OTHER IMPORTANT FORAGE GRASSES 83 



early days it was sown in orchards. In England, it is 

 called cock's-foot, in allusion to the spreading branches 

 of the inflorescence when in flower. 



Botanical Name. Dactylis glomerate L. The generic 

 name Dactylis is derived from a Greek word meaning 

 finger in allusion to the finger-like branches of the in- 

 florescence. The specific name glomerata, clustered, 

 refers to the clusters of spikelets at the ends of the 



branches. 



MEADOW FESCUE 



Like orchard grass, meadow fescue holds a secondary 

 though not unimportant place in American agriculture. 

 It has many good qualities but has not been able to 

 compete with timothy. The chief reason for this is 

 probably the relatively high cost and poor quality of the 

 seed. Furthermore, the yield is usually not so high as 

 that of timothy. Meadow fescue however is a nutri- 

 tious and palatable grass and makes an excellent quality 

 of hay. It is grown for both hay and pasture throughout 

 the timothy region but nowhere abundantly. It has 

 become a rather important grass in the eastern portion 

 of the Great Plains region, especially in eastern Kansas. 

 Meadow fescue is to be recommended in combination 

 with other grasses, especially where used for pasture. 

 In eastern Kansas it is used to advantage in combination 

 with orchard grass. For meadow, it makes a good filler 

 with orchard grass, filling in the spaces between the 

 tussocks of the latter, thus giving a better basis for a 

 mowing machine. In the region mentioned, the combi- 

 nation has the advantage over timothy of being more 

 drouth resistant and can therefore be used somewhat 

 7 



