242 HORTUS GRAMINEUS W015 URN F.N SIS. 



It is equally early in the produce of foliage, and flowers earlier 

 than the barren tall fescue by eight or ten days ; the produce 

 is equally nutritive. For damp soils that cannot con- 

 veniently be made sufficiently dry by drains, this would be 

 a most valuable plant, either to be cut for soiling or made 

 into hay, and reduced to chaff as it might be wanted. I 

 have never seen this plant in a wild state; it was first dis- 

 covered here in the Grass Garden, seemingly introduced by 

 accident. W. P. Taunton, Esq., of London, was kind enough 

 to send me some seeds of a grass which he found growing 

 on a bastard fuller's-earth soil in considerable plenty, in the 

 parish of Kilmersdon, Somerset. I believe this to be the 

 same grass. 



Mr. Taunton, who has paid much attention to the subject, 

 conceives that the disease termed clavus, which renders the 

 seed of the other variety of tall fescue abortive, may be caused 

 by over-richness of the soil. Acinula clavus is a parasite 

 fungus which takes possession of the embryo seeds of grasses. 

 When found on rye it is called ergot ; and when used in 

 bread is most dangerous : but used medicinally is a useful 

 drug. 



It comes into flower about the beginning of .Tuly, and the 

 seed is ripe about the first week in August. 



BROMUS littoreus. Sea-side Brome-grass. 



Specific character: Panicle branches wide-spreading ; 



spikelets oval-spear-shaped, sometimes awned, from four 



to five-flowered. 

 Obs. — It may be only a variety of the fostuca elatior, but 



the whole habit of the plant is manifestly different. 



Native of Germany. Perennial ; growing on the banks 



of the Danube and other rivers. 

 Experiments. — At the time of flowering, the produce from 



a clayey loam is 41,518 lbs. per acre. 



When compared with the tall fescue, this species o( brome 

 is found to be inferior in nutritive properties, and in the qua- 

 lity of the herbage. The leaves are much coarser in every 

 respect. It cannot therefore be recommended for any agri- 

 cultural purpose. 



