28 Ornamental Grass Gardens. 



pp.63 — 75.)? informs us that the Holcus spicatusand Holcus 

 cernuus were cultivated largely in Africa by the natives, for the 

 like purposes as wheat and barley are in Europe. The Poa 

 abyssinica has a very small seed, and yet, as Bruce informs 

 us, it is cultivated extensively in Abyssinia for the manufac- 

 ture of bread, (teff.) The annual species of grass have larger 

 and heavier seeds than those which are perennial, and the 

 creeping rooted species have lighter, and in general, less fer- 

 tile seeds than the fibrous rooted. The creeping roots of 

 the common couch grass (Triticum repens) contain a large 

 quantity of nutritive matter; in its composition or properties 

 approaching nearer to that of corn, than the nutritive matter 

 afforded by the herbage of any of the other grasses. On the 

 continent, particularly at Naples, these roots are regularly 

 sent to market, and are there highly esteemed for the food 

 of horses. The writer of this had some of these roots for ex- 

 amination sent from Naples, they proved to contain more 

 nutritive matter than the roots of English growth. Dogs 

 eat the leaves of this species of grass as well as those of the 

 Holcus avenaceus, to excite vomiting. 



The farinaceous seeds of the annual grasses supply man with 

 the staff of life, and the herbage of the perennial species afford 

 to the more valuable domestic animals, that constant supply 

 of essential food without which they could not exist in any 

 considerable number, or for any length of time, much less be 

 brought to furnish us with the most important articles of 

 clothing, and some of the most important parts of food ; 

 meat, milk, butter, and cheese ; wool, and leather, with all the 

 concomitant advantages, such as labour, manure, &c. which 

 result to the cultivator of the soil from the use of cattle, 

 would be lost without the cultivation of the perennial grasses. 



The nutritive powers of the different species of pasture or 

 hay grasses are found to be in direct proportion to the quan- 

 tity of saccharine, mucilaginous, albuminous, bitter extractive, 

 and saline matters which each affords. 



Not two species of grasses are found to agree in the pro- 

 portions of these vegetable principles contained in each ; as 

 instances, the Elymus arenarius affords the largest proportion 

 of sugar, the Foa compressa, var. erecta, consists almost of 

 pure mucilage, and the Festuca pennata, or Holcus avenaceus, 

 &c, a greater proportion of bitter, extractive, and saline 

 matters. 



There are but few species which attain their height of pro- 

 duce at the same period of the season, consequently, scarcely a 

 month occurs which is not the season of some particular species 

 attaining its perfection of growth : and here, it may be ob- 



