I'm: (Jkassks ni- Tknnksskk. rt5 



aluiiij the margins bilow, the hairs a line lonj(; callus oaiDaie; 

 apex of the tlovverini^ j^Hiiine two cleft, the divisions subulate, and 

 one to two lines lon^; awn about five lines lonji^, spirally twisted 

 below, diverj^ent. 



In very dry soil on the lower foothills and along the crest of 

 rid|;es and bluffs in the eastern part of the State. This si)ecies is 

 usually soft hairy all over, and is much stouter than those de- 

 scribed below, and does not form a sod. Attempts made to culti- 

 vate it at the Kxperiment vStation were unsuccessful. 



2. Danthonia spicata Heauv. Wild Oat-grass. 



Plate XXIX. Fij^ure 118. 



A smooth, slender, erect grass, ten to twenty inches high, 

 with a small narrow panicle, the short branches of which spread 

 only in flower. Sheaths glabrous, bearded at the throat; basal 

 leaves numerous, usually involute, and curled or recurved; those 

 of the culm shorter, a line wide or less, glabrous or pilose. Pani- 

 cle one to two inches long, simple, few-flowered, the short branches 

 usually erect. Empty glumes four to six lines long, exceeding the 

 florets, lanceolate, acute, three nerved below, with broad scarious 

 margins; flowering glume about two lines long, sparingly pilose 

 on the rounded back and along the margins below; callus glabrous; 

 apex of the flowering glume ending in two short, usually blunt 

 teeth. 



This species is common in dry thin soils, and its presence is 

 usually indicative of impoverished lands. It resembles the next, 

 but does not usually grow so tall, and its basal leaves are shorter 

 and more curly. It is a grass of no agricultural value. 



.V Danthonia compressa Austin. Mountain Oat-grass. 



Plate XXIX. P^i<rure 114. 



A slender, erect, tufted perennial about two feet high, with long, 

 narrow basal leaves, and few-flowered spreading panicles two and 

 one-half to four or five inches long. Culms smooth, somewhat 

 flattened. Sheaths smooth, bearded at the throat; ligule a dense 

 fringe of short hairs; lower leaves six inches to a foot long, one 

 line or less wide; leaves of the culm slender, longer than their 

 sheaths. Spikelets four to six lines long; empty glumes lanceo- 

 late, about the length of the florets, three- to five-nerved near the 

 base, with broad scarious margins, acute; flowering glume thinly 

 pilose on the back and margins, about two lines long, terminating 

 in two subulate teeth a line long; callus barbate; awns about three 

 lines long, divergent. 



This is a common grass upon the higher mountains, and forms 

 the chief bulk of the forage of the so-called "balds." It is figured 

 and fully described in Bulletin No. 4 of Vol. II. of the Station Re- 

 ports. 



L 



