical leaves are narrow and half to two-thirds as long as the culms, rough on the margin; those of the culms similar, with long, smooth, loose sheaths, the upper one usually inclosing the base of the panicle. The culms are frequently branched at the lower joints. The panicle is large, 6 to 10 inches long, consisting of numerous (fifteen to thirty) spike-like branches, which are 2 to 4 inches long, mostly alternate, sometimes fascicled be- low, angular and rough, and flower-bearing throughout. The spikelets are nearly sessile and alternate, usually somewhat longer than the space between them; each contains five to seven flowers; the outer glumes are unequal, smooth, one-nerved, and mucronate-pointed ; the flowering are ovate-lanceolate, about one and a half lines long, flattish on the back, three-nerved, pubescent on the nerves and margins below, shortly two- toothed at the apex, with a short rough awn between the teeth; the palet is somewhat shorter, lanceolate, two-nerved, and ciliate on the nerves. (Plate 85.) : DIPLACHNE DUBIA. (Leptochloa dubia.) A grass of similar aspect to the preceding ; the leaves somewhat longer and more rigid ; the panicle rather shorter, and composed of six to twelve branches, which are stouter and more spreading. The outer glumes are lanceolate, nearly equal, acute, one-nerved, rough on the keel, about one and one-halflineslong; the flowering glumes are oblong, very obtuse, t wo- lobed and somewhat fringe-toothed at the apex, three nerved, smooth except on the margins, awnless ; the palet is as long as its glume, nar- rower, two-nerved, and ciliate on the nerves. The spikelets in age be- come spreading, and the axis zigzag. It is of more southern range than he preceding, occurring in the Gulf States and southwestward. (Plate 86.) 88 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. PHRAGMITES COMMUNIS. (Reed grass.) A tall, coarse, perennial grass, growing on the borders of ponds and streams, almost rivaling sorghum in luxuriance. It attains a height of 6 to 10 feet; the culms sometimes an inch in diameter, and leaves an inch or two in width. The pamecle is from 9 to 15 inches long, loose but not much spreading, of an oblong or lanceolate form and slightly nodding. The branches are very numerous, irregularly whorled, 4 to 8 inches long, much subdivided, and profusely flowering. The larger panicles form very ornamental plumes, almost equal to those of Arundo donaz, so much cultivated for ornamental purposes. The spikelets are three to seven flowered, all the flowers except the lowest surrounded by long silky hairs at the base ; the lowest one is either empty or contains only stamens. The lower or empty glumes are thin, lanceolate, keeled, and unequal in size, the upper one being considerably the longer. The flow- ering glumes are membranaceous, narrowly awl shaped, and about as long as the silky hairs. The palets are thin and only half to one-third as long as their glumes. This grass is widely distributed in different parts of the globe, and in some countries is put to several uses, as for thatching, for which it is said to be valuable. It is also sometimes used for making light reed fences and screens. Its leaves are too coarse and innutritious for foq- der except when very young. Professor Scribner saw in Montana prostrate stems of this grass which were 28 feet long, and some of the upright culms were 10 to 14 feet high. (Plate 87.) K®ELERIA CRISTATA. (Crested Kceleria.) This grass has a very wide diffusion both in this country and in Europe and Asia. It favors dry hills or sandy prairies, and on the great plains is one of the commonest species. It occurs throughout Califor- nia and into Oregon. It varies much in appearance according to the location in which it grows, these variations being so striking that they have been considered different species, and perhaps two species ought to be admitted. It is perennial, with erect culms usually from 1 to 2 feet high, and a spike-like panicle varying from 3 to 6 inches in length and more or less interrupted or lobed at the lower part. When grown in very arid places the culms may be only a foot high, the radical leaves short, and the panicle only 2 inches long. When grown in more favored situations the radical leaves are 18 inches long, the stem 3 feet, and the panicle 6 inches long. The branches of the panicle are, in short, nearly sessile clusters. crowded above, looser and interrupted below. The spikelets are from two to four flowered. The outer glumes are a little shorter than the spikelets, lanceolate, acute, compressed. The flowering glumes are similar, membranaceous, acute, or mucronate. The palet is of nearly equal length, thinner and two-toothed at the apex. The flowers, panicle, culm, and leaves are usually more or less softly hairy. It is readily eaten by cattle. (Plate 88.) THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 89 ERAGROSTIS. Of this genus we have about twenty species in the United States. Itis characterized as follows: Spikelets numerous, usually in a loose, some- - times spreading and diffuse, panicle ; commonly many flowered (rarely two or three only), sessile or pediceled, usually glabrous; the outer glumes are unequal and rather shorter than the flowering ones, keeled and mostly one-nerved ; the flowering glumes are membranaceous, acute or obtuse, unawned, but rarely mucronate pointed, three-nerved, the keel prominent, the lateral nerves sometimes very faint; the palet shorter than its glume, with two prominent nerves or keels, often per- sisting after the glume and grain have fallen away. ERAGROSTIS PO.EOIDES var. MEGASTACHYA. (Pungent meadow gFass.) This is a foreign grass which has become extensively naturalized, not only in the older States but in many places in the western and south- western Territories. It is found in waste and cultivated grounds and on roadsides, growing in thick tufts, which spread out over the ground by means of the geniculate and decumbent culms. The culms are from 1 to 2 feet long, the lower joints bent and giving rise to long branches. The sheaths are shorter than the internodes, the leaves from 3 to 6 inches long. The panicle is frequently 4 or 5 inches long, oblong or pyramidal, somewhat open, but full-flowered; the branches irregularly single or in pairs, branched and flowering nearly to the base. The spikelets are ob- long or lanceolate one-fourth to one-half inch long, and ten to twenty flowered when well developed. The empty glumes are smaller than the flowering ones, rough on the keel, acutish. The flowering glumes are one line long, ovate, rather obtuse, and strongly three-nerved. The palets are shorter than their glumes, narrow, the sides reflexed and the margin ciliate. This grass is said to have a disagreeable odor when fresh. It produces an abundance of foliage, and is apparently an an- nual, reaching maturity late in the season. We are not aware that its agricultural value has been tested. (Plate 89.) | ERAGROSTIS PURSHIL This is a native grass, very widely diffused over the United States, and extends into Mexico. In habit it is somewhat like the preceding species (FH. poeoides), growing in tufts, with the culms branching at the base and the lower joints bent. The culms are smooth, slender, 10 to 20 inches high, the leaves narrow and sparse, with a tendency to produce an abundance of lowering culms. The panicle is oblong, open and spreading, 3 to 4 inches long, with the branches irregularly single or in pairs, and much subdivided. The spikelets are oblong, lanceolate to linear, about two lines long, and usually from five to fifteen flowered. The empty glues are small, only about half the length of the flowering glumes, ovate and acute. The flowering glumes are about half a line vo THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. long, acutish, and distinctly three-nerved. It has little or no agricult- ural value except in arid, sandy districts, where it seems to be most common. (Plate 90.) : MELICA. Of this genus we have ten to twelve species. Its characters are as follows : Spikelets two to many flowered; the flowers usually convolute around each other, the upper one smallerand imperfect ; the outer glumes membranaceous or hyaline, acute or obtuse, awnless, the lower one three to five and the upper sometimes seven to nine nerved, the lateral nerves not reaching to the margin. The flowering glumes are of thicker text- ure, becoming coriaceous, scarious at the apex, rounded or flattish on the back, five to nine nerved, the lateral nerves not reaching the apex, the central one sometimes ending in a point or an awn; the palets shorter than their glumes, two-keeled, ciliate on the keels. MELICA MUTICA. (Melic grass.) A perennial grass, growing sparingly in rich, rocky woods through- out most of the States east of the Rocky Mountains. It grows in loose tufts, the culms about 2 feet high, the lower leaves and sheathes soft hairy, the upper leaves narrow, 3 to 4 inches long, gradually pointed. The panicle is very simple or little branched. In the variety diffusa the panicle is larger, more branched and spreading; the spike- lets are loosely arranged on the branches, almost sessile, and rather on one side of the branches. They are large and graceful in appearance, each one consisting of two perfect flowers and a small chaffy knob, called a rudiment. The outer glumes are thin, scarious-margined, five to seven nerved, purplish, and three to four lines long. The flowering glumes are thicker, strongly ribbed, scarious at the blunt apex, and minutely rough on the nerves. The two flowers are somewhat distant from each other. The palets are narrower and shorter than the flower- ing glumes, arched and ciliate on the keels. This grass is eaten and relished by cattle, but is probably not well adapted to cultivation. (Plate 91.) MELICA BULBOSA. (Bulbous Melic grass.) This species is distinguished by its large bulbous roots, or, more properly, by the bulb-like enlargement of the base of the culm. It grows to the height of 2 or 3 feet; the leaves narrow, scabrous, and mostly involute. The panicle is from 4 to 8 inches long, narrow, with short and distinet branches, which are mostly in pairs, erect and densely flowered. The spikelets are about half an inch long, with usually three or four flowers, the upper one sterile. The outer glumes are thia, broad, and obtuse, the lower one three to tive nerved, the upper five to seven nerved. The flowering glume is about a quarter of an inch long, ob- tuse, roughish, and seven-nerved. The palet shorter than the flower- THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 91 ing glume and ciliate on the keels. This species grows in the mountain region of California and Oregon, also in Nevada. Utah, and Wyoming. (Plate 92.) MELICA IMPERFECTA. There are seven or eight species of Melica in California, some of them quite common, but they do not appear to have much agricultural value. The Melica imperfecta grows in tufts in shaded ground. There are sev- eral varieties, which differ considerably in size and general appearance. They may be described in general terms as growing from 1 to 3 feet high, with slender, rather wiry culms; the lower leaves are narrow, with long-tapering points, and about half as long as the culm, generally smooth or slightly scabrous. The roots are perennial, with strong fibers. The panicle varies in the different varieties from 6 to 12 inches in length, rather narrow, with distant rays, which are very unequal in length, and in clusters from three to five. The longer rays are 1 or 2, or sometimes 3 inches long, flower-bearing for half or two-thirds their length, while the shorter ones, % to 1 inch long, are flower-bearing to their base. The spikelets are one-quarter of an inch or less in length, and usually with two flowers, one of which is imperfect, sometimes, however, with three flowers, one or two of which are imperfect. The outer glumes are fre- quently purplish, with thin, whitish margins, slightly obtuse, and three to five nerved. The flowering glume is about seven-nerved, usually purplish, rather acute; the palet of about the same length and two- toothed. The imperfect lower has a short pedicel, and is about half as long as the perfect one. (Plate 93.) UNIOLA. This genus has closely, many-flowered spikelets, usually large, very flat, and two-edged, one or more of the lowest flowers neutral and con- sisting only of an empty glume ; the glumes are closely folded together, keeled, rigid, or coriaceous; the flowering ones larger, many-nerved, usually acute or pointed, entire ; palet rigid, two-keeled, the keels nar- rowly winged. UNIOLA LATIFOLIA. (Broad-flowered Fescue grass.) This is a handsome grass, growing 2 to 3 feet high, with very broad leaves and a spreading panicle ; the drooping spikelets larger than those of any other grass we have, being an inch long or more, and nearly half as wide, consisting of ten to twelve flowers. It grows from Pennsyl- vania and Illinois southward. Mr. Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala., says of this grass: A fine vernal grass, with a rich foliage, blooming early in May; 2 to 3 feet high; frequent in damp, sandy loam, forming large tufts. This perennial grass is certainly valuable, affording an abundant range early in the season; if cultivated it would yield large crops ready for cutting from the lst of May. It is called by some wild 92 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Jescue or oat grass. It is not found near the coast, consequently I had no chance to observe its growth during the latter part of the summer and in the winter season, and therefore am not able to judge of its value as a pasture grass. (Plate 94.) DISTICHLIS MARITIMA. (Salt grass, Marsh grass.) This is described in most botanical works as Brizopyrum spicatum, but recently the name given by Rafinesque has heen accepted and re- stored to 1t by Mr. Bentham. It is a perenmal grass, growing in marshes near the sea-coast on both sides of the continent, and also abundantly in alkaline soil throughout the arid districts of the Rocky Mountains. It has strong, creeping root-stocks, covered with imbri- cated leaf-sheaths, sending up culms from 6 to 18 inches high, which are clothed nearly to the top with the numerous, sometimes crowded, two- ranked leaves. The leaves are generally rigid and involute, sharp- pointed, varying greatly in length on different specimens. The plants are dicecious, some being entirely male and some female. The panicle is generally short and. spike-like, sometimes, especially in the males, rather loose, with longer, erect branches, and sometimes reduced to a few spikelets. The spikelets are from four to six lines long and five to ten flowered, the flowers being usually much compressed. The outer glumes are smooth, narrow, and keeled ; the flowering ones are broader, keeled, acute, rather rigid, and faintly many-nerved. The palets have an infolded margin, the keels prominent or narrowly winged. The pis- tillate spikelets are more condensed and more rigid than the staminate. Although this cannot be considered a first-rate grass for agricultural purposes, it is freely cut with other marsh grasses, and on the alkaline plains of the Rocky Mountains it affords an inferior pasturage. (Plate 95.) DACTYLIS GLOMERATA. (Orchard grass, Cocksfoot grass.) This is one of the most popular meadow grasses of Europe, and is well known to most farmers in the Northern and Eastern States. It is a perennial, of strong, rank growth, about 3 feet high, the culn and leaves roughish, the leaves broadly linear, light green, and five to six on the enlm. The panicle is generally but 2 or 3 inches long, the upper part dense from the shortness of the branches; the lower branches are longer and spreading, but with the spikelets glomerated or closely tufted. The spikelets are usually three to four flowered, one-sided, and on short, rough pedicels. The glumes are pointed and somewhat un- equal, the upper one being smaller and thinner than the lower. The flowering glumes are ovate-lanceolate, roughish, and ending in a sharp point or short awn, and are rather longer than the outer glumes. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: Of all grasses this is one of the most widely diffused, growing in Africa, Asia, every country of Europe, and all our States. It is more highly esteemed and commended than any other grass by a larger number of farmers in most countries, a most decided / THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSKS OF THE UNITED STATES. 93 proof of its great value and wonderful adaptation to many soils, climates, and treat- ments. Yet, strange to say, though growing in England for many centuries, it was not appreciated in that country till carried there from Virginia in 1764. But, as in the case of timothy grass, soon after its introduction from America, it came into high favor among farmers, and still retains its hold on their estimation as a grazing and hay crop. It will grow well on any soil containing sufficient clay and not holding too much water. If the land be too tenacious, drainage will remedy the soil; if worn out, a top dressing of stable manure will give it a good send-off, and it will furnish several mowings the first year. It grows well between 29° and 48° latitude. It may be mowed from two to four times a year, according to latitude, season, and treatment, yielding from 1 to 3 tous of excellent hay per acre on poor to medium land. It is easily cured and handled. It is readily seeded and catches with certainty. It grows well in open lands and in forests of large trees, the underbrush being all cleared off. I know but one objection to it. Like tail oat grass it is disposed to grow in clumps and leave much of the ground uncovered. This may be obviated by thick seeding, using 24, or, better, 3 bushels of seed per acre. The gaps may be prevented by sow- ing with it a few pounds of red-top seed. But as the latter multiplies annually from seeds dropping, it would in a few years root out the orchard grass. In common with others I prefer red clover with orchard grass. It fills the gaps and matures at the same time with the orchard grass; the mixture makes good pasture and good hay ; but if mowed more than twice a year, or grazed too soon after the second mowing, the clover will rapidly fail. One peck of red clover seed and six pecks of orchard grass seed is a good proportion per acre. * * * After being cut it has been found to grow inches in less than three days. Sheep leave all other grasses if they can find this, and acre for acre it will sustain twice as many sheep or other stock as timothy. Cut at the proper stage it makes a much better hay than timothy, and is greatly preferred Dy animals, being easier to masticate, digest, and assimilate; in fact, more like green grass in flavor, tenderness, and solubility. Mr. J. S. Gould, of New York, says: The testimony that has been collected frem all parts of the world for two centuries past establishes the place of this species among the very best of our forage grasses, and we have not the shadow of a doubt that the interests of our graziers and dairy- men would be greatly promoted by its more extended cultivation. It is always found in the rich old pasfures of England, where an acre of land can be relied on to fatten a bullock and four sheep. It is admirably adapted for growing in the shade, no grass being equal to it in this respect, except the rough-stalked meadow grass (Poa (rivi- alis). It receives the name of orchard grass from this circumstance. We have seen it growing in great luxuriance in dense old New England orchards,. where no other grass except Poa trivialis would grow at all. It affords a good bite earlier in the spring: than any other grass except the meadow fox-tail (Alopecurus pratensis). It affords a very great amount of aftermath, being exceeded in this respect by no other grass except Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis), and it continues to send out root leaves until very late in the autumn. When sown with other grasses its tendency to form tus- socks is very much diminished; indeed, it is always unprofitable to sow it alone in meadows or pastures, as it stands too thin upon the ground to make a profitable use of the laud, and the filling up of the interspaces with other varieties greatly improves the quality of the orchard grass by restraining its rankness and making it more deli- cate. Mr. Sinclair states, and the statement has been abundantly verified in all countries, that the herbage when suffered to grow rank or old contains one-half less nutriment than that which is of recent growth. Cattle, sheep, and horses eat it with the greatest avidity when it is young, but will not touch it when old, hence the importance, when - 94 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. pastures have been understocked, of going over them with a mowing machine; the orchard grass will then stool out, and the cattle will be found eating first on the very spots that they had previously rejected. (Plate 96.) Poa. This is an extensive genus, there being about thirty-five species in the United States, and it contains some of the most valuable grasses for pasturage. The chief characters of the genus are as follows: Spikelets some- what compressed, usually two to five flowered ; the axis between the flowers glabrous, or sometimes hairy ; the flowers generally perfect, in a few species dicecious; the outer glumes commonly shorter than the flowers, membranaceous, keeled, obtuse or acute, one to three nerved, not awned ; the flowering glumes membranaceous, five or rarely seven nerved ; the lateral nervés frequently very faint and obscure, often scarious at the apex and margins; the back, especially toward the base, frequently pubescent on the nerves, often with a few or many loose or webby hairs at the base; palet about as long as its glume, prominently two-nerved or two-keeled. PoA PRATENSIS. (June grass, Kentucky blue grass, Spear grass.) This grass is too well known to need an extended description. It is a perennial, growing usually 13 to 2 feet high, with an abundance of long, soft, radical leaves. There are several well-marked varieties, which are much modified and improved by good cultivation. It is indigenous in the mountainous regions of this country as well as of Europe, and has been introduced into cultivation in many countries. The panicle is generally pyramidal in outline, 2 to 4 inches long, open and spreading, the branches fine, mostly in fives, the lower ones 1 to 2 inches long, subdivided and flowering above the middle. The spike- lets are about two lines long, ovate, closely three to five flowered, mostly on very short pedicels. The outer glumes are acute; the flow- ering glumes acute or acutish, five-nerved, the lateral nerves prominent, the lower part of the keel and marginal nerves more or less hairy, and at the base more or less webby-hairy. From the unexampled success its cultivation has met with in Kentucky it has acquired the name of Kentucky blue grass, although in New England it is known by the name of June grass. In all the middle portions of the United States it forms the principal constituent of pastures, though its excellence is said to be rather depreciated in the Eastern States. In some sections it has been used as a hay grass, but it is not a success as a meadow, its chief excellence being exhibited as a pasture grass. It endures the frosts of winter better than any other grass we have, and if allowed to grow rank during the fall months it will turn over and hide beneath its covering the most lux- uriant of winter croppings. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 935 Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, says : It would seem a work of supererogation to argue as to the advantages of cultivat- ing this grass. All know its benefits, and all see around them the great increase in the value of the land covered by it. It grows readily in all parts of the United States north of 40°, and lower down on suitable soils. It flowers in the earliest sum- mer, and gives rich pasturage, except in the driest months, all the year. It varies in size in different localities according to soil and climate. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: Kentucky blue grass, known also in the Eastern States as June grass, although esteemed in some parts of America as the best of all pasture grasses, seems not to be considered very valuable among English farmers except in mixtures. It is certainly a very desirable grass, however. Its very narrow leaves, 1, 2, or more feet long, are in such profusion and cover the ground to such depth with their luxuriant growth that a mere description could give no one an adequate idea of its beauty, quantity, or value; that is, on rich land. On poor, sandy land it degenerates sadly, as do. other things uncongenially located. Perennial, and bearing cold and drought well, it fur- nishes grazing a large part of the year. It is specially valuable as a winter and spring grass for the South. In prolonged summer drought it dries completely, so that if fired it wonld burn off clean. But this occurs even in Kentucky, where, indeed, it has seemed, without fire, to disappear utterly ; yet when rain came, the bright green spears promptly recarpeted the earth. Sown alone, 20 to 26 pounds, that is 2 bushels, should be used to the acre; in mixtures, 4 to 6 pounds. Mr. Klippart, of Ohio, says that this grass is very much in favor in Southern Ohio, whilst in Northern and Northeastern Ohio it is considered a very unwelcome guest in the grass lands. This diference of estima- tion is probably due to varieties, or to alteration of soil and to treat- ment. (Plate 97). . PoA TRIVIALIS. (Rough-stalked Meadow grass.) This species very much resembles the Poa pratensis. It is distin- guished chiefly by its having rough sheaths, by its long, pointed lig- ules, its fibrous roots, and the smooth marginal nerves of the flowering glumes; whereas, in Poa pratensis, the sheaths are smooth, the ligules obtuse, the root-stock running, and the marginal nerves of the flower- ing glumes are hairy. It has been little cultivated by itself in this country, but is sometimes found in low meadows or on the banks of shaded streams. It flourishes best in low or wet ground and in shaded situations, and is not so well adapted to general cultivation as the blue grass. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: It is specially adapted to wood pastures, as it delights in shade, banks of streams, and moist ground generally. It bears tramping and isan excellent pasture grass. It makes a good mixture with red top and orchard grass, or red top and tall oat grass, and with other pasture grasses. PoA SEROTINA. (Fowl Meadow grass.) Culms erect, 2 to 3 feet high, without running root-stocks. The leaves are narrowly linear, 3 to 6 inches long and two to three lines wide, the sheaths long, smooth, and striate, the ligules long. The panicle varies 96 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. with the size of the plant from 5 to 10 or 12 inches long and 1 to 3 inches wide, and lax ; the branches mostly in fives or more numerous, nearly erect, from 1 to 4 inches long, the longer ones subdivided and flowering above the middle. There are some mountain forms or varieties in which the ¢ulms are 1 foot or less in height and the panicle greatly re- duced. The spikelets are oue to two lines long, two to five flowered, on short pedicels. The outer glumes are about one line long and sharp- pointed. The flowering glumes are rather obtuse, the lateral nerves not prominent, slightly pubescent on the margins below, and somewhat webby at the base. This species 1s most common in the Northern States, particularly in New England, New York, and westward to Wiscousin, and also in re- duced forms in all wountainous districts. Mr. J. S. Gould, of New York, says: I have found it to grow on almost every kind of soil; but it attains the greatest perfection in a rich moist one. It is one of those grasses that thrive best when com- bined with others; it will not make a superior turt of itself, but it adds much to the value of a sward from its nutritive qualities and powers of early and late growth. As it perfects an abundance of seed it may be easily propagated. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: In portions of the Western States this grass has, for some years, been very highly recommended. In the Eastern States it has been cultivated for one hundred and fifty years or longer and valued highly. Jared Elliott, in 1749, spoke of it as growing tall and thick, making a more soft and pliable hay than timothy and better adapted for pressing and shipping for use of horseson shipboard. He saysit makes a thick, abund- aut growth on land more moist than is adapted to common upland grasses, and may be mowed any time from June to October, as it never becomes so coarse and hard but the stalk is sweet and tender and eaten without waste. It has not been sufficiently culti- vated in the Southern States, so far as I am aware, to know how long a meadow set with it may remain profitable. It is, however, worthy of extended trial. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: It grows abundantly in almost every part of New England, especially where it has been introduced and cultivated in suitable ground, such as the borders of rivers and intervals occasionally flooded. It never grows so coarse or hard but that the stalk is sweet and tender, and eaten without waste. It is easily made into hay, and is a nu- tritive and valuable grass. : (Plate 98.) Poa coMPRESSA. (Wire grass, Blue grass.) This species has sometimes been confounded with the Kentucky blue grass, from which it differs in its flattened, decumbent, wiry stems, its shorter leaves and shorter, narrower, and more scanty panicle. 1t is found in many old pastures, on dry banks, and in open woods. The culms are hard and much flattened, 1 foot to 18 inches long, more or less decumbent, and frequently bent at the lower joints. The leaves are scanty, smooth, short, and of a dark bluish-green color. The pani- Riki pe. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 97 cle is short and contracted, 1 to 3 inches long. The branches are in pairs or threes, short, rough, and frequently one sided. The spikelets are ovate-oblong, flat, short-stalked, and generally three to five lowered. The outer glumes are acute, the flowering ones obtuse, smooth, the nerves obscure, and the apex frequently purplish colored. It forms a. very firm turf by means of its creeping rootstalks. Very contradictory accounts have been given as to its agricultural value, some denouncing it as worthless and others entertaining a good opinion of it. It thrives well on clay, or hard trodden and poor soils. Hon. J. S. Gould says, respecting it: It is certain that cows that feed upon it both in pasture and in hay give more milk and keep in better condition than when fed on any other grass. Horses fed on this hay will do as well as when fed on timothy hay and oats combined. These discrepant opinions may be due in part to having mistaken the -Poa pratensis for this grass. It is probably a nutritious grass, but from its spare yield can hardly obtain much favor for a hay crop. (Plate 99.) POA ARACHNIFERA.. (Texas Blue grass.) This species was first described by Dr. John Torrey in the report of Captain Marcy’s exploration of the Red River of Louisiana, as having been found on the headwaters of the Trinity, and named Poa «rachnifera from the profuse webby hairs growing about the flowers, although it is found that this character is very variable, probably depending some- what on the amount of shade or exposure to which the grass is subject. Several years ago Mr. Hogan, of Texas, sent specimens of the grass to this Department, and as it was shown to be a relative of the Kentucky blue grass, Mr. Hogan adopted for the common name Texas blue grass. We give some extracts from his letters relating to the grass: Ifind it is spreading rapidly over the country, and I claim for it all and more in Texas than is awarded to the Poa pratensis in Kentucky. It seems to be indigenous to all the prairie country between the Trinity River and the Brazos in our State. It blooms here about tne last of March, and ripens its seeds by the 15th of April. Stock of all kinds, and even poultry, seem to preferit to wheat, rye, oranything else grown in winter. It seems to have all the characteristics of Poa pratensis, only it is much larger, and therefore affords more grazing. I have known it to grow 10 inches in ten days during the winter. The coldest winters do not even nip it, and although it seems to die down during summer it springs up as soon as the first rains fall in September and grows all winter. I have known it in cultivation some five years, and have never been able to find a fault in it. It will be ready for pasture in three or four weeks after the first rains in the latter part of August or first of September. I have never cut it for hay Why should a man want hay when he can have green grass to feed his stock on? Mr. James E. Webb, of Greensborough, Hale County, Alabama, writes to the Department December 26, 1883, and says: Recent experiments show that the Texas blue grass (Poa arachnifera) flourishes and grows here in west'Alabama as finely as could be wished, and is likely cre long to furnish us what we so much need, a fine winter grass. With Texas blue grass, Meli- lotus, and Bermuda grass, Alabama is a fine stock country. 2218 gr 7 98 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Mr. S. C. Tally, of Ellis County, Texas, has sent specimens of this grass; he says it is abundant there, bears heavy pasturing, and makes a beautiful yard or lawn grass. Similar favorable accounts have been received from others. It is likely to prove one of the most valuable grasses for the South and South- west. By means of its strong stolons or offshoots it multiplies rapidly and makes a dense permanent sod. It produces an abundance of radi- cal leaves, and those of the culm are long, smooth, and of good width, about 4 to 8 inches long and two lines wide. The culms are 2 to 3 feet high, each with two or three leaves, with long sheaths and blade, the upper leaf sometimes reaching nearly to the top of the panicle. The ligule is short and rounded, or lacerated when old. The panicle is from 3 to 8 inches in length, rather narrow, and with short, erect branches: of unequal length, in clusters of from three to five, the longest seldom 2 inches, most of them short, some nearly sessile, and profusely flower- . ing to the base. The spikelets usually contain about five flowers. The outer glumes are ovate-lanceolate, acute, with whitish scarious margins, and scabrous on the keel. The flowering glumes are longer, gradually sharp pointed, and smooth except on the margins and miduerve, which are usually pubescent, sometimes densely so. In many cases there is a remarkable development of long, silky hairs at the base of each flower, but sometimes these are quite absent. (Plate 100.) PoA TENUIFOLIA. [Oregon Blue grass.) There is some uncertainty about the proper specific name of this grass. In the report for 1831-82 it was published as Poa Californica, but it seems probable that that name belongs to a different species. It is common in California, Oregon, and Washington Territory, and is one of the numerous bunch grasses referred to in accounts of the wild pas- turage of that country. The foliage of some forms of tiie grass seems to be too scanty, but of others the radical leaves are long and abun- dant. It furnishes an abundance of nutritious seeds, which are said to be gathered for food by Indians. The culms are from 13 to 3 feet high, erect, and scantily clothed with a few short, narrow leaves. The panicle is erect, 3 to 5 inches long, rather narrow and loose, the branches mostly in fives, unequal, from 4 to 13 inches long, flowering above the middle. The spikelets are three to five flowered ; the outer glumes are oblong-lanceolate, about two lines long, nearly as long as the flowers, three-nerved, rough on the keel, somewhat scabrous, and acutish. The flowering glumes are lance- olate, convex, or slightly compressed toward the apex, indistinctly five. nerved, two to three lineslong, acutish, minutely scabrous, the apex and margins scarious and of a bronze or purplish color, sometimes slightly pubescent near the base. The palet is almost as long as its glume, nar- rower and bidentate at the apex. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 99 It is probable that this species, by careful cultivation, may be made as valuable in agriculture for the region where it grows as the Poa pra- tensis is in the Eastern States. (Plate 101.) Poa aALsopEes. (Tall Spear-grass, Woods grass, Wood Spear grass.) A species of spear-grass of, probably, no great agricultural value, but found in mountainous districts in the northern parts of the United States, in woods and on hill sides in New England, New York, the mountainous parts of Pennsylvania, and westward to Wisconsin. The culms are 2 to 2% feet high, slender, erect, and with about three nar- rowly-linear leaves, each 3 to 4 inches long. The panicle is about 6 inches long, very open, and composed of about four whorls of branches, chiefly in fours, the lower ones distant, very slender, 2 to 3 inches long, and with few flowers only toward the extremity of the branches. The species may most readily be distinguished by the acute flowers. The spikelets are about two lines long, chiefly three-flowered. All the glumes are acutely-pointed, the flowering ones obscurely nerved, and with a narrow tuft of long, webby hairs at the base. Mr. J. S. Gould says: It flourishes on mountain sides from 1,000 to 3.000 feet above the sea, but is very well adapted for lawns and for thick, shady places, where few other kinds will grow. Fhe seeds weigh about 15 pounds to the bushel. {Plate 102.) PoA ANDINA OF NUTTALL. (Mountain Spear grass.) A perennial tufted grass, with short, narrow, rigid, and pungently pointed leaves, usually involute; the culms are 6 to 18 inches high, smooth, or nearly so, wiry and naked, except about two very short leaves, the blade an inch long, or almost wanting. The panicle is 2 to 4 inches long, narrow, erect, and rather loose, the branches mostly in pairs, which are erect, about an inch long, and flowering for the upper two-thirds, or nearly throughout. The spikelets are three to five flow- ered, and nearly sessile; the outer glumes are one and a half lines long, nearly equal, thin, ovate-lanceolate, acute or acutish, the margins scari- ous, the lower one-nerved, and the upper obscurely three-nerved, mi- nutely scabrous ; the flowering glumes are oblong, obtuse, or obtusish, slightly compressed, rounded on the back, at least below, obscurely nerved, softly and finely pubescent and below villous; the apex scari- ous and tinged with purple, sometimes denticulate or lacerated ; the palets are as long as their glumes, and pubescent on the nerves. The flowers separate very readily and drop off early. This grass prevails widely throughout the region of the great plains and table lands from Arizona to British America. Little is known of its agricultural value. (Plate 103.) 100 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. PoA AXNUA. (Annual Spear grass, Goose grass.) This grass is a native of Europe, but has become extensively natur- alized in this and many other countries. It is an annual or biennial species of low growth, usually 3 or 4 to 6 or 10 in ches high, with pale- green, tender leaves. It is commonly found in door-yards or neglected lots or on the roadside. It blooms very early in the spring, and also frequently in the fall. It is very nutritious, but so small that the yield . is deficient in quantity. It appears to die at the approach of hot weather. Poa flexuosa, Poa brevifolia, Poa debilis, and Poa sylvestris, are species growing in woods or shaded grounds in different parts of the country, South and East, but are not of much agricultural importance. GLYCERIA. i This genus is closely related to Poa, and is characterized as follows: Spikelets terete or flattish, several to many flowered, the axis of the flowers smooth, the outer glumes shorter than the flowers, unequal, membranaceous, one to three nerved, the flowering glumes membrana- ceous or subcoriaceous, obtuse, awnless, more or less hyaline, and finely- toothed or worn at the apex, rounded (not keeled) on the back, five to nine nerved, the nerves separate and all vanishing before reaching the apex ; palet about as long as its glume, two-keeled, entire or bifid at the apex. : The species of this genus are not of much agricultural importance. They mostly grow in wet or swampy ground, and where found in abundance can be utilized for pasturage or hay-making. GLYCERIA AQUATICA. (Reed Meadow grass, White Spear grass.) This species is widely diffused in the northern portions of the United States, Canada, the Rocky Mountains, and the Northwestern States and Territories. It has a stout, erect, leafy culm, 3 to 4 feet high. The leaves are a foot or two long, a quarter to half an inch wide, flat, and somewhat rough, especially on the edges. The panicle is large, 9 to 15 inclies long, much branched; the branches arranged in half whorls alternately on the main axis, at first erect, but spreading with age. The spikelets are oblong, about three lines long, five to nine tlow- ered, on capillary pedicels. Thelower third of the branches is naked. The outer glumes are one-nerved, and unequal. The flowering glumes are obtuse, prominently seven nerved or ribbed, mostly entire at the apex: The palet is two-toothed, two-nerved, and about as long as its glume. Hon. J. S. Gould says: This grass is made into hay which is liked by cattle. It flowers in July. It is found in most parts of Europe, and is widely diffused in this country in wettish meadows. It is doubtful if the European grass of this name is identical with the American one, although much resembling it. (Plate 104.) THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 101 GLYCERIA NERVATA. (Nerved Meadow grass, Nerved Manna grass.) This is similar in appearance and habit to the preceding, but gen- erally smaller. It has also much the same general range. The culms are 2 to 3 feet high, usually somewhat decumbent below, often branch- ing and rooting at the lower joints. It varies greatly in size and in the magnitude of the panicle. It usually grows along the wet margins of streams and in swamps. The panicle is from 4 to 8 inches long, nod- ding when young, loose and spreading, with capillary branches. The leaves are S to 12 inches long, and two to three lines wide. The spikelets are small, about five-lowered, oblong, frequently becoming purplish with age. The outer glumes are unequal, obtuse, thin, and small, neither of them much more than half as long as the flowers. The flowering glumes are obtuse, oblong, prominently five to seven ribbed, and en- tire or minutely ciliate at the apex. The palet is as long as its glumes, two-nerved, two-toothed at the apex. Like the preceding this grows in wet meadows and swamps. It is nutritious and might be advan- tageously mixed with other grasses in wet or swampy grounds. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: It is a hardy grass, grows best on moist ground, but is said to succeed also on lightish upland soils. It is a very valuable native grass, retaining its nutritive qualities until the seed is ripe, and then sending up large fan-like shoots which are succulent and nutritious. It would be a valuable ingredient in a mixture for wet or moist pastures. (Plate 105.) GLYCERIA CANADENSIS. (Rattlesnake grass, Tall quaking grass.) A grassbelonging to the northern portion of the United States, usually found in mountainous districts, in swamps, and river borders, growing in clumps. The culms are stout, about 3 feet high, smooth and leafy The leaves are linear-lanceolate, 6 to 9 inches long, or the iower ones much longer, about four lines broad and rather rigid. The panicle is large and effuse, 6 to 9 inches long, oblong pyramidal, and at length drooping. The whorls are an inch or more distant, the branches semi- verticillate, mostly in threes, the largest 3 to 4 inches long, and sub- divided from near the base. The spikelets are oblong to ovate, when mature nearly three lines long, rather turgid, but flattened at the sides, usually six to eight flowered. The empty glumes are shorter than the flowering glumes, ovate-lanceolate, acute, purplish, the upper onelargest. The flowering glumes are broadly ovate, acute, five to seven nerved, one and one-half to two lines long. The palets are shorter than their glumes and thicker in texture, roundish, and obtuse, with the sides strongly reflexed. This is quite an ornamental grass, resembling the quaking grass (Briza). Cattle are fond of it, both green and when made into hay. It is well adapted to low meadows. 102 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Hon. J. S. Gould says: It is usually found on high elevations, in swampy lands, and by the margins of streams. Itis very apt to grow in clumps. It is one of the most beautiful of grasses, and is exceedingly ornamental in grass boquets. It is abundant on the Catskill and White Mourtains and on the Raquette waters of the Adirondacks. Cattle eatit very well in pasture and when made into hay. (Plate 106.) GLYCERIA FLUITANS. (Floating Manna grass.) This species grows in shallow water on the margins of lakes, ponds, and sluggish streams. Its culms are usually 3 to 4 feet high, rather thick and succulent and quite leafy. The leaves are 4 to 9 inches long and three to four lines wide. The panicle is often a foot long, very narrow, the short distant branches mostly in twos or threes, 1 or 2 inches long, erect and close, each having usually two to four spikelets. The spike- lets are half an inch to three-quarters of an inch in length, rather cylin- drical and nearly of the same thickness throughout, seven to thirteen flowered. The outer glumes are membranaceous and one-nerved. The flowering glumesare about two lines long, oblong, convex on theroughish back, rather thick, with a thin, scarious entire apex. The palets are as long or sometimes longer than their glumes and minutely two-toothed. Hon. J. S. Gould says: , This grass is found growing in shallow water, overflowed meadows and wet woods, but will bear cultivation on moderately dry grounds. Schreber says that it is culti- vated in several parts of Germany for the sake of the seeds, which form the manna crop of the shops, and are considered a great delicacy in soups and gruels. When ground into meal they make bread very little inferior to that made from wheat. In Poland large quantities of the seeds are obtained for culinary purposes. All graniv- erous birds are exceedingly fond of these seeds. Trout and indeed most fish are very fond of them ; whereverit grows over the banks of streams the trout are always found in great numbers waiting to catch every seed that falls. There is a great difference of opinion among agricultural writers with respect to the fondness of animals for the leaves and culms of this grass. We have often seen the ends of the leaves cropped by cattle, but have never seen the culms or root-leaves touched by them. On the other hand, reliable writers have asserted that cattle, horses, and swine were alike fond of it. FESTUCA. This is a large genus, of which we have some fifteen native and several introduced species. The genus is characterized as follows: Spikelets, three to many flowered, variously panicled, pedicellate ; axis of the spikelets not hairy, outer glumes unequal, shorter than the flowers, the lower one-nerved and the upper three-nerved, narrow, keeled, acute; flowering glumes membranaceous, chartaceous, or sub- coriaceous, narrow, rounded on the back (not keeled), more or less dis- tinetly three to five nerved, acute, or commonly tapering into a straight awn, rarely obtusish; palet narrow, flat, prominently two-nerved or two- keeled. Ce da ast THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 103 FESTUCA ELATIOR. (Meadow Fescue grass, Tall Fescue, Randall grass, Evergreen grass.) A perennial grass, growing from 2 to 4 feet high, with flat, broadish leaves about a foot long. The panicle is somewhat one-sided, loose, and spreading when in flower, contracted after flowering, from 6 to 10 inches long, the branches 1 to 2 inches long, erect, mostly in pairs below, single above, subdivided; the spikelets are lanceolate or linear, about half an inch long, five to ten flowered. The outer glumes are one and three nerved, shorter than the flowers; the flowering glumes are lanceolate, about three lines long, firm in texture, five-nerved, scari- ous at the margin, acute, and sometimes with a short but distinct awn at the apex. This is an introduced species, now frequently met with in meadows; it is one of the standard meadow grasses of Europe- Cattle are said to be very fond of it, both green and as hay. There is a smaller form or variety which is the variety pratensis or Festuca prae- tensis, Hudson. Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, writes of this grass as follows: This grass has received some attention in different parts of the State, and has met with a warm reception from those testing it. It ripens its seed long before any other grass, and consequently affords a very early nip to cattle. It has been raised under various names, in Virginia as * Randall grass,” and in North Carolina as ‘‘ evergreen grass.” Mr. James Taylor, writing from North Carolina, says: ‘The evergreen grass is very good for pasturing through the fall and winter. It will do best when sown on dry land, and is well adapted to sheep. It grows well on rocky soil to the height of 4 or 5 feet when ripe, continuing green in the spring, and affording fine herbage throughout the winter. It is best to sow in the spring with oats. A peck of well- cleaned seed is enough for an acre, or a bushel in the chaff. It ripens about the 1st of June. If sown in the spring this grass will not go to seed before the next year, but if sown in the fall it will bring seed the next spring.” From the limited culti- vation it has met with in Tennessee, it seems rather to be better adapted to moist, low lands, though I have seen it growing on some of the high ridges of East Tennes- see, at least 1,500 feet above the sea. There it thrives luxuriantly and makes a very superior pasture. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says : It grows well in nearly all situations, wet or dry, on hill or bottom land, even though subject to overflow, and matures an extraordinary quantity of seed. The seeds germinate readily, and it is easy to set a piece of land with this grass. Seeded alone, 28 pounds, or about 2 bushels, of seed should be sown broadcast in August, Sep- tember, October, or from the middle of February to the 1st of April. From remain- ing green through the winter it is sometimes called “ evergreen grass.” Mowed and dried it makes a good hay, much relished by stock. (Plate 107.) FESTUCA OVINA. (Sheep’s Fescue grass.) A deusely-tufted, perennial grass, with an abundance of rather nar- row, sometimes involute, short radical leaves and slender culms, 1 to 1} feet high. The panicle is 2 to 4 inches long, narrow, the branches mostly single and alternate, erect and few-flowered ; the spikelets are 104 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. mostly three to five flowered, and about three lines long; the outer glumes are acute and narrow. The flowering glumes are lanceolate, two lines Jong, roughish, and with a short rough awn about half a line long. This species has many varieties, both in this country and in Europe. Ii is indigenous in the mountainous parts of New England, in the Rocky Mountains, and in various Northern localities. As found in cultivation it has been derived from Europe. Hon. J. Gould, of New York, says: It forms the great bulk of the sheep pastures of the highlands of Scotland, where it is the favorite food of the sheep, and where the shepherds believe it to be more nutritious for their flocks than any other. Gmelin says that the Tartars choose to encamp during the summer where this grass is most abundant, because they believe _ that it afiords the most wholesome food for all cattle, but especially for sheep. Nat- ure distributes it among dry, sandy, and rocky soils, where scarcely any other species would grow. It is without doubt the very best of the grasses growing on sandy soils. It roots deeply, and forms a dense, short tur(, which adapts it admirably for lawns and pleasure-grounds where the soil is sandy. It is almost useless as a hay crop, as its leaves and culms are too fine to give a remunerative amount of hay; it is only as a pasture grass on sandy soils that it is valnable, and in these, when highly manured, itis driven out by the more succulent species. It is often found 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. Its seeds weigh about 14 pounds to the bushel. (Plate 108.) FESTUCA MICROSTACHYS. (Small Fescue grass, Western Fescue.) A slender annual grass, which is very common in California and Oregon, considerably like the small fescue (Festuca tenella). The culms are slender, 6 to 18 inches high ; the leaves are short and narrow. The panicle is from 2 to 5 inches long, with rather distant short branches, which are mostly single at the joints, and apt to be one-sided, some- times with the lower branches spreading or reflexed. The spikelets are small, from two to five flowered, on short, thickened pedicels, varying from smooth to pubescent. The outer glumes are acute, about a line long. The flowering glumes are two or three lines long, with an awn nearly twice as long ; the palets have each two short, bristle-like teeth, which often project beyond the flowering glume. The grass is of little value, except as it helps to extend the pasturage of uncultivated ground. (Plate 109.) FESTUCA SCABRELLA. (Bunch grass.) A perennial grass, growing in strong clumps or bunches, and hence called “bunch grass.” It is a native of the Rocky Mountain region, from Colorado westward to California and Oregon. The culms are usu- ally 2 to 3 feet high, erect, and smooth; the radical leaves are numerous, about half as long as the culm, generally rigid, involute, and scabrous on the margins; the blade is prone to separate when old, leaving an abundance of leafless sheaths at the base; the cauline leaves are about two, short and pointed, 2 to 4 inches long; the sheath scabrous, the lig- ule short or wanting; the panicle is usually 3 to 5 inches long; the THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 105 rays spreading, 1 to 3 inches long, distant, usually in pairs below, single above, subdivided to the middle; spikelets five to Six lines long, three to five flowered, the flowers rather distant; outer glumes ovate-lanceo- late, membranaceous, acute or acuteish, obscurely nerved, the upper one two lines long, the lower one-third shorter; flowering glumes lanceo- late, acute, or short cuspidate, about five-nerved, minutely scabrous, of thicker texture than the outer glumes; palet as long as its glume, two- nerved, bifid at the apex. This grass varies greatly in size and appearance in different locali- ties, one form in Oregon and California growing 3 to 5 feet high, with ~ panicle twice as large as the mountain form. Cattle are said to be fond of it, and it is considered one of the most valuable wild grasses of the region where it grows. (Plate 110.) BROMUS. Spikelets five to many flowered, subterete or compressed, the axis smooth; the outer glumes more or less unequal, shorter than the flow- ers, membranaceous, acute, one to nine nerved, awnless or short mu- cronate; flowering glumes, membranaceous to rigid-subcoriaceous, rounded on the back, or compressed or keeled, five to nine nerved, acute or awned from below the mostly two-cleft apex; palet commonly rather shorter than its glume, two keels, the keels rigid and ciliate. BROMUS SECALINUS. (Chess or Cheat.) We introduce this grass, not to recommend its cultivation, but to tamiliarize those interested with its appearance and character. Many farmers know it well, as it occurs in their wheat fields. It is an old tradition, which some farmers still cling to, that chess is a degenerated wheat; that the action of frost and other causes occasion the deteriora- tion, whereas the truth undoubtedly is that chess seed was either in the land or in the seed sown, and being more hardy than wheat it survived the frost and took possession of the ground. Some years ago this grass had a temporary popularity under the name of Willard’s Brome grass, but it was soon abandoned when brought into competition with better grasses. It has a stout upright culm, 2 to 3 feet high, the panicle being from 4 to 6 inches long, rather spreading, and the large spikelets somewhat drooping when ripe. Usually there are three to five branches at each joint of the panicle; these branches are of different lengths, from # inch to 2 inches, and each with one to three spikelets. The spikelets aré usually from: five to ten flowered; the glumes unequal, nerved, shorter than the flowérs; the flowering glume is convex or compressed, keeled on the back, with an awn variable in length from below the point. : ; : : : In the South it would perhaps be a good winter grass, like its relative Bromus unioloides, but it is not as vigorous a grass as that species, and does not produce such an abundance of foliage. (Plate 111.) 106 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. BroOMUS UNIOLOIDES. (Schrader’s grass, Rescue grass.) This is one of the so-called winter grasses; that is, it makes in the South a large share of its growth during the winter months. It belongs. to the chess or cheat family. In its early growth it spreads and pro- duces a large amount of leaves ; early in the spring it sends up its flower stalks, which grow about 3 feet high, with a large, open, spreading panicle, the ends of the branchlets bearing the large flattened spikelets, which, when mature, hang gracefully upon their stems, giving them quite an ornamental appearance. These spikelets are from 1 inch to 13 inches in length, and composed of two acute lanceolate glumes at the base, and from seven to ten flowers arranged in two rows alternate on each side of the axis. The flowers are lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, the flowering glume extending into a fine point or short awn. During several years past this grass has been sent to this Department, chiefly Trom Louisiana and Texas, and has been much commended. Many years since the same grass was distributed and experimented with under the name of Australian oats, or Bromus Schraderi. It is not adapted to use in a country with severe winters, and hence did not give satisfaction in all places. Mr. C. Mohr, of Mobile, says of it: Only of late years found spreading in different parts of this State; makes its ap- pearance in February, grows in tufts, its numerous leafy stems growing from 2 to 3 feet high ; it ripens the seed in May ; affords in the earlier months of spring a much- relished nutritious food, as well as a good hay. 5 Under date of March 4, 1878, Mr. Williams writes from San Antonio, Tex., describing the introduction and spreading of a patch of this grass. He says: . Inasmuch as Western Texas is the great stock-producing section of the Southwest, and considering the fact that pasturage is scanty, particularly in February, stunting the growth of young cattle, this seems wonderfully adapted to supply just what is greatly wanted, both for milch cows, calves, colts, and ewes just dropping their lambs; and besides, this grass grows well on the thinnest soil and crowds out weeds, maturing: in March and early April, while not interfering with the native mesquite. I therefore regard this grass as a wonderful and most important discovery. This grass is said to have been introduced into Georgia by General Iverson, of Columbus, and by him called rescue grass. The favorable opinion which it at first received does not seem to have been well sus- tained in that State. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: This grass is also called Bromus Schraderi, B. Willdenovii, Ceratochloa unioloides, and Festuca unioloides. It is an annual winter grass. It varies in the time of starting growth. I have seen it ready for mowing the first of October, and furnish frequent cuttings till April. Again, it nay not start before January, nor be ready to cut till February. This depends on the moisture and depression of temperature of the fall, the seeds germinating only at a low temperature. When once started, its growth after the successive cuttings or grazings is very rapid. It is tender, very sweet, and stock eat it greedily. It makes also a good hay. It produces an immense quantity of leaves. On loose soil some of it may be pulled up by animals grazing it. (Plate 112.) THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 107 BroMUs ERECTUS. (Erect Brome grass.) This is a European species, which has become sparingly naturalized in some places. It is a perennial grass, growing about 24 feet high, the culms erect, firm, and smooth. The leaves are narrowly linear, mostly radical, or at the base of the stem. The panicle is somewhat oblong in outline, 5 or 6 inches long, the branches mostly in fives, 1 to. 2 inches long, slender, erect, not much subdivided, and each terminated with the pretty large spikelet of seven to nine flowers. The spikelets. are about 1 inch long. The empty glumes are lanceolate, thinnish, acute, rather shorter than the flowering glumes, which are aboutfive lines long, linear lanceolate, slightly rough, and pointed with an awn of half to three-quarters its own length. This species is not so coarse as many of the brome grasses, and will be more useful for hay. It is of the same genus as chess or cheat, but is very different from and should not be confounded with broom grass, which is an Andropogon and much less valuable. (Plate 113.) We have several other native species of this genus, and there are several species growing in California, Oregon, and the mountain region of the Pacific slope. The most important of these is the Bromus grandi- Alorus, which is in many respects like the Bromus unioloides, but of a larger growth and with larger spikelets. Bromus mollis, Bromus race- mosus, Bromus sterilis, and some other European species are occasion- ally found introduced. LoriuM PERENNE. (Rye grass and Italian Rye grass.) A perennial grass, introduced from Europe. The culms are 2 to 3 feet high, very leafy, and terminating in a loose, spike-like panicle, 6 inches or more in length. The spikelets are arranged alternately on the axis, placed edgewise; that is, with one edge of the flat spikelet applied to the main stem at short distances, so that there may be twenty or more in the panicle. The spikelets are one-half to three-fourths of an inch long; generally seven to eleven flowered. The inner empty glume is generally wanting, so that, except on the terminal spikelet, only one glume is apparent, which is half or more than half the length of the spikelet, narrowly lanceolate, and acute. The general appearance of the panicle is like that of couch grass (Triticum repens). The flowering glumes are thickish, obscurely nerved, rather hispid, acutely pointed, or in the variety Italicum, with a longish awn. The proper palets are similar to the flowering glumes and of nearly equal length. An intelligent writer, whom we have frequently quoted, says respect- ing this grass: It occupies the same place in Great Britain that timothy does with us, and is there esteemed on the whole higher than any other species of grass, and is called rye grass or ray grass. Of all the varieties of Lolium perenne which are known that called Italicum is by far the most valuable. Its spikelets are conspicuously bearded, the flowers being all terminated by long, slender awns, which character distinguishes it very easily from Lolium perenne. Its name (Italian rye grass) is derived from the fact 108 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. that its native habitat is on the plains of Lombardy, where broad and extensive plains of pasture land are frequently inundated by the mountain streams which inter- sect them. It is mainly adapted to irrigated meadows, and in these it is undoubtedly superior to any other grass. Professor Phares says: This grass stands drought well and grows most luxuriantly in our Southern States. If not kept grazed or mowed, however, the leaves cover the ground so deeply and densely that an excess of rain in very hot weather in the extreme South causes it to rot suddenly, destroying even the roots. This I have never seen or heard mentioned by any other person, but it occurred on my own farm one season, where I was reserv- ing a lot for seed. > Hon. J. S. Gould says: The valuable qualities of this grass may be summed up as follows: Its habit of coming early to maturity; its rapid reproduction after cutting; its wonderful adapt- ation to all domestic animals, which is shown by the extreme partiality they manifest for it, either alone or when mixed with other grasses, whether when nsed as green food for soiling, as hay or as pasturage, in which latter stage its stems are never allowed to ripen and wither like those of other grasses. One of its greatest recom- mendations is its beneficial influence on the dairy, not only in angmenting the flow of milk, but in improving the flavor of the cheese and butter that are made from it. (Plate 114.) AGROPYRUM. (Triticum.) This genus is by many botanists considered as a section of Triticum, and our species are best known under that name. Tha spikelets are usually from three to five flowered, compressed, alternately sessile on the continuous or slightly notched axis of the simple spike and with the side of the spikelets against the axis; the outer glumes are nearly equal membranaceous or herbaceous, one to three nerved, scarcely keeled, tapering to a point, or awned ; flowering glumes similar to the outer ones, but generally broader, rounded on the back, three to seven nerved, pointed or awned from the apex; the palet nearly as long as its glume, the two prominent nerves almost marginal and ciliate. AGROPYRUM REPENS. (Triticum repens.) (Couch grass, Quack grass, Quitch grass, Wheat grass, Twitch grass, Dog grass.) There has been a good deal of discussion relative to this grass, some pronouncing it one of the vilest of weeds, and others claiming for it high nutritive qualities overweighing all the disadvantages of its growth. Whichever party may be right, it is proper that farmers should be acquainted with itin order to know how to treat it, and hence our figure and description. It forms a dense sod by means of its far- reaching rhizomas or root-stalks, which have short joints, and root tena- ciously at every joint. It has an abundance of foliage, and sends up a flowering culm, 2 to 3 feet high, which is terminated by a close, narrow spike of flowers from 3 to 6 inches long. This spike consists of a succession of closely-set spikelets, one at each joint of the axis, and placed flatwise with the side BE as oo oi THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 109 against the stalk. Each spikelet contains several (three to eight) flow- ers, with a pair of nearly equal and opposite three to five nerved glumes at the base. This grass as it occurs in the Eastern States is supposed to be intro- duced from Europe, but on the great Western plains and in the Rocky Mountains there are several varieties of it which are undoubtedly in- digenous, as also several other species in the same region. Hon. J. S. Gould says: The farmers of the United States unite in one continuous howlof excreation against this grass, and it seems strange, when every man’s hand is against it, that it is not exterminated. Yet we could never really satisfy onrselves that its presence in mead- ows and pastures was such an unmitigated curse. In lands where alternate hus- bandry is practiced, it must be admitted to be an evil of great magnitnde. Itshardi- ness is such, and its rapidity of growth is so great that it springs up much more rapidly than any other crop that can be planted, and chokesit. Still it has many virtues. It is perfectly cosmopolitan in its habits. It is found in all sorts of soils and climates. Its creeping roots are succulent, and very nutritive, and are greedily devovoured by horses and cows. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: This is perennial, with stem 2 or 24 feet high, so much like wheat as to be called also wheat grass. Cattle eat it heartily when green, and cut early it makes a good hay. But it tills the ground with roots, is as difficult to cultivate amongst and exterminate as coco or nut grass ; and hogs are as fond of and root up the ground as industriously to obtain the roots. Cows and horses are also fond of them. Itshould be destroyed as soon as found in cultivated ground, but it is very valuable in permanent pastures. (Plate 115.) AGROPYRUM GLAUCUM. (Blue stem, Blue joint.) This species, which has also been considered a variety of the preced- ing, prevails on the Western plains from Texas to Montana, and is well known to stockmen. It differs from the A. repens in having a stouter, more rigid stem and leaves; the leaves, indeed, often becoming involute and stiff. It is also of a light bluish-green color. The spike is gen- erally shorter, denser, and with larger spikelets. Mr. Richard Gaines, of Colorado Springs, Colo., says: We think this is the best grass grown, superior to timothy or clover. We call it blue stem, or blue joint; no richer hay can be made from anything known. HORDEUM NODOSUM. (Barley grass.) An annual or biennial grass, growing principally in alkaline soils and on the borders of saline marshes, especially in the Western States and Territories. Although eaten by cattle when in a young state, it cannot be claimed as of anything more than temporary value. The culms are usually 1 to 14 feet high, sometimes in moist places reaching 3 feet, and varying as to smoothness or pubescence. The leaves are usually flat, 2 to 4 inches long, and about two lines wide. The flowers are in a close, cylindrical spike, about 2 inches long, with three spikelets at cach joint of the rachis. One (the central) spikelet is sessile and perfect; the two 110 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. lateral ones are short-stalked and imperfect or abortive. Each of the spikelets has a pair of empty glumes, which are narrowly lanceolate and awn-pointed, or the lateral ones may be reduced to rough bristles. ‘The flowering glume of the perfect flower is lanceolate, indistinctly three- nerved, and terminated by an awn one-quarter to one-half inch long, equaling those of the empty glumes. The proper palet is inclosed in its glume, is of about the same length as that, excluding the awn, and .of thinner texture. (Plate 116.) HORDEUM JUBATUM. (Wild barley, Squirrel tail grass.) This species has the same general characters as the preceding, but the flowers have awns 2 inches or more long, giving it a bushy and rather handsome appearance. It is frequently found in wet or marshy places, and is of no agricultural value. HORDIUM MURINUM. Professor Brewer states that this grass, unfortunately is extensively naturalized in California, and is a vile pest; it comes in when land is overstocked ; is known there as ¢ Squirrel grass,” ¢* Squirrel tail,” ¢ Fox tail,” and ¢ White oats.” The heads break up aud the barbed seeds work into the wool of sheep, and even into the flesh of lambs, killing them. It damages the eyesand throats of animals. EvLymus. (Wild rye.) Of this genus we have several species. Its general characters are as follows: Spikelets in a simple, generally stout, spike, sessile, two to four at each joint of the axis, one to six flowered ; outer glumes two for each spikelet, nearly side by side in front, forming a kind of involucre for the cluster, narrow, rigid, one to three nerved, acuminate or awned; flow- ering glumes herbaceous, thick and harsh, oblong or lanceolate, rounded ou the back, not keeled, acute, or awned ; palet shorter than its glume, acute, two-keeled. EryMUs CANADENSIS. (Wild rye, Lyme grass, Terrell grass.) A perennial coarse grass, growing on river banks and in rich shaded woods. Culms, 2 to 4 feet high, leafy, terminated by a cylindrical loose spike, 4 to 8 inches long, with the spikelets placed at intervals of about half an inch on the axis. The spikelets are mostly in pairs at each joint, each composed of from three to five flowers. The glumes are narrow, ‘strongly nerved, and tapering to an awn which is rather shorter than the awn of the flowers proper. The flowering glume of cach flower is thick in texture, narrow, and extending into a long, somewhat curved, awn or beard, the palet with the awn being an inch or more in length. The palet is thinner in texture, obtuse, and not awned, fringed with short hairs on the margin. The spike is usually drooping at the top, ‘and rather graceful in appearance. The leaves are broad and rough, -the lower ones 9 to 12 inches long. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 311 In some localities this is common in low meadows, and is cut with other native grasses for hay. It left until maturity it becomes too coarse to be of much value. In some portions of the Southern States this grass is known as Terrell grass from having been prominently brought to notice by Dr. Terrell, of Sparta, Ga. Mr. C. W. Howard writes concerning it, as.follows: This grass will live on thin land, but the soil, to make it valuable, must be rich— the richer the better. It lasts for years. I have known it to occupy and flourish on the same spot for twenty years. Horses, sheep, and cattle are very fond of it during the winter and spring ; hogs reject it. Orchard, blue, or meadow-oat grass are either of them preferable to it where they thrive. Whatever doubt there may be of their thriving in a given locality, there can be no doubt of the thrift of the Terrell grassin any part of the South, however hot it may be, if the soil be made rich. The planter living in the flat and somewhat sandy portions of the South who says he cannot get a good winter pasture, has cextainly never tried the Terrell grass on rich land. (Plate 117.) . ; 4 ELyMus VIRGINICUS. {Wild Rye grass, Smooth Rye grass, Terrell : ; grass.) A coarse perennial grass, growing on alluvial river banks or in rich low grounds. The culm is rather stout, 2 to 3 feet high, leafy ; the lower leaves are 10 to 15 inches long, broad and rough. The sheath of the upper leaf usually incloses the stock, and sometimes the base of the | flower spike. This spike is erect, dense, and rigid, 2 to 4 or 5 inches long and one-half inch thick. The spikelets are two or three together at each joint, all alike and fertile, sessile, two to five flowered, and each with a pair of empty glumes. These glumes are very thick and coarse strongly nerved, lanceolate, and bristle-pointed, about 1 inch long. The flowering glumes are of firm texture, lance-oblong, five-nerved, hairy on back, and terminating in a stiff, straight awn, half an inch to nearly an inch long. The lowest one in the spikelet having the longest awn, the others gradually shorter. The palet is oblong, obtuse, andras long as the flowering glume, excluding the awn. This grass frequently forms a considerable portion of native AON lands and makes a eoarse hay. It starts growth early ir the spring, and thus affords a good pasturage. Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, says it is very valuable and ought to be tried in cultivation. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says : This perennial grass is a native of the Southern States. As all farm stock except hogs are fond of it, and it is green through the winter and spring, it has been de- stroyed when grazing animals have access to it at all times. It is, however, found in many af our States along the banks of wooded streams, of ditches, and in fence- «corners among briers and thickets. It will grow on thin clay, gravelly, or sandy soil, but much better on rich lands, dry or rather moist, and will thrive ten, twenty, or more years on the same land. (Plate 118.) 112 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. ELYMUS STRIATUS. (Smaller Rye grass, Dennett grass). This grass has a structure as to the flower-spike similar to the pre- ceding, but it is a more slender grass in all its parts, varying from smooth to pubescent. The spike is 3 to 4 inches long, cylindrical, and inclined to droop. The glumes are more slender than in E. Virginicus, with longer awns. The spikelets are usually two-flowered, the empty glumes narrow, rigid, and about 1 inch long. The body or dilated part of the flowering glume is oblong, about four lines long, and tipped with a slender awn an inch or more in length. ] This species grows in rocky woods and on river banks, growing more sparsely than the preceding, and it is said by some to furnish a good hay. Professor Phares says of this species: This, also, is a perennial and a native of the Southern States. Everything said of the preceding, E. Virginicus, applies with equal force to this, except the spikes of this are 3 to 7 inches long, and often slightly nodding. Also the spike of this species is raised by its long peduncle far above the sheath of the upper leaf, while the spike of the other is partly included in the upper sheath. They may be grazed or mown re- peatedly during spring and early summer, and grow rapidly after each mowing. Many acres have been planted in the last few years. As hay it is rather hard unless cut when young. Itshould be cut as soon as the blooms appear or earlier. It would be preferable to have these grasses for grazing or soiling, and to sow better grasses for hay. (Plate 119.) ELYMUS CONDENSATUS. (Giant Rye grass, Western Rye grass.) This is a perennial grass, ranging from San Diego throughout Cali- fornia, and into Oregon and Washington Territory, also in the Rocky Mountain region of the interior. It is very variable, but always a strong, heavy-rooted, coarse grass, from 3 to 5 or even to 12 feet high. Mr. Bolander states that it seems to do excellent service by fixing the soil on the banks of creeks and rivers. In the larger forms the culms are half an inch thick. The leaves are smooth, 2 feet long and an inch wide, or more, and the panicle 8 to 14 inches long and 13 inches thick. As it usually occurs in arid grounds it is from 3 to 6 feet high, the leaves about a foot long and half an inch wide, and the spike-like pan- icle 4 to S inches. In the large form the branches of the panicle are subdivided and 1 or 2 inches long. More commonly there are two to five sessile spikelets at each joint of the axis, the spikelets about three-flowered. The outer glumes are sub- ulate or short, bristle-like. The flowering glumes are mostly coriaceous, five-nerved, rounded on the back, and acute or mucronate pointed. There is a variety called Triticoides, which has a more slender, less crowded spike, the spikelets more distant, not more than two at a joint, and frequently single, the culm more slender, and the leaves narrow. or involute. This variety seems to unite the genus to Triticum. (Plate 120.) THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 113 GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN DESCRIBING GRASSES. Abrupt. Terminating suddenly. Acuminate. Extended into a tapering point. Acute. Sharp-pointed. ; Alternate. Situated regularly one above the other on opposite sides. Annual. Living but one season. Anther. The organ containing the pollen or flower dust. Apex. The top or extreme end of any part. Appressed. Pressed together, not spreading. Arixtate. Having an awn or beard. Articulated. Connected by a joint or joints. s Ascending. Rising obliquely from the ground. Awl-shaped. Gradually narrowed to a fine point like an awl. Awn. A bristie-like hair proceeding from the glumes. Aris. The central stem of a panicle, spike, or spikelet on which the flowers are dis- posed. Beard. Along slender hair or awn. Biennial. Living through two seasons. Bifid. Divided into two portions at the apex. Bisexual. Having both stamens and pistils. Blade. The expanded portion of a leaf. Boat-shaped. Folded together in the form of a boat, convex outwardly and concave on the inside. : Branch. A division of the stem or panicle. Branchlet. A secondary division of the branch. Bristles. Short, stiff hairs. Bulbous. Thickened like a bulb. Cespilose. Growing in bunches or tufts. Capillary. Hair-like, very slender. Cartilaginous. Firm and tough like cartilage. Carinate. Keeled, having a prominent ridge in the center. Cauline. Belonging to the culm or stem. Chaff. The dried glumes and palets of grasses. Chartaceous. The texture resembling paper or parchment in thickness. Ciliate. Having the margin or nerves fringed with hairs. Compressed. Flattened laterally. Contorted. Twisted. Convolute. Rolled together inward from the margins. Cornaceous. Of a horn-like consistence. Coriaceous. Of a leathery consistence. Culm. The stalk or stem of grasses. Cuspidate. Ending in a sharp, stiff point. Decumbent. Reclining on the ground, but rising at the top. Dichotomous. Branching in twos, forking by pairs. Digitate. Dividing from a common point. Dioecious. Having the stamens and pistils on separate plants, the staminate low- ers on one and pistilate flowers on another. Diverging. Widely spreading. Dorsal. Belonging to or growing from the back. FEmarginate. Having a notch at the end. Entire. Without notches or divisions. Equal. Alike in length. Exserted. Protruded, extended beyond, standing out. 2218 GR 8 114 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. Fertile. Having perfect pistils, producing fruit. Fibrous. Having thread-like divisions. Filament. The stalk or support of the anther. Filiform. Thread-like. Flexuous. Bending freely. Floret. The flowers of grasses are sometimes called florets. Foliaceous. Resembling a leaf. y Fusiform. Spindle-shaped, largest in the middle and tapering to both ends. Geniculate. Bent abruptly at an angle, like a knee. Genus. A group of species having a general agreement in structure. Glabrous. Smooth, without hairs or roughness. Glaucous. Having a light bluish-green color. Glomerate. Clustered in small roundish heads. Glumes. The chaft-like leaves forming a part of the flowers. Herbaceous. Herb-like. not woody. Hirsute. Pubescent, with rather stiff and coarse hairs. Hyaline. Thin and transparent. Indigenous. Growing naturally, not brought from some other country. Inferior. Lower in position. Inserted. Growing out of, or npon another. Internode. The space between two nodes or joints. Involute. Rolled together inwards. Imbricate. Closely overlapping each other, as frequently the flowers of a spikelet. Joints. Thickenings in the stem where the leaves originate : separable parts of an axis; point of issue of the branches of a panicle. Keel. An elevated longitudinal ridge, in the middle of a leaf, glume, or palet; re- sembling the keel of a boat. Lamina. The free or expanded portion of a leaf, as distinguished from the petiole or the sheath ; the blade of a leaf. Lanceolate. Tapering gradually to the apex, like a lancet. Lateral. At or from the side. Ligule. A tongue-like appendage at the upper part of the sheath of a leaf. Line. The twelfth part of an inch. Linear. Long and narrow, with parallel sides. Lobe. Some division of a glume. Male flower. A flower that has stamens, but without pistil. Membranaceous. Thin like a membrane, generally somewhat translucent. Monceecious. With stamens and pistils. Midrib. The central and principal nerve of a leaf or glume. Mucronate. Abruptly tipped with a short awn or bristle. Nerves. The ribs or veins of a leaf, or leaf-like organ. Neutral. Having neither stamens nor pistils. Nodes. Knots or thickened portions in the culms. Oblong. Longer than wide, with nearly parallel sides ‘Obovate. Egg-shaped, with the wider end uppermost. ‘Obtuse. Blunt or rounded at the apex. Oval. Broadly elliptical, approaching the round form. ‘Ovary. That part of the pistil which contains the seed. Ovate. Egg-shaped. Palet or palea. The inner scale or chaff of the proper Hower, placed nearly opposite and a little higher on the axis than the flowering glume. Panicle. A branched and subdivided stem bearing the flowers. Pedicel. A small branchlet supporting a spikelet. Peduncle. The main stem or stalk of a flower spike. Perennial. Living more than two years, or indefinitely. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 115 / Perfect. Having both stamens and pistils. Petiole. The stem of a leaf. Pistil. The central or female organ of a fertile lower. Pistillate. Having only pistils without stamens. Plumose. Feather-like. Pollen. The powder contained in the anthers. Pubescent. Clothed with short and soft hairs. Radical leaves. Those growing from the base of the culm. Revolute. Rolling backwards or outwards. Rhachis. The axis or stem on which the flowers of a spikelet are arranged ; also the common axis of a close spike or of a panicle. Rhizoma or rootstock. A horizontal underground stem. Ribs. Prominent nerves of the leaves or glumes. Rugose. Wrinkled or furrowed. Scabrous. Rough, with small points or hairs. Scarious. Dry and thin, and generally transparent. Sericeous. Covered with soft, silky hairs. Serrate. Having teeth on the margin, pointed toward the apex. Serrulate. Finely-toothed. Sessile. Without a foot stalk or pedicel. Setaceous. Like a bristle. Sheath. That part of the leaf which embraces the culm or stalk. Spike. A collection of sessile or nearly sessile flowers on a close, narrow axis. Spikelet. A flower or cluster of flowers having one pair of outer glumes. Stamen. The male organs of a flower, including the anther and filament. Staminate. Having only stamens. Sterile. Imperfect flowers not producing seed. Strict. Erect and close. Stoloniferous. Sending off offshoots or runners from the base. Strigose. Having spreading, bristly hairs. Subulate. Stiff and linear, shaped like an awl. Succulent. Fleshy and juicy. Style. That portion of the pistil bearing stigmas or a stigmatic surface ; in grasses often branching. Truncate. Abruptly cut off at the apex. Unequal. Not of equal length. Verticillate. Arranged ina whorl or whorls. Villous. Velvety, clothed thickly with long, soft hairs. Whorl. A number of leaves or branches arranged around a stem on the same plane. Wooly. Clothed with long and matted hairs. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN GRANSES FROM t INVESTIGATIONS IN THE LABORATORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 1878-1882. BY CLIFFORD RICHARDSON, ASSISTANT CHEMIST. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN GRASSES. In submitting grasses to chemical analysis, with a view of judging of their nutritive value, it is usual to determine the amount present of water, ash, tat or oil, fiber and nitrogen. From the latter the amount of albuminoids to which it is equivalent is readily calculated by multiply- ing by a factor which represents the per cent. of nitrogen present in the average albuminoid, and by subtracting the sum of all these constit- nents from one hundred, the percentage of undetermined matter is ob- tained, and as it of course contains no nitrogen, and consists of the ex- tractive principles of the plant, itis described as ¢ Nitrogen free extract.” It includes all the carbo-hydrates, such as sugar, starch, and gum, to- gether with certain other allied substances, with which we are less in- timately acquainted, but which have a certain nutritive value. Although it has been customary to state as albuminoids the equivalent of the nitrogen found, this is rarely entirely correct, as a portion is gener- ally present’ in a less highly elaborated form of a smaller nutritive value. This portion is described as non-albuminoid nitrogen, and in analyses of the present day the amount is always given as an additional source of-information, although our knowledge of its exact value to the animal is rather uncertain. The ultimate composition of the ash is also frequently determined, and examples of the results obtained are of interest, as showing the mineral matter that grasses withdraw from the soil. Without entering into a discussion of the nutritive value of the several constituents of the grasses, for which reference can be made to Armsby’s Manual of Cattle Feeding, it is sufficient to say that during the past few years the greater portion of the species described by Dr. Vasey in the preceding portion of this bulletin have been analyzed, and the results collected and rearranged, with some corrections, from the annual reports of the Department are presented in the following pages. The first series consists of analyses made with specimens collected at or near the time of blooming. Their origin is as follows: No. of anal. ; 1. Paspalum laeve (Water grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. - . Paspalum laeve (Water grass). From the Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1880, August 23-29. . Paspalum ovatum. From S. L. Goodale, Saco, Me. 1820. . Paspalum praecox. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. . Digitaria filiforme. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. 2 OU = WwW 119 120 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. No. of anal. 6. -~ {. 8. 9. 10. 11. 18. 19. 20. 21. 23. . Panicum obtusum. From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1873. . Panicum capillare (Witch grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 28, 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. BE 36. 37. 38. 39. . Andropogon macrourus (Broom grass). From Charles Mobr, Mobile, Ala. 41. Digitaria sanguinale (Crab grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1875. Digitarria sanguinale (Crab grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 23, 1880. Digitaria sanguinale (Crab grass). From the Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. August 11, 1230. Panicum jumentorum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 13783. Panicum Texanum (Texas millet). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1379. Panicum proliferum (Large Crab grass). ‘Very ripe and rank.” From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1279. . Panicum agrostoides (Marsh panic). From W. 8S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. . Panicum anceps. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. . Panicum anceps. From the Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. July 31, 1820. 5. Panicum crus-galli (Barn-yard grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1379. . Panicum crus-galli (Barn-yard grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. . Panicum crus-galli (Cock’s foot). From the Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. August 23, 1820. Panicum virgatum (Panic grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1379. Low growth. Panicum virgatum (Tall panic or switch grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Aus- tin, Tex. (1878, Panicum virgatum (Tall panic or switch grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. ; i Panicum virgatum (Tall panic or switch grass). From W. S. Robertson, Mus- cogee, Ind. T. 1879. Tall growth. Panicum diraricatum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. Panicum gibbum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. 4 1879. . Panicum dichotomum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. . Setaria Italica. From the Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County Pennsylvania. July 24, 1830. Setaria glauca (Foxtail). From the grounds of the Department. July 24, 1330. Setaria glauca (Foxtail). From the Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Ches- ter County, Pennsylvania. August 11, 1880. Setaria setosa (Bristle grass). From Prof. 8. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. Tripsacum dactyloides (Gama grass). From D. L. Phares, Woodville, Miss. 1878. Tripsacum dactyloides (Gama grass). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1880. Spartina cynosuroides (Whip grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Pope County, Minnesota. 1879. . Spartina cynosuroides (Whip grass). From J. D. Waldo, Quincey, Ill. 1879. . Spartina cynosuroides (Whip grass). From W.S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. Andropogon Virginicus (Brown sedge, Sedge grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 187s. Andropogon scoparius. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. Before bloom. Andropogon scoparius (Broom grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1373. Andropogon scoparius. From: W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Pope County, Minnesota. 1879. THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 121 No. of anal. 42. Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint). From D. H. Wheeler, Nebraska. 1379. 43. Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint). From W.S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. 44, Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint grass). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. September 2, 1380. 45. Andropogon argenteus (Silver Beard grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee Ind. T.. 180. 46. Sorghum halapense (Johnson grass.) From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. 47. Sorghum nutans. From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. 43. Sorghum nutans (Wood grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1873. 49. Phalaris intermedia, var. angusta (American Canary grass). From South Carolina, 1879. 50. Anthoxanthum odoratum, (Sweet Vernal grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N.H 1x79. 51. Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. May 11-24, 1880. 52. Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal grass). From the grounds of the Depart- ment. May, 1 1880. 53. Hierochloa borealis (Vanilla grass). From E. Hall, Athens, Ill. 1878. 60. . Alopecurus pratensis (Meadow foxtail). From the grounds otf the Department. May 1, 1830. . Aristida perpurascens (Purple Beard grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. Milium effusum. From C. G. Pringle, Hazen’s Notch, Vt. 1380. . Muhlenbergia diffusa (Drop-seed grass). From Prof. 3. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. . Mullenbergia diffusa (Drop-seed grass). From Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Aug. 25, 1880. . Muhllenbergia Mexicana. From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Aug. 22, 1880. Muhlenbergia glomerata (Satin grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Pope County, Minnesota. 1879. : 61. Muhlenbergia sp? (Knot grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1379. 62. 63. 64. 1879. Phleum pratense (Timothy, Herd grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 18, 1280. Phleum pratense (Timothy). From the grounds of the Department. Wayside growth. June 4, 1880. Phleum pratense (Timothy). From the grounds of the Department. June 26, 1832. First year's growth from seed. . Phleum pratense (Timothy). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. June 20, 1880. 5. Phlewm pratense (Timothy, Herd grass). From J. W. Sanborn, Hanover, N. H. 1=&1. . Phleum pratense (Timothy). From W. H. Hackstaff, La Fayette, Ind. 1832. . Phleum pratense (Timothy). From J. M. Robinson, Queen Anne County, Mary- land. July 4,1832. Unmanured for years. Sporobolus Indicus (Sweet grass). L'rom D. L. Phares, Woodville, Miss. 1878. . Agrostis vulgaris (Red Top, Herd grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 23, 1820. . Agrostis vulgaris (Red Top). From the grounds of the Department. Wayside growth. June 18, 1330. . Agrostis vulgaris (Herd grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farum, West Grove Chester County, Pennsylvania. . Agrostis vulgaris (Red Top). From J. J. Rosa, Milford, Del. 122 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. No. of anal. 74. 75. . Holcus lanatus (Velvet grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 25, 81. 85. 86. . Eleusine Indica (Yard grass, &c.). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1873. 88. 89. 90. 91. . Uniola latifolia (Fescue grass). From M. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. 93. 94. 97. 98. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 5. Poa pratensis (Blue grass, &c.). From W. B. Cheek, Warren County, North Car- Agrostis exarata (Native Red Top). From Theo. Louis, Louisville, Wis. 1872. Cinna arundinacea (Reed grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1880. . Avena striata (Mountain Oat grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt. 1870. . Arrhenatherum avenaceum (Oat grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 25, 1820. . Arrhenatherum avenaceum (Oat grass). From Dr. W. C. Benbow. Greensboro’, N. C. Late bloom. May 12, 1880. . Danthonia spicata (Wild Oat grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. Danthonia compressa (Wild Oat grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt. 1874. . Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ali, 1878, 83. 84, Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass). From D. L. Phares, Woodville, Miss. 187=. Bouteloua oligostachya (Gamme grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Pope County, Minnesota. 