184 Bulletin 138, Rhodes Grass 



stood from 1% to 3 feet tall. On September 1 it again stood 

 about 3 feet tall and a second cutting was made. On October 1 

 it was again about 3 feet tall. On the 30th of October the 

 temperature went down to 32 F., without in jury ing the grass. 

 On December 3 the temperature went down to 23 F. killing off 

 all the leaves, but the roots were uninjured. On February 23, 

 1911, we experienced a temperature of 25 F., killing back all 

 growth made, but not injuring the roots materially. By April 

 7, some of the plants were 15 inches tall, and by the middle of 

 the month were sending up seed stalks. 



During the summer of 1911 the growth was better than 

 during 1910. The stalks reached a height of 4 feet. A cutting 

 for hay was made as late as October 24. 



WINTER-KILLED IN 1912 



During the winter of 1911-12 we had comparatively little 

 freezing weather. The lowest temperatures occurred on Decem- 

 ber 30 and on January 16. The thermometer went down to 

 29 F. on the former date and to 25 on the latter date. Nearly 

 all the plants of the 1909 sowing were killed. It is probable 

 that the late cutting left the plants weakened and the removal 

 of the leaves exposed the stools too much, or it may be that 

 the warm moist winter caused the roots to be less resistant 

 to cold. 



During 1911, enough seed was furnished by Prof. Piper to 

 sow about one-third of an acre. This was sown August 12, 

 and a fair stand obtained, but the winter of 1911-12 proved 

 very severe on it. The stand being quite imperfect, the field 

 was plowed and re-sown. In the fall of 1912 and the spring 

 of 1913 more seed was secured from commercial sources, but 

 this all proved to be very low in germinating quality. 



WITHSTANDS SHORT COLD PERIODS WHEN SOIL IS MOIST 



During succeeding years experiments were continued to test its 

 adaptation to various kinds of soils and the effects of cold 

 weather. The effects of cold varies greatly under varying 

 moisture and temperature conditions. The winter of 1911-12 

 was particularly severe on the plants though not excessively 

 cold at any time. The rainfall was rather light and the tem- 

 perature went below 25 F. several times, but not below 20 F. 

 In the winter of 1916-17 there was a well distributed rainfall 

 and an excessively low temperature. The lowest record being 

 17 F. on February 3. The roots lived thru the winter and 



