GRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY) 27 



ally purplish or reddish brown, arranged in a whorl at the end of 

 the stalk like the fingers of a hand. Spikelets in pairs, one sessile, 

 the other having a minute pedicel. The seeds are very nutritious, 

 and in Germany and Poland they are used for a table viand, 

 cooked in milk, like sago. 



Means of control 



Nothing but careful hand labor will clean Crab-grass out of a 

 garden or cultivated field ; and it needs to be cast into a fire or a 

 compost heap, for an uprooted stem left on the ground promptly 

 takes root again. In lawns the grass must be hand-pulled, for 

 pieces scattered by lawn-mowers are likely to take root and in- 

 crease the pest. But if the plant is not allowed to develop seed, 

 two or three seasons of careful weeding should clean it from the soil. 



SMALL OR SMOOTH CRAB-GRASS 



Digitaria humifusa, Pers. 

 (Syntherisma linedris, Nash.) 



Introduced. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : July to September. 



Seed-time: August to October. 



Range: Nova Scotia to South Dakota, southward to Florida and 



Louisiana. 

 Habitat: Lawns, pastures, and waste places. 



Culms six to eighteen inches long, smooth, slender, usually 

 decumbent at base, much branched and spreading. Leaves one to 

 three inches long, very narrow and pointed. Spikes two to four 

 inches long, two to six in number, digitate at the end of the stalk 

 or one or two near the summit, very slender, one-sided. Spikelets 

 .usually in pairs, one sessile or nearly so, the other short-pediceled. 

 The whole plant of a reddish color ; less troublesome than the 

 preceding species for it does not root at the joints. 



Means of control 



Cutting so persistently as to prevent seed production. Top- 

 dressing and enriching the ground will enable the better grasses 

 and clovers to crowd out the annual weed. 