1879. Eleusine Indica (Yard grass, Crow-foot grass). From Prof. 8S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. Eleusine Indica (Yard grass, &c.). From Dr. W. A. Creswell, Americus, Ga. 1872. Leptochloa mucronata (Feather grass). From Prof. 8S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. : Triodia purpurea (Sand grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1870. Triodia seslerioides (Tall Red Top). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 187s. Uniola latifolia (Fescue grass). « From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. Dactylis glomerata (Orchard grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. ; Dactylis glomerata (Orchard grass). From the grounds of the Department, May 13, 1880. First growth. 1 . Dactylis glomerata (Orchard grass). From the grounds of the Department, June 18, 1820. Later growth. . Dactylis glomerata (Orchard grass). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1880. Dactylis glomerata (Orchard grass). From W. H. Cheek, Warren County, North Carolina. Early bloom. May 16, 1830. Dactylis glomerata (Orchard grass). From Dr. W. C. Benbow, Greensboro’, N. C. 1880. Early bloom, May 12. . Ductylis gfTomerata (Orchard grass). From 8. L. Goodale, Saco, Me. 1830. 100. Poa pratensis (Blue grass, June grass). From Theo. Louis, Louisville, Wis. 1873. Poa pratensis (Blue grass, &c.). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. : Poa pratensis (Blue grass, &c.). From the grounds of the Department. May 25, 1880. Growth from best soil. Poa pratensis (Blue grass, &c.). From the grounds of the Department. May =, 1820. Growth from poorer soil. Poa pratensis (Blue grass, &c.). From the grounds of the Department. May 19, 1820. Growth by wayside. Poa pratensis (Blue grass, &c.). From J. D. Waldo, Quincey, 111. May 17, 1820. olina. 1880. Before bloom. BIR Sto Sc Lhe an THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 123 "No. of anal. ; 107. Poa pratensis (Blue grass, &ec.). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1880. : ; 108. Poa compressa (English Blue grass, Wire grass). From James O. Adams, Man- chester, N. H. 1879. : 109. Poa compressa (English Blue grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 17, 1880. 110. Poa compressa (English Blue grass). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. June 10, 1830. 111. Poa compressa (English Blue grass). From J. J. Rosa, Milford, Del. June 6, 1880. 112. Poa serotina (Fowl-meadow grass, False red top). From Theo. Louis, Louisville, Wis. 1878. 113. Poa arachnifera. From Ellis County, Texas. 1832. 114. Poa alsodes.. From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Penn- sylvania. June 2, 1880. 115. Glyceria aquatica (Reed Meadow grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt, 1879. 116. Glyceria nervata (Fowl Meadow grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt. 1879. 117. Glyceria nervata (Fowl Meadow grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N.H. 1=79. 118. Glyceria nervata (Fowl Meadow grass). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. June 2, 1880. 119. Festuca orina (Sheep’s Fescue). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. 120. Festuca orina (Sheep’s Fescue). From the grounds of the Department. May 21, 1380. . 121. Festuca elatior (Meadow Fescue). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. June 2, 1880. 122. Festuca pratensis (Meadow Fescue). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. : 123. Festuca pratensis (Field Fescue). From the grounds of the Department. June 1,1880. After bloom. 124. Bromus secalinus (Cheat or Chess). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H, 1879. 125. Bromus unioloides (Schrader’s grass). From the groundsof the Department. 1879. 126. Bromus unioloides (Schrader’s grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 13, 1880. 127. Bromus erectus (Chess). From the grounds of the Department. May 19, 1880. 128. Bromus carinatus (California Brown grass). From E. Hall, Athens, Ill. 1878. 129. Lolium perenne (Common Darnel, Ray, or Rye grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 1, 1880. 130. Lolium perenne (Rye grass, &c.). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. > 131. Lolium Italicum (Italian Rye grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 26, 1882. : 132. dgropyrum repens (Couch, Quitch, or Quick grass). From James O. Adams, Man- chester, N. H. 1879. 133. Adgropyrum repens (Couch grass, &ec.). From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania. “134. Agropyrum repens (Couch grass). From S. L. Goodale, Saco, Me. 1880. 135. dgropyrum repens (Couch grass, &c.). From the grounds of the Department. June 23, 1880. Early bloom. 136. Elymus canadensis (Wild Rye grass). From D. H. Wheeler, Nebraska. 1879. 124 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. The specimens, it will be seen, are from all parts of the country and grown under every condition of soil and environment. Those collected by Dr. Peter Collier in 1878 and 1879 were mostly from the poorer soils and were intended to represent the wild grasses of the country. Those collected in subsequent years by myself were chiefly cultivated varie- ties. The development in nearly every case was full bloom or shortly after, that being the period at which the grasses as a whole seem to be cut for hay. The analyses have been calculated for ¢ dry substance” and also for “fresh grass” where the amount of water in the fresh grass had been determined, otherwise for the average amount of water in hay as given by Wolff. This figure is probably too high for the United States owing to our drier climate, but, in the absence of exact data for the selection of a more accurate one, it has been provisionally accepted. It is very easily to calculate from the composition of the dry substance what effect the presence of any percentage of water would have on the absolute amount of any constituent present in a given weight of grass. J ~ No. of analysis. DWI Ot u= CD Dry substance. | Fresh substance or hay. \ She > a er Ee a frei te Bs gS g &2 | | g as eo | pe “ 3 EB | “ : : 41% | 5% | : S © . ° . 5 tlle eligi lglg 2 . S = o LE oS 2 E Eee md El AB Bt Bl gd tion Boba & 2 . = = 2 2 g Fal mol gv ig Et e 8 < < S| 4 ; £2 :% Bod Bol Zl NRE 2 4 el 24F 2 = 3 2 = 3 = E = = 3 920. &00 = = E =e Nn A = md Fx Z 3 < = Zr Ae El A 2 “ Oo < | Paspalamilmve. ooo nn 1 1578 Tex... 7.70 | 2.75] 53.83 | 27.61 8.111} 1.30 62! 47.5 | 14.30 | 6 60 | 2.36 | 46.13 | 23. 66 6. 1880. | ER de. aes vr liiia 2 | Aug. 23-9 eee Pe. 6.90 | 2.16 | 59.27 | 23.50 | 8.17 | 1.31 .38 | 29.0, 14.30 59 1.85 | 50.80 | 20 7. ‘aspalum ovatum.... ............ Fle. i 8.49] 2.21 (58.42 | 24.75; 6.13 930 200 96.5 14.300 7.281 1.89; 50.07 | 21.2 3.2 Paspalum precox. ........0 00... 4 1879. ---| 7.41] 3.60 | 57.75 | 25.31 | 5.93 95 .25! 26.21 14.30] 6.35] 3.09 | 49.49 | 21.69 5. Digitaria filiforme anItaGa Eres .n 8.76 .48 [60.95 | 25.83 | 2.98 48 | .00 0.0 14.30 7.57 1.27 "52.24 [22 2 Digitaria sanguinale.............. 6 1878. 12. 61 2.82 142.70 32.09 | 9.7 1.57} -51 32.6 14.30 | 10.81 2.42 : 36.59 | 27.50 8.: in dor ous iaeman no Noun 7 | June 23,’80 52 | 15.01 4.84 137.99 119.08 | 23.13 73.70. ...-- 176.00 3.53 L1s}| 8.93 4.471 5 “ran dos REET LL 8 | Aug. 11,’80 : 11.45 | 3.26 | 50.56 | 22,90 | 11.83 | 1.89 | .81 42.6 14.30 | 9.81 | 2.79 | 43.33 | 19.63 10. Panicum jumentorum............. v 1878. --.| 9.04 1.57 |48.98 | 31.524 8.80 | 1.42 | .74| 520 14.30] 7.75! 1.34] 41.98 | 27.01 7:6 Panicum Texanmmw' » 00 00 00 10 | 4 ---1J0.10[ 2.47154.93 127.02] 5.48 83 837 87.5 HH.30| 8.65] 2.1» 147.07 { 23.16 4. Panicum proliferam .. ..... .... 11 | ---1 11.17 | 3.01 (50.97 | 24.07 | 11.08 | 1.77 631 35.7 14.30] 9.58} 2.58; 43.42 | 20.63 9. Panicum agrostoides ............. 12 - 6.69 5.69 50.87 | 30.86 | ~5.89 | .94 39 | 41.1 | 14.30 | 5.73 | 4.88 | 43.59 | 26.45 5. Panjewm aneeps cual ns 13 ! 905 1.83.) 55.50! 27.84: 5.78 92 197 21.0 14.30" 7.761 1.57 "47.56 23, 4. WE Tt ee 14 | 5. 68 1.82 | 62.59 | 20.88 | 9.03 | 1.44 44 | 30.7 14.30 | 4.87 1.56 | 53.64 | 17.89 7. Panjeum Crus-Galli: .~ 15 = 6.98 2.15 154.19 (2891 7.77] 1.24 45| 36.5 14.30 | 598 | 1.84 | 46 44 | 24.78 6. Sly doc ranidane cou nab 10 | 116.070 2.04 46.77 | 31.13 | 3.99 64 15) 23.7 14.30 | 13.77 1.75} 40.08 ! 26. 3. 42 EvAlecY Lhe lenin 17 ; : 1.82 | 2.49 [ 47.77 | 25.32 | 12.60 | 2.02 | .80| 39.5 | 14.30 | 10.13 | 2.13] 40.95] 21 10. Panicum virgatum: ..o............ 18 5, - 5.49 | 3.33 156.95 | 29 11 512100] .49| 49.2 | 14.30 | 4.70 | 2.85 | 48.81 | M4 4.3 Serits dot... anna al 19 J 7.240 1.660 49.39 (36.78| 4.93] .78| .187 23.3 [14.30] G.20( 1.42 42831 31 4. a: dol. io oan EE A . 3.74 1.921 60.95 | 28.82 | 4.57] .73 .31 | 41.8 | 14.30 | 3.20 1.65 | 52.23 | 24 3. 9: x Gee dor: rnd an = 21 - 4.07 ( 2.98] 57.40 {32.23 2.80 .45| .21 47.6 | 14.30 | 3.92 | 255] 49.19 | 27.64 2. Panicum divaricatam............. 22 --.] 14.20 2.52 (46.80 (27.06 | 9.24 | 1.48 | .36 | 24.6 | 14.30 | 12.25 2.16 | 40.18 | 23. 7.9: Panicumgibbam. ................ 23 --.| 8.53 4.16 50.93 | 24.16 |] 12.22 | 1.96 | .83 | 42.6 14.30] 7.31] 3.56]43.65] 20.71 | 10. Panicum obtusum............ eae] 24 --] 0.951 2.25 146.441 35.12] 7.24 | 1.16 | .05 4.7 (14.30 | 9.381 1.93] 39.80] 28.38 6. Panlcumoapillare. .-........io 25 | .. 1 5.50 3.855.830 |2824! 6.98{1.12| .64| 57.5] 14.30 | 4.801 3.34 147.39 24.20 , Panicum dichotomum. ...........:| 26! ...| 10.13] 355)|50.07|29.48| 6.77 | 1.08 | .50 | 45.9 14.30 | B.68| 3.04 | 42.91 | 25.27 SetariaTtalica......-..-.....C... 27 5 7.501 2.71 155.981 24.52 9.491 1.52| .51 | 33.6[14.30( 6.43 2.32 [47.80 21.02 Setaria glauca............. rr aes 28 2s 7.271 2.6615528 125.75 0.04 1.44 .41 28.5 | 6R.40 | 2.30 .84 1 17.471 8.13 ee do... 0 aan 29 Ang. 1 .s 7.94 | 3.06 | 58.54 | °1.94| 8521.36] .39 28.7 (14.30 | 6.80 | 2.62 50.18] 18.80 Setariasetosa..... oc in 30-5... . 9. 02 1.49:1 48.64 1 30.30 | 8.49) 1.36 .56] 41.1 714.30 7.787 1.28 41.68 | 27.68 Tripsacum dactyloides ............ Sl... oeed| 6.191 2.89 | 56.31 | 26.51 | 8.60 | 1.37 | .38 | 27.6 | 14.30 | 5.30 | 2.05' 48.26 | 22.72 fens dos a aa 5.34 | 3.47 | 60.80 | 22.45 | 7.94 | 1.27 32) 25.2 (14.30 | 4.58 | 2.97 52.111 19.24 Spartina cynosuroides ............ 7.22 | 3.42|53.76 25.79 | 9.81 | 1.57 |* .43| 33.8] 14.30] 6.19 2.93 ' 46.07} 22.10 Fame dO ei cn cr er asuse 6.55 | 2.96 61.12 22.801 6 48 | 1.04 27! 25.5114.301 5.61 | 2.54 5238] 19.62 'SALVLIS dILINA JHL J0 SASSVIH TVIALIN01¥HYV FHL gel | No. of analysis. Alopecurus pratensis ! Aristida purpurascens. ........... | Muhlenbergia sp. [?] Spartina cynosuroides ............ Andropogon Virginicus. .. ...... Andr opogon scopyiua. o.oo Andropogon macrourus .. ....... A DArapagen furcatus. .. ......... Andropogon argenteus......... .. Sorghum halapense.......... .... Sorghum: patans................... Wd doen... Phelarisangusta ................ Anthoxanthum odoratum Hierochloa borealis .... Milinm effusum mes ieWe a ee do | Muhlenber; gin Mexicana .......... Muhlenbergia Som srm. Phlaum pratense.................. 1 do Sporobolus ndions............ --s | Specimen No. Date cut. May 1 We 5 i A i ‘Aug. 2% Aug. 23 June 18 June 4 June 20 Fuly Height. | 58 60 — —_ pr Pres E RNY g . 18, ne @ 2 — 3 2 2 2 | 23] 38 | E g 2 = | = > * o s g Bt 8 St 7] > t= = A a 2 8 = 81 «4m fi a = a ° a @ E=| . = 2 RE i . @ k=] = og = 5 © g l= 2g || .& th ° g b> oF UB a gl Bl El EAEIEISRL Sl a aE T2 = | ] = = = — . ¢ Hl = “zi oS E fF lat EB eS = 7 3 4 = 1L—PuLEUM PRATENSE—Continued. I = * INDIANA. : | a Head not out June 8... 7.04] 197] 49.93] 20.19] 10.97 | 1.75] .18 | 10.3 | 70.00 | 2.38 69) 14.98| 8.76 3.26 g Before bloom June 15 {].... 7.64 2.27] 52.64 | 29.65 7.80 || 1.25 | .28 ¥ 22.4 || 67.50 2.48 410101 9. 64 2.53 = Inbloom ...o0.0ea. vie Jano 26: Yf:...0 7.05] 2.38 52.99) 32.261 5.82.88 .00( .00 I 64.50 | 2.50 .78 | 18.81 | 1L45 1.96 Afterbloony............ Coa. July 6{-...] 663] 255 53.03) m.a2| 557 .80f .00 3.8 {| 50.30] 290] 1.11] 28.57] 13.69 2.43 o Early seed. cu cciiovtiaiaineianic. vusaaninn July 164{....1 5.90 3.74 060.77 | 24.70 4.8401 .78] .00 | .00 {| 53.00 2. 80 1.761 ;.28.56 | 11.61 2,27 a. : | NEW HAMPSHIRE. 3 | | | > wn Syikedavisiblen......... coven seaal 8.19) A, 60) 57.091 23.46) 7.60 1.55] .30 | 19.4 | t= Spike visible 3 Liliamsd 4.22] sao) 25.34 961 1.54! .451] 20.8 @n Inbloom........c..c...... adi 407Y 42040 576] 2898 S790 on 1010.8 Afterbloom -.... ...... . 3 ..o] ams von sav] e032 5.254 se] .13|170 Q Early seed - ...... i a il “mad om Cexisd onion: 5.41 | BT | 1820.7 o . . . | TIT.—DACTYLIS GLOMERATA. a DEPARTMENT GARDEN. | jo) Panicles not out, | Apr. 23 (35 | 10.20 | 4.12 50.86 | 18.76 ( 15.97 | 2.49 | 1.01 | 40.6 | 78.8 2181 27 10.980 3.98 5.30 Panicles closed........ cs -.-l-May 4 |('55 8. 26 3.13 | 55.04 | 23.18 | 10.80 [| 1.63 | *.00 0.0 || 79.3 1.711 -.64( 11.40 4. 80 2.15 = In full bloom. . HrMay J3li 87 8.071" 5.2 | 53.76'| 25.40 | 90.53 11.58) .16. 10.5 71.3 1.83 .74| 12.20) 577 2.16 After bloom...-......c..c 0c erevenisiienss [June 1/125] 9.01 | 2.83) 52.65| 27.26 | 8.25) 1.32| .33 (250 | 73.5 | 2.39 75 | 13.95 | 7.22 2.19 gm Later growth : | i | : : = In bloom... ......occice cee iann ese ve canes {June 18 | Bo | 8.64. 3.98 | 50.20 24.67 | 12.51 |i 1.99 | .77 (38.7 | 66.9 2.86 | 1.32) 16.62 | 8.16 4.14 Late bloom........c.xun... | June 23 || 75| 6.00 | 3.62 57.34 | 24.42 | 8.62 1.38 | .42 | 30.4 || 60.2 2.80 | 144 22.8] 9.72 3.43 Seed nearly ripe |July "1 | 75 | 6.73 3.34 57.54 | 25.09 | 7.30 | 1.16 | .45 [38.8 || 62.3 2.54] 1.26] 21.69 | 9.46 2.75 3 y | il b> DEPARTMENT GARDEN. i | | I! a i First year’s growth : : \ »n Head not out June 12 || 28 | 11.50 | 6.89 | 48.06 | 20.63 | 12.92 | 2.07 .16| 7.3 | 70.50 | 2.36) 14 9.8! 4 2.65 Green... . dd July 15 [[... | 10.52 | 6.86 | 46.95| 21.64 | 14.03) 2.25] .39 17.3 || 72.30) 2.91 1.90 | 13.00 | 6.00 3. 89 Yellow .c..c..accieercen onic. errs ness July 15 [l....] 10.14 | 5.95 52.37 | 22.44] 9.10 1.46 .18 | 12.3 | 74.60 | 2.58 | 151 13.30] 5.70 2.31 Oct. 25 li....] 10.93 6.50 | 47.98 | 21.24 | 13.33 ( 2.14 | .54| 25.2 || 68.70 3.43 2.03 | 15.02 6. 65 4.17 IV.—ALOPECURUS PRATENSE. | | Head JUSt APPOATING wxns~fnunmnmins wrnimments Apr... 92] +e] 5216] 18! Bios] eee | 71 of] 10s| 1.94 1317 3. 60 Before bloom Apr. 19}... 7.90 4.46 | 51.66 | 22.40 | 13.58 (2.17 | .53 | 40.9 76.7 1. 84 1.04] 12.03 5.22 3.17 Inbloom:..-.-. | May 1.}.... 7.35 3.36| 54.30 23.78 | 10.81] 1.73 00] 0.0 60. 0 3.10 1.34] 21.73 9.51 4.32 ATGEr DIOOIE ov csivnaviinmnns suinsvnssnns | May 12... -817 3.50 | 54.35 | 25.36 8.62 1.38, .07( 50 66. 6 2.73 1.171 18.15 8.47 2. 88 A V.—POA PRATENSIS., | DEPARTMENT GARDEN. Set No. 1 grown on good soil: Panicle just visible. ..........ccccuavanaaas. | Apr. 23 | 20 8.07 4.88 | 48.74 | 18.43 | 19.88 | 3.18 | .48 | 15.1 76.70 1.88 1.14] 11.34 4.30 4.64 PANIGIOSPYOAMING os - omen sion ss hana nen ing ! May 1/30) 551| 407| 51.32| 22.83! 16.21 | 2.68 .30 [11.2 || 70.80 1.61] 1.J9| 14.99| 6.67 4.74 Infall DloGm. cc ciivinanniiiicivivisiidives | May 21 (70 || - ®»30 3.90 51.43 23.76 12.61 | 2.01 . 02 1.0 71. 90 2.33 1.10 14.45 6. 68 3.54 Inseed.:--.---coiiosiiis srs fa sa ae we | June 5 | 70 6. 38 4.25 | 52.54 | 24.34 | 12.49 [2.00 | .37 | 18.5 55. 90 2.81 1. 87 23.17 10.74 5.51 Set No. 2 grown on poor soil: i Panicleelosed....: scovduve sn cnintiibrssunas suns Apr-27.... 6. 61 3:00.40 55.82: 9L02¥ 12.93. 00.06 12) 61 Jb. tlc oda ae In fall DIOOhY. ve a i ees May 8] 65 7.02 2.85 | 56.85 | 25.46 7.82 | 3.28 |. 10} 7.8 69. 00 2.18 88 | 17.62 7.90 2.42 Set No. 3 grown on poor soil; wayside: After bloom; brow uso ioded. dod dae June 1 6u 7.23 3.92] 56.12] 23.85 8.88 || 1.42 .251 17.6 55. 40 3.22 1.91 25.03 10. 64 3.96 Inia Bloom. <--c. coviies sn nisans aad sib May 19 | 78 7.73 3.41 55.32 | 23.10 10. 44 | 1. 67 4 8.4 66. 20 2.62 1.15 18. 69 7.81 3.53 In seed; brown....... EERE rte RR se sens June 8 | 75 6. 21 3.51 | 58.58 | 24.34 7:36: 1.18 {- 15 (12.7 54. 60 2.81 1.59 | 26.61 11.05 3.34 QUINCY, ILL. Set No. 4: | Before bloonti coscuve vier vans Sets wnin May 10 |.... 8.42 4.99 | 45.34 | 21.87 19.38 {| 3.10 .63 120.3 In bloom May 17... 7.82 3.77 | 48.39 | 24.93 | 15.09 | 2.41 «al 21.1 Affe bloom ce May 27 |... | 9.07 3.30 52.51 22.75 12.37 { 3.97 .351 11.8 VI. POA COMPRESSA. | Poor soil : : Paniclemotiont —nnson.nontnn, «e-.j June 1] 14 7.7 520) 58.081 18.19 10.69 |y 1.71 | *10:| 58 67. 90 2.49 1.70 | 18.64 5. 84 3.43 Panicle well out June 1 | 28 6. 81 4,411 55.18 21.30% 12.30 01.97 .52 | 26.4 68. 70 2.13 1.388, 17.2% 6. 67 3.85 Tn bloom :-.......cnvs rics rna cs iasrn is ennas June 17 | 30 | 6. 08 4.52 | 58.18 18. 53 12.69 || 2.03 «45 | 22,2 70.70 1.78 1.32 17. 05 5.43 3.72 ATter bloom csi tics cnnivaini Lan sua visas die ves June 23 | 30 5.13 3.85 | 63.80 | 18.16 8.97 11.43 .35| 24.5 51. 80 2.47 1.86 | 30.79 8.75 4.33 VIL —BROMUS UNIOLOIDES. Panicle nofionb. cov cannon coniii insur sana Apr. 23 | 35 10. 65 5.03 | 48.73 18. 54 17.05 || 2.73 | 1.06 | 38.8 80. 60 2.07 97 9.45 3. 60 3.31 Panicle closed y 64 8.95 3.44 51.03 22, 22 14.36 || 2.31 .55 | 23.8 75. 10 2.20 . 85 12.85 | “5.47 3.53 Tu full bloom... ...... Seasvensvesnsu ranma 3176 9. 26 3. 96 51. 46 22. 69 12.63 || 2.02 .34 | 16.8 79.40 1.91 .82 10. 60 4.67 2. 60 Vi i a ER ne 76 6. 68 2.37 54.79 | 25.33 10.83 || 1.74 «95 120.1 67. 50 2.17 71 17. 80 8.23 3.52. In sced; brown..... Sie saites Sit sd sna eltinimie June 1 | 85 8.55 2.10 59.71 19. 85 9.79 {| 1.57 83 21.0 64.70 3.02 . 74 21.08. 7.01 3.45 VIIL.—BROMUS ERECTUS. Very young .......... 2 35 8.63 8.674 45.271 26.65 15.78 {2.52 ( .43 | 17.1 85. 50 1.25 .53 6.57 3.87 2.28 Before bloom... 60 7.26 3.27 52.01 25.24 12.22 }| 1.95 .24 { 12.3 74. 30 1. 86 . 84 13.37 6.49 3.14 Po: oo iain 68 7.40 3.72 | 53.38 | 24.48 11.02 || 1.76 09 5.1 72.20 2.06 1.03 14,84 6. 81 3.06 SALVLS dILINA THI 40 SASSVIED TVIALTAOIYOYV HHL Gel mrt enn ee - — : = : Ee @ 3 : “ z + © = 8 g a ‘ E | Sg g SH L: E a ES + . E i : 4% (EE ¥ : £2 © . g 2 a oy o » = @ o 2 > % | 83 | «8 o 5 = = s ° & [V i ° Be | cE <= o 3 = — a x o E 8 LT4 = a 2 a g — g = 4 x B Ba 5 8 a ] = = % © : 213 gs 8 > g 8 PB Tol a | wl BREE eR] @ £ 3 = od = B = 2 © 3 be 4 < = 5 = = > os} -q Bo vi © - HA ov F vi Si VIIL—BroMus ErECTUS Continued. Ee Bavlyabloomiiss..covouvieiis MN Sr MINERS May 19 68 7.70 2.811 56.19 | 24.52 8.78 || 1.41 34124 63.70 27 1.02 | 20.40 8.90 3.19 Afferbloomb...... fein ia sno June 1 | 75 8.51 2.92 56.32 | 23.64 S61 0.88 40] 29.0 |..coon acai i a oF ls ae = : { > IX. —HOLCUS LANACTUS, | i. | WD GU TET T cee AES Se Apr. 2} .. 9. 98 4.53 | 54.48 | 18.064 12.37 [0 1:98 1.21 1.10.6 82.3 L771 80 9. 64 3.30 2 19 La Dn SR a Shs 25 | 72 8.23 3.80 | 55.52 | 25.01 7.35 | 1.30 | .00 | 46.2 50. 6 4.07 1.92 27.43 12.35 3.63 es : | i p X.—ARRHENATHERUM AVENACEUM. | | @ } . | Infill Bloom.........oco ov. aa May 25 | 85 | 7.93 4.03 | 54.93 24.33 8.78 | 1.41 .15 | 10.6 62.3 2.99 1: 52 20.71 9. 17 | 3. 31 t= Tnafler bloom suovivsitaga c. Covi siviaiin June 4 | 60 I 7.88 4.19| 51.76 | 21.51 14.60 || 2.35 | .96 | 40.9 74.4 2.02 1. 07 13.25 5.51 3.75 a | | : | XI.—SETARIA GLAUCA. | | | S Very SOME: sisi nubs in nai Sts July 1 |50 | 10. 84 2.34 | 48.12 21.08 | 17.02 || 2.72 | 1.00 | 36.8 74.2 2. 80 60 | 2.42 5.59 4.39 Early Lr. Sesion Ses he, eR July 24 {80 7.27| 2.66] 5528] 25.75 9.04 | 1.44 | 419285 || 68.4 2, 20 84 | 17.47 814 2. 86 a XIL—ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM. | | e I P ~~ - x « 9.45 ct VON SOUNG .ive ni sel nana Sa A SRR 3 15 6.39 4.97 1. 61.58 17.47 |. 10.69 | 3-70 | .060:8.5 76.9 1.47 99 | 14.22 3.907 2.45 In ful Se aera . : ) 40 7.09 3.36 | 59.45 20.63 | 9.47 52 16 | 9.9 78.8 1. 50 W711 12. 62 4. 37 { 2.00 z ALLOY bloom. .ou. ooo ovusinvinnis rns p 45 7. 20 4.80 53.40] 20.17 18.30 )( 2.13 51 | 23.9 69. 9 2.20 1.46 16. 07 6. 87 i 4.00 3 ALOr DIOOMING cco ovis ovo viisiviss vidas 55 | 5.79 4.08 | 58.02 | 25.00 7.4% |i 1.14 35 | 30.7 53.4 2.70 1.90 | 27.04 | 11.65 3.31 - Co XIIL.—FESTUCA OVINA. 1 | I wn Wg mo SR CA BI ES Apr. 27 | 25 6.47 4.31 54.00 | 20.31 14.91 | 2.38 | 12 [5.0 70.0 1.94 1.29 16. 21 6. 09 4. 47 “3 Before DION. vas iv insiawmsts ASSIS May 8/36 5.41 3.61 57.131 25.10 87, 1.40] .06] 4.3 65. 4 1. 87 1.257 19.76 8.69 | 3 03 b> Po... aa a MAY ASAE 6.00 3.43 | 55.44 | 25.65 9.48 || 1.52 16 | 10.5 67.0 1.98 1.13 18.29 8.47 3.13 3 Inbloom ec, Coil la ieee May 21 | 40 5.60 2.51 58.201 23-791 9.90) 1.58} .27 17.1 53.7 2.59 1.16 | 26.95] 11. 02 | 4. oe = ATE MOOG icuniinniisnsn is isin sis sues don sds June 1 | 47 6. 57 3.07] H7.09 | 23.96 9.31 || 1.49 b - 27 | 18.1 563.9 3.03 1.41 26. 32 11. 05 | 4.29 [a ~ XIV.—LotiuM ITAvicum. ( | | If | | 3 z Henle INVIsIO vu svniaiisnpabstnaive. sos sub Apr. 27 ins li 13.28 4.80 1 42.04 18.16 | 21.64 || 3.46 67 119.8 82.3 2.3 85 7.45 3201 3.83 XIV.—LoLium ITAricUM— Continued. Heads just out May 21 | 75 11.39 3.81 | 48.74 | 21.95 1 14.30 2.29 39 | 17.0 Tnefull blooms Em ..coee n c e a eeee May 26 | 90 11. 02 2.821 5.731 20.44 14.49 | 2.32 18 7.8 Afterblooms. st... ae ieee June 4 | 92 8.76 3.981 53.811 21.86] 11.59 { 1.85 43 | 23.2 June 2 | 22 13.24 6.91 45.55 | 15.50 | 18.80 || 3.01 .60 | 10.9 June 12 | 31 12.70 6. 36 49.69 | 16.99 14.26 || 2.28 .45 | 19.7 June 19 | 38 14. 06 6.18 45.07 | 17.34 16.85 || 2.69 . 66 24.6 July 10 [2.13.87 6. 53 44.50 © 20.65 14.45 || 2.31 . HY | 25.5 Oct. 25 1 25 10. 87 5.31 47. 82 22. 40 13.60 || 2.17 .49 22,6 XV.—-LOLIUM PERENNE. , I Headduvisible ........ LL... ....5..... 7x May 1 13D 8. 66 3.08 57.70, | 18.39 11.67 § 1.87 «2815.0 Dore. si ol as es aos ah a May 4 | 28 9.48 4.34 55.08 | 18.00 13.10 | 2.09 .39 | 18.7 Head wollout .....o-.-..cn- 5... oa. 35e une May 4 | 30 7.96 3. 64 50.75 20. 55 11.10.47 1.78 . 33 i 18.5 Beforebloom 0.0.0 ia LE May 12 | 55 8.40 8.75 54.93 | 23.93 8.99 || 1.43 .09! 6.3 After bloom...o... 00... conn. aan ne June 1 | 52 7.50 | 2.64] 56.84 | | 25. 42 2.6010 1.2) ui. ..... ooh rere bres t Nr BE ir 1 bo fe come LE€1 SELVIS dUIINA HHL 40 SHASSVID TVIALTAOIYOV HHL 138 THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. The preceding analyses furnish the data from which is derived the general conclusion that as a grass grows older its content of water de- creases, ash decreases, fat decreases, albuminoids decrease, carbo-hy- drates increase, crude fiber increases, non-albuminnoids decrease till bloom or slightly after, when it is at its lowest, and then increases again during the formation of the seed. There are exceptions to these rules, but for the large majority of spe- cies under ordinary conditions of environment they hold good. There are almost no exceptions to the fact that the water decreases in the maturer specimens; that is to say, the plant gradually dries up and becomes less succulent. The ash is very dependent on locality and surroundings, and as in the.analyses which are here published it in- cludes whatever soil there may be mechanically adherent to the blade or stalk as collected, it sometimes shows irregularities from one period to another. The albuminoids decrease in amount with great regularity, the few cases where an increase appears being owing to the fact that the speci- mens were probably grown under varying conditions. The fiber sometimes decreases. as in Bromus erectus, but the change in that direction is never large. The non-albuminoid constituents, however, are often quite the reverse of constant in their manner of appearance and disappearance, and show themselves to be largely or more affected by environment than any other constituent. In Agrostis vulgaris they continue to decrease after bloom, and in Anthoranthum odoratuwm and Festuca ovina they increase steadily from early growth to maturity. The relative amount present in the same species from different iocalities is extremely variable, as may be seen in the analyses of Phlewm pratense, where specimens from Indiana contain almost no non-albuminoid nitrogen, while those from the Dis- trict of Columbia and elsewhere are well supplied. The specimens from poorer soil having the Smallest amount in some cases and the largest in others, the fact can hardly be due directly and entirely to the lack of cul- tivation, but as the averages show that the best grasses contain the least non-albuminoids it is plain that it is dependent on the sources of nitro- gen and the supply furnished the plant. The usual changes in the non- albuminoids seem to point to the possibility that they increase at the time of the formation of the seed in the act of transferring to the seed, as amides, the nitrogen of the plant. THE BEST PERIOD OF GROWTH AT WHICH TO CUT FOR HAY. Although largely a matter of opinion, it would seem from the forego- ing results that the time of bloom or very little later is the fittest for cutting grasses to be cured as hay. The amount of water has dimin- ished relatively. and there is a proportionately larger amount of nutri- ment in the material cut. and the weight of the latter will be at its highest point economically considered. Later on, the amount of fiber becomes too prominent, the stalk grows hard, arid, indigestible, and the THE AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 139 albuminoids decrease, while the dry seeds are readily detached from their glumes and lost with their store of nitrogen. For different species, however, different times are undoubtedly suit- able, and experience must be added to our chemical knowledge to enable a rational decision to be arrived at. THE COMPOSITION OF THE ASH. The ash of many foreign varieties of grasses have been analy zed and the results collected and published by Wolff. Of American growth the ash of only a number of the wild grasses collected in 1878 have been examined. The results are here given: {sh analyses—qrasses. ew ie Te a ei | Sid | 8S 28S hE [Se (Bai E | 213. 2 | 281 2A n gd IAS Rel = ROL Name. (Esra ” B £5 5%. 2° | = | 3 E i 8 3 |Bg HEM ao gm EB SE EE = ESSIEN EL SEA —'D n= pe=] = Sani etd | a jo. od 2 -e n oD Qo HS a | wn g jr semel rere ire le Hierochloa borealis (Vanilla grass). ...... 1 7.421 2.55 142.73] 4.49 | 2.97 .} 2.54 131.51} 4.54 | .25 Eleusine Indica (Wire grass).........-.- | 2.60 | 4.24 147.56 10.09 {10.27 | 4.10 110.27 | 9.52 |. 1.26 Eleusine India (wire grass) ............. | 9.68.1 5.79 124.6) | 6.71.(13.65 | 7.38 124.79 | 7.39 {.----{..-.. Eleusine India (wire grass) ......coeeeen.| 9.84 | 8.55 (16.25 | 9.61 |11.10} 5.57 30.98 | 4.55 |..... 3.55 TUniola latifolia (fescue grass) ........... { 4.921 2,62 (66.8714. 71} 7.15{ 3.02 | 5.52 | 5.19 |.-.--j:.... Oynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass) ...... | 6.20 | 9.37 130.20 | 6.05 [13.44 | 5.00 22.99 | 6.66 |.......... Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass). ..... | 5.09 11.31 (30.27 | 9.46 | 7.99 ' 2.96 22.89 | 9.61 |..... 42 Sporobolus Indicus (smut grass) led asy 16.02] 4.60 27.36 11.03 12.64 )'2.66 33.58 12.18 4.....'. .... Andropogon Virg. (broom “rrass) gs 2.97 | 2.80 158.33 : 6.: 6.761 1.88.18.98:} 7.0L J....ui..... Andropogon scoparius. . ... ............. | 1.33 trace 64.62 15.65 | 2.12 +584 .. 0.115.770 roma alisioeisy Poa pratensis (Kentucky blue grass)....| 9.88 | 4.76 30.25 | 6.30. 4.81 |B. 23 33.81 16.95 1.....0..... Poa serotina (fowl meadow grass). ......|[10.8C | 3.35 137.10 | 3.80 | 6.70 | 2.92 31.71 | 2.79 ben 83 Dactylocteniuwin Egypt (Egyptian grass) .. 8.37 | 4.42 34.17 | 6.76 20.67 | 6.91 21.20 | 7.50 |..... ..... Panicum sanguinale (Crab grass) ....... | 6.40 1 4.02.30.93 |6.04 (4.40 | 7.98 33.56 | 6.67 |...-.i..... Panicum jumentorum (true Guinea | : | | | i Brass) ...eoceniaiiineiiaiiee aia | 4.37 | 2.51 {16.51 | 7.77 110.18 14.16 35.93 | 8.57 [.....{..... Lr ee | 5.18 | 6.71 [48.60 | 4.20 | 5.91 3.13 21.65 | 4.62 oy. Panicum virgatwm (tall panic grass)....| 5.50 | 8.56 51.17 | 4.93 | 7.87 | 3.63 18.76 | 3.36 |..... | 1.22 DOT TG a tor storia a | 4.37 | 5.20 45.10 | 4.06 | 7.39 | 7.98 22.53 | 1.54 |... 174 Panicum Texanum (Texas millet) ...... { 8.48] 4.63 34 31 | 6.55 {7.39 | 4.57 127.95 14.54 |..... 1. 58 Panicum Crusgalli (barn-yard at 4.27 | 3.69 (42.18 {11.48 | 7.23 | 5.52 (13.26 12.00 |..... .37 Panicum filiforme (slender crab grass)..| 6.37 | 4.84 40.36 [12.17 4.69 5.18 12.98 13.41 |..... ..... Sorghum halapense (Johnson grass).....|10.44 | 2.96 22.21 | 4.58 12.87 6.73 35.72 3.68 1... fv 81 Sorghum avenaceum (Indian grass)......| 2.35 | 2.13 61.56 | 6.11 | 2.92 | 1.36 [16.84 | 6.74 |.......... Muhlenbergia diffusa (drop seed) ........| 6.65 | 3.39 39.98 | 8.21 11.95 | 4.39 (17.32 | 6.78 ..... 1.33 Bromus unioloides (Schrader’'s grass) _ 8.79 | 5.61 | 4.84 (16.84 | 4.43 | 4.64 37.20 [16.38 |..... 1.2 Bromus carinatus (broome grass) ....... {9.201 3.94 38.33 | 3,30 | 6.19 | 2.19 31.61 |..... 2. 17: 2.98 Agrostis exarata (brown top)... enlensee | 8.01 | 1.93 34.63 | 3.60 | 5.61 | 3.84 {38.41 | 3 fos lec, Paspalum leeve (water grass) . .«.] 0.187 5. 6444,/65' {2.78 1.9.86: 5.2625, 44.1... 1.6011.12 Setaria setosa (bristly foxtail) . . . cee 3.24 3.50142,59.1:3.81 | 2.81 11,36 {39.33 {...... 1.18 12.47 Leptoehloa mucronata (feather grass). ...] 6.46. 3.81 55.92 | 2.89 1 5.94 | 2.66 120.211 1.8 | ean . 80 Tripsacum dactyloides (Zama grass). .... | 2.52 | 3.69 37.34 [13.08 | 1.64 | 1.07 |29.06| 6.30 |..... 4.77 Tricuspis seslerioides (tall red top). .<.... | 1.58] 4.04 !37.52 1 7.39 | 2.32 .53188.49 1.8.13]. ....]"... | | | | | | CONCLUSION. The work which has been collected in the previous pages extended over several years, from 1878 to 1883. It was inaugurated by Dr. Peter Collier, as chemist to this Department, and the laboratory work for the first year was in the hands of Mr. Henry B. Parsons, Mr. Charles Wel- lington, and myself. The remainder of the work has been under my own supervision, and has been almost entirely carried out by Mr. Miles Fuller and myself. It is hoped that the collection and rearrangement of the results will give them an increased value. INDEX TO AGRICULTURAL GRASSES OF UNITED STATES. INDEX TO COMMON NAMES. Barley grass........ce-ceee-zsernesenanens 109 Barn.yard grass........cess sense sirasisiaas 38 Beach grass... .coioocr svnines roms sini 70 Bear grass. cc. ion. crinmsmr snrsrsaness 58 Beard igrassicree. cone sioner sana smman 57,58 Western |. Jorn te vena sma 57 Bent grass........ecececmemcnucnsecaannas 65, 67 Bermuda grass ....ceonvsnnnsssnnssvesvaes 26, 80 Bug grass icccecccarnscavmarsansnrinnns-- 96 | BentitoEy. de caecresicasnniiay 94 Oregon... .....ccvcieeiannorrsnalannns 98 Boxster restates 97 Blnejoinbece suc ones rnsnncvnnsansnavrns 10, 69, 108 | Blnogtent ici a 10, 69, 108 | Bottlo grass. -.ccoeneer eras aera 43 | Borden's: grass. od. tua. snavrernsissay 65 Bristly grass........, Wg reemeeesessaens 42 | Brome grass 107 Broom) grassor sedge. .....ccccoz-orsiens 49 | finger-spiked................ 0.x... 50 heavy-topped cceccaaneoensannsasa-ae: 50 Bullaloigrass. oer roe no enn rama mme xin sins 8, 82, 84 Bunchgrass.............-= 6,9, 16, 17, 58, 59, 69, 104 Canary grass,reed.........ovocvansrnsnyea 53 Southern teed... -...ccvensss cs renmas 54 | Stewart's ..c. cv ccm isvrannasmzs ssonce 54 Cane, Arian ...c dace cr rensnmmnvsinas 43 Chinese BUZAr...c.c one avraracsvsnnan 52 Sorghum Sugars... .coasasnssnrssirsss 52 Cheat ior Chess. vue es codannisamarsinamnsso 105 Cocksfool grass... ....coccer isons soomeitee 92 COTA QTREE i. sonra sins nis oasnn nna sists 44 | Corn rbro0my . cists Sian oes sis asinine sh wie» 52 Chocolate 52 Dooraior Doura..... «sion ssminssie 52 CHUNER i.e hain is smeisnimmnmin Usmininits 52 IRQioficeies: cali: ovinnnivann ininsivna 46 Crab grass........... uli sa vir vs vaninas sine 83 CrowiootiZiass. ..ccon vusis ssisnnvimisi moms 83 Cabaigrass: so ssuisvsios oven nisin snoinisin in a 51 CatHgrass. .ttivobdnnsnnvanisnnmsinimns ms 48 DennOLiZrasS. J... covic nin siriimainosis itn eninge DOgiarass (i vsiiiesrnsenenrsnvnnncnnnis Dog's bent grass. ............cscnnsnness Dropseed grass Evergreen grass | Gramma grass False TI00. ... coven cnn inesi anniv sisuiaiss ny Guinea grass.........c.ceiuuuinananns Featherigrass. .c...co.iipvsassinisaaisioy Fescue, broad-flowered.......c.covenn nu MBAAOWY . .. ovis svi sii sisl8immieleiersitionos Gammagrass.. ce. couvin. smb ans wall Gilbertis relief grass. .......ccceesnsnonn (GO0SE 'ZIARN i. cis nui nns nme nssshsys sensing Guatemala grass. ..i..oavesansrsisciaies Guinea grass Grass, description of .....ccccancsercosces Herd’s grass of Pennsylvania............ HOlY BUASS . ....uicio sie wmninismimive sis suivin wioneiniii Howell S grass. ....v ocensnncsncnnsonmese Hungarian grass. .....«cs-esneeossnesvous Indianirice.. .........csivasisonsniveisinnimaivie June: grass. ...........t.n le Sate ie (ey lete eri Lyme Srassiiteccc. .cnmeivameseinesinmisna=ivs Mannaigrass, floating ......c.coeeenisimnaas MOTVEAILIL. oo isis iv = lois ie wna wiaim wiminimiary MATS ETASE IL aviv cioisisiesmuisia vain winisinie wialninie | Matiorass......c inves sannnass Meadow grass, fowl NOPv CAL oh os es ol mimiiviain bm i mieinin a ininie pungent. .......iaeis ans sraancones eis PEO Juihidisiissninins niin imnivi ven sinis diel rough-stalked | Meadow soft grass ..........qcn.0n0-- wines vo -] =} oS Ov Qt 142 INDEX. Page. Page. Blot REA IOP o.ssinvrsarvunssscivmnin: smvman 65 90 MOUNTAIN occlu isrninronsnnnasns 66, 67 90 northern... . o.oo isin 66 81, 82 fall ci seats eh 85 84 F Reed glass -.. cc. -co coun iiioiiiscinncnins 8% 7 smadb. Citta 69 82 | ReScne gTass..........c--=2x 2rscsannenss 106 85,43 | Bye grass. .............cccieanarinns... 107 52 iE a RA SSE SY SR 112 51 allan coi cain nin ciniiteisnnins 107 43 smaller... . oc. ez.an serena ans 112 43 Smoot... sects ae 111 43 Western .............c..0nenvs 20am 112 51 LE Ee 110, 111 4] 1 Salt grass.......... ia misais a ade 9,21, 44, 65,92 41 SARAUOTaSS co seaiuis J ¥ \ PanicuM CRUSGALLI. Plate 12. PANICUM VIRGATUM. Plate 13. PANICUM DIVARICATUM. Plate 14. 2 BN V AN vy hv S 7 / 8 { / = ul Np \ AA = PANICUM GIBBUM. Plate 15. PANICUM CAPILLARE. Plate 16. ANT ALBIN 0600 fy BORA > \ CNA) Wi “RAR RB K Ws NY Ni A) PHAN HAA NOR YY Mare del SETARIA ITALICA. Plate 17. p TOOK en. SETARIA SETOSA. Plate 18. HH.NICHOLS=ENG MARX—DEL. SETARIA GLAUCA. 3 A i wid x 4 ; ¢ 5 ® 3 2% i - Plate 19. SPARTINA CYNOSUROIDES. Plate 20. NHEIDEMANN. SC. SPARTINA JUNCEA. Plate 21. W [ i ; LY Ja | / /) 7 \ / XR) [9 NN il A / \ SE \ \ WN 1 ANY == > So = = = SSS > / = z 77) 7) z f = A == 7) 4 7 op, == = A - 7 = A Z oz 7 4 — = 2 ~ Mk 0 == Z > a 7 / 4 7 4 > : p 2 7 HT 2 SSS SSN ? J —= z Ndi 70 /, 4 E- Ps” = <5 -. Z 1c . 3 ¥ / =) Ly I~ =3 ~ 5 2 7 Sf ZZ 4 a E wm ; 7 if 7d NY Rx = 4 IY 1ZA% ON Ak = A Le { = 0D E> — =F —= aaa % N RE EE NaS " \ oR Sb RR = B= \ \ a x TLE de ANY HHN.Ss TRIPSACUM DACTYLOIDES. Plate 22. QUATICA. ZI1ZANIA A He 0 Plate 23. HiLARIA JAMESIL 9 Wel slums a ps spe % si 5 % u Plate 24. a 7 \ y 7 i” fil ANDROPOGON VIRGINICUS. Plate 25. ANDROPOGON SCOPARIUS. Plate 26. \ [J > i 3 > A NORCO S. ANDROPOGON MACROURUS. Plate 27. ANDROPOGON FURCATUS. Rnd anni mn E ¥ 3 Leh Plate 28. AL i \ i Wy LV CHRYSOPOGON (SORGHUM) NUTANS. Plate 29. Nh a te 2 "S ) \ \ \ SORGHUM HALAPENSE. Plate 30. | 1 fi lf i PHALARIS ARUNDINACEA. marx del. 0.HEIDEMANN.SC. amg. Plate 31. HH.NICHOLS. SG PHALARIS INTERMEDIA. i ea Plate 32. NN : [nny ARN ——aaAN =a = [2 NH NARK.DELL “ ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM. Plate 33. HIEROCHLOA BOREALIS. Plate 34. BHANCHOLS~ENG, ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS. Plate 35. RICHOLS.ENG ARISTIDA PURPURASCENS. Plate 36. MARX.DEL. HHNICHOLS-ENG. ARISTIDA PURPUREA. Plate 37. ARISTIDA BROMOIDES. te 7 Ee Plate 38. — == ———— — — i == . - = # — . se AR 7 ~ ea nn —= . T= = = a ee = / , - 2 er 3 = ao / a— = ES Sa == = = = STIPA VIRIDULA. Sem a ew Plate 39. MOLL da. STIPA SETIGERA. Plate 40. HHN STIPA EMINENS. Seinen aR Plate 41. ERICOMA CUSPIDATA. Plate 42. MILIUM EFFUSUM. snes, iy it Ne Plate 43. MUHLENBERGIA DIFFUSA. Ah a op MUHLENBERGIA MEXICANA. Plate 44. ol ar dob TM a 5 | ATARI Plate 45. “, yy 7 . BHN.Se. Lil # MARX.DEL. MUHLENBERGIA SYLVATICA. ° EL carey Plate 46. MARXDEL. > HH NICHOLS &! MUHLENBERGIA GLOMERATA. Plate 47. MUHLENBERGIA COMATA. Plate 48. MUHLENBERGIA GRACILIS. PERE ¥ i ¥ 3) X i ¥ x 3 3 3 £1 f f 8 Plate 49. PHLEUM PRATENSE. . Plate 50. p— SPOROBOLUS INDICUS. Plate 51. SPOROBOLUS CRYPTANDRUS. Plate 52. SPOROBOLUS AIROIDES. ee # abies oh wien % Ve i ¥ kiosk & Plate 53. MARX DEb. ‘H.HN AGROSTIS VULGARIS. Plate 54. AGROSTIS EXARATA. gid a Plate 54 a. Ni ha Ni NI f V /l f p27 AGROSTIS EXARATA (var.). So RNA £5 ; Ah 4 RANGED. AGROSTIS MICROPHYLLA. Plate 55. (oA He Mh I Ir Tada Sot X wd ana a Plate 56. AGROSTIS CANINA. Plate 57, POLYPOGON MONSPELIENSIS. Plate 58. a aS 77 So 2 == 2 TD = 72 2 pe 7 ~~ Zz Z CINNA ARUNDINACEA. Plate 59. W : Ni WCHOLS-ENG. Y wean. DEYEUXIA (CALAMAGROSTIS) CANADENSIS. Plate 60. SN BACRY AI Pb Da DEYEUXIA (CALAMAGROSTIS) SYLVATICA. Plate 61. DEYEUXIA HOWELLIIL Plate 62. C ASPITOSA. ) DESCHAMPSIA (AIRA Plate 63. DESCHAMPSIA (AIRA) DANTHONIOIDES. Plate 64. ET I x EF TTT TER | 1 f 1 | | if it A i H.HNichols «Sc yn dl HoLcUS LANATUS. Plate 65. = — ——— ——— a = = TRISETUM PALUSTRE. Plate 66. WHENCROLE. 5 RCORDE.. TRISETUM CERNUUM. hi N\RVE 12% Wile \ i 1 EN TERK BIC HTLE, A TRISETUM SUBSPICATUM. Plate 67 Plate 68. AVENA FATUA. Ei ip Plate 69. AVENA STRIATA. Plate 70. MARX ~DEL. WCHL S -ENG. ARRHENATHERUM AVENACEUM. Plate 71. zr ZZ WRNCHOLS. A - : ? / DANTHONIA SPICATA. = nail MRRADEL | Plate 72. JI \ f /A fi / / Iki / ih / | \ [4 i ! ) i y 7 | % 7 || \ / 71 v/ | J / \ | | 7 / NICHOL S.ENG. DANTHONIA COMPRESSA. Plate 73. DANTHONIA SERICEA. Plate 74. K ACCA a WARZ TEL... DANTHONIA CALIFORNICA. Plate 75. CYNODON DACITYLON. ~~ Plate 76. CHLORIS ALBA. : Plate 77. Ai lll 108 dl f { mn! BOUTELOUA OLIGOSTACHYA. Plate 78. BOUTELONA POLYSTACHYA. Plate 79. TN RE IR ELEUSINE INDICA. ' Plate 80. LEPTOCHLOA MUCRONATA. Plate 81. WARA~DELL NCROLS BUCHLOE DACTYLOIDES. Plate 82. == a — TrIODIA (TRICUSPIS) SESLERIOIDES. Plate 83. SI LN TOE an ===> N TRIODIA TRINERVIGLUMIS. Plate 84. QHEIDEMANN.S& TRIODIA ACUMINATA. Plate 85. z ~ LE 77 i 2 PF DIPLACHNE FASCICULARIS. Plate 86. Wve as NULL AGL = 2 = DIPLACHNE DUBIA. Plate 87. Soars si, PHRAGMITES COMMUNIS. Plate 88. TIRNLR LE. KOELERIA CRISTATA. Plate 89. ERAGROSTIS POAOIDES. Plate 90. B ; More a TRAGROSTIS PURSHIL Plate 91. Moga MELICA MUTICA, var. DIFFUSA. Plate 92. HM RICHES. TT ALOR DE MELICA BULBOSA. Plate 93. MELICA IMPFRFECTA. Plate 94. 4 7 Tar UNIOLA LATIFOLIA. 72) SBE EN ae. TAL a DISTICHLIS MARITIMA. "Plate 95. 4 4 4 \ x HN Ns TRY a (al Bh WY Fy NRADEL, DACTYLIS GLOMERAT A. Plate 96. Plate 97. PoA PRATENSIS. Plate 98. PoA SEROTINA. Plate 99. POA COMPRESSA. Plate 100. POA ARACHNIFERA. Plate 101. WAERA Ir. POA TENUIFOLIA (var.). Plate 102. POA ALSODES. Sa Plate 103. 4 = \ \ f | / fi / i / ! | | ; / | j i i i i I 9 I iil i ) | i i f ah Re R O HEIDEMANNS - PoA ANDINA (of Nuttall). . Plate 104. GLYCERIA AQUATICA. Plate 105. MARX.DEL., 9 Zed CTR) GLYCERIA NERVATA. Plate 106. GLYCERIA CANADENSIS. Plate 107. Na — ge = = == ; 7 lf — = = = = : 5 a— 1 2 J 8 ee == = —_— yf [ 7 J DD = ee | LP 2 ¥ Zs = — am / ~ 4 / hi / i 1 nn 7 / if (i an” A \ », [ J / J / MARADEL. NICHOLS FESTUCA ELATIOR. Plate 108. HANCHOLS.ENG. WARADEL. FESTUCA OVINA. Plate 109. « AR R) IR All y I AE R y A 0 Tt TY MWB ADE X 2 FESTUCA MICROSTACHYS. Ta 1 ! ¥ EG i | 2 ’ 3 Plate 110. FESTUCA SCABRELLA. Plate 111. > = ZN SRS = < A) \ =2 & \\ SON T= R= SNS 2X = A \= l 2 ZN I WARA.D EL. APNOEA S. BROMUS SECALINUS. Plate 112. BROMUS UNIOLOIDES (4 size), Plate 113. BROMUS ERECTUS. Plate 114. LOLIUM PERENNE. Plate 115. NJ Sg PD ny ~ N A P Ly 3 2 Se Fp: : } / 3 », 2 MARX.DEI AGROPYRUM (TRITICUM) REPENS. HORDEUM NODOSUM. f) Plate 116. MARX. Del. Plate 117. ELYMUS CANADENSIS. Plate 118. MARX. DEL. ELYMUS VIRGINICUS. Plate 119. N\¥/ | AN | WN NN 7 IN \ ELYMUS STRIATUS. = Plate 120. ELYMUS CONDENSATUS. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. BOTANICAL DIVISION. BULLETIN NO. 1. LEP ORT INVESTIGATION OF THE GRASSES ARID'DISTRICTS OF KANSAS, NEBRASKA, AND COLORADO. BY Dr. GEORGE VASEY, Botanist. PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1886. 6078—Bull. 1 INVESTIGATION OF GRASSES OF THE ARID DISTRICTS OF KAN- SAS, NEBRASKA, AND COLORADO. WASHINGTON, September 29, 1886. Hon. NORMAN J. COLMAN, \ Commissioner of Agriculture: DEAR SIR: In accordance with your commission to make an investi- gation of the grasses and forage plants of the arid districts of the West, I have the pleasure of informing you that I have recently spent about six weeks in an examination of that part of the arid region em- braced in the States of Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, and in the- northeastern part of New Mexico. The eastern boundary of the arid region has been commonly fixed at the one hundredth meridian. It has been estimated that nearly one-half” of the land belonging to the United States, exclusive of the Territory of Alaska, lies west of this line, and amounts to some 900,000,000 acres. Much the larger part of this immense region consists of mountains and arid land. A large part of the land on the Pacific coast is productive without irrigation, and some of the finest land for grazing purposes lies. in the mountain valleys and parks, where there is an abundant rainfall. The remainder of this great domain consists mainly of arid land, such as the high mesas of Western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Southern California, Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming, in addition to those portions of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico before mentioned. Various estimates have been made as to the amount of this arid land; probably two-thirds of all the territory west of the one hundredth meri- dian may be considered of this class, and so far as it has been utilized, has been chiefly occupied for cattle and sheep ranches, for which par- pose alone it was thought to be adapted. NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. The time at my disposal only admitted of an investigation of the part of this region which I have mentioned, and I will first speak of the: northeastern part of New Mexico. This is separated from the great plains of Colorado by an eastward projection of the Raton range of mountains. This range rises to the height of about 8,000 feet at the crossing of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad. The town of Trinidad lies at the base of the range on the northern side, at the 3 C2) 4 elevation of 6,000 feet, and here the railroad begins the ascent of the mountain, following the winding of a small stream. Near the summit it passes through a tunnel, then emerges in New Mexico, and rapidly descends to the town of Raton, which is at an elevation of about 6,700 feet. Here the plains recommence, stretching eastward to the east line of the Territory, thence into the region called “No Man’s Land ” and into the “Panhandle” of Texas. Southward they extend through the Terri- tory, but undergo a considerable change in character after reaching about the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude, or about 140 miles from the northern boundary. The western boundary is the base of the Rocky Mountains, which trend somewhat to the southwest, thus giving a greater breadth in the southern part, but the average breadth from the mountains to the east line may be reckoned at more than 100 miles. This is the best large body of grazing land in the Territory. The elevation along the base of the mountains at the west is greater than it is in Colorado, and along the railroad the altitude is over 6,000 feet. The mesa slopes eastward gradually to the line of the Territory, where the altitude is about 4,000 feet. This region is almost entirely covered by several Mexican land grants, particularly those known as the Max- well and Mora grants, and is included in the counties of Colfax, Mora, and San Miguel. Little or no agriculture has been attempted except with irrigation, and that is generally pursued by the native Mexicans, who are generally contented with a few acres each on the water courses. In some of the valleys among the foot hills, however, are fertile spots where some cultivation has been successfully attempted without irriga- tion. According to the statement of Mr. Clarence Gordon in the census report for 1880, there were in that year about 220,000 head of cattle in these three northeastern counties, or over 60 per cent. of all that were in the Territory. Mr. Gordon estimates that there are 11,500,000 acres of available pasturage land in this portion of the Territory, which would give an average of about 52 acres to the head of stock; but the ground is also shared by a large number of sheep. Colfax County was the most heavily stocked, and gave an average of 24 acres to the head, while Mora County gave 35 acres to the head, and San Miguel County 55. That portion of the mesa near the Raton Range is so elevated as to be only serviceable for cattle parturage during five months of summer, and is chiefly occupied as a sheep ranch. The grasses of this region are mainly the same as prevail in Colorado, viz, gramma and buffalo grass, in variable proportion, but the gramma generally greatly predominating. Several other kinds occur in certain localities, as on rocky hillsides and on bottom land, but form only a small proportion as compared with those prevailing on the mesa. These will be noticed in another place. The quantity of grass upon the grouad varies with the situation and soil. In the west part of the Mora grant there is a wide stretch of most excellent grazing land. On bluffs and 5 rocky ground the soap-weed, a kind of Spanish bayonet ( Yucca angusti- Jfolia) frequently occurs, and occasionally may be seen a large, branch- ing, thistle-like cactus (Opuntia arborescens). : Over the larger part of this mesa the capacity for supporting cattle will probably average from 15 to 20 acres to the head. There are, how- ever, large tracts which cannot safely be utilized from the absence of running water. This difficulty will eventually be overcome by the sink- ing of wells. Mr. Calhoun, of Watrous, a well-known stockman, remarked, ‘Cur great want is a more productive grass. The quality is not so great an object as the quantity.” Mr. Gordon estimates that there are 11,500,000 acres in this region available for stock-raising, and that in 1880 it was stocked on the aver- age at the rate of about 52 acres to the head. But the full grazing capacity of the land cannot be realized under the ranche system. In order to do this the cattle ranges must be restricted in extent, with provision for winter feeding, water, and shelter. If to this we add cul- tivation of the land and pastures of more productive grasses, we may expect greatly increased population and wealth. Mr. D. W. Brewster has a section of land on the dry mesa about 12 miles east of Las Vegas, where he has dug a well and this year broken 30 acres, and expects to break 80 acres, on which he will try the experiment of cultivation. The result of this experiment will be watched with great interest. In a deep cafion, 28 miles east of Springer, M. W. Mills, esq., has 100 acres under cultivation in fruit trees, and has had good success. Whenever these land grants are arranged for subdivision at reasonable prices, a move- ment of immigration will probably take place. The towns of Raton, Springer, and Las Vegas are the principal ones on the railroad in a dis- tance of 150 miles. THE NORTHERN PLAINS. We will now return to the arid region north of New Mexico. This is bounded on the west by the Rocky Mountains, and extends eastward to the one hundredth meridian in the States of Kansas and Nebraska, a distance of more than 300 miles. The elevation at the base of the mountains is about 5,500 to 6,000 feet. North of Colorado the high mountain range breaks down into the elevated Laramie plains. This region is drained in the northern part by the Platte River, the north fork in Nebraska and the south fork in Colorado; by the Repub- lican River in Southern Nebraska, the Smoky Hill in Kansas, and the Arkansas and its branches in Southern Colorado and Kansas. It is an immense treeless plain, sloping eastward at the rate of about 10 feet to the mile. It is cut up in many places by dry channels, called arroyas, which carry off the surface-water during rains and convey it to the larger streams. In the central part of the Colorado plateau is an ele- vated ridge, known as the “divide,” which separates the waters of the 6 Platte from those which make their way on the south to the Arkansas. This ridge is about 100 miles from east to west and 60 miles from north to south. The southward drainage slope toward the Arkansas River is said to be about 40 feet to the mile. Occasional springs are found, but Adarge areas oceur without any water. There are some extensive tracts of very sandy land. sometimes thrown 7into ridges, and sometimes into small, shifting hillocks. But by far the ‘larger part of the surface of this great tract is a rich mixture of loam -and clay, increasing in richness, for the most part, as the land descends to lower altitudes. The same observations will apply mainly to the eastern portions of the tract in Kansas and Nebraska, where, at the one hundredth meridian, the elevation is about 2.500 feet. Near Denver and northward on the Platte and its branches are some of the bestagriculturallands of Colorado. They areirrigated by ditchesand canals drawn from the mountain streams. In this part of the State are the enterprising towns of Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins, and Greeley. In the southern part the Arkansas has been drawn upon for purposes of irrigation. But the irrigable lands constitute but a small part of the great plains. They are mostly elevated above the streams, and for a supply of water must depend mainly upon wells and artificial reser- voirs. The rainfall over this region is from 15 to 20 inches per year, increased occasionally in the southeastern part to ’4 inches. The piains constitute about one-third of the entire area of the State of Colorado. CATTLE ON THE PLAINS. It is stated that in 1884 there were in Eastern Colorado about 800,000 «cattle, occupying an area of some 20,000,000 acres, or about 40 acres per head. Occupying the same territory there were also about 1,000,000 head of sheep. Some parts of this region have evidently been over- stocked, but there are large areas in the eastern part of the State which have been little utilized on account of the scarcity of water. In Kansas and Nebraska west of the one hundredth meridian the ele- vation runs down from an average of 3,500 feet to that of some 2,500 feet in a distance of about 120 miles. I have not been able to obtain any recent estimates as to the quantity of cattle on ranches in this dis- trict. The number has been greatly reduced within two or three years, partly by the removal of many herds to more northern ranges and partly by means of the heavy losses of stock during the last winter from ex- posure to an excessively severe occurrence of storms and blizzards, by which some herds were alinost entirely destroyed. " There are some sections where the supply of running water is very limited, and these have not been much occupied. There is reason to believe that the unproductive character of much of this region has been greatly exaggerated, and many portions of this Territory have recently been the field of a great rush of immigration, by which the larger part will soon be absorbed by homesteads and pre- 7 emption claims for the purpose of general cultivation. The attempts at agriculture which have been made here during the past two or three years have been attended with considerable success, possibly owing to favorable seasons, but the most sanguine expectations are entertained by the settlers. The scene of greatest activity has been along the line of the Atchi- son, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad. From Dodge City westward to La Junta new towns are springing up as if by magic, and the surround- ing conntry is being rapidly settled. Cimarron, Belfast, Pierceville, Garden City, Hartland, Syracuse, Cooledge, and Lamar are some of these new points of settlement. Several new and extensive irrigating canals, drawn from the Arkansas River, have been carried through por- tions of the country, which will enable much land to be brought under irrigation. The bottom lands and second bottoms are flat and well adapted to irrigation. The high lands have a rich soil, supporting a good body of gramma and buffalo grass. On the Kansas Pacific Rail- road there is also considerable activity in the way of settlement. Sor. rento, Kit Carson, and Coronada are booming towns on this road in Eastern Colorado and Colona, Collyer, Grinnell, Sheridan, and Wallace on the same road in Western Kansas. The railroad through this sec- tion runs mostly on the divide or highest and least watered part of the country. Wallace County seems to be particularly wanting in large streams. Some of the first branches of the Smoky Hill River have their rise in it, but the supply both of water and trees is small. There has been little improvement or settlement in the county until recently. The village of Wallace is built on the Government reservation of Fort Wallace, which reservation is 2 miles wide by 7 miles long. The build- ings of the old military post are about 2 miles from the village. They are mostly in a state of dilapidation, but a portion are substantially built of stone and are well preserved. A large and substantial dam which was built across the small stream and utilized chiefly for an ice-pond still remains in a damaged condition, and with some repairs could be employed for irrigation. The village is on the high upland, and is supplied with water mainly from wells of different depth. On the highest levels water is usually reached atabout 150 feet. One-half the land lying along the railroad is owned by the company, and is not yet offered for sale, and settlers have generally gone beyond the railroad limits. The few attempts which have been made at cultivation without irrigation have been principally for the pur- pose of obtaining forage crops of corn and millet, and have been so successful that trials are now being made of wheat and other farm crops. At this village and in the vicinity the grasses are gramma and buffalo, in variable proportions, the buftalo predominating on the highest levels, but the gramma taking the lead elsewhere. The ground is well covered and affords excellent pasturage, and is quite capable of affording sum- mer pasturage for stock at the rate of 10 acres to the head. 8 On the Burlington and Missouri Railroad, in Northeastern Colorado, new settlements are forming. Akron is a new town on the naked plain, near no stream of water. The land is said to be rich; certainly it has this season produced promising crops of corn and millet on newly- broken sod. Water is obtained at the depth of about 75 feet. Half a mile north of the station is the artesian well which was sunk by the United States Government to the depth of 1,200 feet and then aban- doned. The water now rises freely in the well to within 140 feet of the surface, and is utilized to supply the wants of settlers in the vicinity: The grasses of the prairie are the same as at Wallace and elsewhere, but somewhat more sparsely covering the ground. On the same railroad, in Southwestern Nebraska, Benkelman, Culbertson, and McCook are thrifty towns on the Republican River, where the land is fertile and con- siderable of it under cultivation. At McCook, on high ground north and west of the town, fields of strong, promising corn and millet were growing on the dry prairie. The gramma and buffalo grasses cover the soil richly and afford excellent pasturage. The greatest difficulty away from the streams on the highlands is the want of water, to obtain which it is sometimes necessary to sink wells 150 to 300 feet. Wheat has yielded as high as 40 bushels to the acre without irrigation. In the town are planted several kinds of trees, as ash, box-elder, elm, white maple, and catalpa, which seem to be making healthy growth. On what is called the Julesburg Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad new towns are springing up, and land is rapidly being located. Atwood, Sterling, 1liff, and Sedgwick are within the boundaries of Colorado, and Ogallala, O'Fallon, and North Platte are in Nebraska. At the points in Nebraska particularly there have been many land entries and con- siderable cultivation commenced. At North Platte and many miles west of that place the river bottom is several miles wide, and contains rich meadow land, where great quantities of grass are cut annually for hay. This consists of several coarse species, principally Panicum virgatum, Agropyrum glavcum, and Andropogon provincialis, intermixed with sedges and rushes. In some places over large areas the principal grass is that which is called alkali or salt grass (Distichlis maritima), which makes a close, thick mat, looking like a pasture of blue-grass. The highlands away from the river are covered with the ubiquitous gramma, with occasional buffalo-grass and blue-joint. On high levels, 200 teet above the river, on new breaking, are fields of corn, which give promise of a good yield. SUPPORTING CAPACITY OF THE ARID PLAINS. There is a surprising difference in the estimates as to the supporting ability of these plains, some stating that it requires 40 or 50 acres to maintain one animal, others giving 20 or 30 acres, and still others 10 or 15 acres. All these estimates are correct as to certain localities, and over the entire region it may be considered probable that the average 9 amount required would be about 15 acres to the head. In the Census Report for 1880, Mr. Clarence Gordon says of Kansas west of the ninety- ninth meridian: ¢ Where there is sufficient water, 10 acres of range will support one head of neat stock. When we find that there were in esti- mate 80 acres to each unit of stock, we have to remember that at least one-half of the occupied area is scantily watered, and that the region is not fully stocked.” Elsewhere he says that in 1880 there were in the same region over 184,000 head of stock, and that the approximate acre- age for stock occupation was 15,782,880 acres. And in Nebraska, west of the ninety-ninth meridian, there were 571,336 head of cattle, with an approximate acreage of occupation of 26,000,000 acres, or about 48 acres per head. It is impossible to realize the full capacity of these districts under ‘the ranch system. This can only be accomplished by limiting the ex- tent of the range and the size of the herds, so that they can be properly cared for as to water, shelter, and winter feed ; and this would require the cultivation of a part of the land. The question of water supply on the high lands will in time be successfully solved, so that every fertile acre can be beneficially employed. And with these conditions fulfilled the supporting capacity of the country can be easily doubled and quad- rupled. A PASTORAL COUNTRY. Sufficient time has not elapsed to determine what will be the ultimate success of general agriculture in this section, but there can be no doubt that the country is eminently adapted to pastoral uses, and the settlers who are now filling up the country would do well to direct their efforts to stock raising and to dairy interests. Notwithstanding the great development of the cattle industry during recent years, statistics show that the production ot beef has not kept pace with the increase of population, and to supply the great demand for meat will require not only the usual product of the ranches, but opens also an excellent opportunity of cattle farming, where the addi- tional labor and care employed will not only increase the supply, but find ample remuneration. HOW TO INCREASE THE GRASS SUPPLY. The inquiry will naturally arise in thoughtful minds, cannot the graz- ‘ing capacity of this region be increased by substituting more product- ive grasses, those which will not only endure the aridity of the climate, butalso clothe the ground more completely, and furnish a more abundant growth ? There can be no doubt as to the high nutritive value of the gramma and buffalo grasses, but the yield is so light as to require a large area for cattle to range over to obtain support. There can be no improvement in this respect without cultivation of the soil. It has been argued that in this arid region agriculture cannot be suc- cessful from a want of sufficient rainfall. But it is now claimed by 10 those residing on the soil that this is erroneous. It is said that in the natural condition of the soil the full benefit of the rainfall is not obtained, that the ground is so densely packed that it is impervious to moisture, so that a large share of the rainfall rapidly runs into the arroyas and streams as it would from a roof, whereas if the ground were plowed and pulver- ized a large part of the rainfall would be retained for the gradual nour- ishment of such plants as were on the ground. Nature has here done the best she could under the circumstances. But nature never spon- taneously presents us with great and luxuriant fields of grain or other vegetables ready to the hand of man. But by means of agriculture man directs and controls nature, and she willingly submits to his guid- ance. Man has learned to select those plants, grains, and grasses which are best adapted to his wants, and to grow them to the exclusion of others. This is the essence of agriculture. Nature shows her will- ingness even here to respond to the ameliorating influences of cultiva- tion. No sooner is the ground plowed, and corn, sorghum, or millet planted, than a crop many times as heavy as that of the native soil is at once produced. Even if nothing but such annual erops as those can be raised on this soil the cultivation of an eighth part of the land would be sufficient to make safe the keeping of twice the number of cattle which could subsist otherwise. But it is reasonable to conclude that nature will be as ready to help in the production of perennial grasses as she is in the annual ones. There isevery reason to expect that even the gramma-grass may be made to double its yield by cultivation. But there is a considerable number of grasses native to this district which are much more thrifty and productive than the gramma and buffalo, and if they were selected and sown upon the properly prepared land there can be no doubt that a great improvement in the grass produec- tion would be effected. Indeed we should extend our inquiry to foreign grasses cultivated in similar situations. : ESTIMATE OF RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED. Between the thirty-seventh and forty third degrees of latitude, and between the one hundredth and the one hundred and fifth degrees of longitude, there are embraced not far from 120,000 square miles of sur- face. There can be little doubt that one-half of that quantity is capable of sustaining, under proper management, with provision for winter food and shelter, at least 50 head of cattle to the square mile, or 3,000,000 cattle on the entire tract. By many of the residents this estimate would be considered much too small. And can we not expect that the time is advancing when we shall see all this vast area so improved as to fully realize this estimate, not only for the limited area above mentioned, but for many other sections of what are now called the arid lands? If also we can gradually introduce more productive grasses we can readily an- ticipate a still further development of the cattle industry. 31 THE CRUCIAL TEST. I have stated wy belief that many other grasses and forage plants might be substituted for the prevailing ones on this arid tract which would be more productive. But this is a question which can only be settled by experiment. Such grasses and forage plants require to be subjected to careful and pro- longed trials in order to obtain proof of their relative values under dif- ferent conditions of soil, moisture, and location. Such experiments are difficult and expensive, and cannot well be made by private individuals; hence it is highly important that the Govern- ment should provide an experimental station in a central and character- istic location, where all the commonly cultivated grasses and forage plants, and also the most promising native ones, could be thoroughly tried under various conditions. This would be greatly in the interest of that large body of settlers who are now taking possession of the “country, and who, without the aid of such information as could thus be obtained and communicated, will be exposed to many losses and dis- appointments in prosecuting agriculture under the peculiar circum- stances here existing. A properly conducted and well-continued series of experiments in this direction would result in important discoveries of great value to the future residents in this arid district. LOCATION OF A GRASS-EXPERIMENT STATION. I have spoken above of the Government reservation of Fort Wallace, and I am induced to recommend the utilization of this property for the purpose of an experimental station. I recommend this because it is central, easy of access, and typical of this large district of arid country. I recommend it also because here is land presenting a suitable variety of elevation, moisture, &c., with all the buildings which would be needed for the equipment of such a sta- tion. I recommend it because its scope of work would be peculiar to, and in the interest of a peculiar region of country, greatly needing the information which it would secure. A very moderate appropriation, expended under the Commissioner of Agriculture, could here be made productive of a great amount of good. The problem presented could not be solved in one or two years, but would require a well conducted and continued series of trials under varied conditions. The editor of the Wallace County Register, in a recent issue, makes the following very rational remarks: There can be no good reason assigned why the old Government post, now fast fall- ing into decay, but still capable, with small expense, of being fitted up for comforta- ble residences and stabling, should not be utilized for the benefit of the whole country. There is no finer belt of land anywhere in the great West than we have within a 12 radius of 100 miles, taking Wallace as a center. All this great area lies in what has been known as the GreAt American Desert. It is not desert, but the very richest of soil, and possesses the finest climate in America. As yet it is undeveloped. Only one thing is surely known of it; that is, it is a fine stock country. Nearly one-fourth of all this land (not including the railroad grant) has been taken up under the timber-culture act. One-half of this portion will be ready for planting by the spring of 1888, the other half by the spring following. Nearly all of the re- mainder has been taken up under the other acts of Congress governing the public domain. There is but little of it left to be taken. These homesteaders know but little of what the country will produce. A farm of the character contemplated would greatly aid them. APPENDIX. The native grasses occupying that portion of the arid region here in- vestigated are numerous, but only two kinds play the most important part in the support of animal life. These are, botanically, Bouteloua oligostachya and Buchle dactyloide, commonly called gramma-grass and buffalo grass, respectively, but frequently called indiscriminately buf- talo-grass. They are of low growth, forming patches of greater or less extent, with spaces of bare soil between the patches. The leaves are short and mostly crowded close to the ground. There are several species of Bouteloua or gramma-grass, but the one above named is the principal one on the great stretches of upland. The others occur lo- cally, some on rocky ridges and some in what is called bottom land. In valleys and bottoms near the mountains the dwarf gramma-grass, Bouteloua prostrata, often carpets the ground over large areas. This extends, at least, from Northern Colorado to Santa Fé, N. Mex. The common gramma varies much in size and vigor, according to its loca- tion. In rich moist bottom land it may grow 2 feet high and form a pretty close sod, but on the elevated dry plains it becomes greatly re- duced in size and productiveness. Wherever it is not too closely cropped by cattle it seeks to send up its flowering stalks, sometimes not more than 6 inches high, but usually a foot or more. Near the top of the slender stalk are from one to two, or rarely three, flower-spikes, which when mature stand out nearly at right angles, and are an inch to an inch and a half long, with the flowers all arranged on one side of the spikes. The true buffalo-grass, Buchle dactyloides, forms extensive cushion- like beds, covering the ground closely with its short, compact foliage, which is of a lighter color than the gramma. This grass is very pecul- iar in one respect. It is of a diececious habit—that is, the two sexes grow on different plants, or if on the same plant they are not on the same stalk. Usually, however, they are wholly distinet and in different patches. The male spikes resemble in appearance those of the gramma, but are much smaller, and the stalks never grow tall. The female flowers are inconspicuous, generally being concealed among the leaves near the ground, and seed is rarely formed, the plant being mainly propagated by its short-jointed, creeping runners, after the manner of Bermuda- grass. According to my observation the gramma-grass is much the most common, but the two are generally associated in varying propor- tions, but together forming from 75 to 90 per cent. of the whole grass 13 14 product. There are several different grasses, known under the names of blue-stem, blue-joint, and blue grass, all of which are different from the blue-grass of the East. Ove of these, sometimes called Colorado blue-stem, is botanically called Agropyrum glaucum. It has a stiff, rigid stem and leaves, which are usually of a bluish-green color. Ou hard, dry soil its growth is low and sparse, only here and there a scattered stalk with a flower-spike somewhat like a starved, beardless head of wheat, but in low, moist ground it often grows with great vigor 2 or 3 feet high, and wherever it is abundant it is considered valuable for hay, and is a common resort for cattle in winter. It is most common near the mountains, but extends into Western Kansas and Nebraska. Anvother grass, frequently called the blue-stem, or blue-joint, of Kansas, is botanically called Andropogon provincialis. On the prairies of Eastern Kansas and Nebraska this 1sa conspicuous and well-known grass, very highly esteemed for hay. It is said that it is gradually crowding out the gramma and buffalo grasses. It is found, in some localities, quite to the base of the mount- ains, and is every where esteemed a good grass for hay. It grows erect, frequently to the height of 5 or 6 feet. . The leaves are long and abundant; the stem has frequently a bluish color, and has at the top a cluster of from 3 to 5 flower spikes, each being 2 or 3 inches long, and generally purplish in color. : There is another species much resembling this, which is botanically called Andropogon Hallii, and it prevails in very sandy soil; its roots are thick and penetrate deeply in the soil, keeping it fresh and vigorous in the driest time. This is sometimes called sand-grass, and it is said to be greatly sought for by cattle in winter. It grows from 3 to 5 feet high ; the flower spikes when developed are hairy, and have a white or yellowish color, and the leaves and stem are commonly a light bluish- green color. : Another species of this family, called Andropogon scoparius, grows in dense tufts or bunches, generally on thin soil, or on bluffs and hills, but frequently also on bottom land, and is called bunch-grass. Apparently the same species in a somewhat different variety grows in the East, and is one of the so-called sedge-grasses. It is probably what is referred to by some Western writers as sage-grass. It is frequently cut for hay, and serves a good purpose as winter forage. Another important and valuable grass occurring in low or moist ground, usually near streams, is Panicum virgatum, which is sometimes called wild red-top, or sometimes switch-grass. It varies in height from 2 to 4 feet, with long leaves and a wide-spreading panicle of flowers. It is abundant on the native prairies in Eastern Kansas, and forms a good proportion of the wild grass there cut for hay. It also forms an important part of the native meadow-grasses in the valley of the Platte as far west as O'Fallon, and in smaller quantities to the base of the mountains. 15 Another species of this genus occurs in Texas, New Mexico, and South- ern Colorado, which has the name of Vine Mesquit. It is botanically called Panicum obtusum. I found patches of this growing in Southern Colorado, making an even grassy surface about 2 feet high, and appear- ing as if it would cut 2 tons per acre. I also saw it in considerable quan- tity in hay brought into the Pueblo market. It frequently throws out runners several feet long (6 to 8 feet sometimes), which at intervals form thickened woolly knots or nodes, which sometimes take root. Itdeserves attention with reference to its agricultural value. One of the so-called bunch-grasses, botanically called Oryzopsis cus- pidata, occurs near the mountains in sandy soil, but I did not observe it over the eastern part of the arid district. In Southern New Mexico and Arizona, however, it is said to be an important grass. Associated with Andropogon Halli in very sandy districts is another tall grass, also called sand-grass, which is botanically, Ammophila longifolia. 1t is coarse and tough, aud its principal value seems to be as a refuge from starvation by cattle in the winter. It prevails on the sand dunes and sand hills of the most barren districts. Another grass of very different habit and growth is sometimes also called sand-grass, salt-grass,and alkali-grass, botanically called Distich- lis maritima. This is a low, very leafy grass, frequently forming the principal part of the vegetation in alkaline soils, though not confined to such. There seems to be a difference of opinion as to the value of this grass, some regarding it as useful, others as of no value. Wild ryegrass, botanically, various torms of Elymus canadensis, is fre- quent in low grounds and borders of streams, and where it occurs in suf- ficient quantity is cut for hay, and is esteemed one of the best kinds. Among other grasses having some value, and occurring in some locali- ties, may be named Sporobolus cryptandrus, Sporobolus airoides, Chryso- pogon nutans, Hilarie Jamesii, Bouteloua racemosa, Stipa spartea, Kele- ria cristata, several species of Muhlenbergia and Munroa squarrosa. Some of these may prove to be valuable in cultivation for this arid region. Severai worthless annual grasses are often abuudantly mixed on the plains with the gramma and buffalo, such as Aristida purpurea, Festuca tenella, Hordeum jubatum, and Elymus Sitanion. Some of these are in- jurious on account of the barbed awns which cause sore mouths in ani- mals and work into the wool and even into the flesh of sheep. ACREAGE REQUIRED FOR THE SUPPORT OF STOCK. Mr. H. M. Taylor, agent of the Bureau of Animal Industry, in his report for 1885 says, ¢ from 40 to 50 acres are required to support one cow or horse on the arid regions of the plains.” Mr. S. H. Standart, another agent of the same Bureau, says: The amount of acreage it requires to support one animal on the range in this State (Colorado) is 36% acres on the average in ordinary seasons. The reports are from 13 to 100 acres, according to locality. 16 ‘The above estimates can only apply to the most barren parts of the arid districts. I think it can safely be said that there is very little land in Western Kansas and Nebraska where the native vegetation will not give support to cattle at the rate of 10 acres per head, and the ability of the land may readily be doubled by agricultural means. AGRICULTURE ON THE ARID PLAINS. The Akron (Colorado) Pioneer Press, August 20, 1886, says: The office of the Pioneer Press resembles somewhat an agricultural hall at a county fair. Corn, millet, blue-joint, potatoes, buckwheat, oats, flax, beans, &c., that will compare favorably with any State in the Union. They were grown on sod in Col- orado, the great American desert, by tenderfeet. In the Homeseeker’s Guide, published at Potter, Cheyenne County, in Southwestern Nebraska, are statements of the results of several in- stances of farming in that county last year, in which corn, potatoes, vegetables, turnips, &e., planted on sod land gave excellent results. In the Denver Times, August, 18%6, is the following article: The bountiful yield of agricultural products in Northwestern Nebraska is a matter of surprise to all heretofore strangers to this locality. Many homesteaders who came here last spring doubting and timid, are now enthusiastic with the outlook. Why should any one distrust a country where soil yields a plentiful harvest for the mere planting, and where boundless grazing fields furnish pasturage for vast herds of cat- tle the year round ? (Sidney Telegraph.) The above is a sample of the reports which are coming in from the arid region to the east and northeast of Denver, along the Union Pacific and the Burlington Roads. Not only Western Nebraska, but Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado are appar- ently moving forward in the agricultural line. Reports are to the effect that settlers from the eastward are crowding the rangers in the eastern halves of Arapahoe, Weld, and Bent Counties. They have generally settled upon the high lands, and have planted crops which have had no water except that which has fallen from the skies. Strange as it may seem to the average man, who has been taught to regard the plains east of Denver as of no worth whatever, the crops are reported as prospering. One man is represented as having a 10-acre field of corn which averages 8 feet in height. The importance of such development cannot be overestimated. If good crops can be regularly grown upon the plains lands without irrigation, the question of securing dense population in Colorado may be regarded as settled. Surveyor-general Lawson, of Colorado, in a recent report to Commis- sioner Sparks, says: The lands upon the plains in the eastern section of the State are being rapidly settled upon by a thrifty, determined class of farmers, who come with the avowed purpose of making permanent homes, and who claim that the so-called ‘‘ Great American Desert” is no desert at all, but a most fertile region capable of sustaining a teeming population. They claim with apparent confidence that the notion that agriculture cannot be profitably pursued in any portion of these plains except where irrigation is practicable is altogether erroneous, and maintain that there is ample rainfall to all the region east of the Rocky Mountains to secure abundant crops upon the soil, which is rich and genial, and that the apparently arid and unproductive character of these lands arise from the fact that in their natural state the water de- posited by the snows of winter and the rains of spring and summer have flowed from the surface and been carried off by the arroyas and sandy ravines in the proportion of at least four-fifths, whereas when the soil shall be plowed and cultivated it will 17 absorb and retain the moisture in the same proportion, not more than one-fifth of the water flowing off into gulches and arroyas. They point with confidence, in illustra- tion of this idea, to the fact that as the plowshare has advanced westward in the States of Kansas and Nebraska the ¢ desert ” of the old geographies has disappeared. LOSSES OF CATTLE UNDER THE RANCH SYSTEM. The losses of stock on ranches, from starvation and exposure, varies greatly in different seasons and in different localities, being seldom less than five per cent. : Mr. J. N. Bradley, an inspector of the Bureau of Animal Industry, says in his Report for 1885, page 427: The ranchmen calculate to lose about 3 to 5 per cent. from exposure, and consider it less expensive than providing shelter and winter food. But these losses during some winters are greatly exceeded, in South- ern Kansas the past winter amounting in many instances to the loss of the larger portion of the herds. A similar condition existed in Eastern Colorado, as will be seen from the following item from a Colorado paper: A correspondent writing under date of July 23 from Apache to the Walsenburg Cactus says: For the past two days the round-up has been in the Apache Valley. The report of the 100 cowboys who comprise the force is anything but encouraging as to the losses of the past winter. Many put the estimate of losses of acclimated stock as high as 75 per cent.; the most hopeful say 50 per cent. Among the dogies shipped in last fall scarcely a remnant remains. One cattle company that turned loose 1,800 head of through Texas stock have found out, at a cost of 10 per cent. of their in- vestment, that they have less than 100 head left. A cattleman of this neighbor- hood who went into the winter with 1,000 head has so far been able to find less than a dozen. But the actual loss of life from starvation and exposure is not the only consideration. Even among those cattle which survive the winter there is always a great reduction of flesh and condition. Mr. S. H. Standart, agent of the Bureau of Animal Industry, says: The loss of flesh during the winter from want of shelter is 12 per cent. In Dakota the loss of flesh during the winter is 174 per cent. (Report for 1885, p. 327.) We would therefore hail with satisfaction such a change in the cattle industry as would obviate these risks and losses and bring it into the hands of land-owners, who, by better care and management, will make it possible to raise twice as many cattle, besides extending the dairy and sheep interests. CHANGES ARE COMING. Rapid changes are coming over our neighboring county of Bent. Though hereto- fore recognized as a leading and almost exclusive stock-raising region, large ditch enterprises have been projected there within a couple of years, and attention is di- rected quite generally to farming. With the ditches, new people, that know nothing of the range-stock business, have come in. Old-time ranchmen are considering how they can bring their herds to the limits of a pasture, and how to provide feed to sup- plement their abridged ranges. The town-boomers of Western Kansas have invaded the eastern borders of the county this year, and are booming no less than three new 6078—DBull 1 2 18 towns within a few miles of each other. At the same time the older towns of Las Animas and La Junta have been infused with new energy and are making substantial growth. (Review and Standard, Pueblo, Colo.) From the New York Tribune: Theodore Roosevelt has come from the West with a springy step and bronzed coun- tenance, and the general air of buoyancy which is the result of contact with the free air of Dakota prairies. He says that the days of excessive profits in the cattle busi- ness are over, because there are too many people in the business, and the cattlemen have to pay the penalty of crowding cattle more thickly on the prairies than the grass will stand. Mr. Roosevelt thinks that the present system of cattle grazing will event- ually cease and the business take a different form in different localities. The land that is fitted for agriculture will be taken up by the farmers, and the grazing lands will gradually be fenced in and the great ranches be broken up to make place for smaller ranches. Respectfully submitted. GEO. VASEY, Botanist of the Department. ILLUSTRATIONS. Boutelouna oligestachys oc oa. coon on. cool ot Gramma-grass, Buchioe dactyloides.... .... ccd ice fiees coe ve dcnn connie Buffalo-grass, Andropogoniprovinelalis. .......oc. aL LL lL... Blue-joint, Andropogon SEOPATINS. cere cnnes sedsizenasec ness Wire-grass, Sedge-grass, Paniewin virgafiiml. ...couieeivnonns or donoes cnctnn dobncndal Switch-grass, Distiehlls maritimao. .. . coe cive viniid Bo toe coil oo, Alkali or Salt-grass, Chrysopogon nutang.J............. do.ol. oan. Reed-grass, Sorghum-grass, Koeleria cristata .. oli... cnvnmdleesdtn ise ve seddaeniinnh Wild June-grass, Muhlenbergia glOMeErata .... .coe ctecnscecnecr soon dee isssetaes = sueseisasdne Hilavia Jamesil.. oc eas ceicadieader smsece veal cons ciao SlE LL ol Sporobolus crypIandTUs « . . cc. ccae sscnencnetiss sales san senmsinnis siden name Sporoholns alroides .....cccevesedens susan vaninenitennce sensys Bunch-grass, Elymus Canadensis .......... oe amet eae bie v ven wa wes alee su Rye-grass, 19 Pl I PLU Pl. 1 Pl. IV Pl... V PL. VI PL. VII Pl. VIII Pl. IX Pl. X PL XI PL XI PL XHI Sh ir 3 MET Sg me ; i HORT Fe init | . Mitr nd an | : gagged : Go | oo Plate I. BOUTELOUA OLIGOSTACHYA., GRAMMA-GRASS. 4 seer Sd ee DAN iP Plate II. 2 NCHS MARA-DELL BUCHLOE DACTYLOIDES BUFFALO-GRASS. Flate IIT. BLUE-JOINT. ANDROPOGON PROVINCIALIS. Plate IV. ANDROPOGON SCOPARIUS. WIRE-GRASS. SEDGE-GRASS. Plate V. | eA I PANICUM VIRGATUM. SWITCH-GRASS. Plate VI. . DISTICHLIS MARITIMA. ALKALI-GRASS. SALT-GRASS. Plate VIL CHRYSOPOGON NUTANS. REED-GRASS. SORGHUM- GRASS. 6078—Bull. 1——3 Plate VIII. PA IS PILE TINNLOR LEN. KOELERIA CRISTATA. WILD JUNE-GRASS. Plate IX. HH NICHOLS ©) NARADEL, MUHLENBERGIA GLOMERATA. Plate X. HiLARIA JAMESIIL Plate XT. Ha SOONER —_ SRS ba o SV 3 wd mmm SRN A . 7} X NN: = \/ ; / \ Sa — Y J Mare del. z= SPOROBOLUS CRYPTANDRTUS. A Ra Plate XII. SPOROBOLUS AIROIDES. BUNCH-GRASS. Plate XIII ELymus CANADENSIS. RYE-GRASS. BEPORT OF AN INVESTIGATION OF THE GRASSES OF THE ARID DISTRICTS OF TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA, NEVADA, AND UTAH, 1887. rr ————— errata WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1888. 15876 aR——1 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL, WASHINGTON, January 20, 1888. DEAR Sik: In accordance with your directions to make an investi- gation of the grasses of the arid districts of the West, Mr. G. C. Nealley, of Houston, Tex., was appointed to investigate the grasses and forage plants of the arid portions of Texas, and Prof. S. M. Tracy, of Columbia, Mo., to make similar investigations in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. The latter investigations were very thorough, considering the time occupied, but were necessarily mainly restricted to the vicinity of the railroad stations. A detailed report from each of those observers is herewith presented. Of the 200 species collected in this region we may be assured that there are many which would prove useful for cultivation, and it is to be hoped that the experiment stations of the States embraced in the arid districts will give to such a thorough trial. Respectfully, GEO. VASEY, ; Botanist. Hon. N. J. COLMAN. REPORT OF AN INVESTIGATION OF THE GRASSES OF THE ARID DISTRICTS OF NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA, NEVADA, AND UTAH. Raton, New Mexico, June 6. Raton is at the southern base of the Raton Mountains. The adjoin- ing plains afford excellent pasturage, being well covered with Bucnloe dactyloides (Buffalo grass) and Hilarie Jamesii, while in many places Agropyrum glaucwm is becoming very abundant, and is said to be in- creasing annually and valued very highly. The latter is occasionally cut for hay, and is everywhere known as ¢ Blue-grass.” The higher _ mesa lands also give good pasturage and are often cut for hay. Agro- pyrum repens (Quack grass), a species of Poa (P. Tracyi), a variety of Festuca ovina, and a species of Carer, apparently muricata, are very abundant, and there is a considerable mixture of Bouteloua oligostachya (Grama-grass). . Rain-fall is said to be on the increase. Alfalfa and oats form the leading cultivated hay crops. The following notes were taken on the grasses found here: IKoeleria cristata. Occasionally seen on the sides of the mountains, and on the mesas. Found at almost every station on the whole trip, but never very abundant. It is known as June grass. Festuca ovina, var. Very abundant at the top of the mesa, but notyet in flower. It forms a large part of the mesa hay. Bouteloua oligostachya (Grama-grass). One of the most common species on the mesas. Agropyrum glaucum (Blue-joint, Blue-grass). Common on lowlands and the sides of the mesa. Hilaria Jamesii (Black bunch-grass). ~ Very abundant on the vegas (meadows) with Buchloe, and said to be increasing. It makes excellent pasture atall times when not covered with snow. Poa pratensis (June-grass, Kentucky blue-grass). Seen at one place on the side of the mountains only. [4] Poa Tracy. . A species of Poa, which was found abundant near seme springs toward the top of the mesa. Schedonnardus Texanus (Crab-grass). Common on the vegas and valued for early pasture, but worth- less for hay or late range. Iound through New Mexico and Arizona. Carex muricata ? (Water-grass). Very abundant on the side of tlie mesa and in low places on the top. Itis cut with the grasses for hay and is eaten fairly well. Santa Fé, New Mexico, June 13. The grasses of the mesa in this vicinity are very sparse, chiefly con- sisting of Grama (Bouteloua oligostachya) and Buffalo grass (Buclloe dactyloides). In the mountain valleys and hill-sides there is a larger va- riety. On irrigated land some of the eastern species occur. The grasses noted here were: Elymus sitanion. Very abundant on hills, and occasional on lowlands. Poa Digelovii. In oue locality in a ravine. Poa annua. Abundant on lowlands and eaten closely. Poa pratensis (June-grass, Kentucky blue-grass). Comes in wherever the land is irrigated. Very common in door- yards. Aristida purpurea. The most common species on the hills. Agrostis verticillata. > Common on low ground and eaten closely. Agrostis vulgaris (Redtop). Occasionally seen on low ground. Hordeum jubatum. Common. Sporobolus cryptandrus. Occasionally found. Not yet generally in flower. Sporobolus depauperatus. Rare. Glyceria nervata. Not rare along a stream. Stipa viridula, var. robusta. tather common at the foot of the hLills and apparently not eaten very much by stock. It was not seen elsewhere on the trip, except at Colorado Springs. Alopecurus aristulatus. Common on wet ground. - Lolium perenne. Quite common on low dry lands and eaten closely. Phleun pratense (Timothy). One field seen, which was sown on irrigated land in January, 1836, gave a heavy crop the following season, and now (June, 1837) looks well. Dactylis glomerata (Orchard-grass). Grows occasionally in irrigated fields. - Buclloe dactyloides (Buffalo-grass). Much less common here than at Raton. Bouteloua oligostachya (Grama-grass). Very abundant on the hills, and the most highly valued of any of the native species. Melilotus parviflora (Sweet clover). Very common here and seen occasionally in damp places from here to Los Angeles. Trifolium involucratum. Common on the banks of ditches, and eaten closely by stock. Trifolium repens (White clover). Common in yards and along the streets. Trifolium pratense (Red clover). One field on irrigated land, the first ever tried here, gives a heavy crop this year. Medicago sativa (Alfalfa), This is the leading hay crop. It costs about $10 per acre to sow and irrigate it the first year, after which it gives a profit of $20 per acre annually. The hay sells at from $18 to $20 per ton. Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 15. The city is located in a broad valley on the Rio Grande. The soil of the valley is very sandy, and when but a few feet above the level of the river is almost barren, except where irrigated. On both sides of the valley are high mesas, and 8 miles to the west there are extensive lava beds. On the mesas Bouteloua oligostachya, Hilaria Jamesit, and Aristida purpurea are the prevailing species. On the lowlands, Agrostis verticillata and Eatonia obtusata, with a few sedges, form the bulk of the pasture and hay. Oryzopsis cuspidata is quite common and grows very large on low, sandy lands and along the slopes of the mesas. This is often called “wild millet,” or Bunch-grass, and many consider it superior to Bouteloua on account of its larger and abundant seed. Wild rye, a species of Agropyrum, is valued highly for pasture when young, but is considered worthless when old. I am told that 60 miles south of here 8 Andropogon saccharoides forms the bulk of the hay crop. Poa pratensis (Kentucky Blue-grass), and Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass) have both been introduced, but do not spread. The following forage plants were noted in this vicinity: Agrostis verticillata. Found in wet meadows throughout the region visited. Agrostis vulgaris (Red-top). Occasionally seen in wet meadows. Agropyrum unilaterale. Common along the banks of ditches. Agropyrum tenerum. Common in one locality, at the edge of a wet meadow. Eatonia obtusata. In the same situation as the above. Sporobolus asperifolius. Common on ditch banks and similar situations throughout the region visited. It is very generally affected with a species of fungus (T'illetia asperifolia, BE. & I.) Sporobolus airoides. Common on the mesa. Found on dry, sandy soils throughout nearly the whole region visited. Sporobolus cryptandrus, var. stricta. Seen at the foot of the mesa, where it was eaten closely. Sporobolus eryptandrus. Occasionally seen in the streets. Panicum obtusum, called grapevine mesquit. Common here and at Algadones, where the runners were often 10 feet long. It is eaten well by stock. Elymus Macounii. Common on low, wet land. Aristida purpurea. Common on the mesa. Triodia pulchella. Occasionally seen on the mesa. Hilaria Jamesii. Very abundant on the high mesa. Bouteloua polystachya. , Seen in one locality on the mesa. DBouteloua eriopoda. Found in the same locality as the above, and what seemed to be the same as this was the most common species on the lava bed. Bouteloua racemosa. Found sparingly on the side of the lava. Munroa squarrosa. Found in small quantities in one locality. Chloris verticillata. Common on low, sandy land. Andropogon saccharoides, var. . Common on low, sandy land, where it is valued highly for hay and used when young for pasture. Polypogon Monspeliensis. Common at the edge of streams and in swampy places through New Mexico and Arizona. It varies from 1 inch to 2 feet in height, and is not eaten when other food is to be had. Polypogon littoralis. Common with the above in wet ground. Eragrostis Purshii. Rare. Stipa pennata, var. Neco Mexicana. Occasionally seen on the mesa. Scleropogon Karwinskianus. Quite common on the bigh mesa above the lava beds. Muhlenbergia Texana. Abundant among rocks on the side of the lava bed. Setaria caudata. Rather common near the base of the lava bed. Bromus racemosus. (Introduced.) A single plant seen. Dalea scoparia. Very abundant on the mesa near the lava beds. It furnishes almost the entire forage in the dry season. Juncus Balticus, var., and a species of Eleocharis form fully two-thirds of the growth of the low meadows which are cut for hay. Pastures containing the same species are eaten closely and evenly. Coolidge, New Mexico, June 19. Coolidge is located 6 miles west of the Continental Divide, in a valley some 5 miles wide, with buttes perhaps 1,500 feet high upon the north, and sloping hills fully as high upon the south. There is no water for many miles in any direction except that obtained from wells. The val- ley or pass over the divide reaches from near Bluewater to Winslow, Ariz., and through its whole length is dry except in the rainy season. In the canons are occasional springs which afford scanty water for the few sheep and goats kept by the Indians, but water in sufficient quan- tity for cattle or horses is rarely found except where wells have been dug. Very little stock is kept here, and there is no farming of any 10 kind. Bouteloua oligostachya, called here black grama, is the most abundant species of grass. In the valley Buchloe dactyloides (Buffalo- grass) is also common, and Agropyrum glaucum is seen occasionally, while on the hill-tops a species of Mullenbergia is quite common, to- gether with a small proportion of Hilaria Jamesii. Very few species were found in a condition for herbarium specimens, as the grasses here make no growth until the Augnstrains fall, when they are said to make a rapid and abundant growth until snow comes, and then remain dry until the next year. Ice an eighth of an inch thick formed here last night, June 19. The grasses noted here were the following: Schedonnardus Texanus. Only occasionally seen here, but at Chaves, 30 miles east of here, it is one of the most common Species along the railroad. Sporobolus depauperaius ? Quite common in the valley, and closely grazed. All the plants observed were affected with a fungus. t Poa Bigelovii. Occasionally seen in the valley. Agropyrum glavcum. (Blue stem.) Somewhat common, but not eaten when grama (Bouteloua oli- gostachya) is to be had. Elymus Sitanion. : Common, but not plentiful. % Oryzopsis micrantha. Not rare on the top of the mesa. Andropogon scoparius. Rare. Bromus ciliatus, var. Occasionally found on the side of the mesa. Poa Bigelovii. Rather common on the top of the mesa. Sporobolus cryptandrus. Common on the mesa. Koeleria cristata. Occasionally found on the mesa. Sporobolus tricholepis. Common on the mesa. -— Winslow, Arizona, June 23. From Coolidge to this point the railroad follows the valley, which in the wet season is the course of the Little Colorado River, but which is ~ now almost dry, water being seen at but two points. The country is 11 very similar to that about Coolidge, but more sandy and barren. The nearest ranch where good water can be had is 25 miles to the south- east, and there are no others besides that within 50 miles. On the sandy plains about here is a scant growth of Bouteloua oligostachya (Grama-grass), with a smaller amount of Buchloe dactyloides (Buffalo grass), the whole insufficient to afford range now (June 23), even if water could be had. Along the river, which is strongly alkaline, Distichlis maritima (Salt-grass), is almost the only species, and is eaten somewhat. After frost, stock live mostly upon White sage (Atripler),and “saleratus weed” (Salicornia herbacea), which grows quite abundantly on soils too alkaline for other plants. This plant is quite abundant about Salt Lake City, the only other locality where it was observed on the trip, and is valued highly there for winter feed. In the San Francisco Mountains, 50 to 70 miles southwest of here, Black bunch-grass (Hilaria Jamesii) is very abundant, and regarded as the most valuable species. Bouteloua oligostachya (Grama-grass) is also common there, and in the pine woods “Pine bunch-grass” (Festuca, an undetermined species) is the main reliance for winter range. Wild peas (Vicia?) grow abundantly, and are very highly prized for sheep. Flagstaff, Arizona, June 24. Tlagstaff is in the dense pine forests of the San Francisco Mountains, at an elevation of 6,386 feet. Excellent grasses are abundant, but owing to the total absence of living streams very little stock is kept. The more common grasses are * Pine bunch-grass” (Festuca )s Bouteloua oligostachya, Andropogon scoparius, and Agropyrum glaucum. The latter is often cut for hay, but is not valued as highly for that pur- pose as is the Bouteloua oligostachya. The following notes were taken on the grasses found here :- Poa Californica. Somewhat common on the hill-sides. Stipa avenacea, var. Occasionally seen on the hill-sides. Stipa Pringles. Common at the edge of the lava bed. Agropyrum glaucum (Blue joint, blue-grass). Very common, and sometimes cut for hay, but not valued highly. Stock do not eat it when other grasses can be had, but it be- comes an important item of feed when other grasses are cov- ered with snow. Koeleria cristata. Common. 