61 



appears to have been first cultivatecl in this country, and it was from this conn- 

 try that the seeds were obtained for its cultivation in England about the year 

 1760. It has never attained the same high esteem in England that it holds here, 

 where it is regarded as the standard of comparison for all other grasses grown 

 for hay. It succeeds best on moist loams or clays. In very dry ground the 

 yield is apt to be light. On such soils the base of the stem is often thickened 

 and bulb-like. Timothy is usually sown in mixtures with other grasses and 

 clovers. It may be used with red or alsike clovers, or with redtop. Good fresh 

 seed should have an average purity of 97 ])er cent and a germinative power of 

 85 to 90 per cent, a bushel weighing 4« pounds. The aujount reciuired per acre 

 varies with the (£uality of the seed, but of that containing 87 per cent pure in 

 germinating, 16 pounds to the acre is sufficient. It is better, however, to sow 

 half a bushel to the acre if sown alone. With red or alsike 

 clovers about 10 ])er cent timothy is a proper mixture. 



No. 195. Phragmites vulgaris (Lam.) B. 8. P. Common Reed. 



This is one of the largest of our native grasses, growing to the 

 height of 12 feet, the rather stout culms bearing numerous 

 broad, spreading, and sharply pointed leaves 1 to 2 feet long. 

 It has deeply penetrating and extensively creeping rootstocks, 

 making it one of the most valuable grasses for binding the 

 banks of rivers subject to periodical Hoods. It is occasion- 

 ally found along the coast in brackish marshes and sometimes 

 upon sandy soils, and possibly may be employed with advan- 

 tage for binding drifting sands or those liable to be shifted 

 by high tides. The rootstocks are very strong, and when the 

 grass is once established scarcely anything can remove it. 

 The young shoots are liked by cattle and the mature stems 

 make the best of thatch. It is very widely distributed 

 throughout the temperate regions of both hemispheres, grow- 

 ing along river banks, borders of lakes, etc. 



No. 196. Poa alsodes A. Gray. Wood Spear-grass. 



A slender, erect perennial, 1 to 3 feet high, with flat leaves and 

 a narrow, rather few-flowered panicle. It is a native, growing 

 upon the wooded hillsides of New England, extending west- 

 ward to Wisconsin, and southward through Xew York, Penn- 

 sylvania, and Virginia, to the mountain regions of North Car- 

 olina and Tennessee. It possesses no recognized agricultural 

 value, but is apparently a good fodder grass, and may possi- 

 bly prove of value in cultivation in woodland parks. Other 

 closely related species of Foa extend westward across the 

 continent. 



Fig. H. — Timothy 

 {Plileum itra- 

 tenge) . 



No. 197. Poa annua Linn. Low Spear-grass. 



A low, spreading annual, with erect or ascending somewhat flattened stems, 2 to 12 

 inches high. This is an introduced grass, coumion in every dooryard and about 

 dwellings and cultivated grounds. It may be found in bloom in the Southern 

 States in almost every month in the year. It often forms a considerable ingre- 

 dient in poorly kept lawns, as a result of its spontaneous growth. 



No. 198. Poa arachnifera Torr. Texas Blue- grass. 



A strong-growing perennial, 1 to 3 feet high, with extensively creeping rootstocks, 

 long leaves, and narrow, densely flowered panicles. This grass is apparently 

 dioecious. The pistillate or seed-bearing plants have the spikelets densely woolly, 

 while the male spikelets are smooth. It is a native of Texas, but is now well 

 known in most of the Southern States, where it has been introduced into culti- 



