SHEEP'S FESCUE! 313 



brought about by simply allowing the seed to drop 

 in the pastures. There is the objection to this, how- 

 ever, that the seed may remain ungerminated in the soil 

 and grow in succeeding crops. Because of this, some 

 writers advise against the sowing of rescue grass for 

 any purpose and the advice should certainly be heeded 

 by the careless farmer. Those who cultivate carefully, 

 however, should have but little to fear from the intro- 

 duction of this grass upon their farms. 



SHEEP'S FESCUE. 



Sheep's Fescue (Festuca ovina) is a low growing 

 grass which has the habit of bunching in dense tufts. 

 The leaves are short, very fine, slender, and almost 

 bristle-like in their erection, and not infrequently are 

 characterized by a grayish color, tinged with red. The 

 stems are slender, not particularly numerous, and grow 

 from 6 to 12 inches high, but usually do not attain 

 a height of more than 8 inches. The heads are short 

 and slender, somewhat one-sided, and they spread more 

 or less when in flower. The roots are fibrous. The 

 extent to which sheep have been grazed on it has doubt- 

 less given to it the name Sheep's Fescue. 



There are several varieties of this plant which bear 

 no little resemblance to one another. One of the best 

 of these is Hard Fescue (Festuca durinscula). The 

 latter is taller than Sheep's Fescue, less densely tufted 

 and equally if not even more hardy. 



Sheep's Fescue is a perennial. It has much per- 

 manency, more particularly in lands where the growth 

 is not overshadowed by larger plants. It is very hardy. 



