As stated, this plat was seeded at the rate of 20 pounds per acre, which is 2 or 

 21 times as thick as is generally recommended. The resulting growth was very 

 thick, much thicker than was necessary to secure a good stand and an abundant 

 hay crop. At the rate of 8 pounds per acre, with seed costing 75 cents per 

 pound, the expense per acre is only $6. This ought, with well prepared soil and 

 careful seeding, to result in a good hay crop, free from weeds, the same season. 

 The ordinary method of planting the roots, while primarily less expensive, 

 usually results in a weedy field, with little or no crop the first year. Where 

 seed is used, the difference in amount of hay or pasturage obtained the first year 

 should more than pay for the seed. 



Turnip grass {Panicum bulbosum H. B. K.).— Two square rods were planted 

 on June 6 with seed raised in the grass garden in 1899. In five weeks the plants 

 reached a height of about 6 inches, of vigorous growth and a beautiful glaucous 

 color. By the end of July they were nearly U feet in height, and this rapid, 

 sturdy growth was maintained throughout August. Early in September the 

 grass flowered at a height of about 5 feet, the seeds in the large open panicles 

 ripening by October 1, and 9 pounds were gathered on the 5th. By the 20th of 

 October the plants, still green and vigorous, began putting out small lateral 

 panicles to replace the large ones cut for seed. 



An adjacent plat, planted with seed from what was called Panicum avenaceum, 

 proved identical with the above in every respect. 



This grass makes a very rapid, vigorous growth, and, if planted thickly and 

 cut before maturing, it should yield an abundance of excellent hay. It promises 

 to be of great value in the Southwest and possibly also for other sections. Its 

 luxuriant growth on the "Flats" was hardly more striking than that in the 

 poorer soil in the grass garden on the Department grounds. 



Sprangle {Lex>tochloa duhia Nees.).— One square rod was planted June 7 from 

 seed raised in the grass garden in 1899. It sprouted quickly, and the plants made 

 a fine growth, reaching a height of 8 inches by the middle of July and of 2 feet 

 by the 1 st of August. A month later the grass stood 4 feet high, strong and 

 healthy, and it was in full flower early in September. Owing to its isolated 

 position, it was badly lodged by heavy winds. Seed was gathered October 5 and 

 the plat mowed. Two weeks later a good aftermath was observed. 



For softness and abundance of foliage and fineness of stem, this grass is unri- 

 valed by any other which grows to the same size— 5 feet or over. This I regard 

 one of the most important grasses from the Southwest yet experimented with 

 and have no hesitation in recommending its extended cultivation. 



Large water grass (Pasjmhim dilatatum Poir. ) . — This vakiable grass was sown 

 May 28 on five fractional plats equivalent to 2 square rods. The seed, which was 

 obtained from an eastern seed firm, germinated slowly, and not until the end of 

 June were the plants above ground. During the remainder of the season growth 

 was vigorous, and by the middle of October the plants were 3 feet high and 

 strongly tufted. The basal and culm leaves made a dense growth of foliage 18 

 inches to 2 feet high, above which rose the naked flowering culms, on which the 

 seed was nearly ripe. On November 17, after several heavy frosts, the foliage 

 was injured but little and later seed was still ripening. 



Another square rod planted on June 6 from seed gathered by the writer on the 

 Red River in Louisiana in 1898 came up at the same time and grew a little more 

 vigorously, ripening its seed at the same time. 



This is one of the largest of the water grasses and has long been recognized as 

 valuable for wet meadows and pastures in the South. It can be highly recom- 

 mended and shovild be more generally used. 



Jaragua {Andropogon mfus Kth. ).— One square rod was sown June 6 with 

 seed received from Brazil by the Section of Seed and Plant Introduction (No. 



