The Natural History of British Grasses. 523 



spikelets three-flowered ; central perfect ; lateral ones imperfect ; 

 all with long awns. — A. 



3. H. pratense — meadow barley ; spike smaller than in the 

 preceding; lateral florets with short awns; central one with an 

 awn twice the length. — P. 



The first of these, H. sijlvaticum, is usually named Elymus 

 Eu7'0p<Bus, but its position is perhaps more natural with the 

 barley, though it would appear to have a greater aflinity with the 

 cereal than the meadow types of the genus. It is essentially a 

 wood grass, with broad flat drooping leaves, but as yet we know 

 nothing of its character in cultivation, but, having this year col- 

 lected a lot of seed for our garden, we shall hope soon to be able 

 to add some facts to its natural history. 



As regards the H. muriniim, this is confined to sandy soils, in 

 which it is a sad weed, especially in corn-fields, banks, and 

 hedge-rows — the tertiary sands of Suffolk, the marine sands in 

 the old Severn strait, decomposed sandstones, and indeed a per- 

 fectly sandy soil anywhere is peculiarly liable to it: it is not 

 strictly a grass of the meadow, choosing the margins of fields, 

 edges of pathways, mounds, and hedge-banks. Its plentiful 

 green herbage grows vei'y early, and is not deficient in nutritive 

 properties, so that it may be grown for soiling, but care should 

 be taken not to let it advance to flowering, as the long rough 

 serrated awns are most obnoxious to cattle, sticking about the 

 mouth and causing great irritation ; from this cause ha}^ is much 

 deteriorated by its presence, so that corners of fields in which it 

 may occur should not be mown with the crop, but be cut earlier 

 so as to prevent its seeding. 



H. pratense — much smaller than the former and decidedly 

 pastoral in its habits, growing in good grass-fields and espe- 

 cially such as are liable to inundations, and also occupying a 

 place in irrigated meadows — its herbage is of good quality, and 

 all kinds of cattle graze and do well where it is abundant ; but 

 though its awns are not so long or so stiff as those of the //. 

 muriuuvi, they are still highly objectionable in the hay crop. 



The presence of this grass is a good indication of condition, as 

 it always occurs to a greater or less extent in good meadows, but 

 uniformly refuses to grow even in small quantity eitlier on poor 

 heath or sour undrained clays. 



TriticuM — lociLsta flat, alternate on the sides of the central 

 axis (rachis) ; glumes transverse ; external glumcl citlier 

 pointed or awned. 

 The only species tiiat need be here described are the following, 

 Avhicli are distinguished from the rest of the genus by their creep- 

 ing roots : — 



