WEEDS OF THE GRASS FAMILY. 53 



awn-pointed. Seeds $ inch long, pale brown, flat on one side, rounded on 

 the other. (Fig. 18.) 



Frequent in barn- yards, orchards and rich moist waste places. 

 June-Sept. Often cut for forage when other grass is scarce. Seeds 

 distributed in clover and millet seed, also by wind. Remedies: 

 mowing before the seeds are ripe ; clean clover seed. 



4. PANICUM CAPILLARE L. Old-witch Grass. Tumble-weed. Tickle-grass. 



Erect or suberect, 1-2 feet high, 

 much branched from the base; sheaths 

 hispid or hairy ; leaves 6-12 inches long, 

 more or less hairy. Flowers in a 

 spreading panicle ; spikelets, single, 

 scattered, borne on very slender stalks; 

 lower glume half the length of the 

 empty upper one. Seeds straw-color, 

 very small, smooth and shining. (Fig. 

 19.) 



Common in old cultivated fields, 

 especially those with a dry or sandy 

 soil. July-Oct. The spreading tops, 

 being very brittle, break off in au- 

 tumn and are blown into fence cor- 

 ners or against some barrier where 

 they form great piles. Remedies: 

 mowing and burning to prevent 

 seeding. About 30 species of Pani- 

 cum grow wild in Indiana, all of 



Fig. 19. a, b and e . spikelets: d, flowering ^hich are more or less weedy in 

 glume; e.paiea. (After Scribner.) character, though some of them are 



cut for hay when other grass is scarce. 



5. IXOPHORUS GLAUCUS L. Yellow Foxtail. Pigeon-grass. Pussy-grass. 



(A. I. 1.) 



Stems several, erect, more or less branched, 1-3 feet high ; leaves 2-<3 

 inches long, smooth. Spikes straw-yellow, cylindrical, dense, 1-1 inches 

 long; spikelets oval, much shorter than the cluster of 6 to 11 yellow 

 bristles which spring from beneath them, these roughened or barbed up- 

 ward. Seeds brownish, i inch long, flattened on one side, much wrinkled 

 crosswise. (Figs. 6, g; 20.) 



One of our worst weeds, occurring everywhere in cultivated 

 grounds; also in meadows, lawns and pastures. July-Sept. The 

 seeds in grain fields mostly ripen after the corn has been laid by or 

 the oats and wheat cut. They are much relished by birds and poultry 

 and are sometimes destroyed by a smut. When buried they retain 



