No. 149.1 245 



or sod, and much of the old oue adheres to the roots and is car- 

 ried with them on removal. The grasses A\hicli are succulent, 

 and have the largest stems and many joints, and these rather 

 large, sometliing like the Indian corn plant or sugar cane, gene- 

 rally contain the most sacharine, or sugar and mncilage. When 

 the structure is of a light glaucous or sea green color, the sugar 

 is generally in excess. 



Grasses which have culms or stems furnished with numerous 

 joints, leaves smooth, succulent flowers, in a spike or close pan- 

 icle, flowerets blunt and large, contain most gluten and mucilage. 

 When the structure is of a glaucous color, and the flowerets woolly, 

 sugar is in the next proportion to mucilage. Grasses, with strong, 

 creeping roots, culms few, flower in spike, contain the greatest 

 proportion of bitter extract. It must be recollected that sugar 

 and mucilage are the most important ingredients in the grasses. 

 The sweet scented vernal grass is considerably esteemed, not so 

 much fur its nutriment as for its fragrance. It has been analyzed 

 and found to contain less of the former than several other kinds. 

 It has been found in Europe by intelligent, practical farmers, that 

 cattle do not eat so freely of it nor relish it as well as several 

 other grasses. Sheep, it is said, will not touch it. This shows 

 that it is not always the sweetest and most brilliant flowers that 

 are most useful. It abounds, more or less, in most good mead- 

 ows mixed with other grasses. It is supposed, by some, to give 

 to hay its fragrance. This is mere supposition, as we think all 

 the nutritious grasses^ if properly cured, would have a similar 

 fragrance, if there was not a spear of vernal in them. There is 

 considerable of it in the rich pasture fields of Pennsylvania, 

 mixed with other fine grasses ; some think it gives to Pliiladel- 

 phia butter its fine flavor ; it may be so, but we think its superior 

 flavor due more to other grasses as cows prefer these, and con- 

 sume more of them. Sinclair, Donaldson, and some others, place 

 it in the lower order of the better grasses ; these last undoubt- 

 edly have some influence on the flavor of butter -, but this, we 

 think, is owing more to a combination of causes for which our 

 Pennsylvania friends are famous in the manufacture of their very 

 superior butter. 



