132 NATURE 
STUDY AND AGRICULTURE 
in number that it is difficult to secure them in sufficient quan- 
tity for planting, so that after the wild land is once plowed 
we are obliged to rely on the tame grasses and legumes. 
Wheat Grasses.— The head of these grasses resembles 
the head of wheat; that is, it is in the form of a spike. 
Oat 
See ee 
WHEAT GRASSES 
Left — Slender Wheat 
Grass. Center — Awned 
Right — 
Wheat Grass. 
Western Quack Grass. 
There 
are several different species common on 
our prairies, slender wheat grass and 
awned wheat grass being the most valu- 
able. Quack grass also is a wheat grass 
and a good forage plant. It is exceed- 
ingly difficult to kill its rootstocks, so 
that it often becomes one of the worst 
weeds we have. This is not a native 
but an introduced plant. There is a 
native variety, however, that is larger 
and stouter; it is a valuable hay and 
pasture grass in the West and its root- 
| stocks are so short that it is not weedy 
‘| in character. 
Feather Bunch Grass. — This is a 
comparatively tall grass, distributed 
quite widely over our prairies. The 
seeds have rather long awns which are 
injurious to cattle when present in hay; 
for this reason it should not be cut 
until these “needles ”’ have fallen to 
the ground. 
Porcupine Grass. — This is related to 
the preceding species, but the awns are 
very much longer and are distinctly twisted and bent, and 
the stems are taller. 
The seeds are barbed and can work 
their way into a person’s clothing, or into the wool of sheep 
