GRASSES OF BRITAIN. 161 



Obs. — Digitaria sanguinalis is distinguished from Digitaria humi- 

 fusa in the glumes being very unequal, containing two florets, (see 

 Fig. 4), — while in Digitaria humifiisa the glumes are of equal size, and 

 contain but one floret. 



Digitaria sanguinalis seems to vary exceedingly in the hairiness 

 of its leaves and sheaths, so much so, that on some occasions they are 

 perfectly hispid, while on others they are almost destitute of hairs ; 

 examples of the former variety I have gathered in the West Indies ; 

 at New Orleans ; on the banks of the Mississippi and the Ohio. The 

 latter variety I have found in Germany, more especially at Baden 

 Baden, in the neighbourhood of the hot springs, also on the banks of 

 the Danube near Lintz. 



This grass is of no agricultural use, but rather a troublesome weed, 

 especially in those countries where it is a native. It grows best on 

 rich sandy soil, and although an annual, spreads rapidly in a short 

 time. Mr Sinclair states that in some parts of Germany this grass 

 is cultivated for its seed, which, when boiled with milk or wine, is said 

 to form an extremely palatable food, and is generally made use of 

 whole in the manner of sago, to wliich it is in most instances prefer- 

 red. It produces much seed, of which birds are very fond, and re- 

 quires to be protected by nets or otherwise during the time of ripen- 

 ing. The usual method of collecting and preparing the seeds is, that 

 at sunrise they are gathered or beaten into a hair-sieve from the 

 dewy grass, spread on a sheet and dried for a fortnight in the sun ; 

 they are then gently beaten with a wooden pestle in a wooden trough 

 or m-ortar, with straw laid between the seeds and the pestle, till the 

 chaff comes of ; they are then winnowed. After this they are again 

 put into the trough in rows, with dried marigold flowers, apple and 

 hazel-leaves, and pounded until they appear bright ; they are then 

 winnowed again, and being made perfectly clean by this last process, 

 are fit for use. The marigold leaves are added to give the seeds a 

 finer colour. A bushel of seed with the chaff yields only about two 

 quarts of clean seed. 



Digitaria sanguinalis is nut an indigenous plant. It has been found 



