306 HORTUS GRAMINEUS WOBURNENSIS. 



ovina), yellow oat-grass (Avena flavescens), crested dog's-tail 

 (Cynosurm cristatus), meadow barley ( Hordeum pratense), flexuose 

 hair-grass (Airaflexuosa), are all preferred by cattle to the crested 

 hair-grass. The nutritive matter of this grass differs but little in 

 its composition from those of the above ; it approaches nearest to 

 that of the Aira flexuosa, differing only in having less bitter ex- 

 tractive matter and of more tasteless mucilage ; but the soft hairy 

 foliage of the grass appears at once the cause of this dislike in 

 cattle to eat it. 



It flowers about the first week in July, and the seed is ripe 

 about the beginning of August. 



POA compressa. Flat-stalked Meadow-grass. 



Specific character : Panicle flowering on one side, rather dense ; 

 spikelets oval-oblong, 5-7 flowering; flowers connected at 

 the base by a complicated web of hairs ; culm compressed ; 

 root creeping. Sm. Engl. Fl. i. p. 121. 



Obs. Culms from a foot to a foot and a half high, compressed, 

 decumbent at the base, oblique afterwards, and erect towards 

 the top ; striated, smooth, sometimes sending forth culms at 

 the joints ; leaves short, linear, acute, flat, somewhat glaucous ; 

 panicle erect, short, directed one way, glaucous, bluntish, 

 condensed ; florets from three to nine, according to the age 

 and strength of the plant, closely imbricated, oval, angular, 

 three-nerved, purple below the tip, which is silvery and sca- 

 riose at the base, connected by very fine complicated short 

 villous hairs. Dr. Withering says that they are rarely woolly 

 at the base, but I have found them universally so. E. Bot. 

 t. 365; Host. ii. p. 51, t. 70; Flo. Dan. t. 742; Flo. Ger.303; 

 Wither. Arr. 



German, Zusammengedrucktes- Rispengras. 



Native of Britain. Root perennial, creeping. 



Experiments. At the time of flowering, the produce from a 

 gravelly soil with manure is 



Produce per Acre, 

 dr. qr. Ibs. 



Grass, 5 oz. 8 dr. The produce per acre - 3403 2 



80 dr. of grass weigh, when dry 340) -, ., ~ 

 The produce of the space, ditto 34 3 



The weight lost by the produce of one acre in drying 1956 12 12 



64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 50} ^ , ... 

 The produce of the space, ditto 613 



