62 GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS. 



variety of names, as Quake grass, Q^ack grass, Squitch grass. 

 It is important to destroy it if possible, and the means of doing 

 it will be alluded to on a subsequent page. 



Squirrel-tail Grass, (Jiordeum jubatitm,') is widely diffused 

 over our salt marshes. Its specific characters are a slender stem, 

 smooth, about two feet high, with rather short leaves, and low, 

 lateral, abortive, neutral flowers on a short pedicel, short awned, 

 the perfect flower bearing an extremely long awn about the 

 length of the similar hairy glumes, all spreading. It is com- 

 mon on moist sands and marshes on the sea shore. Flowers in 

 June. 



The common two-rowed barley, (Jiordeum distichum,') belongs 

 also to the same genus as well as the common four or six-rowed 

 barley, (Jiordeum vulg-are.') 



Lyme Grass, Wild Rye, (elymus virginicus,') is frequent 

 along the banks of rivers. Its generic characteristics are two to 

 four spikelets at each joint of the rachis, all fertile, each one to 

 seven flowered, glumes both on one side of the spikelet, paleae 

 two, lower one usually awned, mostly perennial, some species 

 annual. 



Specific description : Spike upright, dense and thick on a short 

 peduncle usually included in the sheath ; two or three spikelets 

 together, two or three flowered, smooth, shortly awned, stamens 

 three, stems stout, from two to three feet high, leaves broad 

 and rough. Flowers in July and August. Of no special value 

 as an agricultural grass. 



Canadian Lyme Grass, (^elymus canadensis.') Spike rather 

 loose and curving at the extremity, spikelets mostly in pairs of 

 three to five, long awned, rough, hairy flowers, the lance awl- 

 shaped glumes, tipped with shorter awns, stem three to four feet 

 liigh, root creeping, leaves broad, flat, linear, sheaths smooth and 

 ligule short. Flo\vers in August. It is common on the banks 

 of rivers. 



Slender Hairy Lyme Grass, (^elymus striatus,') is sometimes 

 found in rocky woods and on the banks of streams, as the most 

 slender and smallest flowered species of this genus. It flowers 

 in July, and is so rare and of so little value as an agricultural 

 grass, as not to need further description. 



Upright Sea Lyme Grass, (elymus arenarius.) This grass, 

 which much resembles beach grass, grows from two to five 



