DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



SOI 



Spartina cynosuroides. Fresh Water Cord Grass. 



Endogen. Graminea. Au erect grass, 2 to 9 feet. (Fig- 96.) 

 Common names. — Cord grass; fresh water cord grass ; marsh grass; hull grass; 

 thatch grass ; slough grass. 



The species of this genus are chiefly natives of America; there are British repre- 

 sentatives, hut they are rare. "The ahove species is a native, common along our 

 ocean and lake shores, horders of rivers, etc., ranging from Maine to the Carolinas, 

 and westward to the Pacific. It makes a fair but rather coarse hay when cut early, 

 and has been successfully employed in the manufacture of paper. The strong, creep- 

 ing, scaly rootstocks of this grass adapt it for binding loose sands and river embank- 

 ments." (F. Lamson-Scribncr.) 



Structural Fiber. — T wenty 

 years ago or more this grass was 

 utilized in paper manufacture at 

 Quincy, 111., where it was found in 

 vast quantities. It cost at the mill 

 about $5 per ton, and made a very 

 firm, better class of brown Avrap- 

 ping paper — superior to straw — 

 samples of which can be seen in the 

 museum of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture. The bruised stalks pre- 

 sent quite a fibrous appearance. 



S. gracilis is another possible pa- 

 per-making species, found on the 

 plains and in the Rocky Mountain 

 legions. 



Spartina juncea. 



Common names.— Fox grass; 



white rush; marsh grass; 



salt grass; sea salt grass ; salt 



marsh grass ; rush marsh 



grass. 

 A rather slender species, 1 to 2 

 (rarely 3 to 4) feet high with two 

 or four slender, erect, or widely 

 spreading spikes. This is common 

 upon the salt marshes, and is one 

 of the most valued species which 

 go to form the salt hay that these 

 marshes produce. It ranges from 

 Maine southward to Florida and 



along the Gulf coast to Texas. It is useful for packing glassware, crockery, etc. , and in 

 the larger towns along the coast is much used for this purpose. (F. Lamson-Scribner. ) 

 S. stricta, the creek sedge, branch grass, etc., grows along the Atlantic and Pacific 

 coasts, and is also found in Europe. It is sometimes used as a thatch material. 



Spartium junceum. Spanish Broom. 



Common names. — The Ginestra di Spagna of the Italians; the GenM d'Espagne of 

 the French; Gayumba, Spanish. 



A native Mediterranean species of broom, widely cultivated as an ornamental 

 plant, and as a forage plant, and formerly for its fiber. Found in southern France, 

 Spain, and Italy. One of the ancient fibers known to the Greeks and Romans, its 

 generic name being derived from sparton, meaning cordage. 



Structural Fiber. — This is obtained from the young shoots by maceration and 



Fig. 96. — Cord grass, Spartina cynosuroides. 



