88 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



reason. It is a diminutive grass, affording considerable 

 nutriment in a condensed form, and is adapted to a winter 

 pasture. It grows on a moist clay or boggy soil Several 

 of the florin family abound in this country, among which is 

 the squitch, couch or quick grass. 



THE SWEET SCENTED VERNAL GRASS (AntJioxanthum odo- 

 I'atum,) is an early valuable pasture grass, which exhales that 

 delightful perfume, so characteristic of much of the eastern 

 meadow hay. It is a late as well as early grass and luxuri- 

 ates in a dry sandy loam. It affords two and sometimes three 

 crops in a single season. 



RED TOP, HERDS GRASS, FOUL MEADOW, OR FINE BENT 

 (agrostis vulgaris,) is a hardy luxuriant grass, loving a very 

 moist soil, and somewhat indifferent as to its texture. The 

 scale of its nutritive properties is put down in the Woburn 

 experiments at a remarkably low rate, being less than one 

 fourteenth of the value per acre of timothy in the seed. We 

 think there must be an error in this estimate, as it grows lux- 

 riantly under favorable circumstances and is relished by cat- 

 tle ; but by observing farmers it is seldom cultivated where 

 the better grasses will grow. 



UPRIGHT BENT GRASS, HERDS GRASS OR FOUL MEADOW 

 (Agroslis strictd) is similar to the foregoing, and by some is 

 deemed only a variety. 



FLAT STALKED MEADOW OR BLUE GRASS (Poa compressa) 

 is an early dwarfish grass, which abounds in the middle and 

 northern states. It is tenacious of its foothold wherever it 

 intrudes. It possesses little merit as hay, but is valuable for 

 pasture affording as it does a close covering to the ground 

 and yielding much in a small compass. 



AMERICAN OR SWAMP COCK'S FOOT (Dactylis cynosuroi- 

 des) is an indigenous swamp grass, yielding a large amount 

 of grass or hay of inferior quality. 



RIBBON GRASS (Phalaris Americana) is the beautiful stri- 

 ped grass occasionally used for garden borders. It has been 

 highly recommended for swamps, where it o is alleged 

 that by transplanting, it supesrsedes all other grasses, 

 and affords a fine quality of hay of an appearance quite dif- 

 ferent from the upland growth. The writer tried several ex- 

 periments both with the seed and roots, on a clay marsh 

 without success. Its proper pabulum is probably a carbona- 

 ceous soil, such as is found in an alluvial swamp or peat bed. 



GAMA GRASS, ( Tripsacum dactyloides,) is found growing 

 spontaneously on a naked sand beach in Stratford? Ct. and in 



