OTHER IMPORTANT FORAGE GRASSES 85 



the country, especially in eastern Kansas, the species 



is known as English bluegrass. This is an unfortunate 



application of the name as it is more properly applied 



to Poa compressa, and because the species in question 



does not belong to the bluegrass group. 



Botanical Name. Festuca elatior L. Festuca is an 



old Latin name applied to a kind of grass. The specific 



name, meaning taller, refers to its comparative height, 



the plant being taller than the other species described 



at the same time. The species has also been known as 



Festuca pratensis Huds. The two names, however, apply 



to the same form. As mentioned elsewhere, there are 



two forms of the species, one called meadow fescue as 



already described. The other is called tall fescue. This 



second form is more robust and has a larger, more open 



panicle. Some botanists have applied the name Festuca 



pratensis to the first and F. pratensis var. elatior, or F. 



elatior to the second. The original descriptions of 



F. elatior and F. pratensis apply to the same form, the 



taller form not having received a distinct botanical name. 



The differences between the forms are agricultural rather 



than botanical. 



JOHNSON GRASS 



Johnson grass is one of the most important hay- 

 grasses for the Southern States. It is palatable, nutri- 

 tious, a vigorous grower and yields large crops. It 

 thrives best on alluvial bottoms and is especially adapted 

 to the black prairie soils of Alabama and Texas. John- 

 son grass is somewhat tender and will not stand the cold 

 winters of the North but can be grown successfully 

 throughout the southern humid region, that is, the 



