100 



TALL FESCUE. 



In addition to its qualities as a pasture grass, it is 

 said to make a very good quality of hay, much relished 



by cattle. The Randall grass 

 is highly spoken of for fall 

 and winter pastures in the 

 climate of Virginia, and, as it 

 often remains green under 

 the snow through the winter, 

 it is not unfrequently called 

 " Evergreen grass." 



The TALL FESCUE GRASS 

 (Festuca elatior) is also found 

 pretty commonly in moist 

 meadows and around farm- 

 houses. Its panicle is con- 

 tracted, erect, or somewhat 

 drooping, with short branches, 

 spreading in all directions ; 

 spikelets crowded, with five to 

 ten flowers, rather remote, ob- 

 long, lanceolate ; leaves flat- 

 tish, linear, acute ; stems two 

 to four feet high; root perenni- 

 al, fibrous, somewhat creeping, 

 and forming large tufts. Fig. 

 74 shows this plant 

 at the time of flower- 

 ing, and Fig. 75 a 

 magnified spikelet of 

 the same. Flowers in 

 June and July. Intro- 

 duced from Europe. 

 It is a nutritive 



Fig. 74. Tall Fescue Grass. Fig. 75. and productive graSS, 



