14 TRIANDIUA. DIGYNIA. 



47. BROMUS. Nutt. Gen. 102. 

 [Gr. Broma, food; an ancient name of a species of wild oats, applied to this genus-l 



Splkehts oblong, distichous, tumid. Con. outer valve bifid, awned below the apex; inner reflexed, ciliatc 



B. sECALTNTTs. MuhL Panicle nodding; spikelets ovate, 8 to 10 flowered; awns, when present, flexuose. 



Vulgo— Client. Chess. Rye Biome-grass. Drank. 



JFl. Middle of June. Fr. mat- Beginning of July. 



Ilab. Wheat, and Rye fields; pastures, &,c. frequent. 3 to 4 feet high. 



Obs. This foreign grass is an unwelcome intruder among our winter grain. Some few of our farmers still 

 entertain the old, absurd notion, brought hither by our ancestors, concerning the transformation of plantsr 

 and contend that this grass is, in reahty, nothing but corrupt, or degenerate tt'heat— the change being effect- 

 ed, as they allege, by unfavorable seasons, or soils; excessive portions of certain manures; or being closely 

 eaten down by cattle; and other accidental causes. It is a curious circumstance, in the history of this vulgar 

 error, that in former times, the benighted peasantry of Europe Imagined Wheat was converted into Cheae; 

 in poor soils, by regular gradations: that the first change was into Rye, then from Rye to Barley, from 

 }>arley to Lolium, and from LoiJum to Bromus, or Cheat. They even thought it descended one step low- 

 er, by passin.'j from Bromus to Avena, or oats! It was also supposed, that by'the agency of a fertile soil it 

 could be brought gradually back again toits pristine state. In this Country, however, the disciples of the 

 tloctrme have spiritedly abridged it, by discarding all those intermediate stages of transmutation, as mere 

 Eurjiilasager They insist that the change, from wheat to bromus, is etfected directly and at once. So prev- 

 alent was this strange conceit prior to the time of Linnaeus, that a serious Essay was written under the aus- 

 pices of that great man, and published in the fifth volume of the Amcenitates Acadcmica:. for the express 

 purpose of exploding the absurdity. At the present day, the prejudice is confined almost exclusively to 

 the illiterate, and blindly credulous; who are exceedingly prone to adopt opinions, in such matters, without 

 dii^ examination,— and to maintain tiiem with an obstinacy admirably proportioned to the lack of rational 

 evidence. 



B. ciLiATUs. Mahl. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, 5 to 10 flowered; glumes ciliate, and hirsute; awns straight- 

 B. canadensis. Mx"? Fu/g-o— Fringed Brome-grass. 



Fl Latter end of June. Fr. mat. Middle of July. 



Slab. Woodlands; near tl>e Bath: frequent. About 3 feet high. 



B. puBEscENs.' Muhl. Spikelets oval-lanceolate, 8 to 10 flowered; glumes pubescent, scariose at margin. 



FL Middle of June. Fr. mat. Middle of July. 



JIah. Woodlands, and low grounds along Brandy wine: frequent. 3 to 4 feet high. 



It Flowerx in Spikes. 

 gc^ For Dactylis, or Orchard-grass, see Appendix of cultivated plants. 

 48. LOLIUM. Natt. Gen. 122. 

 PAn ancient Latin name, used by Virgil. &c. Boerhaave says, " Lolium vocatur quasi dolion, (Gr.) adv^ 

 terinum, quia ha-c planta dicitur nasci ex Hordeo vel Tritico corrupto."] 



Ca.i>. 1 valved, subulate, fixed to the rachis. iSpi/fe simple; soi^eZefs distichousiy imbricated. 



T,. PKRENNE. Mahl. Spike awnless; spikelets alternate, longer than the calyx: terminal calyx 2 valved. 



Fti','40— Ray-grass. Rye-grass. Darnel. 



JUah. Meadows, and grass lots: Job Darlington's: not common. 1 to 2 feet high. 



Ohf. This grass affords a tolerably good pasture; and makes a handsome sward for yards and lawns. 

 Thou;;h cultivntf^d to a considerable extent, in Europe, it has been, as yet, but little attended to in this 

 co'jntry; rn 1 not at all, I bnli'?ve. in this vicinity. Timothy and Orchard-grass seem calculated to com- 

 luaiid a prefere:ice, under our mode of farming. 



49. ELEUSINE. Nutt. Gen. 107. 

 [From Eleiisis, where Ceres, the goddess of Harvests, was worshipped: A far-fetched name.] 



Cal. 2. valved, carinate; dorsal valve larger. Spi,t£s digitate: sjjiAc/efs lateral, awnless- 



E indica. E!l. Spikes straight, linear; spikelets lanceolate,. 4 to 6 flowered; stem compressed, decumbent. 

 Sijnon. Cynosurusindicus. JVilld. Vulgo — Dog's-tail-grass. Wire-grass. Crab-grass. 



Fl- Beginning of August. Fr. mat. Middle of September. 



Hah. Streets, lanes, and roadsides; common. G to 12 inches long. 



OJ-s. Tl;is spreading grass seems to delight in growing where it can be trodden on; and makes a good"] 

 '■oroeiing in muddy times, for lanes, woodyards, and foot paths. Cattle and hogs are fond of it;andMr<.' 

 E.;iott speaks highly of it, for hay. Is it a native ? 



