226 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



where no other cultivated grass will grow, but on some- 

 what better pasture land should be grown in mixtures 

 with redtop, Kentucky blue-grass, Canada blue-grass and 

 white clover. In pure cultures, European writers recom- 

 mend sowing 28 pounds an acre. 



262. Seed. Seed of all these fescues is grown in 

 Europe. That of sheep's fescue is easily gathered and is 

 low in price. 



A bushel weighs ordinarily 10 to 15 pounds, but the 

 best quality reaches 30 pounds. One pound contains 

 680,000 seeds, according to Stebler. The purity should be 

 90 per cent and the viability at least 50 per cent. 



RED FESCUE 



263. Red fescue (Festuca rubra) is best distinguished 

 from Festuca ovina by having creeping extravaginal shoots 

 or rootstocks. Festuca heterophylla with some extravaginal 

 non-creeping shoots is intermediate between the species. 

 Red fescue occurs naturally in Europe, Asia and North 

 America. It is very variable and numerous varieties have 

 been described. In North America it ranges from Green- 

 land southward near the seacoast to Virginia, and from 

 Alaska to California and New Mexico. One form occurs 

 rarely in Tennessee and North Carolina. 



It has never been used under cultivation in North 

 America, except as a lawn plant, for which it is well 

 adapted in the Northern States and Canada, especially 

 on sandy soil near the seacoast. In some of its forms it is 

 probably the most beautiful of all lawn grasses. 



Red fescue is a long-lived perennial. In Europe it is 

 somewhat used as a pasture plant, especially on moist, 

 sandy soils. Under favorable conditions it makes a dense 

 growth and may reach a height of two feet or more. In 



