39 



valne as a pasture grass, but furnishes a part of the hay on the drier second hot- 

 torn meadows. It has the reputation of being very nutritious, and the condition 

 of the stock pastured upon it bears out this idea fully. Laramie Plains, July 19 

 (3409); Pine Bluffs, July 6 (3619); Hillsdale, July 7 (3658); Woods Landing, 

 August 7 (3909). 



Beckmannia erucaeformis Host. (Slough-grass, fig. 12).— A grass of the bogs and 

 of the margins of ponds and irrigation canals; erect, well leafed, heads long and 

 slender, seeds flat and large, falling early and leaving the raohis bare almost as 

 soon as it is mature. Probably of no special value, but in very wet ground it 

 often constitutes a percep- 

 tible part of the plants 

 that are cut for liay. Much 

 of it, however, can not be 

 utilized, as it grows in 

 places where it is not ac- 

 cessible until so late in the 

 season that it has lost its 

 value for any purpose. 

 North Fork Vermilion 

 Creek, July 19 (3763) ; Ev- 

 anston, July 27 (3831); 

 Granger, July 30 (3881). 



Bulbilis dactyloides Raf. 

 (Buffalo grass). — Low 

 and matted, ordinarily 

 only a few inches high; 

 staminate and pistillate 

 heads on separate culms. 

 Not nearly so common as 

 is generally supposed, for 

 much of what passes for 

 this is generally one of the 

 species of Grama grass. 

 They are, however, readily 

 enough distinguished, es- 

 pecially when they are 

 headed out. On the open 

 range these are all grazed 

 down so closely that it be- 

 comes difficult to recog- 

 nize them. This grass 

 occurs on the open plains, 

 but especially in flat draws 

 among the ridges of hills 

 that intersect the plains at 

 intervals. It has no sig- 



FiR. 11.— Slender Cord-grass (Spartina gracilis): a, spikelet; 



b, floret. 



nificance except as a pas- 

 ture grass, and there seems to be some foundation for the belief that it is gradu- 

 ally disappearing from the range. Pine Bluff's, July 6 (3616). 



Eatonia obtusata Gray (Early Bunch-grass).— Soft, handsome, and well leafed, 

 18 inches to 3 feet high, with slender, close panicled heads. In moist ground, 

 either open or partly shaded, it makes a most luxuriant growth. Certainly a 

 good pasture grass, and in some meadows it is a valuable part of the hay crop. 

 (Granger, July 30 (3886); Grand Encampment Creek, August 13 (3993). 



Koeleria cristata Pers. (Phairir J une-(;i{ass).— Somewhat tiilted, verv leafy at the 

 base; stems strict and erect, bearing a close cylindrical head, very variable in size, 



