DESCRIPTION. 



Bermuda grass is a low perennial grass, spreading extensively by- 

 creeping stems. These stems may be on the surface of the soil, or 

 commonly more or less buried, sometimes to the depth of several 

 inches. Under favorable circumstances they may extend 5 or 6 feet 

 with lateral branches of a foot or more. At intervals of an inch or 

 two, roots are produced, and usually a leafy stem is thrown up to 

 the height of a few inches. The flowering stems are upright, naked , 

 above, and have the flowers in slender, one-sided spikes at the sum- 1 

 mit. (See fig. 1.) These spikes are from 1 to 2 inches in length, 

 and are in clusters of four or five, although there may be more or 

 fewer, according to conditions under which the grass grows. 



Where it obtains a foothold, Bermuda grass spreads with rapidity, 

 and in exposed situations tends to drive out other vegetation. It 

 does not thrive in the shade, but will endure great extremes of heat 

 and drought. It adapts itself to a great variety of soil conditions, 

 growing on sand, clay, black loam, or even on strongly alkaHne soils, 

 and will endure a large amount of moisture or even inundation. It 

 does not usually produce fertile seed in the United States, except in 

 the extreme South. The seed upon the market is mostly imported 

 from the West Indies or other tropical regions. Professor Toumey 

 reports that it seeds abundantly in Arizona, and occasional plants 

 with apparently mature seeds have been found as far north as Phil- 

 adelphia. 



ST. LUCIE GRASS. 



This is a variety of Bermuda grass which is much used in Florida 

 and somewhat elsewhere as a lawn grass. It differs from Bermuda 

 in having the propagating stems more upon the surface of the soil 

 and in the lighter green color of its foliage. It is said to be more 

 resistant to frost and to keep green in winter longer than Bermuda. 

 It is reported to have withstood a temperature of 10" below zero in 

 Tennessee and to remain green through heavy frosts. This variety 

 has been grown successfully upon the grounds of the Department of 

 Agriculture, surviving the severe winter of 1898-1899. 



BERMUDA AS A PASTURE GRASS. 



Bermuda is the most valuable of all the grasses for pasture in the 

 South. It will stand trampling of stock, is very nutritious, and 

 thrives on soils too poor for the successful cultivation of other crops. 

 It is preeminently a summer grass, the length of its season depend- 

 ing upon the latitude. In Mississippi it furnishes grazing from the 

 middle of May to the middle of November. In the Gulf States, 

 where grazing is desired through the entire season, it is recommended 