12 Festuca (No. 118). (Pine bunch-grass.) Very abundant, and the most highly valued species. Grows in large clumps, so that it is difficult to mow, but makes exeellent winter range. It is eaten by stock of all kinds about as readily as grama (Bouteloua oligostachya). It is said to grow only in pine forests, and was not observed elsewhere. It is not yet in flower (June 24). Andropogon scoparius. Common on low hills. Oryzopsis micrantha. Common on the rocky sides of a cafion. Aristida purpurea. Occasionally found in dry rocky places on #he hills. Epicampes rigens (Deer grass). Occasionally found on the lava bed. Excellent for feed. Muhlenbergia Wrightii. Found on the lava bed. Bouteloua racemosa. Occasionally seen in the clefts of the rocks. Sporobolus tricholepis. Rare on lava bed. Sporobolus Arizonicus. Rare in the same situations. Carex muricata. Common at the foot of hills and in caiions. Peach Springs, Arizona, June 27. Peach Springs is in a dry valley, surrounded by high hills which have a scanty growth of cedar, with an abundance of cactus, agave, and yucca. Most of the feed for the few animals kept here is brought from Califor- nia, though the Indians occasionally bring in small lots of hay which they have cut with knives. One light shower is all the rain-fall this year to date, and no more is expected until Angust or September. Collections of grasses were made as follows: Stipa speciosa. Common on the top of the hills. Stipa viridula. Common on the hill-sides. Panicum obtusum (Grapevine-grass). Somewhat common on low land. LBremoclloe Kingii. Aristida purpurea. Common on dry rocky hills. 13 Bouteloua racemosa, Elymus Sitanion, and Bouteloua oligostachya (grama) were seen occasionally. Cows were noticed feeding on the leaves of Yucca baccata, the leaves being dropped after mas- tication ; perhaps eaten more for their watery juice than for nourishment. Grand Canon, Arizona, June 29. This place is 23 miles north of Peach Springs. The trail from the springs here is down a caiion, which has one or two springs near its head, but is dry the rest of the way, except the last mile. The calion is very narrow and barren, and the sides very precipitous and rocky. The tops of the hills are commonly bare, except of cactus and sage- brush. Collections were made as follows, all at or very near Grand Calon : Panicum capillare. Common along the creek. , Sporobolus asperifolius. Very common along the stream. Polypogon monspeliensis. Very common along the stream. In a ‘visitors’ register” kept at the camp here I find a note by Dr. Asa Gray, as follows: CONSPICUOUS PLANTS OF THE GRAND CANON. Fouquiera splendens, Ocatiosa. Acacia Lemmoni (Cat's claw). Allionia. On ground ; flowers all day and all the year; shuts at night. Iallugia paradoxa. Bush, with white rose-like flowers on slender stalks. Cowania Mexicana. : Like the last. Many greenish-white blossoms. Larrea Mexicana (creosote). Porophyllum. With yellow, sweet-scented tlowers in balls on slender twigs. Eriogonum inflatum (Indian pipe-stem). Abronia. In sand by the river; small white flowers in a cluster. Enothera albicaulis. Large flowers, separate. Lrythrea calycosa. Herb with red star-shaped flowers. The Needles, California, July 1. The lands here along the Colorado River are sandy barrens, with very little vegetation, except creosote-bush (LarrealMexicana) and grease-wood 14 (Sarcobatus vermiculatus). No grasses of any kind were seen excepting Distichlis maritima, which grows along the river, and what secms to be Douteloua polystachya, which is somewhat common on dry soils. From here to Bagdad, about 60 miles, not a single plant of any species of grass could be found, and there are no other plants upon which cat- tle can live. On July 1 the thermometer, in a well sprinkled and shaded porch, indicated 117° and on July 2, 123°. ’ Barstow, California, July 2. On the Mohave River (now nearly dry), with high barren lills on each side. A few cattle are kept along the river, but none on the hills. The following grasses were noted : Distichlis maritima. Very abundant along the river. Sporobolus airoides. © Common. Oryzopsis cuspidata. Seen occasionally ; becoming more abundant farther west. Panicum Urvilleanum. On a sandy bank; one plans only. Polypogon Monspeliensis. Common. Stipa speciosa. Common on hill-sides. Phragmites communis. One clump seen on the river bottom. It was also seen at Los Angeles, and at Wadsworth, Nev. Two species, apparently of Trisetum and Diplachne, were seen in the crevices of the rocks. Mojave, California, July 3. This place is situated on the border of the Mojave Desert, where for miles no plants of any kind can be seen. As there are no streams or springs about here, no stock is kept. The coast winds bring sufficient moisture, so that outside the desert many plants grow well with very little rain, but good grasses are rare. Oryzopsis cuspidata is somewhat common, also Hordeum jubatum, and on the hills to the south Llymus condensatus is quite plentiful. Erodiwm is seen occasionally. Stipa speciosa is common on the hills, and a species of Poa is occasionally seen. Los Angeles, California, July 8. Los Angeles is situated about 20 miles from the coast, in a well- watered valley, surrounded by high hills. I found here a much greater variety of grasses than at any other point since leaving Albuquerque. On the hills Elymus condensatus is a5 abundant, aud caten well when young. Stipa setigera is also found, and considered good feed, and Avena fatua is sufficiently abundant to Le valued highly. Erodium or “filaree,” is very abundant, and forms a large per cent. of the wild forage. The hill-sides produce an abun- dance of Bromus ciliatus, which is one of the leading sorts for horse teed. The notes taken here were as follows: Elymus condensatus. Fairly abundant on hill sides, sometimes S or 10 feet tall, but usually not more than 3 feet. It is caten only when young, except the seed spikes, which horses eat well during the winter. : Bromus ciliatus, var. Very common on hill-sides, and caten well, especially by horses. Stipa setigera. . Common on the hills. Keleria cristata. Occasionally seen on the hills. Avena fatua. Occasionally on hills and dry land. More abundant farther north, and often cut for hay in the Napa Valley. Trifolium microcephalum. : Very common on low land and well eaten. Melica imperfecta. : Common on hill-sides. Juncus bufonius. Festuca Myurus. Common. Panicum sanguinele. Common on the river bank, but not yet in flower. Distichlis maritima. Common on low lands. Paspalum distichum. In one locality. Poa annua. Occasionally found on the river bank. Medicago denticulata ? (Bur-clover). Very abundant on low lands in all southern California. Grows rapidly, and stock will leave any other forage to get it. Hosackia juncea ? : Common along river bottoms and eaten somewhat by cattle. Llymus Orcuttianus. Common on river bottoms, but not well eaten. Lamarckia aurea. Common along road sides. Scirpus maritimus. Common in wet places. Trifolium involucratum, var. heterodon. Occasionally found in wet soil, but not eaten very freely. Sporobolus airoides. Common on dry soils, but not valued. Commonly called ¢ Guay- atta.” Cyrodon dactylon (Bermuda grass). Common in door yards bere and still more common at Pasedena, 10 miles east of here. It does well, but needs constant iiriga- tion. Poa pratensis (Kentucky blue-grass). Does not succeed as well as Bermuda, the soil being too sandy. Erodium. The carly settlers claim that this has always been abundant here, and throughout the whole region from here to Colorado it is spoken of as ‘coming in from California.” Reno, Nevada, July 16. Reno is on the Truckee River, at the {foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in a basin some 10 miles across. The soil is fertile, and pro- duces good crops of alfalfa and redtop where irrigated, but there are occasional spots, sometimes of several acres in extent, which are too stony for cultivation, and which are almost barren, except a scattering growth of Artemesia, Atriplex, and Sarcobatus. Alfalfa and redtop are the only plants grown for hay. Timothy is abundant along ditch-banks and other places where it can have con- stant moisture, but as it gives but one crop yearly, while alfalfa gives three, it is not grown much for hay. It is generally claimed that a tou of alfalfa is equal to a ton of any other hay for fattening purposes, but for work-horses it is not worth more than half as much as timothy. The most abundant native forage plants are Agrostis vulgaris and sca- bra, Avena fatua, Elymus triticoides (?), Poa tenuifolia, Oryzopsis cuspi- data, Vicia Americana, Elymus condensatus, Trifolium involucratum, Spor- obolus asperifolius and Erodiwn cicutarium. The last named is known through the entire Southwest as ¢ Filaree,” and has become very com- mon here within the last five years. It was noticed also at Trinidad, Albuquerque, and Santa Fé, N. Mex. ; Wadsworth, Nev.; and at Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah. It is valued very highly on account of its early spring growth, and it continues to grow throughout the season, providing it has moisture. It is eagerly caten by all kinds of stock, even after it is completely dried and the plants are blown about by the 17 wind. It flourishes on stony and sandy lands where the grasses do but little, and I regard it as the best forage plant that I have found for in- troduction in the mountain regions. : Collections were made as follows: Those marked with a ? were gen- erally too far advanced to have the species identified with absolute certainty: Agrostis scabra. Occasionally seen near the river. Agrostis vulgaris (Redtop). Very common along streams and in meadows throughout the State; “comes in” in irrigated lands and forms a large part of the hay crop. Panicum capillare. Found sparingly at every stop between here and Denver. Oryzopsis cuspidata (Bunch-grass, sand-grass). Somewhat common on dry soil. Grows well on the hills, and is valued highly for winter range, but is not eaten much during the summer. : Poa tenuifolia. Common on low lands. Poa levis ? Common on eine meadows, and valued both for hay and pasture. Poa pratensis. Occasionally found on low ground, but is nowhere abundant. Elymus triticoides ? (Wild rye, wild wheat). Common on low ground, often cut for hay and of great im- portance for winter pasture. Also common at Wadsworth, Nev. Elymus Sitanion. Common along road-sides. Llymus condensatus, var. Common, and valued for winter pasture, but not eaten when other grasses can be had. It is sometimes cut (or hay. Llymus tenuis. Along the river-bank, Avena fatua (Wild oats). Very abundant from California eastward to Central N evada, and occasionally found in the Salt Lake Valley. Itis often cut for hay and makes excellent pasture. It was not seen in Arizona or New Mexico, nor in the arid regions of Nevada and Utah, but is said to be found occasionally there, 18 Stipa comata. Common on the dry barrens. Stipa occidentalis. Common in wet soil everywhere. Sporobolus asperifolius. Common on low land. Sporobolus cuspidatus. Common on the river-bank. Bromus secalinus (chess.) Common on irrigated lands. Bromus mollis. Occasionally found in dry soils. Very common in the Napa Val- ley, Cal. Bromus maximus. Common along roadsides. Bromus racemosus. Occasionally found on wet ground. Bromus breviaristatus. Grows sparingly along the river bank. FEatonia obtusata, var. Along ditch banks. Beckmannia (Wild timothy). 5 Common on wet ground and in shallow water from here east to Elko, Nev. Itis valued very highly both for hay and past- ure. Many regard it as the most valuable of all the native species, but it will grow only on soil which is constantly wet. Holcus lanatus. Occasionally found on ditch banks. Hordeum murinum. Very common. Eragrostis major. Introduced and yearly becoming more common in the valley. Festuca microstachys. Occasionally found on the barrens. Agropyrum glaucum (Blue joint, Blue-grass). Common and valued. Oryzopsis Webberti, On diteh banks and barrens, Eragrostis poecoides (small form). On ditch banks. Lolypogon. In strongly alkaline soil, 19 Erodium cicutarium (Filaree). Very highly prized. People here inform me that they have fre- _quent requests for seed to be sent to localities where it has not been introduced. It is becoming more abundant here every year. ; Medicago sativa (Alfalfa). : The plant here is affected with a species of fungus (Phacidiun medicaginis, Lascl.), the specimen sent being no worse than a » fair sample of most fields, not only here but wherever I have seen alfalfa. The farmers make no complaint of it; in fact no one seemed to have noticed it. Mr. Davis, the editor of the Live Stock Record, informs me that it iS even more common about Denver than here. Melilotus alba. Common throughout Utah and Nevada on low ground, and used considerably for pasture. It is almost the only plant in some fields about Salt Lake City. Trifolium involucratum. Very abundant on wet ground. Ifound everywhere along streams, but more common here than elsewhere. Trifolium tridentatum. . Common on ditch banks, and eaten closely. Carex siccata ? Very common on lowlands, where it is cut for hay. 1f is eaten fairly well. Several species of Cyperus, Scirpus, and Carex grow on low grounds and are called ‘“water-grass;” although they are not valued as highly as the grasses, these sedges form an important part of the pastures, and are eaten closely.in the absence of other feed. Some meadows which are cut for hay are at least three-fourths covered with these. Wadcworth, Nevada, July 21. 1 Wadsworth is on the Truckee River. The valley here is narrow and surrounded by high, barren, treeless hills, which have a scattering growth of sage-brush and grease-wood, with but little grass. Alfalfa is the main crop, though redtop is very common in the few cultivated fields. The native meadows along the river contain species of Agrostis, Kwleria, Bromus, and a large proportion of sedges or ¢ water-grasses,” as they are termed here. Collections were made here as follows: Agrostis exarata, var. Common. Poa levis. Occasionally found on low ground. 20 Keleria cristata. Common on ditch banks. Panicum capillare. Common on low ground. Sporobolus airoides. Found at Winnemucca and Palisade, Nev., and very sparingly on low ground here. Agropyrum glaucum (Blue-joint, Blue-grass). Common here and highly valued. Winnemucca, Nevada, July 23. The Humboldt River runs through this valley, but so far below the general level of the land that there are no cultivated fields. The Hum- boldt and Carson sink, where theriver finally disappears, is during the rainy season a lake, but now a perfectly barren plain, while for miles on either side the soil is so dry and alkaline that nothing is produced ex- cept occasionally astunted grease-wood. The rain-fall here in 1886 was 4 inches and this year to date has been .15 of an inch. Elymus Orcuttianus. Common in the valley and grows to some extent on the hills. It is the most valuable species here, being the main reliance through the year. Panicum capillare. Somewhat common along the river. Hordeum jubatum. Occasionally seen in well-watered yards. Setaria viridis. ‘With the above. Agrostis vulgaris (Redtop). Does well here. Poa pratensis (Kentucky blue-grass). Doing well here in irrigated grounds. Poa (too old for identification). Mountain bunch-grass, small bunch- grass. : Common on the hills and mountains from here to Ogden. It is said to start very early and to make excellent spring forage, but it dies as soon as dry weather comes. When abundant and the seeds are ripe stock fatten rapidly upon it. At this date it has nearly all disappeared. Battle Mountain, Nevada, July 25. In an extensive dry and barren valley, with no cultivated fields for many miles in any direction, and no cattle nor sheep. Iu the town are 21 twenty-three flowing wells, each about 250 feet deep, but the flow is very small and usually not more than enough for family use. The largest garden in the town is about 60 yards square and receives all of the water from two of these wells, and still the garden does not have enough. In this garden Agrostis vulgaris, Poa pratensis, Hordeum juba- tum, and Panicum capillare were noted. : Palisade, Nevada, July 26. The Humboldt Valley here is very narrow and without cultivated fields. The hills on each side are from 1,000 to 1,500 feet high, quite steep and rocky, with no trees, and but a scanty growth of grass. Poa tenwifolia. ’ The most abundant species on the hills and valued highly for spring forage. It is claimed that this and similar species were formerly much more abundant all through this region, and their disappearance is attributed to the fact that the roots are short and take but a slight hold upon the soil, so that when the herb- age is bitten off by stock the plant is either pulled up or the roots so loosened that it soon dies. It is certainly true through mos? of this State and a large part of Utah that when a range has been pastured for a year it is usually three years at least before it will afford equaily good pasture again. Agropyrum tenerum (Rye-grass). Very common on the lower part of the hills and in the valley. Agropyrum divergens. Common on the top of the hills. Elymus triticoides. Rather common along the river. Festuca microstachya. Common on dry hills, but disliked after ripening and not valued. Hordeum pratense (Iox-tail). Common on low land. Festuca ovina, var (Pinon-grass). Common in crevices in rocks. Eatonia obtusata. i Common near the river. Sporobolus cuspidatus. Common on low sandy barrens. Phalaris arundinacea. Common on low wet land. Stipa comata. Rare on hill-sides. - 22 Stipa occidentalis. Common on high hills. Trifolium cyathiferum. On the side of a hill, near a spring. Elko, Nevada, July 28. Elko is near the headwaters of the Humboldt River, in a valley from 1 to 3 miles wide. But little of the land is irrigated, but where fenced it is seen to produce a fair crop of grass in its natural state. In one meadow, 6 miles east of the town, I found Poa levis, Agrostis exarata, Sporobolus filifolius, and a species of Elymus, the most abundant grasses. This land was not irrigated, but is only 5 or 6 feet above the level of the river, and the yield, I should judge, would be from one-half to three- fourths of a ton per acre. In the same meadow are occasional patches of Beckmannia, or ¢ wild timothy,” which is regarded as the most val- uable grass here, both for forage and for hay, but it will grow only where it can have abundant and constant moisture. On the drier mead- ows and foot-hills Elymus condensatus is the most abundant species and the main dependence for winter range. Greasewood and White Sage are somewhat abundant on the hills, and Distichlis (Salt-grass) covers many acres along the river. : Collections were made as follows: Eiymus condensatus. Quite common, but not eaten in sammer if other feed is to be had. It is sometimes cut for hay, but is of poor quality. Beckmannia eruceformis. Common on the river bank and in swampy gro=nd from Elko to Reno, and is everywhere one of the most highly valued species. It is more abundant here than at any other point on the route. Agrostis exarata (Redtop). Somewhat common. Melica stricta. In one locality in clefts of the rocks on the mountains. Sporobolus asperifolius. Common at the edge of a hot sulphur spring. Agropyrum divergens. Common on the hills. Festuca microstachys. : Common on the hills. Ogden, Utah, July 31. Ogden is in Salt Lake Valley, 10 miles from the lake, with high mountains on the opposite sides. The valley is watered by the Ogden River, and is mostly under cultivation, alfalfa being almost the only 23 forage crop. Redtop and timothy are both abundant along ditch banks and on wet ground, and a few wild meadows are almost wholly redtop. One field of red clover was seen, but the crop was poor, and alfalfa will be sown in its place. On the mountains good pasture is found all summer, while the bench lands too high for irrigation become so dry as to be almost barren, except for occasional plants of Stipa comata and Agropyrum glavcum. Lrodium cicutarium is found occasionally, and is said to be becoming more abundant. Agrestis vulgaris var. (Redtop) is abundant on moist soils, and Iordeum jubatum (?) is a troublesome weed in exhausted land. The upper part of the mountain has an abundant supply of grass, and stock find good pasture here all summer. The same is said to be true of all the mountains in this vicinity. Collections were made as follows: Agrostis vulgaris. Common on lowlands and in cafions. Agrostis scabra. Rare in low ground. Agrostis microphylla. Along diteh-banks in the cafion. Agrostis exarata, var. Common in the cafion. Agropyrum glaueum. Common on dry ground. Agropyrum tenerum. With A. glavcum. Agropyrum divergens. Commnion in the canon and on the upper half of the mountain. Agropyrum caninum. Iu the canon. Elymus canadensis. ; Common on lowlands. Elymus tenuis. On low, dry sands and the foot-hills. Elymus condensatus, var. ? Occasional in wet meadows. Elymus sitanion. On rocks, near snow, at the summit. ) Sporobolus asperifolius. Common. Sporobolus cryptandrus. Jommon on dry, sandy soils. Sporobolus gracillimus. Occasionally found in the calion. 24 Kaleria cristata, var. Common on low dry ground. Poa levis, ? Occasionally found on low ground. Poa tenuifolia. Common at the summit. Poa purpurascens. Common in the same locality. Poa flexuosa, var. occidentalis. Abundant in a caiion near the summit. Ammophila longifolia. Rare on wet ground. Muhlenbergia glomerata, var. Occasional on wet ground and in the cahons. Muhllenbergia comata, var. On the river-bank. Glyceria arundinacea. Occasionally found on diteh-banks. Glyceria nervata. In a canon near summit. Distichlis maritima. Wverywhere on alkaline soils. Nowhere have I found it consid- ered of any value except at Winslow, Ariz., where it is dlimost the only green thing found. Cenchrus tribuloides. Common here, but seen elsewhere only at Canon City, Cal. Stipa comata. ‘Common on the bench lands. Stipa viridula, var. . Abundant on the upper half of {he mountain. Bromus secalinus. The most common species on low, dry, sandy land. Bromus breviaristatus. Common in the calion. Bromus racemosus. Occasional in the canon. Panicum capillare. Occasionally found on the river-bank. Phalaris arundinacea. On the river-bank ; also found at Palisade, Nev. Deyeuxia neglecta. : - On the river-bank. 25 Deyeuxia neglecta, var. robusta. Common on the river bank. Cinna pendula. In the cafion near the base of the mountain; rare. Festuca confinis. Common on rocks near the summit. Festuca Jonesii. In the canon. Lake Park, Utah, August 8. The following were collected here: Distichlis maritima. ; The most abundant species here, in the low, marshy, alkaline soil on the shore of Great Salt Lake. Agropyrum repens. Common. Deschampsia calycina. Common. Spartina gracilis. Cominon. Poa tenuifolia, var. Occasionally seen. Sporobolus cryptandrus, var. stricta ? Occasionally found in dry, sandy places. Lrodium cicutarinm (Filarce). Rather common, even where the soil is quite alkaline. Salt Lake City, August 9. The city is 5 miles from the lake, and about the same distance from the mountains. Between the city and the lake the land is low and mosthy in cultivation. I'rom the city to the base of the mountains the land rises and forms a broad bench, which produces a fair growth of Agropyrum repens and A. glawcwm, but almost no other grasses except where irrigated. Collections were made as follows : Agropyrum divergens (* Wire bunch-gra=s?”). The most common species on the mountains. Agropyrum caninum. In clumps on low ground ; rare. _ Agropyrum glaucum, var. Abundant on moist soil on bench land. Agropyrum tenerum, var. robustumn. Along a ditch on the bench. 26 Lolium perenne (Rye-grass). Introduced. Found occasionally in pastures and meadows. Elymus sitanion. Common on dry barren soil. Bromus racemosus. Common. Poa annua. Common along ditehes on the bench lands. Phlewm pratense. Several meadows here which are cut for hay contain about equal proportions of Timothy and Redtop, with usually a large mix- ture of Hordeum. Carex Jamesii. Very abundant in moist meadows, and in occasional spots almost the only species. It is cut for hay, but is said to be not very good. Medicago lupulina. Common in pastures and along roadsides on low grounds, where it is eaten closely. Juab, Utah, August 13. This is situated in a dry valley 100 miles south from Salt Lake. The valley is about 6 miles wide with a wet-weather stream. During the dry season all the water comes from wells. Considerable Redtop is found on the lower lands and Agropyrum divergens and Erodium cicutarium are found to some extent. On the mountains, 8 miles east, Agropyrum divergens is one of the prevailing species. The range about here is said to be much more bar- ren than it was five years ago, prior to the introduction of sheep. West _ of the town there are barren, treeless hills, with a scanty growth of the above-mentioned grass, together with Oryzopsis cuspidata. White sage (Atriplex) is the main reliance for winter range. Frisco, Utah, August 14. Frisco is in a dry, hilly region, wholly destitute of water, excepting an occasional alkaline well. All water for drinking or washing here has to be brought from Black Rock, 45 miles distant. The water from the wells is used for stock, and seems to be harmless after the animals be- come accustomed to it, though they are often made sick on first using it. The hills have a scanty growth of cedar and during the spring a fair growth of grass, but are now almost bare. There are not more than one-fourth the number of cattle in this part of the country now that 27 there were three years ago, and the range has been eaten so closely as not to afford even reasonably good feed for the few animals lett. Grama (Bouteloua -oligostachya), Bunch-grass (Poa tenuifolia, var.), and Indian millet (Oryzopsis cuspidata) are the leading grasses. White sage, or shad scale, as it is also called (Atriplex confertifolia), is relied upon largely for winter feed. Collections were made as follows : Poa Californica. ; Very common and eaten well. Poa tenuifolia (Bunch-grass). Common and valued highly. Stipa viridula. Occasionally found. Hilaria Jamesii. Abundant on the upper part of the hills, but apparently not eaten as well as Poa Californica, or next. DBouteloua oligostachya. Rather common, but only one plant seen with green stems or leaves. It was not seen elsewhere between here and California. Atriplex confertifolia (White sage, o* Shad scale). Common on dry hills, and es sen well after frost. Provo, Utah, July 15. The location and surroundings of Provo are similar to those of Ogden, the town being in a well-watered valley at the foot of high mountains. No crops can be grown without irrigation, and the unwatered bench lands are exceedingly barren, as also are the foot-hills. High up in the mountains are numerous springs and good pasture, but the streams usually disappear below 7,000 or 8,600 fect, and below that there is but little feed. The lowland meadowsare mostly timothy and redtop, mixed with Hordeum and various sedges. Collections were as follows: Agrostis grandis. Common in cafions ; nearlyall the specimens found were affected with an erysiphe. Agrostis, Sp. Common. Bromus ICalmii, var. occidentalis. Occasionally seen in the cations. Agropyrum caninum. With the above. Agropyrum tenerum. Common in a rocky cafion. 28 Glyceria nervata (form). Common along streams. Glyceria nervata (large form). Common in a wet, rocky canon. Cinna pendula. Common at an altitude of about 10,000 feet, near the summit of the mountain. Melica bulbosa. Occasionally found near the summit. Poa flexuosa, var? At the summit. Poa reflexa. Common at the summit. Bromus ciliatus, var. Common at the summit. Trisetum subspicatum. In a caflon at an altitude of about 9,000 feet. Stipa viridula. At 8,000 to 10,000 feet. Elymus Americanus. Common at about 7,500 feet, along a stream. Pleasant Valley, Utah, August 18. Pleasant Valley is on the eastern slope of the mountains, bordering the Salt Lake Valley. This is a very dry region, similar to that about Green River. Agropyrunr glaucum, A. repens, and Edymus condensatus are the more common species. Oryzopsis cuspidata is common on the hills, and Poa tenuifolia, var., is also {requent. As in other parts of Utah od Nevada, the amount of wild grass now found on the range is very much less than it was before the introduc- tion of sheep, which seem to have killed the roots of most perennial species, so that what was good pasture land five years ago is now almost barren. : Green River, Utah, August 20. The bluffs here are high and barren. I found no cultivated land ex- cept three small places on the river bank, and there are said to be no other ranches nearer than the Lasal Mountains, 20 miles to the south- east. The range here is so barren that no stock is kept. A rain about July 1 wet the ground to a depth of about 3 inches; previous to that there had been no rain or snow since April 20, 1886. On the sandy lands along the river a number of coarse grasses were found, but on the mesas and hills I could find nothing except occasionally Agropyr um repens and Poa tenuifolia, var. 29 Collections were made as follows: Sporobolus cryptandrus, var. strictus. Common, but only eaten when young. I have noted it at every stop from Ogden to this point, and have rarely found a plant which had been touched by stock, even where other grasses were eaten closely. Sporobolus airoides. Common in valleys throughout Utah, but eaten only when young, and not valued for hay. Sporobolus asperifolius. Very common. Agropyrum glaucum (Blue-grass, blue-stem). Quite common and regarded as the best native species. Grows sometimes 4 feet high. It is abundant from here to Denver. "Bouteloua polystachya, var. A few plants seen in cultivated ground. Munroa squarrosa. Common, but not eaten by stock. Also seen at Denver. Panicum capillare, var. Common. Panicum crus-galli, var. Several of the more common forms are abundant on the river- bank. Agrostis vulgaris. Rather common in irrigated land. Schedonnardus Texanus. Common and eaten well in spring, but worthless after becoming dry. Atriplex canescens (Shad-scale). Perhaps the most important forage plant here after frost. Juncus nodosus, var. megacephalus. Said to be eaten well, especially by horses. S. M. TrAcY. JANUARY, 1838. REPORT OF AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FORAGE PLANTS OF WESTERN TEXAS. Houston, TEX., January 17 1883. DEAR SIR: In accordance with the appointment received from the Commissioner of Agriculture to make an investigation of the grassesand forage plants of the arid districts of western Texas, under your direc- tion, I started westward from San Antonio on the 2d of May, having secured a good teamster to accompany me. At that time the country about San Antonio and westward showed the effects of the severe drought that had prevailed for over a year. At San Pedro Springs and in places along the San Antonio River, I noticed scattered growths of Panicum sanguinale, Eleusine indica, Eatonia obtusata, Paspalum dis- tichum, and Bromus unioloides, with patches here and there of the Buf- falo or early Mesquite grass (Buchloe dactyloides). The system of water- works in the city has induced fine lawns of the Bermuda-grass (Cynodon dactylon) with luxuriant gardens. But all over the surrounding country 1 saw no grass; only at very rare intervals a dry-looking plant or two of Buchloe. Between San Antonio and Castroville, 27 miles, the Mes- quite is by far the most predominant shrub, with occasionally a zizyph zs, sometimes called Texas buckthorn, and still less frequently an Acacia. The shrubbery and trees became mnch more varied as we advanced west. The prickly pear (Opuntia) was conspicuous all along our route, growing more plentiful as we journeyed on. Here and there were signs that the Buffalo-grass had a range in this region. Before reaching Castroville I saw at the dry beds of some of the creeks a few plants of” Bromus unioloides in bloom. Next to the Buftalo-grass it seems to with- stand the drought better than any other grass. From San Antonio to Uvalde, 93 miles, we passed only one permanent running stream, the Sabinal. As we approached the Hondo, while rid- mg over the hills or slight elevations, I noticed the Acacia shrubs, Zizy- phus, Parkinsonia Texana, and a few other shrubs freely mixed with the Mesquite and a few large trees of live oak and hackberry. The prickly pear growths were also more abundant, and I gathered a few specimens of the following grasses: Aristida purpurea, Bouteloua Burkei, Triodia ac- wminata, and Triodia Texana. On arriving at the Hondo we fortunately found one of the water-holes that occur in places along the dry bed of this and also of other water courses. I collected three grasses at this place: Panicum sanguinale, Chloris verticillata, and Chloris cucullata. 30 \ 31. Along our route from the Hondo to the Sabinal no grass was seen. Of the quantities of prickly pear I remarked how fresh and vigorous they looked amid the dearth of other herbage. The abundance and quality of the different species are indeed a benefit to the stockmen in these re- gions. I was informed that an immense amount of the “leaves,” as the flat joints of the Opuntia are called, were eaten for forage. Not far from the Hondo we passed a ranch where a large quantity of the prickly pear had been hauled, and the joints were passing through the preliminary scorching. A large herd of cattle was feeding on the scorched food as if with a relish. I heard one man say, “The prickly pear is all that saves this country ;” and another, ¢“ The cattle just love it, they can’t get anything else.” But cattle can not well thrive entirely on such diet. I heard from others that it was better for the health of the cattle to have such food mixed with hay or grain oecasionally. I saw a few cattle feeding on the joints in the field before they were cut and prepared, but they were moving their mouths as if in pain. 1 was told that very often cattle, and sheep particularly, take such food with- out its having gone through the scorching that softens the spines and destroys the bristles. It would seem that these cactus lands that have been regarded so worthless will be more valuable, not only as furnish- ing food for stock, but also in other ways in which some of the species can be utilized. In some of the machine-shops the prickly pear serves a good purpose as a lubricant. The Mexicans, who give the name of nopal to the different species of flat-jointed opuntias, prepare certain dishes in which the nopal leaf” is mixed with other food. It also has the reputation of making a good poultice for sores and bruises. Of the opuntias with cylindrical joints (called by the Mexicans, Chollas), two species are common in Texas west of San Antonio. With their numer- ous branches they have a shrubby appearance. One, Opuntia frutescens, I met with frequently between San Antonio and Del Rio, and less often in places farther west. The other, O. arborescens, 1 found sparingly east of Del Rio, but west of there very abundant. I have seen both species trained into good hedges. Cn our arrival at the Sabinal, we turned from our direct course west- ward for a short trip up the Sabinal Valley. Near the creek, but not on its border, I noticed single plants scattered here and there of Aris- tida purpurea (purple bearded-grass) that is widely diffused in western Texas. On the border of the creek I found two or three other kinds of the bearded grasses (Aristida) Stipa setigera, Thurberia Arkansana, Eleusine Jlgyptiaca, and other grasses that I gathered at points already mentioned. We rode along the Sabinal only as far north as Utopia, and there, by the creek, I found a few specimens of Panicum pubescens, the only place I saw it west of San Antonio. On some of the hills that tower along the sides of the creek one sees occasionally in riding along a few plants of the Sotol and Nolina that flourish in such great abun- dance in western Texas. Gladly would I have lingered in this interest- 32 ing region, the Sabinal Valley, perhaps one of the most inviting regions in Texas to the botanist. Passing from the Sabinal to Uvalde, a similar vegetation presented itself as that towards the Hondo; the same kinds of shrubbery and cactus growths. All over these western regions vegetation at that time was probably at its worst, the dry weather having continued so long. It may be noted here that some of the settlers had asked for State aid, which had been granted. I heard that in several of the settlements west of San Antonio provisions and ¢ drought-money ” were being re- ceived. The first evening at Uvalde Mr. Hale, my teamster, brought me a fine specimen of Leersia oryzoides that he found in a swampy place by a creek, one of the branches of the Nueces. Probably this is the western limit of this grass. We visited Leona Mountain, near Uvalde. Cn its summit I found a few specimens of Melica diffusa, Panicum lacnan- thum and Setaria caudata. At Uvalde I was informed that not only loads of prickly pear were hauled into the town, but also that quantities of sotol, for stock feed, were brought from the mountains west. Soon after leaving Uvalde we crossed the Nueces, by whose clear water several grasses were flourishing—the same kinds that I found by the San Antonio River. Irom the Nueces to Eagle Pass, with oar route still marked by the absence of grass and the abundance of prickly pear among the numerous shrubs, I noticed the few cattle here and there, and, as some one said, “looking like walking skeletons.” I heard sundry reports of a number of cattle dying from starvation. I saw some of the cattle feeding or trying to feed on the prickly pear, and in two or three instances I noticed the cattle attacking the long leaves of the Spanish bayonet, Yucca baccata, that forms a prominent feature of’ the flora of this region and is frequent all over western Texas. At Eagle Pass the surrounding country looked indee d barren and desolate; in most places on the hills not even a shrub with green foliage. But I was informed that after continued rains the mesas of this region are covered with good grass. All over western Texas it would seem as if there must be quantities of seed in the soil. No matter how barren or rocky a place may be, a season of rain is followed by a coating of grass and other herb- age. Leaving Eagle Pass, we rode for some distance along the Rio Grande and came to a place on the bottom land favored with a very luxuriant vegetation. Here I found excellent specimens of Setaria sctosa, Sorghum halepense, Eragrostis capillaris, and other grasses that flourish in moist situations. The grasses at this place were mixed with luxuriant growths of other herbaceous plants. Prominent here were the tall stalks of Phragmites communis, and still more conspicuous on the islands in the river were the taller stalks of Arundo donax. Irom the river our route led by one of the coal mines, and near one of the shafts I took notice of an inclosure formed by placing together the stems and leaves of the Spanish bayonet, Yucca baccata, thus making a serviceable fence. The \ 33 roots, stems, and leaves of the Yucca also subserved a good purpose in forming an embankment by the side of a hill, where a tramway was made to one of the shafts. >assing over the hills and through the gorges and over the mesas that mark the configuration bordering the Rio Grande, we saw no change for the better in vegetation before reaching Las Moras Creek. There I found the grasses similar to those of the permanent running creeks eastward. The herds of sheep and goats that one sees traveling in this region must find their sustenance principally from the shoots and foliage of the mesquite and other bushes. Ou the hills bordering the Rio Grande the prickly pear is met with much less frequently than it is some distance away from the river. As we approached Del Rio vegetation looked more cheering. There had been recent rains, and grass was beginning to start afresh. I found several interesting grasses at Del Rio both by the side of San Felipe Creek and along the irrigating ditches through which pass the clear waters of the creek, so important to the gardens and plantations around Del Rio. Here I collected about a dozen grasses, including Setaria glauca (at Del Rio may be its western limit), Cenchrus tribuloides, Cenchrus cchinatus, and Panicum colonum, var. zonale. On the banks of the Rio Grande I found a few plants of Sporobolus Wrightii (the Maton of the Mexicans) in bloom. Later in the season this tall coarse grass forms a prominent featare of the vegetation along the river. Irom Del Rio to the Devil’s River I noticed no special features in the vegetation. Where we crossed the river I saw a luxuriant growth of Panicum sanguinale and Panicum colonum, and a number of specimens of Panicum crus galli. These three grasses, so common at many of the streams throughout Texas, illustrate the fact that plants preferring moist situations are of wider distribution than those in more dry situa- tions. West of Devil’s River the Sotol (Dasylirion Texanum) became noticeable from its abundance on the side of the hills—in many places forming the principal vegetation. The sundry useful purposes it has served are doubtless well known ; esteemed by Mexicans and others as food—the leaves chopped oft and the “head” cooked. As furnishing the mescal, the popular beverage of the Mexicans, it has long been well known. The herders of sheep and goats value it as a forage plant. Cattle also seem to be fond of it. I saw several plants where the leaves had been cut away and the head left for the benefit of the stock. One Lerder in Val Verde County said that in the dry season he placed his ain reliance on the Sotol for the sheep. Proceeding westward from the Devil’s River, the Lechuguillo {Agave heteracantha) presents itself in great confusion, like the Sotol, occupy- ing the ground in places to the exclusion of all other plants. Valued as a soap or “amole” plant and as a fiber plant, the Lechuguilla has long been known. The Ocotillo (Fouquicra splendens) also becomes 18876 GR——3 34 prevalent. The singleplants, with their long branchless stalks, growing on the rocky mesas, offer a striking feature to the landscape. I have seen good serviceable fences made with the prickly stems of these plants. The Nolina (Hickory grass) I saw but sparingly near Devil’s River, becoming very abundant farther west. I saw wooden and adobe build- ings with the roofs thatched with the long, tough leaves of this plant. The leaves are bound with thongs of hide, and I was told that such a covering would last for years, and would not leak in rainy weather. One man in Juno, who had a roof thatched with this ¢ grass,” said he preferred it to a shingle roof. From Devil's River to Flanders I saw no grasses in bloom away from the crecks, except a few stray specimens of Pappophorum apertum and on one of the divides a small patch of running mesquite-grass, Hilaria cenchroides. At Flanders, in a deep, rocky raviuve by the side of a nat- ural alkaline well, I found Polypogon Monspeliensis, a grass that is com- mon in many places on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. On account of the difficulty in getting water we concluded to change our route, so from Flanders we returned to Devil’s River and rode along its west side, passing over the mesas and valleys. I saw the Sotol in great abun- dance on the hill-sides. At the foot of one of the hills I gathered a few specimens of Hilaria mutica. This grass I have seen in large patches west of the Pecos. While going through the picturesque Dead Man’s Pass I collected some specimens of Aristida, Panicum reticulatum, aud a few other species of grass. In onc place near a creek 1 found a few plants of the rescue-grass (Bromus unioloides); this is the most western point at which I have seen it. Just before reaching Old Camp Hudson we rode a short distance along the river, bordered by stately trees of poplar and willow, wild china, pecan, and others, Where we camped by the river, opposite the old fort, I found the grasses Paspalum dis- tichum and Panicum colonum. We rode some distance up the river. At one point I found some fine*specimens of Elymus canadensis. Leaving the river we rode northwest a few miles, and arrived at Juno post-office. Here I noticed the Sotol plentiful on the hills, and by a creek running through the place I found a few grasses that are partial to moist places. After a day at Juno we proceeded westward to Johnson’s Run. Just before reaching it I noticed a small patch of Triodia albescers, and near by a small patch of Hilaria mutica. All along our way from Juno to the Pecos I frequently saw small patches of the buffalo-grass, but it looked rather parched. Along some of theleads, or draws, as they arecalled—Dbranches of the arroyos—I saw an occasional Aristida, Triodia acuminata, and An- dropogon saccharoides. = We passed Howard's Wells, where a few green bunches of Hilaria mutica presented themselves, with a few stray spec- imens of Chloris elegans. Journeying along some distance we ascended a steep hill, on the top of which was a large arca covered with Lechu- guilla. Here I found a few specimens of Schedonnardus Texanus. We rode for some hours over a lengthy plateau, our way marked by Nolina 35 in abundance, but I saw none in bloom. I noticed here the Hilaria mutica at intervals among the meager growths of buffalo-grass. We turned off a short distance from our track and camped at night by a rocky ravine where were wells of good, clear water. At this place I found a number of interesting grasses ; some fine tussocks of Eriochloa sericea. Panicum uniselum, Panicum reticulatum, and Panicum ciliatissi- mum. I noticed many cactus plants along our route, mostly of different species from those of the Opuntia. Itis between San Antonio and Devil's River that the prickly pear in Texas seems to be most abundant; but the shrubby-like Opuntia arborescens is common towards the Pecos and farther west. Leaving the plateau, we descended a hill into Live Oak Creek Valley, where I noticed the Spanish bayonet (Yucca baccata) in abundance. Near the creek I saw a few clumps of Muhlenbergia Texana and Andropogan saccharoides. We passed a large goatranch. Isaw sev- eral of the goats feeding on the foliage and shoots of the bushes. From Live Oak Creek, graced with its lordly oaks among the other timber, we rode on to the Pecos, and camped by its side near the mouth of Live Oak Creek. The alkaline, muddy water of the Pecos presented a strong contrast to the clear water of the creek. At the foot of the hill I found two or three blooms of Panicum leucopheum, and near the river Cenchrus tribuloides and Chloris cucullata. On the bank of the river I found a few stalks, just starting into bloom, of the common grass of the Pecos, Sporobolus airoides. This locality was favored in one place with a covering of the buffalo-grass, the best patch of it I had seen since leaving San Antonio. Crossing the river we rode for some distance on the other side, where I found a few small patches of buffalo- grass of very meager growth, till we arrived at Pontoon, a station of one building, with a store. From here we took a direct course to Stock-- ton. A mile west from Pontoon I saw the last vestige of the buffalo- grass on the journey, and I noticed a few straggling plants of Pappopho- rum apertum. Theappearance of these and a few specimenson the divides in Val Verde County might lead one to infer that this species (PF. aper- tum) is capable of resisting drought better than many other grasses. Our route in Pecos County was through as desolate a region as any we had yet traversed. The hills in view on either side of us looked more barren than those cast of the Pecos River. Already on our ex- pedition we had taken precaution to obtain water in passing from one locality to another. In this part of the country we were obliged to be still more careful. The keg we had with us was an important requisite, but sometimes we rode long distances before finding water for the two mules that composed our team. We managed to keep a supply of corn or oats for the mules; at this season, of course, placing no reliance on orass at any point for even a ¢ pretty fair picking.” We overtook two emigrant teams en route for New Mexico, and the owner of one of them informed me that two years ago he had traveled over that same region 36 in Pecos County, and for nearly a week his horses had no food except what they could get from the mesquite and other bushes along the way. After traveling some distance from the Pecos we were cheered by the sight of a creek and spring; a short distance farther on we came to an- other creek, and still farther on to the Escondido Creek and spring. 1 saw on the borders of each luxuriant growths of Agrostis verticillata, and less plentifully the Panicum obtusum. The clear water of these creeks is salty alkaline, similar to that of Comanche Creek, flowing by Stockton. On the 7th of June we arrived at Stockton, having been a little over a month in passing through these regions, in the most unin- viting time of the year perhaps; certainly as regards the presence of grass. Doubtless in the autumn all these portions of country are favored with the ¢ yearly wave of rain-fall,” and generally furnish through the fall and winter months a pretty fair pasturage; though perhaps not as good as that of the mountain regions farther west, where some of the grama grasses afford such excellent pasturage and hay through the winter. It was a pleasant sight at Stockton—the large plantations, where corn, oats, and vegetables produce good crops, the result of the system of irrigation from the crcek. By the irrigating- ditches a rampant growth was noticeable in places, of Panicum obtusum. On the borders of the creek I saw several plants of Agrostis verticillata and Distichlis maritima. After spending a day in the neighborhood of Stockton we started for Fort Davis, taking the old telegraph road. After traveling afew hours we came to a swampy place, where I noticed a few patches of Hilaria mutica. Proceeding some distance farther we crossed a creek, and a few miles farther on camped at night by one of the tanks or water holes that are seen occasionally in this region. The next day we crossed a muddy stream, along whose banks the Sporobolus aireides was con- spicuous. We rode over a long flat, covered by large tussocks of this grass. Where we camped the next night, by the side of a clear creek, I saw some luxuriant growths of Hilaria mutica and Triodia albescens. Let it be remembered that I make note of the only grassy places I met at this season. The next morning we started towards Saragossa. From that place we rode along the side of Toyah Creek to Victoria. Both of these are small settlements, with Mexican adobe houses. Along the sides of the creek the Sporobolus airoides was prominent. In one place near the creek I noticed Hilaria mutica and Panicum leucophewunt growing luxuriantly. Leaving the low prairie region by Toyah Creek we approached the picturesque Limpia Cafion, through which flows the clear water of Limpia Creek. In a few places on the edge of the creek I saw a few specimens of Panicum colonum and Panicum crus galli, and at two or three places on the rocky slopes, among the bowlders, a few tufts of grass starting forth. We reached TIFort Davis on the night of June 11. The country around Fort Davis looked very barren in June; the high 37 prairie almost, entirely destitute of vegetation, and on the steep slopes of the hills no grass at all among the numerous timber growths. I saw a large number of goats browsing on the numerous shrubs and trees along the cliffs and on the hill-sides. Along the irrigating ditches by the Government gardens, amid a rank growth of other herbage, I found good specimens of such grasses as Chloris elegans, Sporobolus cryptan- drus, Eragrostis mexicana, Panicum obtusum, Panicum colonum, and a few others. From Fort Davis I took an expedition to the ¢ Pineries,” and was favored with the company of Mr. William Lloyd, an enthusiastic orni- thologist and entomologist, who was making a collection of birds for a New York museum. Our route was through the western division of Limpia Caiion, our road winding along the clear flowing Limpia Creek towards its source. All along the Limpia Creek and its branches much of the land is used for pasture ; generally in the broad parts of the valleys, but also where the valleys are made abrupt by the hills sloping down to either side of the creck. I noticed by the side of some of the ravines and cliffs rem- nants of last year’s flora, such as dry stalks of the grasses Elionurus candidus, Epicampes distichophylla, and a few others that are prominent in the fresh vegetation of the mountain sides in the fall. In all the mountain regions of Texas the rains of August and September bring new life to vegetation. Through the spring months—though many of the trees and shrubs are in bloom in May—there seems to be with the grasses and other herbage an entire suspension of growth away from the water-courses. I noticed in a few places, still covering small areas, dry plants of some of the Grama grasses of the preceding year. If would seem that, late in the spring and early in the summer, these con- tinue to preserve their nutritive properties, and where they have not been browsed upon or cropped, furnish forage until the fresh growth in the fall. I saw in the Limpia region several specimens of the remarkable ¢ loco” weed (Astragalus mollisimus). It appeared much more common on the broad valleys than on the hill-sides. Its direful effects on cattle and horses who taste it are well known. I heard of its having caused also the death of many sheep, but no reports of goats being seriously affected. It may be that they entirely avoid it. Itis worth mentioning here that donkeys (Mexican burros) feed on the “loco” without any injury to them. ’ Up in the Pineriesin June I saw but very few grasses along the creek. At the base of one of the foot-hills, near the border of the creek, I found a few plants of Poa andina. At the old Government saw-mill I gathered some specimens of Panicum bulbosum. ” : Returning to Fort Davis, we rode over to the picturesque region of Musquis, south of the fort. Here I saw by the sides of the creek, as it flows through the cafion, a few plants, here and there, of Tripsacum dactyloides, Diplachne dubia, Setaria setosa, and others. These were also 38 seen in great profusion when I visited the same region in September. Southward from Musquis we rode to Murphyville, and spent two days in the neighborhood. At that time of the year, early in July, the sur- rounding hills looked indeed desolate and barren. I deferred making observations in any of these western regions until a month or two later, for then the rains of August and September would give a cheerful as- pect to the face of nature. While passing through on the train from Murphyville to El Paso, nature presented all along the route the same dreary aspect—no grass on the hills and mesas, or on the prairies. But in some places the numerous shrubs and yuccas gave a charm to the landscape. ‘While in El Paso, three weeks in July and most of August, I saw no grass on the surrounding hills. The system of irrigation, here as else- where, brought forth a luxuriant growth of grass and other plants along the irrigating ditches and in the gardens. Among the grasses growing in the park at El Paso were fine specimens of Timothy ( Phleum pratense), Red-top (Agrostis vulgaris) and Rye grass (Lolium perenne); These were mixed with such grasses as are frequent on cultivated land in the Gulf States, Cynodon dactylon, Sorghum halepense, and Pani- cum sanguinale. It is worthy of note (as illustrating the value of the Grama-grasses in the summer), that several loads of hay were hauled in July into El Paso—grama hay it was called—cut in the mountain region, 10 miles north of the town. In the latter part of August the rainy weather caused a fresh start to the vegetation, and the green shoots springing up, gave quite a spring-like appearance to the land- scape. In journeying from El Paso eastward there could everywhere be seen the reviving vegetation. At Marfa a very cheerful view was presented, with the surrounding country favored with a carpet of green grass and other herbage. At Fort Davis and the neighboring regions plant-life had started forth in great profusion. At every point the green grasses appeared—on the flats, in the swampy places, on the high prairies, on the craggy mountain sides, on the narrow shelves at the sides of the steep cliffs. About the middle of September I went over to Medero Creek, 30 miles south of Marfa. Here I found several of the gramasin abund- ance, though not spread over the surface to the extent that they were near Marfa and other places. But I collected in this region, on the hills and mesas, and near the sides of the creek, several grasses that I saw nowhere else. I have noted them in the appended list. Though many of the grasses have an extended range, certain species seem to be par- tial to one or two localities. Such sections might be characterized by certain grasses whose narrow range renders them, in their favorite haunts, a prominent feature of the vegetation. On the last day of September I started, with a young man and team, from Marfa towards the Staked Plains. Part of our route was through Limpia Caiion, north of Fort Davis, and the contrast in the aspects of 39 vegetation at this season from that of June was very noticeable. I gathered several interesting grasses in this region, which I have noted in the list, giving the names and localities. October, it would seem, is the best month in which to study the grasses of western Texas. I found there all the species in their prime of bloom, though it was too early to gather seeds. Leaving Limpia Cafion we next came to the broad plain watered by Toyah Creek. Although in early Junethisregion wasbarren, it was now mostly covered with a good carpet of grass. After trav- eling for some distance on the prairie we approached the Pecos, where the vegetation did not look so cheerful. The soil in the vicinity of the river is so impregnated with alkaline salts that only a few grasses and other plants can thrive. The Salt-grass (Sporobolus airoides) finds such a soil congenial. Its green tussocks in October were scattered about in abundance on the flats bordering the river. Crossing the Pecos at Pecos City (a village of three stores in running order) we took an eastward course to the Sand Hills, which have been characterized as ‘‘a dreary, chaotic belt of reddish sand tossed by the wind into hillocks, cones, and ridges of various sizes and shapes.” Isaw a topography similar to such a description, but at the time of my visit, in October, 1 found a very luxuriant vegetation; though but few shrubs beside the Mesquite, which was abundant. The numerous grasses and other herbaceous plants were in their full prime of bloom. The species of grass peculiar to this belt I have specified in the appended list. From the Sand Hills we passed on to the southern edge of the Staked Plains, not going farther east than Odessa. At this point the surface was covered in many places with large patches of grass, but it looked parched and dry. I learned that in August and early September vege- tation at this and other portions of the Staked Plains was at its best. In the country surrounding Odessa the species of grass by far the most abundant is the ¢“ White grama” (Aristida). It is valued for hay, and seems to be the grass most esteemed at the southern edge of the Staked Plains, keeping its nutritive qualities in the field through the fall and early in the winter. We returned to Marfa on the same route—by way of Pecos City and along Toyah Creek and Limpia Creek. I gathered some more specimens and a few seeds. Arriving at Marfa on Friday night, October 21, we started the following Monday for the Chenate Mountains. Along our route on the high prairies, varied here and there by swells or low ridges, the surface was generally covered with good grass, mostly the Gramas. But before reaching Cibilo Creek, riding about 40 miles, we passed no permanent running stream; only at some of the arroyas, a water-hole or tank, where the water is retained a long while after rains. On reach- ing the mountains vegetation looked more advanced than in the Limpia region. Many of the grasses were past their prime, but I collected several good specimens as well as seeds. While passing through the 40 Chenates I saw at several points burros loaded with wood or hay, be- ing driven by Mexicans down the mountain sides. Such is a common sight during winter in these mountains. The value of these mountain grasses—in many localities consisting entirely of the Gramas—with their esteemed qualities of self-curing, can be seen not only in tlic pasturage they afford in the winter, but in the amount of hay that is cut. Immense quantities are cut for hay in the fall, and in a climate that continues dry and clear the first half of the year, can be kept through the spring and early summer without the protection of barns or other buildings. Stockmen say that horses and cattle are fond of the blooms of the Gramas; the ‘heads or tops” as they call them. In the fall, when the grasses are fresh, stock often prefer the tops to the foliage. While passing through some of the gorges and on the lower mesas (on our way to Presidio on the Rio Grande) the Grama-grasses could be seen in great abundance. But descending to the bottom-land, that stretches for some distance till it reaches the river, I saw only scanty growths of grass, only slight patches here and there, often only a stray plant or tussock. The few specimens I gathered in the neighborhood of Presidio I have noted in the list. Arriving at Marfa, on our return trip the last day of October, we started on the 2d of November for a three days’ trip over to Musquis, by way of Paisano, returning by way of Fort Davis. Though late in the season, I gathered several specimens and seeds. ; The following grasses were collected during my whole trip : Panicum jfasciculatum. : Different forms of this grass I found growing in the gravelly soil on the craggy slopes. I saw it nowhere in abundance, generally in scattered tussocks. It seemed to be more common in the Limpia region than elsewhere. ~ Panicum ciliatissimum. This I saw in a few places in the Limpia region. Less abundant than the preceding. Panicum autumnale, var. This is frequently seen on the lower ridges and in gravelly soil near the creeks. Panicum bulbosum. This I saw in several places at Limpia Cation, on gravelly slopes near the creek, and in like situations in Musqnis Cation. Panicum lachnanthum. Frequent on many of the lower ridges, more common on slight elevations in the valleys. On some of the bbttom-lands, where the soil is sandy or gravelly, it is seen in great profusion. 41 Panicum crus-galli. Frequently seen on the borders of the creeks. In some localities very abundant. Panicum sanguinale. : Seen in several places on the creek bottoms. Panicum colonum. With the preceding. More common. Panicum capillare. Occasionally seen associated with the preceding. Panicum proliferum. This grass, so common in cultivated ground in eastern Texas, I saw only in one spot by the side of Toyah Creel. Panicum obtusum. This was often seen on the borders of creeks; sometimes on the gravelly slopes near the sides of creeks. I have seen it in great luxuriance on the borders of creeks whose waters are strongly alkaline. Panicum Havardii. Several plants of this tall, striking grass, I saw scattered about at the Sand Hills in October. Not seen elsewhere. Panicum Hallii. Another grass peculiar to the Sand Hill region. Its procumbent stems, rooting at the joints, are scattered freely among the other grasses, but not forming patches. Paspalum distichum. Occasionally seen in muddy places on the borders of creeks. Where the soil is gravelly it does not thrive. Eriochloa punctata. Frequently seen on creek bottoms. Often mixed with Panicum sanguinale. Setaria setosa and var. caudata. Both of these are plentiful in the valleys of western Texas; gen- erally in soils adjacent to creeks. Not rare on low ridges near the borders of creeks. The var. seems more abundant than the type. Cenchrus tribuloides. One of the most common grasses atthe Sand Hills. Iortunately it thrives only in sandy soils. Cenchrus myosuroides. This was seen only in one locality ; in large clumps by the side of the creek at Cibilo Cation. Tripsacum dactyloides. This was seen only at Musquis (south of Fort Davis) growing in clumps in a few places along the creek. 42 Hilaria mutica. This occurs in all the valleys of western Texas; often in gravelly soil near the creeks; not rare on the slopes of the lower ridges. On the low prairie at Toyah Creek I noticed it, in some places forming large patches of itself, though generally mixed with other grasses. Hilaria cenchroides. This was seen in two localities ; on the high prairie near Marfa—- several plants mixed with some of the Gramas; and on one of the lower mesas on the south side of the Chenates. Tragus racemosus. Near Fort Davis, on the high prairie, I saw several plants of this scattered about; also in several places along Limpia Creek north of the fort. It seems to be thoroughly naturalized. Imperata Hooker. This was seen only in one locality ; by the side of Medero Creek, 30 miles south of Marfa. Elionurus candidus. Frequent in many places on the craggy slopes. It seemed es- pecially abundant in the Limpia region and in the neighbor- hood of Musquis. I found it at several points at Paisano and in the Chenate region, and on some of the hills near Medero Creek. Heteropogon contortus. Common on all the craggy slopes of the mountains. Andropogon cirrhatus and Andropogon hirtiflorus. Both of these are common in the Limpia region on the craggy slopes. Andropogon saccharoides. ; Often seen at the base of the lower ridges. More common on gravelly soil near the creeks. Andropogon Hallii. Seen only at the Sand Hills. A few large clumps here and there among the other herbage. Chrysopogon nutans. Seen at Musquis in one locality growing in clumps near the creek. Also seen in one other locality; a few scattered plants at an arroya near Cibilo Creek. Sorghum halepense. At Musquis Canon I saw a few plants growing by the side of the creek. Cultivated at Fort Davis and at El Paso. Aristida bromoides. Frequently seen near the borders of creeks and at the base of a ridge. 43 Aristida dispersa. In the same localities as the preceding and in like soils and situ- ations. Aristida Palmert. Several specimens of this were seen scattered about on the lower ridges and mesas in the Limpia region and in the Chenates. Aristida purpurea. Different forms of this were seen near many of the creeks and on the slopes of the lower ridges. Aristida Havardit. , This was seen in a few places on the lower mesas at the south- ern base of the Chenate Mountains. Aristida. On the prairie extending south of Marfa I saw several plants of this scattered here and there. At the southern edge of the Staked Plains, about Odessa, it is the most prevalent grass, known as the ¢ White grama.” Avristida Schiediana. Seen at several places in the neighborhood of Musquis and in the Limpia region. Growing like other grasses on the craggy slopes in the gravelly soil between the rocks and bowlders. Stipa flexuosa, n. sp. Seen only on some of the lower mesas near Medero Creek. Grow- ing in clumps in abundance. Oryzopsis fimbriata. Seen in a few places on the craggy slopes in the Limpia region and at Paisano. Muhlenbergia Texana. Frequent on the mesas and high prairies.” On the low prairie at Toyah Creek I saw several specimens. Mullenbergia arewicola. Common on the high prairie between Fort Davis and the Chen- ates. Mulllenbergia monticola. Several clumps of this I saw scattered about on the craggy slopes in the Limpia region. Mullenbergia spiciformis. Seen in the same localities of the preceding, also at Musquis Cation. It offers a rare exception among grasses in its choice of habitation. I found it nowhere on the gravelly slopes. All the specimens I saw were growing on the steep sides of ledges, sometimes on very narrow shelvy places on the side of a steep cliff; often in fissures of she rock, with no soil apparently for its nourishment. 44 Muhlenbergia , I. SP. Several specimens of this were seen on the craggy slopes at Lim- pia Cation. Lycurus phleoides. Common on the lower ridges and mesas. I saw several plants of it on the slight ridges that mark the uneven smiface of the prairie land around Marfa. Epicampes distichophylla. This is one of the most common grasses on the craggy slopes of the mountains. The form without awns I saw only in the Lim- pia region. Epicampes stricta. Seen only in two localities—in gravelly soil near Medero Creek and in one spot near the creek at Musquis Calon. Sporobolus airoides. The prevailing grass along saline and alkaline streams. At ny all the creeks in western Texas, on the low prairies and in the broad valleys subject to overflows, large level surfaces are covered with tussocks of this grass. Sporobolus Wrightii. Common on the bottom land of the Rio Grande. Often mixed with the preceding on the flats by some of the creeks. Sporovolus eryptandrus. Frequent on the high prairies. Common at the Sand Hills. Sporobolus cryptandrus, var. strictus. Scattered about in abundance at the Sand Hills. A few speci- mens seen near Toyah Creek. Sporobolus eryptandrus, var. flexuosa. One of the most common grasses at the Sand Hills. Sporobolus eryptandrus, var. robusta. A striking feature of the grass growths at the Sand Hills. Less common than the preceding. Sporobolus Nealleyi, n. sp. Seen at the Sand Hills only in one spot. Sporobolus ramulosus. Frequent at the Sand Hills ; seen in a few places on the prairie near Marfa and in a valley near Musquis. Sporobolus asperifolius, var. Seen at several places along Toyah Creek. Not seen elsewhere. Sporobolus repens. Seen at several places on the prairie near Marfa ; sometimes in patches occupying the ground for some yards. A few plants also seen in a valley near Musquis. Agrostis verticillata. Frequent on the borders of creeks. 45 Cynodon dactylon. 4 weveral plants were seen at the Sand Hills, where it seems to be naturalized. I saw fine lawns of it at Fort Davis, Marfa, and El Paso. Chloris cucullata. Common in the gravelly soils of the valleys. Frequent at the Sand Hills. Chloris clegans. Common on the bottom lands of the creeks. Trichloris verticillata. Seen at several points along the Rio Grande, generally in clumps. Also seen in places along Toyah Creek. On the Pecos flats I saw a few plants mixed with 8. airoides. It seems to thrive on alkaline soil. DBouteloua oligostachya (Blue grama). This well-known grass, so abundant in these western regions, is seen in its greatest perfection on the high prairies, covering: extensive areas. Mixed with some of the other gramas, it oc- curs on the grassy slopes and in wide, gravelly spaces on the mountain-sides. Unlike many of the mountain grasses, the gra- mas are not-at their best on the craggy slopes. In many locali- wics the best hay is furnished by a mixture of this and other gramas. DBouteloua lirsuta (Black grama). This, with a more extensive range (extending eastward beyond the Brazos, in East Texas), is wnuch less abundant than the blue grama. In some places it is largely mixed with other gramas. Several specimens were seen at the Sand Hills. Bouteloua Havardii. Seen in a few places in the Limpia region, and near Musquis Caiion ; also at some of the foot-hills on the north side of the Chenates, and at Paisano. Bouteloua eriopoda (Woolly-jointed grama). One of the most common grasses in the Chenate region. On the lower ridges and prairies just north of the mountains it is gen- erally the prevailing grass, covering large areas. In the gorges of the Chenates, on some of the grassy spots, this and the fol- lowing (B. stricta) constitute the principal growth. On the high prairies it is occasionally found mixed with the blue grama. It is frequent in the Limpia and other mountain re- gions. Several specimens were seen at the Sand Hills. Bouteloua stricta. Common in several portions of the Chenate region. Seen in abundance on some of the lower ridges at the southern base of the mountains. 46 Douteloua racemosa. Common in gravelly soil in the valleys. Often seen on low ridges. Bouteloua polystachya. Never seen in patches, like most of the other gramas. - With its short, procumbent stems it prefers situations where there is no turf. It is found in a great variety of soils. I saw it in open spaces on high prairies and on low prairies and flats ; some- times on hill-sides. Several specimens were seen at the Sand Hills. It is frequent on the Rio Grande bottom at Presidio. Douteloua aristidoides. Often associated with the preceding, but less abundant. Of the same manner of growth and choice of habitation. Pappophorum Wrightii. I'requent on many of the mesas and low Aide Pappoplorum apertum. Often seen with the preceding, but less abundant; but it has a range farther east than its congener. Not rare in valleys be- tween Devil’s River and the Pecos. Cottea pappophoroides. Seen in one spot by the side of Medero Crook; also in two lo- calities in the Chenates; on a slope at Cibilo Calion, and in a ravine at the southern base. Troidia acuminata. This, common east of the Pecos, I saw only in one locality far- ther west, at an arroyo near Musquis. Triodia albescens. Seen in a few places by Toyah Creek. I'arther cast it is abun- dant in several localities. Triodia avenacea. Frequent on some of the lower mesas by Medero Creek. A few specimens were seen at a ravine branching from Cibilo Cation. Triodia Nealleyi, n. sp. Seen only at one locality, on a craggy slope in Cibilo Cation. Triodia eragrostoides. With the preceding. Triodia pulchella. Seen at many of the arroyos; sometimes on the high prairies. A few plants were also seen scattered on the river bottom near Presidio. Triodia trinerviglumis. Abundant at Cibilo Cafion. Seen at several points near Toyah Creek. Ton Triodia repens, n. sp. Seen only in one spot by the side of Limpia Creek (about 15 miles north of Fort Davis), just below a rocky slope. Here, on a level surface a few yards square, it formed a complete turf. 47 Triplasis purpurea. ; Seen in a few places at the Sand Hills. Diplachne dubia. Common along the creeks. In some places on the creek bottoms it was found growing very luxuriantly. Diplachne fascicularis. Seen at several points along the Rio Grande, ha on some of the creeks. It is somewhat partial to alkaline soil. Scleropogon Karwinskianus. ‘is This was seen often in small patches scattered over the prairie region near Marfa and IFort Davis, and near Toyah Creek. Munroa squarrosd. This peculiar grass, with its contracted stems and leaves, was seen at several places on the prairie about Marfa—common at the Sand Hills. Arundo dona. At various points on the Rio Grande. A few specimens seen ab Presidio. - Phragmites communis. Common along the Rio Grande. Eragrostis Purshi. Common on the creek bottoms. In some places the principal grass growth. Eragrostis powoides. With the preceding, but less common. Eragrostis lugens. Frequent in the Limpia region on the craggy slopes. Eragrostis Neo-Mexicanda. With the preceding. Eragrostis oxylepis. TFrequent at the sand-hills. Lragrostis curtipedicellata. A few plants seen at the sand-hills. Liragrostis reptans. Seen only at one point at Limpia callon on a grassy slope. Disticllis maritima. This common grass of saline and alkaline soils I found in one place by Toyah Creek. Bromus ciliatus, var. Seen only at Fort Davis, near the summit of one of the cliffs. : G. C. NEALLEY. Dr. Geo. VASLY, Botanist, Department of Agriculture. FORAGE PLANTS OF ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO. In September, 1887, a circulur was sent to about fifty stockmen in Arizona and New Mexico, asking for specimens of any plants used for forage, with notes on their value. Considerable valuable information was thus obtained. The returns showed that many plants which are regarded elsewhere as useless weeds are of much value there for for- age. The specimens sent were numbered to correspond with the ac- companying notes. These specimens were identified by the botanist, and their names, together with other information, returned to the send- ers. The following notes, sent by Dr. J. Pool, of Benson, Ariz., will serve as an example of the replies. Iurther information on these and other forage plants of this region will be found elsewhere in this bulletin. Sporobulus Wrightii (Sacaton grass). This grass is adapted to the valleys, and grows on any kind of soil, good or poor, where there is a little moisture. It grows at all times of the year, attaining the height of 8 or 9 feet. When there is plenty of rain in July and August it grows very fast, and in September it blooms. It grows in bunches or tus- socks, and finally mats together. It growsfrom both the seed and root; is very hardy, and does not tramp out very casily. 1t is sometimes cut for hay. 3 Trichloris verticillata (sometimes called Fox-tail grass). This grass is very good forage, growing on the high land of the valleys. It comes from sced after the summer rains fall. It grows to the height of 4 feet, and is not easily tramped out. Boutcloua polystachya (Six-weeks grass). : This grass starts after every rain, on the mesas and bottom lands, and comes to maturity in six weeks. It grows very thick, comes every year, and is relished by horses, cattle, sheep, ete. Mullenbergia Texana (Grama grass). This grass is adapted to the mesa lands, table lands, and hills, and grows to the height of 2 feet, and in bunches or clusters, matted together. It is very fine feed for cattle, horses, and sheep, and it also makes very good hay, of which a great many tons are cut-every year. It starts up after every rain. It has very fine seed, as you will see by the specimens. It _ stands drougths very well, which we often have in this Terri- tory, and when the dry weather comes it dries and remains good all winter. But it tramps out in three or four years where cattle run on the range. 48 49 Panicum crus-galli (Water-grass). After the summer rains in all swampy places or low lands this grass commences growing, sometimes attaining the height of 6 or 7 feet. It is relished by all kinds of stock, and does not tramp out, as it always starts from the seed. Setaria setosa. ; This grass comes up in bunches after the summer rains in the bills and valleys. It is not very thick, and grows mostly around bushes and trees. It is a very good grass for horses, cattle, and sheep, and does not tramp out, and in fact is spread- ing. It grows to the height of 3 feet. We do not know any name for it. Hilaria Jamesii (Guyetta). This grass grows on the hills and mesa lands, and does not tramp out easily. It grows to the height of 18 inches, is relished by all stock, horses, sheep, and cattle, and stands the drougth well. It is cut for hay a great deal in the Territories. Eragrostis megastachya. This grass is common in the valleys and caiions of this Territory, and is relished by all kinds of stock. It grows to the height of 2 feet and does not tramp out readily, as it comes from seed after the summer rains. Chloris elegans. This grass comes up in bunches around bushes and trees after the summer rains. It grows about 2 feet in height, and is relished by all kinds of stock. It seems to be spreading. Eriochloa punctata. This comes from seed in the valleys after the summer rains, and is relished by all kinds of stock. It grows thickly, is nottramped out, and is sometimes cut for hay. Allionia incarnate (Gunaninpil of the Spanish). This is a slender prostrate plant, which comes from the seed after the summer rains. All stock relish it, and it is not tramped out readily. The natives use it as a substitute for tea. Amarantus (Careless-weed, big-weed). This weed, which is known everywhere, is abundant over the hills and low-lands in this Territory, coming after the summer rains. It is relished by all kinds of stock, sheep, hogs, cattle, and horses. Portulacca oleracea (Purslane). This herb, which probably grows all over the United States, is abundant in this part of the country, and comes after the sum- mer rains, and is relished by all kinds of stock, sheep, hogs, horses, cattle, ete. 18876 Gr——+4 50 Prosopis juliflora (Screw-bean, mesquit tree). The leaves are very good browsing for horses and cattle. It bears two crops of beans a year, which are next to barley for fattening purposes, for horses, sheep, cattle, and hogs. This tree is the chief timber of this Territory for fencing and fuel. The small branches bear sharp thorns; it grows chiefly in good soil in the valleys and mountains, becoming very scrubby on the mesa lands. Tribulus maximus. This herb grows very abundantly all over the country when there is plenty of rain. It runs along on the ground, and has a small yellow flower. The cattle eat it all by licking it up from the ground. We know of no name for it. Atriplex canescens (Sage-brush). This grows in the higher valleys and on the mesas or table-lands. It is of a shrubby character, and attains a height of 10 feet. The leaves and small twigs are eaten by cattle, aud in some parts of the Territory there is nothing else for feed. Stock keep fat upon it, but it gives milk a bad flavor. Bees obtain honey from the blossoms. Cyperus strigosus (Tula-grass). This grass grows in the swampy lands of this valley, attaining the height of 4 feet. It is relished by all stock. GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS FIGURED IN THIS BULLETIN. The most common and conspicuous of the grasses mentioned in the report of Mr. Neally and of Professor Tracy are figured herewith, and the figures will aid much in an identification of the species by those liv- ing in the arid districts, and will be useful in directing experiments for their cultivation or utilization. Panicum crus-galli (Barn-yard grass). This is an annual grass, with thick, stout culms, usually from 2 to 4 feet high. In the Southern States it is often employed and considered a valuable grass. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says that In that and some other States it is mowed annually, and is said sometimes to furnish 4 or 5 tons of hay per acre. It annually re-seeds the ground, and requires no other cultivation or other care save protection from stock and the labor of harvesting. In one county in Mississippi hundreds of acres are annually mowed on single farms. Cows and horses are very fond of it whether green or dry. In the Northern States it is hardly ever employed. (Plate 1.) Panicum virgatum (Fall panic-grass, switch-grass). A tall perennial grass, 3 to 5 feet high, growing mostly in clumps in dry sandy soil, very common on the sea-coast, and also in the interior to the base of the Rocky Mountains. This is a good and prolific grass if cut when young; when ripe it becomes harsh and unpalatable. It forms a large constituent of the native grasses of the prairies, particularly in moist localities. (Plate 2.) Aristida purpurea (Western beard-grass; purple three-awned grass). This species prevails extensively west of the Mississippi River from British America to Mexico, and is abundant on the plains of Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas. "It grows usually 1 to 14 feet high, with slen- der culms, branching at the base, and with short, involute leaves. It is an exceedingly variable species, and there are several distinct varie- ties. The panicle is 6 to 8 inches long, rather narrow, erect or flex- uous. The spikelets are much like those of the preceding species, but usually larger, and with longer awns or beards. In some varieties these awns are 2 or 3 inches long, widely diverging, and purplish colored, the whole panicle having a graceful and feathery appearance. (Plate 3.) Stipa viridule (Bunch-grass). A perennial grass, culms 2 to 4 feet high, leafy ; the radical leaves 12 to 18 inches long, those of the stem 4 to 10 inches long, one to two lines - 51 ~ 52 wide, involute, and bristle-like at the point; sheaths long, smooth, the uppermost inclosing the base of the panicle; paniele very variable in size, from 6 inches to a foot or more, narrow and loose, variable in thick- ness, the branches mostly in twos and threes, erect and appressed, much subdivided. Widely diffused over the Rocky Mountain region, extending to California and British America, furnishing a considerable part of the wild forage of the region. (Plate 4.) Setaria sctosa (Dristle-grass, fox-tail). A native species growing in New Mexico, Texas, and southward into Mexico and South America. It grows about feethigh. The stem and leaves are smooth, except a fine hairy ring at the joints. The leaves are 6 to 10 inches long, narrow, and gradually tapering to a long point. There is a tuft of short white hairs at the top of the leaf-sheath. The panicle is 4 to 6 inches long, erect, or slightly nodding at the top, nar- rowly cylindrical, with very short sessile branches, usually somewhat interrupted below ; sometimes the lower branches are longer, and the panicle looser. We know little as to the agricultural value of this spe- cies; as it is found in the arid districts, it is deserving the attention of farmers of that section. (Plate 5.) Hilaria Jamesii. The grass was formerly called Pleuraphis Jamesii. It is a native of the arid regions extending from Mexico to Colorado, growing in clumps from strong scaly runners or rhizomes. The base of the culm is usually covered with the dried leaves of the preceding year. The culms are from 1 to 13 feet high, with a few short, rigid, light green or bluish-green leaves, which are more or less involute. Bach culm is terminated by a simple loose spike, 1 or 2 inches long, with alternate clusters of sessile spikelets. These clusters are quite complex in structure, each one con- taining three spikelets, one central and two lateral. We do not know to what extent {his grass prevails, but all reports speak highly as to its feeding value. (Plate 6.) Andropogons scoparius (Wood-grass ; broom-grass). This grass usually grows from 2 to 3 feet high, the flowering spikes coming out in small clusters from many of the side joints on slender graceful peduncles. The spikes have a small bract near the base, and consist of a slender axis, with from six to ten alternate joints. This grass forms an important portion of the native grasses of the prairies of Kansas and Nebraska, extending in some of its forms to the Atlan- tic coast. (Plate 7.) Andropogon provincialis (Blue-stem). This is the tallest of our species. It grows erect to the height of 5 or 6 feet, in rocky or hilly ground, or at the West itis abundant on the native prairies, where it is frequently called blue-stem. Thedeavesare : long, and frequently somewhat hairy on the sheaths and margins. The 53 spikes are in small clusters of three to six, terminating the stalk, and also several clusters from the side branches. The spikes are usually 2 to 3 inches long, rather rigid, and contain ten to twenty flowers each. At each joint there is one sessile perfect flower and one stalked one, which is male only, otherwise it is nearly like the fertile one. The outer glumes are about 4 lines long, the upper ones tipped with a short stiff awn. The flowering glume of the perfect flower is twisted and about one-half inch long. This species, as above stated, is abundant on the prairies of the West, where it is one of the principal hay-grasses of the country, and is ex- tensively cut and cured for winter use. (Plate 8.) Chrysopogon nutans (Wild oat-grass). This is a tall perennial grass, having a wide range over all the coun- try east of the Rocky Mountains. It grows rather sparsely and forms a thin bed of grass. The stalks are 3 to 6 feet high, smooth, hollow, straight, and having at the top a narrow panicle of handsome straw-col- ored or brownish flowers 6 to 12 inches long, which is gracefully droop- ing at the top. The spikelets are at the ends of the slender branches of the loose panicle, generally of a yellowish color: This grass, when it occurs in quantity, is frequently utilized for hay-making, for which pur- pose it should be cut early. (Plate 9.) : Oryzopsis cuspidata (Indian millet.) This grass has a wide distribution, not only on the Sierras of Cali- fornia, but northward to British America and eastward through all the interior region of Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Nebraska to the Missouri River. It is a perennial, growing in dense tufts, whence its common name of bunch-grass. The culms are 1 to 2 feet, with about three narrow convolute leaves, the upper one having a long, inflated sheath which incloses the base of the panicle. In Mon- tana it is one of the most esteemed bunch grasses, and thrives on soil too sandy for other more valuable species. The abundant seeds are very nutritious and fattening for cattle. (Plate 10.) Sporobolus cryptandrus. This species grows chiefly in sandy soil. The culms are frequently bent at the lower joints, then rising erect to the height of 2 or 3 feet. The leaves are mostly near the base, where the joints of the culms are short; here the sheaths are short and the blades of theleaves5to 6 inches long, the upper sheaths become longer and the blades shorter; the leaves are flat, but become involute in dry weather. The top of the sheath is fringed with fine soft hairs. The long and narrow panicle is for a long time completely inclosed in the very long sheath of the upper leaf, but finally emerges except the base and becomes more or less spreading. The full panicle is from 6 to 12 inches long, the branches mostly alternate or scattered, the lower ones about 1 inch apart and 2 H4 inches long, the upper ones much closer and shorter, all flowering nearly to their bases with the spikelets short-stalked and appressed. This species is very common in sandy fields in the Northern and South- ern States, as well as over all the dry plains west of the Mississippi River, extending from British America to Mexico, where it furnishes a portion of the wild pasturage. It deserves observation and experiment as to its value. (Plate 11.) Sporobolus airoides (Salt-grass, fine-top grass). Culms arising from strong perennial, creeping root-stalks 2 to 3 feet high, thickened at the base and clothed with numerous long, rigid, generally involute, long-pointed leaves, which are smooth and bearded in the throat of the sheath, panicle becoming exserted and diffuse, 6 to 12 inches long, 3 to 4 inches wide; the branches capillary, scattered, mostly single, or in whorls below, the branches subdivided above the middle and rather sparsely flowered. ; A common grass throughout the arid regions of the West, sometimes called salt-grass, and affording considerable pasturage in some places. (Plate 12.) Agrostis exarata (Northern redtop, mountain redtop). This is chiefly a northern species, being found in Wisconsin and west- ward to the Rocky Mountains, also in British America and California to Alaska. It is very variable in appearance and presents several va- rieties. It is generally more slender in growth than the common red- top. The panicle is usunally longer, narrower, and looser. In all the forms the palet is wanting or is very minute. There is reason to believe that this grass can be made to supply the same valuable place on the Pacific coast that the Agrostis vulgaris does at the East, but it requires investigation and experiment. (Plate 13.) Deschampsia ceespitosa (Hair-grass). This is an exceedingly variable species, having a very wide distribu- tion in this and other countries. It is somewhat rare east of the Mis- sissippi, but on the elevated plains and in the Rocky Mountains, also in California and Oregon, it is one of the common bunch-grasses which afford pasturage to cattle and horses. In the Last it is found in the hilly regions of New Ingland and the Alleghanies. The panicle is very handsome, presenting a purple or glossy hue and a loose, graceful appearance. We know very little as to the value of this grass; it may be found worthy of cultivation in the arid interior districts. (Plate 14.) Clhlcris alba. An annual grass growing in tufts, 1 to 2 feet high, smooth, the culms frequently branched and bent at the lower joints, decumbent, becom- ing erect ; leaves numerous, smooth, the sheaths mostly loose, the blade broad, the upper sheath dilated, and at first inclosing the flower spikes, Hd which are eight to fifteen in number, 2 to 3 inches long, and umbellate or fasciculate at the top of the clum or of the lateral branches. "This is a common grass in the arid regions of New Mexico, Arizona, and further south and west. It furnishes a large quantity of foliage, but of its agricultural value we have no information. (Plate 15.) Douteloua oligostachya (Grama, mesquite grass). This is the commonest species on the Great Plains. It is frequently called Buffalo-grass, although that name strictly belongs to another grass (Buchloé dactyloides). On the arid plains of the West it is the prin- cipal grass, and is the main reliance for the vast herds of cattle which are raised there. It grows chiefly in small, roundish patches, closely pressed to the ground, the foliage being in a dense cushion-like mass. The leaves are short and crowded at the base of the short stems. The flowering stalks seldom rise over a foot in height and bear, near the top, one or two flower spikes, cach about an inch long and from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch wide, standing out nearly at right angles, like a small flag floating in the breeze. Where much grazing prevails, how- ever, these flowering stalks are eaten down so much that only the mats of leaves are observable. In bottom lands and low, moist ground it grows more closely, and under favorable circumstances forms a pretty close sod, but even then it is not adapted for mowing; although it is sometimes cut, making a very light crop. Under the most favorable circumstances the product of this grass is small compared with the cul- tivated grasses. Itis undoubtedly highly nutritious. Stock of all kind are fond of it, and eat it in preference to any grass growing with it. It dries and cures on the ground so as to retain its nutritive properties in the winter. No attempt is generally made by stockmen to feed cattle in the winter. They are expected to ‘ rustle around,” as the phrase is, and find their living, and in ordinary winters, as the fall of snow islight, they are enabled to subsist and make a pretty good appearance in the spring. But in severe winters there are losses of cattle, sometimes very heavy. (Plate 16.) Bouteloua polystachya (Low grama-grass). ; This species probably does not reach farther north than northern New Mexico. It is an annual, from 6 to 10 inches high, growing in clumps; the culms are slender, branching, and bent at the lower joints. The culm terminates in a raceme-like panicle, 3 to 6 inches long, composed of five to seven alternate, narrow, one-sided spikes, which are about 1 inch long and one-half inch to 1 inch apart. There are several varie- ties or forms of this species, some smaller and some larger. It abounds near the banks of streams and furnishes excellent pasturage. (Plate 17.) Buclloé dactyloides (Buffalo-grass). This grass is extensively spread over all the region known as the Great Plains. It is very low, the bulk of leaves seldom rising more 56 than 3 or 4 inches above the ground, growing in extensive tufts or patches, and spreading largely by means of stolons or offshoots similar to those of Bermuda grass, these stolons being sometimes 2 feet long, and with joints every 3 or 4 inches, frequently rooting and sending up flowering calms from the joints. The leaves of the radical tufts are 3 to 5 inches long, one or one half line wide, smooth, or edged with a few scattering hairs. The flowering culms are chiefly diecious, but some- times both male and female flowers are found on the same plant but in separate parts. Next to the grama-grass it is perhaps the most valua- ble grass in the support of the cattle of the plains. (Plate 18.) Triodia trinerviglumis (Spear-grass). Another perennial species, growing in Colorado, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, and southward. The culms are? to 3 feet high, and rather stout; the radical leaves are somewhat rigid, 6 to 12 inches long, nar- row, acuminate-pointed, inclined to be involute, the sheaths more or less hairy. The smooth culm has three or four leaves, which are 4 to S inches long and slender-pointed. Little is known of its abundance or. agricultural value. (Plate 19.) Triodia acuminata (White tuft-grass). A low species, growing in tufts from 6 to 12 inches high, the leaves short and narrow, but abundant near the ground; the culms are erect, slender, with one or two short leaves, and terminated by an oblong, spike-like panicle about an inch long, composed of a few crowded ses- sile or nearly sessile branches, each with one to three spikelets. The spikelets each contain eight or ten crowded flowers. Thisis a native of the arid regions of Texas, New Mexico, and southwestward. (Plate 20.) Diplachne fascicularis (Spike-grass). An annual grass of vigorous growth, 2 to 3 feet high, growing in brack- ish marshes or wet ground near the sea-coast, and also far inland in the Mississippi Valley, Texas, Arizona, ete., in alkaline soil. The radical leaves are narrow and half to two-thirds as long as the culms, rough on the margin; those of the culms similar, with long, smooth loose sheaths, the upper ones usually inclosing the base of the panicle. The culms are frequently branched at the lower joints. The panicle is large, 6 to 10 inches long, consisting of numerous (fifteen to thirty) spike-like branches, which are 2 to 4 inches long, mostly alternate, sometimes fascicled below, angular and rough, and flower-bearing throughout. (Plate 21.) Diplachne dubia. A grass of similar aspect to the preceding; the leaves somewhat longer and more rigid ; the panicle rather shorter, and composed of six to twelve branches, which are stouter and more spreading.. The spikelets in age become spreading, and the axis zigzag. It is of more southern range than the preceding, occurring in the Gulf States and southwestward. (Plate 22.) 