PERENNIAL FORAGE GRASSES 



97 



appeared to prefer it as pasture to Kentucky blue grass, meadow 

 fescue, or any other cultivated grass. 



Smooth brome grass is highly prized as an improver of soils 

 too long cultivated in 

 cereal crops, since the 

 great mass of roots and 

 underground stems and 

 the dense mat of vegeta- 

 tion on the surface make 

 a marked addition to the 

 organic matter of the 

 soil, adding to the water- 

 holding capacity of the 

 soils in the sub-humid 

 sections. Being strongly 

 stoloniferous, it is a 

 plant of good duration. 



IV. BERMUDA GRASS 



101. Description. Ber- 

 muda grass (Capriola 

 dactylon (L.) Kuntze) 

 is strongly stoloniferous, 

 spreading by both above 

 ground and underground 

 stems, making a dense, 

 thick sward which stands 

 tramping well. The flow- 

 ering culms vary from a 

 few inches to two feet in 

 height under favorable 

 conditions. They are 

 sparingly supplied with 

 leaves and bear three to 

 to two inches long, bear 



Smooth brome grass taken at Cornell Station June 

 22. Plant passing out of bloom. Highest culms 48 

 inches; clump 24 inches wide; 21 months old 

 from single seed. Note the upright character of 

 the leaves as compared with tall fescue or or- 

 chard grass. Note also the large spikelets. 



five one-sided spikes. The spikes, one 

 one-flowered spikelets, which mature 



