Proceedings of the Faiuiers' Club. 493 



and fox-tail are the same, but tliat licrds has a reddisli bushy top, 

 while the head of tiinothy is round, small and firm. The seed of 

 herds-o-rass is uK^stly produced on the salt meadows of the Delaware; 

 it grows on a black peaty soil, quite too wet for timothy, and Nour- 

 ishes so well that three tons ])er acre is not a wonderful crop. There 

 is, however, great irregularity of usage in speaking of the grasses, 

 and some fixed names ought to be agreed upon ; and is doesn't help 

 matters at all to call timothy ■phleum ^watense.! fox-tail alopecurus 

 pratense, and red-top agrostis vnlyai'is. 



Mr. S. Edwards Todd. — In many parts of New Enghmd, timothy 

 grass {pJdeinn jvatense) is known and spoken of as herds-grass, 

 and in many counties of New York farmers know nothing about a 

 kind of grass by the name of timothy. But they are familiar with 

 herds-grass, which is nothing more nor less than the genuine pJdemn 

 pratcnxe. In some other states we find that the grass known and 

 talked of as lierds-grass is the '' English grass," or bent grass, or line 

 bent grass, or Burden's grass, fine-top or red-top {(ujroHl.lc oulyaris). 

 To corroborate my assertion touching the great variety of names 

 applied to what is known as herds-grass, I will read M'hat C. L. Flint, 

 in his ''Grasses and Forage Plants," states with reference to herds- 

 grass. On page thirty-four, herds-grass is one of the names given to 

 timothy iphleum j^ratense). He also states, that the name timothy 

 was obtained from Timothy Hanson, who is said to have cultivated 

 this variety extensively, and to have taken the seed from New York 

 to Carolina. He says, also, that tiiis jJdeuut, praiemi- is frequently 

 called herds-grass in some parts of New England, Pennsylvania and 

 States further South. He says the name "herds-grass" is applied to 

 the red-top of New England. Then, on page forty, when describing 

 red-to]> {afji'otts vukiarls) he gives it, among other names, the name 

 ©f hei-ds-grass of Pennsylvania and the Southern States. These two 

 grasses under consideration are very utdike, and a superficial observer 

 can easilv distinguish a marked difference between them. The 

 timothy {phUurn, pratenHe) has only a single head on tlie seed stem, 

 which is of a cylindrical form, like the tail of a cat. Hence the 

 name given to this grass in Europe, as the cat's tail grass. < )n thin 

 soil, timothy is somewhat inclined to grow in small tussocks or tufts, 

 which the red-top never docs. Timothy will spread very Utile from 

 the roots, while the red-top \it(jro.4l>< cul(/ari,s) is i)rovided with 

 creejiitig roots, like tlie Iventucky \)\\\Q-^r,i-ir> {poa jirat'.iisis)^ which 

 will sj>read ra}>idly tlirough the soil, sending up stems from every 



