90 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



diameter, which contains 10 or 12 round flattened seeds.- 

 The herbage is not relished by animals, but the ripened 

 seeds yield a food of great richness, on which innumerable 

 herds of wild cattle fatten for slaughter. Horses, mules and 

 most other animals and fowls subsist upon it. (Dr. Lyman.) 



THE PRAIRIE GRASSES are found abundantly in the western 

 prairies and afford large supplies of nutritious food both as 

 pasturage and hay. As a general rule however, they are 

 coarse, and easily injured by the early frosts of autumn. *Some 

 of the leguminosse, or wild pea vines, which are frequently 

 found among them, yield the richest herbage. We are not 

 aware that any of these grasses have been cultivated with 

 success. 



TUSSAC GRASS (Dactylis cespitosa) is a luxuriant salt 

 marsh grass, growing in large tufts, and is found in perfection 

 on its native soil, the Falkland islands, between 51 and 52 

 south, and about 8 east of the straits of Magellan. Capt. 

 Ross describes it as "the gold and glory of those islands. 

 Every animal feeds upon it with avidity, and fattens in a 

 short time. The blades are about 6 feet long and from 200 

 to 300 shoots spring from a single plant. About 4 inches of 

 the root eats like the mountain cabbage. It loves a rank wet 

 peat bog with the sea spray over it." Governor Hood of 

 those islands says, " to cultivate the tussac, I would recom- 

 mend that the seed be sown in patches, just below 7 the surface 

 of the ground, and at distances of about two feet apart, and 

 afterwards weeded out, as it grows very luxuriantly, and to 

 the height of six or seven feet. It should not be grazed, but 

 reaped or cut in bundles. If cut, it quickly shoots up ; but is 

 injured by grazing, particularly by pigs, who tear it up to get 

 at the sweet nutty root." 



ARUNDO GRASS, (Arundo alopecurus.) Mr. Hooker from 

 the same islands says, " another grass, however, far more'abun- 

 dant and universally distributed over the whole country, 

 scarcely yields in its nutritious qualities to the tussac ; 1 

 mean the Arundo Alopecurus, which covers every peat bog 

 with a dense and rich clothing of green in summer, and a 

 pale yellow good hay in the winter season. This hay, 

 though formed by nature without being mown and dried, 

 keeps those cattle which have not access to the former grass 

 in excellent condition. No bog, however rank, seems too 

 bad for this plant to luxuriate in ; and as we remarked du- 

 ring our survey of Port William, although the soil on the 

 quartz districts was very unprolific in many good grasses 



