UPEIGHT SEA, LYME GRASS. 75 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



UPRIGHT SEA, LYME GRASS. 



Elymus Arenarius — Specific Character. 



This grass, which miicli resembles beach grass, 

 grows from two to live feet high, with a perrennial 

 long, creeping root. Stem erect, round, smooth ; 

 leaves long narrow, hard, grayish, pointed, grooved, 

 rolled in, smooth behind and rough on the inner 

 surface. It flowers in July. Differs from the com- 

 mon beach grass in having a short, obtuse, ligule, 

 and spikelets without footstalks, of three or four 

 florets, while beach grass has a long and pointed 

 ligule, and spikelets with footstalks, and of only 

 one floret. Flint. 



This grass is not much eaten by domestic animals 

 owing no doubt to its excessive hardness and coarse- 

 ness. Sir Humphrey Davy found by analyzing the 

 soluble matter afforded by this grass that it con- 

 tained one third of its weight of sugar, hence it has 

 been, not inappropriately termed, the sugar-cane of 

 Britain, and its hay from this containing a consider- 

 able quantity of nutrious matter has been recom- 

 mended to be cut like chaff and given to cattle either 

 alone or mixed with other food. 



The purpose, however, for which this grass is gen- 

 erally employed and for which its creeping matted 

 roots fit it in an eminently degree, is for binding 

 loose sands and preventing the encroachment of the 

 sea, for which purpose it is employed in several parts 

 of Britain, and more extensively on the shores of 

 Holland, and is only to be met with growing nat- 

 urally in such situations. This grass was intro- 

 dueed by the Patent office, and cultivated in differ- 

 ent parts of the country. 



