134 A MANUAL OF FARM GRASSES 



the base like wheat, with smooth sheaths, flat blades, 

 an open drooping panicle, and smooth, rather plump, 

 several- flowered spikelets, the florets with short bristles. 

 Though troublesome when growing with grain because 

 the seeds are difficult to separate from those of wheat, it 

 nevertheless is a nutritious forage grass. The only 

 region where it is used for forage on a commercial scale 

 is in the valley of the Columbia River in Washington 

 and Oregon. Bromus secalinus L. is the botanical name. 

 There is a myth, still current in some localities, that 

 wheat, under unfavorable weather conditions, turns to 

 chess. 



