88 On Natural Grasses. 



it exhausts the soil more than the fibrous rooted. It is, h6wever, of 

 value in dry soils ; it withstands drought ; is early, and liked much by 

 stock ; but wherever it is intended at any future time to bring the 

 land under the plough it should be avoided. It is one of the common 

 couches of gardens, though seldom found in retentive clayey soils. Its 

 produce is not great, particularly if hay be an object. The seeds 

 ripen freely ; they are connected together by a web-like substance ; 

 and when sown in this state, are apt to fall in clumps or masses. It 

 is therefore necessary to prepare this seed for sowing, by mixing it 

 well with other seeds of a firmer texture, as crested dogsta.il, meadow- 

 catstail, or any of the clovers, or mingling it with sharp sand. 



The sweet-scented vernal grass, and the following species, are su- 

 perior to the smooth-stalked meadow grass. 



Poa trivialis, Rough-stalked meadow-grass. Hort. G. W.p. 146. 

 As this, and the preceding species of grass, are so similar in their 

 general appearance, and so opposite in their agricultural qualities, it 

 is of more than ordinary importance to the farmer, to distinguish 

 accurately those two species, and we will therefore here mention the 

 essential characters of distinction : Panicle, spreading ; spikelets, four- 

 flowered ; florets, lanceolate, five-ribbed, connected by a web ; stipula, 

 short and obtuse ; stem and leaves, smooth ; root, creeping. Such are 

 the distinctive characters of the smooth-stalked meadow-grass. The 

 rough-stalked or present species, has the panicle rather spreading ; 

 spikelets, three-flowered ; florets, lanceolate, five- ribbed, connected by 

 a web ; stipula, oblong ; stem and leaves, rough to the touch when 

 passed between the fingers backwards ; root, perfectly fibrous. The 

 most obvious distinctions, and which cannot fail, if strictly observed, 

 are, first, the roughness of the stalk ; secondly, the stipula, or small 

 scale which is attached to the base of the leaf at its immediate union 

 with the culm ; this membrane is invariably oblong or tapering to a 

 point in the rough-stalked meadow grass, while in the smooth-stalked 

 species, the stipula is blunt or prasmorse ; lastly, the root of the lat- 

 ter is powerfully creeping or couch, while that of the former is strictly 

 fibrous. 



This is a succulent nutritive grass, on almost every kind of soil, ex- 

 cepting those of a dry, gravelly and sandy nature. It is however, 

 not so hardy in exposed situations, as many other species. It is 

 late in spring growth, while in sheltered situations, in rich soils, 

 and in irrigated meadows, it springs early, and is much relished by 

 stock. If in any pasture, there appears to be one part more closely 

 cropped down than another, it is in almost every case found to be the 

 Poa trivialis. Its culms are succulent, and are consumed in com- 

 mon with the leaves ; hence the culms are seldom seen in a depas- 

 tured field. It is a component in all fattening pastures, and consti- 

 tutes one of the principal of those species called sole grasses. It is 

 very nutritive. It is one of the species of which poultry and game 

 are fond. It attains to perfection or inflorescence about the end of 

 June, following, in this respect, the sweet vernal, meadow foxtail, and 

 smooth stalked meadow grasses. The weight of its produce is not so 

 great, as to rank it high for the intention of hay; its other properties 

 enumerated) however, prove it to be an essential constituent of every 



