40 CAREX STRICTA. TUSSOCK-SEDGE. 



can only make a nutritious use of last year s foliage by gradual 

 and slow decay, grow with a yellowish tint. 



The name stricta is given from the stiff, upright leaves of 

 early spring, but these droop over gracefully before fall. For 

 the same reason the plant is in some places called " Upright- 

 leaved Sedee," althouo-h its best known common name is " Tus- 

 sock-Sedge." 



As a rule the Sedge Grasses are of little value to the human 

 race ; cattle exhibit no great relish for them ; but this species, 

 when dried, yields very fair hay for cows, though it is not re- 

 garded as so nutritious as the true grasses. Its chief use in 

 nature is in aiding swampy ground to gather the soil that drifts 

 from the high land, and make land that will in time sustain a 

 more nutritious growth. 



Shakespeare makes Hotspur, in " Henry IV," refer to the 

 marsh-loving character of the Sedge Grass when he speaks of 



"The gentle Severn's sedgy bank," 



The " Tussock-Sedge" is a native of most of the States east 

 of the Mississippi, except the extreme South, and is also native 

 to Europe. 



Explanation of the Plate. — i. A portion of a tussock in flower in May. — 2. A scape a 

 month Later, with achenes or seeds partially formed. 



