GRASSES. 



" The best natural pastures, exam- 

 ined carefully during various periods 

 of the season, were found by Sinclair 

 to consist of the following plants : 



Alopecarus pratensis, Avcn^ clatior, 

 Dactylis glonicrata, Liiliviiri peieiine, 

 Festuca pratensis, llriiiiiiis arveusis, 



Phleuni prateiise, Pua annua, 



Anthroxautliuiii odova- Aveua pratensis. 

 turn, 



" These afford the principal grass in 

 the spring, and also a great part of 

 the summer produce : 



Avena flavescens, Poa pratensis, 



Hordeum pratense, llolcus lanatus, 

 Cyuosurus cristatus, Trifnluiin pratense, 

 Festuca diiriuscula, Tnfuliuin repens, 

 Poa trivialis, Lathyrns pratensis. 



"These yield produce principally in 

 summer and autumn : 



Achillea MiUefuliuin, Agrostis stolonifera and 

 Tnticuin repens, palustris. 



'■The above mixture, sown at the 

 rate of four or five bushels to the 

 acre, on well-prepared soil, without 

 corn or other crop of any kind, could 

 hardly fail of producing excellent pas- 



ture in the following year, and for an 

 indefinite period. The best time for 

 sowmg is July or August, as spring- 

 sown seeds are apt to suffer with the 

 droughts of June and July. Fifteen 

 of the above sorts are to be had fmm 

 the seed shops ; and all of them may 

 be gathered from natural pastures, oi 

 bespoke from collectors. 



" Of late pasture grasses, the dif- 

 ferent species of cat's-tail {Phleum) 

 and bent grass (Agrostis) are the 

 chief, and especially the Timothy and 

 fiorin grass. The grasses, Davy ob- 

 serves, that propagate themselves by 

 stolones, the different species of 

 Agrostis, supply pasture throughout 

 the year, and the concrete sap stored 

 up in their joints renders them a 

 good food even in winter. 



" Of pasture grasses for inferior 

 soils, one of the most durable is the 

 dog's-tail grass {Cynosurus crista- 

 tus, also called Eleusine Indica, Fig 

 5, a). This is a very common grass 

 . 5. 



Pasture grasses 



on dry, clayey, or firm surfaces. It 

 is one of the best grasses for parks, 

 being highly relished by the South 

 Down sheep and deer. 



" The hard fescue grass {Festuca 

 durijiscula, b) is one of the best of the 

 dwarf sorts of grasses. It is grate- 

 ful to all kinds of cattle ; it is pres- 

 ent in most good meadows and pas- 

 tures, and, with F. ovina, is the best 

 for lawns. 



" The Festuca glabra (c) and hordei- 



for inferior soils. 



formis (d) greatly resemble the hard 

 fescue, and may be considered equal- 

 ly desirable as pasture and lawn 

 grasses. 



" The yellow oat grass (Avena fla- 

 vcscens) is very generally cultivated, 

 and appears, from the Woburn ex- 

 periments, to be a very valuable grass 

 for pasture on a clayey soil. 



" Of pasture grasses for inferior 

 soils and upland situations, one of 

 the principal is the Festuca ovina, or 



343 



