te. : ‘ ae 30 2 me re : ©. ae Se 
forage. On good soil, if the ground be moist, it will be ready for mowing in sixty 
days from seeding, and produce from 2 to 4 tons of hay per acre. It is folly to sow. 
it on poor land. ; 
(Plate 19.) 
Setaria glauca and Setaria viridis. 
These two kinds, called pigeon grass, are very common in cultivated 
fields, especially among stubble after the cutting of grain. They are as 
nutritious as Hungarian grass but not so productive. (Plate 20.) 
. 
PENNISETUM. 
The flowers in this genus are arranged in close spikes much like those of Sctaria, 
but the bristles at the base of the spikelets fall off with the spikelets, instead of re- 
maining attached to the rhachis. 
Pennisetum spicatum (Penicillaria spicata) (Pearl Millet; Cat-tail Millet; Egyptian 
Millet). 
This is supposed to be a native of Africa, but has been known from 
time immemorial in cultivation in India, Arabia, and Egypt. 
It is an annual grass of luxuriant growth, frequently reaching 6 or 
8 feet in height, with long, broad leaves, and a stout, solid culm ter- 
minated with a thick, erect spike, 6 tc 10 inches long, and three-quarters 
of an inch in thickness, having a resemblance to the heads or spikes 
of the common ecat-tail (Typha latifolia). The stalks are freely pro- 
ductive of suckers which furnish a large amount of succulent, sweet 
leaves. 
Professor Phares states: 
It has been grown to some extent for twenty-five years | in many parts of the 
Southern States, more largely since 1865. 
No crop will pay better or yield more forage than this on very rich, highly fertilized 
land. On such land it has been cut on an average every forty-five days, from the 
_ time of planting till frost, with a reported product of 60 or 100 tons of green forage, 
or from 16 to 20 tons of dry hay. When it grows luxuriantly it is impossible to cure 
it for hay on the ground upon which it is grown; so that it would be impracticable 
to make hay of a large field of it sown solid. Hence it must be sown insmall patches 
or in beds, with spaces between upon which to spread it when cut This difficulty 
would occur only on rich and highly manured land. Any one can have the crop as 
light as he chooses by sowing on poorly prepared or on exhausted land. 
It is best adapted for cultivation in the South, where it will ripen 
seeds, but in a favorable season it may produce a large amount of for- 
age in the Northern States. 
TRIPSACUM, 
Tripsacum dactyloides (Gama Grass). 
A tall, stout, pérennial grass, growing sparingly at the North, more 
common southward and in the Western States. The flowers are in 
spikes, generally from one to three at the top of the culm or from side 
shoots. The spikes are 2 to 4 inches long, the male flowers by them- 
selves on the upper part, and the female flowers on the lower part. 
The lower flowers mature seeds in short joints, which break apart at — 
