105 



According to Mr. James Fletcher (Bulletin No. 19, Central Experi- 

 mental Farm, Ottawa), this grass is known, in Canada as Indian Hay, 

 and he makes the following observations in regard to it : ( ' When 

 cut or fed off, it keeps continually producing young leaves. When 

 once established, however, it is very persistent, and in Manitoba is 

 rapidly becoming a noxious weed most difficult to eradicate. It can- 

 not, therefore, in any case be recommended for cultivation there, and 

 should be introduced everywhere with caution. Our analyses prove 

 it to be a very rich grass. Horses and cattle eat it readily. 



" This is the grass of which the leaves are used by the Indian 

 women to weave the scented ( Indian hay ' baskets and mats." 



No analysis of our Scented-grass has yet been made. It will, there- 

 fore, be useful to peruse the two accompanying analyses of H. borealis. 

 No. 1 is a Canadian grass, gathered with the seeds half ripe. No. 2 

 is from the United States. It will be observed that the Canadian 

 specimen was very moist. The albuminoids (the flesh-forming con- 

 stituents of plants) are unusually high. 



Other uses. None, except that there would be a limited sale for 

 small baskets and other plaited work made out of it. 



Since the above was written, Mr. W. H. Walker, of Tenterfield, has 

 found this grass at his Boonoo Boonoo Out Station in very swampy 

 country. This discovery (see Agricultural Gazette, February, 1896, 

 p. 81) brings the range of the grass several hundreds of miles further 

 to the north, Boonoo Boonoo being in the mountainous country near 

 the Queensland border ; and I feel sure that only further search is 

 required to find this interesting species within Queensland territory. 

 In a letter subsequent to the communication originally forwarding the 

 grass, Mr. Walker writes : t( I saw this grass on Bookookoorara, 

 close to the top of the main range (say) about 4,000 feet above the 

 sea ; and as the grass I saw had no seed on it, I asked my head stock- 

 man to bring in a specimen in seed or flower. He says there is lots 

 of it on both the eastern and western watersheds of the main range. 

 Stock are very fond of it in the winter and early spring months of 

 the year. He did not know it was scented until he got the specimens. 

 From what I can hear it is a valuable winter and early spring grass, 

 but useless when old." 



