VIII.] ENGLISH STRAW PLAT. 138 



backward sort, and, besides, grew in the shade 

 amongst coppice-wood and under trees, which stood 

 pretty thick. 



N. As to the sorts of grass, I have to observe ge- 

 nerally, that in proportion 'as the colour of the grass 

 is deep; that is to say, getting further from the yel- 

 low, and nearer to the blue, it is of a deep and dead 

 yellow when it becomes straw. Those kinds of grass 

 are best which are, in point of colour, nearest to that 

 of wheat, which is a fresh pale green. Another thing 

 is, the quality of the straw as to 'pliancy and tough- 

 ness. Experience must be our guide here. I had not 

 time to make a large collection of sorts ; but those 

 which I have sent to you contain three ~sorts which 

 are proved to be good. In my letter of the 3d instant 

 I sent you sixteen pieces of plat and eight bunches 

 of straw, having the seed heads on, in order to show 

 the sorts of grass. The sixteenth piece of plat was 

 American. The first piece was from wheat cut and 

 bleacKed by me ; the rest from grass cut and bleached 

 1 . . I will here, for fear of mistake, give a list of 



unes of the several sorts of grass, the straw of 

 which was sent with my letter of the 3d instant, re- 

 ferring to the numbers, as placed on the plat and on 

 the bunches of straw. 



PIECES BUNCHES SORTS 



OF PLAT. OF STRAW. OF GRASS. 



Nol. . . No. 1. . . Wheat. 



2. ) 2 nd 3 \ Melica Cserulea ; or, Purple Melica 



4 and 12 \ Agrostis Stolon ifera ; or, Florin Grass ; 



( that is to say, one sort of Couch-grass. 



. 5 and 10 ... Lolium Perenne ; or, Ray-grass. 



6 and 11 $ Arena Flavescens; or, Yellow Oat 



( grass. 



7 and 15 \ Cynosurus Cristatus; or, Crested Dog's- 



Q ./ IQ $ Anthoxanthum Odoratum ; or, Sweet 



. a na let . . ^ scented Vernal grass. 



9.; q rM4 $ Agrostis Canina ; or, Brown Bent 



14. $ ' ' I grass. 



O. These names are those given at the Botanical 

 Garden at Kew. But the same English names are 

 12 



