74 



A MANUAL OF FARM GRASSES 



into land fit for a cultivated crop such as corn or cotton, 



is to plow in the fall and 

 sow thickly to grain. After 

 the grain is harvested, 

 plow the land immediately 

 and plant thickly to cow- 

 peas. If the cowpeas are 

 planted in rows and culti- 

 vated till the vines meet, 

 the ground will be shaded 

 and the Bermuda smoth- 

 ered out. Usually one sea- 

 son of this treatment is 

 sufficient if the grain and 

 peas have made a good 

 growth. Some roots of Ber- 

 muda may remain alive 

 and the field will in time 

 become infested with Ber- 

 muda and can then be used 

 for pasture. In this way 

 there is a favorable rota- 

 tion of crops. 



Description 



A low perennial, exten- 

 sively spreading by creeping 

 stems, those below ground 

 called rootstocks, those 

 above ground called stolons ; 

 flowering stems in open ground only a few inches high 



6. Bermuda Grass. A plant 

 showing the creeping base, and a 

 fertile stem with a cluster of five 

 flower spikes. 



