BERMUDA GRASS. 157 



acute, rigid, bairy, rough at the edges; lower joints covered by the 

 sheath; infloresence digitate, purplish; stamens three; stigmas feathery; 

 perennial. 



Bermuda grass is a native of the West Indies, and is the 

 principal grass of that torrid country. It has only lately been 

 brought into notice as a valuable pasture grass for this State. 

 In Louisiana, Texas and the South generally, it is, and has 

 been, the chief reliance for pasture for a long time, and the 

 immense herds of cattle on the southern prairies subsist 

 principally on this food. It revels on sandy soils, and has 

 been grown extensively on the sandy hills of Virginia and 

 North and South Carolina. From the extreme vitality of 

 its long, rhizome roots, it is very difficult to eradicate when 

 once it gets a good foothold. Occasionally the traveler 

 meets with patches of Bermuda grass in the cotton fields of 

 the South, and it is carefully avoided by the planter, any 

 disturbance giving a new start to its vigorous roots. Some 

 ditch around it, and others enclose it and let shrubbery do 

 the work of destruction, It is used extensively on the 

 southern rivers to hold the levees and the embankments of 

 the roads. It is the only yard grass in that section. It 

 forms a sward so tough it is almost impossible for a plow to 

 pass through it. There is a saying in the South, "that it 

 would take a team of six bull elephants to draw a thumb- 

 lancet through it." 



It will throw its runners over a rock six feet across, and 

 soon hide it from view; or, it will run down the sides of 

 the deepest gully and stop its washing. 



The parks of the South, set with it, present a very beau- 

 tiful appearance if kept mown, and its pale green color acts 

 as a great relief to the landscape when burning with the 

 summer suns of the South. Hogs thrive upon its succulent 

 roots, and horses and cattle upon its foliage. It has 

 no seed, but can be easily propagated by dropping cuttings 

 in a furrow two or three feet apart. It, however, does not 



