MEADOW AND PASTURE GRASSES 



245 



under favorable conditions. It is seldom employed except in lawn 

 mixtures. 



Italian rye grass is adapted to moist regions with mild winters. It 

 succeeds best on loam and sandy loam soils. It is adapted for hay purposes 

 and may be cut several times during the season. 



Sudan Grass. — A tall annual grass resembling Johnson grass, but 

 spreads only by seeds. It has been recently introduced and seems to be 

 best adapted to the semi-arid belt. It has been tried in an experimental 

 way in many of the states and has generally made a good growth. 



Sudan Grass, a New Acquisition. 1 



Bermuda Grass. — Bermuda grass is a perennial with numerous 

 branched leafy stems, which, under favorable conditions, attain a height of 

 twelve to eighteen inches. Ordinarily, it is not so tall. This grass occurs 

 chiefly in the southern part of the United States, but extends as far north as 

 Pennsylvania and Kansas. It is especially adapted to the cotton belt, and 

 is to the South what blue grass is to the North. While it is more particu- 

 larly adapted as a pasture grass, it is also quite extensively used as hay. 

 It will grow on all types of soil, but does best on rich, moist bottom lands 

 that are well drained. It is also used as a lawn grass. Bermuda grass does 

 not seed at all freely and most of the seed is imported. It is most easily 

 propagated by cutting the culms into short pieces, scattering them on the 



^Courtesy of The Macmillan Company, N. Y. From "Forage Plants and Their Culture," by Piper. 



