io8 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



Barren 

 fescue. 



Couch 

 grass. 



Twitch. 



Bearded 

 wheat 

 grass. 

 Darnel. 



Slender 



fox tail. 



Hunger 



weed. 



Black 



twitch. 



Floating 



fox tail. 



Soft 



brome. 



Upright 



brome. 



Barren 



brome. 



Tufted 



hair grass. 



Tussock 



grass. 



Wavy hair 



grass. 



Quaking 



grass. 



Yorkshire 



fog. 



Meadow 



soft grass. 



Useless Grasses. 



The " Barren Fescue " is a weed grass easily distinguished from other 

 Fescues by the very long awns of the spikelets ; it is found in poor and 

 sandy soil. 



" Couch grass" or "Twitch" may on casual inspection be mistaken for 

 Rye grass, but if looked at carefully it will be seen that the spikelets grow 

 from all sides of the stem and not from opposite sides only, nor has it the 

 crushed flat appearance so characteristic of rye grass ; it is chiefly found 

 on arable land and not as a rule in meadow hay since it disappears from 

 old pastures. " Bearded wheat grass " closely resembles couch grass 

 in appearance. 



" Darnel " is another grass which may be mistaken for rye grass, from 

 which however it is easily distinguished by the fact that the outside sheath 

 of each spikelet is longer than the spikelet itself; it is not only useless but 

 in large quantities poisonous. The small quantity found in hay has 

 never been found to cause any symptom. 



"The Slender Fox Tail," or "hunger weed," is also a weed on arable 

 land which may be found in artificial but rarely in meadow hay ; it 

 generally resembles the meadow fox tail except that its flowering head is 

 miuch more slender and is darkly spotted, from which cause it is called 

 " black twitch " in the Midlands. Another worthless variety is the 

 " Floating Fox Tail." 



" Soft Brome " is a worthless grass in hay, because it seeds so very early 

 that when the crop is cut its herbage is all shrivelled and the stem woody ; 

 in appearance it is not liable to be mistaken for any other grass, and the 

 spikelets have a peculiar elastic soft feel which further distinguishes 

 them. " Upright Brome " is equally valueless. The " Barren Brome " 

 has long awns to the spikelet and is quite useless. 



"Tufted Hair grass" or " Tussock grass," found in low-lying meadows, 

 has a tall, handsome, waving head, the spikelets of which are a lustrous 

 brown colour. " Wavy hair grass " is a smaller but similar variety found in 

 woods and on sandy soil ; both are equally worthless in hay. 



" Quaking grass " also found on heaths and sandy soils is valueless, and 

 its constantly shivering spikelets, which are also a quite distinctive shape, 

 make it unmistakable. 



" Yorkshire Fog " or " Meadow soft grass " and a creeping variety called 

 " Creeping soft giass," have flowering heads which are practically alike 

 and equally worthless. Until the flower is quite full the head is enclosed 

 in a sheath ; in colour it varies from white to purple and has a soft, 

 woolly feel and bitter taste which causes it to be avoided by stock. 



