32 



three cuttings in a season, the hay heing of very good quality. Like crab-grass, it 

 reseeds the ground freely, and will often make a heavy volunteer crop after cultivated 

 crops have been harvested, though it never becomes a troublesome weed. It is grown 

 quite largely in some parts of Louisiana, and is regarded there as being the best of 

 the annual grasses for a volunteer hay crop. 



Ckab-grass (ranicum sanguinaJc).— Annual; though often perennial by its spread- 

 ing stems, which root at each joint near the base; stems many and branching, 

 spreading 2 to 4 feet long; leaves very numerous; 3 to 5 spikes, 3 to 5 inches long, 



digitate. 



The most common grass in cultivated ground, making its principal growth late in 

 summer after other crops have been harvested or laid by, and so furnishing a large 

 amount of hay with no expense, excepting that of harvesting. Although not often 

 on the market, crab-grass furnishes more forage for home. use in the Gulf States 

 than any other grass. When oats, melons, and other early crops have been har- 

 vested it Avill soon cover the ground, and by October will often make a yield of 2 

 tons per acre, while in the pine woods and coast region it will make nearly or quite 

 as much on land from which corn has been harvested in August. Near the coast it 

 is usually more or less mixed with Mexican clover, and on soils which are well 

 fertilized the mixture will often give as much as 3 tons per acre of excellent hay. 

 The objection to the hay is that, if allowed to become overripe before cutting, the 

 seed shatters oft' badly and the stems become woody and tough. It is also rather 

 difficult to cure;, and must be allowed to dry several weeks before it can be baled 



with safety. 



Guinea Grass {Panicum maa;tm?tm}.— Perennial by stout, creeping rootstocks; 

 stems numerous, often in large clumps, coarse, 10 to 12 feet; leaves very numerous, 

 large; panicle loose and spreading. 



Probably an African species, but now well established in many sections of Florida 

 and grown occasionally at other places near the Gulf coast, where it is valued highly 

 for both hay and pasture. In regions suited to it, it grows very rapidly, and needs 

 to be cut about once a month to prevent the stems from becoming too large and 

 coarse. It makes good grazing and gives a constant and heavy yield for soiling. 

 Seed ripens only in the extreme South and it is usually propagated by means of pieces 

 of the rootstocks, which grow readily when transplanted. The stems are killed to 

 the ground by the first heavy frost, and if the ground freezes slightly the roots are 

 killed also. It has sometimes been confounded with Johnson grass, but is much less 

 hardy and is much coarser and less valuable as a hay plant. Also, it is less trouble- 

 some as a weed. 



Maiden Cank {Panicum digUarioides).—?e>vennm\, from widely spreading root- 

 stocks; stems erect, simple, smooth, 3 to 5 feet; leaves very abundant, broad, ten- 

 der; panicle long, its branches long and slender. 



Common in ditches and along the borders of marshes, where it aftbrds a large 

 amount of good grazing. It will not endure drought and is of little value for hay. 

 Its strong creeping rootstocks make it desirable as a soil binder. 



MrxRo Grass (/'aniV«Hi fl//ros<o/rfc8).— Perennial; stems clustered, branched, erect, 

 8nuK)th, 1 to 2 feet; leaves very numerous, often a foot or more in length; panicles 

 pyramidal, terminating each of the branches, much like those of re<ltop. 



This is a wet-ground species whicli is very common on the borders of ponds or 

 marshes and along the banks of streams, where it frequently makes a dense growth 

 covering considerable areas. It makes good though rather coarse hay, of which two 

 cuttings can bo made in a season, but as it grows best on land too wet and uneven 

 for mowing, its chief vnliie is as a pasture grass. For late fall grazing it is one of 

 the best of the family, and is well worth sowing on the wet places in pastures, but 

 is worthless for dry soils. 



Mitton-Cank (Panicum dirhofominii). — \\iremu:i\\ stems clustered, spreading, 

 much l)ranched, very slender, 10 to L", inches; leaves numerous, short, and narrow; 



