Tke Natural History of British Grasses. 533 



Fcstuca loliacea, var. pratensis — meadow fescue — panicle 

 diffuse, inclining to one side ; leaves upright and succulent. 

 —P. 

 Fcstuca loHacea, var. elatior — tall fescue — panicle large; 

 much branched ; leaves harsh and rigid. — P. 

 On comparing our nomenclature with that of botanical authors, 

 it will be seen that it differs materially from all of them ; our 

 reasons for this course will be made apparent from the following 

 observations and experiments : — 



Six vears since we sowed separate plots of the three first forms 

 with seed from the Messrs. Gibbs ; these came up well, and soon 

 established themselves in the separate tuft method so peculiar to 

 this group when unmixed with other species. The first two 

 years they were tolerably distinct, now, however, the following 

 facts are observable : — F. oviiia, duriuscula, and rubra, scarcely 

 distinguishable in size or details, while the creeping habit of 

 root of the latter is entirely lost. It may be remarked that the 

 F. rubra is not amongst our wild forms at Cirencester, but 

 we have occasionally met with specimens of F. duriuscula in 

 the road-dirt with which the tops of our stone walls are fre- 

 quently capped, having a decidedly creeping habit, which, if 

 shown as a tendency in the " light sandy pastures near the sea," 

 which is given by Hooker as tiie habitat of the F. rubra, may 

 account for ovina taking on the rubra form in such a locality. 



As respects ovina and duriuscula, it may be remarked that 

 poor uplands present the first, the bushes and hedgerows of 

 these the second, which is sure to prevail in good vipland mea- 

 dows ; but seldom are they greatly intermixed, which perliaps 

 may Ije taken as an argument that the variety is induced by the 

 difference of circumstances. From long observation of these, we 

 can only consider them as varieties of the same species, and had 

 we choice of names should choose for it F. duriuscula, as the de- 

 parture seems to be from that type, of which the ovina is the 

 mountain form and rubra a sea-side one. 



Fesfiira hliacca varieties. — At the same time as the above, were 

 sown the tlu'ee forms tabulated ])elow in the following order: — 



Fcstuca 

 loliacca. 



! Fcstuca 

 I loliacca, 

 I var. pratensis. 



Fcstuca 



loliacca, 



var. elatior. 



I'l..t 1. -i. 3 



Tiiese plots the first year of flowering presented the following 

 appearances : — 



Plot 1 . F. loliacca — most of the plants were of the true spicate 



