AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 31 



authorities, I do not concur in the opinion that it should 

 invariably be included in ordinary prescriptions, if only for the 

 reason that the true variety is not always to be depended on 

 from a sowing of seed. The method of securing Fiorin by 

 obtaining plants from land where it gi'ows indigenously, cutting 

 up the long traihng roots, and planting them in prepared 

 ground, is far too costly a process in proportion to the value 

 of the gi'ass. 



Some of the other forms of Agrostis, such as A. vulgaris; 

 A. dispar, A. capillaris, A. alba, and A. nigra, are known to 

 be inferior to the true Fiorin, and the seeds of these cannot 

 always be certainly distinguished, even by a botanist, from 

 those of A. stolonifera. A. vulgaris is the Common Bent and 

 A. alba is the Marsh Bent ; both are weed grasses, included 

 in the term twitch or squitch. 



In the absence of the flowering panicle, Agrostis alba 

 stolonifera is easily recognised at all seasons of the year by the 

 short leafy branches which burst through the sheath at each 

 node of the numerous stolons. The ligule is long and pointed, 

 and sometimes serrated at the marg-in. 



For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see 

 5s. Edition. 



ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS 



(^Meadow Foxtail). 



Of the native species of Alopecurus, this is the only 

 one which is used for agi'icultural purposes, and it is justly 

 regarded as one of the most important grasses we possess. 

 Cattle show gi-eat partiality for it, and chemical tests reveal 

 its high nutritive quaUties. Foxtail is thoroughly perennial in 

 character, and does not attain complete development until 

 three years after seed is sown. The full value of the plant 

 cannot, therefore, be realised in alternate husbandry unless 

 the ley is to remain down more than two years. Even then 

 Cocksfoot is more suitable for temporary pastures, although 



