AGRICULTURAL SPECIES OF BENT GRASSES, 9 



Rhode Island bent, by a curious and unfortunate misidentification, 

 has for a long tune been referred to both in seedsmen's catalogues 

 and in botanical pubhcations as Agrostis canina L. Agrostis canina, 

 popularly known in England as brown bent, is sparingly introduced 

 in America. It has never been handled pure in the seed trade, 

 although its seed is a common impurity in seed of South German 

 mixed bent. 



The authority responsible for the identification of Rhode Island 

 bent as Agrostis canina is obscure, but Beal (2, p. 151) adopted it 

 in 1887, while Olcott (12, p. 179-180) in the same year mentioned 

 the name with the following explanation: 



The botanic situation was complicated some 10 or 12 years ago by the well-meaning 

 efforts of a Providence merchant — assisted by a botanist — to stem the tide of adulter- 

 ation. This injured his own business and that of seed growers in the Narragansett 

 country, who relied for a living on their sales of fine Agrostis seed under the trade 

 name of Rhode Island bent. After what he considered a sufficient examination this 

 worthy botanist declared that the systematic name of Rhode Island bent should be 

 Agrostis canina, and thia name was actually adopted in the lists of several eminent 

 seedsmen. 



This unfortimate error has continued both in conamercial and 

 botanical pubhcations to the present day. As both the seed and 

 other characters of brown bent are very distinct from Rhode Island 

 bent, it is to be hoped that the error in due time will be generally 

 recognized. 



Rhode Island bent was formerly a grass of considerable commercial 

 importance, but in recent years it has been httle gathered. vSeeds- 

 men continue to include it in then" hsts, but the seed offered is nearly 

 always redtop or South German mixed bent, or a mixture of these 

 two. There were two reasons for the commercial decHne of true 

 Rhode Island bent: (1) The development of the redtop-seed industry 

 in Illinois and (2) the importation of South German mixed bent 

 seed. The seeds of these three are very much ahke and can easily 

 be substituted one for another. Redtop seed is much the cheapest 

 of the three. For this reason it was often substituted wholly or in 

 part for Rhode Island bent. Furthermore, redtop is more valuable 

 for hay and pastures than Rhode Island bent, so that the use of the 

 latter for these purposes declined. For fine lawns, however, Rhode 

 Island bent is much superior to redtop. 



Rhode Island bent makes a fine, close turf, scarcely inferior to 

 that produced by wSouth German mixed bent. At the time of writing 

 (January, 1918) no seed of South German mixed bent is available, 

 owing to conditions arising out of the European war. Rhode Island 

 bent is, however, a very satisfactory substitute for use on lawns 

 and golf courses, for which there exists a very large demand. Prac- 

 55049°— 18— Bull. 692 2 