57 Eragrostis major. This is a foreign grass which has become extensively naturalized, not only in the older States, but in many places in the western and southern Territories. 1t is found in waste and cultivated grounds and on road- sides, growing in thick tufts, which spread out over the ground by means of the geniculate and decumbent culms. The culms are from 1 to 2 feet long, the lower joints bent and giving rise to long branches. The grass is said to have a disagreeable odor when fresh. It produces an abun- dance of foliage, and is apparently an annual, reaching maturity late in the season. We are not aware that its agricultural value has been tested. (Plate 23.) Distichlis maritima (Salt-grass, alkaline-grass). ; This is described in most botanical works as Brizopyrum spicatum, but recently the name given by Rafinesque has been accepted and restored to it by Mr. Bentham. It is a perennial grass, growing in marshes near the sea-coast on both sides of the continent, and also abundantly in alkaline soil throughout the arid districts of the Rocky Mountains. It has strong creeping root-stocks, covered with imbricated leaf-sheaths, sending up culms from 6 to 18 inches high, which are clothed nearly to the top with the numerous, sometimes crowded, two-ranked leaves. The leaves are generally rigid and involute, sharp-pointed, varying greatly in length on different specimens. The plants are dicecious, some being entirely male and some female. The panicle is generally short and spike-like, sometimes, especially in the males, rather loose, with longer, erect branches, and sometimes reduced to a few spikelets. Although this can not be considered a first-class grass for agricult- ural purposes, itis freely cut with other marsh grasses, and on the al- kaline plains of the Rocky Mountains it affords an inferior pasturage. (Plate 24.) Poa tenwifolia (Blue-grass of the plains and mountains). This species in several varieties is common in California, Oregon, Montana, etc., and is one of the numerous bunch-grasses referred to in the accounts of the wild pasturage of that country. The foliage of some forms is scanty, but of others the radical leaves are long and abundant. It is stated that the Indians gather the seeds of this grass for food. It is probable that it, by careful cultivation, may be made as valuable in agriculture for the region where it grows as the Poa pratensis is in the Eastern States. (Plate 25.) Festuca scabrella (Bunch-grass). . A perennial grass growing in strong clumps or bunzhes, and hence called “bunch-grass.” It is a native of the Rocky Mountain region, from Colorado westward to California and Oregon. The culms are usu- ally 2 to 3 feet high, erect and smooth; the radical leaves are numer- ous, about half as long as the culm, generally rigid, involute, and sca- 58 brous on the margins; the blade is prone to separate when old, leaving an abundance of leafless sheaths at the base; the cauline leaves are about two, short and pointed, 2 or 4 inches long ; the sheath scabrous, the ligule short or wanting: the panicle is usually 3 to 5 inches long. In Montana it is called the Great-bunch grass, and is one of the princi- pal grasses of that country. Itis the prevailing species on the foot- hills and mountain slopes at from 6,000 to 7,000 feet altitude. It is rather too hard a grassforsheep, but thereis no grass more valued on the summer ranges for cattle and horses. It makes excellent hay for horses, and is cut in large quantities for this purpose. It grows in large tus- socks, making it rather a difficult grass to mow with a machine. It is one of the most important grasses of eastern Oregon and Washington. (Plate 26.) Agropyrum glaucum (Blue-stem, blue-joint). This species prevails on the western plains from Texas to Montana, and is well known to stockmen. It differs from the Agropyrum repens in having a stouter, more rigid stem and leaves; the leaves, indeed, often becoming invelute and stiff. It is also of a light bluish-green color The spike is generally shorter, denser, and with larger spikelets. Mr. Richard Gaines, of Colorado Springs, Colo., says: We think this is the best grass grown, superior to timothy or clover. We call it Blue-stem, or Blue-joint; no richer hay can be made from anything known. Plate 27 is a figure of Agropyrum repens. Hordeum nodosum (Barley-grass). An annual or biennial grass, growing principally in alkaline soils and on the borders of saline marshes, especially in the Western States and Territories. Although eaten by cattle when in a young state, it can not be claimed as of anything more than temporary value. The culms are usually 1 to 13 feet high, sometimes in moist places reaching 3 feet, and varying as to smoothness or pubescence. The leaves are usually flat, 2 to 4 inches long, and about two lines wide. The flowers are in a close cylindrical spike about 2 inches long, with three spikelets at each joint of the rachis. (Plate 28.) Elymus condensatus (Giant rye-grass). This is a perennial grass, ranging {rom San Diego throughout Cali- fornia and into Oregon and Washington Territory, also in the Rocky Mountain region of the interior. It is very variable, but always a strong, heavy-rooted, coarse grass, from 3 to 5 or even to 12 feet high. Mr. Bolander states that it seems to do excellent service by fixing the soil on the banks of creeks and rivers. In the larger forms the culms are half an inch thick. The leaves are smooth, 2 feet long, and an inch wide or more, and the panicle 8 to 14 inches long and 13 inches thick. As it usually occurs in arid grounds, it is from 3 to 6 feet high, 59 the leaves about a foot long, and halt an inch wide, and the spike-like panicle 4 to 3 inches long: Mr. W. C. Cusick, of Oregon, says : This is a very valuable grass, commonly known as rye-grass. In Baker County large quantities are cut for hay, for which it is said to be excellent. It is also much used as a winter-forage plant. Cattle are driven into the dry bottoms where it grows, and live upon it when the shorter grasses are covered with snow. (Plate 29.) Medicago sativa (Alfalfa). This plant is called lucerne, medick, Spanish trefoil, French clover, Brazilian clover, and Chilian clover. It is not a true clover, though belonging to the same natural family as the clovers. Alfalfa, the name by which it is commonly known in this country, is the Spanish name, which came into use here from the fact that the plant was intro- duced into cultivation in California from South America under the name of alfalfa, or Brazilian clover. The plant had previously been introduced into the Eastern and Southern States, but attracted little attention until its remarkable success in California. In Europe it is generally known as lucerne, probably from the canton of Lucerne, in Switzerland, where it was largely cultivated at an early day. It has been known in cultivation from very ancient times, and was introduced from western Asia into Greece about 500 B. C. Itis now largely grown in southern Irance, and to a considerable extent in other parts of Europe. It has been introduced into several of the countries of South America, and on the pampas of Buenos Ayres it has escaped from cul- tivation, and grows extensively in a wild state. Though known for a long time in the United States, alfalfa is not yet cultivated to the extent that it should De. Prof. E. W. Hilgard, in the Report of the Department of Agriculture for 1878, page 490, says : Undoubtedly the most valuable result of the search after forage crops adapted to the California climate is the introduction of the culture of alfalfa, this being the name commonly applied to the variety of lucerne that was introduced into California from Chili early in her history, differing from the European plant merely in that it has a tendency to taller growth and deeper roots. The latter habit, doubtless ac- quired in the dry climate of Chili, is of course especially valuable in California, as it enables the plant to stand a drought so protracted as to kill out even more persistent plants than red clover. As a substitute for the latter it is difficult to overestimate the importance of alfalfa to Californian agriculture, which will be more and more recognized as a regular system of rotation becomes a part of the general practice. At first. alfalfa was used almost exclusively for pasture and green-soiling purposes, but during the last three or four years altalfa hay has become a regular article in the general market ; occasional objection to its use being the result of want of practice in curing. On the irrigated Jands of Kern, I'resno, and Tulare Counties, three and even four cuts of forage, aggregating to something like 12 to 14 tons of hay per acre, have frequently been made. As the most available green forage during summer, alfalfa has become an invaluable adjunct to all dairy and stock farming wherever the soil can, during the dry season, supply any moisture within 2 or $ feet of the surface, (Plate 30.) 60 Opuntia Englemanti (Cactus). A number of species of cactus, mainly of the genus opuntia, and commonly called nopal, or prickly pear, are used as food for cattle and sheep in the dry regions of Texas and westward, where the ordinary forage plants fail. In the natural state cattle do not often touch it unless driven by hunger, except while the new growth is young and tender. Sheep eat it without preparation more readily than cattle, and for them the plants are sometimes merely cut down, so as to be within reach. More often the herder passes along and clips off a portion of each flat joint, so that the sheep can enter their noses without coming in contact with the spines. Ifor cattle it is customary to singe off the spines over a brisk blaze. Leonard A. Heil, San Antonio, Tex.: The cactus or prickly pear grows abundantly in nearly every section of southwest Texas, often reaching a height of 10 or 13 feet. Ever since the settlement of the country by the English, and probably years before, it has been used to supplement grass in times of drought, but now it is being used with other feeds at all times, and especially in the winter. Sheep do well upon it without water, there being sufficient moisture in the leaves. The herder goes along with a short sword and clips the points of the great leaves so that the sheep can insert its nose, when it readily eats them entire. = John C. Chesley, Hamilton, Hamilton County, central Texas: The prickly pear is used here to a great extent. We have a ranch in Stephens County where we are now feeding the pear to over a hundred of our poorest cattle, and they are doing well on it. If is fed at nearly all of the ranches of Stephens County where they are feeding at all, and there are thousands of cattle being fed this winter on prickly pear that are doing well and will come to grass in good shape that otherwise would have died, or at least the larger part of them. — = Co — [=2] — WHO PNNS OE DN ILLUSTRATIONS, . Panicum crus-galli. . Panicum virgatum. . Aristida purpurea. . Stipa viridula. Setaria setosa. . Hilaria Jamesii. Andropogon scoparius. . Andropon provincialis. . Chrysopogon nutans. . Oryzopsis cuspidata. . Sporobolus eryptandrus. . Sporobolus airodes. . Agrostis exarata. . Deschamsia c@spitosa. 15. . Bouteloua oligostachya. Chloris alba. ~ {. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Bouteloua polystachya. Buchle dactyloides. Triodia trinerviglumis. Triodia acuminata. Diplachne fascicularis. Diplachne dubia. Eragrostis powroides, var. megas- tachya. . Distichlis maritima. . Poa tenuifolia. . Festuca scabrella. . Agropyrum repens. . ITordeum nodosum. . Elymus condensatus. . Medicago sativa. 61 Aladeagile soaiimt 94 Panicum CRUSGALLI. oe 17157 ad et CS -— SI (FA J 8 1 It Ly Be r WW 7 NW NW W VP iA a TR ! Zot) hl i = Le SS Si a NYY = NR Nee No = RR en) Re 0 4 ANT ie WW (A I 2 Vo Plate 2. PANICUM VIRGATUM. Reon oii Plate 3. MARX.DEL. HH.NICHOL S-ENG. ARISTIDA PURPUREA. Plate 4. STIPA VIRIDULA. Plate 5. A A 3 8 2 SETARIA SETOSA. Plate 6. HILARIA JAMESIL Plate 7. ANDROPOGON SCOPARIUS. Plate 8. ANDROPOGON PROVINCIALIS. Plate 9. CHRYSOPOGON (SORGHUM) NUTANS. Plate 10 / 7 TAYLOR DZke ORYZOPSIS CUSPIDATA. Wea i oA Wang a 3 Plate 11. SNS ZZ] =X SPOROBOLUS CRYPTANDRUS. Plate 12 SPOROBOLUS AIROIDES. CHO = : 2 ; bs x : FL ; x : : x x 15% #8 4 - 5 g i : ’ § : £ . ea AR 3 8 ¥ #3 £8 : : 3 ar i RE » % ~ J SL / > AGROSTIS EXARATA. Plate 13. HE era Se Plate 14. DESCHAMPSIA ( AIRA) CZESPITOSA. RR ri pie, ing, Plate 15. i i 7) A IL 2 Bl) ND Vl, CHLORIS ALBA. Plate 16. Np : J ~ BOUTELOUA OLIGOSTACHYA. Plate 17 I I i \ | i BOUTELOUA POLYSTACHYA. NOROLS BUCHLOE DACTYLOIDES. Plate 18. WMARA-DEL Plate 19. TRIODIA TRINERVIGLUMIS. 2 TRIODIA ACUMINATA. Plate 20. Plate 21. DIPLACHNE FASCICULARIS. Ha ris Plate 22. NN Ws Sy | 4 S\ AN NZ | We/ W 4 Ni DIPLACHNE DUBIA. Plate 23. ERAGROSTIS POAOIDES. Wr Sheet SN Ty rn Plate 24. y DISTICHLIS MARITIMA. Plate 285. WERADEY., POA TENUIFOLIA (var.). BE ial ed Plate 26. FESTUCA SCABRELLA. Plate 27. NN > pr MARX.DE) AGROPYRUM (TRITICUM) REPENS. Plate 28. MARX. Del. HORDEUM NODOSUM. HHNICHOLS. Sc. Plate 29. ELYMUS CONDENSATUS. Plate 30. TAI. dh MEDICAGO SATIVA. U.5. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. BOTANICAL DIVISION. SPECIAL BUTI WTIN. AGRICCLTURAL GRANSEN AND FORAGE PLANTS UNITED STATES. AND SUCH FOREIGN KINDS AS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED. By Dr. GEO. VASEY, Botanist; WITH AN APPENDIX On the CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GRASSES, by CLIFFORD RicHARDSON, and a glossary of terms used in describing grasses. A NEW, REVISED, AND ENLARGED EDITION, WITH 114 PLATES, $ PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1889, £3 E Ra & LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. SIR: Herewith I present a Report on the Agricultural Grasses and Forage Plants of the United States; with illustrations. This report is largely a revised and enlarged edition of the “Agricult- ural Grasses ot the United States” published by this Department in 1884. In the present report the principal forage plants, other than grasses, which are emploved in agriculture, are treated of. The purpose is to give plain, general descriptions of the plants, together with prac- tical notes and observations from persons who have tested them in actual cultivation or who have given them special investigation. The larger portion of the plants treated of are natives of the United States, but such foreign species as have been tried here have also received proper notice. The great extent of this country, with its extraordinary diversities of climate and soil, makes necessary a corresponding diversity in the subjects and methods of agriculture. With respect particularly to grasses and forage plants adapted to different sections of the country we are yet in the infancy of our knowledge, and must patiently and in- telligently conduct such experiments as will give us the precise infor- mation we need. Every farmer and stock-raiser in the country is in- terested in this subject, and it has been the endeavor of the writer to present to the attention of such persons in any part of the country some grasses or forage plants suitable to their wants. Respectfully, GEO. VASEY 0. SEY, Chief of Botanical Division. Hon. J. M. RUSK, Secretary of Agriculture. AGRICULTURAL GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS OF THE UNITED STATES. INTRODUCTION. Every thoughtful farmer realizes the importance of the production on his land of a good supply of grass for pasturage and hay. He who can produce the greatest yield on a given number of acres will be the most successful man; yet this is a subject which has been, and still is, greatly neglected. In the United States we have many climates, many kinds of soil, many geological formations, many degrees of aridity and moisture. It must be apparent that one species of grass can not be equally well adapted to growth in all parts of this extensive territory; yet hardly a dozen species of grasses have been successfully introduced into our agriculture. True it is that this number answers with a tolerable de- gree of satisfaction the wants of quite an extensive portion of the country, chiefly the northern and cooler regions. But it is well known that in other localities the same kinds of grasses do not succeed equally well, and one ot the most important problems for those regions is to obtain such kinds as shall be thoroughly adapted to their peculiarities of climate and soil. This is particularly the case in the Southern and Southwestern States, the arid districts of the West, and in California. The solation of this question is largely a matter of experiment and observation. The grasses which we have in cultivation were once wild grasses, and are still such in their native homes. The question then arises, can we not select.from our wild or native species some kinds which will be adapted to cultivation in those por- tions of the country which are not yet provided with suitable kinds ? Many observations and some experiments in this direction have already been made, and if proper research is continued, and sufficiently thorough experiments are followed up, there is no reason to doubt that proper kinds will be found for successful cultivation in all parts of the country. The plains lying west of the one hundredth meridian, together with much broken and mountainous interior country, nearly treeless and arid, in New Mexico, western Texas, and Arizona, are unreliable for the purposes of ordinary agriculture, but are becoming more and more 5 6 important as the great feeding ground for the multitudes of cattle which supply the wants of the settled regions of our country as well as the constantly increasing foreign demand. The pasturage of this region consists essentially of native grasses, some of which have acquired a wide reputation for their rich nutritious properties, for their ability to withstand the dry seasons, and for the quality of self-drying or curing, so as to be available for pasturage in the winter. This quality is due probably to the nature of the grasses themselves and to the effect of the arid climate. It is well known that in moist countries, at lower altitudes, the grasses have much succulence; they grow rapidly, and their tissues are soft; a severe frost checks or kills their growth, and chemical changes immediately occur which result in rapid decay; whereas in the arid climate of the plains the grasses have much less succulence, the foliage being more rigid and dry, and therefore when their growth is arrested by frost the tissues are not engorged with water, the dessicating influence of the climate prevents decay, and the grass is kept on the ground in good condition for winter forage. Gen- eral Benjamin Alvord, of the U. S. Army, in an article on the subject of these winter-cured grasses, states that they only acquire this prop- erty on land which is 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. The region having such an altitude includes, he says, all, nearly up to the timber line, of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico; five-sixths of Arizona. one-half of Dakota, one-fourth of Texas, one-fifth of Kansas, and, one-sixth each of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory, embracing about one-fourth of the area of the whole United States. Many of the grasses of this extensive region are popularly known as “bunch grass,” from their habit of growth; others are known as “mes- quite” and “grama grass.” These consist of many species of different genera, some of them more or less local and sparingly distributed, others having a wide range from Mexico to British America. The most important of the ¢ bunch grasses” may be briefly mentioned as follows: Of the genus Stipa there are several species; Stipa comata and Stipa setigera occur abundantly in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California, reaching to Oregon. In Colorado, Kansas, and all the prairie region northward, stretching into British America, Stipa spartea is the principal one of the genus. On the higher plateaus and near the mountains the Stipa viridula is very common, extending from Arizona to Oregon and British America. Somewhat related botanically is Ory- zopsis cuspidata, a very rigid bunch grass, with a fine, handsome panicle of flowers. It is equally wide-spread with the preceding. Another widely diffused grass is Deschampsia cespitosa, varying much in size and thriftiness according to the altitude and amount of moisture where it grows, but always having a light, elegant, spreading panicle of silvery gray flowers. One of the most extensively diffused grasses is Kaleria cristata, vary- 7 ing in height from 1 foot to 24 feet, with a narrow and closely flowered spike. Several species of fescue grass (Festuca) are intermixed with the vegetation in varying proportions; the most important of these probably are Festuca ovina in several varieties, and Festuca scabrella, the latter especially in California, Oregon, and Washington. The genus Calamagrostis (or Deyeuxia, as it has been called) furnishes several species which contribute largely to the vegetation of this region. They are mostly tall, stiff, and coarse grasses, but leafy and some of them very nutritious. Of these, Calamagrostis sylvatica and Calama- grostis neglecta are the least valuable. Perhaps the best of them is Calamagrostis Canadensis, which is soft and leafy. Next in value, prob- ably, is Calamagrostis Aleutica, of California and Oregon, extending into Alaska. Calamagrostis (Ammophila) longifolia, confined chiefly to the plains east of the Rocky Mountains, is tall and reed-like, growing in dense clumps, from 4 to 6 feet high. Several species of Andropogon are diffused from Arizona to British America, but are not found on the western coast. The principal species are Andropogon scoparius, A. furcatus, and A. (Clhrysopogon) nutans. Some of them are known under the name of ¢bluejoint.” Other grasses also widely spread, but in more sparing quantity, are several species of Poa and Glyceria. Several varieties of Agropyrum repens, or couch grass, occur abundantly in saline soils, aud also Agro- pyrum glaucum, which is widely known as “blue stem,” and is considered among the most nutritious of grasses. Brizopyrum spicatum, now called Distichlis maritima, and some species of Sporobolus, also form extensive patches or meadows in saline soils. Besides there is a large number of grasses of low growth and of more spreading habit, which are known in the southwest and east of the Rocky Mountains under the names of “mesquite” and ‘ buffalo’ grasses. The former belong mostly to the genus Bouteloua, the most important species being B. racemosa, or tall mesquite, and B. oligostachya, or low mesquite. The true buffalo grass is, botanically, Buchloé¢ dactyloides, which in many places forms exten- sive fields over large areas. It is of a low and densely tufted or matted habit. Another similar grass, but of little value, spreading out in low, wide patches, is Munroa squarrosa. The above-mentioned species form the larger proportion of the grassy vegetation of the great plains. ERRATA. Page 35, after “Andropogon furcatus” insert ““ (4. provincialis)”. Page 111, after “Ammophila arundinacea” for ‘“43” read * 48”; after ‘Clover, pin” for “ 103” read “102.” Page 112, after ‘ Euchl@pa luxurians” for ¢“30” read “31.” Page 113, after ‘‘ Sporobolus heterolepis” for ‘107 ” read “106”; after ‘Sweet vernal grass” for “39” read ‘407; after ‘‘ Trifolinm stoloniferum” for 82” read “837: after “Trisetum subspicatum?” for ¢‘51” read ‘52”; after ‘Wire grass” for “107” read “106.” Page 147, for * Millium ” read “ Milium ” ; in the same line, for ‘‘41” read *“40.” Page 148, after * Trifolium incarnatum ” for ‘“94” read ‘‘ 93.” Plate 10, for ‘‘ blue grass ” read ‘‘ millet.” Plate 62, for “Gramma” and “ gramma ” read “ Grama ” and ‘‘ grama.” Plate 63, for ¢‘ gramma” read ‘‘ grama.” Plate 83, for ‘ Rough-leaved fescue ” read ‘‘ Bunch grass.” GRASSES FOR GENERAL CULTURE. The grasses form one of the largest and most widely diffused families of plants, being spread over all habitable parts of the globe. Some kinds are restricted to particular localities, others are diffused over large countries, and a few are either native to all the continents or have fol- lowed in the tracks of commerce and discovery, so as now to be found in every principal country. Over three thousand species are now known and described. Among these there is an immense diversity in size and form of growth, some kinds mever growing more than an inch or two high, and others in tropical regions attaining a height of 60 or 70 feet, with such a density of stem as to be useful in the building of houses, for masts for vessels, and many other purposes; as the bamboos of China, Japan, and India. The grasses are of greater economic importance, as furnishing food for man and animals, than any other or all other plants. The trath of this remark will at once be recognized when we consider that all the staple cereals of the world, as wheat, rye, barley, maize, rice, oats, mil- let, ete., are grasses. . These grasses have been objects of cultivation from time immemorial. There can be no doubt that they were originally selected from wild forms on account of the size, quantity, and nutritive value of their grains. The fact of their great value being discovered, the observation would soon follow that by planting the seeds in suitable ground, and caring for the growing plants by the exclusion of all other vegetation, a certain and reliable resource for sustenance would be obtained. This was the beginning of agriculture, and agriculture made possible the numerical increase and diffusion of human population. History of Grass Culture.—The selection and cultivation of particular kinds of grasses with reference to their superior grazing qualities and fcr the greater production of hay is, however, a comparatively modern practice. In the Philippine Islands, as we are informed by the United States consul at Manilla (Mr. Julius G. Voight), a species of rice 8rass (Leer- sia hexandra) is cultivated for the purpose of supplying feed for the few domestic animals which are kept for the cultivation of land and for the carrying of burdens. 9 10 This grass (locally called zacate) is cultivated exclusively in low, wet ground, and is flooded occasionally after the manner of rice, being first started in seed beds and then transplanted to the previously flowed field. How far this custom prevails in other eastern countries we do not know, but from the general antiquity and uniformity of the prac- tices of husbandry in those countries we may suppose that this practice is there of ancient origin. But as far as western nations are concerned the cultivation of spe- cial grasses for hay is a modern improvement. Mr. Martin J. Sutton, in a recent work on “ Permanent and Temporary Pastures,” states that Lolium perenne, or perennial rye grass, was the first grass gathered separately for agricultural purposes. He further states that it has been known since 1611, the date of the earliest agricultural book which mentions it. Mr. George Sinclair, in his advertisement to the fourth edition of the ¢ Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis,” says: The time has been in this country [i. e., England] when providing sufficient for- age for live stock in winter was a matter of the greatest difficulty, and great losses were sustained, and many advantages given up, on account of the absolute want of winter fodder. Old turf, suitable either for grazing or for the scythe, was supposed to be a creation of centuries, and that a farmer, who gvished to lay down a meadow in his youth, must sec the end of his ‘‘ three score years and ten” before he could possibly possess a piece of pasture capable of keeping a score of sheep or a couple of cows. So much was the want of grass land felt among arable farmers in times past that the tenancy of it was eagerly sought, its value was consequently highly prized, and lieavy fines were imposed for breaking it up. The banks of rivers were usually made commonable, in order that the surrounding farmers might each have a share; and these meadows were in many cases irrigated in order to increase still more the scanty stock of winter fodder. Perennial rye grass, as we have seen, began to be cultivated early in the seventh century, and it seems to have been about the only grass so cultivated for a hundred years longer. In 1763 it is said that a Mr. Wynch brought from Virginia into England the Plleum pratense, under the local name of Timothy grass, it having been cultivated in the United States for some forty years. This was also soon established as an agricultural grass in England, and a few years later was followed by the introduction of orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata) from Virginia, by the Society of Arts; at least this statement is made by Mr. Parnell in his work on British grasses, but is probably an error. It is con- sidered doubtful by Mr. Charles Johnson in the ¢ Grasses of Great Britain,” who says it is eminently European, being distributed natu- rally over the whole of Europe and the adjoining parts of Asia. Itis not known to be native in the United States. As to Phleum pratense {Timothy grass), it is naturally widely diffused over Europe, but itis admitted by all thatits cultivation was first under- taken in tite United States, where it is also indigenous in mountainous regions. It is, however, well known that in Europe up to about the year 1815 there were but three or four kinds of grass generally cultivated. 11 At that time the Duke of Bedford instituted his famous series of ex- periments at Woburn, in England, for determining the nutritive prop- erties of different grasses. These experiments brought into notice many before unnoticed grasses and greatly stimulated their cultivation ; and the subsequent development of this branch of agriculture has been the means of obtaining astonishing results, not only in the multiplied facilities for the grazing and fattening of cattle and sheep, but also in the reaction of this business on the cultivation of grain, by tle greatly multiplied means of obtaining manures by which the exhausted lands were renewed and the yield of grain increased. History of Grass Culture in the United States.—In the early history of this country, particularly in the Northern States, while the settlements were sparse, the natural pasturage was abundant, and the natural meadows and marshes furnished a supply of hay for winter feeding. But in course of time, by the increase of population, the farms began to crowd each other, and the range for cattle was restricted. Then probably arose the question of forming meadows and pastures of limited extent. Karly in the last century Mr. Jared Elliot (of Con- necticut) made some valuable investigations respecting the grasses suit- able for cultivation, and by practice and teaching sought to bring this subject to the attention of the people. In 1749 he wrote a particular account of the fowl meadow grass (Poa serotina) which is native in New England, giving an interesting account of its value as a meadow grass. He also refers to Herd’s grass, or Timothy, as having been found “in a swamp in Piscataqua by one Herd, who propagated the same.” Itis also said to have been cultivated in Maryland about the year 1720. This was some fifty vears before its cultivation in England. It is also stated by Parnell in his work on the British Grasses, that orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata) was first cultivated in the United States, and thence introduced into England about the middle of the eighteenth century. Probably soon after this date two other standard grasses came into use, - viz, Poa pratensis (Kentucky blue grass) and Agrostis alba (redtop). Some other grasses have had a limited trial, but the Timothy grass, blue grass, orchard grass, and redtop have continued to be the prin- cipal meadow grasses of the Northern States. To these should be added red clover, which, although not a grass, is a very common meadow crop, usually combined with Timothy. Grass in the South.— Although the Southern States were earlier settled than the Northern ones, there was a very different condition of agri- culture as respects grazing and hay-making. In some of these States the climate permits of the growth of grasses during the greater part of the year, some species making their growth during the hot season and others during the colder months, so that cattle may commonly obtain subsistence in the field throughout the year, and hay is little employed except for horses and cattle kept to labor. 12 But these places suffer from protracted droughts in summer and fall, ‘which parch the pastures so that cattle and sheep are not then able to find a sufficiency of feed. The pasture and meadow grasses of the North have not been generally cultivated with success in the States which border on the Gult of Mexico, and the greatest want of agriculture in that region is the introduction of grasses that will maintain growth and vigor during protracted droughts. The same remarks may be made with respect to the grasses needed for cultivation in the arid districts of the West, and there is every rea- son to expect that grasses adapted to such conditions of climate and soil will be*found. Permanence of Pastures and Meadows.—It has long been a question as to how long land should be allowed to continue in pasture or meadow. The answer to this question will depend very much on circumstances. Unquestionably the best plan for farming is the practice of mixed husbandry, or a mixture of raising grain crops and the fattening of do- mestic animals; for with a diversity of products there is an alleviation of the evils of frequent crop failures, which are usually limited to one or two kinds, and also an alleviation of the fluctuations in the prices of crops, so that where some grain crops fail from any cause, the farmer has a resource in those of another kind and in his live stock. Besides, the rotation of crops, including the periodical laying down of cultivated ground to grass, and the change of grass land to the growth of field crops, results in the best condition of the seil. In the practice of most farmers, meadow lands are seldom continued more than three or four years without a change to the plow. But pasture lands are more frequently kept undisturbed for a longer time, and so long as they continue in a healthy, clean, and productive state there can be no objection to their permanence; but whenever a pasture becomes overgrown with weeds, or filled with worthless or unproductive grasses, it is time for it to take its place in a system of rotation and renovation, at the same time regarding the needs of the soil in respect to fertilizing and cleaning from rocks, briers, and other shrubs. Drainage of Grass Lands.—Generally speaking, there is the same benefit to be derived from the proper drainage of grass lands, that is so con- spicuously shown in lands devoted to other crops. All lands with an impervious subsoil of stiff clay, or soils that are water-clogged, may be greatly benefited by proper draining, both in the quality and quan- tity of the grass product. On such land, properly drained, the grass will start earlier in the spring and will continue to grow later in the fall than without drainage. All soils which rest upon a porous subsoil do not need it, and land may have so strong a slope that the water is dis- charged from it with sufficient rapidity without the aid of a drain. Wet, water-soaked pastures generally abound in rushes and sedges, which may grow luxuriantly, but are coarse and innutritious. The valu- 13 able grasses on such pastures are injured or destroyed by the tramping of cattle, whose hoofs penetrate the wet ground. An eminent German scientist has demonstrated that there is an intimate connection between a warm, dry soil and economy in feeding cattle. Friable land absorbs more heat than land which is saturated with moisture, and retains the heat for a longer period. Upon the one, animals lie warmer, especially at night, than they do upon the other. Now a large portion of the food consumed by animals is utilized for the pro- duction of the heat which is constantly dissipated from their bodies. It follows that additional food becomes necessary to replace the animal heat lost by the colder sur- roundings.* The Selection of Grasses.—The selection of the proper kinds of grasses to be employed for meadows or pastures must depend on several cir- cumstances, such as soil, drainage, habit of growth, productions, ete. No one kind of grass can be expected to be adapted to all conditions, neither can any given mixture of grasses. There has been a great amount of empiricism in this matter. One man finds a certain grass to be very thrifty and productive on his farm, and thinks he has found the great desideratum, and at once proclaims his grass, perhaps gives it a new name, and recommends its use, without regard to the conditions or circumstances which may be absolutely essential to its success. Others purchase seed of the new grass, perhaps at exorbitant prices, and without a knowledge of its peculiar habits or wants, give it a trial and find it a failure, probably because climate or soil, or other essential conditions are unsuitable to its wants. : Mr. Sutton, writing on this subject, says: The whole question is one of experience, and I am well persuaded that those who possess the largest knowledge, drawn from the widest sources, will concur in the opinion that each individual case should be considered independently and upon its own merits. I would lay greatstress upon the necessity of starting with a clear under- standing of the condition and capability of the soil. The subsoil, too, must be taken into account; for sooner or later its influence will tell decisively upon the existence of certain grasses. Then the purpose of the grass crop must not be overlooked. Whether it is chiefly for hay or entirely for grazing will prove an important consideration in determining the sorts to be sown. Even the kind of cattle the land is intended to carry is worth more than a passing thought. Milch cows, fattening stock, sheep, and horses, or a combination of these animals, can be provided for if a definite object is held steadily in view, In an old and well-settled country there is much accumulated experi- ence among farmers, which a beginner may avail himself of to the avoid- ance of serious mistakes. Still an observing and progressive man will often find occasion for a departure from established rules and practices in the introduction of new kinds for cultivation; indeed it is only thus that progress and improvement can be made; but it will also be wise to make such experiments with caution and thant] incurring too much risk. In some portions of our country the experience of the past is very unsatisfactory with respect to grass culture; and in other portions, as * Sutton on Permanent and Temporary Pastures. 14 in the new settlements of the arid districts, all culture must be in the nature of experiment, and much judgment and large information are needed to guide the experimenter to the best results. Relation of Stock to Pastures.—The farmer and grazier should always bear in mind that his pastures should be adapted to the kind as well as the quantity of stock which he keeps. Cattle and sheep are very different in their feeding habits, the sheep cropping the grass very close, and cattle requiring to have the grass longer in order to get a bite. Horses again do not bite as close as cattle. By judiciously proportioning the kind of stock kept on the pasture a much better result may be obtained by keeping both cattle and sheep than by keeping either alone. The field will thus be kept cleaner and in better condition. Management of the Pasture.—Care must be observed that cattle or sheep be not put upon grass too early in the spring, before the grass has fairly commenced to grow. This rule applies particularly to sheep, who will in such cases eat the heart out of the grass crown, to its entire destruction. When, however, the grasses have made a good start there will be mueb of the taller stalks and coarser culms which the sheep will reject, and which cattle will crop with avidity. As the season advances there are often bunches of grass neglected by both cattle and sheep, giv- ing to the pasture a rough and uneven appearance, when the mower should be run over the pasture, after which the old tufts will send up another crop of tender blades. No precise date can be given for beginning to graze pastures in the spring. Cattle should not be .arned in until there is enough feed to keep them going without too much help from hay, nor until the ground is firm enough to prevent their hoofs from damaging the young shoots of the grasses. On the other hand, if the grass gets too old, the animals refuse much of it, and the fodder will be lost. Pastures consisting largely of early, strong-growing grasses, particularly cock’s foot (orchard grass), will need to be stocked before others which produce finer and later varieties.* It is sometimes a nice question to determine when to take stock off ‘the pastures in the fall. This will depend much on the length of the growing season in any particular locality. In northern latitudes the growth of vegetation will be arrested early, and when the grass has quite ceased to grow the stock should be removed that the ground may be in proper condition for an early start in the following spring. Usu- ally, however, in northern sections of the country the question is effect- ually settled by the early descent of the winter snows. In southern latitudes the climate is so mild that the growing season continues all winter, so that stock live mainly or entirely upon the growing grass, there being sorts there which naturally make their principal growth in the coolest portion of the year. * Sutton on Permanent and Temporary Pastures. - 15 Supplementary Feed.—It often happens that a drought occurs in the summer or fall, in which the pastures are dried and parched so that the cattle fail to get a sufficient amount of feed. It is, therefore, the prac- tice of careful and provident farmers to have a tract of land sown to some kind of fodder, which may be drawn upon to supply the deficiency of pasturage, and not only to keep the animals from suffering, but to keep them also in a growing condition. Corn sown broadcast or in close drills, or sorghum sown in like manner, are some of the best grasses for this purpose. Some varieties of 3weet corn, combining earliness and productiveness or large size, will be better than common field corn, especially to keep up the supply of milk from cows. Hungarian grass and millet make excellent fodder crops. They are both considered to be but varieties of the same species, and there is practically little difference between them. If sowed on tolerably rich ground they will produce sometimes a very large yield of grass. They are of rapid growth, and are frequently ready to be cut two months from the time of sowing. They generally produce an abundance of nu- tritious seeds, on account of which cattle thrive better on them than on corn fodder. Beets and prickly comfrey are also Teeamtnended as fod- der plants in some localities. The pastures may also often be relieved by turning stock on to stubble after harvest. Humanity dictates that a man should not keep any more stock than he can under ordinary circumstances care for and give sufficient feed. But a provident and good manager will be enabled safely to keep a much larger number than a man who is shiftless and careless. He will do this by making provision for casualties and probable contingencies. It is much better and more profitable to have a surplus of feed than to have a deficiency. Kind of Grasses for Meadows and Pastures.—In this country there has been very little variety in the kinds of grasses cultivated, the range being generally Timothy, blue grass or June grass, orchard grass, and redtop, usually combined more or less with red or white clover. Farmers are influenced somewhat by the markets they supply. The most popular hay in the markets of the great cities is Timothy, and meadows of this grass alone are very common, and when well managed are very satisfactory and profitable. It is also very common to combine Timothy with red clover in various proportions. In low, wet meadows, particularly in New England, redtop is con- siderably employed, and it is a common constituent of pastures in all the Northern States. In England, great attention has been given to combining several kinds of grasses in meadows, and it is claimed that the practice is etter for the land and gives a larger yield than when one variety only is employed. By using a mixture the ground may often be more uni- 16 formly covered, and in pastures there will be, from the different flow- ering time of the different species, a succession and continuation of a supply of tender foliage. Some species of grass are adapted to clay lands, some to sandy soils, some to loam, some to dry upland, and some to low land; but even for land of a uniform quality it is believed that a mixture of five or six suit: able varieties will yield a larger crop than one alone. The mixture of several varieties is perhaps most valuable in land that is designated for pasturage, as then they reach maturity at different times and furnish a succession of good feed, and also cover more completely and uniformly the ground. But no general mixture of grass seed can be adapted to all situations and soils. Every farmer should study carefully the nature of his grounds, its altitude, drainage and composition, and then adapt his grasses to the circumstances. Generally there ave few cases where there will be any advantage in employing more than five or six well-selected varieties for cultivation in one field. For a permanent pasture under most circumstances the following kinds in proper proportions would make a good mixture, viz : June grass (blue grass), fox-tail (Alopecurus pratensis), redtop (bent grass), Timothy, tall fescue, and perennial rye grass. This will give a succession as to earliness of growth and fiowering. But in some localities and for some soils, as in Kentucky for instance, the farmer who has a good pasture of blue grass will not think it capa- ble of much improvement. As we speak of the individual kinds of grasses and their adaptation to different soils, the farmer will be able to judge how far they will suit his circumstances. Mixed Grasses for Pasturage.—For pasturage, however, we recommend a vari- ety of grasses and thick seeding. Stock like variety and thrive better on it. Each variety has its season of greatest excellence, and thus the best pasturage can be kept up throughout the year. The common red clover should be sown with the grasses for all pastures. It is a rank grower and resists drought admirably. We are glad more attention is being paid to pasturage. Improved farming can not be carried on without it, and in nothing are the majority of our farmers more neglectful than in seeding more of their farms to good pastures.” A Kentucky farmer gives the following mixture where an immediate pasture is wanted : Blue grass... oo. So ie. cons nash ssinibon Dekiss snssiasgis pounds.. 8 OrcharQ orass ........c. coc. seisisees solids prsnsn boss oces 403sq.. 4 OEY de ae sts shen ininemns Serer d0..... 4 Rad clover... cee eer case ruins wun do.... © To this may be added Italian rye grass, 4 pounds, and the same amount of fescue grass if preferred, but the other is ordinarily sufficient. This quantity is a heavy seeding for one acre. The blue grass will not be seen much at first, but by the time the clover dies out it will have taken hold of the entire surface. * Colman’s Rural World. 17 A writer in the New England Farmer recommends the following for- mula for a permanent pasture : Early varieties— Red ClOVEr .....sezesas0cnnccnsacsensnznnnnnsivans pounds.. 10 Alsike clover ......a0c--.c-c-ne enol. dois: 45 Orchard grass .....s..c-----20ccacsaconricosani.., bushel.. 1 Junegrass \..... J... anu... de... 1 Poronnial rye grass ....uc- cess sane sossisesinnaise cs sia. do... ¥ Late varieties— Herds grass sue et somes iteh oc cisisinie losis dinisiniaisinisnne ovis doi... 5% BR. 1. bent grass... i. duewsiis rials sniniesiuinssiensinimmis sok sais 40....; i} Bediop. ..ccveicsminsie siosinmmasdinvieianiyie dell visa vise of dod... 1 This forms an unusually heavy seeding, and probably the quantities may be advantageously reduced, but the combination presents a vari- ety that will give a succession from early till late in the season. The more common mixture for meadows is as follows per acre: Radlopi cs dis vdu ivi dds Sit iets colic iain aay. bushel.. 1 Timothy huis sin sirotsiuisonie ver sinthe sudan vd dion lbh, do... 4 Rod clover... sous ve at ibiche dh cons dui ait ila Swati pounds.. 4 On highlands orchard grass might be substituted for the redtop. Time and Manner of Seeding Grass Seed.—There has been much diver- sity of opinion as to the proper time of seeding land to grass. A very common practice has been to sow the seed in the spring with a grain crop, generally of oats. If the season is favorable this method suc- ceeds very well, having the advantage of no loss in the regular crops of the land. The growing grain furnishes to the young grass shelter and shade from the heat of the sun, and after the removal of the crop the grass spreads, and sometimes the same season furnishes a light crop for the scythe or some grazing for the cattle. But the success of this plan of seeding is not by any means certain. In a very dry season the young plants may perish from drought, or in a wet season the grain may lodge and smother the young grass. Hence others recommend late summer or early fall seeding. A writer in the Massachnsetis Ploughman makes the following statement : The last halt of August is generally considered the best time for seeding; earlier than this the weather is apt to be too hot for the ready germination of the seed, and weeds will get a start before the grass. The first half of September is a good time, and we have sometimes had very good success with seeding as late as October 1, but would prefer to sow earlier if possible. If rye is sown with the grass seed it is best done about the middle of September; too much rye will choke the grass, but a light seeding of about oue-half to five-eighths of a bushel per acre will not injure the grass much, and will give a much Letter return the next season than the grass alone. Too little care is usually bestowed upon the preparation of the land for seeding; it should be worked only when just moist enough to make the lumps crush easily, and should be harrowed repeatedly and rolled before sowing the seed, then brushed and rolled again, which will leave the land in fine, smooth order for the mowing-machine or scythe. It is customary to mix Herd’s grass, redtop, and clover seed in seeding, but we prefer to seed high land with Herd’s grass (Phleum pratense) only low, moist land with redtop (Agrostis vulgaris) and fescue, and clover by itself in the spring, for the 18 reason that the season of maturity of these grasses is very different ; the clover should be cut about the 15th of June while in blossom, the Herd’s grass about July 1, and the redtop about July 15. When they are mixed it will be impossible to cut them all in perfection ; and if the Herd’s grass is cut too early in dry weather it is almost sure to be killed out. Mr. T. C. Alvord, of Vermont, writes in the Boston Cultivator as fol- lows: For a number of years past I have sown grass seed only in the spring. On such lands as I wish to seed down without grain I fit my land in the fall if I can, as that saves valuable time in the spring; but if I do not have time to perform the work in the fall, Ifit the land as early as I can in the spring, sowing the seed then. On all lands that I seed down I finish working .the land before the seed is sown, never covering the seed. I think where grass seed is harrowed, raked, or brushed in much of the seed is covered so deep that it never comes up. Many people think that grass seed sown in the spring will not make a good crop of hay the first season, and that it requires two seasons to do it. This is an error. On all the lands that I have sown with grass seed in the spring the grass has been ripe enough to cut in from ten to twelve weeks from the time the seed was sown, while I invariably get better crops than I do when I seed down with grain. If the grain lodges it will kill the grass, and if the weather is dry the grass will dry up, while in both cases the land will need reseeding; also weeds and foul grasses will occupythe soil. If grass seed is sown by itself in the spring it will generally get so good a start that po ordinary dry or hot weather in the summer will injure the crop. When seeding land in this way a sufficient quantity of seed should be sown, so that if it all grows the land will be all occupied with grass, thus preventing the growth of weeds, also giving a large yield with a better quality of grass, while forming a thicker turf to be turned under for the enrichment of the soil when the land is again plowed. On all lands which I have seeded in this way the first crop of hay has averaged two tons per acre. Reseeding 01d and Worn-out Meadows.— We have already stated that all wet lands with a clay subsoil should be subjected to a system of tile drainage, but in some cases a temporary substitute may be found in a certain manner of plowing, as is detailed in the following communica- tion from a correspondent of the American Cultivator: I will state my experience, in brief, on cold, wet, swale-land that was once a black- ash swamp. The grass was so light and wild it did not pay for cutting. Immedi- ately after haying I plowed it in deep wide furrows, being sure to lap them and turn tlat over. I took pains to make dead furrows where they should be, and also a clear outlet at the lower end of the furrows. I harrowed lightly with a fine harrow, and went over the field with a hoe and fixed the loose sod, and top-dressed with a light coat of manure and gravelly loam scraped up in the milking yard, and sowed on a mixture of redtop, timothy, and English flat turnip seed, then brushed lightly. Now for results: In the first place, I harvested turnips enough from the piece to pay for the labor of plowing and fitting the piece, and the next harvest I cut the heaviest burden of hay from that land that I ever saw on any meadow ; it was waist-Ligh and very thick. I accounted for it in this way, the land was thoroughly drained by the spaces left between the furrows, and the decaying sod provided a rich, warm seed- bed above the cold, wet, hard-pan, a portion of which had been brought to the sur- face by the deep plowing. Of course a roller would not have been tolerated on the piece, as it would have been detrimental to the best results. I wanted to get the land up and keep it up as long as I could, and let it breathe by leaving space for air to pass in under and come up through; and I believe that if such land was plowed in that way clear up to freezing time and seeded then or left until early spring, when clover seed could be added, most excellent results would follow. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF GRASSES. A grass possesses the following parts: (1) The root, (2) the stem, (3) the leaves, (4) the flowers. (1) The roots are the fibrous branching organs which extend down- ward into the ground and appropriate the water or other liquid nutri- went to be conveyed into the stem and leaves. (2) A stem that rises above ground, either erect, ascending, or re- clining, is called a culm. In some species, in addition to the culm, there are horizontal subterranean stems, improperly called roots. They are known botanically as rhizomes, and are sometimes several feet long. They may be distinguished from the true roots by their bearing a greater or less number of scales and sending out erect branches as well as fibrous roots. In some grasses there is a kind of bulb at the base of the stem, in which is stored a concentrated mass of food for the support of the plant under peculiar circumstances, as in protracted drought. This bulbous formation is a part of the stem, and not of the root. The stem or culm of grasses is usually eylindrical and hollow ; sometimes it is more or less compressed or flattened. It is divided at intervals by transverse thickened portions called joints or nodes, at which points leaves and someiimes branches are given off. These nodes tend also to strengthen the stem. Stems are usually simple and unbranched, except at the top, where they commonly divide into the mare or less numerous branches of the panicle or flowering part. But some stems give rise from the side joints to leafy branches, which may, like the main stem, produce smaller panicles at the top. (3) The leaves take their origin at the nodes or joints in two ranks— that is, they are placed alternately on opposite sides of the stem at greater or less distances; thus, the first leaf will be on one side, the second on the opposite side a little higher up, the third still higher and directly over the first, the fourth over the second, and so on. The leaves consist of three parts: (1) the sheath, (2) the ligule, and (3) the blade. The sheath is that part which clasps the stem. It is generally open on one side, as will be readily observed in the leaves of a corn-stalk, but in some grasses the sheath is partly or even completely closed together by the adhesion of the opposite edges. The sheath is analogous to the stem or petiole of the leaves of many higher plants. At the point where the blade of the leaf leaves the stem, at the top of the sheath and on 19 20 the inner side, there is usually a small, thin, membranous organ, called the ligule or tongue. This is sometimes half an inch long, more com- monly only two or three lines, and sometimes it is almost absent or re- duced to a short ring, but its length and size are very constant in the same species. This ligule represents the stipules which occur at the base of the leaves in many of the higher plants. The blade or lamina is the expanded part of the leaf, but is usually called by the general name leaf. In the majority of grasses the leaf is long and narrow; that is, many times longer than wide. There is one central nerve, called the midnerve or midrib, extending to the point of the leaf, with numerous finer nerves on each side running parallel to it, and not connected by conspicuous transverse nerves nor giving off branches. These leaves are in some species rough, in others smooth, hairy, or downy, etc. The agri- cultural value of a grass depends mainly upon the quantity, quality, size, and nutritive properties of the leaves. (4) The flowers of the grasses are generally at the end of the stem or the side branches, sometimes very few in number, sometimes in great abundance, sometimes in a close spike, and sometimes in a panicle, with many spreading branches or rays. The flowers may be single on the branches or on the pedicels, or they may be variously clustered. In the common redtop (Agrostis alba or A. vulgaris) there is a single flower at the end of each of the small branchlets of the panicle. Each of these flowers is inclosed by a pair of small leaf-like scales or chaff, called the outer or empty glumes. The flower consists of (1) the essential organs and (2) the envelopes. The essential organs are the stamens and pistils, which may readily be seen when the grass is in bloom. The stamens, of which there are usually three iu each flower, consist of the anther and filament, the anther being the small organ which contains the pollen or dust which fertilizes the pistil or female organ, and the filament being the thread-like stem on which the anther is borne. The pistil is the central organ of the flower, and consists of three parts; the ovary, the style, and the stigmas. In most grasses the style is divided into two branches. The stigmas are the delicate organs, usually of a plumose form, at the extremities of these branches, which receive the pollen for the fertilization of the flower; and the ovary is that part at the base which contains the future seed. The envelopes of the flower are usually two leaf-like scales or husks, inclosing between them the stamens and pistil. These scales face each other, one being a very little higher on the axis than the other, and also usually smaller and more delicate in texture. This smaller scale is called the palet; the other larger and usually coarser one the flowering glume; its edges generally overlap and partly inclose the palet. The flower constituted as above described, together with the pair of outer or empty glumes at the base, form what is called a spikelet. In many cases, however, there are two, three, or more flowers, sometimes even ten to twenty, in one spikelet. in which case they are arranged 21 alternately on opposite sides of the axis, one above the other, with a pair of empty or outer glumes at the base of the cluster. Such may be seen in the blue grass (Poa pratensis), tescue grass (Festuca) and many others. ; There are innumerable modifications of these floral organs, and upon the differences which exist in them the distinctions of genera and species are based. In some cases the glumes are entire in outline, in some they are toothed and lobed, and sometimes running out into a slender point called an awn, sometimes with a bristle or awn on the back, ete. They also vary in size from the twentieth part of an inch to an inch or more in length. PLATE 1. Fic. 1. 1, fibrous roots; 4, culm; 5, node; 6, leaf. . 2, thizoma ; 4, culm ; 6, blade of leaf; 7, ligule; 9, scales of the rhizoma. . 1, root fibers; 3, bulbous base of culm ; 4, culm ; 5, sheath; 6, blade. . 2, scaly rhizomas; 4, node; 6, blade; 7, ligule; Y, scales of the rhizoma. . 1, fibrous roots; 2, creeping rhizoma; 4, culm; 5, sheath ; 6, blade; 7, calm; 8, nodes. [$4] Ov BW PLATE 2. The numbers in each of the figures are as follows: 1, sheath; 2, blade; 3, culm; 4, node, or joint ; 5, ligule. The ligule is best shown in the lower right-hand figure. . PLATE 3. Fic. 1. A dense spike (Alopecurus pratensis). . An elongated, one-sided spike (Paspalum dilatatum). . Spike (Hordeum pratense). . Spike (Agropyrum repens). . Spike (Elymus condensatus). Spike (Bouteloua polystachya). . Spike (Bouteloua oligostachya). 8. Panicle (Panicum Crus-galli). 9. Panicle (Agrostis exarata). 10. Panicle (Keleria cristata). 11. Panicle (Distichlis maritima). 12. Panicle (Bromus secalinus). 13. Panicle (Hierochloa borealis). 14. Panicle (Poa pratensis). 15. Panicle (Dactylis glomerata). So ND r= =~ OC PLATE 4. Fic. 1. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Agrostis vulgaris. 2. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Agrostis exarata. 3. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Sporobolus Indicus. 4. An opened spikelet of Calamagrostis Canadensis. 5. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Phleum pratense. 6. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Muhlenbergia diffusa. 7. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Paspalum dilatatum. 8. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Paspalum leve. 9. A spikelet of Aristida purpurea. 10. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Setaria setosa. 22 Fig. 11. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Setaria glauca. 12. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Alopecurus pratensis. 13. Two spikelets, one closed, one opened, of Holcus lanatus. 14. A spikelet of Deschampsia ceespitosa and one of its flowers. 15. A spikelet of Poa serotina and one of its flowers. 16. A spikelet of Bromus erectus and one of its flowers. 17. The male and femdle spikelets of Buchloé dactyloides, the former both closed and opened. PASPALUM. In this genns the panicle does not divide into numerous slender branches asin many other kinds, but the flowers are arranged in several rows on one side of a nar- row, flattened branch, called a rhachis. Each flower consists of two empty glumes of equal or nearly equal length, of a flowering glume of a thickish, hard texture, the edges of which overlap a palet of similar texture, and between these two are inclosed the stamens and pistils. This genus has its range principally in the Southern and Southwest- ern States. The species are very numerous, are mostly perennial, and vary much in form and habit. Some are tall and erect, some decum- bent or spreading, and others have the habit of sending out runners, which take root at short intervals and thus spread and form dense patches. They are all relished by cattle, and some of them are consid- ered valuable as pasture grasses. Paspalum dilatatum. : This may be called the hairy-flowered Paspalum. It has been found native in Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and has been introduced into other States. It also occurs in South America. It grows from 2 to 5 feet high, with numerous leaves about a foot in length and one-third to one-half an inch in breadth. It does not creep upon the ground like the following species, but is in- clined to grow in tufts, which may attain considerable size. It is rec- ommended both for pasture and hay by the few who have tried it. This species has also been called Paspalum ovatum, but the name above given, having been first applied, is the proper. one. Charles N. Ely, Smith Point, southeastern Texas, says: Paspalum dilatatum was brought to this country about twelve years ago, and planted by S. B. Wallis. It is a promising grass for hay and pasture, growing best on moist lands, but doing well on upland. It is easily subdued by cultivation, and is not in- clined to encroach on cultivated lands. It is best propagated by roots or sets, the seed not being reliable. It is rather slow in starting, but when well rooted it spreads and overcomes all other grasses. Tramping and grazing is more of an advantage to it than otherwise. I think that this grass will succeed in a great variety of soils and climates, but those planting it must have patience with it at first. Mr. Wallis, above referred to, says: This I consider the most valuable of all the grasses with which I am acquainted; it is perennial and grows here all the year round, furnishing excellent green feed for stock at all seasons, except that the green blades freeze in our coldest weather per- haps two or three times in a winter. It increases rapidly from seeds, and also repro- duces itself from suckers, which sprout from the nodes of the culm after the first crop - 23 of seed has ripened. I have seen these suckers remain green for six or eight weeks after the old stalks were as dead and dry as hay, and then, when the old stalks had fallen to the ground, take root and form new plants. It grows well on all kinds of dry land. Plants two or three years old form stools 12 to 18 inches across. The grass has very strong roots and grows in the longest drought almost as fast as when it rains. (Plate 5.) Paspalum platycaule. This has sometimes been called Louisiana grass. It occurs in all the Gulf States and in the West Indies and South America. It grows flat on the ground rooting, at every joint, and forming at the South a thick, permanent, evergreen sod. It does well on almost any upland soil, and is said to stand drought better than Bermuda grass. It usually grows too short and close to the ground for hay, but for grazing it ap- parently has many good properties. [t may be distinguished from the other Paspalums and from Bermuda grass by its flattened stems (whence the name) and the very slender seed-stalks, each bearing only two or three very narrow, somewhat upright spikes. The leaves, especially on the long runners, are short and blunt. The facts of its being a perennial and seeding freely, of its doing better than any other grass on poor soil, forming a compact tuft to the exclusion of other plants, and of its being easily killed by cultivation, will doubtless recommend it for more extended growth. Dr. Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala., says: It has taken a firm foot-hold in this section. It is perfectly hardy, prefers damp localities, and suffers somewhat from long droughts. It grows best in a sandy loam, rather close, compact, and damp, in exposed situations, as it does not stand shade well. It stands browsing and tramping well, and is greedily eaten by all kinds of stock. Its vegetation Degins earlier in spring than that of Bermuda. G. A. Frierson, Frierson’s Mill, La., in the Southern Live Stock Jour- nal, says: It grows everywhere in rather low, wet, clay lands, and stands grazing as well or better than Bermuda. B. H. Brodnax, Morehouse Parish, La. : ® Paspalum platycaule was first noticed here about 1870 in very small patches. Since then it has spread rapidly from seed. It is not cultivated. It stands frost very well when firmly rooted, staying green nearly all winter, and it stands drought splendidly. It grows best on a poor quality of land high above overflow, or where water could not stand on it. It is a splendid pasture grass, making a sod equal to Bermuda, but it is not cut for hay. It is very easily destroyed, one plowing being sufficient to kill it. Mr. Prentice Bailey, of Baker County, northern Florida, sends a specimen of Paspalum platycaule for identification, and says of it: On all old roads, where travel has killed the other grasses and packed the soil, it covers the ground with a close, even turf; it forms such a thick turf that it is called here “blanket grass.” The cattlein the woods are so fond of it and keep it eaten down so close, that it is difficult to find any of it more than 2 or 3 inches in height, but on 24 good ground in protected places it grows to the height of several feet. It is only par- tially killed through the winter. From the avidity with which it is eaten by all kinds of stock, the closeness of turf formed, its ability to resist almost any amount of tramping, and its rapidity of growth I think that it is a most valuable grass for this country. Mr. F. W. Thurow, of Harris County, Tex., says that at present Pas- palum platycaule furnishes about five-eighths of the pasturage in south- eastern Texas, forming a dense sod. Stock of all kinds seem to relish it, but is not as nutritious as Bermuda grass. (Plate 6.) Paspalum distichum. J Several species of Paspalum have received attention in the South as being useful pasture grasses and very durable from their creeping and rooting habit. Paspalum distichum is one of these species. It grows principally in low, moist ground. Its stems and culms are mostly pros- trate and running, sending up here and there a few flower-bearing culms. It is found in the Southern States and Texas, thence to Cali- fornia. Farther south it is found in most tropical countries. Mr. W. A. Sanders, of Fresno County, Cal., writes recently as follows: Are you aware of the value of Paspalum distichum for seeding pond-holes that dry up or nearly so in autumn ? Such ponds are usually spots of bare, stinking mud, but when well set to this grass will yield all the way up to 80 tons (in the green state) of autumn feed for stock, especially valuable for cows first, then follow with sheep till every vestige is devoured. Surely it has an immense food value in such places. (Plate 7.) BECKMANNIA. Beckmannia eruczeformis (Slough Grass). This genus is closely related to Panicum and has considerable re- semblance to some forms of Panicum Crus-galli. It grows abundantly in the Rocky Mountain Region from California and Oregon eastward as far as Iowa and Minnesota. It is found in marshy ground and in sloughs, particularly in the neighborhood of streams. It usually grows in tufts, and isof a coarse growth, the stout, roughish culms rising to about 3 feet in height; the thickish leaves are about half an inch wide and 6 to 8 inches long. These, as well as the loose, long sheaths, are strongly marked with numerous parallel veins. The panicle is generally long and narrow, from 6 to 10 inches long, and half an inch to an inch wide, composed mostly of many very short, closely- set branches, which are more or less interrupted below where the branches are generally longer, sometimes 2 inches long and erect. The spikelets are crowded very closely together on the one-sided spikes, and each one consists of a pair of thickish, compressed, inflated, boat-shaped, empty glumes, and between these, one lanceolate, acute flowering glume, of thinner texture, with its still thinner palet, and the stamens and styles. These are represented in plate 8, a showing an enlarged spikelet, b the same expanded to show the separate parts. In 25 some localities this grass is abundant and forms a valuable resource for ‘stock. The bottom leaves and sterile shoots are tender and much rel- ished. (Plate 8.) PANICUM. In this genus the mode of inflorescence is very variable, but most of the species have a spreading, much-branched panicle, the terminal branchlets of which have spikelets of a single perfect flower, or in some cases with a lower male or imperfect flower also. There are two or three empty glumes, the lower one generally much shorter than the others; the perfect flower has a thick, hard glume with a palet similar in texture, and with the stamens and pistil inclosed between them. The other imperfect flower when present has a glume similar to the empty ones. The name is probably derived from the Latin word panis, bread, be- cause some of the species were used, and are still used, for bread-making. The species of this genus are very numerous (more than three hundred on the globe), and of widely different appearance. We have about fifty native species, most of which have little practical value except as adding more or less to the wild forage of our woods and fields. But some species, both native and foreign, are of very high agricultural value. Panicum maximum (True Guinea Grass). This is a native of Africa, which has been introduced into many tropical countries, and in the West Indies is extensively cultivated. It has been brought into Florida and other places along the Gulf coast, but is little known in the United States. It requires a long season, is very susceptible to frost, and ripens seed only in the warmest part of the country. It has often been confounded with Johnson grass, which is very different. A sufficient point of distinction is the fact thag John- son grass spreads by underground stems, while Guinea grass does not, but remains in bunches. Its chief value is for hay or soiling, and it should be cut frequently to prevent it becoming too hard and coarse. It grows tall and rank, reaches the height of 6 or 8 feet when mature, and yields a seed much resembling millet. It is not adapted to the climate of the Northern States. Panicum jumentorum is a synonym. (Plate 9.) Panicum Texanum (Texas Millet). This grass is a native of Texas, and was first described and named in 1866 by Prof. S. B. Buckley, in his preliminary report of the ¢Geo- graphical and Agricultural Survey of Texas.” It is frequently called Colorado grass, from its abundance along the Colorado River in that State. In some localities it is known as river grass; in others as goose grass, from its being supposed to have been introduced by wild geese. In southern Texas it is sometimes called buffalo grass, and in Fayette County it is known as Austin grass from the fact that it was first util- ized as hay near Austin. The most numerous and favorable reports regarding it are from Lampasas, Burnet, and Travis Counties, along the Colorado River, and : 26 southward through the central part of the State. From no grass, so little known, have more favorable reports been received, especially from the section in which it is most abundant. It is but little known outside of Texas. Of the thirty five valuable reports in regard to it, all but six were from that State, and most of them from the region above indicated. The grass is an annual, growing usually from 2 to 4 feet high, and is especially valuable for hay. It prefers rich alluvial soils, but stands drought well, though on dry uplands its yield is much reduced. The plant is furnished with an abundance of rather short and broad leaves, and the stems, which are rather weak, are often produced in consider- able number from a single root, and where the growth is rank are in- clined 1o be decumbent at the base. It is valuable for all purposes for which the ordinary millets are used, and should be tried throughout the South. In Texas, where most largely grown, it generally over- comes other grasses and weeds; but in some of the other Southern States crab grass and weeds have interfered with its growth. It has not been much cultivated in the Northern States, but is deserving of a trial ; as with a good season it will probably be more productive than, and of superior quality to, common Hungarian millet. (Plate 10.) Panicum proliferum, var. geniculatum. This variety occurs in the Southern States, where it is sometimes called ‘sprouting crab grass.” It is an annual, growing in low, moist ground. The stems are first erect, then become decumbent and spread- ing, frequently attaining a length of 6 or 7 feet, bent and rooting at the lower joints. It has much the same habit as P. Texanum, but the stems are smooth and more flattened; the leaves also are smoother and longer. The stems are sometimes nearly an inch thick at the base and very sue- culent. The main stem is terminated by a diffuse panicle sometimes 2 feet long. Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, says of it: In damp, grassy places it prefers rich ground throughout the coast region. It com- mences to vegetate vigorously in the hottest part of the summer, throwing out numerous shoots from the joints, forming large-branched bushes. The foliage is rich and tender; and the succulent, thick stems are sweet and juicy. After cutting, it throws out numerous sprouts from the lower joints, which grow rapidly, so as to allow repeated cuttings until frost. It is through all stages of its growth much rel- ished by horses and cattle. (Plate 11.) Panicum barbinode (Para Grass). This species has been introduced from South America in some locali- ties of the Southern States. In Cuba itis cultivated and highly valued for its prolific growth and nutritive properties. It is not adapted to culture in the Northern States. It is a coarse, reed-like grass, that looks as if it should grow in the water; but it makes a heavy growth on the high pine ridges of Florida. (Plate 12) 27 Panicum miliaceum. This is the millet grass of India, or at least one of the Indian millets. It bas,in Asia, been cultivated for ages, and is, in many parts, an important article in the food supply of the natives. Itis also cultivated in Egypt, Turkey, and Southern Europe. It has been cultivated toa limited extent in this country for forage, and will thrive and ripen in the Northern as well as the Southern States. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: Millet is one of the best crops we have for cutting and feeding green for soiling purposes, since its yield is Jarge, its luxuriant leaves juicy and tender and much relished Ly mileh cows and other stock. The seed is rich in nutritive qualities, but it is very seldom ground or used for flour, though it is said to exceed all other kinds of meal or flour in nutritive elements. An acre well cultivated.will yield from 60 to 70 bushels of seed. Cut in the blossoms, as it should be for feeding to cattle, the seed is comparatively valueless. If allowed to ripen its seed, the stalk is no more nutritious, probably, than oat straw. It is well adapted to culture in dry regions. (Plate 13.) Panicum Crus-galli (Barnyard Grass). This is an annual grass, with thick, stout culms usually from 2 to 4 feet high. In the Southern States it is often employed, and is consid. ered a valuable grass. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: In that and some other States it is mowed annually, and is said sometimes to fur- nish four or five tons of hay per acre. It annually reseeds the ground and requires no cultivation or other care, save protection from stock and the labor of harvesting. In one county in Mississippi hundreds of acres are annually mowed on single farms. Cows and horses are very fond of it whether green or dry. In the Northern States if is seldom employed. (Plate 14.) Panicum sanguinale (Crab Grass). This is an annual grass, which, although a native of the Old Worla, has become spread over most parts of this country, and indeed over all tropical countries. It is the most common crab grass of the Southern States. It occurs in cultivated and waste grounds, and grows very rapidly during the hot summer months. The culms usually rise to the height of 2 or 3 feet, and at the summit have from three to six slender flower spikes, each from 4 to 6 inches long. The culms are bent at the lower joints, where they frequently take root. At the New Orleans Exposition there were specimens of this grass 5 feet 10 inches long. Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, says : It is a fine pasture grass; although it has but few base leaves and forms no sward, vet it sends out numerous stems or branches at the base. It serves a most useful purpose in stock husbandry. It fills all our corn-fields and many persons pull it out, which is a tedious process. It makes a sweet hay, and horses are exceedingly fond of _it, leaving the best hay to eat it. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says that the corn and cotton fields are often so overrun with it that the hay which might be secured would - be more valuable than the original crop. It is sometimes mowed from between” the rows, sometimes cut across the ridges, with the corn. 28 Although so much esteemed in the South, it is considered a pest in the Northern States. (Plate 15.) Panicum virgatum (Tall Panic Grass; Switch Grass). A tall perennial grass, 3 to 5 feet high, growing mostly in clumps in moist or even in dry, sandy soil, very common on the sea-coast, and also in the interior to the base of the Rocky Mountains. This is a good and prolific grass if cut when young; when ripe it becomes harsh and unpalatable. It forms a large constituent of the native grasses of the prairies, particularly in moist localities. It is said to be cultivated in some parts of Colorado, and with very satisfactory results. (Plate 16.) Panicum agrostoides. (Redtop Panicum.) This is a perénnial grass, commonly growing in large clumps in wet meadows or on the muddy margins of lakes and rivers. It grows 4 to 6 feet high, is erect in habit, and developes its reddish panicles from several of the joints as well as at the apex. The stem is somewhat flattened and very smooth, as are the sheaths; the leaves are 1 to 2 feet long, about Lalf an inch wide, and somewhat rough on the margins and midrib. The terminal panicle is 6 to 12 inches long, at first some- what close, but becoming quite open and diffuse. The lateral panicles are shorter and partly inclosed by the sheath at the base. The branches of the panicle are mostly 1 or 2 inches long and rather densely flowered nearly to the base. The spikelets are a little more than a line long on very short pedicels, mostly racemose on one side of the branches, oblong, acute, the lower empty glume ovate, acute, half as long as the upper one, which is rather long-pointed and five-nerved; the lower or sterile flower is a little shorter than the longer glume and a little shorter than the perfect flower, which is oblong, obtuse, and under a lens shows a few beards at the apex. This grass produces a large amount of foliage, which makes fair hay if cut before flowering time; if left later it con- tains too many wiry stalks. It may-be utilized as a hay crop in low grounds, but it is doubtful if it can be made productive on dry, tillable land. (Plate 17.) Panicum anceps. (Two-edged Panic Grass.) A perennial grass, when well developed resembling the preceding, but of a smaller, lighter growth, generally found in moist clay soil. It has a flattish erect stem, 2 to 3 feet high, with smooth leaves a foot or more long, of a bluish-green color, and mostly near the base of the stem. The root-stock is thick, scaly, and creeping near the surface of the ground. The panicle is 6 to 12 inches long, with short branches near the top, the lateral branches 3 to 6 inches long, rather distant, erect or somewhat spreading. Usually there are also several smaller lateral panicles from the upper joints of the culm. The spikelets are about a line and a half long, a little longer than those of Panicum agrostoides, oblong, lanceo- late, a little curved, and sessile, or on very short pedicels. The lower empty glume is broadly ovate, and about half as long as the five to 29 seven-nerved upper one. The lower glume of the sterile lower is as long as the upper empty glume, and much like it in texture, while the palet is thin, obtuse, and much shorter. The perfect flower is one-third shorter than the upper empty glume, oblong; the flowering glume and its palet, as in most species of Panicum, is thick and of hard texture. This can not be considered a valuable grass, but it frequently occurs in neglected and poor land in sufficient quartity to afford considerable grazing for stock. It makes its growth late in the season, usually reaching the flowering state in August. Dr. Mohr, of Mobile, remarks that it is not much relished by stock, being rather harsh and dry. Professor Phares says: It forms strongly rooted spreading clumps, often completely carpeting the ground with pretty, glossy, light-green foliage. (Plate 18.) SETARIA. In this genus the flowers are constructed as in the Panicums, but they are arranged in narrow, more or less cylindrical spikes. Below the spikelets are several bristles, generally longer than the spikelets, which remain on the spike after the fall of the flowers. Setaria Italica (Hungarian Grass; German Millet). This grass is supposed to be a native of the Kast Indies, but it has been extensively introduced into most civilized countries. It has long been cultivated as a fodder grass both in Europe and in this country. It is an annual grass of strong, rank growth, the culms erect, 2 to 3 feet high, with numerous long and broad leaves, and a terminal, spike-like, nodding panicle, 4 to 6 inches long, and often an inch or more in diam- eter. The varieties and forms of this grass differ greatly, so much so that some of them have been considered different species; but the gen- eral opinion of botanists is that they are all varying forms of the same species, dependent upon the character of the soil, thickness of seeding, moisture or dryness, and time of sowing. It owes its value as a fodder plant to the abundance of its foliage, and to the large quantity of seed produced. In some instances objection has been made to this grass on account of the bristles which surround the seed, and which have been said to penetrate the stomachs of cattle so as to cause inflammation and death. But it is plain that this opinion is not generally held, as the cultivation of the grass is widely extended and everywhere recommended. For forage it should be cut as soon as it blooms, when, of course, it is worth nothing for seed; but itis most valuable for forage and exhausts the iand much less. If left for the seeds to mature they are very abun- dant and rich feed, but the stems are worthless, while the soil is more damaged. Professor Phares says: The matured stems are very hard, indigestible, and injurious, and the ripe seeds will founder more promptly than corn, and sometimes produce diabetes if moldy and too freely used. If cut at the right stage the whole plant is safe and very valuable 30 forage. On good soil, if the ground be moist, it will be ready for mowing in sixty days from seeding, and produce from 2 to 4 tons of hay per acre. It is folly to sow it on poor land. (Plate 19.) Setaria glauca and Setaria viridis. ” These two kinds, called pigeon grass, are very common in cultivated fields, especially among stubble after the cutting of grain. They are as nutritious as Hungarian grass but not so productive.- (Plate 20.) PENNISETUM. The flowers in this genus are arranged in close spikes much like those of Setaria, but the bristles at the base of the spikelets fall off with the spikelets, instead of re- maining attached to the rhachis. ; Pennisetum spicatum ( Penicillaria spicata) (Pearl Millet; Cat-tail Millet; Egyptian Millet). This is supposed to be a native of Africa, but has been known from time immemorial in cultivation in India, Arabia, and Egypt. It is an annual grass of luxuriant growth, frequently reaching 6 or 8 feet in height, with long, broad leaves, and a stout, solid culm ter- minated with a thick, erect spike, 6 to 10 inches long, and three-quarters of an inch in thickness, having a resemblance to the heads or spikes of the common cat-tail (Typha latifolia). The stalks are freely pro- ductive of suckers which furnish a large amount of succulent, sweet leaves. Professor Phares states: It has been grown to some extent for twenty-five years in many parts of the Southern States, more largely since 1865. No crop will pay better or yield more forage than this on very rich, highly fertilized land. On such land it has been cut on an average every forty-five days, from the time of planting till frost, with a reported product of 80 or 100 tous of green forage, or from 16 to 20 tons of dry hay. When it grows luxuriantly it is impossible to cure it for hay on the ground upon which it is grown; so that it would be impracticable to make hay of a large field of it sown solid. Hence it must be sown in small patches or in beds, with spaces between upon which to spread it when cut This difficulty would occur only on rich and highly manured land. Any one can have the crop as light as he chooses by sowing on poorly prepared or on exhausted land. It is best adapted for cultivation in the South, where it will ripen seeds, but in a favorable season it may produce a large amount of for- age in the Northern States. TRIPSACUM, Tripsacum dactyloides (Gama Grass). A tall, stout, perennial grass, growing sparingly at the North, more common southward and in the Western States. The flowers are in spikes, generally from one to three at the top of the culm or from side shoots. The spikes are 2 to 4 inches long, the male flowers by them- selves on the upper part, and the female flowers on the lower part. The lower flowers mature seeds in short joints, which break apart at 31 maturity. Professor Phares says it was formerly found widely diffused through the Southern States, from the sea-shore to the mountains. It is now seldom seen, having been destroyed by cattle. Mr Howard, of South Carolina, says of it : This is a native of the South, from the mountains to the coast. The seed stem runs up tc the height of 5 to 7 feet. The seeds break off from the stem as if from a joint, a single seed at a time. The leaves resemble those of corn. When cut before the seed stems shoot up they make a coarse but nutritious hay. It may be cut three or four times during the season. The quantity of forage which can be made from it is enor- mous. Both cattle and horses are fond of the hay. The roots are alinost as large and strong as cane roots. It would require a team of four to six oxen to plow it up. It can, however, be easily killed by close grazing, and the mass of dead roots would certainly enrich the land. As the seeds of this grass vegetate with uncertainty, it is usually propagated by setting out slips of the roots about 2 feet apart each way. On rich land the tussocks will soon meet. In the absence of the finer hay grasses this will be found an abundant and excellent substitute. The hay made from it is very like corn fodder, is quite equal to it in value, and may be saved at a tithe of the expense. (Plate 21.) EUCHLAENA. Euchlena luxurians (Teosinte). This grass is allied to and somewhat resembles Indian corn. Like it, it has the male flowers in a tassel at the top of the stalk, and the fertile ones arranged in slender spikes mostly concealed from view by the loose husk or sheath in which they are contained. These husks come from nearly every joint. : Prof. Asa Gray, in the American Agriculturist for August, 1880, speaking of this plant, writes: The director of the botanic garden and Government plantations at Adelaide, South- ern Australia, reports favorably of this strong-growing, corn-like forage plant, the Euchlwna luxurians ; that the prevailing dryness did not injure the plants, which preserved their healthy green, while the blades of the other grasses suffered materially. The habit of throwing out young shoots is remarkable, sixty or eighty rising to a height of 5 to 6 feet. Further north, at Palmerston (nearer the equator), in the course of five or six months the plant reached the height of 10 to 14 feet, and the stems on one plant numbered fifty-six. The plants, after mowing down, grew again several feet in a few days. The cattledelight in it in a fresh state, also when dry. Undoubt- edly there is not a more prolific forage plant known; but, as it is essentially tropic in its habits, this luxuriant growth is found in tropical or subtropical climates. The chief drawback to its culture with us will be that the ripening of the seed crop will be problematical, as early frosts will kill the plant. To make the teosinte a most usefnl plant in Texas, and along our whole Southern border, the one thing needful is to develop early flowering varieties so as to get seed before frost. And this could be done, without doubt, if some one in Texas or Florida would set about it. What it has taken ages to do in the case of Indian corn, in an unconscious way, might be mainly done in a human life-time by rightly directed care and vigorous selection. Who is the. man who is going to make millions of blades of grass grow where none of any account pver grew before ? Seeds of this semi-tropical forage plant were distributed by the De- partment in the spring of 1886 and again in 1887. The plant consider- 32 ably resembles Indian corn, but is more slender, gives off suckers more abundantly, and produces its seeds, a few together, in small tufts of husks instead of in ears. Each seed is inclosed by the peculiar hardened outer glumes, which would probably make it more difficult to digest than corn. The plant has not yet been extensively tried, owing to the difficulty of obtaining seed, which it was necessary to import, and which was therefore expensive and liable to be of poor quality. Expe- rience has shown, however, that it will ripen in southern Florida, and in a few other favorable localities in the United States. