GRASSES OF THE MOIST PLACES 



517 



border them ; but here the quahty of the 

 hay would be \-ery coarse with such an 

 addition, and practically only fit for 

 bedding cattle. 



Marsh land inevitably recalls the 

 memory of the Common Reed [Phrag- 

 niiics communis). It stands apart as the 



water-current. Sometimes patches of it 

 stand out in the meadows where the 

 stream has flushed the surface earth. The 

 great panicle of flower— as much as 

 eighteen inches in length— of dark purple- 

 brown is eminently graceful as it sways 

 among the sih-ery green foliage, antl tlie 



THE COMMON REED. 



TUFTED HAIR GRASS. 



only species we have of its kind, and the 

 great stems of eight or ten feet high 

 almost cause us to forget that the plant 

 is a grass. The growth is not only tall 

 but stout, with inch-broad leaves, which, 

 when caught in the wind, flash up the 

 grey under-colouring very beautifully. 

 The rustle and hiss of a mass of Reeds 

 in the wind has a fascination of its own 

 in the quiet of the marshes. Yet this 

 grass is not confined to big areas solely, 

 for it grows beside many a stream, and 

 even a l)road ditch will do if it has a fair 



66 



whole strength of the plant e.xcites admira- 

 tion as distinctly liandsome. It grows all 

 over the world with \'arying modifications, 

 and is of utilitarian \-ahie, since the tough 

 strength of the leaves makes it usefid 

 for thatching. 



The purple flowering glory comes in 

 July and August, and yet later, when the 

 ])Iant world is slowly passing into its time 

 of limitation, in the dried stage, the 

 tawny plumes standing in autumn mist 

 are still beautiful. 



It is (juite liki'ly that the Tufted Hair 



