GRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY) 
. 
51 
in a tuft at their base, the few on the stems small, stiffly erect, and 
involute. The hard, thin little seed is covered with a hairy lemma 
and armed with a bristly, bent, and twisted 
awn, like that of the real Wild Oat but much 
smaller. Usually the seeds ripen and _ fall 
before the hay is cut, and after this the stems 
and leaves turn dry and brown and look un- 
sightly. (Fig. 22.) 
Means of control 
The presence of the weed is a sign of ex- 
hausted fertility, and the best remedy is to 
enrich and cultivate the ground before reseeding 
heavily with clover to be plowed under for 
humus. When the soil is in a condition to 
retain moisture and support the growth of better 
plants, the weed will be crowded out. 
BERMUDA GRASS 
Cynodon Déctylon, Pers. 
(Capriola Ddctylon, Kuntze.) 
Other English names: Scutch Grass, Dog’s-tooth 
Grass, Wire Grass. 
Introduced. Perennial. Propagates by stolons, 
or runners which put forth roots at the joints. 
Rarely by seeds. 
Time of bloom: July to August. 
Seed-time: August to September. But no seed 
is produced in the United States except in the 
most southern parts. 
Range: Southern part of the United States, north 
as far as Maryland, and westward to the 
Pacific Coast. 
Habitat: Fields, meadows, and waste places. 
| 
| 
Fic. 22.— Wild 
Oat-grass (Dantho- 
nia spicata). X}. 
This is a tropical grass, subject to winterkilling north of the 
altitude of Virginia. It prefers warm, sandy soil, and droughts 
that kill other grasses harm it not at all. Only in cultivated ground 
is it a weed, but there its creeping habit of growth makes it a very 
bad one, extremely hard to destroy, particularly in cotton fields 
