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to reduce the cost-price of same, the Sheep's Fescue being, 

 as a rule, one of the cheapest varieties of the Natural Grasses. 



Festuca oviiia aiigustifolia or tenuifolia (Fine-leaved 

 Sheep's Fescue). A short 15 to 20 inches high growing, small 

 tuft-forming grass with very few stem-leaves but a larger number 

 of brush-like bottom-foliage. It is found especially in fir-woods 

 and alongside the roads bordering on such woods; furthermore, 

 on tracts of land, formerly fir-woods, the trees of which have come 

 down a short while before and the soil of which has been ploughed 

 up. It has no agricultural value, except that the sheep, which 

 happen to pass through such woods or along such roads, are 

 inclined to graze on it whilst moving onward. 



It is, however, being used in a fair proportion as a lawn-grass 

 in mixtures for fine lawns. In such a case, owing to the fact, that 

 it is far cheaper, as a rule, than Crested Dogstail it is very often 

 used in equal proportions, sometimes even, especially in years 

 when the latter is high in price and the soil to be sown is a 

 lighter sandy-one, in a greater proportion than the Crested Dogstail. 

 Its fine, deep-green and hair-like leaves make it well-adapted for 

 that purpose. 



Festuca pratensis (Meadow Fescue). One of the best upper- 

 grasses for permanent pasture. It grows in even tufts of from 35 

 to 40 inches, matures second part of July and yields an abundance 

 of fodder of great nutritive value, much liked by all sorts of 

 stock. It likes both heavy and middling well-manured, though not 

 marshy soils. It does not thrive so well on lighter situations. It 

 answers both purposes, that of grazing and that of haymaking very 

 well indeed and is the equal of Orchard-grass with which it 

 forms the bulk in mixtures destined for permanent pasture, the 

 inferior of which it is only in regard to yield, but the superior of 

 which, in our opinion, it is in regard to quality of both grass and 

 hay. Its superiority, in our opinion at least, is mainly this, that it 

 is by a long way not so coarse a grass and that it keeps its 

 softness and tenderness of plant far better than Orchard-grass; 

 that the cattle continue grazing on it much longer than on the 

 last named variety. It develops somewhat more slowly in the field, 

 and if a pasture of say 2 years' lay only were to be laid down, it 

 would not be so well in its place there, as it would only just have 

 reached its full force, when the time would have arrived for its 



