NIMBLE WILL. — HAIR GRASS. 47 



borders of fields, and even in gardens, where its spread- 

 ing roots are difficult to eradicate. Cattle eat it very 

 readily, and, as it blossoms late in the season, it is of 

 some value. 



The Sylvan Muhlenbergia {MuJilenbergia sylvatica) 

 is also rather common in low, rocky woods. Its stem is 

 ascending, from two to four feet high, branched, spread- 

 ing diffusely ; panicles contracted, densely flowered ; 

 glumes nearly equal, bristle pointed, lower palea one- 

 awned, twice or three times the length of the spikelets. 

 Flowers in August and September. 



WiLLDENOw's Muhlenbergia {Muhlenbergia Willde- 

 novii) is also not uncommon in rocky woods, growing 

 about three feet high, with a slender, simple stem, con- 

 tracted panicle, loosely flowered, glumes sharp-pointed, 

 half as long as the lower palea, which has an awn from 

 three to four times the length of the spikelet. 



Nimble Will (Muhlenbergia diffusa) is common at 

 the West, in Kentucky, Tennessee, and southward, 

 where it forms a pasture grass of some value. Its 

 stems are diffusely branched, from ten to eighteen 

 inches high ; panicles slender, contracted ; glumes 

 minute ; awn nearly twice as long as the palea. It is 

 found on dry hills and in woods. Flowers in August 

 and September; perennial. Cattle eat it very readily. 



Hair Grass. — Still another species, not unfrequently 

 called Hair Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris), is some- 

 times found on sandy soils, from New England to Ken- 

 tucky, and at the South. 



None of the grasses of this American genus are of 

 great value for agricultural purposes, except as they 

 add considerably to the mass of living verdure which 

 clothes our low lands in beauty to delight the eye and 

 swell the heart of the lover of nature. 