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, believes, from instances that have come under his notice, that the seed may be successfully grown in some locations in the southern portion of that State, and over a considerable part of south- eastern Louisiana, and that in all parts of the Gulf States, even where it does not mature, it is destined to become a most valuable forage plant. Itis probable that by selection and continued trial it may be made to ripen where it now does not. J. C. Neal, Archer, northern Florida: Often tried, and with much fertilizer makes a tremendous growth, giving a large amount of good forage, easily dried, and available. The seeds I received from the Department of Agriculture last year were deficient in vitality, and but few grew, but they showed that with good seed and care the teosinte would be a valuable forage plant. It will not ripen seed. I have tried to ripen it for ten years and failed. J. G. Knapp, Limona, southern Florida: Great difficulty has been experienced in obtaining live seed of this most valuable fodder plant, seed obtained from seedsmen, having been imported from Honduras, being too old to germinate. But during the past season a neighbor of mine has sue- ceeded in obtaining a few seeds which grew, and his plants have matured their seeds, all of which will be planted the present year. Seed has also been matured at Fort Meade, in Polk County. Thus the question can be considered as settled, so far as this locality is concerned, that teosinte will mature its seed, and the country is placed in possession of the best soiling and fodder plant known to the agriculturists of the world. It endures heat, drought, and rains as well as sorghum and better than corn, and may be cured for hay. Dr. Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. : This tropical grass does not ripen its seeds in this latitude; it scarcely unfolds its blossoms before the advent of the first frost. It is very tender, being easily af- fected by frost or drought. During a cold spring it is difficult to secure a good stand, and it is only after warm weather has fairly set in that it begins to make a rapid growth, affording three cuttings and over of rich fodder on well manured ground in a season of genial showers. It is too succulent to Le easily cured for hay. On that account and from the difficulty in securing a good stand and from the neces- sity of procuring each season a supply of seed from abroad, this grass has not found the favor with the cultivators of this section with which it is held in the subtropical zone. J. S. Newman, Director Experiment Station, Auburn, Ala.: Teosinte was cultivated on our experiment grounds last season with very satisfac- tory results. It tillers like cat-tail millet, but makes a much more luxuriant growth. It responds promptly and vigorously under the knife, and may be repeatedly cut dur- "108 ing spring and summer. It does not, however, withstand drought as well as millo maize or kaffir corn, and it died completely during our seventy-five days of drought last fall. I have a few seeds which were matured on the grounds of Mr. George W. Benson, in the open air, at Marietta, Ga. He riponed seeds two years ago on a few plants which were forced in early spring and transplanted to the open ground. Last year this seed was planted in the open ground, and produced the plants which ma- tured the seed which I have. He seems thus to have succeeded in acclimating the plant, which is therefore likely to prove a valuable acquisition. (Plate 22.) ZIZANIA. Zizania aquatica (Wild Rice; Indian Rice). Its ordinary growth is from 5 to 10 feet high, with a thick, spongy stem, and abun- dant long and broad leaves. The panicle is pyramidal in shape, 1 to 2 feet long, and widely branching below. The upper branches are rather appressed and contain the fertile lowers, while the lower branches contain only staminate ones. The spikelets are one-flowered, each with one pair of external husks or scales, which are by some botanists called glumes, and by others called palets. These husks or glumes in the fertile Hower are nearly or quite an inch long, with an awn or beard as long, or twice as long. The grain inclosed between them is half an inch long, slender and cylin- ~ drical. The glumes of the staminate flowers are about half an inch long and without awns, each flower containing six stamens. These flowers fall off soon after they ex- pand. The fertile flowers also drop very readily as soon as the grain is ripened. This is botanically related to the common commercial rice (Oryza sativa) but is very different in general appearance. It is widely diffused over North America, and is found in Eastern Siberia and Japan. It grows on the muddy banks of rivers and lakes, both near the sea and far in- land, sometimes in water 10 feet or more deep, forming patches or megad- ows covering many acres or extending for miles. The grass abounds in the small lakes of Minnesota and the North- west, and is there gathered by the Indians for food. The husk is re- moved by scorching with fire. It is a very palatable and nutritious grain. Some attempts have been made to cultivate the grass, but the readiness of the seed to drop must interfere with a successful result. Near the sea-coast multitudes of reed-birds resort to the marshes, where it grows, and fatten upon the grain. The culms are sweet and nutritious, and cattle are said to be very fond of the grass. It is not adapted to culture on any ordinary farming land, as it will live only _in the presence of water. (Plate 23.) LEERSIA. The flowers grow in spreading panicles. The spikelets are sessile, on short, one- sided branches or spikes. The spikelets are one-flowered, possessing but two scales, which may be called glumes or palets, which are strongly compressed, without awns, bristly ciliate on the keels, the lower one broader and inclosing the seed. Stamens one to six; stigmas two; grain flattened. A genus of rongh-leaved grasses growing for the most part in marshy or moist ground throughout nearly all parts of the United States. There are about five species, two of which are confined to the Southern States; 3594 GR——3 34 the others, at least two of them, are very common, though rarely occur- ring in great quantity. They are sometimes cut for hay. They can not be recommended for culture, but may be utilized wherever they grow spontaneously. Leersia oryzoides (White Grass; Cut Grass; False Rice). This is a handsome grass, the culms decumbent. It is commonly called rice grass, from its strong resemblance to common rice. The leaves are pale green, frequently a foot or more long, prominently veined below, very rough on the margins and on the sheaths. The panicle is about 1 foot long, diffusely branched, the branches mostly in twos, and an inch or two distant. The spikelets are very flat, about 2 lines long, nearly sessile, and borne mostly towards the ends of the long branches. The leaves are so rough on the margins as readily to cut the hand if roughly drawn through it. Leersia Virginica (Small-flowered White Grass). In this species the panicle is much smaller and narrower, and the branches appressed. The spikelets are smaller, the glumes narrower and smoother than in the first. (Plate 24.) Leersia hexandra. This species occurs in wet ground on the Atlantic and Gulf coast. It also occurs in other tropical and semi tropical countries. It might be utilized in this country, if it becomes necessary, as it now is in some other countries. In Manilla, one of the Philippine Islands (as we learn from the United States consul at that place), this species is cultivated as food for horses and cattle. It is treated like rice, being transplanted to wet and previously plowed meadows. The local name there is za- cate. HILARIA. “Hilaria Jamesii (Gietta Grass). This is one of the characteristic grasses of the arid districts of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, where it is sometimes called black grama. It is found sparingly also in Colorado and Utah. There are several other species growing in the same region, in some places quite abun- dantly. They are relished by cattle, and are considered as next in value to grama grass. (Plate 25.) ANDROPOGON. This genus is quite largely developed in the United States. They are perennial grasses, mostly tall, and with rongh, wiry stems. Some of them occur in nearly all parts of the country from New England to Florida and west to Arizona. They are most abundant, however, in the Southern States, where they have been employed for permanent pastures. When they occur in quantity they can be utilized, but to be of value they should be kept from sending up their strong stems, as these are universally rejected by cattle and horses. Most of the species 35 are not to be recommended for cultivation, but some have been praised in the South as furnishing, with proper management, permanent and reliable pastures. Andropogon Virginicus and Andropogon scoparius (Broom Sedge). Andropogon Virginicus and A. scoparius are the ones commonly em- ployed in this way. Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, says that 4ndropogon scoparius grows extensively in old fields, and in the dry, sandy soil of the pine woods. Much despised as it is as a troublesome weed, it has its good qualities, which en- title it to a more charitable consideration. In the dry pine woods it contributes, while green and tender, a large share to the sustenance of the stock. It is common on the Western prairies, growing in dense tufts, and is known under the names of wire grass and bunch grass. It is, in most places, a constituent of prairie hay, and it makes good fodder if cut early. (Plates 26 and 27.) Andropogon macrourus. Andropogon macrourus, or heavy-topped broom grass, is frequent near the coast, from New Jersey to Florida, and thence west to Texas, and even to southern California. It has a stout culm, 3 to 4 feet high, with large, leafy clusters of flowers near the top. (Plate 28.) Andropogon furcatus. This is the tallest of our species. It grows erect to the height of 5 or 6 feet, in rocky or hilly ground; or at the West it is abundant on the native prairies, where it is frequently called blue stem. The leaves are long and frequently somewhat hairy on the sheaths and margins. The spikes are in small clusters of from three to six, terminating the stalk, and also with several clusters from the side branches. The spikes are usually 2 to 3 inches long, rather rigid, and contain ten to twenty flow- ers each. At each joint there is one sessile, perfect flower, and one stalked one, which is staminate only ; otherwise it is nearly like the fer- tile one. The outer glumes are about four lines long, the upper one tipped with a short, stiff awn. This species, as above stated, is abundant on the prairies of the West, where it is one of the principal hay grasses of the country, and is ex- tensively cut and cured for winter use. (Plate 29.) Andropogon Hallii. This species much resembles the preceding, but the culms are stouter, the leaves thicker and more succulent, the flower spikes are larger, and the flowers generally more hairy. It prevails in very sandy soil; and is most frequent in western Kansas and in Colorado, Nebraska, and northward along the Missouri River. The leaves and stems are com- monly of a light, bluish-green color. It will probably be well adapted to light, sandy soils, 36 CHRYSOPOGON. Chrysopogon nutans (Sorghum nutans) (Wild Oats). The stalks are 4 to 6 feet high, smooth, hollow, straight, and having at the top a narrow panicle, 6 to 12 inches long, of handsome straw-colored or brownish flowers, which is gracefully drooping at the top. The spikelets are at the ends of the slender branches of the loose panicle, generally of a yellowish color. At the base of each of the spikelets are two (one on each side) short, feathery pedicels; the flowers which they are supposed to bave been made to support bave entirely disappeared. The outer glumes are about three lines long, both alike, lanceolate, ohtusish, coriaceous, five to seven-nerved, the lower one sparsely hairy, and with hairs at the base and on the stalk below. : This is a tall, perennial grass, having a wide range over all the country east of the Rocky Mountains. It grows rather sparsely and forms a thin bed of grass. It is a nutritious grass, but should be cut early, as at full maturity the stems are coarse and are rejected by cattle. (Plate 30.) SORGHUM. In this genus the spikelets are much as in Chrysopogon and Andropo- gon, differing chiefly in habit and in the glumes of the fertile spikelets becoming hardened after flowering. There are several species. Sorghum halepense (Johnson Grass; Mean’s Grass). This grass is a native of Northern Africa and the country about the Mediterranean Sea. It was introduced into cultivation in this country more than fifty vears ago, and has recently attracted renewed attention, especially in the Southern States. The name Johnson grass, which is the one now most generally adopted in this country, originated from William John- son, of Alabama, who introduced the grass into that State from South Carolina about the year 1840. It had previously been known as Mean’s grass, and that name is still occasionally used. It has also been largely grown under the name of Guinea grass, but that name should be re- stricted to Panicum maximum, described in another part of this bulletin. It bas been called Egyptian grass, Green Valley grass, Cuba grass, Al- abama Guinea grass, Australian millet, and Morocco millet. In Cali- fornia it is best known as evergreen millet or Arabian evergreen mil- let. There seems to be good evidence that some of these names have been used at times in order to sell the seed as a new kind at an un- reasonably high price. Johnson grass seeds abundantly, and the seed may be obtained of nearly all seedsmen under that name. This grass is best adapted to warm climates, and has proved most valuable on warm, dry soils in the Southern States. It has been tested quite generally throughout the country, and is often recommended for cultivation even in the North, but there its growth is much smaller than 37 at the South, and in severe winters it is killed outright. It is occasion- ally more or less winter-killed as far south as the northern portion of Texas and Alabama. Its chief value is for hay, in regions where other grasses fail on account of drought. If cut early the hay is of good quality, and several cuttings may be made in the season; but if the cutting is delayed until the stalks are well grown the hay is so coarse and hard that stock do not eat it readily. The seed may be sown at any time when the soil is warm and not too dry. Failures often occur from sowing the seed too early. If there is danger that the soil should dry out before the seed can germinate, soaking the seed may be resorted to with good results. Thick seeding gives a heavier yield and a better quality of hay. From 1 to 2 bushels are usually sown per acre, accord- ing to the cleanness of the seed. In case of failure to get a good stand the crop may be allowed to go to seed the first year, after which the vacant places will be found to be self- seeded. On small patches in such cases the ground is sometimes plowed up and the underground stems scattered along in the furrows over the vacant spots. In most localities it is generally considered desirable to plow the land set in Johnson grass about every third year; otherwise the root stocks become matted near the surface, and the crop is more affected by drought. Plowing causes it to grow more thickly and vigorously. If desired, a large por- tion of the root stocks may be removed at the time of plowing without injuring the stand. The greatest objection to Johnson grass is the diffi- culty of eradicating it. Care should be taken not to introduce it into fields intended for cultivation. It spreads rapidly, both by the root and by seed, and is apt to enter fields where it is not wanted. On stock- farms this feature is not so objectionable as elsewhere. The grass is not well adapted to pasture, and close pasturing is one of the means of getting rid of it. Its succulent, subterranean stems are usually well liked by hogs after they have become accustomed to them, and by keeping hogs closely confined upon it, it may be eradicated. Another method of eradication which is recommended is to plow in the fall, so as to expose it to the action of frost. In the South, where the grass is most largely grown, this is only partially successful. There has been much discussion in the Southern papers respecting this grass, some considering it a great blessing, others a curse, the fact being that it is a blessing where a permanent grass is desired, and, a great pest in land desired for general cultivation. Itis probably too tender for the Northern States, but needs further trial. (Plate 31.) Sorghum vulgare. This name as at present applied includes several varieties quite dif- ferent in appearance, as the variety saccharatum, or ordinary sugar sorghum, millo maize, Kaffir corn. dourra, and broom corn. The broom corn variety we need not discuss here. Some of the other vari- 38 eties have been cultivated in various sections, and deserve especial attention in certain localities. This plant bas been widely discussed within the last few years in the agricultural press, and is valued by many who have grown it as a fod- der plant in the South. There is considerable difference of opinion, however, as to its relative value as compared with the other sorghums and Indian corn. The following from among the replies received are given as additional evidence in regard to it: J. S. Newman, Director Experiment Station, Agricultural and Me- chanical College, Auburn, Ala.: : The popularity of this plant is waning, it having no special advantages over com- mon corn, cat-tail millet, or common sorghum. As evidence that millo maize has undergone acclimation, I will add that plants grown from seed freshly imported from South America do not mature seeds here. Dr. Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. : In the last three seasons this has been grown successfully in this vicinity by several parties. It ripens its seed before the advent of frost, which kills the plants to the roots. It does very well in the light soils of the coast plain, and perhaps every- where in the pine region where there is a clay foundation. The growth of this grass during the early part of the scason is much retarded by the chilly nights and speils of continued cold weather. It is only after the advent of settled warm weather that it enters upon its period of more vigorous growth. Four cuttings may be taken during the season. Plants intended for seed are left undisturbed, and grow to a height of 18 or 20 feet, ripening in October. Great trouble in securing the seed is caused by the ravages of numerous birds. The fodder obtained from the repeated cuttings, on account of its succulence, is difficult to cure, and in damp weather almost impossible. To cure dry fodder for winter use the plants are, after the second cutting, left to grow until towards the end of the season, when, having attained a height of 12 to 15 feet, and before opening their flowers, the stalks are cut and placed on end in small shocks. After being suf- ficiently dried they are placed upright under an airy shed or barn, protected from the damp. In this way sufficient ventilation is secured to prevent heating and mold- ing, and to keep the fodder sweet and palatable. The fodder is said to be preferred by all kinds of live stock to any other fodder or hay. As to its nutritious value as compared with corn fodder opinions differ. The seeds are planted in spring in beds, which can be covered over during cool nights, and from these are transferred, when 8 to 10 inches in height, to the field, and thereafter treated in the same manner as corn. Florida Farm and Fruit-Growers: Red Milly Maize.—It stands drought and does not blow down easily, but it does not make as rank a growth as yellow millo maize. The seed is smaller than any of the other sorghums, and makes a first-class chicken-feed. PHALARIS. Phalaris arundinacea (Reed Canary Grass). A perennial grass, with strong, creeping rhizomes, growing from 2 to 5 feet high, usually in low or wet ground. It ranges from New England and New York westward to Oregon, and northward to Canada, also in 39 the mountainous parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Itis common also in the north of Europe. The culm is stout, smooth, and leafy; the leaves are mostly from 6 to 10 inches long and about half an inch wide, the upper ones shorter. The well-known ribbon grass of the garden is a variety of this grass, and will, it is said, easily revert to the normal type. In mountainous regions it may be worth trial for meadows. (Plate 32.) Phalaris intermedia (Southern Reed Canary Grass; Gilbert’s Relief Grass; Stew- art’s Canary Grass; California Timothy Grass). This species resembles the foreign Canary grass (Phalaris Canariensis) which pro- duces the seed commonly sold as food for Canary birds. It is, however, a taller and more robust species, growing 2 or 3 feet high, with a stout, erect culm and broad, linear leaves, which are from 4 to 10 inches long. The spike is oblong and compact, 1or2inches long. There is a variety called var. angusta, in which the spike is 3 or 4 inches long. The spikelets are much like those of the preceding species (Phalaris arundinacea), having one perfect lower and two abortive ones. The outer glumes are lanceolate and nearly alike and have a narrow wing extending down the keel. The glumes of the fertile flower are nearly like those of Phalaris arundinacea already described. This species grows in South Carolina and the Gulf States, extending to Texas, then stretching across to the Pacific coast and occurring through California and Oregon. It has frequently been sent to the De- partment from the Southern States as a valuable winter grass. Mr. Thomas W. Beaty, of Conway, S. C., writes as follows: The grass I send you was planted last September, and the specimens were cut on the 9th of March, following. You will notice that it is heading out and is just now in a right condition for mowing. It is whollya winter grass, dying downin the latter part of April and first of May ; and it seems to me should be a great thing for the South if properly introduced and cultivated, or rather the ground properly prepared and the seed sown at the right time. It would afford the best of green pasturage for sheep and cattle all winter. It is what we call Gilbert's relief grass. Many years ago Dr. Lincecum, of Texas, experimented with this grass and recommended it very highly. In California it is called California Timothy, and is said to have little or no agricultural value. Itis an annual or biennial. Professor Phares says: The variety angusta is much larger and more valuable. It grows 2 to 3 feet high and in swamps 5 feet, with many leaves 4 to 10 inches long, the spike somewhat re- sembling the head of Timothy; stock like it well, especially as hay. Mr. D. Stewart, of Louisiana, having tested other grasses, prefers this for quantity and quality for winter and spring grazing, and for soiling for milk cows. There is much testimony from many parts of the South of the same import, and this grass is doubtless worthy of extended, careful testing. (Plate 33.) ANTHOXANTHUM. Panicle somewhat spike-like. Spikelets apparently three-flowered, but only the terminal one perfect; the lower pair of glumes are equal, the lower one much smaller than the upper one; above these and be- low the perfect Hower are two short, thin, two-lobed pubescent glumes, 40 sometimes called abortive flowers, each one with an awn between the lobes ; the upper or perfect lower is smaller, consisting of one broad, thin, three-nerved glume, and one (commonly considered the palet) nar- row, one-nerved, hyaline glume. No true palet. Stamens two; styles two, distinct. A. odoratum (Sweet Vernal Grass). : A perennial grass, native of Europe, much employed as a part of mixed lawn grasses, and frequently naturalized in meadows. It grows thinly on the ground, with slender culms, seldom more than 1 foot to 18 inches in height, and scanty in foliage. The panicle is 2 to 3 inches long, narrow, close, but expands considerably during flowering time. It is very fragrant and gives a pleasant odor to hay. (Plate 34.) ALOPECURUS. Alopecurus geniculatus (Water Foxtail). This species and its variety aristulatus, which is the more abundant form, is native to this country. It commonly grows on the muddy banks of streams and lakes, and sometimes is found in wet meadows and ditches. It seldom reaches more than a foot in height; the stem is usually bent at the lower joint, and the sheaths of the leaves are more or less swollen, especially the upper one. It is of no value for cultivation, being useful only for the amount of grass it may contribute to the wild forage of the place in which it grows. Alopecurus pratensis (Meadow Foxtail). This is a perennial grass, a native of Europe, but it has been introduced into this country and is frequently found in meadows of the Eastern States. 1t has cousider- able resemblance to Timothy, but will be readily distinguished by an examination. It ordinarily grows but 2 feet high, but frequently in good soil reaches 3 feet or more. The culms are erect, with four or five leaves at pretty uniform distances. The sheaths are long and rather loose, particularly the upper one. The blade of the leaf is 3 or 4 inches long, about one-quarter of an inch wide at the base, and tapering gradually to a point. The panicle terminates the stalk, and is a cylindrical spike 2 or 3 inches long, dense, soft, and with the awns of ihe flowers conspicuously projecting. The spikelets are single-flowered, between 2 and 3 lines long. The outer glumes are strongly compressed, boat-shaped, keeled, nearly equal, sometimes slightly united together at the base, and have a line of soft, short hairs on the keels. These glumes closely inclose the flower, which is of nearly the same length, and consists of a lower- ing glume, but without any true palet. This flowering glume is folded upon itself and incloses the stamens and styles. It gives rise onits back, near the base, to a fine awn, which extends two or three lines beyond the glumes. Mr. J. S. Gould says: It flourishes in May, nearly four weeks in advance of Timothy, and is one of the earliest grasses to start in the spring. Pastures well covered with this grass will afford a full bite at least one week earlier than those which do not have it. It does not flourish in dry soils, but loves moist lands ; no grass bears a hot sun better, and it is not injured by frequent mowings, on which account, as well as for its early verdure, it is valuable for lawns. (Plate 35.) 41 Alopecurus oecidentalis (Rocky Mountain Foxtail). This species is 1ndigenous in Montana and Idaho, and is very com- mon along mountain streams, frequently covering acres of the mountain meadows. It is called in some localities mountain Timothy. It yields a large quantity of fine, bright hay, for which purpose it is often har- vested and highly valued. It is of little value for grazing. Probably under cultivation it would become as useful as the European species. ARISTIDA. Spikelets one-flowered, in a spicate or an open branching panicle, generally on fili- form pedicels; outer glumes unequal, often bristle-pointed ; flowering glume narrow, rolled around the flower, terminating with a trifid awn, or apparently three-awned. Palet small and thin, inclosed in the flowering glume. The grasses of this large genus are generally either worthless or of little agricultural value. The perennial species in some localities fur- nish a considerable amount of wild forage of an inferior character. They are very abundant in sandy and sterile soil, especially in the Rocky Mountain region. Aristida purpurea. Aristida purpurea prevails extensively on the Western plains, and it is said to form an important part of the early feed of the cattle. It grows in bunches, and is about 1 foot high. The panicle is somewhat spread- ing, and the flowers are purplish, with spreading, slender awns, 1 inch or more in length. (Plate 36.) STIPA. - Spikelets one-flowered, terete, spicate, or paniculate. Outer glumes membranaceous, keeled; flowering glume narrow, coriaceous, rigid, involute, with a simple twisted awn from the apex; palet usually small and inclosed by the flowering glume. Stamens generally three. The flowering glume has a hardened, often sharp-pointed and bearded pedicel or stipe at its base. This genus has its principal range in the region of the Rocky Mount- ains and the Great Plains. They are mostly coarse, rigid grasses, hav- ing little agricultural value. In common with many other kinds they are usually called bunch grass, sometimes beard grass, or feather grass. The more abundant species are Stipa spartea, Stipa comata, and Stipa viridula. These prevail from British America southward, on the plains, and in the mountains. The genus is particularly distinguished by the awn or beard of the flowering glume, and the sharp-pointed and barbed stipe or base of the glume. Complaint has been made among stockmen of great injury to sheep by the penetration of these sharp points into the wool, and even into the flesh. The awns or feathery appendages are in some species 4 to 6 inches long, and are subject to a spiral twisting when dry, which assists in forcing the seed into the ground for germination. Stipa avenacea is the only species prevailing in the Eastern and Southern States, and is of no agricultural impor- 42 tance. The long, feathery awns of Stipa pennata are beautiful and orna- mental. (Plate 37, Stipa viridula.) Stipa spartea. Stipa spartea is called porcupine grass, arrow grass, and devil's knitting-needles, from the long, stiff, twisted awns inclosing the seed. The seeds ripen early and drop to the ground, and later in the season the grass may be easily recognized by the persistent, bleached culms and empty glumes of the spreading panicle. The long root-leaves con- tinue green and vigorous throughout the summer, frequently being 2 feet long. Although somewhat coarse the grass makes a very good hay, and forms a considerable part of the wild prairie hay in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and southern Dakota. It is called buffalo grass in the Sas- katchewan region. It should receive attention in Western experiments for a pasture grass. (Plate 38.) ORYZOPSIS. This genus differs from Stipa chiefly in having a shorter ovate or oblong flower, with the callus at the base shorter and broader, and in having usually a very short and deciduous awn to the flowering glume. Oryzopsis cuspidata (Bunch Grass). This grass has a wide distribution, not only in the Sierras of Califor- nia, but northward to British America, and eastward through all the interior region of Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Nebraska, to the Missouri River. It is a perennial, growing in dense tufts, whence its common name. Tho culms are 1 to 2 feet high, with about three narrow, convolute leaves, the up- per one having a long, inflated sheath which incloses the base of the panicle. The radical leaves are narrow, rigid, and as long as or longer than the culm. The panicle isabout 6 inches long, very loose, spreading and flexuous. The branches are in pairs, slender, rather distant, and are subdivided mostly in pairs. The spikelets are at the ends of the capillary branches, each one-flowered. The outer glumes are 3 to 4 lines long, inflated and widened below, gradually drawn to a sharp-pointed apex, thin and colorless except the three or five green nerves, and slightly hairy. The glumes inclose an ovate flower, which is covered externally with a profusion of white, silky hairs, and tipped with a short awn, which falls off at maturity. This apparent flower is the flowering glume, of a hard, coriaceous texture, and incloses a similar hard, but not hairy, and smaller palet. In Montana it is one of the most esteemed bunch grasses, and thrives on soil too sandy for other valuable species. Professor Brewer states that in southern California it is called saccatoo or saccatoa. (Plate 39.) MILIUM. Spikelets panicled ; outer glumes membranaceous, equal and convex, the flowering glume and its palet coriaceous, much as in Panicum, but the articulation with the rhachis is above the outer glumes. All the glumes are unawned, and there is no ster- ile pedicel. : 43 Milium effusum. A tall, perennial grass, 4 or 5 feet high, growing in damp woods in the northern portions of the United States and in Canada. It is also found in Northern Europe and in Russian Asia. Hon. J. S. Gould, in the Report of the New York State Agricultural Society, says, respecting this grass: Meadows and borders of streams and cold woods. It thrives when transplanted to open and exposed situations. It is one of the most beautiful of the grasses; the pan- icle is often a foot long, and the branches are so exceedingly delicate that the small, glossy spikelets seem to be suspended in the air. Birds are very fond of the seed. Mr. Colman says that he has raised 3 tons to the acre of as good, nutritious hay as could be grown from it, when sown in May. The plants multiply by the roots as well as by the seed, sending out horizontal shoots of considerable length, which root at the joint as they extend. (Plate 40.) MUHLENBERGIA. Spikelets one-flowered, small, paniculate, articulated above the outer glumes; flowering glume with a very short, usually hairy callus. : Muhlenbergia diffusa (Nimble Will). Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, says: It is hardly more than necessary to mention this grass, which forms in many sec- tions the bulk of the pastures of the woods. It does not grow in fields, but in woods, where, after rains have set in, it carpets the earth with living green. Various opin- ions are entertained as to its nutritive qualities. Some farmers assert that their stock are fond of it, and that on sufficient range, cattle, horses and sheep will go into the winter sleek and fat from this vigorous grass. Others regard it as well nigh worth- less. (Plate 41.) Muhlenbergia glomerata (Spiked Muhlenbergia). This grass grows.in wet, swampy grounds, chiefly in the Northern and Western portions of the United States. It is found in Colorado, Utab, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. It grows to the height of 2 or 3 feet, stiffly erect and generally unbranched. The culm is hard, somewhat compressed, and very leafy. The panicle is narrow, 2 to 4 inches long, composed of numerous close clusters of flowers, becoming looser below, forming an interrupted glomerate spike. The spikelets are closely sessile in the clusters. The root-stock is hard and knotty, and furnished with numerous short, firm shoots or stolons. : In the Eastern States it is utilized as one of the native products of wet meadows in the making of what is called wild hay. Specimens have been sent from Colorado and Kansas, and recommended as an excellent grass for forage. (Plate 42.) Muhlenbergia Mexicana. A perennial grass of decumbent habit, 2 or 3 feet high, much branched, from scaly, creeping root stocks. It is frequently found in moist woods and low meadows or prairies. It probably would not endure upland 44 culture, but in its native sitnations it fills an important place among natural grasses. (Plate 43.) Muhlenbergia sylvatica. This species has much the appearance and habit of Muhlenbergia Mex- icana. The panicle is looser, the spikelets not so densely clustered, and the flowering glume bears an awn two or three times as long as itself. 1t is found in dry, open, or rocky woods and fence corners. In agricult- ural value it corresponds to that species. (Plate 44.) PHLEUM. Phleum pratense (Herd’s Grass [of New England and New York]). This is one of the commonest and best-known grasses. For a hay crop it is extensively cultivated, especially in the Northern and West- ern States. The height of the grass depends on the soil and cultiva- tion. In poor ground it may be reduced to 1 foot, while in good soil and with good culture it readily attains 3 feet, and occasionally has been found twice that height. Itis a perennial grass, with fibrous roots. The base of the culm is sometimes thickened and inclined to be bulbous. The culm is erect and firm, with four or five leaves, which are erect, and usually 4 to 6 inches long. The flower spike is cylindrical and very densely flowered, and varies from 2 to 6 inches in length. The spikelets are sessile, single-flowered, and cylindrical or ob- long in outline. The outer glumes are rather wedge-form, with a mucronate point or short bristle. The main nerve on the back is fringed with a few short hairs. This grass, as known in eultivation, is supposed to have been intro- duced from Europe, but the earliest account that we have of its culture is that given by Jared Elliot, who says it was found by a Mr. Timothy Herd in a swamp in New Hampshire, and that he began its cultivation. As it was found to be a valuable grass, its cultivation soon spread, and it was known as Herd’s grass. It was not introduced into cultivation in England until some fifty years later. I consider it very probable that the specimens found by Mr. Herd were of native growth, for it is believed to be native in the White Mountains, in the Rocky Mountains, in Alaska, and in Labrador. Itis also a native of Europe. But, however the question of its nativity may be settled, the thanks of this country are due to Mr. Herd for the introduction into agriculture of one of the most valuable of grasses. It is now a favorite meadow grass over a large part of the country, and its hay is a staple, and more sought after in the markets than any other kind. Timothy thrives best on moist, loamy soil of medium tenacity, and is not suited to light, sandy, or gravelly soils. Under favorable circum- stances and with good treatment it yields very large crops, often four tons to the acre. One writer states that he has known whole fields in Missouri grow to the height of 5 or 6 feet, the soil, a pulverized clay, being particularly suited to this grass. He also states that he has 45 known fields of this grass to be highly productive for thirteen years in succession. Farmers should not lose sight of the fact that the roots do not extend widely, and that much of its vitality depends on the thick- ened bulb-like base of the stem ; therefore there is danger that, if mowed too late in the season so that the bulbs and roots are left unprotected from the weather, they may suffer from the action of frost, being some- times lifted out of the ground from this cause. A well-informed farwer, writing in the Prairie Farmer, says that Timothy is an exhaustive crop, the roots not penetrating deeply enough to obtain nourishment from the subsoil. Feeding off with stock lays the crown of the plants bare, which, being of a bulbous nature, are easily injured by exposure. When, however, the aftermath is very abundant, Timothy meadows may be pastvred sparingly in the fall to reduce the heavy growth of rowan that sometimes accumulates so as to interfere with the mower; but in no case should sheep be-allowed upon it, as they are very apt to nip off the crown of the plant and thus destroy it. Inorderto keep up the productiveness of a Timothy meadow, a good top-dressing of s able manure should be applied and evenly spread in the fall. This will protect the roots and cause a much thicker and stronger growth. Timothy is often sown with clover in different pro- portions, and under some circumstances this is a judicious practice. But the more general practice is to have the Timothy meadows free from other plants, and to sow about 12 pounds of seed to the acre. ; When this grass is grown for the crop of seed, it should be allowed to stand until the heads are ripe; 30 bushels to the acre have been pro- duced. Of course the hay left after thrashing out the seed is coarse and of inferior value. The clean seed weighs about 45 pounds to the bushel. (Plate 45.) SPOROBOLUS Spikelets one, rarely two-flowered, in a contracted or open panicle; outer glumes unequal, the lower one shorter, often acute, unawned, one to three-nerved, mem- branaceous; flowering glume mostly longer, unawned; palet about equaling the flowering glume and of the same texture, prominently two-nerved. Seed mostly loose in a hyaline or rarely coriaceous pericarp. Sporobolus cryptandrus. : This species has an extensive range. It is common in sandy fields in the Northern and Southern States, as well as over all the dry plains west of the Mississippi, extending from British America to Mexico, fur- nishing a considerable share of the wild pasturage of that region. (Plate 46.) Sporobolus Indicus. : This grass is a native of India, but has spread over most tropical and warm climates. It occurs more or less abundantly in all the Southern States, and is called smut grass, from the fact that after flowering the heads become affected with a black smut. It grows in tufts or loose 46 patches, from 1% to 3 feet high, with an abundance of long, flat, fine- pointed leaves at the base, and a narrow terminal panicle, frequently a foot in length, composed, of short, erect, sessile branches, which are very closely flowered. Professor Phares says: It grows abundantly and luxuriantly on many uncultivated fields and commons, and furnishes grazing from April till frost. It thrives under much grazing and many mowings, and grows promptly after each if the soil is moist enough. Cattle and horses are fond of it, if it is frequently cut or grazed down, but if allowed to remain untouched long they will not eat it unless very hungry, as it becomes tough and un- palatable and probably difficult to digest. (Plate 47.) AGROSTIS. Spikelets one-flowered, in a contracted or open panicle ; outer glumes nearly equal or the lower rather longer, and longer than the flowering glume, one-nerved, acute, ‘unawned ; flowering glume shorter and wider, hyaline, three to five-nerved, awnless or sometimes awned on the back; palet shorter than the flowering glume, frequently reduced to a small scale or entirely wanting ; stamens usually three; grain free. Agrostis vulgaris (Redtop, Finetop, Herd’s Grass [of Pennsylvania], Bent Grass, etc.) A perennial grass, growing 2 or 3 feet high from creeping root-stocks, which interlace so as to make a very firm sod; the culms are upright, or sometimes decumbent at the base, smooth, round, rather slender and clothed with four or five leaves, which are flat, narrow, and roughish, from 3 to 6 inches long, with smooth sheaths, and generally truncate ligules. It is extensively cutivated. Agrostis alba, the fiorin grass of Ireland, and Agrostis stolonifera are usually considered synonymous, and are distinguished from Agrostis vul- garis by having a closer, more verticillated panicle and with longer and more acute ligules. Mr. J. G. Gould says of Agrostis vulgaris: This is a favorite grass in wet, swampy meadows, where its interlacing, thick roots consolidate the sward, making a firm matting which prevents the feet of cattle from poaching. It is generally considered a valuable grass in this country, though by no means the best one. Cattle eat hay made from it with a relish, especially when mixed with other grasses. As a pasture grass it is much valued by dairymen, and in their opinion the butter would suffer much by its removal. Professor Phares, of Louisiana, says, respecting this grass: It grows well on hill-tops and sides, in ditches, gullies and marshes, but delights in moist bottom-land. It is not injured by overflow, though somewhat prolonged. It furnishes considerable grazing during warm spells in winter, and in spring and sum- mer an abundant supply of nutriment. Cut before maturing seed, it makes hay and a large quantity. It seems to grow taller in the Southern States than it does farther north, and to make more and better hay and grazing. Mr. Flint says: It is a good permanent grass, standing our climate as well as any other, and con- sequently well suited to our pastures, in which it should be fed close; for if allowed to grow up to seed the cattle refuse it; and this seems to show that it is not so much relished by stock as some of the other pasture grasses, (Plate 48.) 47 Agrostis canina. A grass usually of low size, 6 to 12 inches high, with slender culms, and a light, flexible, expanded panicle, and with a perpiexing variety of forms. There are several varieties growing in mountainous regions throughout the United States, and in Europe. It forms a close sod, and affords considerable pasturage in those regions. It is probably one of the grasses called Rhode Island bent grass. Agrostis exarata. This is chiefly a northwestern species, being found in Wisconsin and westward to the Rocky Mountains, also from British America and California to Alaska. It is very variable in appearance, and presents several varieties. It is generally more slender in growth than the common redtop. The panicle is usually longer, narrower, and looser. In all the forms the palet is wanting or is very minute. The form chiefly growing on the Pacific slope from California to Alaska is often more robust than the Agrostis vulgaris, growing 2 to 3 feet high, with a stout, firm culm, clothed with three or four broadish leaves, 4 to 6 inches long. The panicle is 4 to 6 inches long, pale green, rather loose, but with erect branches. It deserves trial for cultivation, at least on the Pacific side of the con- tinent. (Plate 49.) CINNA. Spikelets one-flowered, much flattened, in an open, spreading panicle; outer glumes lanceolate, acute, strongly keeled, hispid on the keel, the upper somewhat longer than the lower; fiowering glume manifestly stalked above the outer glumes, about the same length as the outer ones, three-nerved, short-awned on the back near the apex; palet nearly as long as its glume, only one-nerved (probably by the consolida- tion of two, Bentham); stamen one. A sterile pedicel sometimes present. Cinna arundinacea (Wood Reed Grass). A perennial grass, with erect simple culms from 3 to 6 feet high, and a creeping rhizoma; growing in swamps and moist, shaded woods in northern or mountainous districts. The leaves are broadly linear lanceolate, about 1 foot long, 4 to 6 lines wide, and with a conspicuous elongated ligule. The panicle is from 6 to 12 inches long, rather loose and open in the flower, afterwards more close. This leafy-stemmed grass furnishes a large quantity of fodder, but experiments are wanting to determine its availability under cultivation. (Plate 50.) Cinna pendula. : This species is more slender, with a looser drooping panicle and more capillary branches, and with thinner glumes. It occurs in the same situations as the preceding, and is more common in the Rocky Mount- ains and Oregon. AMMOPHILA. Spikelets one-flowered, in a contracted, spike-like or open, diffuse panicle, with or without a bristle-like rudiment opposite the palet; outer glumes large, nearly equal, rigid, thick, lanceolate, acute, keeled, five-nerved ; flowering glume similar in texture, about equal in length, sometimes mucronate at the apex; palet as long as its glume, of similar texture, two-keeled, sulcate between the keels; hairs at the base of the flower usually scanty and short, 48 Ammophila arundinacea (Beach Grass; Sand Grass). This is Calamagrostis arenaria of the older books. The entire plant is of a whitish, or pale-green color. It grows on sandy beaches of the Atlantic, at least as far south as North Carolina, and on the shores of the Great Lakes, but has not, so far, been recorded from the Pacific coast. Italso grows on the sea-coast of the British Isles and of Europe. It forms tufts of greater or less extent, “itslong, creeping roots extend- ing sometimes to the extent of 40 feet, and bearing tubers the size of a pea, interlaced with death-like tenacity of grasp, and form a net-work beneath the sand which resists the most vehement assault of the ocean waves.” The culms are from 2 to 3 feet high, rigid and solid ; the leaves long, involute, smooth, stiff, and slender-pointed; the panicle is dense, 6 to 10 inches long, close and spike-like; the spikelets are about half an inch long, compressed, crowded on very short branchlets. This grass has no agricultural value, but from time immemorial its utility in binding together the loose sands of the beach, and restrain- ing the inroads of the ocean, has been recognized and provided for in some places by law. Mr. Flint, in his work on grasses, says that the town and harbor of Provincetown, once called Cape Cod, where the Pilgrims first landed, one of the largest and most important harbors of the United States, sufficient in depth for ships of largest size, and in extent to anchor three thousand vessels at once, owe their preservation to this grass. The usual way of propagating the grass is by transplant- ing the roots. It is pulled up by hand and placed in a hole about a foot deep and the sand pressed around it by the foot. There are un- doubtedly many places on the sea-coast where this grass would be of inestimable value in restraining the encroachment of the ocean. It would also be useful in forming a dense turf for the protection of dikes and banks subject to water-washing. CALAMAGROSTIS. This genus is characterized by having one-flowered spikelets, with the addition at the base of the flowering glume of a small hairy appendage or pedicel, which is considered to be the rudiment of a second flower. In addition to this the flower is also generally surrounded at the base with a ring of soft hairs, and the flowering glume usually bears an awn on its back, which is generally bent and twisted. In this genus there are two sections, viz: 1st, Deyeuxia, in which there is a small hairy pedicel in front of the palet of the single perfect flower: the glumes thin and membranaceous. Inthissection are most of our North American species. 2d, Calamo- vilfa, in which the glumes and palet are thicker and more compressed, and the sterile pedicel or rudiment is wanting. Calamagrostis (Deyeuxia) Canadensis (Blue-joint; Small Reed Grass). A stout, erect, tall perennial grass, growing chiefly in wet, boggy ground or in low, moist meadows. Its favorite situation is in cool, ele- vated regions. It prevails in all the northern portions of the United States, in the Rocky Mountains, and in British Awerica. In those dis- tricts it is one of the best and most productive of the indigenous grasses. 49 It varies much in luxuriance of foliage and size of panicle, according to the location. The culms are from 3 to 5 feet high, stout and hollow, hence in some places it is called the small reed grass. The leaves are 1 foot or more long, flat, from a quarter to nearly half an inch wide, and roughish ; the stem and shicaihs smooth. The panicle is oblong in outline, open, and somewhat spreading, especially during flowering ; it is from 4 to 6 or even 8 inches in length, and 2 or 3 inches in diameter, of a purplish color; the branches are mostly in fives at intervals of an inch or less. These branches vary in length from 1 to 3 inches, the long ones flowering only toward the extremity. The spikelets are short-stalked, the outer glumes about one and one- half lines long, lanceolate and acute; the silky white hairs at the base of the flower- ing glume are about as long as the glume ; those on the sterile pedicel also nearly as - long. The flowering glume is thin and delicate, about as long as the outer glumes, and somewhat finely toothed at the apex, three to five-nerved, and bearing on the’ back, below the middle, a delicate awn, reaching about to the point of the glume, and - not much stouter than the hairs. The proper palet is thin, oblong, and about two- thirds the length of its glume. Mr. J. S. Gould says: It constitutes about one-third of the natural grasses on the Beaver Dar Meadows of the Adirondacks. It is certain that cattle relish it very much, both in its green state and when made into hay, and it is equally certain that the farmers who have it on their farms believe it to be one of the best grasses of their meadows. Professor Crozier, who spent some time in northwestern Iowa aid adjacent parts of Minnesota and Dakota, in studying the native grasses, says: This is considered by some to produce the best hay for cattle of all the native grasses. It is very leafy, and stands remarkably thick on the ground. The seed ripens early in July, but the leaves remain green until winter. It is probably hardly equal to some of the upland grassssin quality, but it gives a larger yield, and is undoubtedly worthy of cultivation. Itis usually found upon the margins of ponds; it will thrive, however, ou land that is only slightly moist, and often occurs along the banks of roadside ditches. On rather low land which has been broken and _ allowed to go back it frequently comes in, and after a few years occupies the land to the exclusion.ot all other vegetation. : (Plate 51.) Calamagrostis (Deyeuxia) sylvatica (Bunch Grass). A coarse perennial grass, growing in large tufts, usually in sandy ground in the Rocky Mountains at various altitudes, also in California, Oregon, and British America. It furnishes an abundant coarse forage in the regions where it is found. The culms are from 1 to 2 feet high, erect, rigid, and leafy; the radical leaves are frequently as long as the culm, two or three lines wide, sometimes flat, but generally involute and rigid. The culm leaves are from 3 to 6 or 8 inches long, rigid and rough. The panicle is narrow and spike-like, 3 to 5 inches long, erect, rather dense, sometimes interrupted below, and varying from pale green to purple. (Plate 52.) Calamagrostis longifolia. . This grass grows on the sandy plains of the interior from British America to Ari- zona, and on the borders of the Great Lakes. It has strong, running rootstocks, like 3594 GR——4 50 the preceding, but is much taller, the culms being 3 to 6 feet high, stout and reed-like ; the leaves long, rigid, and becoming involute, with a long, thread-like point. The panicle is quite variable, from 4 to 16 inches long, at first rather close, but becoming open and spreading, the branches in the smaller forms being 2 or 3 inches long, and in the larger ones often 10 or 12 inches and widely spreading. It is abundant on the plains of western Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado, and furnishes a resource in winter for food for the cattle of the ranches. (Plate 53.) HOLCUS. Spikelets two-flowered, crowded in an open panicle, the lower flower perfect, the upper one male only, and with a minute, hairy rhachilla or rudiment at its base. Outer glumes nearly equal, compressed, membranaceous, large (fully inclosing the . two flowers), flowering glumes half shorter, the lowest awnless, the upper with a short dorsal awn. Holcus lanatus (Velvet Grass; Velvet Mesquite; Soft Grass, etc. ). Introduced from Europe and naturalized in many parts of the United States. It makes a striking and beautiful appearance, but stock are not very fond of it, either green or cured. It is a perennial, but not very strongly rooted, and does not spread from the root as do most perennial grasses. It seeds abundantly, and is generally propagated by seed, though sometimes by dividing the plants. It prefers low land, but does very well even on sandy upland, and its chief value is in being able to grow on land too poor for other grasses. The seed has been in market many years, but it has come into culti- vation very slowly, and it is not generally held in very high esteem as an agricultural grass, either in this country or in Europe. Some speak well of it, however, and it has frequently been sent to the Department from the South, with strong recommendations for its productiveness. C. Menelas, Savannah, Ga.: Known almost all over the South as yielding wore than orchard grass, but for some reason only grown where nature has planted it. Mrs. J. W. Bryan, Dillon, northwestern Georgia: My meadows and ditches are full of it, though it is not sown here. It is very valu- able for pasture, and gives a very early and heavy yield of hay. L. S. Nicholson, Crumly, northeastern Alabama: This grass has been grown on a farm I own for about ten years. It does best on rich, moist land, but grows fairly well on poor, dry, sandy land, where other and, I must say, better grasses fail. It grows from 2 to 3 feet high, and makes apparently sufficient hay, but very light and chaffy and of inferior quality. It appears to be hardy and will withstand drought well. The grass is right pretty when growing, and nice for pasturing, but we have other grasses so much better that can generally be grown on land that this would occupy that I shall vote against it for all purposes. Clarke Lewis, Cliftonville, Miss. : It grows on poor, sandy land to a height of 3 to 4 feet; stands drought well, but can be killed by a slight overflow. It is valuable as a soiling plant, but makes infe- rior hay. It is an annual, and if intended for a permanent meadow must be cut only once, and then allowed to reseed itself, 51 H. W. L. Lewis, secretary Louisiana State Grange, Tangipahoa Par- ish, La. (P. O., Osyka, Miss.): . It is hardy and cultivated in small lots, doing best on rich, sandy loam, yielding 2 to 3 tons per acre. I have experimented more than any one else in my section with forage plants, especially winter grains and grasses. Have used rye and barley for winter feed, but have given them up in favor of the Holcus lanatus; have had this in cultivation for thirty years. It is a perennial, but owing to its shallow roots it dies out during our long, dry summer and fall from 50 to 75 per cent. One lot kept the third year had less than 10 per cent. of the grass alive. Hence I have for twenty years or more used it as an annual, sowing it with turnips, collards, or by itself. A good way is to sow the seed broadcast and cover lightly in a late crop of turnips after the last cultivation. After the turnip crop is removed the first warm days in January or February will start the grass into rapid growth. It is cut frequently through the spring for green feed, and after oats are ready to cut is allowed to mature seed. : Prof. D. L. Phares, in his ¢“Farmer’s Book of Grasses,” says: In the Eastern States this grass is called Salem grass and white Timothy; in the South, velvet lawn grass, and velvet mesquite grass; in England, woolly soft grass and Yorkshire white. It has been sent to me for name more frequently than any other grass. Having found its way to Texas, people going there from other States have sent back seeds to their friends, calling it Texas velvet mesquite grass, supposing it a native of that State. So far as has come to my knowledge nine-tenths of all so- called mesquite grass planted in the Southern States is this European velvet grass. It grows much larger in some of the Southern States than in the Eastern States or in England, and seems to have greatly improved by acclimation. Velvet grass may be readily propagated by sowing the seed or dividing the roots. It luxuriates in moist, peaty lands, but will grow on poor, sandy, or clay hill lands and produce remunerative crops where few others will make anything. The reason that cattle do not prefer it is not because of a deficiency in nutrition, but because of its combination. It is deficient simply in saline and bitter extractive matter which cattle relish in grasses. It is by no means the best of our grasses, but best on some lands. Other grasses are more profitable to me. It should be sown from August to October, 14 pounds equal to 2 bushels per acre. Northward it is perennial, in the South it is'not strictly so. (Plate 54.) TRISETUM. Spikelets two to three, rarely five-flowered, in a dense or open pan- icle, the rachis usually hairy and produced into a bristle at the base of the upper flower ; outer glumes unequal, acute, keeled, membranaceous, with scarious margins; flowering glumes of similar texture, keeled, acute, the apex two-toothed, the teeth sometimes prolonged into bristle- like points, the middle nerve furnished with an awn attached above the middle, which is usnally twisted at the base and bent in the middle; palet hyaline, narrow, two-nerved, two-toothed. Trisetum palustre. A slender grass, usually about 2 feet high, growing in low meadows or moist ground throughout the eastern part of the United States. The culms are smooth, with long internodes and few linear leaves, 2 to 4 inches long; the panicle is oblong, 3 to 4 inches long, loose and grace- fully drooping, the branches two to five together, rather capillary, 1 to 52 14 inches long and loosely flowered ; the spikelets are two-flowered; the outer glumes are about two lines long, the lower one one-nerved, the upper rather obovate and three-nerved; the lower flower is com- monly awnless or only tipped with a short awn; the second flower is rather shorter and with a slender, spreading awn longer than the flower. This is a nutritious grass, but is seldom found in sufficient quantity to be of much value. (Plate 55.) Trisetum subspicatum. The culms are erect and firm, smooth or downy. The panicle is spike-like, dense, and cylindrical or elongated, and more or less interrupted, generally of a purplish color. The spikelets are two or three-flowered. The flowers are a little longer than the outer glumes, slightly scabrous, the flowering glumes acutely two-toothed at the apex, and bearing a stout awn which is longer than its glume. A perennial grass of the mountainous region of Europe and North America; undoubtedly furnishes a considerable portion of mountain pasturage. It is found sparingly in New England, on the shores of Lake Superior, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon, and northward to the Arctic circle. It varies in height accord- ing to the latitude at which it grows, being sometimes reduced to 3 or 4 inches, at other times running up to 2 feet high. (Plate 56.) AVENA. Avena fatua (Wild Oats). This species is very common in Calfornia. It is generally thought to have been introduced from Europe, where it is native, but it has become diffused over many other countries, including Australia and South America. It is thought by some to be the original of the cultivated oat, Avena sativa, that the common will degenerate into the wild oat, and that by careful cultivation and selection of seed the wild oat can be changed into the common cultivated oat. But on this question there is a conflict of opinions, and the alleged facts are not sufficiently estab- lished. The wild oat differs from the cultivated one chiefly in having more flowers in the spikelets, in the long, brown hairs which cover the flowering glumes, in the constant presence of the long, twisted awn, and in the smaller size and lighter weight of the grain. It is a great injury to any grain-field in which it may be introduced; but for the purposes of fodder, of which it makes a good quality, it has been much employed in California. (Plate 57.) ARRHENATHERUM. Arrhenatherum avenaceum (Evergreen Grass; Meadow Oat Grass; Tall Oat Grass). Culms 2 to 4 feet high, erect, rather stout, with four or five leaves each ; the sheaths smooth, the leaves somewhat rough on the upper surface, 6 to 10 inches long, and about 3 lines wide, gradually pointed. The panicle is loose, rather contracted, from 6 to 10 inches long, and rather drooping; the branches very unequal, mostly in fives, the longer ones 1 to 3 inches, and subdivided from about the middle; the smaller branches very short, all rather full-flowered. The spikelets are mostly on short pedicels. The 53 structure of the Howers is similar to that of common oats, but different in several particulars. The spikelet consists of two flowers, the lower of which is staminate only, the upper one both staminate and pistillate; the outer glumes are thin and transparent, the upper ones about 4 lines long and three-nerved, the lower one nearly 3 lines long and one-nerved. The flowering glume is about 4 lines long, green, strongly seven-nerved, lanceolate, acute, hairy at base, roughish, and in the lewer flower gives rise on the back below the middle to a long, twisted, and bent awn; in the upper flower the glume is merely bristle-pointed near the apex. The palet is thin and transparent, linear and two-toothed. This grass is much valued on the continent of Europe. The herbage is very productive and its growth rapid. When growing with other grasses, cattle and sheep eat it very well, but do not like to be confined to it exclusively. It is a perennial grass of strong, vigorous growth, in- troduced from Europe and sparingly cultivated. Protessor Phares, of Mississippi, says: It is widely naturalized and well adapted to a great variety of soils. On sandy or gravelly soils it succeeds admirably, growing 2 to 3 feet high. On rich, dry upland it grows from 5 to 7 feet high. It has an abundance of perennial, long, fibrous roots penetrating deeply in the soil, being therefore less affected by drought or cold, and enabled to yield a large quantity of foliage, winter and summer. These advantages render it one of the very best grasses for the South, both for grazing, being evergreen, and for hay, admitting of being cut twice a year. It is probably the best winter grass that can be obtained. It will make twice as much hay as Timothy. To make good hay it must be cut as soon as it blooms, and after it is cut must not be wet by dew or rain, which damages it greatly in quality and appearance. For green soiling it may be cut four or five times, with favorable seasons. In from six to ten days after bloom- ing the seeds begin to ripen and fall, the upper ones first. It is therefore a little troublesome to save the seed. As soon as those at the top of the panicle ripen suffi- ciently to begin to drop, the panicle should be cut off and dried, when the seeds will all thrash out readily and be matured. After the seeds are ripe and taken off, the long, abundant leaves and stems are still green, and being mowed make good hay. It may be sown in March or April and mowed the same season ; but for heavier yield it is better to sow in September or Octo- ber. Not less than 2 bushels (14 pounds) per acre should be sown. The average an- nual nutriment yielded by this grass in the Southern belt is probably twice as great as in Pennslyvania and other Northern States. A. P. Rowe, Iredericksburgh, Va. : Tall oat grass has been seeded here and does well. It eomes in with orchard grass for hay, and the two might be seeded together with the best results. T. W. Wood & Sons, Richmond, Va.: It is cultivated very generally for pasture and hay; and is the best grass we know for thin soils. It is hardy, stands drought moderately well, is easily subdued, and lasts five or six years. Dr. W. J. Beal, Agricultural College, Michigan : It is cultivated in a few places in the State, proving perfectly hardy, and doing best on deep, porous soils where it stands drought very well, yielding perhaps 3 tons per acre. It makes good pasture, and lasts a long time. J. J. Dotson, Cedarton, Tex. Itis very fair for early spring pastures, and to cut for green feed when it first heads, in March, but it is not liked as hay. It is too light and the seeds fall off too easily. I have never known it cultivated. Thrives only on low bottom-land. (Plate 58.) 54 CYNODON. Cynodon Dactylon (Bermuda Grass). Alow, creeping perennial grass, with abundant short leaves at the base, sending up slender, nearly leafless, flower stalks or culms, which have three to five slender, diverging spikes at the summit. The spikelets are sessile in two rows on one side of the slender spikes; they each have one flower, with a short-pediceled, naked rudi- ment of a second flower; the outer glumes nearly equal, keeled ; the lowering glume boat-shaped, broader, and prominently keeled; the palet narrow, and two-keeled. This is undoubtedly, on the whole, the most valuable grass in the South. It is a native of Southern Europe, and of all tropical coun- tries. It is a common pasture-grass in the West Indies and the Sand- wich Islands, and has long been known in the United States, but the difficulty of eradicating it when once established has retarded its intro- duction into cultivation. Its value, however, is becoming more appre- ciated now that more attention is being given to grass and relatively less to cotton, and better methods and implements of cultivation are being employed. Still, it seems probable, from the reports received, that at the present time a majority of farmers would prefer not to have it on their farms. It seeds very sparingly in the United States, and as the imported seed is not always to be had, and is expensive, and often of poor quality, those who have desired to cultivate it on a large scale have seldom been able to do so. It is generally used as a lawn grass, and to hold levees or railroad embankments, and for small pastures. In some localities, however, it has spread over a considerable extent of territory. Its natural extension into new territory has been slow, owing te the partial or entire absence of seed, but it spreads rapidly by its rooting stems when introduced. It is usually propagated arti- ficially by means of the sets or rooting stems. These are sometimes chopped up with a cutting-knife, sown broadcast, and plowed under not very deeply; sometimes they are dropped a foot or two apart in shallow furrows, and covered by a plow; sometimes pieces of the sod are planted two feet apart each way. By any of these means a continuous sod is obtained in a few months if the soil is good and well prepared. The chief value of Bermuda grass is for summer pasture. It grows best in the hottest weather, and ordinary droughts affect it but little. The tops are easily killed by frosts, but the roots are quite hardy throughout the Southern States. It is grown to some extent as far north as Virginia, but in that latitude it possesses little advantage over other grasses. In Tennessee, according to Professor Killebrew, its chief value is for pasture, there being other grasses there of more value for hay. Farther South, however, it is highly prized for hay. To make the largest quantity and best quality it should be mowed several times during the season. The yield varies greatly according to soil, being generally reported at from a ton and a half to two tons per acre. Much larger yields have been reported, however, in specially favorable local- ities where several cuttings were made. 55 Bermuda grass is more easily eradicted from sandy land than from clay, and on such land may be more safely introduced into a rotation. To kill it out it should be rooted up or plowed very shallowly some time in December and cultivated or harrowed occasionally during the winter. It severe freezes occur most of it will be killed by spring; or it may be turned under deeply in spring and the land cultivated in some hoed crop or one which will heavily shade the ground. M. M. Martin, Comanche, Comanche County, central Texas: Bermuda grass grows on any kind of soil in Texas, but will not stand the tramping of stock on loose, sandy soil. It is hard to beat for a grazing grass, though long droughts cause it to dry up. It is not very early to start in the spring. Whitfield Moore, Woodland, Red River County, northeastern Toxas: Bermuda stands droughts well, is a good fertilizer, grows well from fifteen to twenty years from one planting, then only needs plowing to renew it. It is tolerably easily subdued by shallow turning in early winter, so that it will freeze. It yields heavy crops of hay and can be mowed three times a year. It is tho finest grass I have ever seen for summer grazing, and when inclosed from stock during the summer it is fine winter grazing. It will stop washing, and cause low, wet land to fill up and become dry. E. W. Jones, Buena Vista, Miss. : Bermuda has been a great terror to planters until recently. If plowed shallow late in the fall, and allowed to freeze during winter, there is no trouble to cultivate a crop the next season. The ground becomes perfectly mellow, and though the grass is not dead, it does but little injury to the crop. E. Taylor, Pope's Ferry, Ga.: Nothing kills it except severe freezing. It is the best of all grasses, and thriveson any soil, but best on clay. It furnishes good pasture from May until the middle of November. For winter grazing bur clover is taking its place. The yield of hay is about 2 tons per acre. It will reclaim the poorest lands, and is not very difficult to subdue. It ripens seeds in this State sparingly. J. B. Wade, Edgewood, DeKalb County, northern Georgia: This is about the most northern limit at which Bermuda grass grows in this State. It is beginning to be highly appreciated both for grazing and for hay. It stands drought well, keeping green from May until November. It makes good hay, and can be cut two or three times a year, producing on an average 2} tons of hay per acre. While this is the most northern limit of Bermuda grass, it is also the most southern limit of blue grass. The two growing together on the same land produce a most per- fect pasture, as the blue grass is green nearly all the fall, winter, and spring mon ths, while during the heat of summer, which prevents the growth of the blue grass, the Bermuda flourishes. The two together in good, strong soil make a perfect pasture, good all the year around. Prof. S. M. Tracy, now Director of the Mississippi Agricultural Ex- periment Station, formerly of the Agricultural College, Columbia, Mo.: It has been in cultivation near St. Louis, in one locality only, for many years. It barely survives the winter and would doubtless be destroyed by pasturing. I have noticed it very carefully about New Orleans, where it is by far the most valuable 56 permanent pasture grass, and is thoroughly natnralized, if not anative. It is almost the only grass grown there for winter pasture or for lawns. It stands drought well, and grows anywhere except on very wet gronnd. It can be subdued by one year of thorough cultivation. : Prof. J. B. Killebrew, in “The Grasses of Tennessee,” says: Occasionally the traveler meets with patches of Bermuda grass in the cotton fields of the South, where it is carefully avoided by the planter, any disturbance giving new start to its vigorous roots. Some ditch around 1t, others inclose it and let shrubbery do the work of destruction. It forms a sward so tough that it is almost impossible for a plow to pass through it. It will throw its runners over arock 6 feet across and hide it from view, or it will run down the sides of the deepest gully and stop its washing. It does not, however, endure shade, and in order to obtain a good stand the weeds must be mown from it the first year. It would be a good grass to mix with blue grass, as when it disappears in winter the blue grass and white clover would spring up to keep the ground in a constant state of verdure. This experiment has been tried with eminent success. It grows luxuriantly on the top of Lookout Mount- ain, having been set there many years ago. This mountain is 2,200 feet high, and has, of course, excessively cold winters. (Plate 59.) SPARTINA. A genus of coarse, perennial grasses, growing mainly in marshy grounds, from strong, scaly root stocks. The flowers are produced in one-sided spikes of the pan- icle. The spikelets are closely sessile, and mostly crowded on the triangular axis. They are one-flowered, and much flattened laterally. The empty glumes are unequal strongly compressed and keeled, acute, the keel mostly hispid, the upper one longer than the lower; flowering glume compressed and keeled, awnless; palet about equaling its glume. Spartina cynosuroides (Cord Grass). A coarse and stout grass, growing from 3 to 5 feet high, with leaves 2 to 3 feet long. The top of the culm for about 1 foot is occupied by from five to ten spikes, which are from 11 to 3 inches long, and the spikelets are very closely imbricated. The lower glume is linear-lanceolate, the upper one lanceolate with a long, stiff point. This species has a wide range, from near the coast to the base of the Rocky Mountains. In the Western States it is very common, often forming a large part of the grass of the sloughs and wet marshes of that region. It is frequently cut for hay, but is of inferior quality unless cut very early. i In the bottom-lands of the Mississippi, where it is abundant, it has been manufactured into paper. (Plate 60.) Spartina juncea (Salt Grass ; Marsh Grass). A much smaller species than the preceding, usually 1 to 2 feet high, from a creeping, scaly root stock, the culms rigid and the leaves nearly round and rush-like. There are from two to five spikes, which are 13 to 2 inches long and on short peduncles. This grass forms a large portion of the salt-marshes near the coast. It makes an inferior hay, called salt hay, which is worth about half as much per ton as Timothy and redtop. It is much employed as a pack- ing material by hardware and crockery dealers. (Plate 61.) 57 BOUTELOTA. (GRAMA GRASS.) Spikes single or numerous in a racemose, commonly one-sided panicle; spikelets commonly densely crowded in two rows on one side of the rhachis, each consisting of one perfect flower and a stalked pedicel bearing empty glumes and one to three stiff awns ; outer glumes unequal, acute, keeled, membranaceous ; flowering glume broader, usually thicker, with three to five lobes, teeth, or awns at the apex; palet narrow, hyaline, entire or two-toothed, infolded by its glume. Bouteloua oligostachya (Grama Grass; Mesquite Grass). : This is the commonest species on the great plains. It is frequently called buffalo grass, although that name strictly belongs to another plant (Buchloé dactyloides). Om the arid plains of the West it is the principal grass and is the main reliance for the vast herds of cattle which are raised there. It grows chiefly in small, roundish patches closely pressed to the ground, the foliage being in a dense, cushion-like mass. The leaves are short and crowded at the base of the short stems. The flowering stalks seldom rise over a foot in height, and bear near the top one or two flower spikes, each about an inch long, and from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch wide, standing out at right angles like a small flag floating in the breeze. Where much grazing prevails, however, these flowering stalks are eaten down so much that only the mats of leaves are observable. "In bottom-lands and low, moist ground it grows more closely, and under favorable circumstances forms a pretty close sod, but even then it is not adapted for mowing, although it is sometimes cut, making a very light crop. Under the most favorable circumstances the product of this grass is small compared with the cultivated grasses. It is undoubtedly highly nutritious. Stock of all kinds are fond of it and eat it in preference to any grass growing with it. It dries and cures on the ground so as to retain its nutritive properties in the winter. No attempt is made by stockmen to feed cat- - tle in the winter; they are expected to “rustle around,” as the phrase is, and find their living; and in ordinary winters, as the fall of snow is light, they are enabled to subsist and make a pretty good appearance in the spring; but in severe winters there are losses of cattle, some- times very heavy ones, from want of feed. (Plate 62.) Bouteloua racemosa (Mesquite Grass; Tall Grama Grass). This species ranges from Mexico to British America and east of the Mississippi River, in Wisconsin and Illinois. It is easily distinguished from the others by its taller growth and by the long, slender raceme of twenty to fifty or more slender spikes. These are usually about half an inch long and reflexed. There are from six to ten spikelets on each spike. Although eaten by cattle, especially when made into hay, it is not so much relished as some other kinds. There are about a dozen other species of this genus occurring more or less extensively in the Southwest, chiefly in New Mexico and Arizona, 58 all of which are nutritious grasses, but seldom occurring in sufficient quantity to be particularly important. (Plate 63.) ELEUSINE. Spikes two to five or more, finger-like, at the summit of the culm, sometimes a few scattering ones lower down; spikelets sessile and crowded along one side of the rhachis; two to six (ormore)-flowered, the uppermost flowers imperfect or rudimentary; outer glumes membranaceous, shorter than the spikelet; flowering glumes usually obtuse ; palet folded, two-keeled. Eleusine Indica (Yard Grass; Crow-foot; Crab Grass; Wire Grass). The culms are from 1 to 3 feet high, usually coarse and thick, and very .eafy, es- pecially below. The leaves are long and rather wide. At the top of the culm there are two to five or nore thickish densely-flowered spikes proceeding from a common point, with sometimes one or two scattering ones lower down on the clnm. Ihe spikelets are sessile and crowded along one side of the axis, each being from two to six-flow- ered, the upper flower imperfect or rudimentary ; the outer glumes are membranaceous, shorter than the flowers, the flowering glumes usually obtuse; the palet folded and two-keeled. An annual grass belonging to tropical countries, but now naturalized in most temperate climates. In the Southern States it is found in every door-yard and in all waste places. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: The clumps have many long leaves and stems rising 1 or 2 feet high, and many long, strong, deeply-penetrating, fibrous roots. It grows readily in door-yards, barn- yards, and rich, cultivated grounds, and produces an immense quantity of seeds. If is a very nutritious grass, and good for grazing, soiling, and bay. The succulent lower part of the stems, covered with the sheaths of the leaves, render it difficult to cure well, for which several days are required. It may be cut two or three times, and yields a large quantity of hay. (Plate 64.) Eleusine Zgyptiaca (Crow-foot.) Two species of grass in the Southern States have received the name of crow-foot, viz: Eleusine Indica and Eleusine A gyptiaca, or, as it is sometimes called, Dactyloctenium AFgyptiacum. Dr. H.W. Ravenel, of Aiken, S. C., states that in the lower and middle portions of that State the name of goose grass is generally applied to the former, while the latter is universally called crow foot. FE. Indica, he says, is confined to rich waste places and old yards and gardens, and is rarely or never seen in ordinary cultivated fields, and is never used for hay, because it is found only in tufts and sparsely, whilst E. Zigyptiaca, is as abun-’ dant as crab grass (Panicum sanguinale) in all cultivated fields, and it is commonly used for hay. This is an important distinction, which ought to be generally known and noticed in our popular account of these grasses. (Plate 65.) 59 ‘ BUCHLOE. Buchloé dactyloides (Buffalo Grass). This grass is extensively spread over all the region known as the Great Plains. Itis very low, the bulk of leaves seldom rising more than 3 or 4 inches above the ground, growing in extensive tufts, or patches, and spreading largely by means of stolons or off-shoots similar to those of the Bermuda grass, these stolons being sometimes 2 feet long, and with joints every 3 or 4 inches, frequently rooting and sending up flowering culms from the joints. The leaves of the radical tufts are 3 to 5 inches long, one or one-half line wide, smooth or edged with a few scattering hairs. The flowering culms are chiefly dicecious, but some- times both male and female flowers are found on the same plant, but in separate parts. Next to the grama grass it is, perhaps, the most valuable plant in the support of the cattle of the plains. (Plate 66.) TRIODIA. Spikelets several to many-flowered in a strict spike-like or an open, spreading pan- icle, some of the upper flowers male or imperfect; outer glumes keeled, acute or acutish, awnless; flowering glumes imbricated, rounded on the back, at least below, hairy or smooth, three-nerved, either mucronate, three-toothed, or three-lobed at the apex, or obscurely erose, often hardened, and nerveless in fruit; palet broad, promi- nently two-keeled. Triodia seslerioides (Tall Redtop). This grass grows from 3 to 5 feet high. The culms are very smooth; the leaves are long and flat, the lower sheaths hairy or smoothish. The panicle is large and loose, at first erect, but finally spreading widely. The branches are single or in twos or threes below, and frequently 6 inches long, divided and flower-bearing above the middle. The spikelets are on short pedicels, 3 to 4 lines long and five or six-flowered. The outer glumes are shorter than the flowers, unequal and pointed; the flowering glumes are hairy towards the base, having three strong nerves, which are extended into short teeth at the summit. It isa large and showy grass when fully matured, the panicles being large, spreading, and of a purplish color. It grows in sandy fields, and on dry, sterile banks, from New York to South Carolina and westward. It is eaten by cattle when young, but the mature culms are rather harsh and wiry and not relished by them. It is, however, cut for hay where it naturally abounds. The genus Triodia has its chief distribution in Texas and the adja- cent region, where there are several species which seem to have some importance in the grass supply of these arid districts. Among these are Triodia trinerviglumis, Triodia stricta, Triodia Texana, and Triodia acuminata. These deserve further investigation. (Plate 67.) ARUNDO. Tall grasses with an ample panicle, spikelets two to many-flowered, the flowers rather distant, silky-hairy at the base, and with a conspicuous silky-bearded rhachis, all perfect ; outer glumes narrow, unequal, glabrous, lanceolate, keeled, acute ; flow- ering glumes membranaceous, slender, awl-pointed; palets much shorter than the glumes, two-keeled, pubescent on the keels. j 60 Arundo Donax (Giant Reed Grass). ; This grass is often cultivated for its very ornamental plumes. It is a native of Southern Europe, but is well established on the borders of the Rio Grande River, where it is probably indigenous, and has been recommended for cultivation. PHRAGMITES. Only differing from Arundo in the lowest flower of the spikelets being staminate only and glabrous. Phragmites communis (Reed Grass). A tall, coarse, perennial grass, growing on the borders of ponds and streams, almost rivaling sorghum in luxuriance. It attains a height of 6 to 10 feet; the culms sometimes an inch in diameter, and leaves an inch or two in width. The panicle is from 9 to 15 inches long, loose, but not much spreading, of an oblong or lanceolate form, and slightly nodding. The branches are very numerous, irregularly whorled, 4 to 8 inches leng, much subdivided, and profusely flowering. The largest panicles form very ornamental plumes, almost equal to those of Arundo Donax, so much cultivated for ornamental purposes. It sometimes attains the height of 15 feet. It is resorted to by cattle only when finer and more nutritious grasses fail. (Plate 68.) K@ELERIA. Kceleria cristata. This grass has a very wide diffusion, both in this country and in Europe and Asia. It favors dry hills or sandy prairies, and on the Great Plains is one of the commonest species. It occurs throughout California and extends into Oregon. It varies much in appearance, according to the location in which it grows, these varieties being so striking that they have been considered different species; and perhaps two species ought to be admitted. It is perennial, with erect culms usually from 1 to 2 feet high, and a spike-like panicle varying from 3 to 6 inches in length, and more or less interrupted or lobed at the lower part. When grown in very arid places the culms may be only a foot high, the radical leaves short, and the panicle only 2 inches long. When grown in more favored situations the radical leaves are sometimes 18 inches long, the stem 3 feet, and the panicle 6 inches. The branches of the panicle are, in short, nearly sessile clusters, crowded above, looser and interrupted below. The spikelets are from two to four-flowered. On the prairies west of the Mississippi it is one of the commonest and most useful of the grasses. In Montana it is sometimes called June grass. It is an early grass, ripening about the first of July. (Plate 69.) 61 ERAGROSTIS. Spikelets several; usually many-flowered, pedicellate or sessile, in a loose and spreading, or narrow and clustered panicle; the rhachis of the spikelets usually gla- brous and articulate under the flowering glumes, but often tardily so, and sometimes inarticulate. Outer empty glumes unequal, and rather shorter than the flowering ones, keeled, one-nerved ; flowering glumes obtuse or acute, unawned, three-nerved, the keel prominent, the lateral nerves sometimes very faint; palet shorter than the glume, with two prominent nerves or keels, often persisting after the glume and grain have fallen away. Eragrostis major. This is a foreign grass which has become extensively naturalized, not only in the older States, but in many places in the Western and Southwestern Territories. It is found in waste and cultivated grounds, and on roadsides, growing in thick tufts, which spread out over the ground by means of the geniculate and decumbent culms. The culms are from 1 to 2 feet long, the lower joints bent and giving rise to long branches. The sheaths are shorter than the internodes, the leaves from 3 to 6 inches long. The panicle is frequently 4 or 5 inches long, oblong or pyramidal, somewhat open, but full-lowered; the branches single or in pairs, branched and flowering nearly to its base. This grass is said to have a disagreeable odor when fresh. It produces an abundance of foliage, and is apparently an annual, reaching matu- rity late in the season. We are not aware that its agricultural value has been tested. (Plate 70.) Eragrostis Abyssinica. Eragrostis Abyssinica is a species which has been introduced from Abyssinia, and cultivated in Florida and some of the Southern and Southwestern States, and is said to be remarkably productive and val- uable for hay. Itis an annual grass, growing to the height of 2 to 3 feet. The native Abyssinian name of this grass is ¢“teff,” and from the seeds the Abyssinians make their bread. It may be cultivated with ease at a height of 6,000 or 7,000 feet above the sea-level, where maize can hardly thrive. It comes to maturity in four months, yields forty times its volume of seed, and, in the best variety, is said to make a white, delicious bread.” The traveler Bruce mentions teff with ap- proval, and there is some account of it in other books. The Royal Gardens of Kew obtained a quantity of seed, of which they sent a por. tion to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and by the Department it has been distributed to the agricultural stations for trial. There are many other species, but none of much agricultural importance. DISTICHLIS. Distichlis maritima (Salt Grass; Akaline Grass). It has strong, creeping root stocks covered with imbricated leaf-sheaths, sending up culms from 6 to 18 inches high, which are clothed nearly to the top with the numerous; sometimes crowded, two-ranked leaves, Tho leaves are generally rigid 62 and involute, sharp-pointed, varying greatly in length on different specimens. The plants are dieecious, some being entirely male and some female. The panicle is generally short and spike-like, sometimes, especially in the males, rather loose, with longer, erect branches, and sometimes reduced to a few spikelets. The spikelets are from 4 to 6 inches long and five to ten-flowered, the flowers being usually much compressed. The outer glumes are smooth, narrow, and keeled ; the flowering ones are broader, keeled, acute, rather rigid, and faintly many-nerved. The palets have an infolded margin, the keels prominent or narrowly winged. The pistillate spike- lets are more condensed and more rigid than the staminate. This is described in most botanical works as Bryzopyrum spicatum, but recently the name given by Rafinesque has been accepted and restored to it by Mr. Bentham. It is a perennial grass, growing in marshes near the sea-coast on both sides of the continent and.also abundantly in alkaline soil throughout the arid districts of the Rocky Mountains. Although this can not be considered a first-rate grass for agricultural purposes, it is freely cut with other marsh grasses, and on the alkaline plains of the Rocky Mountains it affords an inferior pasturage. (Plate 71.) DACTYLIS. Dactylis glomerata (Orchard Grass). The culm and leaves roughish, the leaves broadly linear, light green, and five to six on the culm. The panicle is generally but 2 or 3 inches long, the upper part dense from the shortness of the branches; the lower branches are longer and spreading, but with the spikelets glomerated or closely tufted. The spikelets are usually three to four-flowered; one-sided, and on short, rough pedicels. The glumes are pointed and somewhat unequal, the upper one being smaller and thinner than the lower. The flowering glumes are ovate-lanceolate, roughish, and ending in a sharp point or short awn, and are rather longer than the outer glumes. This is one of the most popular meadow grasses of Europe, and is well known to most farmers in the Northern and Eastern States. It isa perennial of strong, rank growth, about 3 feet high. