128 



Festuca ovina. Sheep's Fescue. 



Specific character: Panicle pointing one way, crowded ; spikets roundish at the base, 



straws 



slightly four-cornered ; leaves bristle-shaped, roughish. 



smooth; ■ 



0^5.— The awns appear to be an nncertam character in this grass, as it is frequently awnles 

 and there are varieties of it having awns : in the Festuca ovina hordiformis , before 



s 



men^ 



at 



tioned, the awns are of a considerable length ; but all the varieties may be distinguished 

 first sight from the F. durimciita, glabra, rubra, &c. to which it is nearest alUed, by th 

 compact though simple appearance of the panicle, which more distinctly faces one wav 

 Besides the present variety, (which is by far the most common), there is another, which is 

 also awnless, but distinguished by its superior height, reddish-coloured culms, brown pa- 

 nicle, and brown-coloured anthers- The Festuca tenuifolia much resembles this, but the 

 panicle is less crowded, the leaves are as long, or longer than the culms, and bent down- 

 wards, while those of the present species are shorter, and grow upright, E. Bot. 58 



r 



Host t. 84 var. awned ; Wither. Arr. ii. p. 152, 



J 



Native of Britain. Root fibrous, perennial. 



Experiments. — At the time of flowering, the produce from a light sandy soil, is. 



.\ 



Grass, 8oz. The produce per acre 

 64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 

 The produce of the space, ditto 



The produce of latter-math is, 

 Grass, 5 oz. The produce per acre 

 64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 



* 



r 



OZ. 



87120 







lbs. 



5445 



75 gr. 

 150 



3403 2 



213 11 



\ 



1 dr. 1 qr. 



54450 

 1063 7 



3403 2 



m 7 



At the time the seed is ripe, the produce is^ 

 Grass, 8 oz. The produce per^ acre - 



64 dr. of herbage afford of nutritive matter 

 The produce of the space, ditto 



87130 



5445 



45 gr. 



90 



2041 14 



127 9 



t 



When cultivated on a heath soil, the produce was somewhat less than the ahove, but from 

 a rich sandy loam, the produce afforded Avas greater than from the light sandy soil; but, astlie 

 superior pasture grasses thrive well on this last-mentioned soil, and afford a produce superior to 

 that of the Sheep's-fescue on the same soil, as 3 to 1, its comparative value may be considered 

 only with regard to its natural soil and the grasses it produces. The smallness of the produce 

 renders it entirely unfit for hay, and the dry weight was in consequence not ascertained. 



Linnaeus affirms, that sheep have no relish for hills and heaths that are destitute of this 

 Gemelin, in his Flora Siberica, informs us likewise, that the Tartars choose to fix during 

 the summer where this grass is in greatest plenty, because it affords a most wholesome food for 

 all sorts of cattle, but chiefly sheep. Dr. Anderson', in his Agricultural Essays, aflinBS that it 

 IS capable of affordmg an immense quantity of hay. Mr. Curtis, in his Practical Observatior.s 

 on Bntish Grasses, has justly combated this opinion of Dr. Anderson, and records that Sheep's 

 Fescue IS more fitted for the formation of grass plats; but for this purpose it will not be found 

 to succeed, unless the soil is nearly as dry and light as that on which it is spontaneously pr 



grass. 







