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Grass Seed or Mackie's Pest.
Chrysopogon aciculatus.
ASHORTLY creeping grass with
erect stems, about 1ft. high.
Leaves short. The seed-heads form
narrow, compact bunches, Sin- to 4in.
long, with numerous slender branches.
Spikelets narrow, about iin. long. The
awns (bristles) are short and fine.
Habitat and Range.
'A NOXIOUS grass, native or tro
***• plcal Asia, Australia, and South
Pacific Islands. In May, 1917, the
Oovernment Botanist In the "Queens
land Agricultural Journal," stated as
follows:—"The grazs is continuously
being sent in for determination from
the more tropical parts of the' State,
and has recently made its appearance
in South Queensland."
Objectionable Feature*.
'THE objectionable parts of this
x grass are the awns (bristles).
When Occurring in sheep country,
these bristles become entangled in the
wool of sheep, and apparently even
work their way into the skin of the
animals. Being fine, they would be
rather difficult to confb out. The
sharp-pointed awned seeds limit Its
use as a fodder plant.
The plant is readily spread from one
district to another in the usual way
by animals, but it Is also largely dis
tributed by attachment to the clotn
ing of human beings. This grass is of
a prostrate nature, and the awns read
ily attach themselves to one's socks,
and to the trousers below the knees
Eradication.
TN email areas, hand-forking and
burning. In paddocks, plough
ing out, and planting with some
strong-growing grass; such as pas
palum dilatatum, to smother It. The
grass is scarcely a weed of cultivation,
its greatest holds being in old de
serted plantations, and along road
sides. In such localities, spraying
might prove successful.
References.
•• YtfEEDS and Suspected Poisonous
*" Plants" (Bailey), "Comprehensive
Catalogue of Queensland Plants"
(Bailey), "Denny Lascelles' Annual,"
"The Queensland Agricultural Jour
nal." Our illustrations are from the
last mentioned.
If there were but one potato In
the world, says a calculator, a careful
cultivator might produce 10.000,000,010
from it in 10 years, and thus supply tiie
world with s^ed again.
Grass Seed'or Mackle's Post (Ohry- Bopogon aciculatu*) ; much rdluced. Help
Grass Seed'or Mackle's Post (Ohry-
Bopogon aciculatu*) ; much rdluced.
$