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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



It is believed that timothy gets its name from 

 a Maryland planter by the name of Hansen — 

 Timothy Hansen — who is supposed to have im- 

 ported the grass from England in 1720. 



KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS (Poa praten- 

 sis) [Plate III] 



Though attaining its most luxuriant growth 

 in the far-famed bluegrass region of Kentucky, 

 whose limestone soils also produce Burley 

 tobacco, fat cattle, and fleet-footed thorough- 

 breds, Kentucky bluegrass is by no means 

 limited in its habitat to the State that was 

 once the "Dark and Bloody Ground." Indeed, 

 it is one of the most common of American 

 grasses and claims for its domain almost every 

 limestone area from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 



The habit of the bluegrass in spreading by 

 sending up a running rootstock renders it an 

 ideal lawn grass, since it so readily forms a fine 

 turf. It blossoms in June, ahead" of the sum- 

 mer grasses, the flowers occurring in a loose 

 panicle of spikelets, each spikelet possessing 

 three or four flowers. In dry or sandy soil the 

 grass is unprosperous-looking and harsh, but 

 where the limestone pasture-land has sufficient 

 moisture it grows from two to four feet tall 

 and makes that happy time which is known as 

 "knee-deep in June." 



PURPLE-TOP (Triodia flava) [Plate IV] 



Purple-top is a perennial, growing from 

 three to five feet in height, with smooth flat 

 leaves. It is found in dry fields from southern 

 New York and Missouri southward. It blooms 

 in August and September, along with the pur- 

 ple eragrostis, and towers above its associates, 

 the busy panic grasses and the slender paspa- 

 lums. It comes at a time when it can share 

 the sunshine with the pennyroyal and the other 

 mints which are so often found in its neigh- 

 borhood. The flowering head of the purple- 

 top is somewhat sticky to the touch. 



YELLOW FOXTAIL (Chaetochloa 

 lutescens) [Plate V] 



Belonging to the foxtail group, which in- 

 cludes the millets, this grass is widely dis- 

 tributed. It is very attractive when studied 

 carefully, for the dense, yellowish cylindrical 

 spike is full of florets, each accompanied by a 

 cluster of bristles the coloring of which is 

 delicate and beautiful. The perfect flower is 

 transversely wrinkled and surmounted by 

 beautifully colored stigmas. 



The millets, cousins of the yellow foxtail, 

 were among the most ancient of cultivated 

 grains. Even the lake dwellings of the Stone 

 Age reveal such quantities of these grains as 

 to lead to the conclusion that they must have 

 yielded the principal bread supply of prehis- 

 toric men. 



RYE-GRASS (Lolium perenne) [Plate VI] 



Rye-grass is a perennial, growing in fields 

 and lots, and is commonly considered a weed. 

 Its blooming period is in June. Rye-grass is 

 found mostly in the eastern part of the United 

 States and is probably an emigrant from 

 Europe, where it occurs in numerous varieties. 



Rye-grass has the reputation of being prob- 

 ably the first of the grasses cultivated as a for- 

 age plant, and since the days of Charles II has 

 been held in high esteem in England. In 

 America other grasses have answered so well 

 the needs of the farmers that the rye-grass 

 does not figure in his cropping system. 



A cousin of Lolium perenne — Lolium temu- 

 lentum — is supposed by some to have been 

 the tares among the wheat mentioned in the 

 Gospel according to St. Matthew. 



In Scotland the seeds of the Lolium temu- 

 lentum, commonly called darnel, bear the name 

 of "sleepies," on account of what was sup- 

 posed to be the narcotic effect of its seeds. 

 Scientific investigation has revealed the fact, 

 however, that this effect is produced only by 

 those grains which have become diseased 

 through the attack of a fungus. 



REDTOP (Agrostis palustris) [Plate VII] 



There are few more interesting grasses than 

 the redtop. It belongs to the bent grasses, 

 which are a group made up of hundreds of 

 species scattered throughout the temperate 

 zones. They monopolize the field and way- 

 side in midsummer as thoroughly as the 

 goldenrod rules the landscape of autumn. 



The redtop clothes the land in iridescent 

 tones of reddish purple. One variety used to 

 be known as "bonnet grass" and is found ex- 

 tensively along the reaches of the Connecticut 

 River. It derived its name from the thrifty 

 habits of the New Englanders of yesteryear, 

 who braided the stems into hats. 



The flowers of the redtop occur in cone- 

 shaped panicles, w r hile the glumes are green 

 and whitish with a reddish blush reaching its 

 deepest note in the redtop. The illustration 

 shows an albino form of this species. 



ORCHARD GRASS (Dactylis glomerata) 

 [Plate VIII] 



One of the earliest of the grasses that glad- 

 den the springtime is the orchard grass. The 

 English call it cocksfoot grass because of a 

 fancied resemblance of the branching panicle 

 to the rooster's foot. 



This plant is a living example that even 

 among the grasses the prophet usually receives 

 his first recognition abroad ; for, although it 

 was brought from England to America, it was 

 never appreciated in the mother country until 

 it acquired its abode here. 



The orchard grass spreads its flowering 

 panicles to the winds in the days when the 

 odor of new-blown clover sweeps through the 

 land, and with its anthers ranging from purple 

 and yellow to terra-cotta and pink, depending 

 upon the quality of the soil and the quantity of 

 light, it is no mean rival of the clover for 

 recognition. 



This species ranks high as a farm grass, 

 since it offers the husbandman pasture for his 

 herds in the springtime and is one of the last 

 to retire before the cavalry of Jack Frost, which 

 precedes the infantry and artillery of Winter. 



The flowers of orchard grass are in their 

 glory in June, the stem growing out of a dense 

 tuft of broad leaves. 



