GRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY) 



51 



in a tuft at their base, the few on the stems small, stiffly erect, and 

 involute. The hard, thin little seed is covered with a hairy lemma 

 and armed with a bristly, bent, and twisted 

 awn, like that of the real Wild Oat but much 

 smaller. Usually the seeds ripen and fall 

 before the hay is cut, and after this the stems 

 and leaves turn dry and brown and look un- 

 sightly. (Fig. 22.) 



Means of control 



The presence of the weed is a sign of ex- 

 hausted fertility, and the best remedy is to 

 enrich and cultivate the ground before reseeding 

 heavily with clover to be plowed under for 

 humus. WTien the soil is in a condition to 

 retain moisture and support the growth of better 

 plants, the weed will be crowded out. 



BERMUDA GRASS 



Cynodon Ddctylon, Pers. 

 (Caprwla Ddctylon, Kuntze.) 



Other English names : Scutch Grass, Dog's-tooth 



Grass, Wire Grass. 

 Introduced. Perennial. Propagates by stolons, 



or runners which put forth roots at the joints. 



Rarely by seeds. 

 Time of bloom: July to August. 

 Seed-time: August to September. But no seed 



is produced in the United States except in the 



most southern parts. 

 Range : Southern part of the United States, north 



as far as Maryland, and westward to the FIG. 22. Wild 



Pacific Coast. Oat-grass (Dantho- 



Habitat: Fields, meadows, and waste places. nia spicata) . xi. 



This is a tropical grass, subject to winterkilling north of the 

 altitude of Virginia. It prefers warm, sandy soil, and droughts 

 that kill other grasses harm it not at all. Only in cultivated ground 

 is it a weed, but there its creeping habit of growth makes it a very 

 bad one, extremely hard to destroy, particularly in cotton fields 



