GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 185 
hay peracre. The hay is remarkable for its lightness, 
a ton of it being much more bulky than a like weight 
of other kinds of hay. Horses and cattle nearly starve 
before they acquire a taste for velvet-grass, but when 
the taste is once acquired they thrive upon it remark- 
ably well, showing that it is highly nutritious. The 
whole plant is covered by a growth of wool-like hairs, 
from which fact the name is derived. It is unworthy 
of attention except on the classes of soils above men- 
tioned. On these soils it drives out all other grasses. 
MISCELLANEOUS GRASSES 
CRAB-GRASS (Panicum sanguinale).—This grass 
(Fig. 38.) is of considerable importance in the South. 
Its distribution is shown in Fig. 39. It is not a culti- 
vated grass in the ordinary sense, as its seed is never 
sown. It comes up as a weed in corn-fields after the 
last cultivation, and furnishes no inconsiderable amount 
of pasture. A considerable proportion of the hay pro- 
duced in the South is made from this volunteer growth 
of crab-grass. The yield is light, seldom exceeding a 
ton per acre, and the hay is of only moderate quality. 
It has a very good standing with Southern farmers, 
but is not often seen on the markets. It is mostly fed 
on the farms where it is grown. 
CARPET-GRASS (Panicum compressum).—This is 
an important pasture-grass in eastern Texas, Louisiana, 
southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and parts of 
Florida. It sends out long, creeping stems which root 
at the joints, and form a very dense, even carpet of 
sod, whence its name. Stock are very fond of it, and 
it is highly prized where it grows. On sandy lands 
