142 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The largest and most striking of our native grasses, Fhragm'des 

 communis, is, occasionally found upon our salt marshes, although 

 it is not limited to these localities. It is a species widely dis- 

 persed throughout the temperate regions of the world, growing 

 along the margins of rivers and freshwater lakes. It has remark- 

 ably long and deeply penetrating roots, and is especially valuable 

 as a sand and soil binder. There is a small area of this grass 

 growing in the sands near the water's edge on Cape Cod, Avhere 

 it is exposed to the extreme action of the winds and storm tides. 

 It has existed there for many years, and its power to withstand 

 the elements and fix the sands is clearly demonstrated. While 

 its foliage may not resist the cutting action of the blowing sands, 

 as do the leaves of Beach grass, its power to resist the action of 

 the waves is greater. Wherever the waves of the higher tides 

 reach the sands occupied by Beach grass, it is soon destroyed. 



Upon the higher portions of the marsh, which usually escape 

 the ordinary tides, occur several fine grasses of excellent quality. 

 Among these are the Creeping or Red Fescue, Sea Spear grass. 

 Creeping Bent or Brown-top, and Black grass. The Creeping Bent 

 or Brown-top is one of the best and most tender grasses for fod- 

 der which the marshes produce. It is onl}^ a variety of the well- 

 known Redtop of our meadows, with* stems which are more or less 

 creeping at the base, and with a less spreading panicle. Sea 

 Spear grass (Olyceria maritima) is not uncommon on the marshes 

 of the New England coast, extending southward to iSTew Jersey. 

 It is a tender grass, liked by cattle, and when abundant makes 

 a valuable addition to the salt hay designed for fodder. Eed 

 Fescue (Fesfuca rubra) is a native, and occasionally appears upon 

 the marshes, although more abundant upon the sandy soil of 

 waste lands bordering them. It is a grass of excellent quality, 

 and often enhances considerably the value of marsh hay. Of 

 all the grasses of the marshes proper, there is none more highly 

 prized for hay than Black grass {-Taurus Gerardi), which extends 

 all along the Atlantic coast, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence south 

 to Florida. This, as you will notice, is not a true grass, but a 

 rush, its botanical characters being quite distinct from those of 

 the Gramineae. Its slender erect stems are from one to two feet 

 high, somewhat wiry, yet soft and ap])arently palatable to stock. 

 It contains less fibre and a higher nutritive ratio, as is shown by 

 chemical analyses, than Timothy and Iledtop. 



