78 GRAMINEAL 
we owe much of the beauty of the meadow-lands, where it forms a valuable 
pasture plant. Hither this grass or the Meadow Foxtail, when growing in 
abundance, indicates that the land is naturally good, or that it has been 
well drained ; but one of the recommendations of this species is that it may 
be cultivated on almost any soil. Though the plant varies in different 
situations, yet its leaves are mostly broad, and its smooth stems of good size. 
Even their bending at the base is serviceable, by preserving the matted form 
of the turf, so useful in pasture-lands ; and the Smooth-stalked Meadow- 
grass is one of those commonly called by the farmer ‘‘ sweet-grasses,” being 
very nutritive. A good grass-field often has this, the perennial Rye-grass, 
one or two species of Fescue, the Cock’s-foot, and that form of the Marsh 
Bent which sends out long runners; and these and some other good grasses 
will, if the land be in good condition, soon take possession of the soil ; while 
inferior grasses and such as are fitted only for poor lands will gradually 
disappear. Some grass, however, which is natural to the meadow, will 
probably for some time assert its right, and come up even under the im- 
proved condition of the land, but it dwindles away in the course of a few 
seasons. ‘This species and the next are often used by gardeners for lawns. 
It flowers in June and July, and its panicle varies much in size. 
11. Roughish Meadow-grass (P. trividlis).—Panicle loose, erect ; 
spikelets of 2—3 flowers, connected with a web; upper sheath rather rough 
and much longer than its leaf; stem roughish; rootstock creeping, but 
without runners. Perennial. This is a slender grass, with a stem one or 
two feet high. It is a more graceful plant than the last, though much like 
it, and its spikelets are smaller. It is very common in meadows and pastures, 
and is considered by Curtis to be one of our best grasses for moist soils and 
sheltered situations ; and though its herbage is rather less nutritious than 
that of the last species, yet it is very plentiful. The plant grows naturally 
in moist shady places, and is well adapted for grass-plats in towns, where 
the smoke and confined air are so unfavourable to vegetation that no grass 
save this and the Annual Meadow-grass will contribute to the greenness of 
the little spot on which the eye of the dweller in cities is so glad to repose. 
The green panicle is much branched, and flowers at midsummer ; the leaves 
are taper-pointed. 
12. Bulbous Meadow-grass (P. bulbésa).—Panicle close, erect ; spike- 
lets egg-shaped, with four flowers, which are silky at the keel and connected 
by aweb. Perennial. Thisis a very distinct species, having a white serrated 
edge to its leaves, and a stem which swells at the base, so as to resemble a 
bulb. It is an early grass, growing chiefly on the sandy sea-shore, bearing 
its spike-like cluster on a stem about a foot high, and flowering in April. 
It has scarcely expanded before it begins to wither away, and its bulb-like 
knots lie drifting about on the sands all summer and autumn till they finally 
fix themselves into the soil. It is found chiefly on the eastern and southern 
shores of England. 
13. Alpine Meadow-grass (P. alpina).—Panicle erect, spreading 
when in flower; spikelets oval, of four or five flowers; flowering glumes 
silky at the keel, and of a beautiful deep purplish-red, with a clear margin ; 
perennial, fibrous, and tufted. In a variety, glomerdta, the panicle is densely 
