WEEDS OF THE GRASS FAMILY. 



55 



Fig. 22. (After Vasey.) 



and a great nuisance in hay cut 

 from sandy soil. Remedies: burn- 

 ing over annually the area in- 

 fested ; hoeing or other close culti- 

 vation. 



7. EBAGBOSTIS MAJOR Host. Stinking- 

 grass. Pungent Meadow-grass. 

 (A. I. 2.) 



Erect or spreading at base, 6 inches 

 to 2 feet tall, smooth ; leaves 2-7 inches 

 long; sheaths shorter than the joints. 

 Flowers in a compound panicle 2-6 

 inches in length, its branches spread- 

 ing; spikelets densely 8-35 flowered, 

 very flat, whitish when old. Seeds 

 pale red, very small, nearly round. 

 (Fig. 22.) 



A showy ill-smelling grass, oc- 

 curring in sandy soil, meadows and 

 waste places. July-Sept. The flat 



lead-colored heads make it easily known. Remedies : prevent seed- 

 ing by late and thorough cultivation. 

 The low meadow-grass (E. era- 



grostis L.) is a closely allied species 



with shorter stems and spikes and 



narrower spikelets. Also introduced 



and spreading rapidly. Remedies 



the same. 



8. BROMUS SECALINTJS L. Cheat. Chess. 

 (A. I. 2.) 



Erect, unbranched, 1-3 feet tall; 

 sheaths shorter than the joints; leaves 

 2-9 inches long. Flowering panicle 2-8 

 inches hi length, glabrous, its branches 

 drooping; spikelets oblong-ovate, swol- 

 len, &-10 flowered, the nerves of the 

 scales often awned or bristle tipped. 

 Seeds resembling those of oats but 

 darker and smaller, f inch long, the ad- 

 hering glumes with a row of bristles 

 down each side of the groove. (Fig. 23.) 



A winter annual, common in 

 grain fields and often along fence- 

 rows. June-Aug. The seeds when buried retain vitality for years 



Fig. 23. a, spikelet. (After Scribner.) 



