R I' 1 ."' 



THE SEEDS OF RESCUE GRASS AND CHESS. 1 



ByF. II. Hillman, Assistant. Seed Laboratory, Botanical Investigations mid 



Experiments. 



There have recently been received at the Seed Laboratory from 

 different States of the South several samples of the seed of chess, or 

 cheat {Bromus secalinus), which had been offered for sale as res- 

 cue grass {Bromus unioloides). Notwithstanding the close botani- 

 cal relationship of chess to rescue grass, and the fact that the former 

 is sometimes, like the latter, employed as a hay crop, the difference 

 between the two is so considerable that, if the seeds of both are to be 

 handled in the trade, they should pass under their true names. 



The brome grasses belong to the genus Bromus and vary widely 

 in their agricultural value. One of them, the awnless brome grass 

 [Bromus inermis), also called smooth and Hungarian brome grass, 

 is highly valued in the West as a drought-resisting forage and hay 

 plant. Rescue grass bears a somewhat similar relation to the agri- 

 culture of the South, while the chess is less valuable than either. 

 Some value is assigned to it in certain localities, but it has been long 

 and widely recognized as a most troublesome weed. The frequency 

 with which it occurs in grain fields has led to the erroneous belief, 

 adhered to by many farmers even to the present day, that chess is a 

 degenerated form of wheat. Chess seeds are often abundant among 

 the seeds of the cereal grains and the larger grass seeds, and some- 

 times occur with red clover seed. 



With the aid of specimens, or descriptions, there should be no dif- 

 ficulty in distinguishing the seed of rescue grass from that of chess. 

 The differences between the seed of chess and that of^ its near ally, 

 Bromus racemosus, are more difficult to detect; but from a practi- 

 cal standpoint this is not so important, since the two plants are very 

 similar in habit, and it is probable that in many localities the latter 

 would prove quite as undesirable as chess. 



'For some reason confusi^has arisen in the Southern States regarding rescue 

 ■n-ass and chess. Seed of the latter, which, though occasionally grown as a 

 forage crop, is ordinarily a grain-field weed, has been offered for sale repeatedly 

 under the name of the former, which is a valuable forage grass; and it has been 

 thought desirable to issue a brief description of the two, so that both seedsmen 

 and purchasers may be able to distinguish them. The present paper is therefore 

 presented. It was prepared under the direction of Mr. A. J. Pieters, Botanist 

 in charge of the Seed Laboratory. -Frederick V. Coville, Botanist. 



