TRI ANDRI A DIG Y NI A. 29 



4. A. flavescens, panicle much branched, spreading, erect ; flo- 

 rets about 3, longer than the very unequal calyx ; leaves flat, a 

 little downy ; stem 1 foot high ; ri>ot somewhat creeping. Yellow 

 Oat-grass. 



Hab. Meadows and pastures, common. July. Ij. 

 The straw of this grass, according to Mr COBBETT, affords 

 the finest plat of any for making bonnets. He has tried 

 for this purpose the greater number of our common kinds, 

 and besides this recommends the Sweet-scented Vernal- 

 grass, the Rye-grass, and the Crested Dog's-tail-grass, as 

 most worthy of attention, 



38. AKUNDO. 



1. A. pliragmiteS) florets about 5, awnless, longer than the ca- 

 lyx ; panicle loose. Common Reed. 



Hab. Banks of rivers, and in ponds and ditches, frequent. 

 July. I/. 



The Reed is much used for fences and thatching, for which 

 purpose it is superior to common straw ; and in several of 

 the fenny counties in England, not only cottages, but 

 houses of a better description, are covered with it. In 

 most parts of the kingdom it is annually cut ; and in the 

 fenny parts of Lincolnshire forms a valuable harvest. 

 PENNANT says, he saw a stock of reeds, the property of a 

 single farmer, which was worth L. 200 or L, 300. In 

 Holland, the panicles of flowers are extensively used for 

 making hearth-besoms ; and in Lapland, for dyeing coarse 

 cloths of a yellowish green colour. The internal mem- 

 brane of the stem, according to Mr ADIE, makes a hygro- 

 meter exceeding, in point of sensibility, every other sub- 

 stance that he has met with. 



2. A. arenaria, calyx single flowered, longer than the corolla ; 

 panicle spiked; flowers erect, slightly awned; leaves involute, 

 sharp-pointed. Sea-Reed, or Bent. 



Ilab. Sandy sea-coast from Spittal southward. July. 7/ 



This is one of the most valuable grasses for binding the sand 

 of the sea-shore, and raising those banks which, in Nor- 

 folk, on our own coast, and especially in Holland, are the 

 chief defence of the country against the encroachments of 

 the ocean. For some interesting illustrations of its uti- 

 lity in this respect, the reader is referred to CUVIER'S 

 Es'say on the Theory of the Earth. At Aberdeen and at 



