134 



FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



tion that it is the best and most available pasture-grass 

 in the cotton region. 



There is a distinct variety of this grass in Florida, 

 known as St. Lucie grass, that possesses many advan- 

 tages over Bermuda grass. It grows larger, does not 

 produce seed even in Florida, and remains green 

 throughout the year. Its trailing stems form a 

 dense mat that can be lifted up like a carpet, and 

 are strictly above the ground. It is much preferred to 

 Bermuda grass in Florida because it yields more herb- 

 age and is easily controlled. St. Lucie grass has not 

 been given the attention in most parts of the South 

 which it seems to merit. It is not known how far 

 north it will thrive. It lived through the severe win- 

 ter of 1903-04 in the grass-garden of the Department 

 of Agriculture in Washington, D.C, and probably has 

 nearly as wide a sphere of usefulness as Bermuda grass 

 itself. It would probably be less difficult to eradicate 

 than Bermuda grass, and would be likely to furnish as 

 much or more feed. W. H. Haskel, of Florida, in a 

 letter to the Department of Agriculture, speaking of 

 the relative merits of these two grasses, says: 



l i St. Lucie grass is so superior to Bermuda grass 

 that it seems to me to deserve special mention. Ber- 

 muda grass, in the agricultural section of Florida, is 

 considered an unmitigated nuisance, because of the 

 impossibility of exterminating it. Another disad- 

 vantage in it as a lawn grass, even here in a sub- 

 tropical region, is that it becomes dormant and brown 

 during winter, just when we want a lawn grass to 

 look best. It is not nearly so rapid a grower for pas- 

 tures as St. Lucie grass. Xow the opposite of all 



