454 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



sion, 10 be arijuing ihe merits or liemerits ofplanis 

 undar popular local names, wiilioul knowing whe- 

 ther we mean the same thing, and when, in lact, 

 the parties, (as is ollen the case,) are treating of' 

 entirely distinct species. I am led to these re- 

 marks, which have been substantially made on a 

 Ibrmer occasion, and cannot be too ol'ien repeated, 

 by observing, in your May number, page 295, a 

 misapprehension which originated in the very evil 

 alluded to — namely, theuseol'local popular names. 

 In my communicaiioii to the ' American Farmer,' 

 of the 8th February, republished in your February 

 number, page 114, I mentioned thai our blue grass 

 {poa compressa, L.) is olien called " wirt grass^'' 

 in this district; and I supposed it might be known 

 by the same name in Virginia. You, however, 

 corrected that error, and showed that the "wire 

 grass," of Virginia, is the triticum repens, L., or 

 "couch grass," of the English. This "couch 

 grass" is not much known in Pennsylvania; and 

 hence I was hd into the mistaken supposition that 

 it might be rare, also, in Virginia ; and that the 

 name of " wire grass" might be applied, there, to 

 the poa compressa, as it often is here. A corre- 

 spondent, in your May number, who signs "J. D." 

 seems to ihink that I relerred to your " wire 

 grass," (triticum repens, £,.,) and that I sup- 

 posed it to be the same as our " wire grass" {poa 

 compressa, Z<.) Now, I was only misled by the 

 local, common name J and it is that error which 1 

 wish to correct. 1 am well acquainted wiih both 

 grasses ; and never dreamt, lor a moment, of con- 

 lounding our Pennsylvania blue grass (poa com- 

 pressa, L.) with the triticvm repens, or "couch- 

 grass," which, it now appears, is the " wire grass" 

 of Virginia. They are entirely distinct plants : 

 and I hope that, hereafter, there will be no dan- 

 ger of any fun her conliision between them, 

 among the readers of your highly respectable 

 journal. This little explanation is another evi- 

 dence of the importance of calling things by 

 their right names, and of understanding exactly 

 what it IS we are talking about, in our discussions. 

 While on this subject, I may as well add, that 

 the \a.\\id\\\& poa pratensis, L., or smooth meadow 

 grass, is sometimes conlbunded with another spe- 

 cies, nearly allied to it, called by the botanists 

 poa trivialis. Thus, in the Kentucky Farmer of 

 June 5, Mr. John Lewis, in an interesting descrip- 

 tion of the " Kentucky blue grass," says it is 

 " by some called poa praiensis, by others P. tri- 

 vialis.'^ These are distinct species ; though much 

 resembling each other. The P. pratensis is quite 

 smooth, however ; and the little skinny membrane, 

 at the top ol the sheaih, or base of the leal-blade, 

 called \he ligule, is short and obtuse; while the 

 stalk and sheaths of P. trivialis are sensibly 

 rough, and the ligule elongated, and tapering to an 

 acute point. These characters are constant ; and, 

 on comparison, will serve readily to distinguish 

 the two species. They often grow together ; 

 though the P. trivialis is more usually lound in 

 moist situations. They are both much esteemed 

 in Europe ; but, with us, I think the P. pratensis 

 decidedly the more valuable of the two. English 

 writers speak often of another poa, which they 

 call P. angustifolia ; but it is scarcely distinguish- 

 able from P. pratensis; and is in fact considered, 

 by the best botanists, as nothing more than a 

 variety of that species. So, likewise, in our own 

 country, we sometimes see the Poa viridis men- 



tioned, which is only a luxuriant stale of the same 

 P. pratensis, and is often called " u'reen grass." 

 I trust you and your readers will excuse these 

 hasty remarks. They are merely oHered with a 

 view to aid in clearing up some little obscurities 

 which occur in the essays of our agricultural 

 writers. A little atleiilion to these matters, on 

 the part of essayists, will soon remove the diffi- 

 culties now existing, and render all plain and 

 intelligible. Wm. Daklingtoiv. 



COTTON AND CORN. A DIALOG UK. 



h'roiii llie Liverpool Mercury. 

 The following clever lines, by Mr. Thomas 

 Moore, are so peculiarly appropriate at this crisis, 

 that, although we believe they have already ap- 

 peared twice in the Mercury, we shall ofler no 

 apology for their repetition : — 



Said Cotton to Corn, t'other day, 



As they met and exchanged a salute — 

 (Squire Corn in his cabriolet. 



Poor Cotton, hall lamish'd, on foot;) 

 " Great Squire, if" it isn't uncivil 



To hint at starvation before yoii. 

 Look down on a hungry poor devil. 



And give him some bread, I implore you !" 



Quoth Corn, then, in answer to Cotton, 



Perceiving he meant to make free, 

 " Low FELLOW, you've surely forgotten 



The distance between you and me! 

 To expect that we, Peers o( high birih, 



Should waste our illustrious acres, 

 For no other purpose on earth 



Than lo fatten cursed calico makers ! 

 "That bishops to bobbins should bend. 



Should sloop from their benches' sublimity I 

 What ! spinners and weavers befriend, 



Contemptible dealers in dimity? 

 No; vile manufacturer, ne'er harbor 



A hope to be fed at our boards ; 

 Base offspring of Arkwright the barber. 



What claim can you have upon lords'? 

 " No ; thanks to the taxes and debt. 



And tlie triumph of paper o'er guineas, 

 Our race of Lord Jemmies as yet. 



May defy your whole rabble of Jennies I" 

 So saying, whip, crack, and away, 



Went Corn in his cab through ihe throng. 

 So madly, I heard ihem all say. 



Squire Corn would be down before long. 



asubstitute suggested fob green crops 

 for turning down. 



From the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Mr. /Editor — We hear much of sowing 

 crops for the purpose of ploughing them down 

 while green. Did it ever occur to the minds 

 of our farmers how many and what heavy 

 " green crops" may be cut from their rushy 

 bottoms, their ditches, their woods, ; but, above 

 all, Irom the margins of their rivers and creeks ; 

 and which, if buried in the bottom of their ILir- 

 rows, would ferment and become as valuable 

 manure as any that could be grown for the pur- 