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: Of all grasses this is one of the most widely diffused, growing in Africa, Asia, every country of Europe, and all our States. It is more highly esteemed and commended than any other grass, by a large num- ber of farmers in most countries, a most decided proof of its great value and wonder- ful adaption to many soils, climates, and treatments. Yet, strange to say, though growing in England for many centuries, it was not appreciated in that country till carried there from Virginia in 1764. But, as in the case of Timothy grass, soon after its introduction from America, it came into high favor among farmers, and still re- tains its hold on their estimation as a grazing and hay crop. It will grow well on any soil containing sufficient clay and not holding toc much water. If the land be too tenacious, drainage will remedy the soil; if worn out, a top dressing of stable manure will give it a good send-off, and it will furnish several mowings the first year. 1t grows well between 29 degrees and 48 degrees latitude. It may be mowed from two to four times a year, according to latitude, season, and treatwent, yielding from 1 to 3 tons of excellent hay per acre on poor to medium land. It is easily cured and handled. It is readily seeded and catches with certainty, It grows wellin open Jands and in forests of large trees, the underbrush being all cleared off. I know but one objection to it, Like tall oat grass it is disposed to grow in clumps and leave 63 much of the ground uncovered. This may be obviated by thick seeding, using 23 or, better, 3 bushels of seed per acre. The gaps may be prevented by sowing with it a few pounds of redtop seed. But as the latter multiplies annually from seeds dropping, it would in a few years root out the orchard grass. In common with many others I prefer red clover with orchard grass. It fills the gaps and matures at the same time with the orchard grass; the mixture makes good pasture and good hay; but if mowed more than twice a year, or grazed too soon after the second mowing, the clover will rapidly fail. One peck of red clover seed and 6 pecks of orchard grass seed is good proportion per acre. After being cut it has been found to grow 4 inches in less than three days. Sheep leave all other grasses if they can find this, and acre for acre it will sustain twice as many sheep or other stock as Timothy. Cut at the proper age it makes a much bet- ter hay than Timothy, and is greatly preferred by animals, being easier to masticate, digest, and assimilate; in fact more like green grass in flavor, tenderness, and sola- bility. Mr. J. S. Gould, of New York, says: The testimony that has been collected from all parts of the world for two centuries past establishes the place of this species among the very best of our forage grasses, and we have not a shalow of a doubt that the interests of our graziers and dairymen would be greatly promoted by its more extended cultivation. It is always found in the rich old pastures of England, where an acre of land can be relied on to fatten a bullock and four sheep. It is admirably adapted for growing in the shade, no grass being equal to it in this respect, except the rough-stalked meadow grass (Poa iri- vialis). It receives the name of orchard grass from this circumstance. We have seen it growing in great luxuriance in dense old New England orchards, where no other grass exeept Poa trivialis would grow at all. It affords a good bite earlier in the spring than any other grass except the meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis). It affords a very great amount of aftermath, being exceeded in this respect by no other grass except Kentucky blue grass (loa pratensis), and it continues to send out root-leaves until very late in the autumn. When sown with other grasses its tend- ency to form tussocks is very much diminished ; indeed it is always unprofitable to sow it alone in meadows or pastures, as it stands too thin upon the ground to make a profitable use of the land, and the filling up of the interspaces with other varieties greatly improves the quality of the orchard grass by restraining its rankness and making it more delicate. From Colman’s Rural World : Orchard grass makes good winter pasturage, equally as good as blue grass, and far better pasturage in seasons of drought than blue grass, as it is a deeper and larger- rooted plant and resists drought better. When once established it can be fed as closely as any other grass. and is no harder on land than any other. Indeed, land pastured in orchard grass will continue to improve in fertility. If half of each of our farms were well seeded to orchard grass it would be a great advantage to them. From the Farmer’s Home Journal: This is one of the most valuable of all the grasses, and is better adapted to the South than any other with which we are acquainted. Its rapidity of growth and the luxuriance of its aftermath, its power of enduring drought and the cropping of cattle, commended it highly to the farmer, especially as a pasture grass, and it is rapidly growing in favor. It starts earlier in the spring, and continues growing later in the fall, and starts again more quickly after being cut, than any other grass, thus furnishing both the earliest and latest grazing, Orchard grass is less exhaust- ing to the soil than Timothy, It will endure considerable shade. In a porous sub- soil 1ts fibrous roots extend to a great depth, It does well on any soil of even mod- eravo fertility which is not too wet for grass, and will grow and thrive where no other 64 grass will. It does best on a sandy loam with a porous subsoil, but will grow on 2 sand-bank if made rich enough. When sown alone, we would sow 2 bushels to the acre. From the nature of its growth thick seeding is necessary to secure the best results, and we think the farmer will never regret the extra first cost of sowing two bushels per acre. When sown thickly and properly protected from grazing it forms a close and very durable turf. Nothing will hurt it except plowing. As to time of sowing, it may be sown in August, September, October, February, March, or April, alone, or on wheat, rye, or oats. Hay made from a mixture of this grass with clover is very nutritious, second only to best Timothy hay made, falling very little behind it, while in most lands in the South the yield will exceed that of Timothy. Orchard grass is ready for grazing in the spring ten or twelve days sooner than any other that affords a full bite. When grazed down and the stock turned off, it will be ‘ready for regrazing in less than half the time required for Kentucky blue grass. (Plate 72.) POA. Spikelets somewhat compressed, usually two to five-flowered, in a narrow or loose and spreading panicle, the rhachis between the flowers glabrous or sometimes hairy, the flowers generally perfect, in a few species dicecious; outer glumes com- monly shorter than the flowers, membranaceous, keeled, obtuse or acute, one to three- nerved, not awned ; flowering glumes membranaceous, obtuse ar acute, five or rarely seven-nerved, the intermediate nerves frequently obscure, often scarious at the apex and margins, smooth or pubescent, often with a few loose or webby hairs at the base; palet about as long as the flowering glumes, prominently two-nerved or two- keeled. Poa arachnifera (Texas Blue Grass). This species was first described by Dr. John Torrey in the report of Captain Marcy’s exploration of the Red River of Louisiana, as having been found on the headwaters of the Trinity, and named Poa arach- nifera from the profuse webby hairs growing about the flowers, although it is found that this character is very variable, probably depending somewhat on the amount of shade or exposure to which the grass is sub- jected. Several years ago Mr. Hogan, of Texas, sent specimens of the grass to this Department, and as it was shown to be a relative of the Ken- tucky blue grass, Mr. Hogan adopted for the common name Texas blue grass. We give some extracts from his letters relating to the grass: I find it spreading rapidly over the country, and I claim for it all and more in Texas than is awarded to the Poa pralensis. It seems to be indigenous to all the prairie country between the Trinity River and the Brazos in our State. It blooms here about the last of March, and ripens its seeds by the 15th of April. Stock of all kinds and even poultry seem to prefer it to wheat, rye, or anything else grown in winter. It seems to have all the characteristics of Poa pratensis, only it is much larger, and therefore affords more grazing. I have known it to grow 10 inches in ten days dur- ing the winter. The coldest winters do not even nip it, and although it seems to die down during summer, it springs up as soon as the first rains fall in September, and grows all winter. I haveknown it in cultivation some five years, and have never been able to find a fault in it. It will be ready for pasture in tLree or four weeks after the first rains in the latter part of August or 1st of September. I have never ent it for hay. Why should a man want hay when he can lave green grass to feed his stock on ? on : " 65 Mr. James E. Webb, of Greensborough, Hale County, Ala., writing to the Department December 26, 1888, says: Recent experiments show that the Texas blue grass (Poa arachnifera) flourishes and grows here in west Alabama as finely as could be wished, and is likely ere long to furnish us what we so much need, a fine winter grass. With Texas blue grass, Melilotus and Bermuda grass, Alabama is a fine stock country. Mr. S. C. Tally, of Ellis County, Texas, has sent specimens of this grass. He says it is abundant there, bears heavy pasturing, and makes a beautiful yard or lawn grass. Similar favorable accounts have been received from others. It is likely to prove one of the most valuable grasses for the South and Southwest. By means of its strong stolons or offshoots it multiplies rapidly and makes a dense, permanent sod. It produces an abundance of radical leaves which often become 2 feet in length, and those of the culins are smooth and of good width, about 4 to S inches long and 2 lines wide. The culms are 2 to 3 feet high, each with two or three leaves, with long sheaths and blade, the upper leaf sometimes reaching nearly to the top of the panicle. The ligule is round and short, or lacerated when old. The panicle is from 3 to 8 inches in length, rather narrow, and with short, erect branches of” equal length, in clus- ters of from three to five, the longest seldom 2 inches, most of them short, some nearly sessile and profusely flowering to the base. The spikelets usually contain about five flowers. In many cases there is a remarkable development of long, silky hairs at the base of each flower, but sometimes these are quite absent. (Plate 73.) Poa compressa (English Blue Grass; Wire Grass). This species has sometimes been confounded with the Kentucky blue grass, from which it differs in its flattened, decumbent, wiry stems, its shorter leaves and shorter, narrower, and more scanty panicle. It is found in many old pastures, on dry banks, and in open woods. The culms are hard and much flattened, 1 foot to 18 inches long, more or less decumbent, and frequently bent at the lower joints. The leaves are scanty, smooth, short, and of a dark, bluish-green color. The pan- icle is short and contracted, 1 to 3 inches long. Very contradictory accounts have been given as to its agricultural value, some denouncing it as worthless and others entertaining a good opinion of it. It thrives well on clay or hard, trodden, and poor soils. Hon. J. S. Gould says, respecting it: It is certain that cows that feed upon it both in pasture and in hay give more milk and keep in better condition than when fed on any other grass. Horses fed on this hay will do as well as when fed on Timothy hay and oats combined. These discrepant opinions may be due in part to having mistaken the Poa pratensis for this grass. It is probably a nutritious grass, but from its spare yield can hardly obtain much favor for a hay crop. (Plate 74.) 3594 GR—D 66 Poa pratensis (June Grass; Kentucky Blue Grass; Spear Grass). A perennial grass, growing usually 13 to 2 feet high, with an abundance of long, soft, radical lcaves, and sending off numerous running shoots from the base. The panicle is pyramidal or oblong in outline, from 2 to 4 inches long, the branches mostly in fives, at least below, 1 to 2 inches long, open and spreading, the longer ones flowering above the middle. The spikelets are about 2 lines long, ovate, closely three to five-flowered, mostly on very short pedicels. The ouier glumes are acute; the flowering ones acute or acutish, five-nerved, the lateral nerves prominent, the lower part of the lateral nerves and of the keel more or less hairy, and the base clothed with webby hairs. : There are several well-marked varieties, which are much modified and improved by cultivation. It is indigenous in the mountainous re- gions of this country as well as of Europe, and has been introduced into cultivation in many countries. Its principal use is as a pasture grass and for lawns. For hay-mak- ing there are many other grasses which furnish a heavier and more profitable crop. It is a grass which seems to require special conditions to bring out its best qualities, and hence it is held in very light or very great estimation in different regions. In England it is used but little, and never sown alone, but is generally recommended as a constituent of permanent pastures because of the earliness of its growth. In New Zealand, where it has been introduced, it is considered a curse rather than a blessing, because it overruns alike pastures and cultivated ground, and is as difficult of extermination as quack grass (4Agropyrum repens). It varies much in size and appearance according to the soil in which it grows. In all the Middle and Eastern States it forms the principal constitu- ent of pastures, but in some parts it is not highly esteemed. From the unexampled success its cultivation has met with in Kentucky it has acquired the name of Kentucky blue grass. . The following very valuable notes on this grass are from the pen of Major Alvord, in Cassell, Peter & Co.’s work on Dairy Farming : The Poa pratensis of the botanist has cbtained a very wide reputation as the Ken- tucky blue grass, and led many into the mistaken belief that it was a peculiarly American grass, confined to the famous pastures of the region whence it derived its name. On the contrary, it is one of the most common grasses in nearly all parts of the country, being variably known as June grass, green meadow grass, com- mon spear grass, and Rhode Island bent grass, and it is the well-known smooth- stalked meadow grass, or greensward, of England. There is no grass that accommo- dates itself to any given locality with greater facility, whether it be the Missisippi Valley, New England, Canada, the shores of the Mediterranean, or the north of Rus- sia. It is found thriving upon gravelly soils, alluvial bottoms, and stiff clay lands in the permanent pastures of Missouri, and along the roadsides of Minnesota. Soil and climate cause varieties in its size and appearance, and this protean habit ac- counts for the various names by which it is known. It probably attains its highest luxuriance and perfection as a pasture grass in the far-famed blue grass district of Kentucky. The central part of Kentucky, an area of 15,000 square miles or more, over limestone foundation, seems to be the richest blue grass country. There its seed-stalks are 2 to 3 feet high, with several long, parallel- 67 sided leaves to each plant, and radical leaves often numbering thirty to astalk. The root is perennial and throws off numerous and long-creeping root-stocks, enabling it to form a dense matted tuft. The chief reputation of this grass is as a pasture grass ; the sod is easily obtained and very enduring, there being no such thing known as its running out on good land. Pastures sixty years unbroken afford their owners an annual profit of at least $10 an acre. It starts very early in the spring, and grows rapidly after being grazed off. It will furnish more late feed than most grasses, and no amount of pasturing is sufficient to utterly destroy it. It endures the frosts of winter better than any other grass on the continent, and therefore pushes its way northward into the Arctic Circle. Severe droughts injure blue grass, yet it grows as far south as the hilly parts of Georgia and Alabama, and in Arkansas, not, however, as vigorously as farther north. Although in a drought it often becomes dry enough to burn, it is greedily eaten by stock; it dries full of nourishing properties, and cattle will fatten upon it unless it has been drenched with rains. Blue grass can not be re- commended for the meadow, as it is hard to cut and difficult to cure; the foliage is too short and too light after being dried. It is an excellent grass for lawns, as it makes a dense, uniform mat of verdare, and sends up but one flowering stem a year; for this purpose it is thickly seeded and and kept closely mown. An experienced Kentucky agriculturist says the season of sowing may be any time from August to April. The seed should be sown from 14 to 24 bushels per acre, and lightly brushed in on a well-prepared surface. The seed may be sown on a grain field without any prepara- tion. Some prefer to sow on small grain in February or March, on the snow. One advantage in this is the evenness with which the seed may be sown. If the sowing is done later it would be advisable to harrow the field before suwing it, and roll it afterward. A very loose or open surface is fatal to blue grass in the young state if the weather be the least dry. No stock should be permitted on the grass the first year. Blue grass is sometimes destroyed in sandy soils by cattle, which in grazing pull it up. In stiff clay this is not so likely to happen. (Plate 75.) Poa serotina (Fowl Meadow Grass). Culms erect, 2 or 3 feet high, without running rootstocks. The leaves are nar- rowly linear, 3 to 6 inches long, and 2 to 3 lines wide, the sheaths long, smooth, and striate, the ligules long. The panicle varies with the size of the plant, from 5 to 10 or 12 inches long and 1 to 3 inches wide and lax; the branches mostly in fives or more numerous, nearly erect, from 1 to 4 inches long, the longer ones subdivided and flowering above the middle. There are some mountain forms or varieties in which the culms are 1 foot or less in height and the panicle greatly reduced. The spike- lets are 1 to2 lines long, two to five-flowered, on short pedicels. The outer glumes are about 1 line long and sharp-pointed. The flowering glume is rather obtuse, the lateral nerves not prominent, slightly pubescent on the margins below, and somewhat webby at the base. This species is most common in the Northern States, particularly in New England, New York, and westward to Wisconsin, and also in re- duced forms in all mountainous districts. Professor Beal says: The name fowl meadow grass is said to have been applied to this grass because ducks and other wild water-birds were supposed to have introduced the grass into a poor, low meadow in Dedbam, Mass, 68 Mr. J. 8. Gould, ot New York, says: I have found it to grow on almost every kind of soil, but it attains the greatest perfection in a rich, moist one. It is one of those grasses that thrive best when combined with others; it will not make a superior turf of itself, but it adds much to the value of a sward from its nutritive qualities and powers of early and late growth. As it perfects an abundance of seed it may be easily propagated. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: In portions of the Western States the grass has for some years been very highly recommended. In the Eastern States it has been cultivated for one hundred and fifty years or longer and valued highly. Jared Elliott, in 1749, spoke of it as grow- ing tall and thick, making a more soft and pliable hay than Timothy and better adapted for pressing and shipping for use of horses on shipboard. He says it makes a thick abundant growth on land more moist than is adapted to common upland grasses, and may be mowed any time from June to October, as it never becomes so coarse and hard, but the stalk is sweet and tender and eaten without waste. It has not been sufficiently cultivated in the Southern States, so far as I am aware, to know how long a meadow set with it may remain profitable. It is, however, worthy of extended trial. Mr. Charles L. Flint says: It grows abundantly in almost every part of New England, especially where it has been introduced and cultivated in suitable ground, such as the borders of rivers and intervals occasionally flooded. It never grows so coarse or hard but that the stalk is sweet and tender, and eaten without waste. It is easily made into hay, and is a nutritive and valuable grass. (Plate 76.) Poa tenuifolia. This species, in several varieties, is common in California, Oregon, Montana, etc., and is one of the numerous bunch grasses referred to in the accounts of the wild pasturage of that country. The foliage of some forms is scanty, but of others the radical leaves are long and abundant. It is stated that the Indians gather its seeds for food. (Plate 77.) Poa trivialis (Rough-stalked Meadow Grass). This species very much resembles the Poa pratensis. It is distin- guished chiefly by its having rough sheaths, by its long, pointed ligules, its fibrous roots, and the smooth, marginal nerves of the flowering glumes, whereas in Poa pratensis the sheaths are smooth, the ligules obtuse, the root stock running, and the marginal nerves of the flowering glumes are hairy. It has been little cultivated by itself in this country, but is sometimes found in low meadows or on the banks of shaded streams. It flourishes best in low or wet ground and in shaded situations, and is not so well adapted to general cultivation as the blue grass. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: It is especially adapted to wood pastures, as it delights in shade, banks of streams, and moist ground generally. It bears tramping, and is an excellent pasture grass. It makes a good mixture with redtop and tall oat grass, and with other pasture grasses. 69 Poa trivialis var. occidentalis: This grass, apparently a variety of Poa trivialis, appears to be indige- nous. in Colorado and New Mexico. It has a larger, looser panicle than the introduced plant. : Poa andina. This is a smooth, rigid, perennial grass, growing on the great west- ern plains in arid situations. It varies in height from 1 to 2 feet, with short, rigid, pointed root-leaves, and with usually one or two stem- leaves, the upper one with a very short blade, or almost none. The panicle is close and rather dense, 2 to 3 inches long, the spikelets about three flowered, the empty glumes rather large and broad, and the flowering glumes pubescent on the nerves below. It is probable that this species may be introduced with advantage into cultivation in the arid districts of the West. (Plate 78.) GLYCERIA. Spikelets terete or flattish, several to many-flowered, in anarrow or diffuse panicle, the rhachis smooth, and readily disarticulating between the flowers; outer glumes shorter than the flowers, unequal, membranaceous, one to three-nerved, unawned; flowering glume membranaceous to subcoriaceous, obtuse, awnless, more or less hya- line and denticulate at the apex, rounded (never keeled) on the back, five to nine- nerved, the nerves separate, and all vanishing before reaching the apex; palet about. as long as its glume, two-keeled, entire or bifid at the apex. The species of this genus are seldom employed in cultivation. They mostly grow in wet or swampy ground, and where found in abundance can be utilized for pasturage or hay-making. Glyceria arundinacea (Tall Meadow Grass; Reed Meadow Grass). This species is widely diffused in the northern portions of the United States and Canada, and in the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Mon- tana. It has a stout, erect, leafy culm, 3 to 4 feet high. The leaves are a foot or two long, a quarter to half an inch wide, flat, and some- what rough on the edges. The panicle is large, 9 to 15 inches long, and much branched. (Plate 79.) Glyceria Canadensis (Rattlesnake Grass; Tall Quaking Grass). The culms stout, about 3 feet high, smooth and leafy. The leaves linear-lanceo- late, 6 to 9 inches long, or the lower ones much longer, about 4 lines broad and rather rigid. The panicle large and effuse, 6 to 9 inches long, oblong, pyramidal, and at length drooping. The whorls an inch or more distant, the branches semi-verticillate, mostly in threes, the largest 3 to 4 inches long, and subdivided from near the base. A grass belonging to the northern portion of the United States, usu- ally found in mountainous districts, in swamps, and on river borders, growing in clumps. It is quite an ornamental grass, resembling the quaking grass (Briza). Cattle are fond of it, both green and when made into hay. It is well adapted to low meadows. 70 Glyceria fluitans (Floating Manna Grass). Culms are usually 3 to 4 feet high, rather thick and succulent, and quite leafy. The leaves are 4 to 9 inches long, and 3 to 4 lines wide. The panicle is often a foot long, very narrow, the short distant branches mostly in twos or threes, 1 or 2 inches long, erect and close, each having usually two or four spikelets. The spikelets are half an inch to three-quarters of an inch in length, rather cylindrical and nearly of the same thickness throughout, seven to thirteen-flowered. This species grows in shallow water on the margins of lakes, ponds, and sluggish streams. Hon. J. S. Gould says: This grass is found growing in shallow water, overflowed meadows, and wet woods, but will bear cultivation on moderately dry grounds. Schreber says that it is enlti- vated in several parts of Germany, for the sake of the seeds, which form the manna crop of the shops, and are considered a great delicacy in soups and gruels. When ground into meal they make bread, very little inferior to that made from wheat. In Poland large quantities of the seed are obtained for culinary purposes. All granivor- ous birds are exceedingly fond of these seeds. Tront, and indeed most fish, are very fond of them ; wherever it grows over the banks of streams the trout are always found in great numbers waiting to catch every seed that falls. - There is a great difference of opinion among agricultural writers with respect to the fondnesss of animals for the leaves and culms of this grass. We have often seen the ends of the leaves cropped by cattle, but have never seen the culms or root-leaves touched by them. On the other hand, reliable writers have asserted that cattle, horses, and swine were alike fond of it. Glyceria nervata (Nerved Meadow Grass). This is similar in appearance to the tall meadow grass, but is smaller, with a lighter panicle and smaller flowers. It has also much the same general! range. It usually grows along the wet margins of streams and swamps. It is nutritious and might be advantageously mixed with other grasses in wet grounds. It is especially abundant in the Rocky Mountains. It is sometimes improperly called fowl meadow grass. No attention has been given to its cultivation in this country. In the Woburn Agricultural Experiments conducted in England by the Duke of Bedford, this grass was under trial, and was very highly esteemed. Mr. Sinclair states that in February, 1814, after the severe winter pre- ceding, this grass was perfectly green and succulent, while not one species of grass, out of nearly three hundred that grew around it re- mained in a healthy state, but were all inferior and more or less injured by the severity of the weather. The aftermath was found fo be re- markably abundant and nutritive. It was found to be adapted to most soils except such as were tenacious. Mr. Sinclair also said that further experience in the cultivation of the grass enabled him to state that it possesses very valuable properties, and that it will be found a valuable ingredient in permanent pastures, where the soil is not too dry, but of a medium quality as to moisture and dryness. (Plate 80.) 4) FESTUCA. Spikelets three to many-flowered, variously panicled, pedicellate, rhachis of the spikelets not hairy ; outer glumes unequal, shorter than the flowers, the lower one- nerved, and the upper three-nerved, narrow, keeled, acute; flowering glume mewm- branaceous, charfaceous, or subcoriaceous, narrow, rounded on the back (not keeled), more or less distinctly three to five-nerved, acute or tapering into a straight awn, rarely obtusish ; palet narrow, flat, prominently two-nerved or two-keeled. Festuca elatior (Meadow Fescue Grass; Tall Fescue ; Randall Grass). A perennial grass, growing from 2 to 4 feet high, with flat, broadish leaves about a foot long. The panicle is somewhat one-sided, loose, and spreading when in flower, contracted after flowering, from 6 to 10 inches long, the branches 1 to 2 inches long, erect, mostly in pairs below, single above, subdivided; the spikelets are lanceolate or linear, about half an inch long, five to ten-flowered. The flowering glume is lance- olate, about three lines long, firm in texture, five-nerved, scarious at the margin, acute, and sometimes with a short but distinct awn at the apex. This is an introduced species now frequently met with in meadows; it is one of the standard meadow grasses of Europe. Cattle are said to be very fond of it, both green and as hay. There is a smaller form or variety, which is the variety pratensis or Festuca pratensis, Hudson. Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, writes of it as follows: This grass has received some attention in different parts of the State, and has met with a warm reception from those testing it. It ripens its seeds long before any other grass, and consequently affords a very early nip to cattle. It has been raised under various names in Virginia, as ¢ Randall grass,” and in North Carolina as ‘‘ evergreen grass.” Mr. James Taylor, writing from North Carolina, says : The evergreen grass is very good for pasturing through the falland winter. It will do best when sown on dry land, and is well adapted to sheep. It grows well on rocky soil to the height of 4 or 5 feet when ripe, continuing green in the spring, and af- fording fine herbage throughout the winter. It is best to sow in the spring, with oats. A peck of well-cleaned seed is enough for an acre, or a bushel in the chaff. It ripens about the first of June. If sown in the spring this grass will not go to seed before the next year, but if sown in the fall it will bring seed the next spring. From the limited cultivation it has met with in Tenneesee, it seems to be better adapted to moist, low lands, though I have seen it growing on some of the high ridges of East Tennessee, at least 1,500 feet above the sea. There it thrives luxuriantly, and makes a very superior pasture. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: It grows well in nearly all situations, wet or dry, on hill or bottom land, even though subject to overflow, and matures an extraordinary quantity of seed. The seeds germinate readily, and it is easy to set a piece of land with this grass. Seeded alone, 28 pounds, or about 2 bushels of seed, should be sown broadcast in August, September, October, or from the middle of February to the 1st of April. From re- maining green through the winter it is sometimes called ‘‘ evergreen grass” Mowed and dried it makes a good hay, muchrelished by stock. : (Plate 81.) 72 Festuca ovina (Sheeps’ Fescue). A densely tufted, perennial grass, with an abundance of rather narrow, sometimes involute, short, radical leaves, and slender culms, 1 to 13 feet high. The panicle is 2 to 4 inches long, narrow, the branches mostly single and alternate, erect and few- flowered ; the spikelets are mostly three to five-flowered, and about 3 lines long; the outer glumes are acute and narrow. The flowering glumes are lanceolate, two lines long, roughish, and with a short, rough awn about half a line long. This species has many varieties both in this country and in Europe. It is indigenous in the mountainous parts of New England, in the Rocky Mountains, and in various northern localities. As found in cultivation it has been derived from Europe. Hon. J. S. Gould, of New York, says: It forms the great bulk of the sheep pastures of the highlands of Scotland, where it is the favorite food of the sheep, and where the shepherds believe it to be more nutri- tious for their flocks than any other. Gmelin says that the Tartars choose to encamp during the summer where this grass is most abundant, because they believe that it affords the most wholesome food for all cattle, but especially for sheep. Nature dis- tributes it among dry, sandy, and rocky soils, where scarcely any other species would grow. It is without doubt the very best of the grasses growing on sandy soils. It roots deeply, and forms a dense, short turf, which adapts it admirably for lawns and pleasure grounds, where the soil is sandy. It is almost useless as a hay crop, as its leaves and culms are too fine to give a remunerative amount of hay ; it is only as a pasture grass on sandy soils that it is valnable ; and in these, when highly manured, itis driven out by the more succulent species. It is often found 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. Its seeds weigh about 14 pounds to the bushel. (Plate 82.) Festuca scabrella (Bunch Grass). The culms are usnally 2 to 3 feet high, erect, and smooth; the radical leaves are numerous, about half as long asthe culms, generally rigid, involute, and scabrouson the margins; the blade is prone to separate when old, leaving an abundance of leaf- less sheaths at the base ; the cauline leaves are about two, short and pointed, 2 to 4 inches long ; the sheaths scabrous, the ligule short or wanting ; the panicle is usually 3 to 5 inches long. : A perennial grass growing in strong clumps or bunches, and hence called “bunch grass.” It is a native of the Rocky Mountain region, from Colorado westward to California and Oregon. In Montana it is called the great bunch grass and is one of the prin. cipal grasses of that country. It is the prevailing species on the foot- hills and mountain slopes at from 6,000 to 7,000 feet altitude. “It is rather too hard a grass for sheep. but there is no grass more valued on the ¢ summer ranges’ for cattle and horses. It makes excellent hay for horses and is cut in large quantities for this purpose. It grows in large tussocks, making it rather a difficult grass to mow with a ma- chine.” . It is one of the most important grasses of eastern Oregon and Washington. (Plate 83.) 73 BROMUS. (BROME GRASS.) Spikelets five to many-flowered, in a dense, or lax, or diffuse panicle; the rhachis between the flowers glabrous; outer glumes more or less unequal, shorter than the lowest flower, membranaceous, acute, awnless, or short mucronate, one to nine- nerved ; flowering glume from membranaceous to rigid, and subcoriaceous, rounded on the back- or compressed and keeled, five to nine-nerved, acute, and awned from below the mostly two-cleft apex ; palet rather shorter than the glumes, two-keeled, the keels rigid and ciliate; grain adhering to the palet. Bromus secalinus (Chess; Cheat). It is an old tradition which some farmers still cling to that chess isa degenerated wheat; that the action of frost and other causes occasion the deterioration, whereas the truth undoubtedly is that chess seed was either in the land or in the seed sown, and, being more hardy than wheat, it survived the frost and took possession of the ground. Some years ago this grass had a temporary popularity under the name of Willard’s brome grass, but it was soon abandoned when brought into competition with better grasses. In the South it would perhaps be a good winter grass, like its relative Bromus unioloides, but it is not as vigorous a grass as that species, and does not produce such an abundance of foliage. (Plate 84.) Bromus unioloides (Schrader’s Grass; Rescue Grass). In its early growth it spreads and produces a large amount of leaves; early in the spring it sends up its flower stalks, which grow about 3 feet high, with a large, open, spreading panicle, the ends of the branchlets bearing the large, flattened spike- lets, which, when mature, hang gracefully npon their stems, giving them quite an ornamental appearance. These spikelets are from 1 inch to 14 inches in length, and composed of two acute, lanceolate glumes at the base, and from seven to ten flowers, arranged in two rows alternate on each side of the axis. The flowers are lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, the flowering glume extending into a fine point or short awn. This is one of the so-called winter grasses; that is, it makes, in the South, a large share of its growth during the winter months. During several years past this grass has been sent to the Depart ment, chiefly from Louisiana and Texas, and has been much com- mended. Many years since the same grass was distributed and experi- mented with under the name of Australian oats, or Bromus Schradert. It is not adapted to use in a country with severe winters, and hence did not give satisfaction in all places. : Mr. C. Mohr, of Mobile, says of it: Only of late years found spreading in different parts of this State; makes its ap- pearance in February, grows in tufts, its numerous leafy stems growing from 2 to 3 feet high; it ripens the seed in May; affords in the earlier months of spring a much-relished, nutritious food, as well as good hay. It is said to have been introduced into Georgia by General Iverson, of Columbus, and by him called rescue grass. The favorable opinion which it at first received does not seem to have been well sustained in that State. 74 Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: This grass is also called Bromus Schraderi, Bromus Willdenovii,Ceratochloa unioloides, and Festuca unioloides. It is an annual winter grass. It varies in the time of start- ing growth. Ihave seen it ready for mowing the first of October, and furnish fre- quent cuttings till April. Again, it may not start before January nor be ready to cut till February. This depends on the moisture and depression of temperature of the fall, the seeds germinating only at a low temperature. When once started, its growth after the successive cuttings or grazings is very rapid. It is tender, very sweet, and stock eat it greedily. It makes also a good hay. It produces an im- mense quantity of leaves. On loose soil some of it may be pulled up by animals grazing it. (Plate 85.) : Bromus ciliatus. A tall, coarse species, much addicted to rocky woodlands, but of no agricultural value. LOLIUM. Spikelets several-flowered, solitary on each joint of the continuous rhachig of the simple spike, placed edgewise against the rhachis, the glume wanting on the inside, the outer empty glume nearly as long as, or longer than, the spikelets; flowering glume rounded on the back, not keeled ; palet shorter, two-keeled. Lolium perenne (Italian Rye Grass). A perennial grass, introduced from Europe. The culms are 2 to 3 feet high, very leafy, and terminating in a loose, spike-like panicle, 6 inches or more in length. The spikelets are arranged alternately on the axis, placed edgewise ; that is, with one edge of the flat spikelet applied to the main stem at short distances, so that there may be twenty or more in the panicle. The spikelets are one-half to three-fourths of an inch long; generally seven to eleven-flowered. The inver empty glume is gen- erally wanting, so that, except on the terminal spikelets, only one glume is apparent, which is half or more than half the length of the spikelet, narrowly lanceolate, and acute. The general appearance of the panicle is like that of couch grass (4gropyrum repens). Theflowering glumes are thickish, obscurely nerved, rather hispid, acutely pointed, or, in the variety Italicum, with a rather long awn. The proper palets are similar to the flowering glumes, and of nearly equal length. An intelligent writer whom we have frequently quoted, says, respect- ing this grass: It occupies the same place in Great Britain that Timothy does with us, and is there esteemed, on the whole, higher than any other species of grass, and is called rye grass or ray grass. Of all the varieties of Lolium perenne which are known, that called Italicum is by far the most valuable. Its spikelets are conspicuously bearded, the flowers being all terminated by long, slender awns, which character distinguishes it very-easily from Lolium perenne. Its name (Italian rye grass) is derived from the fact that its native habitat is on the plains of Lombardy, where broad and extensive plains of pasture land are frequently inundated by the mountain streams which intersect them. It is mainly adapted to irrigated meadows, and in these it is undoubtedly superior to any other grass. Professor Phares says: This grass stands drought well and grows most luxuriantly in our Southern States. If not kept grazed or mowed, however, the leaves cover the ground so deeply and densely that an excess of rainin very hot weather in the extreme South causes it 5 to rot suddenly, destroying even the roots. This I have never seen or heard men- tioned by any other person, but it occurred on my own farm one season, where I was reserving a lot for seed. (Plate 86.) Lolium temulentum (Poison Darnel). This species is frequently found in grain fields. The seeds have long enjoyed a reputation of being poisonous to stock, and also to man- kind when mixed in large quantity with the wheat or rye used in the making of bread. The question seems hardly yet decided, but it is best to exterminate the grass as a weed and a pest. AGROPYRUM. Spikelets several-flowered (three to nine, or more), compressed, alternately sessile on the continuous or slightly-notched rhachis of the simple spike, and with the side against the rhachis; outer glumes nearly equal and opposite, membranaceous or herbaceous, one to three-nerved, scarcely keeled, tapering to a point or awned; the flowering similar to the outer ones, rounded on the back; three to seven-nerved, pointed or awned from the apex; palet nearly as long as its glume, the two prominent nerves almost marginal, scabrous ciliate. Agropyrum glaucum (Blue Stem ; Bluejoint). This species, which has been considered a variety of the next, pre- vails on the Western plains from Texas to Montana, and is well known to stockmen. It differs from Agropyrum repens in having a stiffer, more erect and rigid stem and leaves, the leaves often becoming involute. It is generally of a light, bluish-green color. The spike is generally shorter, denser, and with larger spikelets. Professor Scribner, writing of this grass in Montana, says: It is the most highly praised of the native grasses for hay. Wherever it occupies exclusively any large area of ground, as it does frequently in the lower districts, especialy near Fort Benton, it is cut for hay. Naturally it does not yield a great bulk, but its quality is unsurpassed. After two or three cuttings the yield of hay diminishes so much that it is scarcely worth the harvesting. It isthen customary to drag a short-toothed harrow over the sod, which breaks np the creeping roots or underground stems, and each fragment then makes a new plant. The same valuable opinion of this grass is entertained by stockmen in Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico. It occurs nearly everywhere, but sparsely, on the plains, and extending quite up into the mountains. In the valleys and along streams it frequently forms large patches and grows closer and more abundant, when it is commonly cut for winter use. (Plate 87.) : I Agropyrum repens (Couch Grass; Quack Grass). There has been a good deal of discussion relative to this grass, some pronouncing it one of the vilest of weeds, and others claiming for it high nutritive qualities overweighing all the disadvantages of its growth. Whichever party may be right, it is proper that farmers should be ac- quainted with it in order to know how to treat it, and hence our de- scription. It forms a dense sod by means of its far-reaching rhizomas or root stocks, which have short joints, and roots tenaciously at every joint. 76 It bas an abundance of foliage, and sends up a flowering culm 2 to 3 feet high, which is terminated by a close, narrow spike of flowers from 3 to 6 inches long. This spike consists of a succession of closely set spikelets, one at each joint of the axis, and placed flatwise with the side against the stalk. Each spikelet contains several (three to eight) flow- ers, with a pair of nearly equal and opposite three to five-nerved glumes at the base. Hon. J. S. Gould says: The farmers of the United States unite in one continuous howl of execration against this grass, and it seems strange, when every man’s hand is against it, that it is not exterminated. Yet, we could never really satisfy ourselves that its presence in meadows and pastures was such an unmitigated curse. In lands where alternate husbandry is practiced it must be admitted to be an evil of great magnitude. Its hardiness is such, and its rapidity of growth is so great, thatit springs up much more rapidly than any other crop that can be planted, and chokes it. Still, it has many virtues. It is perfectly cosmopolitan in its habits. It is found in all sorts of soil and climates. Its creeping roots are succulent and very nutritive, and are greedily de- voured by horses and cows. (Plate 88.) Agropyrum tenerum. This grass prevails in the Rocky Mountain region from New Mexico to Oregon, and has been commonly called a variety of Agropyrum re- pens, from which it differs essentially in wanting the running root. stalks, in a narrower, nearly cylindrical spike, and in growing in clumps. It occurs mostly in low, moist grounds, and, like the Agropyrum glaucum, it is one of the best grasses for hay. It ripens in July, and affords very little feed thereafter. HORDEUM. Inflorescence a dense spike, with two or three spikelets at each joint of the notched rhachis ; spikelets one-flowered, with an awl-shaped rudiment of a second flower, the central spikelet of the cluster perfect and sessile, the lateral ones short-stalked and imperfect or abortive ; outer glumes side by side, two to each spikelet, usually slender and awn-pointed, or bristle form ; flowering glume herbaceous, shorter, oblong, or lanceolate, rounded on the back, not keeled, five-nerved, acute or long-awned ; palet shorter, two-keeled. Hordeum jubatum (Wild Barley; Squirrel-tail Grass). On the sea-coast and saline soil in the interior, especially on the Rocky Mountains, It has no agricultural value, but its long-barbed awns are injurious to the mouths of cattle. Hordeum murinum. Professor Brewer states that this grass, unfortunately, is extensively naturalized in California and is a vile pest; it comes in when land is overstocked ; is known there as “squirrel grass,” “squirrel tail,” ¢fox- tail,” and “white oats.” The heads break up and the barbed seeds work into the wool of sheep and even into the flesh of lambs, killing them. It damages the eyes and throats of animals. 17 Hordeum pratense. 4 An annual or biennial grass growing principally in alkaline soil in the Western States and Territories. It is eaten by cattle when in a young state, but when mature it 1s worthless and pestiferous on account of its barbed awns. ELYMUS. Spikelets two to four at each joint of the rhachis of the simple stout spike, sessile, one to six-flowered ; outer glumes two for each; spikelets nearly side by side in its front, forming a kind of involucre for the cluster, narrow, rigid, one to three-nerved, acuminate or awned ; flowering glumes herbaceous, rather shorter, oblong or lan- ceolate, rounded on the back, not keeled, acute or awned ; palet shorter than its glume, two-keeled. Elymus Canadensis (Wild Rye; Rye Grass ; Lyme Grass). A perennial, coarse grass, growing on river banks and in rich, shaded woods. In some localities, especially on moist prairies and banks in the west, it is quite common and is cut for hay. It should be cut early to be of value. (Plate 89.) Elymus condensatus (Giant Rye Grass.) This is a perennial grass, ranging from San Diego throughout Cali- fornia, and into Oregon and Washington Territory, also in the Rocky Mountain region of the interior. Itis very variable, but always a strong, heavy-rooted, coarse grass, from 3 to 5 or even to 12 feet high. Mr. Bo- lander states that it seems to do excellent service by fixing the soil on the banks of creeks and rivers. In the larger forms the culms are half an inch thick. The leaves are smooth, 2 feet long and an inch wide or more, and the panicle 8 to 14 inches long and 14 inches thick. As it usually occurs in arid grounds, it is from 3 to 6 feet high, the leaves about 1 foot long and half an inch wide, and the spike-like panicle 4 to 8 inches. In the large form the branches of the panicle are subdivided and 1 or 2 inches long. Mr. W. C. Cusick, of Oregon, says: This is a very valuable grass, commonly known as rye grass. In Baker County large quantities are cut for hay, for which it is said to be excellent. It is also much used as a winter forage plant. Cattle are driven into the dry bottoms, where it grows, and live upon it when the shorter grasses are covered with snow. (Plate 90.) Elymus triticoides. This has been considered a variety of Elymus condensatus, from which it differs in having strong runners, and not growing in thick clumps, but scattering and singly. Mr. Cusick says it is a valuable griss in Oregon, and cut for hay in wild meadows. Elymus Virginicus (Wild Rye Grass; Terrell Grass). The culm is rather stout, 2 to 3 feet high, leafy ; the lower leaves are 10 to 15 inches long, broad and rough. The sheath of the upper leaf usually incloses the stalk, and sometimes the base of the flower-spike. This spike is erect, dense, and rigid, 2 to 4 or 5 inches long, and one-half inch thick. The epikelets are two or three to- 8 gether at each joint, all alike and fertile, sessile, two to five-flowered, and each with a pair of empty glumes. These glumes are very thick and coarse, strongly nerved, lanceolate and bristle-pointed, about 1 inch long. The flowering glumes terminate in a stiff, straight awn, half an inch to nearly an inch long, the lowest one in the spikelets having the longest awn, the others gradually shorter. The palet is oblong, obtuse, and as long as the flowering glume, excluding the awn. A coarse, perennial grass, growing on alluvial river banks, or in rich, low grounds. This grass frequently forms a considerable portion of native meadow lands, and makes a coarse hay. It starts growth early in the spring, and thus affords a good pasturage. Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, says it is very valuable and ought to be tried in cultivation. Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says: This perennial grass is a native of the Southern States. As all farm stock, except hogs, are fond of it, and it is green through the winter and spring, it has been de- stroyed when grazing animals have access to it at all times. It is, however, found in many of our States, along the banks of wooded streams, of ditches, and in fence cor- ners among briers and thickets. It will grow on thin clay, gravelly, or sandy soil, but much better on rich lands, dry or rather moist, and will thrive ten, twenty, or more years on the same land. (Plate 91.) ARUNDINARIA. Spikelets many-flowered, flattened, racemose or paniculate, the uppermost flowers imperfect ; outer glumes very small, membranaceous, the upper one larger ; lowering glumes much larger, membranaceo-herbaceous, convex on the back, not keeled, many- nerved, acuminate, mucronate, or bristle-pointed; palet shorter than its glume, prominently two-keeled. Arundinaria tecta (Switch Cane; Small Cane). Professor Phares, of Mississippi, says of this grass: This largest of our grasses has a hard, woody stem from one-half to 3 inches in diame- ter, and from 10 to 40 feet high, erect, tapering from near the base, jointed every 8 to 12 inches for one-half the length or more, then the joints becoming shorter and smaller to the top; leaves 1 to 2 inches wide, persistent, on clustered, spreading branches which also are jointed and appear the second year. On rich land in spring the young stems shoot up full size, ten or twenty feet high, and are as crisp as asparagus, and by some persons as much relished. Hogs, cattle, and other animals are fond of the young plants and seeds. The age at which the large cane blooms has not been defi- nitely decided. It probably varies with the latitude, soil, and surroundings, from ten to thirty years. When the seeds mature the cane dies. Grazing animals feed greedily on the leaves in the winter and find protection from the driving rains and piercing winds under the dense roof of the canebrake or thicket. The stews are used for fishing-rods, scaffolds for drying cotton, for pipe-stems and pipes, and splints for baskets, mats, and other purposes. The small cane is different in habit from the large ‘cane. It blooms sometimes two or more consecutive years without dying down to the root. Live stock like it as well as the large cane. Both grow best on rich lands, hills, or bottoms; but they will grow on thin clay soil, improve it, and if pro- tected from stock, rapidly extend by sending out long roots (rootstocks) with buds. The small cane is found sparingly as far north as Baltimore, Md. The large cane is probably confined to the Gulf States, but this is un- certain. CULTIVATED FORAGE PLANTS OTHER THAN GRASSES. Order LEGUMINOS.E. The CLOVER FAMILY. This order is characterized by having alternate, usually compound, leaves, with stipules ; flowers polypetalous, the calyx mostly five-lobed, the corolla generally with five irregular petals, usually ten stamens, sometimes five, or many, usually united by the filaments, or nine united and one free, or sometimesall distinct; the ovary a one- celled carpel, becoming a legume or pod with few or many seeds, the pod sometimes marked into joints called loments. The order embraces an immense number of plants of varying char- acter, some small and insignificant, some trees of large size. Many of the most useful vegetable products are obtained from it. TRIFOLIUM. (THE CLOVERS.) This genus is one of the most useful of the order and embraces a large number of species, several of which are well known in cultivation. The genus is characterized by having the leaves mostly trifoliate; that is, made up of three leaflets at the end of the leaf-stalk; some species have five or more leaflets, either close together at the end of the leaf-stalk or somewhat scattered in opposite pairs. The flowers are collected in roundish oroblong heads, with or without a gen- eral involucre. The calyx is five-toothed, the petals five, irregular, persistent ; nine stamens united and one free; the pod small, mostly inclosed in the calyx, and one to four-seeded. Trifolium pratense (Red Clover; Common Clover). Red clover is so well known to the agricultural community that it requires very little description. It is usually a perennial of a few years duration, a native of Europe and Asia, but early introduced into this country. Its cultivation is said to have begun in Lngland about two hundred and fifty years ago. It is one of the most important of culti- vated crops, both for feed for animals and as an improver of the soil. A writer in the Country Gentleman says : No matter how mismanaged, clover is a benefit, and whatever else he may do, the farmer who grows clover is making his farm better. It does not need cultivating ; the long deep-reaching roots mellow and pulverize the soil as nothing else can. If it grows thriftily the top acts as a mulch, seeding the ground and keeping it moist. A crop of 2 tons or more of clover plowed under or cut for hay can hardly fail to leave the ground better than it was before. It should be the farmer's aim to grow the largest possible crop of clover. 79 80 The Rural New Yorker says: Ten acres of good clover are worth more than so much wheat, if the value of what is left in the ground by the clover is taken into account. When a crop of wheat is taken the ground is exhausted of so much of its fertility, which is carried off in the wheat, but when a crop of clover is taken the soil is actually in better condition than before, and is good enough to yield a crop of wheat or corn. A Wisconsin farmer says: If you want to clear your land of weeds, sow clover and sow it thick. If you want to grow big corn-crops, grow clover and pasture off with hogs. Plow up the land in the fall, and the corn-crop following will make you happy. If you want to makerich farms and make money, grow clover, corn, and hogs. Professor Beal says: Red clover is well adapted to many portions of the temperate regions of the earth. It likes best a soil of clay loam, rich in lime, but will thrive better than Timothy and most other true grasses where the land is sandy or gravelly. On good grass-land it is usually the custom to sow Timothy with red clover, although it blossoms some three weeks later. Many prefer to sow orchard grass with clover, as they flower and are ready to cut at the same time. Timothy is well adapted to sow with the large, late, or mammoth clover. There. are some portions of the country where, owing either to cli- mate or soil, red clover has not been successful, and in those places some other leguminous plant can generally be substituted with advan- tage. Trifolium medium (Mammoth Clover). The true botanical position of the clovers cultivated in this country under the names of mammoth, sapling, or pea-vine clover, etc., is still somewhat in doubt. They are usually regarded as being the above- mentioned species, but are perhaps a variety or varieties of the com- mon red clover, Trifolium pratense. They agree in having a larger and later growth than the ordinary red clover, and on this account are for some purposes more valuable. The following records of experience may be relied upou for the lo- calities mentioned. : Prof. Samuel Johnson, Agricultural College, Michigan: It grows too rank and coarse to make good hay. For pasture or for manurial purposes it might prove better than the smaller sort. When grown for seed it is usually pastured until the 1st of June, and then allowed to grow up and mature the crops. M. C. Alger, Augusta, Michigan: Pasturing until the first of June insures a larger yield of seed, asit is cooler while filling, but many do rot pasture. I do not think it can be cut more years than the smaller kind. It is said to stand drought better, but I doubt that. It will give three times the amount of pasture during the season that is given by the smaller kind if kept down pretty close, but during the fall the amount of pasture produced is Jess. It is said to smother out in winter if a large amount is left on the ground. Another objection is that it requires cutting just at harvest-time. 81 C. M. Alger, Newaygo, Michigan: I have raised the mammoth clover, but do not like it for my heavy land, as it grows too large. For every acre that I raise I have to buy or borrow two more of my neighbor’s to cure it on. It is, however, excellent for pasture, as it stays on the ground longer than the medium variety. It is good for raising seed, as it nearly always fills full. I have seen 8 bushels per acre. The seed is always grown on the first crop, as the second never blossoms. It grows here from 4 to 5 feet high and is good for plow- ing under for manure. Austin Potts, Galesburgh, Michigan : Perhaps not over 20 per cent. of the clover grown here is of the mammoth variety. It does not seed as well as the common clover. L. H. Bursley, Jenisonville, Michigan: I do not find it as good for hay as the common red clover; the stalks are so large that stock will not eat them at all. For pasture it is better than the small variety. It does not require pasturing in spring in order to produce a crop of seed. James Hendricks, Albany, N. Y.: About twenty years ago there was treble the quantity sown in this part of Albany County that there is at present; now nearly all our farmers sow the medium clover with Timothy. Prof. F. A. Gully, Agricultural College, Mississippi: On good land with us it grows rank, and the long stems fall down and mat, on the ground, and if we happen to have wet weather the lower leaves and parts of the stalk will begin to decay before the plant is in full bloom. The second crop ripens seed, but to what extent I can not say; I consider the common red clover more desirable here, although it may not yield as well. Trifolium hybridum (Alsike Clover). This differs from common red clover in being later, taller, more ten- der and succulent. The flower-heads are upon long peduncles, and are intermediate in size and color between those of white and red clover. The botanical name was so given from its being supposed by Linneus to be a hybrid between those clovers, butit is now known to be a dis- tinct species. It is found native over a large part of Europe, and was first cultivated in Sweden, deriving its common name from the village of Syke in that country. In 1834 it was taken to England, and in 1854 to Germany, where it is largely grown, not only for its excellent forage but also for its seed, which commands a high price. In France it is little grown as yet, and is frequently confounded with the less produc- tive Trifolium elegais. The following is condensed rom Les Prairies Artificielles,” by Ed. Vianno, of Paris: Alsike does not attain its full development under two or three years, and should therefore be mixed with some other plant for permanent meadows. It is best adapted to cool, damp, calcareous soil, and gives good results upon reclaimed marshes. It is adapted neither to very dry soils, nor to those where there is stagnant water. Being of slender growth, rye grass, rye, or oats are often sown with it when it is to be 3594 GR——G6 82 mowed. In fertile ground weeds are apt to diminish the yield after a few years, so that it requires to be broken up. 1t is generally sown in May, at the rate of 6 or 7 pounds of the clean seed per acre. Some- times it is sown in the pods at the rate of 50 to 100 pounds per acre, either in spring or in autumn after the cereals are harvested. Alsike sprouts but little after cutting, and therefore produces but one crop and one pasturage The yield of seed is usually 130 to 170 pounds per acre. The seed separates more easily from the pods than that of ordinary clover, and as the heads easily break off when dry, care is required in harvesting. It does not endure drought as well as the common red clover, but will grow on more damp and heavy soils, and it is said that it can grow on land which, through long cultivation of the common clover, has be- come * clover sick.” (Plate 92.) Trifolium incarnatum (French Clover). This annual clover is a native of Europe. It grows to the height of about 2 feet. The heads are about 2 inches long, very densely flowered, with the petals ranging from a pinkish to a erimson color. It has been introduced and tried to some extent for cultivation in this country, but has not met with much favor. It deserves trial, how- ever, in the dry climates of the West. (Plate 93.) Trifolium repens (White Clover; Dutch Clover). This is a small perennial species, with prostrate stems which take root strongly at the joints. It is said to be the shamrock of Ireland. It is a native of Europe and Northern Asia, and has been introduced into, and naturalized in, many other countries. It is said that, although in. digenous in England, it only began to be cultivated at the beginning of the eighteenth century. On account of its creeping habit, when once established, it soon covers the ground and spreads extensively. Mr. Sutton, an English writer, says: It prospers on mellow land containing lime, and on all soils rich in humus, from marl to gravelly clay. It does better in poor land than red clover. In early spring it produces very little food, and the plant is so dwarfed that it is practically useless for cutting for a crop of hay. Still, perennial white clover forms an essential con- stituent of every good pasture. All cattle eat it with relish, but it is of less use for the production of milk than of flesh, and is of special service in fattening sheep. It is not suitable for culture by itself, and its herbage is better for cattle when mingled with other grasses, especially with perennial rye grass. A correspondent of Farm and Home says: Every pasture should contain some white clover. It will afford more feed at certain times of the year than grass or any other kind of clover. It willnot flourish in damp soils, or those that are very poor. It will do well in a partial shade, as a grove or orchard, but to make the highest excellence it should have the advantage of full sun- light. It is easy to secure patches of white clover in a pasture by scattering seed in early spring on bare places and brushing it in. One pound of seed is enough to start white clover in a hundred places. The disposition of this clover is to spread by meaus of the branches that run along the ground aud take root. . : ¢ Prof. W. J. Beal, of Michigan Agricultural College, says: White clover is a fickle plant, coming and going with the varying seasons. If oftem burns out in hot weather. An old, hard road, once abandoned, is likely to send up white clover in advance of the grasses. It is a well-known and highly prized bee~ plant. It is often sown with some of the finer grasses for lawns. Trifolium stoloniferum (Running Buffalo Clover). This is a native perennial species, growing about a foot high; long runners are sent: out from the base, which are procumbent at first, becoming erect. Theleaves are all at the base, except one pair at the upper part of the stem. The root-leaves are long- stalked, and have three thinnish obovate leaflets, which are minutely toothed. The pair of leaves on the stem have the stalk about as long as the leaflets, pointed and entire on the margins, the lower ones nearly an inch long, the upper ones about half as long. There are but one or two heads on each stem at the summit, each on a pedi- cel longer than the leaves. The heads are about an inch in diameter, rather loosely flowered, each flower being on a short, slender pedicel, or stem, which bends back- ward at maturity. Each flower has a long-toothed calyx about half as long as the corolla, which is white, tinged with purple. This species is found in rich open woodlands, and in prairies in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and westward. It is of a very vigorous grewth, but somewhat smaller in size than the common red clover. It should re- ceive the attention of farmers and its value be ascertained by cultiva- tion and experiment. (Plate 94.) ONOBRYCHIS. Onobrychis sativa (Sainfoin). . - A perennial, having somewhat the appearance of Lucerne, but of smaller size and different habit. It seldom exceeds 14 feet in height, with a weak stem, rather long, pinnate leaves, and flowers of a pink color in a loose spike, 2 to 4 inches in length, raised on a long, naked peduncle or stalk. The flowers are succeeded by short, single- seeded pods, which are strongly reticulated or marked by raised lines and depressed pits. : This leguminous forage plant has recently been introduced into this country under the name of ‘“aspercet.” Esparsette is the German name; sainfoin is the name used in France and England. It is a native of Central and Southern Europe and Western Asia, and in Europe has long been in cultivation. Irom experiments made by the Duke of Bedford, in England, we learn that it was first introduced to English farmers as a plant for cultivation from Flanders and France, where it has been long cultivated. It was found to be less productive than the broad-leaved clovers, but on chalky and gravelly soils there was abundant proof of the superiority of sainfoin. It produces but little herbage the first year, but improves in quantity for several years. Mr. Martin J. Sutton, in a recent work on ‘Permanent and Tempo- rary Pastures,” says that it has been cultivated in England for over two hundred years. He says that it is essentially a food for sheep, and in pasturing the sheep do it no injury. It is also useful for horses, but produces nothing like the quantity of green fodder that can be obtained 84 from the Lucerne patch. When sown alone Mr. Sutton says that sain- foin is liable to decrease and become overrun with weeds. He recom- mends its use as a predominant constituent in a mixture of grasses and clovers. He says that combined with strong growing grasses there is less risk, and the grasses keep down the weeds which otherwise are apt to overrun the sainfoin. In a green state it is quite free from the danger of blowing cattle (hoven), and when made into hay is an ad- mirable and nutritious food. But it requires great care in drying when made into hay. Mr. Sinclair states that the produce of sainfoin on a clayey loam with a sandy subsoil is greater than on a sandy or gravelly soil resting upon clay. A French writer says that sainfoin can not accommodate itself to damp soil, which, although dry, rests upon a wet subsoil. It delights in dry soil, somewhat gravelly, and, above all, calcareous. It flourishes upon the declivities of hills where water can not remain, and in light soil where its powerful roots can readily penetrate. Bat although surviving in the poorest calcareous soil, like clover and lucerne, its productive- ness is always relative to the permeability and fertility of the land. It prefers open, sunny places, with a southern or eastern exposure. Sainfoin has received several trials in this country, but without much success, probably from the experiments having been made upon un- suitable soil. We can not expect that it will be preferred in places where clover succeeds, but in light soils and in regions with a light rdin-fall it should receive a thorough trial. A recent bulletin of the Towa Agricultural College gives the result of some experiments with this plant which are very satisfactory. Observations there made indi- cate that it stands early freezing quite as well as Kentucky blue grass. It produces at the rate of 3 tons of dry hay per acre. It deserves trial in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, (Plate 95.) MEDICAGO. Medicago sativa (Alfalfa). This plant is called Lucerne, medick, Spanish trefoil, French clover, Brazilian clover, and Chilian clover. It is not a true clover, though be- longing to the same natural family as the clovers. Alfalfa, the name by which it is commonly known in this country, is the Spanish name, which came into use here from the fact that the plant was introduced into culti- vation in California from South America under the name of alfalfa, or Brazilian clover. The plant had previously been introduced into the Eastern and Southern States, but attracted little attention until its remarkable success in California. In Europe it is generally known as Lucerne, probably from the canton of Lucerne, in Switzerland, where it was largely cultivated at an early day. It has been known in cultiva- tion from very ancient times, and was introduced trom Western Asia into Greece about 500 B. C. It is now largely grown in southern France, 85 and to a considerable extent in other parts of Europe. It has been in- troduced into several of the countries of South America, and on the pampas of Buenos Ayres it has escaped from cultivation and grows ex- tensively in a wild state. Though known for a long time in the United States, alfalfa is not yet cultivated to the extent that it should be. In the Southern States east of the Mississippi it is especially desirz- able that its merits should be better known. The climate of that sec- tion is nearly as favorable to its growth as that of southern California, but much of its soil less suitable, hence reports from different localities vary somewhat as to its value: Climate.— Alfalfa is less hardy than red clover, and is adapted to a milder climate ; still, it has stood the winter safely as far north as Ver- mont, New York, and Michigan, though farther west, where less pro- tected by snow, it winter-kills more or less even as far south as Texas. The young plants are very susceptible to frosts, and the mature plants, if not killed by the cold winters of the Northern States, are so weakened that they endure there for a much shorter period than in milder eli- mates. A cold of 25 degrees is said to kill the tops, but in the Southern States the plant quickly recovers from the effect of frost and grows most of the winter. In the Northern States, even where it endured the win- ter, the yield is so much less than at the South that it has little or no advantage over the common red clover. Farther south, however, even where both may be grown, alfalfa is often preferred, not only for its larger yield, but also for its perennial character. Alfalfa is especially adapted to dry climates, and withstands drought much better than or- dinary clovers. Soil.— Although alfalfa improves the fertility of the seil, it must have a rich soil to start with, and it therefore is of little value as a renovater of worn-out lands. It prefers sandy soils, if fertile. The failure on sandy soils in the East and the South has been mainly due to the lack of fertility to give the young plants a good start and enable them to become deeply rooted before the advent of drought. On this account it usually thrives best on rich bottom-lands. Lands that are tenacious and hold water are not adapted to its culture unless well drained. Most of the lands in the West upon which it is grown successtully have a permeable subsoil. When the soil permits, its roots penetrate to a great depth. Cases have frequently been observed of their reaching a depth of 12 or 15 feet, and depths of more than 20 feet have been reported. Hence, after the plant is established, the character of the subsoil is of more importance than that of the surface. Culture.—Sow at any time that the ground is in suitable condition, and when there will be time for the plants to become well established before they are subjected either to drought or extreme cold. In the Northern States the month of May will be about the right time. Iar- ther south, in the latitude of northern Mississippi, September is prob- ably the best month, and in the extreme South, or in the warm valleys ‘ 86 of California, any time will answer from fall until spring. The soil should be thoroughly prepared, and the seed sown at the rate of 15 to 20 pounds to the acre. If sown broadcast, about the latter quan- tity will be required; if in drills, the former amount will be sufficient. If the raising of seed is the main object, 12 or 14 pounds to the acre will give the best results, as the plants will be more vigorous and yield more seed, though they will be coarser and less desirable for feed. Drill-culture gives the best results, especially if the soil be dry or weedy. The drills may be 12 to 18 inches apart according to the tool tobe employed in cultivation. The seed, if sown broadcast, may be sown alone or with grain, but it generally gives the best results when sown alone. It is often sown with oats with good results, but in a wet season it is liable to be smothered out unless the grain is sown quite thin. After the first year the harrow may be employed to advantage, and even a narrow plow, of such form as will not cut the roots too severely, is sometimes used with good effect, especially where the planting is in rows. In all cases where weeds are inclined to appear it is desirable to give some kind of cultivation everyyear. This is notsoimportant where the plant is irrigated as elsewhere. In much of the country reaching from Texas to the Pacific, irrigation is only essential the first year, or un- til the roots have penetrated deeply into the soil, though the crop is greatly increased by an abundant supply of moisture at all times. In parts of California and adjoining States alfalfa is grown only by irriga- tion, and this must sometimes be resorted to, even when not essen- tial for the growth of the crop, in order to kill the gophers, which are liable to destroy the plants by eating oft the roots a few inches below the surface. Immediate irrigation will also prevent many of the plants so eaten off from dying. Alfalfa should be neither mowed nor pastured until it has made a considerable growth and becomes well established. Harvesting, Feeding, etc.—Alfalfa is perhaps best known in most lo- calities as a soiling plant. For this purpose it has scarcely a superior. It may be cut repeatedly during the season, furnishing a large amount of nutritious forage, which is relished by all kinds of stock. It is said to be less liable than clover to cause slobbers in horses. There is some danger, however, especially to cattle, in feeding it while wet or very suec- culent, of its causing bloat or hoven. On this account it is a good plan to feed it in the green state in connection with straw or hay, or to let it lie several hours to become partially wilted before being fed. It is when used as pasture that the greatest danger occurs in the nse of alfalfa. Many have used it for years, both for soiling and as pasture, without any injurious results, but numerous instances have been reported where cattle have bloated and died from eating too freely of it when succulent or wet. In some instances cattle have been kept upon it from the time it started in spring until June or July, with no evil results, and then, when the growth has become very rank or been 87 wet with dew or rain, they have been taken with bloat. The danger is greater, as is well known, when cattle are suddenly turned into a rank growth and allowed to eat all they will. If cattle are hungry or have not been accustomed to green food they should not be allowed in such a pasture more than halt or three-quarters of an hour. In the dry re- gions of the West there is less danger in the use of alfalfa for pasture than elsewhere, and it is largely used there for that purpose, especially in the fall after a crop or two of hay has been cut. There is consid- erable danger, however, of the plant becoming killed out by close or continued pasturing, as it does not stand grazing as well as the ordi- nary grasses and clovers. For hay, the cutting should be done as soon as the blossoms appear, otherwise it becomes hard and woody. Con- siderable care is required to cure it properly and prevent the loss of the leaves in drying. The yield is so large and the plant so succulent at the time that it must be cut, that unless there is good weather it is dif- ficult to cure; on this account it is used less for hay, except in dry cli- mates, than it otherwise would be. The increase in the cultivation of alfalfa has created a good demand for the seed, which has thus become one of the most important items of profit in its cultivation. For clean- ing the seeds, F. C. Clark, of Alila, Tulare County, Cal., says: In this part of the State the ordinary grain-thrasher is used. Some extra screens are used and a few changes made in the arrangement of the cylinder and concave teeth. It is the opinion of some of the experienced alfalfa thrasbers that a machine combining the hulling process and some of the machinery of the ordinary thrasher would do better work. The seed is usually taken from the second crop, and the yield is greater than that from red clover, frequently amounting to 10 or more bushels per acre. The following reports are given from persons who have grown al- falfa in various parts of the country : J. R. Page, professor of agriculture, ete., University of Virginia: I have cultivated alfalfa for forty years, both in the tide-water and Piedmont regions of Virginia, and I regard it as the most valuable forage plant the farmer can cultivate for soiling. It is ready to be mowed by the 1st of May and may be cut three or four times during the season. Grazing kills it out. It should be top-dressed with manure every fall and plastered in the spring and after every mowing. Thomas S. Stadden, Clarke County, Va.: Alfalfa is grown here to a limited extent. It does well in favorable localities, bub is hard to get set. It lasts four to six years. H. C. Parrot, Kinston, N. C.: Alfalfa is adapted to rich, open soils in all the Southern States. It is excellent feed either green or cured. It should be sown in drills 18 inches apart and cultivated the first year. After it is well rooted it will stand dronght well and crowd every- thing else out. It will last from eight to sixteen years, according to soil and location. J. G. Knapp, United States statistical agent, Limona, southern Florida : Many persons in Florida have experimented with this plant, so valuable in other regions, but nearly all have failed. Sometimes a plant which has come up in the 88 fall and survived the winter has bloomed, hint no roots have lived through the wet, warm months of summer. I remember that in New Mexico, whenever it was desir- able to destroy the alfalfa, in order to plow the ground, the surface was covered with water daily for two weeks during the heat of summer. The United States consul at Lambayeque, Peru, states (United States Agricultural Report, 1877, p. 544) that it will not bear water, an abundant irrigation or inundation causing speedy death to the plant. The result in this country has been the same. Alfalfa has invariably perished during the rainy months. All the clovers are affected the same way. Mr. Knapp incloses a letter from Dr. B. J. Taliaferro, of Maitland, Orange County, the only person in his knowledge who has been suc- cessful in growing alfalfa in that region. Dr. Taliaferro says : There is no doubt but that alfalfa can be successfully grown in south Florida. My old patch is now twelve months old, and has been cut five times. I am so pleased with it that I have just put in 5 acres more. The great difficulty is getting a good stand. If the gronnd is not just right the seed will fail. I have failed several times by sowing when the sun was too hot or not hot enough, or when the land was not sufficiently moist. From my short experience I think September is the best month in which to plant. If we plant early-in the spring or summer it is almost impossible to keep the crab grass from taking it. I sow in drills 16 or 18 inches apart, and wait for a warm, moist day for sowing. The plantis very delicate at first, and must be kept clean from grass and weeds. I shall try a small piece broadcast this fall, but doubt whether it will prove a success, as crab grass is its greatest enemy in ny portion of Florida. The piece I have growing is on high, dry, pine land, such as would be suit- able for orange-growing. Alfalfa, having a very long tap-root, would not do on low land. It is very necessary to prepare the land thoroughly. My plan is as fol- lows: After getting the land clean of all stumps, rubbish, etc., I plow it deeply with a two-horse turning-plow, then harrow and hand-rake. Early in spring I put on a light dressing of cotton-seed meal, and sow down in cow peas broadcast, and when the vines are in full bearing I turn them under with a three-horse plow, and as soon thereafter as possible harrow deeply, and broadcast again with some good fertilizer (I prefer cottou-seed meal, bone meal, and potash), harrowing it in well with a spring- tooth harrow. It would be well to repeat the harrowing as often as possible before sowing. About the 1st or middle of September hand-rake perfectly smooth, and put in the seed with a seed-drill, about 6 pounds per acre.- Keep clean of weeds and crab grass, and cut when in bloom. A top-dressing of land plaster after the first cutting will prove very beneficial. I have experimented with a number of forage plants, but failed with all except millo maize until I tried alfalfa. J. S. Newman, Director Experiment Station, Auburn, Ala.: I have had it fourteen years in profitable growth from one seeding, and have seen it in Gordon County, Ga., twenty-five years old, and still in vigorous and profit- able growth. If used for hay it must be cut before it blossoms, or the stems become too woody. Like other leguminous plants it requires especial care in curing, to pre- vent the loss of its leaves. It may be cut from three to five times in one season, ac- cording to the frequency of rains. It is a mistake to suppose that because of its long tap-root it is not seriously affected by drought. It thrives well upon all classes of lands, if fertile and well drained. Clarke Lewis, Cliftonville, Mass. : It grows readily in this State on poor, sandy soil, but best on sand loam. It will bear cutting year after year without new seeding, if not too heavily grazed. Asa permanent soiling plant it has no superior. It must be cut early, when first coming into blossom; if cut later it becomes woody and makes poor hay. Its introduction has been confined to a few localities. - 89 Prot. James Troop, La Fayette, Ind.: It is naturalized here, but little cultivated. It is perfectly hardy on our black, sandy loam, but yields no more than Timothy or clover. It will not last here mor * than three or four years. Leonard A. Heil, of the Texas Live Stock Jonrnal, San Antonio, Tex... Alfalfa has been successfully raised in this locality only by irrigation, which is practi- cable to but a limited extent. There are those who claim that it can be successfully grown with only the natural rains, but after careful investigation I seriously doubt its practicability. : James Perry, Whitesborough, northeastern Texas: Alfalfa is a fair success in our black, waxy soil, and can be cut twice a year, yield- ing 1 to 3 tons at a cutting. Broadcast sowing is the usual method, and seems to be sufficient on clean land. It stands the drought well and the freeze of ordinary winters. Three years ago, however, I had 7 acres badly killed by ‘‘spewing up” in winter, but the scattering plants that remained are doing well. C. A. Graves, Fiskville, central Texas: It is cultivated here only to a small extent. It dies out in spots, just asecotton, sweet potatoes, and some other vegetables do, and apparently for the same unknown reason. In some localities, the spots where it dies out cover one-fourth of the ground. The uncertainty of moisture on and near the surface for any length of time, owing to hot suns and drying winds, makes the catch from all seeds that germinate near the surface uncertain. Dr. E. P. Stiles, Austin, Tex., says: Alfalfa is not permanent here. For two or three years it will produce good crops, and then it begins to die out in circular patches. The spots increase in size until in _ a year or two they become confluent. Cotton plants sometimes die in the same way, and apple-trees put into such soil are subject to a sudden blight. Ihave never known alfalfa to be killed by either cold or drought, but its growth is very slight in very dry soil. In Green County it is grown quite successfully under irrigation, but it dies in some localities there the same as here. J. E. Willett, Farmington, northwestern New Mexico: Alfalfa grows finely here, and yields so enormously that we want nothing better. We cut it four times during the season, obtaining a ton and a half of hay at each cut- ting. We raise nothing hero except by irrigation. As soon as the crop is taken off, we turn on the water in many places at once and flood the land for several days, for Alfalfa requires an abundance of water, nothwithstanding the fact that land which is low and wet will not answer. It flourishes on rock uplands that are very poor, but must have plenty of water at the right time. The soil is filled with large, long roots, reaching as deep as 20 feet. ~ George H. Jones, Naranjos, northwestern New Mexico : It grows well without irrigation after the second or third year on any ordinary soil, and yields very satisfactory results where properly put in. I know one piece which has stood eight years and still yields well. A. L. Siler, Ranch, Utah: 1 know Lucerne patches that have stood for twenty-four years, and they are as productive as when first planted. It does well with irrigation on any porous soil, yielding 4 to 6 tons per acre. Without irrigation it would produce nothing. 90 William Leaman, Cannonsville, Utah: . Lucerne does very well in this mountain country, where there is very little rain, and produces from 2 to 2} tons per acre, and makes from three to four crops per year, but I am well satisfied that it will not stand much wet weather, as excessive water- ing kills it here, and water running over it in the winter and forming ice over it kills it. Prof. A. E. Blount, Fort Collins, Colo. : Our soil is mostly sandy loam and clay loam, gray, and to all appearances very poor. It is dry, bard, and destitute of black soil, except in low, marshy places and on the streams. On this soil, which has never been leached or deprived of its fertil- ity by moisture, we sow alfalfa at the rate of 20 pounds to the acre. If kept well irrigated, two crops can be taken the same season that the seed is sown, yielding as high as 3 or 4 tons per acre. The second season, if a good stand was secured, three cuttings are made, yielding as high in some localities as 7 tons. Our largest yields come from those farms where water is applied immediately after each cutting. Among the best farmers 4 tous to the acre is a very small average. I have known 9 tons to be taken from an acre where the most, careful attention was given. When once rooted it is next to impossible to eradicate or kill the plant. One man plowed up a piece and sowed it to oats, and after having thrashed out 42 bushels of oats per acre he cut 3 tons of alfalfa hay per acre from the same land. Some have raised wheat, corn, and potatoes with excellent success, after turning under a crop of alfalfa, without in any way interfering with the stand of the latter the next year. F. W. Sweetser, Winnemucca, Nev.: Alfalfa js cultivated quite extensively in several parts of the State. It does best in a dark loam. It is hardy and yields, with irrigation, about 5 tons per acre. One season without irrigation will kill it. O. F. Wright, Temescal, San Bernardino County, Cal.: Alfalfa is cut from one to six times per year. The yield when good is as follows: First cutting, 2 tons of not very good hay ; second cutting, 3 tons of good hay ; third : cutting, 23 tons of good hay; fourth cutting, 23 tons of good hay ; fifth cutting, 1 ton of good hay. If the land is v.ry dry there may be but one cutting, the roots living, but the tops apparently dead. If it is very dry the roots die also. Pasturing in the latter part of summer does not injure it much, but in winter and spring, when annual plants are growing, it soon kills it. A good stand can not be obtained without mowing, for worthless weeds would otherwise choke it out. The plants increase in strength for three years. E. G. Judson, Lugonia, San Bernardino County, Cal.: Alfalfa is fairly hardy, but it can not stand extreme cold. On dry lands it can not be grown without irrigation. It can be subdued by repeated plowings or keeping away water. J William Schulz, Anaheim, Los Angeles County, Cal.: Alfalfa fails without irrigation on account of the gophers, which eat off the roots a few inches below the surface. It is one of the best forage plants we have. William C. Cusick, Union, Oregon : Alfalfa is not extensively grown in this locality. It is hardy only at the lowest al- titudes, or where snow falls deeply. It prefers dry, sandy soils that can be irrigated, on such lands yielding 3 to 4 tons per acre. Without irrigation it is hardly worth cutting. This applies to a portion of the State east of the Cascade Mountains. 9 A few extracts from variousagricultural papers and other publications are here inserted. Southern Live Stock Journal : The value of alfalfa in California is inestimable. LESPEDEZA. Lespedeza striata (Japan Clover). This plant was introduced in some unknown way, over forty years ago, from China into the South Atlantic States. It was little noticed before the war, but during the war it extended north and west and has since spread rapidly over abandoned fields, along roadsides, and in open woods, and now furnishes thousands of acres of excellent grazing in every one of the Gulf States, and is still spreading northward in Ken- tucky and Virginia, and westward in Texas, Indian Territory, and Arkansas. It is an annual and furnishes pasture only during summer and until killed by frost in the fall. The small purplish blossoms are produced singly in the axils between the leaf and stem, and the seeds ripen, a few at a time, from about the 1st of August until the close of the season. It reproduces itself from seed on the same ground year after year, and on this account has been erroneously called a perennial. It will grow on poor soils, either sand or clay, but prefers the latter. It is better adapted to poor soils than Bermuda grass, both from giving a more certain and perhaps larger yield, and from being more useful in restoring their fertility. On poor upland soils it is seldom cut for hay, growing only from 6 inches to 1 foot in height, and being inclined to spread out flat upon the surface. On rich bottom-lands it grows thicker, taller, and more upright, and is largely cut for hay. It has been sown artificially only to a limited extent as yet, but seed is now offered in the market, and its cultivation is likely to be liberally extended, especially on lands too dry or poor for alfalfa and where the true clovers do not succeed. Japan clover is remarkable for holding its own against other plants. It will run out broom sedge and other inferior plants, and even Bermuda in some localities. It does not withstand drought as well as either Bermuda or Johnson grass, but soon recovers after g 36 rain. The young plants are easily killed by drought or frost, and for this reason a good catch is more certain on an unbroken sod than on well-prepared land. Still, there is believed to be less difficulty in ob- taining a catch with this than with some other forage plants. A good method of seeding is to sow in March at the rate of one-half bushel per acre, on small grain sown the previous autumn or winter. For hay it should be cut early, before it becomes woody. It is cured in the same manner as clover, and the hay is apparently relished by all kinds of stock. There is some complaint that stock do not at first eat it readily while growing, and that horses and mules are liable to be salivated if allowed to eat it freely while luxuriant. In both these re- spects, however, it probably differs little from the ordinary clovers. No cases have been reported of bloat or hoven being caused by it. E. L. Allen, Brownsville, Haywood County, Tenn.: Lespedeza striata (Japan clover) grows luxuriantly, is very hardy, and is the best pasture we have in summer. It is especially adapted to poor upland, covering the earth, eradicating weeds and sedge grass, preventing land from washing, and in- creasing its fertility. It grows well in the open timber. Our special need has been a grass to withstand the heats of summer and afford pastures for the early fall. Japan clover has met this requirement. H. H. Lovelace, Como, Henry County, Tenn.: Japan clover made its appearance here three or four years ago, and now occupies nearly all lands that have been exhausted and turned out, growing on land too poor to grow any other plant. In fact, it will grow in a red gully; hence it is the best thing to prevent washing I ever saw, besides all kinds of stock are fond of it; and grow fat on it. B. D. Baugh, State statistical agent, Carrollton, Miss. : Japan clover is the most wide-spread of the natural forage plants of this State. It grows luxuriantly on any kind of soil except light prairie ash-land. It is easily cured, makes hay of excellent quality, and furnishes more than half of the long forage of this State. It grows well on upland, but best on bottom-land and alluvial soil, where it frequently attains a height of 30 inches. If intended for hay it should be mowed when the first bloom appears, and be ‘“ browsed ” or stacked after six or eight hours’ exposure to the sun. It affords good pasture from the 1st of May until killed by frost, about the middle of November. George Echols, Longview, Gregg County, northeastern Texas: 1t appeared here four years ago, and it now has possession of all the open idle land. It seeds very abundantly, and grows so densely that it forms a mat. It flourishes with Bermuda grass, so that the hay mowed is about half and half. Dr. D. H. Brodnax, statistical correspondent, Brodnax, Morehouse Parish, La.: Lespedeza was first noticed here about 1865. It is supposed to have been introduced in the cavalry hay fed the horses of the Federal cavalry, which occupied this parish for a short time. It has since covered nearly the whole parish. It is not cultivated, but is rapidly rooting out nearly every other grass in the parish. It kills our bitter- weed (dog fennel), Bermuda grass, and everything else. It is a splendid forage crop, and excellent for grazing until frosts destroy it. 97 ; Dr. Charles Mohr, Mobile, Alabama : Lespedeza striata (Japan clover) is an annual plant, which, during the last twenty years, has spread all over the Gulf States. It blooms and ripens its seeds from the early summer months to the close of the season, and grows spontaneously in exposed, more or less damp, places of a somewhat close, loamy soil. No attempts at its cultiva- tion have Leen made. In the stronger soil of the lands in the interior this plaut, protected from the browsing of cattle, grows from 14 to 2 feet in height, and yields large crops of sweet, nutritious hay, the same plot affording a cut in August and an- other in October, yielding, respectively, 1% tons and 1 ton of hay to the acre. The plant is perfectly hardy, and is not known to have been killed out by a long drought. It is easily subdued by cultivation, as it does not again make its appearance on land ‘where it has been plowed in, and is not found among the weeds the farmer has to con- “tend with in the cultivation of his crop. Itis a perfect pasture plant, easily estab- lished, and standing browsing and tramping by cattle well. Its propagation through the woods and pastures is effected by cattle, the seeds passing through the animals with their vitality unimpaired. As a fertilizing plant it is greatly inferior to the Mexican clover. ] J. B. Wade, Edgewood, De Kalb County, Ga. : It 1s said by the old residents here that Japan clover was unknown in this part of the country until “after the war.” It now grows spontaneously on most of the land of middle Georgia that has a red-clay subsoil, and which has been turned out, i. e., not plowed or cultivated for two or three years. It grows sufficiently high to make hay, but as it springs up in February, or even earlier should there come a warm spell of weather, it is mostly used for grazing, as it lasts from February to November. J. B. Darthit, Denver, S. C.: It does not stand drought as well as Bermuda ; both are our best pastire plants. For cattle we have nothing better than Japan clover; hut it salivates horses and mules after the 1st of July, especially if very luxuriant. J. W. Walker, of Franklin, N. C., in a letter to the Blade Farm, says: Seventeen years ago Japan clover was found here, occupying an area not exceeding 10 feet square. It now covers thousands of acres, upon which all kinds of stock keep fat and sieek, while the yield in milk and beef products Las increased a hundred-fold. Our exhausted and turned-out lands that have hitherto yielded nothing but that worse than useless broom sedge (Andropogon scoparius), now have in its stead a beautiful carpet of most nutritious verdure. This plant grows anywhere and on any kind of land, rich or poor, wet or dry, high or low. It has been found in luxuriant growth on the summit of the Blue Ridge, at a height of 4,000 feet. It will catch and grow luxuriantly where none of the clovers proper will grow at all. Unlike them it never runs out. J. B. McGehee gives the following experiences in a letter to the Southern Live Stock Journal, September, 1886 : This has proved the worst season for its propagation that I have met with. Ihave this week examined over 200 acres of my last spring’s sowing, where I sowed one- half bushel per acre, and I find the most spotted stand I ever saw ; and of the whole 200 acres I will get a crop of hay on not to exceed 50 acres. My first sowing of about 80 acres was commenced about March 22, and finished about the 1st of April. This was coming up thickly when the freeze of the 9th of April came, and I am convinced that all seeds then sprouting were (rozen out and killed. The sowings during April did better, but anything like a reasonable stand is found only on moist places. The reason for this is the fact that rot a drop of rain fell from April 26 to June 6. My worst catch was on comparatively clean land, an oat field, in which the oats had 3594 GR——T 98 been mostly killed by the winter. My best catch was on a grass sod. I found that a freeze or a drought catching the plants before the roots have penetrated the soil are equally disastrous. On some meadows of previous sowings I am now cutting a heavy crop ‘of almost pure Lespedeza. The reverses of this year will not loosen the hold of the grass on my estimation in the least. (Plate 98.) MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. OPUNTIA. Opuntia Engelmanni (Nopal; Prickly Pear). One of the principal characteristics of the vegetation of arid districts is the prevalence of different species of Cactacee or cactus-like plants. These are exceedingly variable in form and size, and are divided into several genera. Of these the Opuntias are extremely common. There are two kinds of these—one with broad, flat joints, and one with cylin- drical or club-shaped joints. Of the flat, broad-jointed kind there are many species. The Opuntia vulgaris is common in sandy ground in the Eastern Atlantic States. In western Texas and other parts of the arid regions reaching to Califor- nia there is a much larger kind, of the same general appearance, which is called Opuntia Engelmanni. This is a stout, coarse-looking plant, growing from 4 to 6 feet high, and much branched. The joints are, in large specimens, a foot long and 9 or 10 inches broad, with groups of stout spines from 3 to 1% inches long. They are apparently leaf- less, but in young specimens minute, fleshy leaves may be detected. Springing from the side of these joints at the proper season are hand- some flowers 2 or 3inches in diameter, which are succeeded by a round- ish fruit, nearly 2 inches long, filled with a purplish pulp, generally of an insipid taste, while imbedded in the pulp are numbers of small, hard seeds. The common name of this Opuntia among the Mexicans is ‘‘nopal,” and some of the species have fruit which is edible and highly esteemed. The use of the above species of prickly pear, or cactus, for forage in the dry regions of Texas and westward is a matter of considerable impor- tance. An extended account of its use is given in Bulletin 3, of this Division. The usual method of preparing the plant for feeding is to singe the prickles over a brisk blaze. To some extent, especially by sheep, the plant is eaten in the natural state, but serious consequences frequently result in such cases. Its chief use is as a substitute for fod- der in times of scarcity, but when properly prepared and fed with hay and grain it forms a valuable article of food for cattle. J. A. Avent, Sr., Bexar County, southern Texas: I have been feeding prickly pear for thirty years. It is an excellent feed for cattle if fed with fodder or hay of any kind ; when not too full of sap it may be fed alone. If cut in January it can be fed until March 20, but if left standing it is not good feed after the 20th of February. There is nothing that cattle like better than prickly pear when accustomed to it. We feed it only in dry years when grass is scarce. We begin feeding about the 1st of November and continue until the 20th of February. 