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A MANUAL OF FARM GRASSES 



lish bluegrass, wire-grass and flat-stem. The last name 

 is much used in the mountains of West Virginia. The 



term wire-grass is not distinctive as it 

 is used for several other species. 



Canada bluegrass is probably not 

 a native of North America though it 

 is now common in grassland, along 

 roadsides, and in waste places 

 throughout the Northern States and 

 southern Canada. It is common in 

 the cooler parts of Europe. 



SWEET VERNAL GRASS 



Sweet vernal grass is useless as a 

 forage grass but is sometimes in- 

 cluded in meadow mixtures to give 

 a pleasant odor to the hay. It con- 

 tains cumarin, a constituent found 

 also in vanilla grass, which is also fra- 

 grant, especially when the grass is 

 dried. Sweet vernal is an erect pe- 

 rennial, i or 2 feet high, with thin 

 flat blades I to 3 inches long, and a 

 dense spikelike bronze-green panicle 

 1 to 3 inches long, narrowed above 

 and below, the short branches spread- 

 ing in flower. 

 The spikelets are 8 to 10 mm. long, lanceolate, acum- 

 inate; glumes sparsely pilose, the first about half as long 

 as the second; fertile lemma smooth and shining, much 

 shorter than the glumes; standing on either side of the 



17. Sweet Vernal 

 Grass. A single 

 head or spike in 

 flower. After flow- 

 ering, the head 

 closes up and be- 

 comes more dense. 



