16 BULLETIN 545, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



1, and by August 20 the main seed crop has ripened. The seed has 

 a high power of germination. The average for all tests made was 

 71.5 per cent, with a minimum germination of 59.5 per cent. 



Owing to its rank growth blue joint is better suited to cattle and 

 horses than to sheep, yet the latter eat the leaf blades, though rarely 

 the flower stalks even when young. Because of its restriction to 

 moist situations, it is not very abundant, and consequently fur- 

 nishes a comparatively small amount of forage. 



TUFTED HAIR-GRASS. 

 (Deschampsia caespitosa.) 



Tufted hair-grass (Deschampsia caespitosa) is a member of the 

 same tribe as cultivated oats. Though from its general appearance 

 this fact would not be recognized, yet botanically they are closely 

 related. Tufted hair-grass is often mistaken for redtop, mainly 

 because of its loose panicle, but morphologically it is very different. 

 Redtop has but one flower in a spikelet, while tufted hair-grass has 

 two perfect flowers. 



The genus Deschampsia is represented by about 20 species, adapted 

 mainly to the cold and temperate regions. About 6 species are 

 found in the western part of {he United States. 



Tufted hair-grass is a perennial tufted species with rather deep and 

 spreading fibrous roots. The culms are from H to 3 feet tall, erect, 

 and smooth, or in some specimens slightly rough, the leaves mainly 

 basal and very numerous, flat, and often ascending to hah the length 

 of the culms. The spikelets, bearing two perfect flowers, are small 

 and shiny, and the panicle is open, the branches widely spreading. 

 Both the empty and the flowering glumes are shiny in appearance 

 (Plate XII). The latter are notched at the apex and bear a short 

 awn on the back. 



This species is rarely found in dry situations, but grows abundantly 

 in moist meadows, canyons, and bottom lands, where it frequently 

 predominates. Concerning its density of stand and rankness of 

 growth F. Lamson-Scribner 1 states that is has a record of producing 

 10,209 pounds of green and 3,318 pounds of dry hay per acre. The 

 minimum amount of soil water with which it will grow varies between 

 11.5 and 14.5 per cent. In soils containing less than this amount 

 of moisture the wilted leaf blades failed to regain their turgidity. 



The first flower stalks appear about July 20, and their production 

 continues until about August 15. As with most species in moist 

 soils, the flower stalks are not produced as early as in the drier 

 situations. The tune required for the development of the seeds is 

 rather prolonged, and well-matured seeds are rarely found until 



i Economic Grasses, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. Agrost. Bui. 14, p. 32, 1900. 



