34 FARMER'S BOOK OF GRASSES 



as the preceding, nearly as tall ; panicles with staminate and pis- 

 tilate spikelets intermixed ; leaves somewhat glaucous, smooth, 

 with rough edges ; grain oval, and in great abundance. It may 

 be used in all respects as the preceding. When the spring and 

 summer prove dry, many of our shallow lakes dry up, leaving 

 these and other water grasses growing luxuriantly. Planters 

 for miles around mow and utilize these gratuitous harvests. 



ORYZA. 



O. SATIVA, Rice, from Asia, but now cultivated in many 

 parts of both hemispheres of our globe forms the principal arti- 

 cle of food to more millions of the human race probably than any 

 other grain. In our southern States, we have several varieties 

 of rice, known as white and red ; awned and beardless ; upland 

 and lowland. The larger quantity is produced on lands that 

 may be flooded and thus kept clear of most Aveeds, and the ex- 

 pense of cultivation reduced to a minimum. Bnt on the other 

 hand, small areas for home consumption and as an auxiliary 

 crop are cultivated over a very large portion of the southern 

 United States in highland rice. The large grained beardless 

 white is the variety usually preferred for uplands. To render 

 cultivation easy, many farmers annually clear a "new ground" 

 for the rice crop, as by this means the plants are less beset with 

 grasses and weeds and the cultivation is lighter work. It is on- 

 ly as food for live stock (cattle especially) that it is here noticed. 

 The seeds mature while the stems and leaves are still quite green. 

 These last when properly cured constitute a valuable hay. The 

 upland rice planted on new land in April matures a crop of 

 large-sized grain of the best quality and a large quantity of hay. 

 If the season be favorable, a second crop from the same roots of 

 smaller growth and smaller grain may be mowed in October for 

 hay. Both, usually thrown away, are very valuable and should 

 be carefully utilized. 



ALOPECURUS. 



1. A. GENICULATUS, Floating Fox-tail Grass. The culms 

 of this grass are from 6 to 12, rarely 18 inches long, bearing 

 compressed cylindrical spikes from 1 to 1J inches long, bent, 

 geniculate at the lower joints ; leaves 3 or 4 inches long, the 

 sheath of the upper one about as long as its leaf, which distin- 

 guishes it from meadow fox-tail in which the upper sheath is 

 more than twice the length of its leaf. It blooms from Febru- 

 ary till May, growing in damp cultivated grounds and mead- 

 ows, ditches, ponds and sluggish streams. It is of little worth. 



