RED TOP 



301 



erally about the second week in June. It is then piled in 

 windrows 3 or 4 feet deep to cure, and is stirred thoroughly 

 every day to keep it from heating. It is cured in about ten 

 days, when it is cleaned and 

 prepared for market, A good 

 yield of seed as it is ordinarily 

 cleaned is from 125 to 200 

 pounds to the acre. When 

 the seed is cleaned to weigh 

 24 pounds or more to the 

 bushel, the yield seldom ex- 

 ceeds 75 or 100 pounds. 



REDTOP 



388. Origin and Descrip- 

 tion. RedtopfA grostis alba, is 

 a native of the United States, 

 growing wild over a large 

 portion of the country. The 

 plant does not root deeply, 

 but makes a firm, close sod, 

 for rootstocks are produced in 

 large numbers. It is valuable 

 to prevent washing, and is not 

 injured by trampling. The 

 culms grow from 1 to 3 feet 

 tall. They are often pros- 

 trate or recumbent at the 

 base and root freely at the nodes where they come in contact 

 with the soil. The basal and culm leaves are both quite 

 nunierous. The flowers are borne in an open, branching 

 panicle which contains many one-flowered spikelets. The 

 grass may be distinguished from Kentucky blue grass, which 

 it resembles to some extent, by its one-flowered spikelets, 

 later flowering, and the reddish or purpHsh color of the glumes. 



Figure 104.— Redtop, a good grass for 

 wet lands. 



