C TCMT 
* 
Andropogon saccharoides Swz. Silver Beard-grass. 
A variable grass, growing, to the height of 1 to 3 feet, with 
19 
considerable proportion of the so-called prairie hay. It is held in little esteem 
the Eastern and Southern States, but in the West it is said to make excel- 
lent hay, and is particularly valuable because of the relatively large amount of 
long root leaves which it produces. All stock eat it greedily, In South Dakota 
it is given the first place among the native grasses as a hay-producing species, 
thriving best on the rich prairie bottoms. During the dry season it produces 
but little seed, though it usually makes a good growth of root leaves. In the 
middle Atlantic States this grass seeds freely and the seeds are easily collected. 
Andropogon pertusus Willd. 
A slender, erect perennial, 1 to 3 feet high, native of southern Asia and tropical 
and subtropical Australia. In the latter country it is regarded as an excellent 
pasture grass, much liked by cattle and ae and possesses the special merit 
of withstanding long periods of drought 
dropogon provincialis Lam. Big Blue-stem; Finger-spiked Beard-grass; Fin- 
ger-spiked Wood-grass; Finger-spiked Indian-grass; Blue-stem; Blue-joint; Blue 
Bent (in Rhode Island); Blue-grass; Turkey-foot. (Fig. 8. 
A stout perennial, with erect, more or less branching, and often bluish or glaucous 
stems, 2 to 6 feet high, long leaves, and flowers in short spikes, which stand two 
= 
times pale green, and more or less hairy. This grass 
has a wide range, extending over the United States 
east of the Rocky Mountains, and in the West and 
Northwest, particularly in the Missouri region, it is 
very abundant, and is highly valued for hay. It grows 
in a great variety of soils, and under extremely vary- 
ing conditions of climate, and enters largely into the 
composition of the hay of the prairies. The early 
growth consists of a great abundance of long leaves, 
and if cut in early bloom the hay is readily eaten by 
horses and cattle, but if allowed to fully mature the 
stems become hard and woody and the hay produced 
is of inferior quality. Investigations of the seed 
production of this Andropogon indicate that 
T 
= 
—— A 
A 4, STE, A a 
A SS PN 7 
Wa 
— 
abundantly. This lack of fertility, if really true, 
will be a serious obstacle to the general — 
of the grass by the usual and convenient method o 
seeding. 
narrow, ayer be bespded panicles Bom f of this 
spec ies have b 
ment. It is a native of our Southwestern States ian 
Territories, in some of its Varieties extending south- 
ward to Chile, where it is regarded as one of the best pasture grasses of the 
Cordilleras. 
Fic. 8.— Big Blue-stem. (An- 
dropogon provincialis.) 
Andropogon schcenanthus Linn. Lemon-grass; Ginger-grass; Rusa-grass; Gera- 
nium grass. E 
A native of southern Asia, Japan, and tropical Africa, This grass is closely related 
was 
. nardus, and, like that species, yields a valuable product known in com- 
aslemon-grass oil. This oil, as well as that obtained from A. nardus, is 
