48 THE GRASSES OF MAINE. 



50. Agropyrum repens, Linneus. 



Ag-ro-pi/-rum ref-pens. 



PLATE XXV. 



Common Names. Witch Grass, Couch Grass, Quitch Grass, 

 Quick Grass, Quack Grass, Wheat Grass, Twitch Grass, Dog 

 Grass, Chandler Grass, Quake Grass, Squitch Grass. 



Perennial. Sterns from one to three feet high, from fibrous roots, 

 and sending out long running root-stocks under the surface of the 

 ground by means of which it multiplies rapidly. Spikelets from 

 four to eight-flowered ; awn shorter than the flower, or none. This 

 variable species is common throughout the State, and flowers in 

 July. 



Much has been said and written for and against this grass, some 

 pronouncing it one of the vilest of weeds, while others claim for it 

 high nutritive qualities sufficient to out-weigh all the disadvantages 

 of its growth. No one will den}' that in lands where alternate hus- 

 bandly is practiced, it is an evil of great magnitude, and when we 

 have such a long list of most excellent grasses adapted respectively 

 to every possible condition of soil in the State, from the mountains 

 and rocky pastures down to the lowest swamp lands in our fields, 

 it seems wholly unnecessary to cultivate this grass. An analysis of 

 specimens of this grass cut in Maine, was made at the Department 

 of Agriculture in Washington, and gave ash 7.28, fat 3.83, nitro- 

 gen-free extract 50.95, crude fiber 25.30, albuminoids 12.64. 

 Specimens from other States gave quite different results, in all cases 

 a much smaller percentage of albuminoids. 



51. Agropyrum caninum, Linneus. 

 Ag-ro-py'-rum ca-ni'-num. 



Common Names. Fibrous-Rooted Wheat Grass, Awned Wheat 

 Grass. 



Stems arising from fibrous roots but without root-stocks. Spikes 

 more or less nodding, rather dense, from three to six inches long. 

 Spikelets from three to five-flowered ; awns fully twice the length of 

 the flowering glume. This is apparently a rare plant in Maine. 



