133 



are all numbered among the grasses found in cultivated fields and fre- 

 quently in the highway pastures of the "barrens" and indeed in nearly 

 every natural division of the state. 



Elymus Virginicus (lyme grass) grows abundantly in Middle Ten- 

 nessee on strong, limy soils but it forms no turf. It is found near woods 

 and thickets, and stock is fond of it. There are three or four species be- 

 longing to the genus Elymus but only one other is eaten by stock and 

 that is Elymus Canadensis, or Terrell grass. This is usually found on the 

 banks of streams. 



Danthonia compressa (mountain oat grass). This is one of the prin- 

 cipal grasses on the "balds" of the mountains in East Tennessee. They 

 will bear the closest grazing and are highly esteemed in the mountain 

 region. 



Danthonia spicata is another species of this grass found growing on 

 the Harpeth hills of Middle Tennessee and over parts of West Tennes- 

 see. It is one of the grasses furnishing grazing on the highway pas- 

 tures of the Highland Rim. 



Mountain Oat Grass Danthonia compressa. 



ARUNDINARIA (cane). There are two species of this grass found 

 in Tennessee, viz: Arundinaria gigantea and Arundinaria tecta. It is pos- 

 sible that these two are really varieties of the same species. In the first 

 settlement of the State cane was the principal dependence for stock graz- 

 ing in the summer and in many sections the whole face of the country 

 was covered with it. The shoots of the young cane are both succulent 

 and nutritious. It grows best on the richest land, but if the poorest soil 

 is once set with it, it acts as a fertilizer. This is to be attributed to its 

 wonderful net-work of roots, the immense foliage it deposits on the soil, 

 and to its dense shade. It is a very difficult matter to break up cane land, 



