HORTUS GRAMINEUS WOBURNENSIS. 123 



This grass is said to be a native of" the north of England, 

 and Scotland. It inhabits alpine situations, but is easily 

 propagated, as it perfects plenty of seed, which vegetates 

 freely on almost every kind of soil. It grows to a larger size 

 than the sea-green meadow-grass ; and if the above details 

 of its produce and nutritive powers be compared with those 

 of that grass, it will be found greatly superior. But it is 

 still much inferior to a great number of grasses, in the quan- 

 tity of herbage, hay, and nutritive matter it affords; and in 

 other respects it possesses no superior merit, either with 

 respect to early growth, reproductiveness, or late growth. 

 It cannot therefore as yet be recommended as a plant for the 

 purposes of the agriculturist. 



It flowers in the third week of June, and the seed is ripe 

 about the end of July. 



PHLEUM pratense. Meadow Cat's-tail Grass. Timothy- 

 grass. 



Specific character : Spike cylindrical, very long ; calyx 

 fringed and awned; straws upright. Fig. 1. Calyx 

 magnified, showing the fringes. The same, of the na- 

 tural size. 2. Corolla and stamens. 3. Nectary, ger- 

 men, and stigmas, with the long styles. 



Obs. — Culms from a foot and a half to three feet high, 

 according to the nature of the soil in which it grows; 

 in moist deep loams it attains the greatest height. 

 Spike regularly cylindric, and blunt at the top ; some- 

 times five or six inches long in young plants, but in old 

 plants it is much shorter. Compare the husks of the 

 florets with those of the following variety (phleum pra- 

 tense, var. minus), and likewise with those of the next 

 following species (phleum nodosum, bulbous-jointed cat's- 

 tail grass), and they will be found much shorter and 

 straight in the forks or dagger-like points which ter- 

 minate them. This is a sure distinction, the length of 

 the spike being a very uncertain character, for the 

 reason just now mentioned. Root fibrous, sometimes 

 mclining to a bulb. Native of Britain. Perennial. 



