APPENDIX E.—INDIGENOUS GRASSES OF BRITAIN. 195 
tion. For example, in the excellent work of Mr. Stillingfleet, we 
mad “That the heath hair grass (Agrostis capillaris) is certainly 
‘one of the best, Sine it is common in pastures where sheep are 
“very prosperous.” Now the Agrostis capillaris is not a native; 
the A, vulgaris must therefore be meant. On this supposition also, 
he is under a great mistake; for that Agrostis is known to be one 
of the worst of grasses. The abundance of its flowering stems is a 
proof that it is rejected or disliked by the cattle. I have always 
observed this grass to take hold of barren ground, where tillage 
had been tried, and after a bad crop or two abandoned. On such 
sterile land a stranger is often astonished at the apparent luxuri- 
ance of this useless grass, in the autumnal season: But every 
experienced farmer knows that it is the worst of pasture, or rather 
no pasture at all. How much then must it interest the cultivator 
of such a soil, to discover a grass that might thrive as well as this, 
and at the same time afford nutritious food for his cattle ? 
Having shewn the great utility of this improvement in agri- 
culture, as well as the possibility of making the trial in a satis- 
factory manner, I shall proceed in the next section to mention the 
grasses that appear to me preferable to others for the end proposed, 
Sect. I. 
ENUMERATION OF THE GRASSES AND PLANTS RECOMMENDED TO NOTICE 
FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARREN SOILS; WITH SOME ACCOUNT 
OF THEIR NATURE AND PROBABLE USE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. 
1. Poa nemoralis'. This grass seems to have been entirely 
overlooked by agricultural writers on British grasses. Both Dr, 
Withering and Dr. Hull regard it as an annual, but Dr, Smith, in 
his Flora Britannica, has marked it as perennial—which it certainly 
is. It is found native in woods and shady places. I have cultivated 
it for upwards of ten years past in different soils and situations, 
with complete success. I first planted it on a good soil, when it 
produced abundantly. I afterwards had occasion to remove my 
collection of living plants to a piece of ground near the town of. 
Forfar. I then planted it on a dry sloping bank of sand, which 
formed the back of a mud wall raised as a fence. In this poor soil, 
this dry and exposed situation, it produced a crop little inferior to 
what it yielded when cultivated in the rich soil. In this sandy soil 
it has remained for these seven years past, annually affording a 
} Wood meadow grass, 
