156 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



good, deep sands and calcareous soils. It tillers very much, and, when once rooted, is very 

 vigorous and lasting, and consequently makes a good pasture grass. It is very similar in 

 appearance to some of the broad-leaved varieties of Agrostis vulgaris, and is said to yield a 

 larger produce than that commonly known as redtop. It has stronger and more numerous 

 creeping roots, broader leaves, and more upright leafy stems. It is most frequently met 

 with in the southern states and in the south of France. 



Mountain Or Northern Redtop^ (Agrostis exarata.) This variety is -a native of the 

 Rocky Mountain region, and is also found in many of the Western States, particularly in the 

 low grounds of &quot;Wisconsin. It is more slender in its growth than the common cultivated 

 redtop, (Agrostis vulgaris,) and varies much with different soils and climates. It is said to 

 present so many variations in form and size on the Pacific slope that it has received several 

 specific names, being mistaken for different varieties of grass. The analysis of this plant 

 proves that it possesses considerable value, and we doubt not that it would prove a 

 desirable agricultural product if cultivated on moist meadows and bottom-lands. 



Brown Bent, Or Dog s Bent Grass, (Agrostis canina,) another variety of agrostis, 

 has for its specific characters a floret of one palea, sheaths smooth, ligule long, and grows 

 from one to two feet high, awnless. The root is perennial and creeping. The stem is erect, 

 slender, leaves flat and linear. The palea shorter than the glume and furnished with a long 

 awn on the back, bent; spikelets at first greenish, afterwards brown or slightly purple. 

 Meadows and pastures, and wet, peaty places. Introduced. Flowers in June and July. 

 It is of no special agricultural value. 



Drop Seed Grass, (Muhlenbergia diffusa,) is a grass which derives its generic name 

 from Dr. Henry Muhlenberg, a distinguished American botanist, pupil of the great Linnaeus. 

 It is commonly known in Kentucky and Tennessee by the name of &quot; Nimble-will,&quot; and there 

 forms a pasture grass of some value. Its stems are diffusely branched, from ten to eighteen 

 inches high; panicles slender, contracted, glumes minute, awn nearly twice as long as the 

 palea. It is sometimes found on dry hills and in woods. Flowers in August and September. 

 Perennial. Cattle eat it very readily. Not very common. 



There is another species of this grass, the Muhlenbergia glomerata, from one to two feet 

 high, much more common than the preceding, with stems upright, somewhat branched; 

 panicle oblong, linear, contracted into an interrupted glomerate spike, with long peduncles or 

 flower stalks and awned glumes. Perennial. Flowers in August and September. Common 

 in swamps and low grounds. Of no agricultural value. 



The Mexican Mllhlenfoergia, (Muhlenbergia Mexicana,) another species of this genus, 

 has been mistaken by some for our fowl-meadow. It has a,n erect stem, two to three feet high, 

 much branched; panicles lateral and contracted, branches densely spiked and clustered, green 

 or purplish; glumes pointed, awnless, and unequal. It is perennial. Flowers in August. 

 Frequently regarded as a troublesome weed in low grounds; somewhat common at the West, 

 and frequent here in low grounds, the borders of fields, and even in gardens, where its 

 spreading roots are difficult to eradicate. Cattle eat it very readily, and, as it blossoms late 

 in the season, it is of some value. 



The Sylvan Mllhlenhergia, (Muhlenbergia sylvatica,) is also rather common in low, 

 rocky woods. Its stem is ascending, branched, spreading diffusely; panicles contracted, 

 densely flowered; glumes nearly equal, bristle pointed, lower palea one-awned, twice or three 

 times the length of the spikelets. Flowers in August and September. 



The AwnleSS Mllhlenbergia, (Muhlenbergia sobolifera,) is sometimes found in open, 

 rocky woods, from New England to Michigan, and farther south. It grows from one to two 

 feet high, with a simple contracted panicle, very slender; glumes long, pointed, nearly equal, 