99 The old stumps with a little corn will fatten cattle very fast. We burn off the thorns in feeding it, but most stock-raisers do not. The apples ripen about the 1st of July and are eaten Ly almost everything. Hogs get fat enough upon them to render into lard when the crop is good, and it seldom fails. A. d. Spencer, Uvalde, Tex.: It is eaten by cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs. They eat it mainly as found on the range, though sometimes the thorns are scorched off. It is considered one of the best native forage plants, especially to carry these stock through the long droughts that occur occasionally in western Texas. It is a partial substitute for water for all stock that eat it. The only injury I have known to result from eating it has been to sheep, and then only when eaten while frozen. S. S. Jamison, Burnet, Tex. : It is used extensively in the southwestern part of the State, especially by Mexicans, for wintering work-oxen, cows, and other cattle upon. The thorns are scorched off before feeding, and no harm results from its use unless it be too great a laxness at times. Ouly one kird is used as far as I know, but it varies in height in different localities. In this country it grows from 6 inches to 2 feet. Farther south it grows taller. Prof. George W. Curtis, College Station, Tex.: . It is used quite extensively for cattle and sheep. The prickles are singed off, or the whole plant is boiled and fed, mixed with bran. Only the Opuntia vulgaris, and per- haps a variety of the same, are used, so far as I know. I have no positive knowledge of any injury to stock from feeding upon it, but from its purgative nature I should be afraid that it might cause abortion in pregnant cows. Has your attention been called to the use of the prickly-pear cactus as a lubricant ? Certain of the Western railroads have used it with excellent results. It is gathered in Texas, shipped to St. Louis, ground up coarsely, and pine tar added to keep tho albuminoids from decomposition (I do not know whether anything else is added or not), after which it is barreled and returned. The total cost is 23 cents per pound, and it is said to do the work of 6 or 8 cents’ worth of grease and rags formerly used. It is especially useful in preventing and cooling hot boxes. If this comes into gen- eral use it will open a new field of production. ; Leonard A. Heil, San Antonio, Tex.: The cactus, or prickly pear, grows abundantly in nearly every section of south- west Texas, often reaching a height of 10 or 12 feet. Ever since the settlement of the country by the English, aud probably years before, it has been used to supplement grass in times of drought, but now it is being used with other feeds at all times, and especially in the winter. Sheep do well upon it without water, there being sufficient moisture in the ‘eaves. The herder goes along with a short sword and clips the points of the great leaves, so that the sheep can insert its nose, when it réadily eats them entire. Dr. A. BE. Carothers, an extensive ranchman of Cotulla, La Salle County, Tex., began feeding prickly pear and cotton-seed meal to four hundred head of steers for the purpose of fattening for the market, and at the last account was highly pleased with the result and confident of financial success. He singes off the thorns with a flame, and cuts up the pear and feeds it mixed, in troughs, with the cotton-seed meal in the proportion of about 5 pounds of meal to 70 pounds of pear. The steers eat this food with great relish and take the food rapidly. They have about a 2,500-acre field to run in, If this method of feeding proves 100 a success, it may work a revolution in this section, as thousands of tons of cotton-seed are exported annually to England, and the supply of the pear is simply inexhaustible. The feeding of the pear need in no way diminish the supply, as whenever a piece of leaf is kept on the ground it takes root and makes another plant, growing rapidly. Corn is always high, and can never be transported here for stock-feed and the stock be shipped back again over the same road with a certainty of success. The utilizing of prickly pear and cotton-seed meal will make beef-rais- ing, as well as breeding, profitable in this portion of the country, and make the ranchmen entirely independent of all other sections. Dr. Carothers, above mentioned, writes, March, 1887: In pursuance of a correspondence had with your Department last summer, begun by Mr. A. J. Dull, of Harrisburg, Pa., who has cattle interests in this State, I have fed four hundred beeves, and am now feeding eight hundred more, on this food. From the analysis furnished by Mr. Richardson of your Department, I found that the cac- tus was deficient in albuminoids, and from the well-known richness of the cotton- seed oil cakes in these elements, I selected it to supply the deficiency, which it did very well. At first I burned the thorns off the cactus, then cut it up by a machine which I devised, and spread it in large troughs, scattering the cotton-seed meal over it, when the cattle ate it with great avidity. I soon found, however, that the burn- ing was injurious, as it was impossible to conduct it without cooking the cactus to a greater or less extent, which caused purging in the animals. To remedy this, i. e., to destroy the thorn without scorching, I took advantage of the botanical fact that the thorns of Opuntia Engelmanni, the only one I use, are set at an angle of about 60 degrees backward to the plane of the leaf, and that a cut of half an inch would strike every one of them. I therefore set the knives of my machine to a half-inch cut, and find that when cut in this manner cattle eat it fully as well as when scorched, with none of the unpleasant results referred to. I feed per head about 60 pounds of the cactus and an average of about 6 pounds of the meal per day for ninety days. A train-load of three Lundred and thirty head of these cattle sold last week in Chicago at 4% cents per pound. The meat is singularly juicy and tender, the fat well distrib- uted among the muscles. I have sold it at 1 cent per pound gross over grass cattle in San Antonio. [ John C. Chesley, Hamilton, Hamilton County, central Texas: The prickly pear is used here te a great extent. We have a ranch in Stephens County where we are now feeding the pear to over a hundred of our poorest cattle, and they are doing well on it. It is fed at nearly all of theranches of Stephens County where they are feeding at all, and there are thousands of cattle being fed this winter on prickly pear that are deing well and will come to grass in good shape that would otherwise have died, or at least the larger part of them. The pear should be cut and hauled to the feed-lots while the sap is in the roots, or before the warm days come, for if it is fed when the sap is in the tops it is liable to cause laxness and weaken the animals. We prepare it for feeding by holding it for a moment over a blaze. I believe that in the southern part of the State they have a burner with which they burn off the prickles without cutting the plants from the ground, and then let the cattle eat them as they please, but we prefer to cut and feed as above stated. One good man can prepare the cactus and feed about a hundred head of cattle in this way. A poor or half-starved animal should be fed only a small quantity of it at first, which may be gradually increased until the animal is allowed to cat all it wants. When fed in this manner to range-cattle we have never known any injurious results. But if it is fed to steers, and they are worked immediately af- terwards, even if the feed is small and they are accustomed to it, they are liable to 101 swell up. We have had them do so when we thought there was danger of its proving fatal. They can be given a feed at night, however, and then worked the following morning without danger of any injurious results. H. J. Hunter, M. D., Palestine, Tex. : West of the Colorado River, in this State, the cactus grows in vast forests. I have seen cattle and sheep feed on it as it grows wild. Stockmen cut it on the ground, singe off the prickles, and cut in small bits for their stock. Mr. Alonzo Millett, of Kansas City, Mo. : I confine the treatment of my stock in La Salle County, Tex., for their first six weeks or two months, in that locality, almost exclusively to the feeding of prickly pear, which simple measure has proved highly successful, and is worthy of more gen- eral trial as a preventive of Texas fever. There is a cactus, called by the Mexicans Nopal de Castilliano, which is cultivated in this State for its fruit. This plant grows very largo and yields enormous crops of fruit, which is sold on the street for food and to make beer. The young growth of the cactus is used in early spring by the Mexi- cans of western Texas as food. It is cut in small pieces, mixed with flour in a batter, and fried. It is said to be as palatable as egg-plant. Otanes I. Wright, Temescal, San Bernardino County, Cal.: Many kinds of cactus grow here. The flat kind, or prickly pear, is abundant in places. Cattle, goats, and sheep eat it sometimes without any preparation when very hungry, but it looks as though needles and pins would be a pleasanter and safer diet. I have never known, however, any bad results to come from eating it. After boiling to soften the thorns it makes good food for milch cows, and is much relished. The trouble of boiling prevents its extensive use. (Plate 99.) EUROTIA. Eurotia lanata (White Sage). It is a perennial, half shrubby plant, growing a foot or two high, with slender, woolly twigs, which are abundantly covered with linear sessile leaves an inch and a half long, with a velvety surface of a grayish color and with the margin rolled back. They are mostly in small fascicles or clusters. The flowers are minute and in small clusters in the axils of the leaves, chiefly on the upper part of the stem. The flowers are of two kinds, male and female, on separate parts of the stems, or sometimes on separate plants. The small fruit is covered with long and close whitish hairs. The plant belongs to the order Chenopodiacew, or the same order as the common pig-weed. The plant known as * white sage,” or ¢ winter fat,” is abundant in places through the Rocky Mountain region from Mexico to British America. Prof. S. M. Tracy, who visited portions of Nevada, Arizona, and adjoining territory, in 1837, investigating the native forage plants, under the direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture, states that in the more arid districts of Arizona. Nevada, and Utah, this plant, with grease-wood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), are the most highly valued plants for winter forage. An important fact in regard to the plant is its ability to thrive in somewhat alkaline soils. It is employed as a remedy for intermittent fevers. (Plate 100.) 102 ERODIUM. Erodium cicutarium (Alfilaria). This annual, supposed to have been introduced from Europe, does not seem to be mentioned in any work on forage plants. It occurs abun- dantly and is of much value for pasture over a large extent of territory in northern California and adjoining regions; elsewhere in the United States it is sparingly introduced and usually regarded only as a weed, though it is not very troublesome. Besides the above name it is known as storksbill, pin clover, pin grass, and filaree; it is neither a grass nor a clover, but belongs to the geranium family; it starts very early, grows rapidly, furnishing good early pasture, and ripens seed before the hottest weather; it is of little value as hay, and is not worth introducing where the ordinary forage plants can be grown. The seed is seldom sown, but the plant comes spontaneously each year from self-sown seed. A few have begun its artificial propagation, and it is undoubtedly worthy of introduction into other regions in the South and West having pro- longed droughts; it is hardy at the North, but makes a much smaller growth there. Brewer and Watson, in ‘The Botany of California ” say in regard to it: Very common throughout the State, extending to British Columbia, New Mexico, and Mexico; also widely distributed in South America and the Eastern Continent. It has generally been considered an introduced species, but it is more decidedly and widely at home throughout the interior than any other introduced plant, and according to much testimony it was as common throughout California early in the present century as now. It is popularly known as alfilaria, or less commonly as pin clover and pin grass, and is a valuable and nutritious forage plant, reputed to impart an excellent flavor to milk and butter. Prof. E. W. Hilgard, in an article cn the Agriculture and Soils of California, in the Report of the Department of Agriculture for 1878, page 488, says: Two species of crane’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium and moschatum) are even more com- mon here than in Southern Europe, and the first-named is esteemed as one of the most important natural pasture plants, being about the only green thing available to stock throughout the dry season, and eagerly cropped by them at all times. Its Spanish name of alfilerilla (signifying a pin, and now frequently translated into “pin weed”) shows that it is an old citizen, even if possibly a naturalized one. Otanes F. Wright, Temescal, San Bernardino County, Cal.: Alfilaria grows plentifully and is native here. It is the best grass that we have during the wet season while green, but does not amount to much when dry, for it ghrinks much in drying, and when dry breaks easily into very fine bits, almost to dust. Alfilaria and bur clover nearly always grow together on the same land; cold weather never kills either of them. Stock pick for the alfilaria while growing (from January to June), but after it dies they hnnt for the clover-burs which are on the ground, and in their efforts to get the burs they roll the old dry stems into rolls, sometimes as big as windrows of hay. 103 Bur clover and filaria (alfilaria) grow on high land, and die when dry weather comes. I do not know but they might be kept green all the year if kept wet. They ate about the only plants which grow on the high land all the year as alfalfa qoes on the low lands.. As nine-tenths of our land is dry land, you can see the extent of our needs. Daniel Griswold, Westminster, Los Angeles, Cal.: I think alfilaria would be a good thing to raise in the Southern States, but it will be a rather hard seed to gather, though not so hard as Bermuda grass. It produces a small-jointed seed, with a beard or curl attached. Butte or Colusa County would, be the best place to obtain the seed. The plant is native here. It isnever cultivated but comes up of itself whenever there is rain enough. It grows everywhere (ex- cept in swamps) in damp land, on the driest land, and on the tops of hills up to the snow-line. It has a root that runs slightly downward, and it has to be very dry to prevent it making seed. On damp, rich land it grows large enough to make a good swath of hay. On poor or dry land it is small and dries up. but even in its dry state . stock eat it clean and are very fond of it. C. R. Orcutt, San Diego, Cal.: Erodium cicutarium and Erodium moschatum (about equally used) grow abundantly in southern California and through northern lower California, sometimes attaining a height of 2 feet or more. They grow on dry lands, but only in wet years or where there is abundant rain-fall do they attain any size. O. F. Thorton, Phenix, Maricopa County, Ariz. : It is not cultivated, but is rapidly spreading on the dry ranges (i. e., valleys and mountain sides), and is one of the very best wild grasses, either green or dry. (Plate 101.) RICHARDSONIA. Richardsonia scabra (Mexican Clover; Spanish Clover; Florida Clover; Water Parsley; Bell-fountain; Poor Toe; Pigeon-Weed, etc. ). This is an annual plant of the family Rubiaceee which contains the coffee, cinchona, and madder. It is therefore not a true clover, that name having perhaps been given from the general appearance of the plant and the fact that the flowers are mostly borne in terminal heads. The stem is spreading, branching, and somesvhat hairy, and the leaves, unlike the clovers, are composed of a single piece. The plant is a native of Mexico and South America, which has become naturalized in the United States, especially along the Gulf coast, where its chief value seems to be as a renovator of poor, sandy soils. In more dry, exposed regions it seems to require rich, cultivated soils in order to do well. It has been but little cultivated, and it is not known how far north it may be grown successfully, but it would probably have little value where clover can be readily grown. The statements in regard to its value for pasture and hay are very conflicting. It is usually quite succulent and not readily cured in the climate where it is most largely grown. As it grows chiefly in cultivated grounds, it is often looked upon only as a weed. 104 B. E. Van Buren, Lakeside, Fla. : I have disseminated the Spanish clover all over my place, as I consider it a val- unable plant for improving the land. It is also a very good forage plant, and will grow on the poorest soil withont manure. : J. C. Neal, M. D., Archer, Fla.: Grows rapidly, seeds itself, and makes a fair looking lawn or field, but I have not found a cow or horse that would tonch it green or dry. J. G. Knapp, Hillsborough County, southern Florida: Found in moist fields in this county and considered a valueless weed. It isnot eaten green by either cattle or horses, and grows flat on the ground, so that it can not be ent for hay. On account of the large number of seeds it perfects it is difficult to eradicate. It is spoken of in some sections as a fertilizing plant. In my opinion it bas no other value, and I estimate it low for that purpose. B. C. Smith, Cold Water, Ga.: Thrives only on highly fertilized soils, in the best of tilth, where it gives a large yield. Mexican clover, being very similar to purslane, isvery hard to cure, and is not well relished by cattle or horses. C. Menelas, Savannah, Ga.: I have seen it only on the Gulf coast, where it flourishes luxuriantly without cul- tivation, and is dreaded by nearly every one as a weed. Stock appear to be very fond of it, and the yield per acre must be very heavy. Dr. Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala.: Introduced from the neighboring tropics and perfectly naturalized. It is never cultivated, but takes possession of the fields, and arrives at the period of its fullest growth after the crops of vegetables, Irish potatoes, corn, and oats, are laid by or have been removed, yielding spontaneous crops of hay and affording fully two cut- tings during the season of from 1 to 2 tons per acre, according to the fertility of the field. In 1874 the same gentleman sent a sample of hay of this plant to the Department, which was found to be nearly as rich in food elements as clover hay. In his letter he then said: It forms a large and important part of the pine-woods pasture in this county. It is much relished by horses and mules, which seem to thrive well upon it, and sheep feed upon it with great avidity, The plant is known here by the name of * Mexican clover,” “poor toes,” or ‘‘pigeon-weed.” Seventeen years ago it was but sparse; now it occurs in all our cultivated grounds, covering them with a Inxuriant vegeta- tion after the érops of the summer have been removed. Thomas J. Key, editor Southern Agriculturist, Montgomery, Ala.: It grows luxuriantly on enltivated, sandy lands in the southern part of the State, makes excellent hay, and matures after corn has been laid by. James B. Siger, Handsborough, southern Mississippi: Of late years Mexican clover has been introduced and grown among tbe crab grass. It is spreading rapidly. Its habits and manner of cultivation are the same as crab grass. Cattle will pick it out from any other hay and eat it in preference to any. Edward C. Reid, Meridian, Miss. : It is hardy, and grows on the poorest sandy land from the coast up to the Cretace- ous formation. It stands drought and is hard to exterminate. It comes up after corn is laid by, and on cotton-land covers the cotton. It isnot especially valuable as a pasture plant, as it comes up late and pasturing kills it out. In cultivated lands it reseeds itself, and comes up ycar after year. 105 Clarke Lewis, Cliftonville, Noxubee County, Miss. : It grows in the Gulf States, on sandy land, and furnishes abundant forage of fair quality on poor soil. There is none in this section. W. H. Nevill, Binnsville, Miss. : Does well in the southern half of the Gulf States. J. H. Murdock, Bryan, Brazos County, central Texas: It is grown here and stands drought very well on our light, sandy soils, and makes good pastares in its season. Mr. Matt. Coleman, Leesburgh, Sumter County, Fla., in 1878, wrote to the Department: The tradition is, that when the Spanish evacuated Pensacola this plant was dis- covered there by the cavalry horses feeding upon it eagerly. Five years ago I pro- cured some of the seed and have since grown it in my orange grovesas a forage plant and fertilizer. It grows on thin pine land 4 to 6 feet inlength, branching, and form- ing a thick mat, which affords all the mulch my trees require. It requires two days’ sun to dry if, and its sweet hay is relished by horses and cattle. The white bloom opens in the morning and closes at evening, and is visited by bees and butterflies. (Plate 102.) : ADDENDUM. So much interest is now felt in the matter of new varieties of grasses, especially by the Western experiment stations, that it is thought best to add descriptions and figures of some additional species which have been recommended for trial. The Colorado experiment station, aided by this Department, gave especial attention last summer to the collection of seeds of the native grasses of that region, and some fifty kinds were selected, and will be subjected to cultivation on the arid land of that section. Other western stations will take up the same line of work in the future. The illustrations given are especially valuable for the identifi- cation of the various species by students or by any persons who are in- terested in the subject. Panicum gibbum. A perennial species, growing in swamps and low, wet ground in the Southern States from North Carolina to Florida. The stem is decumbent, branching and root- ing at the lower joints. The panicle is 3 to 5 inches long, and narrow, the branches being appressed. The leaves are smooth or smoothish, half an inch broad, and 6 to 8 inches long. The whole grass is of a deep green color. The flowers drop off soon after flowering. The grass, if it occurs in abundance, would be of considerable value, as it furnishes a good deal of nutritious matter. Mr. J. H. Simpson, of Manatee, Fla., writes as follows: This most valuable grass seems to have been entirely overlooked as far as its quali- ties for hay and pasturage are concerned. It is perfectly at liome in any situation. It usually grows in wet places, with culms 2 or 3 feet high. The late J. N. Harris informed me that he believed that from 3 to 5 tons of most excellent hay could be cut per acre, and that it was an excellent pasture grass. He had experimented with it for years. (Plate 103.) Muhlenbergia comata. This species is closely related to JM. glomerata. It grows throughout the Rocky Mountain region in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and California, usually on the sandy and alluvial banks of streams. It grows in tufts from firm, creeping root stocks. The culms are erect, 2 to 3 feet high, and leafy below. Tne panicle is 2 to 4 inches long, narrow and close, sometimes interrupted below, generally of a dark lead-color, and of soft texture. The outer glumes are very narrow and acute, and the flowering glume is surrounded at the base by a copious tuft of silky hairs. The slender awn of the flowering glume is three or four times its length. (Plate 104.) Sporobolus heterolepis (Bunch Grass; Wire Grass). This is called bunch grass and wire grass from the abundant, long, wiry leaves and stems. 1found it a considerable element in the prairies 106 107 : of southern Dakota, and it occurs southward to Texas. It was also common on the prairies of Illinois and Wisconsin before the incoming of settlements. West of the 100th meridian, however, especially in sandy soils, this species is replaced by two others of the same genus, viz: Sporobolus cryptandrus and 8. airoides. All these species should receive attention. It grows in dense, firmly rooted tufts, principally west of the Mississippi River, from British America to Arkansas. The panicle is from 3 to 6 inches long, rather loose; the branches, two to three together, slender, and with a few rather distant flowers. A writer in the Agricultural Report for 1870 says: This species may be identified from its long, slender leaves, growing abundantly from the base of the plant, gracefully curving; from its tendency to grow in bunches or stools, and when in fruit from its small panicle of sharp-pointed spikelets and its round seeds. These, when bruised, emit a strong, heavy, and rather disagreeable odor. It is sometimes cultivated for hay, and makes an article of fine quality. Sporobolus airoides (Bunch Grass; Salt Grass). Culms (arising from strong perennial creeping root-stocks) 2 to 3 feet high, thick- ened at the base and clothed with numerous long, rigid, generally involute, long- pointed, smooth leaves, which are bearded in the throat of the sheath. The panicle is 6 to 12 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide, thin and spreading ; the branches cap- illary, and scattered or in whorls below, subdivided above the middle, and rather sparsely flowered. J It is common on the arid plains of the West, is sometimes called salt grass, and affords persistent pasturage where other grasses are tramped out. (Plate 105). Agrostis exarata, var. Pacifica (Pacific Coast Redtop). This variety grows chiefly on the Pacific coast, from California to Alaska. It is often more robust than the common or eastern redtop, growing 2 to 3 feet high, with a stout, firm culm, clothed with three or four broadish leaves 4 to 6 inches long. The panicle is 4 to 6 inches long, rather loose, heavier, and closer than tte proper species. There is reason to believe that this species can be made to supply the same valuable place on the Pacific coast that the A. vulgaris does at the East. It deserves trial. (Plate 106). : Deschampsia ceaespitosa (Hair Grass). This is an exceedingly varied species, having a wide distribution in this and other countries. It is somewhat rare east of the Mississippi, but on the elevated plains of the Rocky Mountains and in California and Oregon it is one of the common bunch grasses which afford pastur- age to cattle and horses. At the East it is found in the hilly regions of New England and the Alleghanies. It grows in bunches, which are firmly rooted. The culms are 2 to 4 feet high. The root-leaves are very numerous, long, and narrow. The panicle is very handsome, pre- senting a purple and glossy hue, and a loose, graceful appearance. Its culms are too light for hay-making, but the abundant root leaves may 108 make it valuable for pasturage, especially in the arid districts. (Plate 107.) Chloris alba. . An annual grass, growing in tufts, 2 to 2% feet high, smooth, the culms branching and bent at the lower joints; the leaves are numerous and rather broad, the upper sheaths dilated and at first inclosing the flower spikes, which are in a close cluster, eight to fifteen in number and 2 to 3 inches long. The flowers are sessile and crowded in two rows on one side of the spikes. It isa common grass in the arid dis- tricts of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It furnishes a large amount of foliage, and may prove useful in localities to which it is adapted. (Plate 10%.) Diplachne dubia. A perennial grass of vigorous growth, growing 3 or 4 feet high, the culms rather stout and erect, with an abundance of foliage, the leaves being quite long and nar- row. The panicle is from 6 to 12 inches long, consisting of from 10 to 20 narrow, spreading spikes, each 4 to 6 inches long, mostly scattered on the axis, or two or three together. The spikelets are three to five-flowered, the empty glumes linear- lanceolate and acute. The flowering glumes are oblong, obtuse, two-lobed, and smooth except on the margins. Its principal range is in the Southwest, from Texas to Arizona. It is a promising grass, and should receive the attention of agrienlturists. (Plate 109.) Melica. Spikelets two to many-flowered ; the flowers usually convolute around each other, ‘the upper one small and imperfect: the empty glumes are membranaceous and awn- less, the lower one three to five-nerved, the npper five to nine-nerved, the lateral nerves not reaching to the apex. The flowering glumes are of thicker texture, becoming coriaceous, scarions near the apex, mwstly rounded on the back, five to nine-nerved, the lateral nerves not reaching the apex, the central one sometimes ending in a short point or even in along awn; the palets shorter than their glumes, two-keeled and eil- iate on the keels. Of this genus we have ten or twelve species. Melica diffusa. A perennial species, growing in rocky woods or ravines thronghout the Rocky Mount- ains in Colorado and New Mexico. It grows in loose tufts, the culms about 2 feet high, the lower leaves and sheaths soft hairy, the upper leaves narrow, 3 to 4 inches long and pointed. The panicle is 6 or 8 inches long, open, with rather few (6-3) branches, 3 to 4 inches long, rather distant from each other, and somewhat spreading; the spikelets are large, 4 to 6 lines long, and three to five-flowered, the upper flower im- perfect.. The empty glumes are quite unequal and much shorter than the spikelets. The flowering glumes are many-nerved below, with a broad scarious margin above. The palets are narrower and shorter than the flowering glumes and fringed on the keel. / This grass is relished by cattle, but as its preference is for shaded places it may not be adapted for general culture. (Plate 110.) Melica bulbosa. This species is distinguished by its large bulbous roots, or, more properly, by the bulb-like enlargement of the base of the stem. It grows 2 to 3 feet Ligh, the leaves narrow, scabrous, and becoming involute. The panicle is narrow, from 4 to 6 inches long, with short appressed branches. The spikelets are about half an inch long, with five to seven perfect flowers; the empty glumes are three to four lines long, or nearly 109 as long as the flowering glumes, which are oblong-lanceolate, seven-nerved, and ob- tuse or notched at the apex. This species grows in Oregon, Washinggon, California, Nevada, Mon- tana, Utah, and Colorado. (Plate 111.) Melica imperfecta. This is one of the commonest grasses throughout California, particularly in the southern portion. There are several varieties, which differ considerably in size and general appearance. The culms are from 1 to 3 feet high, rather slender and wiry, the leaves rather numerous and narrow. The panicle varies from 6 to 12 inches in length, sometimes narrow, but usually spreading, with rather long and distant branches, which are whorled about in threes of unequal length and numerously flowered. The spikelets have one or two perfect flowers, with a short, club-shaped, imperfect one. The empty glumes are shorter than the flowers and three to five- nerved, the flowering glume about seven-nerved, usually purplish and acute. It is not bulbiferous. The larger forms of this grass certainly deserve trial for culture in California. (Plate 112. Uniola. This genus has closely many-flowered spikelets, usually large, very flat, and two- edged, one or more of the lower flowers consisting only of an empty glume; the empty glumes are closely folded together, keeled, rigid, or coriaceous; the flowering ones are of similar texture, but larger, many-nerved, usually acute and entire, the palet rigid, with the keels narrowly winged. Uniola latifolia (Broad Leaved Uniola; Large-flowered Oat Grass). This is a handsome grass, growing 2 to 3 feet high, with very broad leaves and a large spreading panicle. The drooping spikelets are larger than those of any other North American grass, being an inch or more long and half as wide, consisting of ten or twelve flowers. It grows from Pennsylvania to Kansas and southward. Dr. Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala., says of this grass: A fine vernal grass with a rich foliage, blooming early in May; frequently in damp, sandy loam, forming large tufts. This perennial grass is certainly valuable, affording an abundant range early in the season; if cultivated it would yield large crops ready for entting trom the 1st of May. It is called by some wild fescue or oat grass. I am not able to judge of its value as a pasture grass. (Plate 113.) Glyceria Canadensis (Rattlesnake Grass; Tall Quaking Grass). Of this genus two species have been already described. This species belongs to the northern portion of the United States, usually found in mountainous districts, in swawps, and river-borders, growing in large tufts. The culms are stout, about 3 feet high, smooth and leafy. The leaves are 6 to 9 inches long, the lower ones often twice as long and quite broad. The panicle is large and diffuse, 6 to 9 inches long, the branches long, slender, and drooping. The branches are more or less whorled, mostly in threes, the largest 3 to 4 inches long, and often subdivided. The spikelets are oblong or ovate, rather turgid, usually six to eight-flowered. This is quite an ornamental grass. Cattle are fond of it, both green and when made into hay. 1tis well adapted to low meadows and yields a large quantity ot foliage. 110 Hon. J. S. Gould says: It is usually found at high elevations, in swampy land, and by the margin of streams. It ié very apt to grow in clumps. It is one of the most beautiful of grasses, and is exceedingly ornamental in grass boguets. It is abundant on the Catskill and White Mountains, and on the Raquette waters of the Adirondacks. Cattle eat it very weil in pasture and when made into hay. (Plate 114.) INDRA X. Page Agropyrum glaucum... .. ees... Volo wie tal 7,75 | Broom grass, heavy-topped AGropyruml TOPENS. ucts cacuivnie vival 7,757] Broomsedge'.. ulead in iaiii alee AgropYTOm LANET UM. «cu nsn evs -cdusicisnbsinn. 76 1 Buehlod dactyloldes...... wee be. iii. on. darostis alba. ......... cli. anes it idad 416° Bulfaloegrasg co. doiiiuess susie ii 23, 57, 59 Agrostis caning... ..... cee oac ebicelsitold 27 Fi Bunch grass. J... cooenin diana) 6,35, 42, 72, 107 Agrostis exaratn. . olla e.. 47 | Bur elover. ii iii daniainvededic nil, 92 Agrostis exarata var. Pacifica....-......... 107 1 CRCUS ...iviiiisiiiinee iisinasanaaai sith bol) 98 Agrostis stolonifera. .......... cc dee cidbones 46 | Calamagrostis Aleutica.......0eunrnnenan... 7 Agrostis vulgaris ...... ieee cleeticc can iiel 46 | Calamagrostis Canadensis .......ccecueeenan. 7,48 ARI. ores cai rae. Salita 84 Calamagrostis 1ongifolia. ....cceeeneanaaaann 7,49 LAMMIBYIO oc cnet sav ner con nana ne diniins nulels 102 { Calamagrostis neglecta.........cactnneaen.. 7 AIRAIING GTA8S - ..eocom. «nese adtisnoidaiemtiinis 61 | Calamagrostis sylvatiea............c.ouu.s 7,49 Alopecnrus genicnlatus ....ce ver ren-onniene 40 1 Canary grass, veed .. cutee sunrivonasnininnay 38 Alopecurus geniculatus, var. aristulatus.... 40 | Canary grass, southernreed................ 39 Alopecurus occidentalis. .........0 0... Jee 41 | Canary grass, Stewart!s..c..cssn-arence.iic. 39 Alopecurus pratensis ........cves eee cce 40 1 Cane, small. c..i ava dbvnnibbU LoL ol 78 Ammophila arundinaces.. ....c. .-csec case. 43{ Cane, switchii..... suis usiomav. Pale Ld 78 Andropogon furcatus ........ccceemuieannnn 7,35 | Ceratochlod unioloides ........caotlieaiill, 74 Andropogon Halll... ......-shee indi do 35 | Cheat.........- nin wien slat wa A miele So ale 73 AnAropogon IACIOULUS enews vunssnsrssiasas 35 4 UNess conic din deere sie 73 Andropogan provincialis. ceee.eeeennn. Clad mn) CODIOTIS GDR. are aes mead New aviie 108 Andropogon Scoparilt. ......-c.esscnsinasni 7,35 | Chrysopogon nutans ........cec.eeceeenaan. 7,36 Andropogon Virginicus ...c...ccsnsivnsnn..s 35 | Cinna arundinacea......eeeann Mesbdudilmone 47 Anthoxanthum odoratum -........ enlia ges 40 | Cinna pendula 47 A rIStidD PUEDULER. isis visie misiviaivin enim elrin nition sb 41 | Clover, Alsike 81 Arrhenatherum avenaceum ........... valk 52 | Clover, Brazilian 81 IA TTOW: TABS vv nv vais wis +s alalill dame sir siinias 47 (Clover, bur. ii. vacvnie, Shida ey 92 ATHHCO AONAX -vvvnencnnecuinnemaianasionneina 80 +f Clover, /Chilian. ..c..eaua oil aiiiii oe Fy 8t Arundinaria tects... .. he iuaca, shy 78 (Clover, Dutch. .... ae voes LLL LLL deh dedie 2 ANSE GTO8B cs ocs vn welaieids ns miele Slee 95} Clover, Florida. .uveneeiiilildllno wo, 103 Avena Tatlin. co vncs vores Maabslit veel din slots 58 J Clover, Frencli.. ceeeiieevavivismuaidon utc, 82, 84 Barley, Willd ..c... cvemmnndid. i ddsendecion 76 [TClover, Japan ui. sucssnaiiei dads Ld 0 05 Barnyard grass. --.. .ocoxav-- bone thasln obi a7 {EClover, mammoth. L.cvoiniiinavinasiiehs. U, 80 Beach OTA8. corn csainasin ids an seams blenhiiiing 48 | Clover, Mexieani ic ico aiiiivesaiee stony 18 Beckannia erucaeformis...... coceeuoaann. 94 {#Clover, pin.....-. Rs eRe SEE 103 Bell -LOUDTIIN «cranes smmin omnis Sle inte Jae 103 | Clover, red..........coaanannaiauen Lei 79 Bent orass .. 0... 00 cece il hve ates 46 | Clover, running buffalo’... LL... LL... 83 Bent grass, Rhode Island...........: cc0n.0 47 | Clover, Spanish «.icoiiinediinn leo... 103 Dermuda grass... .. ccceesossidasnnmediails 54 [iClover, white .....camtaieiuiiinin sali, 2 BLmket grass. ... coven veecriiidois Jobson oui 25 | Cordgrass... .cl..v...uiutie nun wads ly Blue grads, Kentucky . .....-....oi.00:L00 00000 66 Ji 'Corn, broom Blue. rags, TEXAS. .......snasnrenbntiesade 64 | Couch grass Bluo grass, English... .....c.obauidai ine 65. | Crabgrass.....: c.ievhisiinns disco te BIUCIOIDE evs vin snn ro Shiai bd 2 48.75 [ Crowfoot..cc.ow 2 bios ani BINGO SIOIL . - ccnvivvvin nn nen nine sinseisieimrsininiingels 85,75 | Cuba grass il.oniL Luh LL Bouteloua oligostachys. ....coveevansaonans 7.357 {Cut grassy Lai unci nino us Lie Bouteloua racemosa. .......eeeunn de +7157 1iCynodon Daetylon. iLL Ll LL LLL, 54 Brizopyrunt Spieatim, .... .. ssvasvdeunsissns 62 Dactylis'glomerata. i LLL Ll LLL LL, sols 2 Bromus: ciliatus...v veivemschivaasnin. we 74 | Dactyloctenium KEgyptiacum.......... Bromus Schraderi.............. Ld mann 74 1=Nurnel poison’ to Co to illo... we Bromus secalinus..........0... 000.0 LE 73 | Deschampsia cespitoss ............. cues Bromus unioloides.. ......... 0s FR 73 | Desmodium molle ...... -euu isan: sanseanans Bromus Willdenovil ....... LoL 00. . 74 | Desmodium tortuosum. .....cceeeeeeenn.an. Broourcolty =~ vohisy vised rw rtvanuy ewer aly 37 | Devil's knitting needles... .vvveeianaannne 111 Deyeuzia Canadensis Deyeuzia sylvatica Diplachne dubia Distichlis maritima Egyptian grass. ........ Eleusine Egyptiaca Eleusine Indica ............... tremens verrs 58 Elymus Canadensis ...............cuunesaae 77 Elymus coudensatus . -......... 17 Elymus triticoides. ...... 77 Elymus Virginicus.........oee---ssisvsis sons 77 Eragrostis AbyssSiDica ....ccuvsrsesvansnacy 61 Brasrostis MAYor. .- cccrersrrsnsy Genesis 61 Erodiam Cloutaritim . - -.«:..q: cnscsnstuvese 102 CE A EN NL Ee 83 Fuchlonn JoXurians.. i... .. covers rcenensine 30 Burotia lanai. --... .. -setin or coprsevisvinin 101 EVEIZTCen JTRS «c.csuseamivei sa swnsviniian 52 FalSO TIC coca sersvetsnisicilsntins Yunnan 34 Fesone, MEAAOW . . ..... . . Louse siniiaduussinasinn ys Fescne, Sheep's ..c vax ssi civine saenisniicl 72 Fascne, tall .......o00c coon istica vio 71 Yestucn elatior. ... cocitviueiiioi siiviiisy von 7 FaStUCT OV VINA. «ov nas. devs unin s dass Jk 1.72 Festuca PTUULENSIS . co ccc cvcnnne's invnnsaiimanss 71 Yestuca scabrella ........ co cor sedolotin de 1,72 Festuca unioloides.......oouiseiitiisiiccids 4 FHEIE . « Millet, Australian Millet, cat-tail cco ccoveiaan le aiiabael Millet, Egyptian Millet, evergreen Millet, German | Millet, Morocco | Millet, pearl Millet, Texas Millet grass | Millo maize Millo maize, red..ccceunnns.. iad Muhlenbergia comata Muhlenbergia diffusa Muhlenbergia glomerata -. ... Muhlenbergia Mexicana «...c.oee ann nes e Muhlenbergia, spiked Muhlenbergia sylvatica Munroa squarrosa .... Nimble Will ....... Oat grass, large-flowered. ...ocoveeenn ane we Oat grass, meadow Oat grass, tall | Oats, wild | Onobrychis sativa | Opuntia Engelmanni Opuntia vulgaris...... ..ccvvermmanncenenn- | Orehard Zrass....ee.ceseeocasesssnsnenesann | Oryzopsis cuspidata. ....cocveieamiaanecnnns | Panic grass, two-cdged | Panic grass, tall i Panicum agrost..ides | Panicum anceps Panicum barbinode ..... SS SS { Panicum Crus-galli Panicum gibbum..... Panicum jumentorum. oc. eeeseoessc=== -- { Panicum maximum ......... | Panicum miliaceum ...... | Panicum proliferum, var. geniculatum. .... | Panicum, TeALOP «euvvscammmacsmmmmmemanans ceemssescsesmmane 6 i0) , 57 28 Page. Panicum sanguinale........ccounnairen rasan 27 Panicum Texanum 25 Panicum virgatum 23 Para grass ........... 26 Parsley, water ........ 103 Paspalum dilntatum -...-e. canoe ouats 22 Paspalum distichum. ...-...-. one iarenszaes 24 Paspalmn, haivy-flowered .................. 22 PASPAIUTT OVEN ca xeis vines sonmmn sms ama 22 Paspalnm platyeaulo. oo... aaioei.en. 23 Penicilinrinspleata .-c..cocinbomiis conan, 30 Pennisetum spieatum, ....c-cescoicrsanricson 30 Phalaris arundinacen. i... cvcicesssomsnsnas 38 Phalaris intermedia... lic. .icade conan 39 Phalaris intermedia, var. angusta.......... 39 Phlenm pratense. ........c..cvmooovevsinon-- +4 Plooon wiass.. co... vee saltoidis a a ry 30 Pigeonweed .. cciceanntivesiisaninsionnns 103 Pin alover.... coi otis ea, 102 Pin grass... cu. as cbc sume can 102 Pragmites communis..... CG sll 60 Poa anding...... cole a dace 69 Pos arachnifern ...... coolio oineiiunss 61 Poa compressa. ..-..-.... 5 aie Se 65 Poa pratensis 66 Poa seroting ......caieeeer. 67 Poa tenuifolia. . ....coiseen:vensens Soles 68 Poa trivialie Sloot. oipadad acl aide ou. 68 Poa trivialis, var. occidentalis ............. 69 Poor 408... eee mie ve 103 Porcupine grass. ......... .cesensncseicaicans 42 Prickly PeOTs cu sci ssiesis mak Susidvvninenion dete 98 Quack orasy..... ......c:coresvssnossaconoys 75 Quaking grass, tall oi... lll cod... 109 Randall grass cc... ou eis Jinaiee vsinbissis 71 Rattlesnake grass... .... .c..cechvesnsicssess 109 Zed millomaizel taf oon 33 Rodtoph . J. kia Jos. daddies in entn sis nines 46 Redtop, Pacific coash .........iraestivanass 17 Redtop Panlcam «.....cob detrei. 28 Beod grass... oo... ui viene tdeendss 50 Beed grass, giant........cc0esneaeanue....., GO Reed grass, small. ..cc.c.veccieecitinnnnan 48 Reed grass, wood: 0. 0c iiiiseee valu 47 Ralief grass, Gilbert's... ...ccocieeceev ane 39 Rescue grass... oc... iciceesd omnis conn 73 Rice, false... nest asec eatoblint dake 34 Rice, Indion.......----. rs an a ann le 33 Rico, wild... ..... .. ciceaicicee chit dace 33 Richardsonin seabird. ..ccceevncnn vonensin 103 Rivergrass. ......ccciceeiirscnvnnnssinanes 25 Bye grass.....o.mcevsmenie 77 Rye grass, giant ik Bye grass, Italian ..........cco. ie. cnniis 74 Ryo grass, wild..:....onusneincoraivannrannns 77 Bye, wild... cece ivoire nc dy 77 BRCEALO0 ones nmehadeo int anainnbahn 42 Sage, While . casvevveniosncdinve nian: eo 101 ETT A Ee AN 83 Salt grass ......... ln 4 oe a ew nh in 56, 61, 107 Sand gmes -....i.. ee rs ae laa 43 Sarcobatus vermiculatus .........coee.eae.. 101 | Scehrador’s mes ..... ... ccicicsatannra ees 73 Setaria glavea .......... Ss 30 3094 G Ps y Page. Setaria Italica ...... ce... »ssslaeedrevesbass 2 Seotaria vIPIQIS ...cvevenresvmrvnsnnsananess 3 Slough grass ...cececeien siansnen comamsnaraas 24 SME STAB. cc ccoicicae invaan snnen sma wive 45 Soft grass... ou tr cueienanisn tars snes msn 50 Sorghum halepense ........................ 36 Sorghum, SUSHY .. ccc cron cadanivonv=nsds. 37 Sorghura vudeare.........». 37 Spartina cynosuroides.....c.ceesevsss sense 56 Spartina juncea ... 56 Spear grass 66 Sporobolus airoides ........ 107 Sporobolus cryptandrus 45 Sporobolus heterolepis..................... 107 i Sporobolus Indicus ...... .zceceumceesiao, 45 Sprouting crab grass ...........ass2unns 22a. 26 Squirrel-tail grass.......z.0exca-. csi nanan 76 SHIP AVEHAGEH ac cit smenins con sssnsmnsivasnny 41 Stipa comata.....ccnsessnrrsnsarasssnmssany 6,41 Stipa pennata ..c.oc caves idiins snsdns sans 2 Stipa setigera ... cr coneariconsissivan 84 Trifolium hybridumt cea. ice eceinnonns 81 Trifolium inearnatan. . .. ce ieiive Josey 82 Trifellummediom......cc oi. u.n. oren 50 Trifolinm pratense. .........00 0 JoLlh LL. 79 Trifolium repens... .. cece cied cena. ius 82 Trifolium stoloniferam............t...L.... 82 Triodisacnminath...ccoe semen meen ata 59 Triodia sesleroides............Lecn ch. 59 TPTriodia strictn ......... odovere oonnaaiiag, 59 Triodin Texan ....... coc. ioevervtovnrivians 59 Tripsacum dactyloides..................... 30 Trisetum palustre. ...oicrese nsnsishonneos 51 Trisetum subspicatum.......ceceecuveennn.. 51 Uniols, broad-leaved...........0a0e'tnan.. 109 Univla Jalifolia. coer cose cc conisnsnnranrnzas 109 Volvel grass. .....c sus asnnnszsas sii .e 50 Valvet mesquile. ...c. iexees dnson-ivasenssiany 50 Vernal grass, SWeeh ....cc.covrnsranssinaaeen 40 Water parsley 103 White grass ......c.cuv.cevercnceensesncaas 34 ‘White grass, small-lowered........ eee wale 34 White Saga... ..v.ceneeniomiswnraicosciesrsancnnsis 101 Wild barley... .... caves cat saat ssinisss 76 Wild oats .........v-.00 36, 52 Wildrice .....«:5e: nun, 33 Wildrve..........-.... i Wire grass ....... 35, 107 Wood reed grass ..ceeeceuennvecesansnsnas 47, 58, 65 Yard arass.....q..cccaesvonssinsssssenesnan 58 Zacatecas mmiimeits i erin es 34 Zizanica aquatica rrusraresseesnsasyerenas 33 NOTE. It has been thought well to attach to the foregoing, in the form of an appendix, a report of Mr. Clifford Richardson, formerly Assistant Chemist of the Department of Agriculture, on the Chemical Composi- tion of American Grasses, from investigations made by him in the laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, 1878-1882. The appendix also includes, for the benefit of those readers who may wish to familiarize themselves with them, a glossary of the botanical terms used in describing grasses. : 115 APPENDIX. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN GRASSES FROM INVESTIGATIONS IN THE LABORATORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 1878-1682. BY CLIFFORD RICHARDSON, FORMERLY ASSISTANT CHEMIST. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN GRASSES. In submitting grasses to chemical analysis, with a view of judging of their nutritive value, it is usual to determine the amount present of water, ash, fat or oil, fiber, and nitrogen. Irom the latter the amount of albuminoids to which it is equivalent is readily calculated by multiply- ing by a factor which represents the per cent. of nitrogen present in the average albuminoid, and by substracting the sum of all these constitu- ents from one hundred, the percentage of undetermined matter is ob- tained, and as it of course contains no nitrogen, and consists of the ex- tractive principles of the plant, itis described as ¢ Nitrogen free extract.” [t includes all the carbo-hydrates, such as sugar, starch, and gum, to- gether with certain other allied substances, with which we are less in- timately acquainted, but which have a certain nutritive value. Although it has been customary to state as albuminoids the equiva- lent of the nitrogen found, this is rarely entirely correct, as a portion is generally present in a less highly elaborated form of a smaller nutritive value. This portion is described as non-albuminoid nitrogen, and in analyses of the present day the amount is always given as an additional source of information, although our knowledge of its exact value to the animal is rather uncertain. The ultimate composition of the ash is also frequently determined, and examples of the results obtained are of interest as showing the min- eral matter that grasses withdraw from the soil. Without entering into a discussion of the nutritive value of the several constituents of the grasses, for which reference can be made to Armsby’s Manual of Cattle Feeding, it is sufficient to say that during the past few vears the greater portion of the species described by Dr. Vasey in the preceding portion of this Bulletin have been analyzed, and the results collected and re-arranged, with some corrections, from the annual reports of the Department are presented in the following pages. The first series consists of analyses made with specimens collected at or near the time of blooming. Their origin is as follows: No. of anal. 1. Paspalum lave (Water Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. 2. Paspalum leve (Water Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester Connty, Pa. 1880, August 23-29. 3. Paspalum dilatatum. From S. L. Goodale, Saco, Me. 1880. 4. Paspalum praecox. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. "no 120 No. of anal. 5. Panicum filiforme. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. 6. Panicum sanguinale (Crab Grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. 7. Panicum sanguinale (Crab Grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 23, 1830. 8. Panicum sanguinale (Crab Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. = August 11, 1880. 9. Panicum maximum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1378. 10. Panicum Texanum (Texas Millet). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 18790. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 0 " ~~). 26. . Setaria Italica. From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester Ss 23. 29. Lo 34. 35. A 36. 37. 33. 39. 40. 41. 33. . Panicum proliferum (Large Crab Grass). ‘‘ Very ripe and rank.” From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. 2. Panicum agrostoides (Marsh Panic). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. . . Panicum anceps. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. . Panicum anceps. From the Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. July 31, 1830. 5. Panicum Crus-galli (Barnyard Grass). Irom Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. . Panicum Crus-galli (Barnyard Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. . Panicum Crus-galli (Cock’sfoot). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. August 25, 1880. . Panicum virgatum (Panic Grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. Low growth. ‘ Panicum virgatum (Tall Panic or Switch Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Aus- tin, Tex. 1878. Panicum virgatum (Tall Panic or Switch Grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. Panicum virgatum (Tall Panic or Switch Grass). From W. S. Robertson, Musco- gee, Ind. T. 1879. Tall growth. Panicum divaricatum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. Panicum gibbum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1379. Panicum obtusum. From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1378. Panicum capillare (Witch Grass). From W,S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. Panicum dichotomum. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1379. County, Pa. July 24, 1580. Setaria glauca (Fox-tail). From the grounds of the Department. July 24, 1880. Setaria glauca (Fox-tail). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. August 11, 1880. . Setaria sclosa (Bristle Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. 31. 32. Tripsacum dactyloides (Gama Grass). From D. L. Phares, Woodville, Miss. 187%. Tripsacum dactyloides (Gama Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. 1880. Spartina cynosuroides (Whip Grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Pope County, Minnesota. 1879. : Spartina cynosuroides (Whip Grass). From J. D. Waldo, Quincy, Ill. 1879. Spartina cynosuroides (Whip Grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. Andropogon Virginicus (Brown Sedge, Sedge Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. Andropogon scoparius. From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. Before bloom. Andropogon scoparius (Broom Grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. Andropogon scoparius. From W. 8S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. Andropogon macrourus (Broom Grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint Grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Pope County, Minn. 1879. 121 No. of anal. * 42. 43. 44. = aS GO. 61. 62. 64. 65. G6. 67. 63. 69. 70. 7); 72. "7. 74. Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint). From D. IT. Wheeler, Nebraska. 1879. Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint). From W.S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. Andropogon furcatus (Blue joint Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. September 2, 1880. . Andropogon argenteus (Silver Beard Grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1380. . Sorghum halepense (Johnson Grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. . Sorghum nutans. From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. ; . Sorghum nutans (Wood Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin Tex. 1878. 0. Phalaris intermedia, var. angusta- (American Canary Grass). From South Caro- lina, 1879. . Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal Grass). From James O. Adams, Manches- ter; N. 1. 1579, . Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. May 11-24, 1880. . Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet Vernal Grass). From the grounds of the Depart- ment. May 1, 1830. . Hierochloa borealis (Vanilla Grass). From E. Hall, Athens, Ill. 1878. . Alopecurus pratensis (Meadow Fox-tail). Irom the grounds of the Department. May 1, 1880. 5. Aristida purpurascens (Purple Beard Grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. TD. . Milium effusum. From C. G. Pringle, Hazen’s Notch, Vt. 1820. ; . Mullenbergia diffusa (Dropseed Grass). Irom Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1873. . Muhlenbergia diffusa (Dropseed Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester Grove, Pa. Aug. 25, 1880. . Muhlenbergia Mexicana. From Eastern Experiment Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. Angust 22, 1830. Muhlenbergia glomerata (Satin Grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Popo Connty, Minn. 1879, Muhlenbergia sp.? (Knot Grass). Irom James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. Phlcum pratense (Timothy, Herd’s Grass). From the grounds of the Department. June, 18, 1880. 7 . Phlcum pratense (Timothy). From the grounds of the Department. Wayside growth. June 4, 1580. : Phlewm pratense (Timothy). From the grounds of the Department. June 26, 1882. First year’s growth from seed. Phleum pratense (Timothy). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. June 20, 1880. Phleum pratense (''imothy, Herd’s Grass). From J. W. Sanborn, Hanover, N. IT. 1881. Phlenm pratense (Timothy). From W. IH. Hackstaff, La Fayette, Ind. 1852. Phleum pratense (Timothy). From J. M. Robinson, Queen Anne County, Md. July 4, 1882. Unmanured for years. Sporobolus Indicus (Sweet Grass). Irom D. L. Phares, Woodville, Miss. 1878. Agrostis vulgaris (Redtop, Herd’s Grass). Irom the grounds of the Department June 23, 1880. Agrostis vulgaris (Redtop). From the grounds of the Department. Wayside growth. June 18, 1830. : Agrostis vulgaris (Herd’s Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. Agrostis vulgaris (Redtop), From J. J. Rosa, Milford, Del. . Agrostis exarata (Native Redtop). From Theo. Louis, Louisville, Wis. 1878. 122 No. of anal. 75. Cinna arundinacea (Reed Grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 76. Holcus lanatus (Velvet Grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 25, 1880. n 77. Avena striata (Mountain Oat Grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt. 1879. 78. Arrhenatherum avenaceum (Oat Grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 25, 1880. 79. Arrhenatherum avenaceum (Oat Grass). From Dr. W. C. Benbow, Greenshorongh, N.C. Late bloom. May 12, 1830. 80. Danthonia spicata (Wild Oat Grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. 81. Danthonia compressa (Wild Oat Grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt. 1847. 82. Cynodon Dactylon (Bermuda Grass) From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. 83. Cynodon Dactylon (Bermuda Grass.) From D. L. Phares, Woodville, Miss. 1878. 84. Bouteloua oligostachya (Gramma Grass). From A. C. Lathrop, Glenwood, Pope County, Minn., 1879. 85. Eleusine Indica (Yard Grass, Crowfoot Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 86. Eleusine Indica (Yard Grass, etc.). From Dr. W. A. Cresswell, Americus, Ga. 1878. 87. Eleusine Indica (Yard Grass, etc.). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1878. 88. Leptocheoa mucronata (Feather Grass). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. : 89. Triodia purpurea (Sand Grass). From W. S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. 90. Triodia seslerioides (Tall Redtop). From Prof. S. B. Buckley, Austin, Tex. 1878. 91. Uniola latifolia (Fescue Grass). From Charles Mohr, Mobile, Ala. 1879. Y2. Uniola latifolia (Feseue Grass). From M. 8S. Robertson, Muscogee, Ind. T. 1879. 92. Dactylis glomerata (Orchard Grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 94. 98. 101. 102. 103. 104. 1879. Dactylis glomeraia (Orchard Grass). From the grounds of the Department, May 13, 1880. First growth. . Dactylis glomerata (Orchard Grass). From the grounds of the Department, June 18, 1880. Later growth. . Dactylis glomerata (Orchard Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West, Grove, Chester County, Pa. 1880. . Dactylis glomerata (Orchard Grass). From W. H. Cheek, Warren County, N. C, Early bloom. May 16, 1880. Dactylis glomerata (Orchard Grass). From Dr. W. C. Benbow, Greensborough, N. C. 1880. Early bloom, May 12. . Dactylis glomerata (Orchard Grass). From S. L. Goodale, Saco, Me. 1880. 100. Poa pratensis (Blue Grass, June Grass). From Theo. Louis, Louisville, Wis. 1878. Poa pratensis (Blue Grass, etc.) From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. Poa pratensis (Blue Grass, ete.). From the grounds of the Department. May 2%. 1880. Growth from best soil. Poa pratensis (Blue Grass, etc.). From the grounds of the Department. May 8, 1880. Growth from poorer soil. Poa pratensis (Blue Grass, etc.). From the grounds of the Department. May 19, 1380. Growth by wayside. . Poa pratensis (Blue Grass, etc.) From J. D. Waldo, Quincey, Ill. May 17, 1880. . Poa pratensis (Blue Grass, etc.). From W. B. Cheek, Warren County, N. C. 1880. Before bloom. 123 No. of anal. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 134. 135. 136. Poa pratensis {Blue Grass, etc.). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. 1880. Poa compressa (English Blue Grass, Wire Grass). From James O. Adams, Man- chester, N. H. 1879. Poa compressa (English Blue Grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 17, 1880. Poa compressa (English Blue Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. June 10, 1880. Poa compressa (English Blue Grass). From J. J. Rosa, Milford, Del. June 6, 1880. . Poa serotina (Fowl Meadow Grass, False Redtop). From Theo. Louis, Louisville, Wis. 1878. Poa arachnifera. From Ellis County, Tex. 1882. Poa alsodes. From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester, County, Pa. June 2, 1830. Glyceria aquatica (Reed Meadow Grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt. 1879. Glyceria nervata (Fowl Meadow Grass). From Cyrus G. Pringle, Charlotte, Vt. 1879. Glyceria nervata (Fowl Meadow Grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. Tf. 1270. Glyceria nervata (Fowl Meadow Grass). From the Eastern Experimental Farin, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. June 2, 1830. Festuca ovina (Sheep’s Fescue). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H 1879. Festuca ovina (Sheep’s Fescue). From the grounds of the Department. May 21 1880. Festuca elatior (Meadow Fescne). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. June 2, 1880. Festuca pratensis (Meadow Fescue). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H 1879. Festuca pratensis (Field Fescue). From the grounds of the Department. June 1, 1880. Atter bloom. . Bromus secalinus (Cheat, Chess). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. Bromus unioloides (Schrader’s Grass). From the grounds of the Department. 1879. Bromus unioloides (Schrader’s Grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 13, 1880. : Bromus erectus (Chess). From the grounds of the Department. May 19, 1880. Bromus carinatus (California Brown-grass). From E. Hall, Athens, Ill. 1871. Lolium perenne (Common Darvel, Ray, or Rye Grass). From the grounds of the Department. June 1, 1880. Lolium perenne (Rye Grass, etc.). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. . Lolium Italicum (Italian Rye Grass). From the grounds of the Department. May 26, 1882. . Agropyrum repens (Couch, Quitch, or Quack Grass). From James O. Adams, Manchester, N. H. 1879. . Agropyrum repens (Couch Grass, etc.). From the Eastern Experimental Farm, West Grove, Chester County, Pa. Agropyrum repens (Couch Grass). From S. L. Goodale, Saco, Me. 1880. Agropyrum repens (Couch Grass, ete.). From the grounds of the Department. June 23, 1820. Early bloon. Elymus canadensis (Wild Rye Grass). From D. H. Wheeler, Nebraska. 1879, 124 The specimens, it will be seen, arc from all parts of the country and grown under every condition of soil and environment. Those collected by Dr. Peter Collier in 1878 and 1879 were mostly from the poorer soils, and were intended to represent the wild grasses of the country. Those collected in subsequent years by myself were chiefly cultivated varieties. The development mn nearly every case was full bloom or shortly after, that being the period at which the grasses as a whole seem to be cut for hay. The analyses have been calculated for ¢ dry substance,” and also for “fresh grass,” where the amount of water in the fresh grass had been determined ; otherwise, for the average amount of water in hay as given by Wolff. This figure is probably too high for the United States, owing to our drier climate; but, in the absence of exact data for the selection of a more accurate one, it has been provisionally accepted. It is very easy to calculate from the composition of the dry substance what effect the presence of any percentage of water would have on the absolute amount of any constituent present in a given weight of grass. No. of analysis. pt Dry substance. Fresh substance or bay. 2 2 : 3, : 5 51 £ . . = = g : : gd | | 22 : ~~ on oD . = < + z % : El zs | 2 | BE | © x bl 0 < = 3.47 | 60.80 | 22.45 | 7.04 | 1.27 3.42 | 53.76 | 95.79 | 9.81 | 1.57 2.96 | 61.12 | 22.80 | 6.48 | 1.04 3.40 | 50.32 | 27.20 | 4.88 | .78 1.67 | 52.92 | 33.08 | 3.00] .48 1.85 | 55.52 | 29.07 | 6.45] 1.04 1586220 | 2L64| 5.65290 3.19 | 58.37 | 20.84 | 4.14 | .66 2.54 | 58.20 | 2.75 | 5.77 | .92 3.02 | 58.19 | 25.65 | 805 | 1.20 2.10 | 58.46 | 26.26 | 5.32 | .85 3.19 | 57.60 | 31.18 | 3.95 | .63 9.47 | 51.97 | 27.04 | 4.99 | [80 3.06 | 64.19 | 25.30 | 3.73 | .60 2.84 | 52.21 | 25.05 | 11.80 | 1.89 2.54 | 59.75 | 28.62 | 3.88 | .62 1.63 | 50.32 | 35.68 | 3.20 | .51 4.11 | 43.44 | 24.81 | 15.95 | 2.55 3.41 | 53.81 | 25.79 | 8.56 | 1.37 2.07 | 54.21 | 25.49 | 11.50 | 1.84 3.36 | 59.45 | 20.63 | 0.47 | 1.52 4.06 | 49.45 | 23.02 | 14.15 | 2.27 3.36 | 54.30 | 23.78 | 10.81 | 1.73 2.59 | 61.36 | 24.88 | 4.32 | .69 3.87 | 46.33 | 24.55 | 15.07 | 2. 64 1.81 | 55.35 | 23.56 | 10.00 | 1.60 3.43 | 47.35 | 21.94 | 10.88 | 1.74 2.60 | 65.47 | 22.60 | 4.32 | 77 5.77 | 41.21 | 17.68 | 20.32 | 3.25 3.73 | 53.76 | 22.77 | 13.40 | 2.15 3.58 | 58.93 | 21.93 | 9.90 | 1.58 3.95] 57.48 | 23.53 | 8.48 | 1.36 | Non-albuminoid. — cS oN - g . t B= 5 £ =.= < = = g 22 AE g lu E = == . 2E E . & 2 go] EE 2] EF in E < [3 zi 5 25.2 { 14.30 4.58 2.07 | 52.11 | 19.24 33.81 14.30 6.19 2.93 | 46.07 | 22.10 25.57 14.2 5. GL 2.54 | 62.38 | 19.62 57.5 | 14.30 4.46 2.01 | 50.84 | 23.31 24.4 | 14.30 8. 00 1.43 | 45.35 | 28.35 24.71 14.30 6. 09 1.59 | 47.58 | 24.91 56.6 | 14. 30 5. 00 1.351 53.30 | 21.12 59.7 14.30 3.82 2.73 | 50.03 | 25.57 57.1 7 14.30 3.21 2.18 | 49.87 | 25.50 33.9 | 14.30 4.36 2.59 | 49.87 | 21.98 37.5 14.30 6. 74 1.80 | 50.10 | 22.50 52.5 { 14.30 3.50 2.73:1 40.36 | 26. 72 11.2] 14.30 | 11.60 2.12] 44.53.) 25,17 60.7 | 14.30 3.11 2.62 1 55.01 | 21.76 40.0 | 14.30 6. 92 2.430 44.77 {| 21.47 52.5 | 14.30 4.46 2.18: | 51.21] 24.53 41.2 | 14.30 7. 86 1.40 | 43.12 | 30.58 rven ae 14. 30 9. 99 3.52 | 37.231 21.20 38.1 | 14.30 7.29 2.92 146.12} 22.10 35.9 | 14.30 5.00 2.54 | 46.46 | 21.85 9.9 | 78.80 1. 50 71 12.61 4.37 37.7 14.30 7.99 3.48 | 42.38 | 19.73 0:0 | 60.00 3.10 1.34 1 21.72 9,51 20.7 | 14.30 5. 81 2.22 | 52.59 | 21.32 28.8 | 14. 30 7.95 3.32; 30.69 | 21.05 30.2 | 14.30 7.95 1.55 | 47.44 | 20.19 17.0 | 14.30 | 14.06 2.94 | 40.58 | 18. 80 23.4 | 14.30 8.71 2.30 | 56.11 { 190.45 28.5 14.30 | 12.87 4.94 | 35.32] 15.15 87.2 | 14.30 5.43 3.20 | 46.07 | 19.52 24.0 | 67.20 1. 86 1.175):19, 33 7.19 22.0 | 63.40 2.40 1.45] 21.04 8.61 Albuminoids. — — — — $003 03 iP 10 ID ID ILI POO © LF a SB. C3 00 4 o® a 64 | Phleum pratense.. BL) viens DD. C.oeelewerl 7-16 |:4. 47 1.50.08 127.235 | 10.90.) 1.75] .51|.029.1 05 } .one-80.% 5. caus .. 65iJune 20] Pa......)....] 5.05 | 3.22 |567.22 [2539 9.12 | 1.44 41 28.5 0 lecnnas J finan tne cone inne GO rinse N.H. }....) 4.57 420 57.16 (28.28 5.79 .93¢ .10 {10.8 BF Teisee sO diss sawn Sonn OF eee ieanionn Ind: ...0.=..]-7.05(-2.18 52.99 | 32.26.) 5.521 .88.|" .00 0.0 68 [suene- BO cet eet ieee 68 | July 4,82 [{ Md..... 74.931 4.22 | 52.73 1 30.48 7.69 | 1.23 .15 | 10.2 69 | Sporobolus Indicus................ 6g ok Miss... 7.04 | 8.27 {51.67 (25.67 112.35 1.98 .57 28.7 70 | Agrostis vulgaris.......c.cecceae.| 70 (June 23 | D.C....| 45 | 7.27 | 2.87 | 56.82 | 22.02} 11. 02: 1.760. .53 30.1 Th §.ceie AOL. oe rcueictuds snminenenens) Tl | June 18 D.C ....i538. 85.84 1-5 30.{ 58.49. 20.42 9.95: 1.50| .32 ,. U0.1 12 asenn Te TR 72 | July Tf Pa... eo .2x.>6.88] 3.81 {54.581 25.33: 9.007 1.58} .80 |. 50.7 73 eenns AOis ieee cores 73 1882 Del .. --.1:10.53 | 3.5% {56.80 | 21.63) 11.25 {1.801 .45 | 25.0 .74 | Agrostis exarata............ Sedene oie Wis ....)..-.]5.95] 2.30 /56.63724.51 10.61 1.70.0 .45] 26.3 75 | Cinna arundinacea ..cc.c.cecveee-- TBs veivanics Ind. T..|....] 6.69| 2.98] 54.47 | 29.64 | 6.22 | 1.00 | .47| 47.4 76 Holcuslanatus.--..c-ccceein eens % | May 23({D.C....|72| 823; 3.80} 5552 25.01 7.35. |.1-80'7 .60 46.2 71.4 Avenasiriata........... '......... Tease Vit... cael 4.96 | 4.00 (56.13 126.16; 8.75) 1.40.1 .00 0.0 78 | Arrhenatherum avenceum........ Si May 25|D.C....8 | 7.9371 403(5493 (24.353 | 878 1.414 .15| 10.6 19 aOR re A ce] 79 | May 12 | N.C.... 87 S43] 2.81 49.97 (26.09 12.70 (2.121.090 51.4 80 | Danthonia spicata ... wey s SOs oiaen cm niw N.H ...l....] 4.88) 3.80 56.92.{ 29.110 5.79.0 .92 .204 91.1 81 | Danthonia compressa. eal Bl ce ees Vi... .. Sees] 08.5741 8.521 54.61: 30.32] 7.931.299 .30 22.9 82 | Cynodon Daectylon................ 824. ann Ala..... s-a] 9.11] 1.57] 52.61 123.20] 13.421 2.35 .77{ 30.0 8h fe ie Ee BE Se mld Sd BI. culeeianns Miss....15..79.91 9.131 53.7571 22.52 (10.601 1.71 11.01 59.2 84 | Bouteloua oligostachya...... Serer) Bt ce ae D.C....|....1 7.811 3.121 57.84.11 22.65] 8587 L37 | .12 8.7 85.¢ Eleusine.Indiea o.oo. 0 ESTs Tex... ery 19.24] 2.14 1 34.01 | 31.01 4 13.60] 2.181 1.14} 52.2 80]. -en 0s ss sdeiotie ini 80. 0..oncs.cnsd Go Gi. loon 8.24 2.08 | 55.07 | 22.49 | 12.12 | 1.94 .75 38.7 Sich i= doi... a Bl a. aa Alay... e--| 9.70] 2.5681 55.47] 21.23 | 11.06{ 1.96] .SL] 46.8 88 | Leptochloa mucronata ...........! Bas Tox c...|--.-1 11.76 1: 2.05 | 46.75] 31.74 | - 7.7007 1.23: . 50: 47.8 Triedinpurpiren..--.....--.-...) SOl............ 516| 8.71 |53.94120.14| 8.05 1.20] .621 48.0 Triodinseslerivides...---.a...... 00... .0,, x Jee.] 5337 1.99] 48.836] 37.72] 6.30} 1.0L} -.49[ 43.0 Uniola latifolia ......... aan) AO tons rene) A ef J4.60 | 3.123418 137.2¢| 10.87 {1.74} .38| 21.6 10.42 | 2.49 55.95 | 24.66 | 6.48] 1.04 | .30| 28.5 8.44] 3.49] 54.75 | 24.91 | 8.41 |1.34( .35( 30.9 8.07 8.24 | 53.76 | 25.40 9.53 | 1.53 .16 10.5 8.64) 3.98(50.20(24.67| 12.51 (1.99) .77| 38.7 6.33 | 2.66 | 54. 94 | 27.51 8.56 | 1.37 .51 37.2 7.42 3.56 | 56.03 | 23.08 0.914 1.58 . 30 19.0 8.90 | 8.68 (52.16 24.97 10.29] 1.61 .63 30.1 8.02 2.39 | 54.80 | 26.05 8.74 | 1.4) . 36 25.7 5.20 | 2.86) 52.46 | 27.94 | 11.54 | 1.85 . 50 26. 8 5.47 ( 4.95 | 59.61 | 22.47 7.50 | 1.20 . 36 30.3 8.30 3.90 | 51.43 | 31.96 | 12.61 | 2.01 .02 1.0 7.02 2.85 | 56.85 | 25.46 7.821 1.28 .10 7.8 9.73 { 3.41} 55.32 | 23.10: 10.4% | 1.67 . 14 8.4 7.83] 8.77 48.30 | 24.93 | 15.00; 2.41 | .51 21.1 9.01{ 4.35147.93 124.13 14.56% 2.33 .45 19.3 7.48 | 4.58 | 53.08 | 20.64 | 14.22 | 2,27 47 20.8 5.21 3.44 | 57.18 | 25.35 8.821 1.41 . 36 25.2 6. 08 4.53158 18 18.531 1°69] 2.03 .45 22.2 7.85 | 3.84 58.47 | 20.90 ( 8.94] 1.43 .38 | 26.9 6.54] 4.25]55.61 120.15] 13.45] 2.15] .53| 24.5 112 oa BOPOLINA oc cvivecamanssnmnp Mc as Li tae 4.23 2.84 [65.81 | 20.85] 6.27 [1.01 .33 32.6 113 { Poa arachnifera .....e.....cec.... HE ors POX +ocelene., 1.621 3.71: 22.16 |.31.89°1.00.61 1. 70/.curnn sermnas 4 | Poaalsodes..q, vain ili { June 2 | Pa...... ceo] 9.411 4.00) 51.41 | 21.25 | 13.84 | 2,21 | .32 | 14.5 15 { Glycerinaquatica:............ ;.n Maa Vb... ael9.80°) 9.90 | 56.771 25.60 ' 8.13: 1.301 .30v 22.7 oe — 6D tet © iFe £0 23 COTY ID CD 00 Ws 4B © 1 yin = BO OF 3 =] 0 00 OD OTN RWND WOOD WOW OV OUI O00 = = 00 x 00 OS =] > bt POO NWIDOANRROHCOC ONO IO — SRR ELBIRSRERIARIERE 1 14 £0 1 00 = 10 1 14 10 14 14 © 00 10 14 §0 14 10 I= ©0 BO 10 = 10 = = 00 ho 1 LCT r= i £0 BD $300 IS b= | P82 HIP 200 00 Nin ID 2F IUD SVE) F958 r= = OH 0D Wa 00 Wx CO er OO DO 1D © We CPOE NSO IE CNC OVD E21 00 PO wa ia S00 23 £ £5 00 13 $9 $5 I 10 4h Jb GA 1 PROG —owRt bt £5 EO DDED E51 IDES EO £0 1 i : % 7 3 f 8 s = z £ 2 | 3 = °o . = i z 2 12 — = e = = Q ‘SC < od sf : . z — Q = = © = a o 7} zi 7 a AER 116 | Glycerinnervata.................. y:...... suming On JO 217 fee. 0 LC LU ae er ede NH: ...i... 6. 80 118 SAO i i ee eas Pa ..... pt 7.93 119 | Festuca ovina .......oonenornrnen. N.H....1>...]. 5.03 20 1 ouinias osc sa cis asain D.C ....~40 | 5.60 12] | Fostacaelatior.......i..........;. Pa......}- al B07 122 | Festuca pratensis............ NH... ..../. 813 128 Looe A0cssnin ise inivis D.C....1'76| 736 124 | Bromus secalinus... NE i.e 125 | Bromus unioloides........ D.C... o{t=0. 74 126 0 a dd i aaa D.C.... 761 "9:96 127 | Bromus erectus. ................. May D.C....[68] 7.70 128 I. Bromus corinatus.s. vei. 028 0 LL M...... .-- 10:88 129 |. Lollum perenne. ....... 0... 0... 120i dune “1 E1D.C... 7.50 130 0. Terenas JOT May <0 26 iPr... 6.09 131 | Lolium Ttalicum .......... SLA May 28 TDC... 11.02 132 | Agro From repens LL 382 Iida NH... 9. 32 133 essere clon on cova 133 June “12 | Pa...... 6.23 ELL hl TBE JT ll Me..... 7.28 aL dae -+| 185 (*dune. #28 ED. C ....0.. 8.77 SR nallLL 186 J. veers. Li dnd. TT 0 0c-. 55.99 | | | | | { Nitrogen-free extract. Dry substance. / Crude fiber. 98. 20 | 21. : | 1 Albuminoids. 9.41 Total nitrogen. bed 1D oe fond IND fot ed ed et ND ND md mt ed IND ft oD) it rt Non-albuminoid. Per cent. of nitrogen as non-albuminoid. IRIS aODU 3 ~1~10 C100 1 Fresh substance or hay. Nitrogen-free extract. be | 3 = L% bz a 4 | E < ~ © 5.30 | 2.74 45.43! 24.17 5.83! 2.49 , 51.43 | 18.83 6.79 | 2.46 | 45.43 | 18.32 4.81 (estrada... 1.85 | .83]19.21{ 7.85 6.91 | 3.48 | 44.22 | 10.20 7.83 | 2.81 | 45.07] 20.78 6.14 | 2.83 | 43.31 23.68 6.10 | 3.49 | 49.11 | 20.39 8.35 8.07] 44.97 | 17.64 1.91 82 | 10.60 | 4.67 2.79 | 1.02] 20.40 | 8.90 9.32 2.30 | 42.67 | 22.91 2.77.1 97 [20.97 | 9.80 5.22 | 2.43 | 51.89 | 15.65 2.4% | +51 [91.39 | 4.50 7.99 | 3.02] 48.22 | 16.63 5.34 | 3.00 | 49.50 | 20.64 6.25 | 3.28 | 43.66 | 21.68 3.65 | 1.40 | 24.76 | 8.22 5. £7 | 2.22 | 52.59 | 21.32 | — — PROAOWANRWN = DODO WoIN 10 — — | Albuminoids. | RCI . 129 The great variation in composition of grasses becomes apparent on ex. amining the one hundred and thirty-six analyses ; and by selecting the Lighest and lowest determinations the following table of extremes has been prepared : Limits of composition of grasses. Dry substance. Highest. | Lowest. ABN... a di crete ssn nnn teem alen tras vasa as ses ae Sw iol Sain Sin 19. 24 3.57 Fab... consis cnrnssunssanennnnnssnsnnnnssnesse sdssnvssnneresinsiosanssrnnses oe 5.77 1.48 Nitrogen-free extract ..... : 66.01 34.01 Orade her ....... acct si dmesivmnn nite vse nan sins rans soon aimee sin divalsainie sis wa 4 37.72 17.68 AIbuminoids. . ... cri rece ci ih cui ne Sms sis muse nei nis sn we w ni nin Si wd nn sin mel 23.13 2.80 Nitrogen. call ies eelit wns nuisinmsnic ah yrinnrsninsssons sess ssassyss 3.70 .45 Non-albuminoid nitrogen .......ccoeeeeouea.. essere eve einen 1.64 . 00 Per cent. of nitrogen as Bon -AIHMIBONL «ee 60.70 . 00 ‘Water in fresh grass........c..cesveeiinimsnesvessssnrransesesmnsaasase snesanan. 76. 50 60. 00 The highest ash is nndoubtedly owing to the presence of adherent soil, and the lowest carbo-hydrates are dependent relatively on the same cause. The wide variations in fiber and albuwminoids must be re- garded, however, as being entirely due to physiological causes, which are difficult to explain. Panicum sanguinale, for instance, which in one specimen contains the extreme amount of albuminoids and a small amount of fiber has in another only half as much albumen and one and three quarter times as much fiber. We learn, then, that species are not in themselves at all fixed in their composition, there being as large vari- ations among specimens of the same as between specimens of different species. Examples may be found in several portions of the preceding tables, and, for illustration, several analyses of Phlewm pratense and of Dactylis glomerata from widely separated localities are given in the following tables : ! Analyses of Phlewm pratense (Timothy) from various localities. FULL BLOOM. v 3 . 3 | lg |38 apa Been 9 : 5 iH @ vo & 5 2 Ib BElSEE Locality. a3 = 2 {5 El s52 £5 2-4. 5 12S a8 ge ° = | =a Sea ; . s 3 gd 5 [=> = “= = = VB i ee = fo T= na « = + = fis ° Aa 4 | 8 | & 5 Rls iz if i Department Zarden, 188! .cunsnisivsanmisitiviaas 7.16 | 4.47 | 50.03 | 27.35 | 10.99 || 1.75} .5l1 29. 1 Department garden, 1830............a..... 5.65 | 3.58 | 58.93 | 21.93 9.90 || 1.58 | .38 24.0 MATYIand i... cinerea sansa bvndesanwaioy lids Dihist 4.122 1 52.83.00 30, 40 7.69 1.23 15 12.3 New Hampshire’...... . ...cc.h sce eenrsson 4.57 | 4.20 | 57.16 | 28.28 5.79 {and .10 1¢. 8 Indian. J caliicie iio cumin vipsninnnmenisn 7.05 | 2.18 | 52.99 | 32.26 5.52 I .83 | .00 +0 . It 3594 GR——9 130 Analyses of Dactylis glomerata (Orchard grass) from various localities FULL BLCOM. preg yldll © . HoH 1 tow £2 £5 Vy DEE yect Locality. i} & z s I B 8 g2 | Ee dacides uo JE EEE : 3 S = = "Ss | a= oo 8 ord = ¥. & = [ © I 8 =E L = — - — ki: © < oka 4 | SpRouing XS = |2 |& | rr mT jeer = NoTh CATOUOR cere ovens suse tavsssnncasnn | 7.42 | 3.56 | 56.03 | 23.08 9.91 1.58] .30] 19.0 District of Columbia. ..cuvuen:cunnnn nave. {| 8.07 | 3.24 | 53.76 | 25.40 9.531 1.53] .16 10.5 Aine... nh... iesizescinnssns {8,023.39 54.80 | 26.05 874 1.40 .36, 25.7 IHSIFICH of COIUIIDIN + «7 vx arsesuvesnnoonss [6.00 3.62] 57.34 | 24.42| 8.62] 1.38] .42 30.4 Pennsvlvanin.. ...c..coccn acer avavoci ny 6.33 | 2.66 | 54.99 | 27.51 8.56 § 1.37 ; +.01a 37.2 New Hampshire... cc c.cciaesscssassss 8.44 | 3.49 54.75 | 24.901 8.41 I 1.35 | .42{ 30.9 | | | I | | AVERAGE. * Fe er ar gy Five localities. ......... Et ea [7.38 3.35 | 55.17 | 25.19 | 8.91 1.43 | .36| 95.3 | | x a8 tea be ZL | The average composition of American grasses, as derived from the preceding analyses ot grasses in bloom, and averages for different sec- tions of the country, has been calculated. The results presented in the following table, with Wolft’s averages for German grasses, are of inter- est: Average composition of grasses. L | " Pet 34 = | | < boop ol = mn 820 | ® 5 (oS 8 syne = a P = = | & [ET wax = | a et | e - c oS c= | we o@ sh gx 8g ......... SR ae ee gona IB EAI0 BAC 17 INTVELDE + = 2 ns wan Sims Sis hs 57m alle oie ein fre fo mer wl wel w (Tl ERE ROHL EN P2 18 DAPIIIOAG +. sae ss mah taste oie ain unininw sbi whiaton nha dias a sitio a SHIIO LIE ol 12 Cris gall nines cmon ssl Snisalsuialtia i Sai CE DIR 14 gihbnm ol ees tries eae Se Sa ta RL i 103 TAXI vous vans vassassnlie sn sndzios salads dumeislanoniseesbostmt SUC 9 miliacenm ...... ieee ee ae a es Si Sie] wh a Sasbae gle Merl 13 Proliferim . .....ceniasiinisaiin nanny ss annisinse ms corps nnn Loot SLL LL 1 SANZUINGLY . «aes ere rns nnicies anise eens a esis as CTL CE lL 15 CR AN III i di ain ux 4 mimnile sm mss mim mea mim mm im awa fa tml A dim fm 10 virgobom gd ia lc ees ned sid da Sa DC CC, 16 Paspalum platyeanie.... ic. ith cure amsema le a sn oc : 6 Paragrass ..... 00 a, de, aa ee 12 Phalaris arondinacen ... c..ess iweb maids a casi Il Ce ewieie alow nals 32 INTErMORT oil al. denn nae I ate aie eis ate 32 Phleum pratenseiin’. ... cc... ce cues SEOUL 0 a RS NE Re 45 Phragmites communis...... ata a Ew J Ste LR Ll ay 68 DIgeon grass. cou. senna) iolunsssisisnsisnnnniisns ons os shimnisabalan dios ao belt ol os 20 Pin grass... ... cosas i aS is te anisms smuinls Denia sods Sols oslo te 101 Pon anBITn . occ vii sani sama dmnimssleins tinslasssshetals losinsisle ois infeidolss cle vies 78 APACINITOTA .. ee isiih Sonia iba mas mime an a a whe inte ole I ls lie SE ioe aloe 73 COMPYOSSA oo boli uel Sl Bl Lo. cee vminsiminis seo iri oe ad Col 74 pratensis... oo. loll Ll see a a Cl De oo 75 BOTOLIMN nus smdinmn mann dhiminnbs amas sn sis ames inimnin Aaitisdieie eu milion bile lpLite nor 76 BONTIIOLIN . vouiviivnimaii snide ininin nd wins s 2mmine aims di mime ainiaidiis ual gleld isi lo a iwiio/ aa 77 Prickly pear... ... oi. io. ea ee nd eds a nn sls ao oa diel) 99 Quack guans..c.... col. saad LL ea a oe SC 88 Reed grass. . oni. . cin. i soins dnics cme mn nie aia Sai i Se Ko ie de 68 Boliop oho. «adn sinini/n shes oss ah mists oi mie wisi 4 mitt 4 wwmie Samos ic Sie em ate AA 48 western... oh ue JU lh A I el le Sl el 49 Relief grass, Stewarts (oi. i aime seid eins s sor no cal ole ssl : 33 Richardsonim seabra 1. . 00... ibn oat hs seed ie se settee 102 Rye grass, perennial ... i.e . .uicer snvins vevads dass soibn sh co edieisen elise me 86 BAINOIN acs ivnas inna din Sis awa sa es Ske we ae a ie Caimi ir ie es 95H Ball grass. is cues viii dae a re a Ls a Ls te esis 71 Betarin olen 1... coos al sea ss et sh isin. - 20 TEallon ies dei dn hint a el tad a rit eee ey di ialeln, oh EH Ee sisal 19 BMnb oVa8S oes ea he sat eas a el ie ble ae ee ia clu ge 47 Plate Borg han HRICDONE0:... c voi iviiditciive dans aisabaisssiins vane ald 0d 00s 31 Sporting CynOSUrOIA08. oasis sia vasssitsasisiadissniduisas seve babu danasses 60 FORCO0 ros 2 dis Sued bisa sed ei wavs dana vane ss BAT TH o. - 61 SPOrobOINS ATOR uo. ic vuviuss Lui edad vidi sd dud ddd aiv vad und vo SH ia Patan s 105 CIYPLANATIS Sue bh divi sod ism nni dda dda id ddd id add SAT dale ims 46 INeRS. ons a a Ba bea Se des PEER ED wt dA 47 SPR EPATIEN sdenis dua side isiiiiniiiddbssbdinivis brio nebss IIIS eb stss voes 38 VITIAEIO Lc eS iis pa Sede arse AER ES vs vam vee 7 SWeelVernaligrass ...c..o. cia onion sis sidn vans sdaaws bo dE Dl 10 ud SE A 34 SWI hoIaes LL. Less rar BI ESL rani wn ee 16 Jive pe RO CR eR SE Rr AEDS Ye EL el oC Co 22 i 0p CANE ER SEAR Sa REE ER gf 43 ee Ra 45 rol BTIITAOI. ooo oii titers as alate Si a ba wd 92 TRCOTHRLUNT oi eins evs ser a Ame De Sains dan 94 SOTO ETI, ic esis Soci mes smn de A i Sl 94 PriSCLOMEPIIBITE: . coos sven shins bisa ai SA i ml om 55 SUDSPICALOMI cas seins irs be RAR ES SA wal mie mie taal 56 Priodin SesletOIdes. . co dure so snivoc uns cmnassvsinmimwn sass Issn BILAL Dl ess 67 Rr Sen ARCIIOIACS fo cae sive svn cot cn snismus Bebe ABA BES EEE Mans was sense 21 nO HOLIfOIIN sex cnr os mcvnicc sm nsmmamesvimenss sorb dB satis its See cme ite iris 113 Velvet Srassic..oti.... cave socunonssmsmmnsmmnssisesess sisansisiin snsicon sunny H4 Sod EL DD Se SE Te SE PTE RRP EL see TRE 24 I NR Sr SO ES Se se 57 WW Hd TCO ec th «cones cess n canine as sinnn sia A ERAS ES BEE we mews nme wiv 23 VAT OE Its... cosns iis crs errs crass shams ms es tani EERE ah marin sass smn s 89,91 OL A LN ESN AE EE I LE Le Bes 100 Wood ETIBSE. La... anos mssinsanin stn stone sme samt seed vs 2.8 SELF Sumas, ses st in aie + 30 Ze an RUINED - « - cosirm seis crete suave nso tats ma dn de Ses ne mt dins cv enn 23 PLATE 1. w ROOTS AND RHIZOMES OF GRASSES. PLATE 2. SHEATHS, LIGULES, AND BLADES OF GRASSES. PLATE 3. INFLORESCENCE OF GRASSES. PLATE 4. DISSECTIONS OF GRASS FLOWERS. PASPALUM DILATATUM. PLATE 6. W.R.ScHeLL . del. PASPALUM PLATYCACULE. PLATE 7. WoRSeholl. del: PASPALUM DISTICHUM. PLATE 8. YM WR Selioll, dee. SENT: ‘ EE p ey > 58 CHIR Ct SA —- CR NTN RY var RR Bl ds T rN £77 ITS . = BZ RR Te a easy EGER Dor A 3 = __ a a rf IE ome 4 ca 3p pie > Xd ATR far > i = ER i CTS CRE BECKMANNIA ERUCAEFORMIS, PLATE 9. PANICUM MAXIMUM, Guinea grass. RN E be as = N oes \ SA es eS AX = Bix? KN a NN \ a 2 a \\ ) = ~ x —N PLATE 10. AN) =) — ah 3 . AS Pn = z 5 TT = 7 J = Panicum TEXANUM, Texas blue grass. PLATE 11. a, i” PANICUM PROLIFERUM. Ep PLATE 12. PANICUM BARBINODE, Para grass. PLATE 18. PANICUM MILIACEUM, Indian millet grass. PLATE 14. yr Vee Te Si pd ————— > = = Ee essa Ee = Panicum CRUS-GALLI, Barn-yard grass. PLATE 15. PANICUM SANGUINALE, Crab grass. PLATE 16. PANICUM VIRGATUM, Switch grass. PLATE 17. PANICUM AGROSTOIDES. PLATE 18. PANICUM ANCEPS. PLATE 19. 7, ANY) CONTIN No17,9), M9 NWARAY RLY Ss Aw Mark vey SETARIA Itavica, Hungarian grass. PLATE 20. WN A Bis NA i VW Ae pes SETARIA GLAUCA, Pigeon grass. PLATE 21. TRIPSACUM DACTYLOIDES, Gama grass. PLATE 22. 3 \ \ 4 \ \ \ \ \ WW \ AIM AW EUCHLANA LUXURIANS, Teosinte. PLATE 23. ) ZI1ZANIA AQUATICA, Wild rice. ) : PLATE 24, LEERSIA VIRGINICA, White grass, Cut grass. PLATE 25. HILARIA JAMESIL PLATE 26. z 2 ; Sais wa = == — : = Ere i = ANDROPOGON VIRGINICUS. Re Ss PLATE 27. ANDROPOGON SCOPARIUS, Broom sedge. PLATE 28- 7 m a 2 3 Z ANDROPOGON MACROURUS. 5 — —— rr —_— se : 2 z PLATE 29. ee = a — — Lee aaa = = ANDROPOGON FURCATUS, Bluejoint. - PLATE 30. CHRYSOPOGON NUTANS, Wild oat grass, Wcod grass. PLATE 31. SORGHUM HALEPENSE, Johnson grass. PLATE 32. 0.HEIDEMANN.SC. PHALARIS ARUNDINACEA. PLATE 33. HH.NICHOLE. 58 PHALARIS INTZRMEDIA, Stewart's relief grass, American Canary grass. PLATE 34. MARK.DEL. ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM, Sweet vernal grass. PLATE 35. WH NCHOLS~END, WARA-DEL, ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS, Meadow foxtail. PLATE 36. MARX.DEL. HHNICHOLS-ENG. ARISTIDA PURPUREA, Awned bunch grass. PLATE 37. \ WN A \\ \ \ \ \ < \ \ \, WN \ A \ 3 NN \ AN \ \ \ \ \ AN 1 \ \ il \ \ AR A\ A NN \ LA ~ ARRAN \ J \ u [iA AH fl h \ A PUAN AR A Ad \, li : A NR “WR \ A \ \ ( ph v \ \ \| a { / A LN | { \ \ | ARN | \ \ { \ \ \ \\ i NNN | \ \ / / \ 7 / \ A | IR / BY /, } { ! = A i Jill f \/ Ji il i { | ii i el RE STIPA VIRIDULA. i PLATE 38. W.R.ScHoLt. del. STIPA SPARTEA. PLATE 39. ORYZOPSIS CUSPIDATA, Indian millet grass. PLATE 40. MILIUM EFFUSUM, PLATE 41. MUHLENBERGIA DIFFUSA, Nimble Will. } PLATE 42. Be PN A = PRADEL. : HH NCW S MUHLENBERGIA GLOMERATA. *° PLATE 43. = J — —_— dans a MUHLENBERGIA MEXICANA. PLATE 44. EHN Sc. L 7/4 MARX.DEL MUHLENBERGIA SYLVATICA. PLATE 45. PHLEUM PRATENSE, Timothy. PLATE 46. SPOROBOLUS CRYPTANDRUS. PLATE 47, SPOROBOLUS INDICUS, Smut grass. PLATE 48. MARX DEL. H.H N. AGROSTIS VULGARIS, Red top. PLATE 49. AGROSTIS EXARATA, Western red top. CINNA ARUNDINACEA. PLATE 51. ACHOLS-ENG. Y ven-neL, CALAMAGROSTIS (DEYEUXIA) CANADENSIS, Bluejoint. PLATE 52. CALAMAGROSTIS (DEYEUXIA) SYLVATICA. PLATE 53. CALAMAGROSTPIS LONGIFOLIA. PLATE 54. a * HNicho/s.Sc Pury wi, HoLcUus LANATUS, Velvet grass. PLATE 55. TRISETUM PALUSTRE. PLATE 56. AR WARN TMA TRISETUM SUBSPICATUM. PLATE 57. AVENA FATUA, Wild oats. ARS PLATE 58. ARRHENATHERUM AVENACEUM, Tall meadow oat grass. PLATE 59. \ PPE [PPE / 2 PRE 02> Te 65 \ = Pr - \ rs [4 Wi 7 n rec == Re Sees CYNODON DACTYLON, Bermuda grass. PLATE 60. SPARTINA CYNOSUROIDES, Cord grass. 7 Nadi PLATE 61. NHEIDEMANN.SC. SPARTINA JUNCEA. PLATE 62. BOUTELOUA OLIGOSTACHYA, Gramma grass, Black gramma. ~ PLATE 63. i © o 2 2 Qo I o n oc = BOUTELOUA RACEMOSA, Tall gramma grass. Sh a PLATE 64 ETE ELEUSINE INDICA. ‘PLATE 65. A | 2 I ML | B= io W225 (Ni \ \ y 4) A Zi ANN oz i Ex 4 > ELEUSINE ZEGYPTIACA, Crowfoot. PLATE 66. NOROLS WMARA-DELL BUCHLOE DACTYLOIDES, Buffalo grass. PLATE 67. eee. ¥ TRIODIA SESLERIOIDES. a PLATE 68. od duary wi PHRAGMITES COMMUNIS, Reed grass. PLATE 69. ae < IALOR IE K@ELERIA CRISTATA. PLATE 70. ERAGROSTIS MAJOR. PLATE 71. DISTICHLIS MARITIMA, Salt grass. PLATE 72. WR | SAK Wy HA Qu Wi ARAL SR ul A ARX.DEL, DACTYLIS GLOMERATA, Orchard grass. PLATE 73. Poa ARACHNIFERA, Texas blue grass. AN = 7 > = 0s RR ~ Kaa Sali WARNDEL, 7 ~ NICHOLS PoA COMPRESSA, rial blue grass. PLATE 74. ~—— PLATE 75. A Y, 7 \ = “1. 4 i z= | et Poa PRATENSIS, Kentucky blue grass, June grass. PLATE 76. Poa SEROTINA, Fowl meadow grass. PLATE 77. WEAR, POA TENUIFOLIA. PLATE 78. I ——— —————— = \ - oA i Spi 1 aa \ 27m ST HM) Q MYW3IAIIN 0, a NG NN AN = Poa ANDINA, Mountain blue grass. PLATE 79. GLYCERIA ARUNDINACEA. PLATE 8Q. MARX.DEL. (GLYCERIA NERVATA. PLATE 81. NICHOLS FESTUCA ELATIOR, Tall meadow fescue. PLATE 82. AHNCHOLS EN FEsTUCA ovina, Sheep's fescue. PLATE 83. FESTUCA SCABRELLA, Rough-leaved fescue. PLATE 84, m 0 X£ % Z BROMUS SECALINUS, Chess. BROMUS UNIOLOIDES (half size). 1,OLIUM PERENNE, Perennial rye grass. PLATE 87. ns A i "EY 4 W.Schall, del AGROPYRUM GLAUCUM, Colorado blue stem. FESR Ak PLATE 88. MARX.CEL. AGROPYRUM REPENS, Quack grass, Couch grass. PLATE 89. ELymus CANADENSIS, Wild rye. PLATE 90. ELYMUS CONDENSATUS. PLATE 91. Erymus VIRGINICUS, Wild rye. PLATE 92. 0B Pe NPs SWEET NS N PS SD \ AW \ \ I \ " \ IS. ES\\ LIRA 3 LATER 2 \ A 0.HEIDEMAN.SC. TRIFOLIUM HYBRIDUM, Alsike clover. / 9) vf \ NA angaa li li PLATE 93. Cowing del, TRIFOLIUM INCARNATUM. PLATE 94. ) el far. d: » 4 TRIFOLIUM STOLONIFERUM. Buffalo clover. PLATE 95. ONOBRYCHIS SATIVA, Sainfoin, Esparsette. PLATE 96. 3 af) WY NS A | THE MEDICAGO SATIVA, Alfalfa, Lucerne. OLATE 97. A W.SHOLL del MEDICAGO DENTICULATA, Bur clover. i" NATO AT Ae LESPEDEZA STRIATA, Japan clover. 75 7 PLATE 99. OPUNTIA ENGELMANNI, Prickly pear, Cactus. PLATE 100. R Gowing: d EUROTIA LANATA, Winter fat. PLATE 101. ERODIUM CICUTARIUM, Pin grass, Alfilaria. PLATE 102. WMNICHOL S. 0, RICHARDSONIA SCABRA, Mexican clover. PLATE 103. PANICUM GIBBUM. ERI PLATE 104. BARA REL. ARCHOS. MUHLENBERGIA COMATA. PLATE 105. SPOROBOLUS AIROIDES. PLATE 106. hia Hi 77 Z AGROSTIS EXARATA var. PACIFICA. PLATE 107. DESCHAMPSIA C./ESPITOSA, Hair grass. PLATE 108. Tr Sd. CHLORIS ALBA. PLaTE 109. DIPLACHNE DUBIA. PLATE 110. Alo ad MELICA DIFFUSA. PLATE 111. TIANLOR.XEN. A AICHOLS. MELICA BULBOSA. PLATE 112. ! 3 \ WW 2 ™ > 7 L 5 — > A , 4 agi RD INL, Yeo MELICA IMPERFECTA. PLATE 113. UNIOLA LATIFOLIA. PLATE 114. GLYCERIA CANADENSIS. AUTHORS BMDITION. FROM THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE YEAR 1888. BEPORT : OF THE BOTANIST DR. GEO, VASEY, FOR THE YEAR 1888, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1839. REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. Sir: IT have the honor to transmit herewith my report for the past year, together with some papers on economic plants, and a report on the ‘‘ pastoral resources of Montana,” prepared by Mr. F. W. Ander- son, from personal observation. The investigation of the grasses of the arid districts has been continued, principally in Texas, a full re- port of which will be published in a bulletin. An experiment sta- tion for the trial, in cultivation, of such grasses and forage plants as give promise of usefulness in an arid climate, has been established at Garden City, in southwestern Kansas, and will be energetically pros- ecuted during the coming season. Another grass station has been established in Mississippi, in con- nection with the State Agricultural Experiment Station near Starks- ville, to investigate and experiment with reference to grasses suita- ble for cultivation in the Southern States. If these stations are faith- fully prosecuted through a sufficiently long period of time, I think the results will be highly beneficial to the grazing interests of the country. Very respectfully, (GEO. VASEY, : DBotanust. Hon. NorMAN J. COLMAN, Secretary. GRASSES AND WELDS. 1. Reimaria oligostachya.—This grass has not been found hitherto except in Florida and Cuba. It has been collected near Jacksonville by A. H. Curtiss, growing in ditchesand onlow grounds. It resembles some of the species of Paspalum, particularly P. vaginatum, and in- deed can hardly be distinguished from the latter except by an exam- ination of the flowers. The stems havea creeping habit at the base, sometimes running several feet, and rooting at the joints every inch or two. At the extremity the stems rise upward for a foot or two and develop the flowers. The leavesare 3 or 4incheslong, and very narrow, frequently becoming involute (folded or rolled together lengthwise) and sharp pointed. The sheaths of the leaves are loose, and generally as long as the joints of the stem. The flowers are borne in spikes at and near the extremity of the culms, usually about three, sometimes two, and rarely four or five. These spikes are from 2 to 3 inches long, each with from ten to fif- teen closely appressed spikelets. In structure the spikelets are like those of Paspalum except in having but two stamens instead of three, and in having the flower glume either entirely absent, or reduced in size to a fourth, a half, or three-fourths of the size of the other. 305 306 REPORT OF TIIE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. Generally the lower spikelets of each spike will have the lower glume absent, and the upper spikelets will have the lower glume in graded sizes to the uppermost, which may have two full empty glumes. The grass is nutritious and valuable for feed, but proba- ws can not thrive except in the hot climate of the Gulf coast. late I, Fig. 1, is a figure of this grass; a, a spikelect magnified showing the one empty glume, the flowering glumes, palet, two sta- mens, and two styles. 2. Paspalum vaginatum.—This grass is also a native of Florida and of the hotter parts of America, and is so similar to the preceding that the same general description will apply to it. Ithowever seldom has more than two spikes in which the acute spikelets have the reg- ular two empty glumes, and three stamens and two styles. It isnot improbable that these plants may be found to be variations or forms of the same. Plate 1, Fig. 2, shows Paspalum vaginatum; b, a spikelet magnified showing the empty glumes, flowering glume, palet, three stamens, and two styles: ¢, front view of the flower; d, flower opened to show the flowering glume and palet. 3. Paspalum distichum.—This grass is in habit very similar to the preceding, but usually grows on drier soil, with taller and more erect culms. The leaves are generally wider, the spikes are rarely more than two, the spikelets are smaller and more numerous with two empty glumes, and the flowers have three stamens. It has a wider range than P. vaginatum, being found in the Southern States from Virginia and Tennessee to Florida and Texas, thence to California, and as far north as Oregon. This species, as well as several others of the genus, has received some attention in the South as being use- ful pasture grasses. Their creeping habit gives them stability and capability to endure drought, and they form a close, tenacious sod, well adapted to close pasturage. At the same time, under favorable circumstances, this species produces a large yield. Mr. W. A. Saun- ders, of California, writes recently as follows: Are you aware of the value of Paspalum distichum for seeding pond-holes that dry up, or nearly so, in autumn? Such ponds are usually spots of bare, stinking mud, but when well set to this grass will yield all the way up to 80 tons (in the green state) of autumn feed for stock, especially valuable for cows first ; then fol- low vin Sheep until every vestige isdevoured. Surely it has an immense food value in such places. Plate 2 shows Paspalum distichum; a, a spikelet enlarged ; b, the same expanded, showing the two empty glumes and the flower. 4. Setaria viridis (Green Foxtail).—In almost all cultivated and waste grounds, particularly in wheat fields after cutting, there is found an abundant after crop of what is called pigeon grass or foxtail. There are two species of this foxtail, which, although found in the same field, may be easily distinguished. One is Sefaria glauca, with an erect culm and cylindrical spike, and the bristles of which are usu- ally of a yellowish color. The other is the Setaria viridis, which has a weaker stem, the spike rather looser, tapering at the apex, and with the bristles longer, and green in color. In this species also the spikelets are rather smaller, the lower glume shorter, and the grain less distinctly wrinkled. The seeds of both kinds are eagerly sought for by birds and poultry in grain fields after harvesting. The grass is probably introduced from Europe. ; Plate 3 ‘gives a view of the grass; a, a single spikelet enlarged, showing the parts and the bristle below. REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 307 5. Oplismenus setarius.—This grassis found in Florida and in other States near the Gulf of Florida, reaching to Texas, and thence into Mexico and other tropical countries. It grows in woods and shady places. The stems are at first prostrate, often branching and root- ing at the joints. They send up a weak flowering culm, with a loose raceme 4 to 6 inches long, composed of five or six short, sessile, one- sided spikes, about half an inch long, each containing from six to twelve spikelets in two rows on the rhachis. The spikelets each con- tain one perfect flower, and one which is male or only rudimentary, and have three empty awned glumes, the lowest of which has the awn two or three times as long as the spikelet. The flowering glume is awnless, and like a Panicum. Plate 4 shows this grass; a, a single spikelet enlarged, showing the awned lower glumes, and the two flowers, one ma e, the other perfect. Although this grass furnishes a considerable amount of good wild forage, it is not probably adapted to general cultivation. 6. Beckmannia eruceformas (Slough grass).