39 



grass lithcr for mowing or pasture. It is productive on soils which are not too 

 dry, and, heiug of long duration, is especially valuable for permanent pastures. 

 It thrives best on moist soils rich in humus, whether marls or clays. The variety 

 jjraten-sis, or Meadow Fescue, is a common form, rather smaller than the species, 

 with a narrower and fewer-flowered panicle. Variety arundhiacea, or Reed 

 Fescue (tig. 4.5), is a very vigorous, tall form, 3 to 4 feet high, exceedingly hardy, 

 and yields a very large amount of hay of excellent (luality, succeeding best on 

 lands that are comparatively moist. The seed of Meadow Fescue is quoted in 

 some of the New York catalogues at $3. .50 per 

 bushel or $22 per 100 pounds. A bushel weighs 

 about 14 pouuds. 



No. 111. Festuca heterophylla Laui. Various- 

 leafed Fescue. 

 A rather slender European grass, 2 to 4 feet high, 



with very narrow (setaceous) root-leaves, and 



narrow but flat culm leaves. It is a perennial, 



closely related to Creeping Fescue, of which it 



has been made a variety by some authors. The 



panicle is comparatively large, open and nod- 

 ding at the apex. It is a species pieferring a 



rather mild climate, and grows naturally in open 



woodlands or along their borders. It makes its 



best growth on low-lying lands which are not 



too dry, but npou good soil it withstands pro- 

 tracted periods of drought very well. Owing to 



the great jiroduction of flne root leaves, this 



species makes a good liottom grass, and as these 



leaves are quite soft the grass is well adapted 



for lawns, and is particularly recommended for 



those which are too much shaded for the suc- 

 cessful growth of other lawn grasses. It is an 



excellent grass, also, for woodland parks where 



the soil is not sandy. European authorities 



have classed it with the best forage plants. It 



is little known in this country, but the seed is 



offered for sale by our leading seedsmen, the 



retail ]irice being from $2.75 to $3 per bushel of 



about 14 pouuds. j-iq 45 



No. 112. Festuca kingii (S.Wats.) Scribn. King's 

 Fescue. 



A tall dio'cious bunch grass, common in the foothills and canyons of Colorado and 

 Montana. It is a very robust species, and supplies a large amount of good 

 though coarse winter forage. Growing naturally at an elevation of 7,000 to 

 8,000 feet, it might prove valuable in cultivation in similar localities. 



No. 113. Festuca ovina Linn. Sheep's Fescue. 



Sheep's Fescue exists in many varieties in the Northwestern States, especially in the 

 Rocky Mountain region. Some of these varieties attain the height of 2 or 3 feet, 

 but for the most part they are rarely more than a foot high, producing a large 

 amount of fine herbage, which is valuable for grazing, especially for sheep. 

 Some of the native varieties are well worthy the attention of the agriculturist. 

 All the forms of Festuca oriiia are "bunch-grasses," and are devoid of the creep- 

 ing roots, the presence of which distingui-shes the Red Fescue {Festuca rubra) 

 from this species. Sheep's Fescue is well adapted for cultivation on light, dry 

 soils, especially those which are shallow and silicious. Although a native of 

 this country, our seed supply comes mostly, if not entirely, from Europe, where 



-lieed Fescue (Festuca da- 

 tior aiundinacea). 



