NATURAL HISTORY. 



109 



Table IV. — Continued. 



This table includes all the species of carex known and 

 described as inhabitants of our low lands, and is thought to be 

 very complete. As already intimated, none of these coarse 

 sedges are rich in nutritive elements, and none are worthy of 

 cultivation. The farmer's care should be to eradicate them 

 and supply their places with the higher and more nutritious 

 grasses. This may be done by thorough draining, an opera- 

 tion which lies at the foundation of all successful management 

 of low lands, and without which they are comparatively worth- 

 less, while, if properly reclaimed, they are among the best and 

 most productive lands on the farm. 



The roots of the sedges are perennial, and for the most part 

 creeping, a few being tufted and fibrous. The stems are simple 

 and free from joints or nodes. The leaves are linear, flat, 

 pointed, roughish on the surface and sharp on the edges. 



