BERMUDA-GRASS 329 



cleaning of the land is very difficult. Many growers 

 now think that, when rotations are desired, it is 

 not necessary completely to clean the land of 

 Bermuda -grass, since, if a few joints are left, 

 these serve to bind the land and to hold moisture ; 

 then, when the grass crop is wanted again, enough 

 joints remain alive quickly to form a complete 

 cover.* The plant makes a thick, leafy growth 

 with branches of five to ten inches in height. It is 

 the common lawn grass of the South. 



Bermuda -grass is a hot- weather plant, and 

 thrives only in those regions in which the winters 

 are short, and the frost does not penetrate deep or 

 persist for a long time. It grows through the 

 entire summer. While it will make a much better 

 yield on good lands, it is also well adapted for 

 pasture on poor lands, and on those liable to wash 

 and gulley; and its power of withstanding heat 

 and drought, and to revive quickly when moisture 

 comes, are among its valuable characteristics. It 

 grows best on light soils, river-bottoms and at the 

 foot of hills, where the soil has been washed from 

 the higher levels. Its habit of throwing out under- 

 ground stems, makes it better adapted to sandy 

 lands than to stiff heavy clays; nevertheless, when 

 once well established on the heavier soils, it is 

 serviceable. It has rendered great service in the 

 South in preventing the washing of lands, a 

 danger that is common in the southern states. 



