Festuca.— One of the characteristic genera of the Western States. F. ovina (sheep's fescue) is one of the most abundant and most valuable grasses of the ranges in the mountain regions.
Hordeum.— Squirrel-tail grass (H. juba tum) is common on the plains of the West, par ticularly in the north. When young and tender it is eaten by stock. When mature, its rough beards are often injurious to stock; they pene trate into wounds in the mucous membrane of the mouth and into crevices in broken teeth and often cause the death of horses and cattle. H. murinum, a species found on the Pacific Coast, has barbed beards which penetrate the skin of young animals. It is most pernicious pest.
Muhlenbergia.— A genus particularly well developed in the South, where several species of it are usually found in moist or shady places. Nimble Will (M. diffusa) is one of the com monest species. A genus of no particular value.
Four species of Panicularia are common swamp grasses of the Northern States. They are all excellent forage grasses, but are little since they seldom grow in situations that permit them to be harvested.
One of the largest and most im portant genera of grasses in the United States, particularly prominent in the Southern States. Several species have already been noticed in the list of tame grasses above. These are crab grass, Colorado grass, Japanese millet and the broom-corn millets. The most prominent re maining species are: P. °marmot, a grass with long creeping stems, common on sands near the coast from Connecticut to Florida and along the Gulf Coast. This species is of considerable value for holding drifting sands. P. capillare, Old Witch grass, tickle grass, an annual with widely branching panicles, common and some times troublesome as a weed in cultivated ground. P. maximum, Guinea grass intro duced into Florida from the tropics. A valuable fodder plant, furnishing several cuttings in a season, sometimes confused with Johnson grass, but much less hardy. P. proliferum, sprouting crab grass, growing in much the same region as crab grass, but extending farther north ward. It springs up in cultivated fields in late summer and is occasionally utilized as pasture or hay. P. virgatum, switch grass, ranging from Maine to the Gulf and westward to the Rocky Mountains. It is a perennial, three to five feet high, and, if cut very early, furnishes a large yield of fairly good hay. It deserves attention as a hay and pasture grass in semi-arid regions.
large and important genus. Seeds usually in digitate spikes resem bling those of crab grass. Carpet grass (P. compressuni) is a valuable pasture grass near the Gulf Coast, particularly on sandy soils. On such soils it will even drive out Bermuda when closely pastured. Its spreading stems form a dense carpet-like growth which gives it its popular name of °carpet grass.° Water grass
(P. dilatatuni) is another common grass in all the Southern States, frequently found in wet lands. Its seed has recently been placed on the market and it is used to some extent as a hay and pasture grass. Knot grass (P. distichum), with creeping stems, is also common in the South, where it is frequently mistaken for Bermuda, which it closely resembles. Said to be valuable on wet lands as pasture.
One of the species of this genus (P. arunditsacea), known as °reed canary° grass, is one of the most thoroughly cosmopoli tan species in this country. It is found all over the country, usually on wet or overflowed land, but frequently on uplands as well. It is a peren nial with creeping rootstocks (underground stems) growing four to six feet high. Few grasses are better relished by stock, either as hay or as pasture; and, were it not for its habit of shedding its seeds the moment they are mature, it would undoubtedly have become an important cultivated grass long ago. P. cana riensis is the well-known canary grass, seed of which is commonly used as food for canary birds.
is one of the most characteris tic it of this country, some representatives of 3t being well-nigh universal, except in the far South. Kentucky bluegrass, the June grass of the Northern States, one of the most important grasses in America, has been fully discussed under the tame grasses above. Many varieties of this species are found in the wild state in the Northwest, where it is of great importance as a range grass. Even in the region of its greatest importance it is a semi-wild plant, springing up everywhere from seed scattered by the wind or by stock It is the finest pas ture grass in the world, but not the most pro ductive. P. minim is another representative of the genus found all over the country. It is particularly common in the South and on the Pacific Coast, where it remains green during the entire winter. This species is not native here, but is fast becoming one of our common est grasses. It is frequently found in lawns and in cultivated grounds. It seldom attains a height of more than a few inches. Texas bluegrass (P. arachnifera) is noted for the cot tony appearance of its seed. It is also a valu able grass for winter pasture in the South, but is somewhat difficult to establish in a pasture. Like Bermuda, it is usually propagated by set ting small pieces of the sod a foot or two apart each way. It is a native of Texas, but is nowhere very abundant. Many species of Poa are found in the far Northwest, where they are important range grasses. P. lavigata is frequently cut for hay on wet meadows in the mountain regions of Oregon and Washing ton.