FESCUE- GRASS. 323 



longer than the awns, and the stem is flat. This Grass stands 

 drought the best of any. 



The Creeping Fescue (F. rubra), resembles the Hard 

 Fescue, and, like it, is a good pasture Grass. It is distin- 

 guished by its leaves being glaucous, and hairy on the upper 

 surface. 



The Sheep's Fescue and the Hard Fescue abound in hilly 

 pastures in Swaledale. The Creeping Fescue Fanny found 

 about the Looe Eiver and harbour. 



The Barren Fescue (F. bromoides), is abundant on walls and 

 sandy places. Edward has it from Hawkhurst. The panicle 

 is narrow and erect, and the florets tapering, with long awns. 

 Its stem only reaches a few inches in height. 



The Wall Fescue (F. myurus), resembles this, but has a 

 more leafy stem. 



The Tall Fescue has a compound drooping panicle, and from 

 three to six flowers in each spikelet. It grows four or five 

 feet high. 



The Meadow Fescue (F. pratensis, fig. 9), is a valuable 

 Grass for moist land. Its panicle is nearly upright, branched 

 and spreading, and it attains the height of two feet. 



The Spiked Fescue (F. loliacea), has its flowers in alternate 

 spikelets, seated on the stem. It resembles the Eye-grass, but 

 is distinguished by having two glumes, the other being only 

 possessed of one. 



The Wood Fescue (F. sylvatica), is an elegant Grass, flower- 

 ing in a drooping spike ; the spikelets, which are placed alter- 

 nately on the stem, being long and narrow, and adorned with 

 long awns. The leaves are pale and hairy. It grows about 

 two feet high, and adorns woods and hedges. 



The Spiked Heath Fescue (F. pinnata), resembles the Wood 

 Fescue, but it has shorter awns. The foliage is smooth, and 

 the height does not exceed eighteen inches. 



All the Fescues have many-flowered spikelets. The lower 

 palese are not awned as in the Brome-grasses, nor blunt as in 



