OF TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER VI.* 



HOW TO TELL A GRASS TABLE OF GRASSES. 



As before stated, it is deemed necessary to speak only of 

 those grasses indigenous to or growing in Tennessee. It will 

 be endeavored to make the reader well acquainted with each 

 species, and this will not be difficult if ordinary attention 

 is paid to the directions. In speaking of each grass, both 

 the common name and the botanic will be given. The bo- 

 tanic names will be enclosed in brackets, and the first will 

 denote the genus and the second the species to which the 

 grass belongs ; for instance, blue-grass (Poa-pratensis), here 

 Poa is the g.enus, and pratensis the species to which it be- 

 longs. If farmers would make it their business to inspect 

 and classify all strange grasses that may fall wider their 

 observation, a state of intelligent inquiry would be aroused 

 that would greatly redound to the interest of agriculture. 

 For the benefit of such, a table is hereby appended, so that 

 any one may analyze grasses and locate them. But little 

 practice will be necessary to familiarize the student with the 

 rules. 



Let the flowers of the grass be first examined. If but 

 one is found in each spikelet, refer to No. 2, the left hand 

 column, and then examine and see if they are arranged in 

 panicles or spikes ; if the former, then refer to No. 3 of the 

 left hand column, and see whether or not they are awned. 

 If awned, refer to No. 4, if without awns, to No. 12 of the 

 left hand column. If unawned, and having two glumes, 

 refer to 13, and so on. If without glumes and aquatic, it 

 is a Zizania or wild rice. If in the first examination the 

 spikelets are found to have two or more flowers, refer to 26 

 of the left hand colnmn, and see whether the inflorescence 

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