107 



Alternis item tonsas cessare novalea 



Et segnem patiere situ durescere campuin. 



Should the Bromus mollis turn out an improving crop, the 

 practice must prove an admirable one; at all events, the 

 experiment is well worth trying. 



XI. FfiSTlfCA FLUITANS. 



I proceed to the Festuca jiuitans, a grass possessing some 

 excellent qualities, yet I must confess I have not hitherto 

 been able to avail myself of them. 



It is known sometimes by the name of drain grass, and i? 

 to be found only in tlie very wettest situations ; this is the 

 grass whrch so often choaks and closes up our drains by its 

 thick matted strings and stolones ; it converts shallow waters 

 into green morasses, and is the principal agent in the forma- 

 tion of the rich alluvial soil we find upon draining such mo- 

 rasses, and also in the frequently overflowed meadows conti- 

 guous to languid rivers. 



Cows and horses are remarkably fond of the Festucafiuitans, 

 children call it honeij grass from a gluey saccharine matter 

 that exudes through the leaves and adheres to their surface, 

 they draw this across their tongues to catch the sweet. 



I tried to make hay of it, but the sward from the scythe 



was so succulent and soft that it soon collapsed and could not 



be saved like other grass. 



In 



