GRASS AND HAY 129 



ing bent, red fescue, Italian rye, rice, Para g., carpet g., seed canary, 

 timothy and St. Augustine grass, cited before. 



Grasses for Holding Shifting Sands. Beach-grass (AiYimopMla 

 arenaria). This grass grows more or less abundantly along the 

 sandy coasts of the Atlantic and the shores of the Great Lakes. It has 

 strong, creeping rootstocks, upright stems 2 to 4 feet high, and long, 

 rather rigid leaves. The narrow, densely flowered panicles which 

 terminate the stems are from 3 to 10 inches long. It is one of the 

 most valuable grasses adapted to binding the drifting sands of our 

 coasts, and has been cultivated for this purpose in this as well as in 

 other countries. Turkey-foot-grass (Andropogon hallii) was ob- 

 served only in the sandhill region of western Nebraska. Here it pro- 

 duces an exuberant growth, 4 to 6 feet high, with a large number of 

 leaves. It should be cut early if used for hay. Cattle are fond of the 

 grass when young and fatten on it. Many farmers believe that for 

 range purposes the sandhills are much superior to the country east, 

 and Turkey-foot is one of the most important grasses of the region. 

 Sea Lyme-grass (Elymus arenarius) . A stout, coarse grass, one of 

 the best grasses known for binding the drifting sands of the coast, 

 and in northern Europe has been cultivated along with Beach-grass 

 for this purpose. These two grasses when combined seem admirably 

 adapted for the purpose of forming a barrier to the encroachment of 

 the sea; the sand that Beach-grass arrests and collects about itself 

 the Lyme-grass secures and holds fast. The seeds are used for food 

 by the Digger Indians of the Northwest, and as the grass springs up 

 around their deserted lodges it is called by the settlers "Rancheria" 

 grass. Soft Sea Lyme-grass (Elymus mollis). A grass which closely 

 resembles and has the same habit of growth as Elymus arenarius. It 

 is distinguished by having the stem soft-downy just below the head 

 or spike and in having five to seven flowered spikelets, the outer 

 glumes of which are broader and five to seven nerved. This grass 

 occurs along the shores of the Great Lakes and northward on both 

 the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Mexican Salt-grass (Eragrostis 

 obtusiflora). A rigid perennial, 12 to 18 inches high, with strong 

 and extensively scaly rootstpcks, stiff and sharp-pointed leaves, and 

 more or less spreading panicles. Abundant in the highly alkaline 

 soils of Sulphur Springs Valley, Arizona, where the large rootstocks 

 serve to bind the shifting sands. In the absence of other grasses it is 

 eaten by stock. Blow-out grass (Muhlenbergia pungens). A rather 

 rigid' perennial, has strong, creeping roots, and often does good 

 service as a sand binder. In the sandhills region of Nebraska it 

 grows abundantly around the borders of the so-called "blow-outs," 

 preventing their extension and assisting materially in restoring the 

 turf. In some parts of Arizona where it occurs it is esteemed a val- 

 uable forage plant. It grows from Nebraska southward to New 

 Mexico and Arizona, and along the Colorado River above Fort Yum a. 

 Bitter Panic-grass (Panicum amarum). A grass of the sandy sea- 

 coasts, ranging from Connecticut southward to Florida and along the 

 Gulf. It has coarse, hard stems, 1 to 5 feet high, and strong, creep- 

 ing rootstocks, making it an excellent sand binder. Redficld's-grass 



