24 



good ground in protected places it grows to the height of several feet. It is only par- 

 tially killed through the winter. Froui the avidity with which it is eaten by all 

 kinds of stock, the closeness of turf formed, its ability to resist almost any amount of 

 tramping, and its rapidity of growth I think that it is a most valuable grass for this 

 country. 



Mr. F. W. Thurow, of Harris County, Tex., says that at present Pas- 

 palum platycaule furnishes about fi ve^-eighths of the pasturage in south- 

 eastern Texas, forming a dense sod. Stock of all kinds seem to relish 

 it, but is not as nutritious as Bermuda grass. (Plate 6.) 



Paspalum distichum. 



Several species of Paspalum have received attention in the South as 

 being useful pasture grasses and very durable from their creeping and 

 rooting habit. Paspalum distichum is one of these species. It grows 

 principally in low, moist ground. Its stems and culms are mostly pros- 

 trate and running, sending up here and there a few flower-bearing 

 culms. It is found in the Southern States and Texas, thence to Cali- 

 fornia. Farther south it is found in most tropical countries. Mr. W. 

 A. Sanders, of Fresno County, Cal., writes recently as follows : 



Are you aware of the value of Paspalum distichum for seeding pond-holes that dry 

 up or nearly so in autumn ? Such ponds are usually spots of bare, stinking mud, but 

 when well set to this grass will yield all the way up to 80 tons (in the green state) of 

 autumn feed for stock, especially valuable for cows first, then follow with sheep till 

 every vestige is devoured. Surely it has an immense food value in such places. 



(Plate 7.) 



BECKMANNIA. 



Beckmannia erucaeformis (Slough Grass). 



This genus is closely related to Panicum and has considerable re- 

 semblance to some forms of Panicum Crus-galli. It grows abundantly 

 in the Eocky Mountain Region from California and Oregon eastward 

 as far as Iowa and Minnesota. It is found in marshy ground and in 

 sloughs, particularly in the neighborhood of streams. 



It usually grows in tufts, and is of a coarse growth, the stout, roughish 

 culms rising to about 3 feet in height; the thickish leaves are about 

 half an inch wide and 6 to 8 inches long. These, as well as the loose, 

 long sheaths, are strongly marked with numerous parallel veins. The 

 panicle is generally long and narrow, from 6 to 10 inches long, and half 

 an inch to an inch wide, composed mostly of many very short, closely- 

 set branches, which are more or less interrupted below where the 

 branches are generally longer, sometimes 2 inches long and erect. 



The spikelets are crowded very closely together on the one sided 

 spikes, and each one consists of a pair of thickish, compressed, inflated, 

 boat- shaped, empty glumes, and between these, one lanceolate, acute 

 flowering glume, of thinner texture, with its still thinner palet, and the 

 stamens and styles. These are represented in plate 8, a showing an 

 enlarged spikelet, b the same expanded to show the separate parts. In 



