BLUE-JOINT GRASS. 53 
tufts. The stems are more or less clustered, the clustering depending 
on the character of the soil. They are rather firm in texture, from 
two to five feet high, reddish-brown or bluish-red below. This is 
why the plant is called Blue-joint Grass. The leaves are numerous, 
broad, long and very rough. The flowers are in a large panicle, 
built up after the fashion of that of Red Top, and generally reddish- 
brown. For this reason Blue-joint Grass is improperly called Red 
Top in many places in western Canada. Although the panicles are 
somewhat alike, the differences between the two species are pro- 
nounced. The easiest and most accurate way to identify them is 
to examine the flowers. Blue-joint Grass has only one flower in 
each spikelet, just as Red Top, but the flower has an awn and is 
surrounded at its base by a tuft of white, silky hairs, very conspic- 
uous and of about the length of the flower itself. Such hairs are 
never present at the base of the flower of Red Top. 
Geographical distribution: Blue-joint Grass is indigenous to 
Canada and the northern parts of the United States. 
Habitat: It occurs naturally in moist meadows and marshes, 
along rivers and creeks, at the border of lakes, etc., and generally 
on bottom lands where the ground is wet. 
Agricultural value: Sometimes it occupies large areas, to the 
exclusion of other grasses. Hay from such areas is said to be of excel- 
lent quality and relished by all kinds of stock. It is also said to be 
palatable and nutritious a long time after floweiing. Although experi- 
ments are necessary to confirm this statement, there is no reason to 
deny it and there is some evidence to support it. Attempts to grow 
Blue-joint Grass from seed, made at one of the experiment stations 
of the United States, were unsuccessful, the seeds seeming to lack 
vitality. This may mean that no seeds, or very few, are developed, 
as is the case in Reed Grass (Phragmites communis Trin.). Should 
this be true, it would be easy to understand how the grass keeps its 
nutritive qualities after flowering. As has been pointed out in the 
description of Meadow Foxtail, the nutritious constituents are used 
for the formation of the seed. Should no seed develop, the nutriment 
remains in the hay, thus making it valuable even after flowering. 
As a matter of fact, little is known about the feeding value of 
Blue-joint Grass. It may be an important addition to Canadian 
forage plants, but nothing positive can be said at present. It is of 
special value for very wet soil, as it grows in places too wet for even 
such moisture-loving plants as Red Top. 
