WATER SPEAR GRASS. 75 



erect, with hairy branches, spreading, rough ; spikelets 

 few, linear, oblong, five to nine flowered ; lower palea 

 oblong, minutely five-toothed; leaves short, sharp-pointed, 

 and pale-green. Flowers in July. Culms one to three 

 feet long, creeping at the base. 



Pale manna grass is of no value for cultivation, since, 

 from the place of its growth, it could hardly be used 

 to advantage,- like many other grasses which are now 

 worthless, for turning in green as a manure. The rank, 

 leafy grasses, many of which are regarded as weeds, 

 would be more suitable for the purpose. 



The WATER SPEAR GRASS, or REED MEADOW GRASS 

 ( Glyceria aquatica), grows in wet soils and the shallow 

 water of marshes. It is a tall, reedy grass, four or five 

 feet high, with a panicle nearly a foot long, diffuse, with 

 smooth, flexuous branches. Shown in Fig. 43. From 

 its large size and broad leaves it can hardly be mistaken 

 for any of the other species of this genus, or of any of 

 the genus Poa, to which it is referred by Linnaeus and 

 others. Its root is perennial, creeping ; stem erect, 

 stout, smooth ; joints seven, smooth ; spikelets numer- 

 ous. Florets not webbed. Flowers in August. 



This grass has been cultivated to some extent in 

 England and France for its large yield of coarse hay ; 

 and, if cut while green and before attaining its full 

 growth, it is said to make a nutritious and palatable 

 fodder, cattle being fond of it. Its spikelet is seen 

 magnified in Fig. 44. 



It is worthy of trial on wet meadows, as it would 

 certainly be more valuable than the coarse sedges often 

 found there. It is common North and West. 



The FLOATING MEADOW GRASS, or COMMON MANNA 

 GRASS (Glyceria fluitans), differs from the other species 

 of this genus in the general appearance of its slender 



