HORTUS GRAM1NEUS WOBURNENSIS. 



353 



but is found in almost every kind of soil, from the dry sandy heath 

 to the bog. It forms dense tufts in pastures very disagreeable to 

 the sight, which are termed hassocks, bulls' faces, &c., by Farmers. 

 It is a most difficult plant to extirpate when in considerable quan- 

 tity. Some persons, to get rid of it, dig up the tufts, and fill up 

 the holes with lime compost : this, no doubt, would answer the 

 end, at least for a few years, if all the roots were destroyed ; but 

 this is never the case, a circle of roots is left which in one or two 

 seasons produce larger hassocks than before; and besides, when 

 the hassocks are numerous, the expense attending this process is 

 considerable. Others depend on occasional mowings to keep the 

 hassocks under ; but this is productive of little good, particularly 

 if the mowing of the tufts be deferred till the autumn, which, I 

 believe, is the common practice. I have found no treatment weaken 

 or retard the growth of grass so much as cutting it closely before 

 and soon after the first tender shoots appear in the spring. On the 

 contrary, when left uncut till the flowers are formed, or the seed 

 becomes ripe, mowing then encourages the growth of the plant, 

 and a great increase and activity of the roots ensue. In this pal- 

 liative remedy, therefore, the principal efforts should be made to 

 keep the plant close to the roots in the early part of the spring, 

 and till midsummer. 



But the only effectual and most profitable mode of extirpating 

 this grass is by first paring and burning the surface of the land, 

 and by making proper drains, to correct, as much as possible, the 

 tenacious nature of the soil : in this case surface drains are as ne- 

 cessary as those termed hollow. Sand should likewise be applied 

 during the course of crops taken previous to returning the land 

 again to permanent pasture, if such should be desirable from its 

 local situation ; as that, for instance, of a park or policy. 



Flowers about the third week of July, and the seed is ripe 

 towards the end of August. 



JLOPECURUS geniculatus. Knee-jointed Foxtail-grass. 

 Specific character : Culms ascending, bent at the joints ; panicle 

 spike-like, cylindrical, obtuse ; husks of the calyx united at 

 the base, obtuse, somewhat woolly ; apex of the corolla mi- 

 nutely notched. Sm. Engl. Fl. i. p. 82. 



Obs. There are two varieties of this species of foxtail-grass; 

 the present, which is by far the most common, is distinguished 

 from the other by its fibrous root and greater size ; the less 



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