22 ; GRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY) 
Broom Sedge is a southern weedy grass which is extending its 
range northward, It grows in thick tufts, the stems attaining a 
height of three to five feet, very light green when young and turn- 
ing to a brownish yellow as they ripen, at all times very conspicuous 
among other grasses. Stems slender, flattened at the base, and 
sparingly branched above. Sheaths smooth except for a slight 
hairiness at the edge; leaves six inches to a foot long and less than 
a quarter-inch wide, with rough edges and upper surface somewhat 
hairy near the base. The flowering spikes are usually in pairs, 
sometimes in threes, about an inch long, protruding from smooth 
spathes which are longer; they are slender and flexuous, the joints 
and pedicels covered with long, silky hairs. Seeds light yellow, 
about an eighth of an inch long, oat-like in form, with a tuft of 
fine hair at the base, and at the tip an awn nearly half an inch in 
length. These hairy attachments help the seeds to be widely 
sown by the winds. 
Means of control 
In newly infested ground it will pay to grub out the tufts when 
they are first observed, their light color noticeably contrasting with 
other grasses. In any case they should be cut while in early bloom, 
or even before flowering in order to make certain that no seeds may 
be developed. But if seeds have ripened and fallen, burn over the 
ground so as to destroy such as are on its surface, and put the field 
under cultivation in order to kill the roots, following the cultivated 
crop with clover. In localities where this weed is most aggressive, 
short rotations, with very thorough tillage, are necessary in order 
to prevent it from possessing the land. 
JOHNSON-GRASS 
Sérghum halepénse, Pers. 
(Andropogon halepénsis, Brot.) 
Other English names: Means-grass, Syrian-grass, Aleppo-grass, 
False Guinea-grass, Egyptian-grass, Morocco - Millet, Arabian 
hen a ee ee 
Introduced. Perennial. Propagates by seeds and by rootstocks. 
Time of bloom: Karly June to July. ¥ 