—This genus is closely related to Panicum and has considerable resemblance to some forms of Panicum crus-galls. It grows abundantly in the Rocky Mountain region from California and Oregon eastward as far as Towa and Min- nesota. It is found in marshy ground and in sloughs, particularly in the neighborhood of streams. It usually grows in tufts, and is of a coarse growth, the stout roughish culms rising to about 3 feet in height; the thickish leaves are about half an inch wide and 6 to 8 inches long. These as well as the loose, long sheaths are strongly marked with numerous par- allel veins. The panicle is generally iim and narrow, from 6 to 10 inches long, and half an inch to an inch wide, composed mostly of many very short, closely set branches, which are more or less in- terrupted below, where the branches are generally longer, sometimes 2 inches long and erect. The spikelets are crowded very closely together on the one-sided spikes, and each one consists of a pair of thickish, compressed, in- ated, boat-shaped, empty glumes, and between these, one lanceolate- acute flowering glume, of thinner texture, with its still thinner palet, and the stamens and styles. These are represented in Plate 5, a showing an enlarged spikelet, b the same expanded to show the sep- arate parts. In some localities this grass is abundant and forms a valuable resource for stock. The bottom leaves and sterile shoots are tender and much relished. Mr. F. W. Anderson says: It makes good hay. When the plants are thick together the aftermath of slender, juicy leaves Ci grows, remaining green till quite late in the year. It is to be recommended for cultivation in low, wet meadows generally. Others, however, regard the grass as coarse and without value. 7. Anthenantia rufa.—Culms erect, 2 to 3 feet high, from strong creeping rhizomas; leaves rather rigid, linear, 10 to 15 inches long, three lines wide, abruptly pointed, and with the sheaths of a pur- lish color; panicle 4 to 8 inches long, narrow and loose, the ranches in clusters of 3 to 5 or more below, flowering nearly to the base; spikelets on short, slender pedicels, loosely racemose on the branches, each containing one perfect flower, and one neutral or imper- fect one, the two outer glumes five-nerved, hairy, as long as or longer than the flowers; the perfect flower with a rigid glume and palet, the sterile flower with a thin membranaceous palet. This species occurs in low and swampy pine woods in the Southern States from North Carolina to Mississippi. No efforts have been made in its cultivation. 308 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. Plate 6 represents this grass; a, a spikelet enlarged; 0, the same ex- panded showing the separate parts. 8. Amphicarpum Purshii.—An annual or biennial, erect, rigid rass, growing 2 to 23 feet high, in the sandy pine barrens of New ersey, Delaware, and the Southern States. The leaves are mostly at the lower part of the culm, lanceolate, acute, rough (especially on the long sheaths), 4 to 6 inches long and three to four lines wide. The panicle is rather close, 4 to 6 inches long, the slender branches erect. sometimes single and sometimes in twos or threes, 13 to 3 inches long, rather loosely flowered. The spikelets are sessile, or very short-stalked, and consist of a pair of lanceolate, acute, five-nerved empty glumes, and a single flower with rather rigid glume and palet, and with three stamens and two styles. These flowers, although ap- parently perfect, do not produce seed, but there is another kind of spikelet at the base of the culm which bears the seed. These are borne at the extremity of long, slender peduncles or secondary culms, one or two on each peduncle. They are twice as large as the spikelets of the panicle, and have thickened, many-nerved outer glumes, with the flowering glume and palet hardened. There are but two species of this genus known; the second one is found in pine-barren swamps in Florida. They furnish a certain amount of feed in the sandy pine lands of the Atlantic coast. Plate 7 shows the plant with the two kinds of spikelets; a, perfect flower enlaged; b, the same expanded: ¢, the seed; d, a fertile flower enlarged and expanded showing the parts. 9. Leersia Virginica (Rice-grass).—This is a common grass in damp, open woods, and along the margins of streams. It is weak-stemmed and much branched, growing about 3 feet in length, with an abundance of bright-green leaves, 4 to 6 inches long, 3 to 4 lines wide, and having rough margins. The main culm and the principal branches are terminated with a slender panicle of 4 to 6 branches, which are at first appressed to the main axis, but finally become spreading These branches are single and slender, from 1 to 24 inches long, the lower part naked, the upper part closely flowered. The spikelets are very small and consist of two glumes, inclosing the stamens and styles. The outer glume is broad-oblong, thickish, and much compressed or flattened, and is rough on the back and margins with stiff, short hairs. The second glume is much narrower, and also rough on the nerves. There is no palet, but the stamens and styles are inclosed by the upper glume. This grass furnishes a part of the native feed in open, wet woods, and is sometimes sufficiently abundant to be cut for hay. Plate 8 isa figure of the grass; a, an enlarged spikelet showing the separate parts. 10. Poa Andina.—Thisis one of the many ‘bunch grasses” of the West, so named from its habit of growing in bunches. It is an in- habitant of all the interior mountainous country and of the high plains. It grows from 1 to 14 feet high, with an abundance of root-leaves, which are about half as long as the culms, very narrow and stiff, folded or rolled together lengthwise, and very sharp-pointed. The leaves of the culm are very short, erect and stiff ; the lower one about 2 inches; the second, 1 inch long, and the upper one shorter: all of them have loose, striate sheaths. The panicle is usually lanceolate or oblong, 2 to 3 inches long, and about Pale an inch wide, close and densely flowered ; the branches short (one-half to three-fourths of an inch), and mostly sessile and alternate, the lower one sometimes at a REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 309 short distance below the others. The spikelets are about three lines long, with five to seven crowded flowers. The empty glumes are thin, ovate-oblong, two lineslong, thelower, one-nerved; the upper, broader and one-nerved or faintly three-nerved below ; the flowering glumes are about two lines long, more or less rounded on the back, very thin and blunt at the apex, either nearly smooth or softly puberulent on the back, and ciliate on the margins. Attempts should be made to introduce this species into cultivation 11 the arid districts. Plate 9, a figure of the grass; a, an enlarged spikelet; b, a floret ex- panded and showing the separate parts. ii. Agropyrum glaucum (Colorado Blue-stem).—This species pre- vails on the western plains and in the mountains, and is well known to stockmen. Itis generally known by the name of blue-stem, or blue- grass, and is sometimes He gumbo-grass. It is closely related to the quack-grass or couch-grass of the East- ern States. It has a stiff, erect culm and leaves, which are usually of a bluish-green color. On hard, dry soil, its growth is low and sparse, but on low, moist ground it often grows 2 to 3 feet high, and is considered valuable for hay. On the borders of ditches and . on irrigated ground it yields a heavy cutting. The flowering spike has somewhat the appearance of a starved, beardless head of wheat. It has great persistence in the ground on account of its strong, run- ning rootstock. Whether it will, in cultivated ground, become as difficult to eradicate as its eastern namesake can not now be predicted, but where a persistent, nutritious grass is the great want of a coun- try, as on the arid plains, it is worth taking some risks. Fig. 11 represents the species; a, an enlarged spikelet consisting of the two empty glumes, and nine florets, two of which are expanded and show the separate parts. ; Li 12. Plantago Patagonica (Western Plantain).—The specific name which this plant bears would indicate that it was a native of Pata- gonia. It was probably first described from Patagonian specimens, but is extensively spread throughout South America, and into various parts of North America, particularly on the Pacific coast, and from Mexico into Texas, the Great Plains, and through the Mississippi Valley into British America. Within a few years past it has spread into many places in the Eastern and Southern States. It belongs to the plantain family (Plantaginacez), and presents a number of marked varieties. : It is a small, annual plant, seldom more than 10 or 12 inches high, and, like most of the family, has its leaves clustered near the ground and sends up one or more slender flowering stalks which are naked below, and above, present a close spike of flowers succeeded by seed. The leaves are very narrow, 3 to 5 inches long, with a few prominent ribs running nearly parallel from base to apex. The variety which is figured is generally clothed with soft, silky hairs. The flowers are small and present the characters common to the genus, which we need not here particularize. They are succeeded by the very nu- merous small capsules or seed vessels, which are oblong, with thin walls, and each containing two large seeds. These capsules have a remarkable way of opening to discharge their seeds. Near the middle of each capsule and passing round it horizontally is a line or mark, where, at maturity, the upper part separates like a lid, and exposes the contained seeds. : Mr. F. W. Anderson states that in Montana this plant is causing 310 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. trouble in hay-lands. It is self-seeding and very prolific. The seeds ; ripen and spring up the same season and mature the next year. ‘Where nothing hinders the development of the plant, by its very num- bers it drives out the grama and mdi grasses in large patches. In the spring, just before the flowers open, a patch of these plants looks like hail on the ground at a little distance, owing to the thou- ‘sands of white, silky-villous spikes which rise in all directions. Stock do not like to eat the plant, and farmers are beginning to detest it. Plate 11 represents this plant; a, an old spike gone to seed ;the bracts are very conspicuous ; b, a younger spike in flower; c, a very young spike ; Fig. 1 shows a back view of the flower with the calyx removed ; 1, a, the mark of circumscissile dehiscence; Fig. 2, a front view of the flower, the calyx present and a short bract at its base ; Figs. 3 and 4, portions of empty capsules, front and oblique views, showing central placenta; Figs. and 6, dorsal and ventral views of a seed. Figs. 1 to 6 greatly enlarged. 13. Lygodesmia juncea.—This is a homely, scragged, perennial weed, prevailing throughout the Rocky Mountain region. It isa naked-looking composite plant, closely related to the chicory plant of Europe. It growsabouta foot high, with arigid stem and branches which are marked with fine ridges and furrows. The leaves are small and inconspicuous, the larger ones being linear-subulate and about an inch long, one at the base of each of the branches, the upper ones becoming gradually reduced to small bracts or scales. Each branch is terminated by a single head about half an inch long, containing five flowers surrounded by an involucre of slender scales, and a few much-reduced ones at the base. The flowers areall of the strap-shaped form, having a broad fringed summit, and of a rose color. At the base of the flower is the akenium or seed, surmounted with a copious tuft of long, white hairs, constituting what is called the pappus. The akenes are linear and five-ridged or ribbed. Mr. Anderson states that the plant is native and common in Moux- tana, and has a deep, perennial root which it is hard to destroy. It is especially pernicious in vegetable gardens, where it easily chokes out young plants and causes much trouble. It will thrive in hot, dry weather, when most other plants are weakened by the heat and drought. Hoeing up the plants while the flowers are in bud is recom- mended. The plant blooms and scatters seed from the end of June till October, so that an enormous number of seeds are matured each season. In cultivated found the plant becomes much distorted. Plate 12 represents the plant; Fig. a is a branching stem torn off near the base; Fig. b, a single floret; c, a seed with its pappus; d, an empty involucre showing five punctures on the receptacle where the florets were attached; e, a portion of a thicker stem, showing one of the larger leaves. 14. Solanum triflorum (Wild Potato).—A low, herbaceous, much- branched and spreading plant of the same family as the common otato, growing on the plains from New Mexico northward into British America. The stem and branches are weak and decumbent, seldom over a foot long, but very numerous from one root. The leaves are alternate, 1 to 2 inches long, oblong in outline, deeply cut into lobes, from three to five on each side, and tapering below intoa narrow margin. From the axils of the leaves there proceed slender peduncles or flower-stems, about an inch long, each bearing about three small, white or pale-blue flowers, which resemble those of the REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 311 common potato but smaller. Each of these flowers is succeeded by a small, greenish berry, containing numerous small seeds. Mr. Anderson says of this plant, that five years ago it was com- paratively rare in northern Montana. It could then be found here and there on the prairies or near water-courses, but during the past three years it has notably increased, owing to the increased cultiva- tion of the soil. The plant grows better in cultivated ground, and it is a fact worth recording that it grows best of all in situations particularly suited to the development of the com- mon potato (Solanum tuberosum). In its final condition the plant spreads on the ground in mats 3 feet or more across, the branches usually rooting all along the parts touching the earth, and bearing many pale blue to purplish flowers. I had noted several years ago that potato-bugs live upon the leaves. In 1887 and 1888 an enormous crop of potato-beetle larvee were produced, chiefly upon this weed. Itis a regular swarming place for Colorado beetles, which lay eggs by the thousands on the leaves everywhere. Plate 13 is a figure of this plant; a, b, a flower and bud enlarged; ¢, a cluster of mature berries, with a tuft of leaves; d, a berry cut transversely; e, a berry cut vertically. The grasses of Plates 1 to 11 are one-half the natural size. -— THE PASTORAL RESOURCES OF MONTANA. By F. W. ANDERSON, Special Agent. Not many years ago this Territory was regarded as a part of the vast waste called the Great American Desert. Even her wealth of mineral resources was not realized, and the country was con- sidered fit only for the hunter, the trader, and the Indian agent. But at last, when the rich mineral discoveries of Alder Gulch and Virginia City created such a stir, miners, adventurers, and fortune- seekers flocked to the Territory from all directions. It was then that people began to see in the mineral productiveness of the soil a promise of future greatness for Montana. Mine after mine was dis- covered, keeping alive for years the feverish excitement incident to gold hunting on the ‘“ bars,” for nearly all mining in those days was placer. Long years before the shriek of the locomotive echoed with shriller notes in Montana’s mountains the hoarse cry of the ‘‘bull- whacker” and the sharp crack of his quirt affrighted the timid game feeding peacefully on the mountain slopes. In those days the value of a good mule or ox train was estimated at about $6,000 in gold, and many a fortune has been made, and often lost again, carrying pro- visions and implements of toil tothe hardy pioneers of the Territory. Soon it was discovered that mules and oxen grew fat on the native grasses, thus suggesting possibilities in another direction, viz, that of stock-raising. At first it was feared the extreme cold of winter could not be withstood by cattle or horses on the open ranges. It was considered out of the question to feed hay, for that was worth $60 a ton, sometimes more. However, wintering cattle on the open ranges was tried, but with discouraging results. A few of the originally imported stock still survived, and, in a measure, had become accli- mated. These passed through a milder winter than usual, and sprin found them in fair condition. They bore fine, healthy calves, an thus fresh hope was infused into the minds of experimenters. ~ From that time on the stock business has steadily increased until 312 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. now it has reached magnificent proportions; and as one travels over the Territory north, south, east, or west, he is pointed out with pride, by the inhabitants, the costly residences and large herds of cattle owned by the ‘‘ cattle kings,” asthe successful men have been dubbed. Where Captains Lewis and Clarke, the explorers, over eighty years ago saw thousands of buffaloes, elks, and deer feeding on the open plains bordering the Missouri River, near the falls now roam thou- sands of horses and cattle which obtain sustenance the year round by eating the native grasses. Upon the same plains a hundred years ago the Indians’ horses also grazed. MINING AND STOCK-RAISING. The two leading industries are mining and stock-raising. Quartz mining is now the chief branch of the former; but in early times placer mining, because of the remoteness of the country and diffi- culty of access, was the only branch sought and pursued. The manner of raising stock is very simple. Horses and cattle are per- mitted to roam over their owners’ ranges at will, and are ‘‘ rounded up” only for the purposes of branding, castrating, counting, and selling, all of which work is usually performed at stated times of the year. But sheep, although kept in large flocks or. ‘‘ bands,” are cared for by a shepherd or ‘ herder,” partly because they scat- ter far and wide in small groups if left to themselves, and partly be- cause they need protection from wolves and coyotes. The average- sized band of sheep will probably contain 2,500 head, but many flocks number over 5,000 head; but these are too many for one man to prop- erly care for, and the weak, the old, and the lame animals have a hard time of it. : ‘While horses, cattle, and sheep all bring forth their young on the open plains, sheep are the I stock receiving any attention at this period. Extra men are employed during the ‘lambing season,” and the flock is generally divided up into three—those to lamb, those lambing (or within a day or two of it), and those that have lambed; this is done for obvious reasons. Cattle are raised for beef, no practical attention yet being paid to dairying; horses are raised for speed and endurance, very few draft animals being bred; while sheep are hardly ever raised for any pur- ose but wool-growing. But the time is close at hand when every in- ary connected with these animals will receive its merited attention. GENERAL FEATURES OF MONTANA. The southern and western parts.—Looking at a map of the Terri- tory one sees that the southern and western parts are much broken by small, isolated Tom of mountains and hills. If one traveling over these parts will take time to climb a few of these mountains he will see at once, that this is the exact nature of the country. Far below him he will see valleys and plains of greater or less extent sur- rounding each little range. Looking towards any point of the com- pass he will see the same plains wandering between and around other isolated mountain groups in the distance, strongly reminding him of a great quiet lake, dotted with huge, rocky, often pine-clad islands. These groups are all called ranges by the local inhabitants, but many of them seem too small to deserve such a name. : Looking at the map again one will observe the course of the main divide of the Rocky Mountains. Well defined and broad, it retains REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 313 its individuality from near the northeast corner of Missoula County, through the eastern and central length of Deer Lodge County, and half through Silver Bow County on its eastern border. Here it be- comes broken and fragmentary. The Bitter Root Mountains extend along the southwestern border and continue all along the western line as far north as the forty-eighth parallel in Missoula County. Much of the country between the Bitter Root Mountains and the main range is very rugged. So far as I have seen the prevailing rocks in these regions are gray granite, porphyry, slate, and lime- stone, but occasional large areas show outcroppings of a reddish-col- ored lava. Especially was this last feature observed in the vicinity of the McCartney Range in the northeastern corner of Madison County. The majority of the little mountain clusters contain in their bowels gold, silver, copper, and lead. Ironstone of several varieties is also abundant, so that iron and lime for fluxing the other metals are mostly near at hand, while the charcoal is made in the pine woods on the neighboring heights. In a few of the ranges free gold is found; very few of the diggings are rich, however, seldom paying more than ordinary days’ wages ($3.50 to $6), while some few yield almost fabulous amounts per annum. The plains already mentioned are mostly high, often stony, and, so far as I have seen or heard, always dry. The numerous valleys, through nearly all of which flows a stream of sparkling water, are for the most part narrow, but very productive. The chief crops appear to be oats, wheat, timothy, and native ““bluejoint,” potatoes, cabbages, turnips, and onions; corn is not grown as a regular crop. Fruit trees of any kind are rarely seen, and even then have or been planted by persons of unusually enterprising and progressive spirit. Even the small fruits, like gooseberries, currants, raspber- ries, and strawberries, are not cultivated, although ample evidence is given to show that they and other small fruits would do well; for many persons have volunteered the information that they go into the mountains once a year to pick a year’s supply of these fruits for use in their families. In these valleys and up many of the mountain gulches grow several species of poplar and willow. The balsam poplar is the commonest of the genus. Salix flavescens, var. scouleriana, S. rostrata, and S. longifolia are the common willows. Occurring with these are also the black or ‘mountain ” birch (Betula occidentalis), which sometimes attains a size rarely seen in the northern part of the Territory, and a species of alder (Alnus viridis), often growing to a height of 30 feet. Occasionally such evergreens as Juniperus communis and J. Virgin- {ana may be found also. On the mountain slopes several species of pine and fir occur. But the mountain tops are bare, or at most sup- port a scattered growth of dwarfed pine (Pinus albicaulis, Eng.). The high plains or benches for the most part produce a very thin growth of grass. In many localities are immense tracts, miles in extent, covered by sage-brush (Artemisia tridentata) growing to an average height of 4 feet; specimens are occasionally seen 6 feet high. The woody stems of this strange under-shrub are used as fuel in some parts. Another sage-brush (4. cana) is also common. It never is so tall or robust as A. tridentata. Greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), with its cruel spines, is abundant in many localities. It grows into a good-sized bush 4 or 5 feet high and very branching. The numerous short, rigid branchlets are usually tipped with a sharp point, giving them a spiny appearance. One may be severely 314 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. pricked in forcing his way through a patch of this shrub. I am in- formed, however, that this plant, despite its formidable appearance, is eagerly sought by range cattle, which liveupon it when the snows are deep. I have seen cattle munch the branches, spines and all, as composedly as a donkey eats a thistle. The local inhabitants in the spring, when the young shoots are green and tender, boil them as “greens,” and sometimes make pickles of them, too. I have not tasted cooked twigs, but have eaten the raw, succulent, linear leaves. The flavor is almost identical with that of the well-known samphire of our coasts. One more under-shrub contributes largely to the characteristic appearance of the southern and southwestern parts of the Territory, viz, Bigelovia graveolens, var. albicaulis. Like the sage-brush and greasewood it chiefly inhabits the high benches and dry bottoms. This variety seems to occur throughout the Ter- ritory; but nowhere, so far as I have observed, is it so common as in the counties of Silver Bow, Beaver Head, and Madison. Here we find it averaging 3 feet high, making the plains yellow for miles in late summer with its profusion of flowers, and in autumn impart- ing a peculiar grayish-green tint to the landscape. No animal seems to eat this plant, and, aside from the facts that it helps to cover the nakedness of the earth and draws a little moisture, it is to be re- garded as a troublesome weed. Agriculture, then, in the regions described is confined almost wholly to the narrow valleys and bottoms, along streams ; it is not a chief industry, and never can be, owing to the very nature of the country. Mining takes the lead, stock-raising comes next. Here is a grand country for the latter purpose. Despite its dry plains and abominably numerous steep mountains and hills, it is abundantly watered. Scarcely one of its thousands of valleys is without a brook or a river of the purest water, easy of access. In many local- ities the grass forms a close turf. In this respect the southern parts of Madison and Beaver Head Counties can not be excelled. In making a random guess I would say that fully three-fourths of this entire region would always be open to the interests of stock-growers of all kinds. It is a splendid country for the purpose. Northern and eastern Montana.— We now come to a wholly dif- ferent country: the general appearance, the vegetation, and even the climate, all different. Here we have the three grand resources, mining, stock-raising and farming, on a more nearly equal basis, but instead of mining, stock-raising takes the lead. And here wool- growing is an important item. Looking at a map of these parts we see a country abundantly watered and possessing only a few (comparatively) mountain ranges. The many creeks or brooks and larger streams all find their way to one of three great rivers. The central river, the mighty Missouri, then receives the two others—the Milk River from the north and the Yellowstone River from the south. Ascending to the summit of any convenient mountain in northern Montana, and looking as far as the eye can reach with the aid of a field glass or telescope, one sees a grand series of beautiful rolling plains, thickly covered with grass. Here and there the winding valleys mark the courses of the streams. In the distance are mountains, purple, and blue, and gray. To the south and west one sees, though so far, the main range of the Rockies, its snow-clad peaks in bold relief. That range can be distinguished at a glance from all others. Here we have a country pre-eminently fitted for pastoral and agri- REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. , 815 cultural pursuits. The extent of range for stock would be simply inexhaustible were not the soil so rich that agriculture is rapidly tak- ing possession. In fact it is my opinion that in a very few years agriculture will have such a pre-eminence that herd laws will be en- acted, at least for the protection of farmers in this region. Agricult- ure is making gigantic strides. It has been satisfactorily proven that the justly celebrated wheat lands of Minnesota and Dakota can not surpass the bench lands of northern and eastern Montana. Hun- dreds of progressive farmers and others are planting timber and fruit trees, everywhere meeting with success. So it is easy to fore- see that in a few years the country will be so settled by farmers and growers of fine-blooded stock, who will keep their animals in pastures or other inclosures, that range stock will be crowded to the foot-hills and mountains, or else their owners will have to take them to those regions where there will never be a struggle between the tiller of the soil and the flock-master for possession of the field. If one will go over any portion of the region now under consider- ation, after having gone over those parts described in the previous section, he will at once notice the difference in the vegetation. No- where here, except in the ‘‘ bad lands” along certain portions of the Missouri River and in a few other parts, will be seen the sage-brush, Bigelovia, and greasewood, in any abundance. In going over the ground during summer the difference will be still more marked by the presence of a great variety of leguminous plants, many of them very beautiful in flower and foliage, which are dotted over these northern plains in all directions. In my own herbarium are twenty- threespecies and several varieties, representing the genus Astragalus alone, all collected in this region. Along the small streams and rivers the common trees are Populus monilifera, P. angustifolia, P. tremuloides, and more sparingly P. angulata. Only one willow ever seems to become truly tree-like in size, viz, Salix amygdaloides. This species usually becomes of suf- ficient size for.good, solid fence-posts, and at times even larger. It is considerably used for that purpose. Professor Coulter in his Man- ual of Rocky Mountain Botany, page 335, quotes that a form of Salix cordata sometimes affords durable timber, adding that “it is alto- gether incredible that any form of S. cordata ever attains tree-like size.” So far as personal observations enable me to judge I think Professor Coulter is quite right. The very largest specimen of S. cor- data I ever saw was not more than 5 inches in diameter at the bottom. It was the var. vestita, the common diamond willow, the same form that Professor Coulter comments upon. But Salix amygdaloides fre- quently becomes 18 inches in diameter. Where abundant it is much cut for cord-wood, making excellent fuel. Towards the mountains the poplars all disappear save P. tremuloides. The willows also are different, S. rostrata and a form of S. glauca being most common. CLIMATE. The climate of this Territory is a remarkable one. The winter weather of any new country is always the subject of special inquiry, particularly when stock-raising is in question. The following notes upon this and the other seasons may be of interest : Winter.— Winter generally sets in in god earnest in the early part of January, seldom much snow or cold before then, and lasts until the middle of March or beginning of April. Itis not a period of steady winter weather, however; a ‘“ cold snap” seldom lasts over 316 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. two or'three days. According to statistics the average snow-fall in the course of a winter is about 18 inches. This does not fall all at once ; neither does it fall from time to time, and accumulate for the genial warmth of the spring to dissipate. Here, in mid-winter, the mild breezes blowing inshore from the Japan Current sweep down over the mountains, often melting a foot of snow in a single day or night, and seldom letting one snow-fall lie upon the ground over two or three weeks. In this way the ground is frequently left bare for several weeks before the advent of another storm. At such times men go about in their shirt-sleeves, insects skip and fly about the prairies, and stock upon the ranges gain flesh. Some winters, how- ever, the snow becomes crusted hard for weeks ata time; then range cattle suffer terribly, and many of them die because they can not get at the grass. Horses and sheep paw holes in the snow, ‘‘ rustling for feed,” hence seldom suffer. Cattle never paw; if they can not ush the snow off the grass with their noses they starve or eat wil- ows, which is nearly as ruinous. But the loss of cattle from this cause is not necessary, as it would take but little hay to keep them alive till a ““ chinook ” came to break the icy bonds. Spring.—Spring ¥ollows close upon winter; there is no gradual transition. Before the last chinook has swept away the snow-drifts, wild flowers of brilliant colors appear. Spring frosts rarely occur, except very close toand in the mountains. Farmersput in their seeds as soon as the ground is thawed enough for plowing, and seldom give them further attention till harvest time. In northern Montana an amplesupply of rain fallsduring May and June. Springhere isnearly as warm as summer ; for this reason, combined with the abundance of rain, vegetation grows with surprising rapidity. The ‘blue-joints” and other tall grasses are usually 3 feet high by the middle of June. Summer.—This season may be said to develop from spring about the middle of June. Its hottest period is in August. Sometimes, but not often, the temperature is over 110° F. in the shade. The probable average is about 80° F. It is well known that sea-breezes are warmer in winter than the land atmosphere, and that they are cooler in summer ; and so it happens that the same breezes which melt the snow and moderate the severity of winter here, gently blow, cool and refreshing, over the mountains and plains in summer time. Consequently, the heat of summer has not that oppressiveness so characteristic of it in ‘‘ the States.” Itisseldom that one can not fully enjoy the comfort of a woolen blanket during a summer night. Autumn.—Montana’s autumn weather is perfect. The nights are cool, often frosty: the days are bright and mild. Whenever we have a good fall, stock are in prime condition for market, or to face the cold weather coming. This fine weather generally lasts till well on into November. (This yearitis yet fine, and I sit writing this, the 22d of December, with my door wide open.) Then a small snow-storm occurs occasionally to remind one that winter has almost come again. We have now glanced over the general features of the Territory, and in so doing have seen that the greater part of it, at least four- fifths, can be utilized for stock-raising. We have also seen that nearly half of it will eventually be devoted to agricultural interests. The south and most of the western part will always be a pastoral country, while the north and east will soon be almost entirely devoted to farming, horticulture, and the raising of fine, blooded stock, for which purpose very extensive areas are not needed by individuals. We have seen that, on the whole, the climate is a good one. This REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 817 good climate is probably mainly the result of two features, the close proximity and protection afforded by the main range of the Rocky Mountains, with its numerous spurs, and also of the cooling influence of the chinook wind blowing from the Japan Current in summer, and its warming influence in winter. : NATIVE GRASSES. In agricultural circles there has been much talk about the ‘bunch grasses,” ‘‘ blue-joint grasses,” and ‘‘ buffalo grasses” of the North- west. I shall not here pretend to present as large a list as Professor Scribner’s “Agricultural Grasses of Central Montana,” not having the necessary material to draw from; but the following list gives our most important species, as I have found them, in different parts of the Territory: : ? Beckmannia eruceformis, Host (Beckmann’s Grass, ‘‘Slough- Grass”).—Found throughout in low grounds, marshy places, and sloughs; to some extent also along the banks of mountain streams. In some localities it forms a valuable food for stock. Average height about 3 feet. The stout culms give off several bright-green leaves, 4 to 8 or 9 inches long. Several culms usually grow from one tuft. At the bottom of the plant are tender leaves and sterile shoots much relished by stock. It makes good hay. Where the plants are thick together, the aftermath of tender, juicy leaves quickly grows, re- maining green till quite late in the year. To be recommended for cultivation in low, wet meadows generally. Panicum capillare, L. (Panic-Grass, ‘“ Fool-hay ”).—Throughout; forming large “meadows” in some localities. Mostly found in waste or gravelly soil. Sometimes called ‘‘Fool-hay,” because it takes so much to make a ton. : Panicum crus-gally, Li. (Barnyard-Grass).—Professor Coulter in his Manual, page 404, says: ‘‘ Very widely introduced, possibly indige- nous somewhere on the continent.” Undoubtedly indigenous here; occurring along streams and in gravelly places throughout. In the mountains usually dwarfed. Sparingly introduced into cultivated ground. Stock eat this grass readily. Leafy, many-stemmed, hardy, “ gelf-seeding ” unfailingly, it has much to recommend it. : Setaria viridis, Beauv. (Green Foxtail, Bottle-Grass, ‘Wild Mil- let ”).—Introduced into cultivated soil. Not common. Many farm- ers look upon it with great favor. Spartina cynosuroides, Willd. (Cord-Grass, Marsh-Grass).— Throughout, in marshy ground along streams, and in depressions of valleys. So abundant in some localities that eventually it may cause serious trouble. In some of the meadows near Helena it constitutes nearly half the grass. It spreads by strong, scaly root-stocks, each of which is tipped by a stiff, sharp point, formed by the overlapping, ter- minal scales. Culms average 4 feet high, stiff and reed-like. Stock will not eat this grass, and it is useless for hay. Phalaris arundinacea, L. (Reed Canary-Grass).—This valuable grass is common throughout. Abundant along many of the mount- ain streams and in moist valleys everywhere, especially in the south- ern part. Prefers moist situations, attaining a height upwards of 5 feet. Makes excellent hay. Cattle are very fond of the leaves and panicles. The latter, when full of seeds, they nip off and eat with evident relish. This species would ba well in cultivation, owing to the abundance of hay it would yield. (Phalaris Canariensts, L., is sparingly introduced.) 318 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. Hierochloa borealis, R. and S. (Vanilla-Grass, Seneca-Grass).—Is said to be commion in some parts. I never saw it myself except along the banks of Belt River, in Meagher County. Alopecurus pratensis, var. alpestris (Mountain Timothy).—This species has an unexcelled reputation as a grass for the pasture and hay-mow. Growing extensively in the mountains it often covers large open tracts known as ‘mountain meadows” and ‘‘ parks.” It is regularly cut for hay, and the delicious odor exhaled during the curing process is indeed ‘the scent of new-mown hay.” There is no necessity for introducing foreign grasses into any region possess- ing a native species like this. Aristida purpurea, Nutt. (Triple-awned Grass, Bunch-Grass).— Common, especially south and southwest. In the northern part the variety longiseta, Vasey, appears to be the prevailing form. Chiefly on gravelly, stony ground along bluffs and rocky hills in the northern part, but southward it is very abundant in some localities on the dry plains so characteristic of that region. Its habit of growing in stiff clumps, narrowed below, diverging above, has gained for it the usual name, ‘‘bunch grass.” Cattle and horses eat the green clumps freely, but sheep prefer other grasses. A valuable adjunct to winter ranges; sheep, even, are often glad enough to eat it in winter. Stipa comata, Trin. and Rupr. (Feather-Grass, ‘‘Bunch-Grass,” ““ Needle-Grass,” ‘‘ Needle-and-Thread ”).—This common grass is known here by all the popular names except the first. Found through- out. Ithasthe “bunch-grass” habit, the culms seldom exceeding 3 feet, usually but half that height. Stock are fond of the numerous, narrow, involute leaves crowning the base of the bunch. Common- est in poor soil and where ‘ bed-rock ” is near the surface. Stipa viridula, Trin. (Feather-Grass, Bunch-Grass, “Wild Oats”). — ‘With the last, but apparently more abundant in richer, damper soil, attains a height of 4 feet, and in moist situations a still greater. ‘Where thick enough it is cut for hay, of which it makes a fair qual- ity. Stock like the seeds, which are numerous and taste like oats. 1 have frequently seen both sheep and cattle fight with their own kind over a well-seeded panicle of this grass. Stipa spartea, Trin. (Feather-Grass).—Known here by the less delicate but certainly more appropriate name of ‘Devil's Darning- needle.” This wretched grass is not common anywhere that I have been in Montana except in the foot-hills and valleys bordering the north aspect of the Great Belt Mountains near to the West Fork of Hound Creek and ‘the old Fort Logan road.” It isto be hoped that it will not spread for years to come. In traveling afoot where this grass grows when it is in seed one is kept busy picking the sur- prisingly sharp-pointed seeds with their strongly-twisted awns out of trousers and sleeves. If allowed to remain these seeds rapidly in- sinuate themselves into the flesh. I have seen horses and cattle with the awns sticking out of their skin while the seed was completely buried beneath. The poor creatures suffer severely at times from the irritation thus set up. This grass has been reported from one or two other localities, but is said not to be common. Oryzopsis cuspidata, Benth. (Mountain Rice, ‘ Bunch-Grass”).— This valuable grass is common throughout. Usually in clumps vary- ing from 1to 3 feet high. In the southwestern part it does not aver- age over 8 inches high and one or two culms to a plant. The leaves are long and very narrow, growing from the middle and lower parts of the stem, usually few or none arising from the base. Panicle often « REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 319 included below, but very open and branching above. From the tips of the slender branchlets grow the hard, nut-like flowers and seeds. The seeds are very nutritious, as good as oats, and are greatly relished by stock, especially cattle. This grass grows up early in the season and may be still found in a ti green state late in the fall, long after the seeds have ripened and fallen off. It would doubtless do an cultivation, and seems to flourish best in sandy soil, where its long, fibrous roots always draw up the moisture. The fact of its being so nutritious and at the same time capable of thriving in what is usually considered the poorest of soil makes it well worthy the atten- tion of all western Experiment Station authorities, as well as of northwestern farmers. Oryzopsis micrantha, Thurber (Slender Mountain Rice).—Com- mon but not abundant in many localities. Being less conspicuous than the last it has been ris overlooked. It is supposed to grow in Montana mainly at the highest elevations. Often nearly as tall as the last, but always very slender; the few and narrow branches of the panicle arranged in pairs. Many culms, fifteen or more usually arise from one tuft. Very leafy below; leaves narrow and setaceous-tipped, 4 inches to over a foot long; bright green, well flavored. Stock enjoy this grass. It could be profitably cultivated towards the mountains on rich slopes, or in moist valleys. Itseems to have no special choice of habitat, however. I have seen it from 2 inches to over 18 inches high at the rocky summit of Mount Helena, and it grows over 2 feet high in one corner of my ranch in Sand Coulee. (Sand Coulee is a large valley of the plains near the falls of the Missouri River; altitude about 3,400 feet.) This grass is also common in the Bird-tail Mountains, portions of the Belt Mountains, and in the ranges south and west towards the Idaho line. Muhlenberguia glomerata (Drop-seed Grass, Muhlenberg’s Grass).— There seems to be no local name for this or the other Muhlenbergias found here. Ask a stockman what it is, his answer will be, Oh, it’s a kind of Foxtail, I guess.” This species has been observed in the counties of Chouteau, Cascade, Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, and Beaver Head. But the only locality in which I have seen it abundant is at ‘Warm Springs, in the extreme southeast corner of Deer Lodge County. It grows freely in the warm marshy ground about the springs. It extends by slender, brittle root-stocks, and in this county at) is much affected by Ustilago Montanensis, Ellis & Holway, which aborts the panicles of at least half the culms. Cattle eat the grass readily, and it seems to be a desirable one for cultivation, asit would yield a heavy crop of very good hay. It is a late-lowering species, producing great quantities of nutritious seeds. It seems to “flourish just as well in ordinarily dry situations as in wet ones. Phleum alpinum, L. (Native Tina Cat’s-tail Grass, also called “Mountain Timothy”).—Plentiful in all the mountain regions, along streams, openings in pine forests, and in the moister “parks.” A valuable grass and much esteemed for hay. Seldom over 20 inches high, but sometimes upwards of 2 feet; culms often quite leafy. Phleum pratense, L. (Timothy, “Tame” Timothy).—Can hardly be classed with the native pastoral resources, but has been introduced to a considerable extent. In the southern and western parts ample irrigation is found necessary to its successful culture. In the north- ern and eastern parts irrigation is not thought of. This year I saw 3 acres of splendid timothy 4 feet high, standing thickly on the top of the highest hill near Great Falls. The field, only ‘‘sod-breaking,” 2640—2 320 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. is the property of Mr. John Glass. Timothy has become naturalized in the mountains about Helena. Isolated patches of it are frequently found in the Belt Mountains. Rev. F. b. Kelsey, the well-known ‘Helena botanist,” reports it as having run wild in the mountains about Rimini. It grows sparingly along Black-Tail Deer Creek, near Dillon, and along the Red Rock River, near Spring Hill (Allerdice P. O). This plant is found in such unusually out-of-the-way places and is so widely distributed that some have suggested the possibility of its being just as much native to this region as P. alpinum. Sporobolus eryptandrus, Gr. (Drop-seed Grass).—Along sandy banks of streams; also in cultivated soil. Very prolific, soon taking possession where allowed. Cattle and sheep eat 1t down close when- ever they can get at it. Several other species occur, but appear to be of little or no value. S. depauperatus, Torr., is found through- out; very abundant in some localities, especially in Beaver Head County, where it is abundant on the bottoms mixed with grama and other grasses. Deschampia cespitosa, Beauv. (Hair-Grass).—This beautiful and variable grass is found throughout, but constitutes a regular forage lant in very few localities. It produces many leaves and culms rom the tufted base, which are eagerly eaten by horses, cattle and sheep in the spring and early summer. It grows in a great variety of soils and can bear considerable drought. In afew isolated locali- ties are stretches of valley several miles in extent, fine meadow lands, where this species, and grama grass, and Poa tenuifolia grow in about equal proportion. Danthonia unispicata, Munro (Wild Oat-Grass).—Several species occur, but this is the only one I have found in abundance. It grows on the higher ‘“bald” mountain slopes, often being the principal grass. (Growing, in general appearance, it reminds one of a rich growth of grama grass; but the single terminal, erect spikelet is a peculiarly plain distinguishing feature. I believe this grass to be of almost as much importance on some of the higher mountains in pro- ortion to the area of its habitat as the grama grass on the plains. Dine had horses ‘“ picketed ” days together in mountain ‘ parks” where this was almost the only grass. They liked it and did well. In the herbarium of Mr. Robert S. Williams, of Great Falls, are speci- mens of D. Californica and D. intermedia, which he says are com- mon in the main range at the head of the North Fork of Sun River. Agrostis scabra, Willd. (Thin-Grass, Bent-Grass, also called ‘‘Fool- hay”).—Everywhere. In comparatively moist spots it sometimes covers many acres. Agrostis exarata, Trin. (Bent-Grass).—I have never heard a local | name for this common and valuable grass. It is variable in size and appearance, but under proper conditions grows over 2 feet high. Culms numerous, leafy, especially at the base ; leaves flat, erect, the lower ones 2 to 5 inches long. It grows about springs and along streams, and ought to be cultivated. Agrostis alba, L. (Bent-Grass, Red-top).—Abundant throughout in well-watered localities; often growing 3 feet high. An excellent grass for meadow or pasture. The eastern form, A. vulgaris (Red-top), has been introduced sparingly into cultivation. It is also found here and there along the various lines of railroad, quite distinct in ApIoans from the na- tive plant. It does best in low grounds, and like the native species bears considerable moisture. The latter is frequently found almost REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 321 choking some of the small shallow brooks or creeks. All kinds of stock thrive upon these grasses. Ammophila longifolia, Benth. (Sand-Grass).— Throughout, but apparently most common in the northern and eastern parts ; chiefly on dry hillsides and in sandy soil on the benches and bottoms. A very useful species, serving to bind loose soil and prepare the way for more nutritious forms; one to 5 feet high, rather stout. Al- though it has strong, creeping root-stocks it is easily exterminated when desirable; simple plowing and harrowing a few times checks its growth. For this reason it can be safely recommended as a truly valuable pioneer grass for reclaiming unproductive, sandy wastes. It is sometimes cut for hay, but stock will not eat it till compelled, un- less it is cut young. It often'growsin small circular patches, at other times irregularly covering large areas. It turns yellowish-brown in August or September, and may be distinguished from other vegeta- tion at long distances. Deyeuxia Canadensis, Beauv. (Reed Bent-Grass).—Common with Phalaris arundinacea; growing to nearly the same height; leaves long and numerous. It is worth cultivating, as are the following members of the genus: Deyeuxia Suksdorfiv, Scribner.—At a first glance one might take this for an Agrostis. Professor Scribner, in his interesting paper, ¢ Agricultural Grasses of Central Montana,” mentions it as being rather plentiful along Smith’s River Cafion “on dry but rich lime- stone soil.” Rev. F. D. Kelsey, of Helena, found it growing in sandy soil at the “Warm Springs” near Helena. (This is not the Warm Springs in Deer Lodge County, where the Territorial Insane Asylum is located.) This grass has every appearance of being the kind to cultivate. The slender, leafy culms are upwards of 2 feet high, bearing a densely-flowered panicle of a light straw color which is sometimes faintly and delicately tinged with rose-purple. The leaves are 2 to 8 inches long, and in my specimens 2 to 5 lines wide, and straight, growing numerously from the base. The plant grows in clumps or bunches. Deyeuxia neglecta, Kth. (Reed Bent-Grass).—Common throughout in wet places with D. Canadensis and Phalaris arundinacea. 1tisof about the same height as the latter, but the leaves are mostly narrow and involute. Bouteloua oligostachya, Torr. (Mesquite, Grama-Grass, ‘‘ Buffalo- Grass”).—Isnot called mesquite here. Ihave never seen true buffalo- grass in Montana. It has been reported from several localities, but I havenotseen specimens. The grama-grassequalsthe ‘“ blue-joints” in nutritive qualities, and doubtless covers as many acres, if not more, in this Territory, rarely growing tall enough to be cut for hay. It oc- curs sparingly in the foot-hills, but on the open plains holds its own; often 18 inches high, where growing luxuriantly. Leaves mostly at the base, very numerous, short and crisp, inclined to be curly. Average height of the plant (culms) as it grows on the range is about 8 inches. The lants usually fron thickly together in cushion-like patches, and so form a more or less dense turf according to the nature of the soil. In many parts stock subsist almost the entire year, mainly on this species. They readily fatten upon it, even in winter. If pastured too closely for several years by sheep it loses its vitality oe becomes very sparse. Improves won Sinile in size when grow- ing accidentally in cultivated ground. The whole plant becomes stronger and more robust; the culms seems to be more leafy and at- 3822 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. tain a height of fully 18 inches. It seems to me that if properly culti- vated this grass might become valuable for hay, and it certainly would make excellent pasture. Although most abundant on the benches, it grows well in fairly moist valleys, but too much wet injures it. Phragmites communes, Trin. (Reed).—Common along streams and in marshy ground throughout. Of no apparent value as food and usually considered useless. In England and on the Continent in some the stems are much used for thatching the roofs of farm-houses, arns, out-buildings, and stacks. It is highly esteemed for this pur- pose, making a durable, water-proof roof. I have seen roofs of réeds over a hundred years old in good repair; of course spots on these roofs had been rethatched occasionally. Reeds might be used here for similar purposes, particularly in regions where lumber is dear and shingles a luxury. Kelerwa cristata, Pers. (“June Grass”).—Like the grama and ‘““blue-joint” grasses, this is an important species on the ranges of Montana. It appears to be most abundant in the central, northern, and eastern parts. It is not confined to the plains, but may be found frequently on high mountainridgesin company with Poa Californica, P. Cusickir, and P. andina, where it frequently attains a growth of R? feet high; whereas, on the plains, excepting in moist situations, it only averages about a foot in height. It begins to flower towards the end of May, and continues till about the end of June. Growsin tufts, and in vigorous mountain specimens these tufts are developed into small bunches. An excellent grass in every respect for oper pasture and for hay. Eatonia obtusata, Gray, var. robusta, Vasey. (Eaton's Grass).— A good grass, occurring most abundantly in the southern parts. Rather common along the water-courses of Beaver Head and Madi- son Counties. Have never found it in the northern part. Very fine specimens in my herbarium were collected by Rev. ¥ D. Kelsey at Blue Cloud, near Helena. Eragrostis major, Host.—Is an introduced weed chiefly remarka- ble for the very offensive odor it emits, and even leaves upon one’s hands after handling it. Not yet common. Melica spectabile, Scribner (Melic Grass).—This is common in the mountains, but can scarcely be considered of pastoral value. Melica bulbosa, Geyer (Bulbous Melic Grass).—Common in various arts of northern Montana, and doubtless occurs throughout. Never ound it in the mountains. It grows plentifully in Sand Coulee, 5 miles from Great Falls. Might become a useful hay grass by culti- vation. Culms 2 to 4 feet high, eaten with avidity by stock. The bulbous roots contain a considerable quantity of sugar. Distichlis maritima, Raf. (Spike-Grass, Salt-Grass, Quack- Grass ”).—Common, especially in alkaline soils. Grows from 3 inches to about 2 feet high. Leaves very prevalently attacked by a rust. Stock seem to avoid this weed, and ranchmen hate it. Poa tenuifolia, Nutt. (Meadow-Grass, ‘‘Bunch-Grass,” ‘‘Red- top”).—A finer grass for cultivation on dry plains or in regions sub- ject to drought can not be found. Grows in all parts of the Terri- tory, chiefly on the high benches. But it also grows in the rich val- leys, where it attains a good height and yields a great quantity of superior hay. Commonly associated with Kewleria cristata. As growing, the radical tufts of the two species have a very similar ap- pearance. Poa levis, Vasey.—Reaches a height upwards of 2 feet. Found REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. 323 chiefly along streams and in springy localities. It affords a valuable addition to the pastoral grasses of well-watered regions. Poa nemoralis, L.—This grass has no particular habitat. It is fre- quently associated with P. levis. Also abundant in the mountains. In 1887 I collected very fine specimens at the summit of Mount Helena, where cattle and horses belonging to the city below were grazing upon this and other grasses already spoken of. Poa cenisia, All.—Is another valuable species abundant in the mountains and foot-hills. Poa Cusickit, Vasey, P. andina, Nutt., and P. Californica, Vasey, are commonly found together. They are often accompanied by Kce- leria cristata and Festuca ovina. These species growing together form a dense turf in some localities in the foot-hills and on the mountain slopesand ridges. - Theamount of pasturage they afford is very great. Glyceria arundinacea, Kth., var. aquatica, Smith (Reed Meadow Grass, ‘“ Water-Grass”).—Very common throughout in low, wet places; often growing in water. Leafy and tall, 3 to 5 feet high. Cows delight to feed in a patch of this grass. Glyceria pauciflora, Presl.—Occurs in many localities, but, so far as I have observed, chiefly from the vicinity of Helena southward and westward. This is also an excellent grass. Glyceria nervata, Trin.—Is to be found everywhere in situations moist enough for its growth. In some localities it contributes largely to the native forage. Glyceria distans, Wahl.—Common. It is readily eaten by stock. The variety airoides, Vasey, is a common form along the Sun River Valley, and in Cascade County generally. Festuca scabrella, Torr. (Great Bunch-Grass).—On the higher foot- hills and mountain slopes this is the predominant species. Growing in bunches often several feet in diameter, the culms rise to a height of 3, 4, and even 5 feet. In July and August this grass is cut for hay. Although it is good for this purpose, it is considered not nearly so good as ‘“blue-joint.” It is one of our most important and characteristic mountain and foot-hills forage plants. Festuca ovina, L. (Sheep’s Fescue, Lesser Bunch-Grass).—This grows with the last on the foot-hills, but extends to a much lower altitude. Very variable. May be found from a few inches with only one or two culms, up to more than 3 feet high with very many slen- der culms and leaves, forming dense, thick bunches. This species is the equal if not the superior of the great bunch-grass, and has the advantage of being equally as palatable to sheep as it is to horses and cattle. Makes splendid hay. Bromus Kalmii, Gray, B. breviaristatus, Thurb., and B. ciliatus are all common ; the first two in the mountains, where they sometimes form large meadows. They are then a beautiful, luxuriant sight; but stock do not seem to care for any of these grasses. I never saw them cut for hay. Agropyrum glaucum, R. and 8S. (‘‘ Blue-joint,” ‘Blue-stem ”).— This is the celebrated ‘“blue-joint ” of the Northwest. More valued for hay than any other species, and its yield per acre under favorable conditions is something remarkable, viz, over 3 tons. It often yields 2 tons, and under the most ordinary conditions yields over a ton. These crops are secured on native, uncultivated sod. Agropyrum divergens is perhaps the next in general value. It grows in bunches, and for that reason has received the customary popular name of ‘‘bunch-grass.” Sometimes attains a height of 324 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. nearly 4 feet. Most luxuriant in the lower foot-hills, but is common on the rocky bluffs and kmnolls of the plains, frequently occurring with Aristida purpurea. The culms, though slender, are very stiff and brittle. Stock avoid this grass in summer, but in winter in cer- tain localities it is their chief support; hence it is considered an ex- cellent species for winter ranges. Even sheep eat it then. Other species more or less abundant are A. caninum, Reich., A. violaceum, A. repens, Beauv., and A. tenerum, Vasey. The last is of considerable importance in some parts. Hordeum jubatum, L. (Foxtail Grass, Squirrel-tail Grass).— Throughout, mostly growing in waste places. Very variable; some of itsformsare hardly distinguishable from H. nodosum. Regarded as a good-for-nothing weed. Often growsinpatchesof 5 to 10acres large. Elymus condensatus, Presl. (Lyme-Grass, Wild-Rye, Rye-Grass).— By the last name it is chiefly known here. It is of no great value, but abundant throughout along streams, in bottoms, and up steep coulée sides. Four to 8 feet or more high. The coarse stems, like those of Phragmites communis, would make a good thatch. Occa- sionally cut for hay. Must be cut young or stock will hardly eat it. Fed too long at a time to horses it causes them to ¢‘ scour.” Several other species occur, but they are of even less value than this. KE. sitanion, Schult., in some of the southern localities is al- most as great a nuisance as Hordeum jubatum. CONCLUDING REMARKS. It will be seen” from the foregoing notes that Montana is blessed with a great variety of nutritious grasses adapted to all kinds and conditions of soil. On the plains Poa tenuifolia, Keeleria cristata, Stipa comata, Bouteloua oligostachya, Agropyrumglaucum, and Agro- * pyrum divergens are the leading species. Everyone of them fills an important niche in pastoral vegetation. In the foot-hills Festuca ovina, Poa tenuifolia, Agropyrum divergens, and Agropyrum ten- erum take the lead. On the higher foot-hills and mountain slopes Festuca scabrella, Agropyrum caninum, and Poa tenuifolia are the chief. Still higher are the Poas, of several species predominating. Along water-courses and in wet places the leading species are Pha- laris arundinacea, Deyeuxia neglecta, Deyeuxia Canadensis, Agros- tis exarata, Glyceria arundinacea, var. aquatica, and Poa levis. Grasses are not the only forage plants in Montana. Such species of Carex as C. filifolia, C. stenophylla, and C. Douglasii, form an im- portant part of the diet of stock on the benches; while C. filtformis, CO. utriculata, C marcida, and several other species are as important in the moist valleys and sloughs. It has been estimated roughly that in northern and eastern Mon- tana from 3 to 5 acres of grass land is sufficient for a horse or steer for one year, and that about 1 acre is sufficient for a sheep. In the south and southwestern parts from two to four times this amount is necessary. But any of these figures, if correct, speak volumes for the pastoral resources of this Territory. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. PLATE |. FIlG.2. WR.Scholl dd. Fig. 1. REIMARIA OLIGOSTACHYA. Fig. 2. PASPALUM VAGINATUM. PLATE Il. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agricuiture, 1888. PASPALUM DISTICHUM. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. PLATE {ll 4 WZ “27 WRSchalt.del. SETARIA VIRIDIS (GREEN FOXTAIL). Report of the Botanist, U. S Department of Agriculture, 1888. PLATE IV, J HE Schalk OPLISMENUS SETARIUS. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. PLATE V. AA E555, NEE Ga a SSP A we vs. 0 es: or 3 2 J 2 > Ce oS BH PEE es — Cod 11d 93 2 bid ts ir = 5 AD) Kb Te EE Strate) SU 2 HE RT =x WH Sehioll. aez,, BECKMANNIA ERUCAFORMIS (SLOUGH GRASS). PLATE VI. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. 3 3 & K ANTHENANTIA RUFA. GE ee i es 1 PLATE Vii. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. AMPHICARPUM PURSHII. PLATE Vill. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. LEERSIA VIRGINICA (RICE-GRASS). PLATE IX. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888 \ SAY Sa eS SUR pr is SS nz 7 = RN Ww Schall. del, PoA ANDINA. PLATE X. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888 N ANS 3 “aN 5 ZR ar z id — T W. Scholl. del AGROPYRUM GLAUCUM (COLORADO BLUE STEM). Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. PLATE XI. F. W. Anderson, del. ad nat. PLANTAGO PATAGONICA, JACQ. (WESTERN PLANTAIN). Figs. 1 to 6 greatly enlarged. Report of the Botanist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. PLATE XII. F. W. Andersen, del. ad nat. LYGODISMIA JUNCEA. Report of the Botanist, LJ. S. Department of Agriculture, 1888. PLATE XIII ~. W. Anderson, del. ad nat. SOLANUM TRIFLORUM (WILD POTATO). U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DIVISION OF BOTANY. GRASS AND FORAGE EXPERIMENT STATION AT GARDEN CITY, KANSAS. By Dr. J. A. SEWALL. COOPERATIVE BRANCH STATIONS IN THE SOUTH. By S. M. TRACY REPRINTED BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FROM HIS ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1891. ‘ REPORT OF GRASS AND FORAGE EXPERIMENT STATIONS IN THE SOUTH AND WEST. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DIVISION OF BOTANY, March 21, 1892. Sir: The following articles relative to grass and forage experiments conducted under the direction of this Department appear in your An- nual Report for 1891 as a portion of my report to you upon the opera- tions of this Division for that year. In order to provide for a thor- ough distribution of this information in those localities specially inter- ested in the results of these experiments, I respectfully recommend that these articles be reprinted in separate form and in suitable number. Very respecttully, GEORGE VASEY, Botanist. Hon. J. M. RUSK, Secretary. GRASS AND FORAGE ERM ENT STATION AT GARDEN CITY, By Dr. J. A. SEWALL, Superintendent. An account of this station was given in the Report of the Secretary of Agriculture for 1890. The following is a report of operations for the year 1891, the third year of the experiments: The area under cultivation at this station for the season of 1891 is about 220 acres, divided as follows: ANNUAL CROPS. Acres WIDTET TY 2 cvven ames comms amma teat tenet teaeae cane mamas 40 Jerusnlom GOTH -.c-c. ovum s-sessioensnrn anv sninnisicivs ae 50 Poland wheab ............... ... och canta oy 10 Algerian wheat ...........oooiiiiii at ho Algerian barley .....--ucucucememnnnriieniaacann a... Jaa 1 Tenvarietiesof corn ......-..---. oo sieaaioin an, Heme =o alas 10 Sorghum (20 varieties nonsaceharine). . i... cit crmildens aus 30 Broom COIR .... one covncrnsmssisscsiesaizaioc ory cose vais silos 5 Of the above, the rye, wheat, barley, and sorghums were cultivated for the double purpose of determining their value as a crop without ir- rigation, and for the purpose of putting the newly broken ground into condition to sow grass seeds. 3 The yield was about as follows: Bushels. JEruSAleMmCOrn. ....caaiico ais ses aie nas Sassi anenae: 2000 Polishwhent ...... ti diiinidiinniinaidasin 240 WInterTye ....-. i. eee iad 500 Algerian barley... oo... ....... oi anon Ln 14 Red Bali tiCOT I vss sn imns minic - = sininicie isisisie « Wek s = « Siu weit ste o cis 75. The sorghums are not harvested at this date, but the yield of each of the varieties will be above the average. The broom corn did fairly well, yielding about 14 tons of excellent broom. (It will be proper here to state that the Jerusalem corn, the Kaffir corn, and broom corn are all varieties of Sorghum vulgare.) The 10 acres of alfalfa yielded two cuttings, and is in a promising condition for the future, although further trial is necessary before its permanency can be considered as established. From the result of experiments for three seasons I believe that the “red Kaffir corn” is in every way superior to any of the varieties tested for fodder, as it furnishes more and better fodder than any other kind tried. The Jerusalem corn is of great value for its large and abundant yield of seed, which is as valuable as Indian corn for fatten- ing hogs and cattle, and is also a fair food for humau kind. All the crops, especially the rye, wheat, and barley, suffered from the effect of the early drought. The rainfall from January 1, 1891, to May 21, 1891, was only 1.41 inches. From May 21 to October 3, 1891, the rainfall was 23.20 inches. or nearly 3 inches more than the average. PERENNIAL CROPS. Acres Panicum virgatum, or switch-grass, a native grass for meadows ............ esd 20 Agropyrum glaucum. or Colorado blue-stem, a native grass...................... 10 Bromus inermis, a European pasture grass. ........... 0280. ius cern nens 6 Andropogon provincialis, or tall blue-joint, anativegrass........................ 5 Andropogon Hallii (Colorado sand-grass), a native grass ...................... 2 Andropogon scoparius, or broom-grass, anative grass. ...........cco.oenanunnnnn 3 Avena elatior, or Arrhenatherum avenaceum, a European meadow-grass.......... 5 Festuca elatior (tall meadow fescue), a European meadow-grass ................ 2 Lolium perenne (perennial rye grass), a European meadow-grass ................ 5 Festuca ovina (sheep’s fescue), a European meadow-grass........ccveeecrenvennn- 3 Agropyrum lenerum, ss NAGIVE GLASS «.. co. con. is crvnsssrinrsrrsnss sass vies i Muhlenbergiaglomerata, do RALIVE SPASS .... coc vsrrsstnrsnsmpansisssnsrs inssny 3 alia or Zucerne, a fodder-plant. cL l 00 0 dnc a nad 10 Sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa), a European fodder-plant.......... o.oo... .... 1 In addition to the above, small areas ranging from 1 to 20 rods were sown with a variety of grasses and forage plants, among which are: Vetches (2 varieties), Anthyllis vulneraria, Galega officinalis (a French forage plant); Trifolium hybridum (Alsike clover), Trifolium incar- natum (French or crimson clover), and Trifolium stoloniferum. These were greatly injured by grasshoppers in July, consequently no seeds were secured. but they have nearly recovered since. From experiments conducted here during the past three years, I am satisfied that the following-named crops will succeed on the so-called arid or subarid plains, even in the driest seasons: Jerusalem corn, with proper cultivation, will yield from 40 to 50 bushels of seed per acre; red Kaffir corn will yield from 5 to 7 tons of excellent fodder per acre, superior to alfalfa as food for horses; Panicum virgatum, a native grass, sometimes called switch-grass, will yield from 13 to 2 tous of hay per acre, superior to alfalfa as food for horses; Bromus inermis will yield from one-half to 3 tons per acre (2 cuttings), and is equal or superior to timothy for cattle or horses. 5 Of the four above-named plants I can speak with great confidence. Many others do well and give hopeful promise, but further trial is necessary betore they can be placed in the ¢ certain” list. By direction of the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, I planted as a wind-break and shelter belt four rows of trees (3,000) around a quarter section of the experiment grounds, viz, one row of cottonwood, two of black locust, and one of Russian mulberry. Owing to the early drought before mentioned, one-third failed to grow, but the balance, after the rains in June, made a vigorous growth. The black locust proved to be decidedly superior, not more than 5 per cent dying. Over 8,000 applications for seeds have been made at this office (Gar- den City) the last season, nearly all being for Jerusalem corn and Bromus inermis. We were not able to till more than one-third of these orders, but with the crops now on hand we hope to fill all reasonable applications. With reference to the experiments as a whole, I know that with fair culture in this region, without irrigation, any person can raise every year a paying crop of winter rye, and during the driest year a good crop of Jerusalem corn, ordinarily a fair, and with a reasonable amount of rainfall a large, erop of Polish wheat, and above all a meadow and pasture of good productive and hardy grasses, one of which, called Bromus inermis, or brome-grass, is one of the best grasses in existence. This is a European grass recently brought into cultivation here. Nine- tenths of the corn was destroyed by the ravages of the corn worm. Reports on the Polish wheat distributed last winter state a yield of from 20 to 60 bushels per acre, without irrigation. There have been large crops of Jerusalem corn from the seed distributed last winter. The rainfall at this station up to October 3 has been 24.61 inches, while the average for the past fifteen years has been 20,27 inches. COOPERATIVE STATIONS IN THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST. Arrangements for codperative experiments in grasses and forage plants were made with the following Western experiment stations, viz, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. In most of these stations the experiments are yet in an incipient stage, and the results have not been reported in detail. Prof. Dice McLaren, of the Wyoming Experiment Station, briefly states as follows: All of the twenty grasses selected by you for the 1891 experiments germinated and appeared above the ground. The following were almost completely killed by the June drought: Poa nemoralis, Dactylis glomerata, Panicum virgatum, dira caspitosa, Trifolium incarnatum, and Melilotus alba. The following have a very thin stand: Trifolium hybridum, Hedysarum coronarium, Galega officinalis, and Poterium sanguisorba. The following are a success on plowed ground, and are given in the order of their excellence: Medicago sativa, Lolium perenne, I'estuca elatior, Bromus Schraderi, Bromus inermis, Phalaris arundinacea, Anthyllis vulneraria, and Onobrychis sativa. The Panicum miliacewm and the Jerusalem corn grow about 8inches high, with good stand, but the frosts of August and September checked all further growth. COOPERATIVE BRANCH STATIONS IN THE SOUTH. By S. M. Tracy. In 1888 a branch station for special work with grasses and forage plants was established at the Mississippi Experiment Station, and in March, 1891, additional branches were established in connection with 6 the State experiment stations of North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, all of which have been placed under the general supervision of S. M. Tracy, the director of the Mississippi Station. The work at the four stations last named has been in progress for such a short time that it is now too early to state results, though excellent progress has been made and these stations are now in fine condition. The results of work with some of the more common species at the Mississippi Sta- tion are given in the Report of the Department of Agriculture for 1889, and these, with but little modification, fairly represent the work of the present season. As one of the principal objects of the work at this station was the testing of the newer and less known sorts, special pains were taken to procure seeds of such native species as seemed to promise future value. and also of such foreign species as had proved valuable in their native countries. Quite a number of species from the arid regions in the Southwest, several local species, and a large number from Australia, India, Russia, and other foreign countries, are now under cultivation tests. Of most of these only very small amounts of seed could be procured, and the areas grown were necessarily small, but seeds from the plats of the more promising sorts were saved, so that larger areas have now been planted, and seeds have been sent to several of the other stations. During the present year 367 species have been planted, and although many of them, as was to be expected, have proved to be of little value for this locality, there are a number of them which appear so well suited to the climatic and soil conditions of the Gult States that their areas are being increased as rapidly as is possible. The work with many of these species has now been continued through three seasons, and on sufficient areas to give strong indications of their permanent value. A description of the more important of these follows. COLORADO BLUE-STEM (Agropyrum glaucum).—Of the six Western species of Agropyrum which have been tested here this is decidedly the best, though it has not grown so vigorously and satisfactorily as it does on the Western plains. It bears drought well, and makes one cut- ting of inferior hay, but its principal value here will be as a part of a mixture for a permanent pasture. From the excellent growth which this grass is making at the Garden City Station and at places in New Mexico and Texas we had hoped that it might be of value here, but so far we have seen little to recommend it for the Gulf States. JAPANESE RYE (Agropyrum Japonicum).—In its general habit this is much like fescue-grass (Bromus Schrader), but does not grow as large and the heads are somewhat bearded. It will grow later in the season, however, and propagates itself more readily from seeds on unplowed land, and is perennial. It is eaten readily by all kinds of stock, and appears to be a valuable species for mixing with other pasture grasses. AUSTRALIAN BLUE-GRASS (Andropogon erianthoides).—This is a perennial species from Australia which has been cultivated in a few localities for a number of years and advertised to a considerable extent, but its growth has not been very satisfactory here. It is so tender that it barely lives through the winter in this latitude, and starts into growth very late in the spring, though it makes an excel- lent growth during the summer, and will give two fair cuttings of fine, tender. and nutritious hay. The leaves are killed by a moderate frost, and it fails to hold the ground against the encroachments of other grasses. Several other species of Andropogon from Australia and from India have also been tested, but this appears to be the best of the 1 genus and the only foreign one which makes any promise of final success. SMOOTH BROME (Bromus inermis).—This is also nearly related to the fescue-grass, but endures the summer heat and drought much bet- ter and will grow on a much harder and poorer soil. It produces a great amount of long and tender leaves near the ground, while the culms are rather slender and are not produced in very great abundance, so that it is better fitted for grazing than for hay. It is one of the few species which remains green through the entire year and bears grazing well. One plat of this was sown three years ago and, so far, it has held the ground to the complete exclusion of all other grasses and weeds. STAR-GRASS (Chloris Swartziana).—This is a perennial species which is found growing wild near the coast from Florida to Texas, and which has grown remarkably well in cultivation in central Mississippi. It propagates readily from seed, and sends out runners from 1 to 2 feet in length, from each joint of which a cluster of long, tender, and succulent leaves is produced. It bears frost well, and the leaves grown in Octo- ber and November remain green and fresh until February, thus making it an excellent winter pasture. It does not bear tramping as well as do some others, and does not grow sufficiently tall for hay, but there are very few species which will yield as much good pasture as will this dur- ing December and January. INDIAN BEARD-GRASS (Chrysopogon serrulatus).—This is a perennial grass, the seed of which was received from India, and which is one of our most valuable importations. Although nearly related to our native ‘“broom-sedge,” it starts into growth much earlier in the spring, pro- duces a heavier growth of leaves, and will yield two cuttings of excel- lent hay, besides a considerable amount of winter pasturage. It has been entirely free from any injury from cold and from all attacks of fungous diseases, and is spreading well by self-sown seeds. It grows from 4 to 5 feet high, and more than one-half the weight of the hay is made up of the leaves, the stalks being rather small. We have saved all the seeds we could collect of this species, and have distributed them to the other stations for further trial. CRESTED DOGSTAIL (Cynosurus cristatus).—This grass has been very highly recommended in Europe and in the northern States, but it has been of no value here. Although it has been sown at six different times, and on a variety of soils, during the last three years, and has never failed to germinate, we have found only two plants which matured seeds, and all the plants from every sowing have now disap- peared, having been killed by very moderate droughts. AFRICAN MILLET (Eleusine coracana).—The seed of this grass was procured from France, where it is highly recommended as a ‘quick crop.” It was sown here in 1888 for the first time, when it grew finely and matured a heavier crop of seed than did any other grass. It grew about 2 feet high, with very large, flattened, tender, and succulent stems, which are well covered with leaves. The seeds are produced in heads similar to those of the common ¢erowtfoot” grass, but are very large, usually about one-tenth of an inch in diameter, and single heads sometimes weigh over 2 ounces. It matures by the end of May, and, as it is an annual, the ground can then be used for other purposes. It does not bear pasturing well, and the seed grown here does not seem to produce as vigorous plants as were grown from that which was imported. - It grows more rapidly and ripens earlier than does the common millet, but seems to possess no other advantage and makes a smaller yield. TEFF (Eragrostis Abyssinica).—This is one of the several species of 8 “Jove-grass” which have been received from India and Australia, and which has been very highly recommended for both hay and pasture, especially in India. Here, it has grown about 2 feet high the first sea- son, making one good cutting and a second lighter one of excellent hay. It is an annual. and the seed grown here seems to be lacking in vigor, the growth of the second and third years being too small to make the species desirable for general cultivation. SLENDER LOVE-GRASS (Eragrostis parviflora)—This is from the same countries and appears much better suited to our climate, growing fully 3 feet high, with very slender culms and an abundance of leaves. Although an annual, it resceds the land freely, makes excellent hay, and is one of the best of the genus for this locality. : EVERLASTING GRASS (Evriochloa annulata).—This is a perennial in Australia, its native country, but here it barely survives the winter, and a large part of its spring growth comes from seed which were scattered on the ground during the previous season. It starts very early in the spring and grows rapidly. reaching about 2 feet in height, and producing a large number of slender culms, which are well covered with leaves, and an abundant supply of seeds. It can be cut at least three times, bears pasturing well, and makes excellent hay. Mr. Tur- ner, botanist of the Australian department of agriculture, says this is “a superior pasture grass, found in the coastal districts and in the colder parts of the colony. It will grow and furnish feed nearly all the year round in the coastal districts, but during early summer months it yields a great amount of rich, succulent herbage, greedily devoured by stock of all kinds. This grass is worth the attention of dairy farmers.” - TEOSINTE (Euchlena luxurians).—Although this has been before the public for many years, it has not yet attained the popularity which it deserves in the Southern States. 1t is a remarkably vigorous grower, reaching 10 or 12 feet in height, with an unusually abundant supply of leaves and very slender stems, which continue to grow until killed by frost. If cut when it reaches 4 or 5 feet in height it makes excellent hay, and will produce a second crop fully aslarge. If left to grow until September or October it furnishes the very best of material for the silo, and a greater amount per acre, than does either corn or sorghum, and we have found no other plant which is its equal for soiling purposes. Its season of growth is so long that it seldom matures seed north of latitude 30°, but it ripened well last year at the Louisiana Station. VELVET GRASS (Holcus lanatus).—This has been in cultivation here for many years, but has never been as satisfactory as it appears to be in some other localities. When young itis very easily killed by drought, and in wet seasonsit suffers severely from the attacks of a rust (Puccinia coronata), which is frequently so abundant as to kill the plants when they are about ready to bloom. When the grass becomes well estab- lished, and escapes the rust, it is fairly permanent on very dry and barren soils, affording a considerable amount ot good grazing or a mod- erate cutting of hay early in the summer, but on rich soils it is soon crowded out by other species and, in this region, can be recommended only for mixing with other grasses for pasture lands. MANY-FLOWERED MILLET (Oryzopsis membranacea).—This is a peren- nial species from the Western plains which makes a vigorous growth, pro- ducing leaves 2 feet or more in length and culms 3 feet in height. The leaves, however, are quite tough and wiry, and the stems very hard and woody, so that it would be regarded as being practically worthless were it not for its ability to withstand the most severe droughts, and 9 the fact that it remains green through the winter. It possesses these two characteristics to an unusual degree, however, and we shall plant it more largely in the future. MUNRO GRASS (Panicum agrostoides).—This grass has been in culti- vation to some extent for fifteen years, and is valued highly wherever it is known. It requires a rich soil, on which it grows 3 or 4 feet high, pro- duces an unusual amount of leaves, has tender and succulent stems, and bears drought well. Two crops of good, though rather coarse, hay can be cut during the summer, after which it should be allowed to mature seed. It is of but little value for winter pasture, but for hay and for summer and fall grazing it is the best of the genus. It grows spon- taneously in all of the Southern States, usually being found along creek banks and on the borders of ponds, and seed can be saved with very little trouble. PARA GRASS (Panicum barbinode).—This is a perennial species which produces runners from 10 to 30 feet in length, with an abundant supply of leaves and upright branches, and yielding an immense amount of forage. It does not mature seed in this latitude, but the roots live through the winter, and the new growth is ready to cut by June 1, and will yield a good cutting once in six weeks from that time until the end of the season, though it should not be cut after October 1, in order that it may have time to produce a crop of leaves to serve as a winter protec- tion for the roots. This is of considerable value for the region near the coast, but is too tender to be recommended for localities subject to severe frosts. Panicum spectabile, from southern Europe, is very similar, but is rather coarser, and does not appear to be relished as well by stock, though it bears more cold. INDIAN MILLET (Panicum frumentacewm).—In India this is culti- vated largely for its starchy seeds, which are used for food, but it has not succeeded well here. On rich soil it makes a small erop of hay early in the season, but makes no second growth, and must be seeded annually like the German millet. Ifsown late,the seed does not mature before hot weather causes it to blight, and on poor soil it seldom reaches over a footin height. It isin every way inferior to the German millet. SwAMP PANIC (Panicum gibbum).—This is one of the many native species of Panicum, and is found wild from Carolina to Florida and Texas. It usually grows in swampy soils, where it often reaches a height of 6 feet, but will also grow well on uplands, and spreads rap- idly by seeds and by runners. It starts with the first warm days ot spring and continues its growth, even in severe droughts, until killed by heavy frosts. Itproduces more seed than does anyother native Panicum, and, as the seed is produced continuously throughout the season, it is of unusual value for both hay and pasture. At this time, October 15, when clover and orchard grass are both nearly dead from a drought of two months, this is green and flourishing. SPREADING PANIC (Panicum proliferum).— While this grass prefers a damp soil, it will also grow well on dry uplands, and as it makes its best growth in late summer when other species have been killed by drought, it is well worth cultivating. It continues to grow until killed by frost, and, while rather coarse for hay, it makes excellent pasture, and cattle prefer it to almost any other grass during its season. When pastured too closely stock will prevent the maturing of seed, but with moderate grazing it will reseed itself freely. TEXAS MILLET (Panicum Texanum).—This is much like the swamp panic, but larger and coarser in every way, and although an annual, it 10 reseeds itself freely and holds the ground well against other grasses and weeds. Mr. Lea, of Texas, says: I consider it far superior to any grass that I ever saw for hay. It is a much more certain crop than millet, and cultivated with less labor, and all kinds of stock pre- fer it. In this region it is regarded, in the condition of well-cured hay, as more nutritious than any other grass. It grows only in cultivated ground; it prospers best in the warmest season of the year; its luxurious growth subdues other grasses and some weeds. With us it has not covered the ground as closely as has the swamp panic, and the stems are rather coarse for the best quality of hay. It also starts later in the spring, but bears drought equally well, and makes a heavier growth late in the season. BLUE CANARY-GRASS (Phalaris cerulescens)—A perennial Euro- pean species which, in manner of growth and quantity of hay, is much like timothy, but is far better suited to the Southern climate. Here it is usually ready to cut about June 1, the culms being then from 4 to 5 #eet high and well covered with fresh leaves. The yield of hay is very heavy and of the best quality. but no second crop is produced. It bears grazing much better than does timothy, but its chief value lies in its hay-producing qualities. As it matures at the same time as does red clover, it will be of value for sowing with it, as timothy is used in the Northern States. Most of our seed lias been imported from France, and we have had difficulty it making it germinate, but the American-grown seed has done much better in that respect. SORGHUMS (Sorghum vulgare vars.).—A large number of varieties of sorghum have been grown, the best of which appears to be the * Kaffir branching ” variety. This has grown about 12 feet in height, and is similar to the common sorghum, but produces a much heavier yield of seed, and so is of more value for forage. It branches very freely from the upper joints, single stalks often bearing as many as fifteen heads of seed. If cut early it will have fewer heads, but has more green leaves, and the stalk is less dry and pithy than if cut late. This has been the best of the cultivated varieties, though the “rural branching” and the ‘yellow branching” have done nearly as well. The two latter varieties are almost identical, and both are valuable, especially for soil- ing purposes, as they make a rank second growth after cutting, even late in the season. Neither grows more than 6 or 7 feet high, and both have stalks which are large and coarse, but are unusually well cov- ered with leaves. While they are superior to the ¢Kaftir” sorghum for soiling, their total yield of both seed and forage is less. There is a variety of sorghum commonly known as ‘chicken corn” which has become thoroughly naturalized in a few counties of eastern Mississippi and western Alabama, and which is a valuable addition to our hay-producing crop. In general appearance this sorghum is much like the ordinary broom corn, though the heads are less spreading, and the stalks usually branch at several of the upper joints, so that each bears a number of heads. It is usually most abundant in cornfields, where it starts into growth late in the summer, after the crop has been laid by, but grows rapidly and in September the corn in many fields is entirely hidden and the field appears as though planted with the com- mon sorghum. If cut before heading it makes excellent hay and, on rich land, will produce a heavy second crop. If allowed to mature, the vield of seed is about the same per acre as is that of the ordinary cul- tivated varieties and is worth about as much for stock feed. The seed can be gathered at an expense of 10 cents per bushel, and many plant- ers now make a business of saving it to use in the place of corn, though 11 it is somewhat difficult to keep on account of the attacks of weevils. It has one serious fault, which is that it is unsafe to permit stock to feed upon it when making a rank second growth late in the season. At that time it is often fatal, and sometimes so within a few minutes. It seems to affect only certain animals, or perhaps only certain plants produce the ill effect, as generally only a few animals in a herd are killed, and these are commonly found very near together. The plant is said to have been noticed here first about twenty years ago, and it is doubtless descended from some of the many varieties of sorghum which were brought to this country from China. The area which it now occupies is probably not more than 200 miles in diameter, being confined mostly to the “Dblack-prairie” region, but it is spreading slowly, and will doubtless soon be found in other localities also. SACCATONE (Sporobolus airoides).—This is one of the perennial West- ern species, which is much like the ¢“ many-flowered millet” in produec- ing an immense amount of slender, tough, wiry leaves, which endure the most protracted droughts without injury and remain fresh and green during the winter. It is worthless for hay, but is certainly a valuable addition to our pasture varieties. BEGGAR-WEED (Desmodium molle)—This plant requires close atten- tion to be of value, but when properly treated it has been one of our most profitable forage plants. The soil for it must be rich, and should be moist rather than dry; the ground must be well prepared, and plant- ing postponed until there is no danger from heavy frosts. The plants grow rapidly and should be cut when not more than 24 feet high, as, if allowed to grow taller, the lower leaves drop and the stalks become too coarse for hay. It will give at least three cuttings in a season, and, as the roots go very deep, it is a renovating rather than an exhausting crop. Cattle are very fond of it, but it bears grazing only moderately well and does not reseed itself well on uncultivated ground. WINTER VETCH (Lathyrus hirsutus).—There are two distinct varie- ties of Lathyrus, both of which are known in this country as ‘hairy vetch,” but as one of them makes its best growth during the cool months of winter and the other during the warmer months of summer, it seems better to adopt the French names of “winter” and ¢ summer” vetch. The winter vetch is sown in September or October, so that it may germinate with the fall rains and secure a root-hold before very cold weather. It will grow slowly for a few weeks, but about the 1st of January the roots are sufficiently developed so that the topsbegm to grow rapidly, and by February the plants form a dense mat from 1 to 2 feet deep, and continue to grow until hot weather. The plants bear grazing well, and stock of all kinds eat the dry hay greedily. For the Gulf States this is by far the most valuable of the many species which are sold under the general name of ‘“vetch,” making a heavier growth, being eaten more freely, and reseeding itself more fully. BURR CLOVER (Medicago macalata).—This plant is well worth culti- vating in all of the Gulf States, and is growing in favor with those who have tested its merits. It is essentially a winter grower, being at its best from February to May, after which it ripens its seed and soon dis- appears. Stock which are unaccustomed to its use do not always like it at first, but all soon learn to eat it, and many seem to prefer it to any other plant. It is an excellent plant for sowing on Bermuda land, as it matures its seed and dies at about the time the Bermuda starts into growth, and when the latter is killed by frost the clover soon takes its place. A mixture of these two plants comes nearer giv- 12 ing continuous pasture than does any other mixture which we have tested. CRIMSON CLOVER (Trifolium incarnatum).—This has attracted great attention in the South during the past three or four years, but its true merits are still in doubt. So far it has not given a good crop at the Mississippi Station, though it is valued highly at the Carolina Station, and at the Florida Station has given one immense crop, followed by two failures. Under favorable circumstances it makes a very vigorous win- ter growth, and affords good grazing or soiling, but in many cases only a scattering stand is secured and the plants are weak and sickly. It can not be recommended for general use until more is known of the conditions necessary to its success. iY ~ Nr N ( > ¥ “y AR % 27 JE 1 Q : && “% % § % Fd % BH erk lo %, & “» gy & ¢ %, & % > RETURN MARIAN KOSHLAND BIOSCIENCE AND & TO — NATURAL RESOURCES LIBRARY ' 55 2101 Valley Life Sciences Bldg. 642-2531 & D ¢ LR N FT er | oF i in A i at 3) I Lhe wh a aN | - Ei ZN F (7 a7. ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS. 2 y % 4 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW. “4, % n UE “% 2% DUE rke/ % © DmECD Bios | REC'D BIOS FESS nr Sr RB Cad FEB 22 06 =u 8D Fi DUE APR 13 201 oN = & FORMNQ, DDS ~~ ~“- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY oF 24M 11-QMEDIAT TELY Berkeley, California 94720-6500 Ne Y x r ~ - & %4 graye y & “% § Y, & % % & % 7% & %, er On & ZN br