825 



the rainy season (July) and put in at a few iiiches apart. Ifc 

 quickly spread over the surface and after rolling and mowing 

 presented a very fair appearance. It had the advantage over 

 '' Bermuda Grass" {Cynodon Dactylon) of keej)ing fresh and green 

 during the dry season; but the coarser appearance of the 

 broader blades might be regarded as somewhat of a disadvantage , 

 '' Crab Grass " has been planted in Montserrat as a lawn-grass 

 (Ann, Kep. Bot. St. Montserrat, 1911-12, p. 1). 



A perennial, 1-2 ft. high, may be propagated by seed, cuttings 

 and transj^lanting of roots. 



The freedom with which propagation is effected — both by 

 the shedding of seed, rooting at the nodes, and the spread of 

 the roots — is further indicated by the fact that in Hawaii " many 

 thousands of acres of forest land, despoiled by cattle have been 

 over-run by rank-growdng grasses, prohibitive of forest repro- 

 duction — the worst being " Hilo Grass " {Paspalum coiijiigatum 

 which grows 2-3 ft. high in the rainy districts and forms a dense 

 mat several inches thick over the surface of the ground, so that 

 tree seeds cannot germinate beneath it " (Hall, U.S. Dept. Agric. 

 Bureau of Forestry, Bull. No. 48, 1904, p. 18); "it spreads 

 rapidly and cov^ers the ground to the exclusion of everything 

 else " (Kew Bull. 1894, p. 386). 



Ref. — '* Paspalum conjiigatum '* (Javaansche Voeder- 

 grassen '')," Backer, in Teysmannia, xxiv, 1913, pp, 366-371. 



Paspalum dilatatmn, Poir, Encyc. V. (1804) p. 35. 



A perennial, 2-4 ft. sometimes 6 ft. in height. 



III. — Ann. Rep. (2nd) Sec. Agric. Victoria, t. 27; Vasey 

 Agric. Grasses, U.S. States (ed. 1, 1884) t. 2; Journ. Dept. Agric. 

 W. Australia, ii. July 1900, p. 2; Transvaal Agric. Journ. i. 

 April 1903, p. 40; ii. 1903-04, t. 68; Journ, Dept. Agric. 

 W. Australia xiv. Aug, 1906, p. 126 ; Journ. Dept. Agric. 



S. Australia, x. Feb. 1907, p. 417; Transvaal Agric. Journ. viii. 

 Oct. 1909, p. 71, t. 17 ('' Paspalum or Breed-zaad ''); Teys- 

 mannia, xxiv. 1913, t. 4; Bull. Agiic. Congo Beige, v. Dec. 1914, 



p. 665; Agric. Gaz. N.S. Wales, xxx. Sept. 1919, p. 633, f. 1. 



Hairy -flowered Paspalum, Large Water Grass, Leichardt 

 Grass (Victoria), Golden Crown Grass; Breed-zaad (Transvaal). 



Indigenous to Brazil, Argentine, Uruguay; distributed to 

 the Gulf States and Florida; introduced to N. Zealand, Austraha, 

 India, B.E. Africa (Kenya Colony), Natal, found also in Porto 

 Pico, Mauritius and Straits Settlements; cultivated experimen- 

 tally in the Gold Coast Colony, and the West Indies, 



An excellent hay and pasture grass, strongly recommended 

 for Tropical and Sub-tropical climates. The analysis is said to 

 compare very favourably with that of ordinary Enghsh hay, 

 and shows a larger proportion of digestible and nourishing 

 material : Moisture, 10 ' 55 ; Albuminoids, 10 ■ 31 ; Digestible 

 Fibre, 29-96; Woody Fibre, 27-95; Ash, 6-37; Amide com- 

 pounds, chlorophyll, etc. 14-86 per cent. (Guthrie, N.S. Wales 

 Ajrric. Gaz. 1897 : Kew BuU. 1902, p. 3). 



