288 POISONOUS AND MECHANICALLY INJURIOUS PLANTS 



dies from starvation or from some disease resulting from low 

 vitality. 



If it is necessary that sheep be fed hay containing much 

 squirreltail or barley grass that has headed out, the hay should 

 be scattered out on the ground rather than fed in racks. This 

 makes it possible for the animals to select their feed somewhat 

 carefully. Also, if that part of the hay in the stack which con- 

 tains mainly squirreltail or barley grass is not fed, considerable 

 injury to animals or much actual loss may be avoided. When 

 it is possible, it is best to cut the hay on lands that contain an 

 abundance of barley or squirreltail grass or even to use such 

 lands for pasture before the seed heads are sufficiently developed 

 to cause mechanical injury to stock. 



Needlegrasses. — Devil's darning needle {Stipa spartea) and 

 ncedle-and-thrcad {S. comata) are conspicuous species of the 

 genus in the injuries which they 

 inflict upon Hvestock. The awns 

 of these grasses are several inches 

 long; the spikelets or florets are 

 sharp-pointed and readily bore 

 into the skin and intestines of 

 animals. At maturity the awn 

 bends near the middle and becomes 



^Naadah^pcnmcntsuunn tightly twlstcd bcloW thc flrst 



'BLiNDED™DYTfFACE\low^ bend. Variation in the humidity 

 INNUMERABLE ABSCESSES. of the air causcs the awn to twist 



The trouble has been caused by the awns i , • . j • i.u* iU 



of squirreltail barley. and untwist, and m this way the 



sharp - pointed flo re t penetrates 

 the surface to which it is attached. In range stock serious 

 inflammation and peritonitis are sometimes caused by these 

 grasses. Occasionally, if the spikelets get into the eyes of sheep, 

 blindness is caused and eventually death from starvation. 



Three-awn. — Dogtown three-awn (Aristida adscensionis) and 

 Fendler's three-awn {A. Fendleriana) in some localities are 

 troublesome when the seed is ripe. At maturity the seed, with 

 its awn attachment, is blown about by the wind, the sharp- 

 pointed callus being in advance. These awns work their way 



