GRASS AND HAY 165 



in size, the larger form attaining a height of 5 to 8 feet. It grows 

 along the ditches and creeks of the marshes, and is conspicuous by 

 its size and long, shining leaves, which are of a deep green color. 

 Smaller forms are found over the marshes away from the ditches, 

 and these often are of a pale-green tint, with comparatively short and 

 shining leaves. All the forms are somewhat succulent and have a 

 rank odor, which is imparted to the milk and butter of cows feeding 

 upon them. Broad-leafed) Spike-grass (Uniola latifolia) Erect, 

 with rather stout, leafy stems 2 to 4 feet high, and drooping panicles 

 of large, flat spikelets. The leaves are broad and widely spreading, 

 and these, together with the graceful, nodding, open panicles, ren- 

 der it pleasing in appearance and worthy of cultivation for ornament. 



Brook-grass (Andropogon glomeratus) A stout perennial, 2 

 to 4 feet high, with dense, more or less elongated, broom-like panicles. 

 It grows in low grounds and marshes from southern New York to 

 Florida, also occurring in Mexico and Lower California. This species 

 is esteemed a valuable pasture grass in the South. Broom-sedge 

 (Andropogon virginicus) A rigidly erect perennial, bearing a nar- 

 row, elongated, and loosely-branched panicle of silky-bearded ra- 

 cemes. The stems are strongly flattened near the base, and at ma- 

 turity they are too hard and woody to be eaten by stock or to be of 

 any value for hay. When young, however, this grass affords most 

 excellent grazing. Milch cows fed upon it are said to yield butter 

 of superior quality. Brown-top (Panicum fasciculatum) A rather 

 coarse and much-branched leafy annual, growing in clumps to the 

 height of 2 to 3 feet. The leaves are flat, one-fourth to one-half an 

 inch wide, and 2 to 6 inches long. It is a native of Texas and Florida. 



Canary-grass (Phalaris canariensis) An erect annual, 1 to 3 

 feet high, with flat leaves, and dense, ovoid panicles or heads about 

 an inch long. This grass is apparently a native of the warmer coun- 

 tries of Europe, also of north Africa and western Asia. It has be- 

 come widely distributed throughout the warmer temperate and trop- 

 ical regions of the world, including Australia. Cultivated in Ger- 

 many and southern Europe. It has been introduced into this coun- 

 try, and is occasionally cultivated for its seeds, which are used for 

 bird food. The flour from the seeds is utilized in certain processes 

 of cotton manufacture (weaver's glue) , and is even employed in the 

 making of some kinds of cake. Chess; Cheat (Bromus secalinus) 

 A well-known, weedy, annual grass, introduced into this country 

 many years ago, and now common in grain fields and waste lands. 

 The panicle is spreading and more or less drooping, and the awns 

 of the flowering glumes are usually much shorter than the glumes 

 themselves and more or less flexuose. Cheat and wheat are only 

 remotely related; they belong to quite distinct tribes in the grass. 

 Common Reed (Phragmites vulgaris) This is one of the largest of 

 our native grasses, growing to the height of 12 feet, the rather stout 

 culms bearing numerous broad, spreading, and sharply pointed 

 leaves 1 to 2 feet long. It has deeply penetrating and extensively 

 creeping rootstocks, making it one of the most valuable graces for 

 binding the banks of rivers subject to periodical floods. Creeping 



