1906-1907.] The Graminece under Economic Aspects. 401 



Among our most beautiful grasses is the genus Agrostis. 

 The three species — A. canina, A. alba, and A. vulgaris — are 

 common. The last is a particularly pretty grass when in full 

 bloom. Agrostis alba, variety stolonifera, or Florin grass, is 

 largely used in this country for permanent pasture, and more 

 so in Canada, whence we import the seed. 



The sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) is used 

 in mixtures for a hilly district. Some books say that this is 

 the grass which gives the sweet smell to hay, but the state- 

 ment is erroneous, as it is not a hay grass, and not sown for 

 that purpose. 



The yellow oat-grass (Trisetum flavescens), which grows 

 plentifully on the sloping base of Salisbury Crags, is valuable 

 for some situations and succeeds well on poor ground. 



Holcus lanatus, or Yorkshire fog, is a very common species 

 everywhere. It is only sown in poor districts of the Conti- 

 nent. Other species of the Aveneee tribe — Aira (Deschampsia) 

 flexuosa, A. ccespitosa, and Avena pubescens — are also used 

 agriculturally. 



In watery places many of you will have observed a creep- 

 ing grass with rather stout stems and linear spikelets. This 

 is Glyceria fiuitans, or Manna grass, which is sown on the 

 continent of Europe for pastures which are subject to river 

 overflows. 



I have thus drawn your attention to the principal pasture- 

 grasses that are used to any extent in Europe, and I shall 

 now only allude to a few other well-known species. In the 

 neighbourhood of cottages, and especially in places where 

 rubbish has been deposited, we are sure to find stray plants of 

 the Phalaris canariensis, the common Canary grass, which we 

 import for the feeding of cage-birds. Another species of the 

 same genus — Phalaris — is the P. arundinacea, which is 

 common in Duddingston Loch, growing with the well-known 

 reed, Phragmites communis, our largest British grass. This 

 reed, although formerly used for thatching, is now of no 

 value ; but the woody stems of another reed found in South 

 Europe — the Arundo donax, the largest of European grasses 

 — are used by musical instrument makers for reeds, clarionets, 

 and mouthpieces for oboes. 



VOL. V. 2 E 



