THE GRASSES OF MAINE. 47 



spikelet, with or without short awns. Fields and pastures. Intro- 

 duced from Europe. Flowers in July. 



This is one of the most important grasses in England, occupying 

 the same place there that Timothy does here. Hon. J. S. Gould 

 says that the valuable qualities of this grass may be summed up as 

 follows : Its habit of coming early to maturity ; its rapid reproduc- 

 tion after cutting ; its wonderful adaptation to all domestic animals, 

 which is shown by the extreme partiality they manifest for it, either 

 alone or when mixed with other grasses, whether when used as green 

 food for soiling, as hay or as pasturage, in which latter stage its 

 stems are never allowed to ripen and wither like those of other 

 grasses. One of its greatest recommendations is its beneficial influ- 

 ence on the dairy, not only in augmenting the flow of milk, but in 

 improving the flavor of the cheese and butter that are made from it. 

 Morton, in the British Cyclopaedia of Agriculture, writes in similar 

 high terms of praise. The literature on this grass, extolling its 

 excellent qualities, is very extensive, and there is no doubt that this 

 species deserves the attention of our farmers. The variety known 

 as Lolium Italicum is regarded by many as the more desirable of 

 the two. Analyses, made in Washington, give for L. perenne, ash 

 7.50, fat 2.64, nitrogen-free extract 56.84, crude fiber 25.42, albu- 

 minoids 7.60, and for L. Italicum, ash 11.02, fat 2.32, nitrogen- 

 free extract 51.73, crude fiber 20.44, albuminoids 14.49. The first 

 was cut "after bloom" and the last "in full bloom." 



Genus AGROPYRUM, Beauvois. 

 Ag-ro-py -rum . 



Spikelets from three to nine-flowered or more, compressed, alter- 

 nately sessile on the continuously or slightly- notched rhachis of the 

 simple spike, and with the side against the rhachis. Glumes nearly 

 equal and tapering to a point, or awned. 



This genus includes a part of the species formerly contained in 

 the Linnean genus Triticum, and under which our species will be 

 found in the older works. 



