348 Bulletin 313 



this color becomes quite general throughout the plant, showing partic- 

 ularly on the stems, nodes, and glumes, and also to some extent on the 

 leaves. 



Another peculiar character, of no interest from an economic standpoint, 

 is the tendency of some plants to have the stem wavy for an inch or two 

 below the head. 



Leaf characters. — The ntimber of leaves per culm corresponds to and 

 varies in accordance with the number of nodes, although the leaf from 

 the first node may decay early and in any case is too low to form a part 

 of the crop cut for hay. The bases of the leaves sheathe the stem for 

 some distance above the node, and the length of this leaf sheath varies 

 considerably on different plants. In some plants in which the upper 

 internode is short and the leaf sheath long, the head remains, even when 

 mature, partially inclosed in the upper leaf -sheath. In other cases the 

 upper internodes may be very long and the leaf sheath short, when the 

 base of the head may be eight to twelve inches above the last leaf, leaving 

 the upper part of the plant largely leafless. This character gives rise to 

 two types of plants, which, in extreme cases, are very markedly different 

 in appearance. When the upper internode is very long and the lower 

 internodes short, the leaves have the appearance of being clustered at the 

 base (Plate IV, Fig. 4); while those plants that have comparatively short 

 upper internodes and longer lower internodes have the leaves extending 

 well to the top of the plant, giving the appearance of a leafy type (Plate III, 

 Fig. 6). Which of these characters is the more desirable in a hay type 

 may be questioned, but it would seem from the writer's observations 

 that the plant which is tall but has the leaves extending well to the top 

 of the culms is much to be preferred. The more the leaves are 

 clustered at the base, the more likely they seem to become mildewed 

 or rusted and to dry up and fall off early, or to become worthless as 

 hay. It would seem very desirable to have the leaves borne as high 

 on the stems as possible. The writer thinks, therefore, that this is an 

 important point to bear in mind in choosing plants of ideal type. 



The leaves also vary greatly in length and in breadth, some plants 

 having long leaves and others short, some having narrow leaves and others 

 broad. The broadest leaves are usually comparatively short and the plant 

 with the largest leaf surface is apparently one with moderately broad, long 

 leaves. The plants giving the largest yields of the best hay apparently 

 do not ordinarily represent either extremes of length or width of leaf. 

 The leaves on different plants may be more or less rigid or flaccid, may 

 stand nearly erect and close to the stem or bend outward and become 

 reflexed, may remain flat or be more or less rolled up; but these are char- 

 acters that apparently have little relation to the value of a type for 



