FOWL MEADOW GRASS 305 



FOWL MEADOW GRASS. 



Fowl meadow grass (Poa serotina) belongs to the 

 same genus as Kentucky blue grass. It is also called 

 False redtop, Duck grass and Swamp wire grass. Be- 

 cause it sends forth flower stems from the lower joints 

 after the main panicle has bloomed the term serotina, 

 ever-flowering, has been applied to it. It is said to 

 have been introduced into a low meadow near Dedham, 

 Massachusetts, by wild ducks and other water fowl, hence 

 the name Fowl Meadow grass. 



The stems of this grass are somewhat weak, hence 

 they are considerably given to lodge. They grow from 

 2 to 3 feet high. The leaves are narrow, smooth and 

 plentiful. The head is from 6 to 14 inches long and 

 is erect and spreading, when in bloom but more or less 

 contracted and drooping, when ripe. The roots are 

 slightly creeping. Fowl meadow grass is perennial. It 

 is nutritious, makes excellent hay and also yields abun- 

 dantly on suitable soils. The hay is highly palatable to 

 stock, but owing to its softness is not considered quite 

 equal to timothy for horses, nor does it furnish quite 

 so marketable a hay as timothy. It is somewhat late 

 coming into flower and does not grow much aftermath. 

 Its highest use is for being grown along with certain 

 other grasses on low lands for making hay. 



Distribution. Fowl meadow grass is native to Eu- 

 rope and also to many parts of America. It has been 

 grown under cultivation in New England for more 

 than one hundred and fifty years. Jared Elliott wrote 

 commendingly about it in 1749, when contrasting its 

 merits with those of timothy. It forms a considera- 



