OTHER PERENNIAL GRASSES 



213 



grass is a native of Europe, and was introduced into the 

 United States about 1882 by the California Experiment 

 Station. Its usefulness does not seem to have been 

 appreciated in this country until it received favorable 

 comment in Canadian agricultural publications, and it was 

 from Canada that our seedsmen 

 got their first supply of seed. 



201. Description. — The genus 

 Bromus, to which brome-grass, 

 Bromus inermis, belongs, con- 

 tains many useful grasses, but 

 also some of doubtful reputation. 

 Chess or cheat, the common weed 

 pest of the wheat field, is a near 

 relative of the useful brome-grass. 

 There are several other members 

 of the genus Bromus that are use- 

 ful as forage grasses, but they are 

 of minor importance as compared 

 with brome-grass. 



Brome-grass is a deep-rooted, 

 strongly stoloniferous plant. 

 The creeping root stalks branch 

 out in all directions, producing 

 at the nodes a bud which usually 

 produces another plant, and in 

 this way the plants quickly form ^'°- ^^- " Brome-grasB. 

 a thick, firm sod. Because of its deep-rooting character, 

 the plant is able to withstand drought to a remark- 

 able degree. The culms of brome-grass are, when com- 

 pared with those of other tame grasses, rather short and 

 thick. The leaves are broad, thick, and abundant and 

 grow largely from the nodes near the ground. The 



