GRASSES 19 



disappears at the beginning of summer. It is a capital winter 

 and early spring grass, and sheep are very fond of and do well 

 on its tender and often succulent herbage. When allowed 

 to grow undisturbed it produces a quantity of seed, which 

 usually ripens in October, November and December, according 

 to situation. Although this species and an allied "Bent 

 Grass" (D. forsterf) are often closely connected by many 

 intermediate forms they are quite distinct ; their economic 

 values being much the same. The latter has a wider range 

 of growth than the former, for it occurs on the inland plains 

 as well as on the coast areas. There are seventeen other 

 distinct "Bent Grasses" indigenous to Australia, and they 

 are widely distributed in all the States of the Commonwealth, 

 but generally in the cooler and colder parts. Although 

 many of them form a good percentage of the herbage in some 

 pastures, and are good feed for sheep, those described are the 

 best known to stockowners. 



Black Top (Pappophorum nigricans) occurs in all the 

 Australian States from the coast areas to the far interior, and 

 in many pastures grows eighteen inches high or more and 

 forms a good percentage of the herbage. Growing under such 

 varied conditions of soil and climate there are many forms of 

 it. Sometimes the inflorescence is perfectly black, to 

 which circumstance it owes its specific name, and at other 

 times it is almost white. In all its varied forms, however, 

 it is a capital drought-resisting grass, and during the summer 

 months, in an ordinary season, it yields a fair amount of short, 

 leafy good herbage, which stock eat readily and do well on. 

 When the stems of this grass become old they are hard and 

 the leaves harsh, and when in that condition, if other herbage 

 is plentiful, stock seldom eat it. The seeds usually ripen 

 during October, November and December. 



Blue Grass (Andropogon sericeus) grows from one foot to 

 three feet high and is found all over the continent from the 



