ELYMUS. 



ELYMUS. 



by this lyme grass is remarkable for the large 

 quantity of saccharine matter which it con- 

 tains, amounting to more than one-third of its 

 weight; this grass may, therefore, be consider- 

 ed as the sugar-cane of Britain. The saccha- i 

 rine matter must render the hay made from 

 this grass very nutritious, particularly when 

 cut into chaff, and mixed with corn or common 

 hay. Its natural soil (if soil it can be called) 

 is the sands of the sea-coast. This grass, when 

 combined with the Arundo arenaria, seems ad- 

 mirably adapted by nature for the purpo- 

 forming a barrier to the encroachment of the 

 sea. The culms are very deficient, both on its 

 natural soil and when cultivated. A greater 

 proportion of saccharine matter is afforded by 

 the culms of this grass than by the leaves. It 

 flowers about the third week in July. 



Elymus geniculatns. Knee-jointed or pendu- 

 lous lyme grass. The stem is winged, and the 

 spikes bent directly downwards. At the time 

 of flowering, the produce from a sandy loam is 

 20,418 Ibs. per acre. The foliage is tou-h and 

 coarse, and the quantity of nutritive matter it 

 affords is not considerable. The Elymus are- 

 narius is nearly allied to this species in its 

 general habit; but differs specifically in the 

 spikelets being pubescent, more compact, and 

 the spike perfectly upright. The leaves are 

 broader, the culms taller and stronger, and the 

 root is more powerfully creeping. Th 

 cies is greatly superior to the above in produce 

 and nutritive properties, but neither appear to 

 have merits sufficient to recommend it for cul- 

 tivation; for even though both were early in 

 the produce of fine foliage, and grew rapidly 

 after being cut, their strong creeping 

 which exhaust the soil very much, would pre- 

 clude their introduction on the farm. This 

 species flowers in the second week in July, 

 and the seed is perfected in about three weeks. 



Elymus hyttri.;; Rough lyme grass. At the 

 time of flowering, the produce from a rich, sili- 

 cious, sandy loam was 27,225 Ibs., of which 

 half the weight is lost in drying. The nutritive 

 matter afforded by the produce of an acre is 

 only 1063 Ibs. The harsh, broad, thin, linht- 

 green leaves of this species, and of those of the 

 E. striatHs and E. ribirints, indicate that they 

 are naturally inhabitants of woods, or wet, 

 shady places. Grasses of this description are 

 generally (indeed in every instance that has 

 come under my observation) deficient in nu- 

 tritive matter, and contain an excess of bitter 

 extractive. Cattle appear to dislike these 

 grasses. Oxen eat the Philadelphian lyme 

 grass when it is offered to them, but they re- 

 fuse the striated, Siberian, and rough lyme 

 grasses. From the above details, there is no 

 authority for recommending the rough lyme 

 grass to the notice of the agriculturist. It 

 flowers in the second week in July, and ripens 

 the seed in about a month. 



Elymus Philadelphiriis. Philadelphian lyme 

 grass. At the time of flowering, the green pro- 

 duce per acre from a clayey loam and reten- 

 tive subsoil is 30,628 Ibs., dry produce 15,314 

 Ibs., nutritive matter, 2033 Its.; so that it is a 

 very productive grass, and contains a consi- 

 derable quantity of nutritive matter. With re- 

 spect to foliage, it is rather early in the spring. 



From the large size it attains, the produce is 

 rank and proportionably coarse, and is unfit 

 for pasture. It appears that for soiling, or hay 

 to be used in the form of chaff, this and some 

 other of the gigantic grasses would be profit- 

 able plants on soils unfit for the production of 

 the superior pasture grasses, or of corn. A 

 comparison of the quantity of nutritive matter 

 contained in hay of the best quality with that 

 made from this grass, will show nearly their 

 comparative value. One pound of hay com- 

 posed of the best natural grasses contains of 

 nutritive matter 57 drs.; one pound of hay of 

 the E. Philu(lfli>hirits 31 drs. With regard to 

 nutritive powers, therefore, tiv tons of the hay 

 of this grass are scarcely equal to three tons 

 of that of the superior grasses. But the soil 

 that will produce this grass and others of the 

 same class at the rate of six tons per acre, 

 would not produce one-fifth the quantity of the 

 superior grasses; consequently the adoption of 

 the tall fescue and Philadelphian lyme grasses 

 on soils of this description for the uses now 

 'I, might be found a profitable measure. 

 This i/rass flowers in the first and second weeks 

 of July, and successively till the end of sum- 

 mer. The seed ripens in about three weeks 

 after the time of flower 



Elymus Sibericus. Siberian lyme grass. At 

 the time of flowering, the produce per acre 

 from a rich sandy soil is 16,33") Ibx., dry pro- 

 duce 5,717 Ibs., nutritive matter 574 Ibs. The 

 produce of this grass is very coarse, and the 

 weight of the crop, therefore, though consider- 

 comparativHy of no value. It is a 

 native of Siberia, and withstands the effects of 

 the severest continued frost, but not sudden 

 changes from frost to fine weather. It requires 

 to be sown every year, and treated as an an- 

 nual. It comes into flower the second season, 

 about the second . or third week in June, and 

 continues to emit flowering culms till autumn. 

 A light, rich, silicious soil appears to be best 

 adapted to its growth. 



Elymt's strintu*. Striated lyme grass. At the 

 time of flowering, the green produce per acre 

 of this grass from a clayey loam is 20,418 Ibs., 

 dry produce 8,933 Ibs., nutritive matter 1276 

 Ibs. From these details, therefore, this species 

 is inferior in nutritive powers to the Philadel- 

 phian lyme grass in the proportion of 17 to 16 

 It is also much later in the production of 

 foliage in the spring, and does not come into 

 flower till after that species has nearly per- 

 fected its seed. It cannot, therefore, be recom- 

 mended for the purposes of the agriculturist, 

 Flowers about the latter end of July, and ripens 

 the seed in August (Hort. Gram. Wob. p. 365 

 371.) 



About eight American species of the lyme 

 grass have been enumerated by botanists, found 

 along streams or on the sea-shore, where, as in 

 Europe, they often prove extremely useful in 

 resisting the encroachment of the water. 



The Virginian lyme grass is sometimes called 

 wild rye, although its spikes, like those of the 

 Canadian lyme grass, more resemble at a little 

 distance the heads of barley. It is a perennial, 

 found along the banks of the Brandywine and 

 in other parts of the Middle States, where i 

 attains a height of three or four'feet 



443 



