274 



BRITISH GRASSES. 



This is a familiar grass, of great utility, and a fair 

 share of beauty. The universal fresh green of the stem 



and leaves is relieved by a 

 purple or brownish tinge on 

 the numerous spikelets. Its 

 smoothness distinguishes it 

 well from the allied species 

 P. trivialis, and it comes 

 into flower rather earlier. 

 It frequents drier situations 

 than the trivialis. It has a 

 habit of throwing out creep- 

 ing scions, which makes it 

 increase rapidly. 



This is a good meadow 

 and pasture grass, indeed 

 Mr. Sole calls it "the most 

 noble of all the grasses for 

 agriculture." Its herbage 

 begins to shoot up early in 

 the spring, and all cattle 

 are fond of it ; it makes good hay and good pasturage. 

 It does not throw up a succession of flowering stems, 

 but produces them freely at once. It is well suited 

 for parks and lawns, seldom dying out of land where it 

 has once made a settlement. Its after-math is more 

 valuable than its hay-crop, according to Mr. Sinclair's 

 judgment; he recommends that the meadow grass, 

 where it prevails, should be cut early, as the whole plant 

 becomes sickly and exhausted in seeding-time. Its 

 creeping root is said to impoverish the soil. 



P. prate?isis, var. subccerulea, is common in meadows 

 where the soil is peaty. 



