164 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



able ornamentals. Bearded Mesquite (Stipa leucotricha) An erect 

 perennial, 1 to 3 feet high, with very narrow leaves and a loose pan- 

 icle with a few long-awned spikelets. One of the best native hay 

 grasses of central and southern Texas. Bearded Darnel (Lolium 

 temulentum) An annual grass, 2 to 3 feet high, having a general 

 resemblance to Italian Rye-grass, but usually stouter, more strictly 

 erect, with longer glumes and larger seeds. It has been introduced 

 into this country with the seeds of other grasses, and is occasionally 

 met with in grain fields and about dwellings. The grain contains 

 a narcotic or poisonous principle, which causes eruptions, trembling, 

 and vertigo in man and flesh-eating animals. If the seeds are malted 

 with barley, the ale causes intoxication very suddenly. It is con- 

 tended by some that perfectly healthy Darnel seeds are innocuous 

 that only grains which are ergotized or otherwise diseased are injuri- 

 ous. Bearded Saccaton (Muhlenbergia distichophylla) This is a 

 strong, firmly rooted grass, 3 to 4 feet high, with rather long and 

 rigid leaves, and a narrow panicle often exceeding a foot in length. 

 It is frequent in the rich valleys in Arizona and New Mexico, and on 

 rich bottom lands it is often cut for hay. In Arizona it forms the 

 more common "hay" that one finds in the towns and way stations, 

 being pulled by the Mexicans or Indians and brought in on the backs 

 of donkeys or on carts. There are many species of Muhlenbergia in 

 the southwestern part of the United States and northern Mexico. 

 Black-fruited Mountain Rice (Oryzopsis melanocarpa) A rather 

 stout, long and broad-leafed grass, with a simple panicle of a few 

 rather large spikelets. Grows in rich, rocky woods from New Eng- 

 land southward to Pennsylvania and westward to the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, blooming in July and August. These species of Oryzopsis 

 have no recognized agricultural value, but they are very hardy 

 perennials and might be propagated to advantage in woodland parks. 

 Black Bunch-grass (Hilaria mutica Benth) This is a rather coarse 

 perennial, with creeping rootstocks, and stems 12 to 18 inches high. 

 It is common on the dry mesas of New Mexico and Arizona, extend- 

 ing eastward into Texas and Oklahoma. Where abundant it is 

 regarded as one of the most valuable native grasses and furnishes 

 excellent pasturage at all times when not covered with snow, and is 

 frequently cut for hay. It forms dense patches of greater or less 

 extent on hillsides, mesas, and plains. Blue, or White Grama (Bou- 

 teloua oligostachya) This is one of the most abundant and most 

 valued of the Grama grasses, and extends from Wisconsin westward 

 to 'California, and southward into Texas and northern Mexico. It 

 is a perennial, 6 to 18 inches high, its strong rhizomes and numerous 

 root-leaves forming dense and more or less extensive patches of 

 excellent turf. In Montana it is known as Buffalo-grass. It fre- 

 quents the bench lands of that State, growing at elevations of from 

 3,000 to 4,000 or 5,000 feet, and not infrequently covers wide areas. 

 No other grass better withstands the tramping of stock, and it is 

 unsurpassed for grazing purposes. Branch-grass, Creek Sedge (Spar- 

 tina stricta maritima) An erect and often stout salt marsh grass, 

 with flat leaves, and few to many erect spikes. It varies a good deal 



