142 ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS. 



fall over or lodge. This is oue reason for growing it with other 

 grasses, like red top, which has larger and stiffer stems. Like 

 Poa compressa or wire grass, it flowers rather late, has a dark 

 green stem, which remains green and nutritious for a long time 

 after the plant has gone to seed. It does not spread by root- 

 stocks, like June grass. Owing to the fact that the stems remain 

 green and succulent after flowering, there is not so much need of 

 cutting this grass w^hen in flower as there is of cutting most other 

 grasses at that time. It may be allowed to go to seed before 

 cutting, then threshed, and the straw fed out. In this way the 

 hay is not so good, but answers very well, makes a profitable crop, 

 as we get both an abundance of good seeds and forage. The 

 second growth, after feeding or mowing, starts quite slowly, and 

 like Timothy, it is not well adapted for pasture. The grass will 

 grow on almost any rich, arable land, making a fair crop, but it 

 likes moist land. The seeds are small and require more than 

 one year to make strong plants, hence it is not suitable for alter- 

 nate husbandry. 



Although groAvn in the Eastern States for 150 years, pure seeds 

 are not often found in market. They are difficult to identify by 

 seedsmen and farmers, and both are liable to be misled. This is 

 true of many other grasses, and constitutes one of the many 

 *' practical" reasons why farmers stick to a few well known sorts. 



Although tried in Europe, its culture has not met with much 

 favor there. 



Poa trivialis, L. Rough-stalked Meadow Grass. — Culms 

 decumbent at base, without rootstocks, taller and more slender 

 than Poa jiratensis. Culms and sheaths usually rough ; ligule 

 oblong, acute. Panicle 4-6 in., slender, spreading, 5-nate. 

 Spikelets mostly 3-fld. Floral glumes accumate, nerves distinct. 

 Found in Europe, N. Africa, Siberia, and introduced into 

 America. 



This perennial is employed in Great Britain for meadow and 



