AND OTHER FORAGE PLANTS* 79 



2. T. MOLLE, Downy Persoon, with a stern six or eight in- 

 ches long is found on rocky banks and mountains. Both these 

 grasses are perennial, but have no agricultural value. 



3. T. PUBESCENS, Downy Oat ,:Grass is a valuable forage 

 plant, but has not been introduced in the south. 



A VENA. 



1. A. PRATENSIS, Meadow Oat Grass. 



This is a perennial native of Great Britain, where it grows 

 about eighteen inches high in pastures. It flourishes best on 

 dry soils and yields a medium quality of hay. As some of our. 

 recent writers have evidently confounded this with the lall 

 Meadow Oat Grass (described on another page) and have given 

 it qualities that belong to the latter, it is well to give a rather 

 minute description. "Spikelets three to many flowered, with 

 an open, large, diffused panicle ; lower pale seven to eleven 

 nerved, with a long, usually twisted awn on the back; stamens 

 three ; grain oblong, grooved on the side, usually hairy and 

 free." Flint. Any, who purchase and plant seeds of this grass 

 with the expectation of obtaining the large winter grazing, soil- 

 ing, hay and seed crops of which they may have read, will as- 

 suredly reap a large harvest of disappointment and vexation. 

 Mr. Howard, in his pamphlet, gives an excellent account of 

 Tall Meadow Oat Grass, but unfortunately calling it Meadow 

 Oat Grass, has no doubt inadvertently misled other writers into 

 some singular errors. 



2. A. FLAVESCENS, Yellow Oat Grass, 



This perennial is a native of France and grows naturally on 

 light, dry soils. By some farmers in many parts of the world, 

 it is regarded, as a hay and pasture grass, the most useful of this 

 genus. It has been tried in this country to only a limited extent. 

 Way's analysis of it shows in 100 parts of the dried grass : al- 

 buminoids 7.48, fatty matters 2.61, heat producers 47.08, woody 

 fibre 35.95, ash 6.88. It is much better mixed for pasture than 

 for other purposes, its unusually large quantity of bitter extract- 

 ive matter rendering it specially grateful to cattle. 



3. A. STRIATA, The Purple Wild Oat of our northern States 

 is of little worth ; and 



4. A. PR^COX, Early Wild Oat, found in the northern tier 

 of the southern States is a dwarf, three s or four inches high and 

 merits no further attention. 



5. A. SATIVA, Common Oat. 



This is well known every where and has always been a favor- 

 ite crop with me, both for winter pasture, hay and grain. The 

 'red rust proof ' variety is preferred to all others, the potato oat 

 being my second choice. The former has never rusted with me. 

 The latter has not been sufficiently tested to be assured against 



