OTHER FORAGE PLANTS. 59 



long, or later pyramidal spreading ; spikelets oblong or later 

 linear, three to five lines long, ten to thirty flowered, often lead 

 colored ; leaves linear ; sheaths smooth ; flowers in July and Au- 

 gust ; found in waste or cultivated lands. Stock do not relish it. 



3. E. PILOSA, Slender Meadow Grass, is a pretty annual, six 

 to .twelve inches high, with loose pyramidal panicle ; spikelets 

 five- to twelve-flowered, of purplish lead color. It is found in 

 sandy gravelly barrens and old fields, affording some accepta- 

 ble, nutritious food for cattle. 



4. E. PURSHII, Southern Spear Grass, has stems six to twelve 

 inches long, slender, geniculate near the base, ascending ; pani- 

 cle three to six inches long, loose, widely spreading, the lower 

 branches whorled ; spikelets five- to ten-flowered, pale or pur- 

 ple ; blooms from June to September. It is found in cultivated 

 grounds and waste lands, and is of little value for stock. 



5. E. CONFERTA, with stems two or three feet high and pan- 

 icles one or two feet long, whitish, found on river banks, bloom- 

 ing in August and September. 



6. E. TENUIS, Branching Spear Grass, with panicle one to 

 two and a half feet long and spreading branches ; leaves one to 

 two feet long ; flowering from August till frost and found on 

 river banks and rich sandy soils. 



7. E. CAPILLARIS, Hair-panicled Meadow Grass, with loose, 

 delicate, widely expanding panicle, one or two feet long ; spike- 

 lets very small, mostly purple, on long diverging capillary ped- 

 icels ; flowering in August and September ; and found in sandy y 

 dry, waste places. 



8. E. PECTINACEA, Meadow Comb Grass, with panicle 

 one to one foot and a half long, widely diffuse, or the branches 

 finally reflexed ; spikelets purple, flat ; flowering in August and 

 September ; and growing on dry, sterile soils ; the dry panicles 

 wafted about by the winds ; and 



9. E. NITIDA, Shining Eragrostis, growing along the coast 

 with panicles one and a half to three feet long ; blooming in Au- 

 gust and September ; the leaves and sheaths shining ; are all 

 of little agricultural value. Some of the species of this genus 

 are beautiful in bouquets and vases ; and for those uses they 

 have been cultivated in lawns and gardens. That etymology 

 may be correct which derives Eragrostis from Eros (of whom 

 the unfortunate Er of Genesis may be the original,) and there- 

 fore calls it Love Grass. 



Though it may be named from era, earth, from some of the 

 species having stems partly prostrate on the earth. 



DACTYLIS. 



D. GLOMERATA, Orchard Grass, Rough Cock's-foot. 

 Leaves broadly linear, very long, rough, bluish green ; pani- 

 cle with few scattered branches below, more dense at top ; spike- 



