GRASSES. 1153 



in gardens for ornament; and gathered for vases as an interesting 

 curiosity. 



Meadow Fescue.— -This is an early grass, which thrives on wet 

 land, and gives a good quality of hay as well as excellent pasturage. 

 See Fig. 30. 



The Tall Fescue Grass, Fig. 16, is found pretty commonly in 

 moist meadows and around farm-houses. Its panicle is contracted,- 

 erect, or somewhat drooping, with short branches, spreading in all 

 directions.; spikelets crowded, with five to ten flowers, rather remote, 

 oblong, lanceolate,; leaves flattish, linear, acute; stems two to foul 

 feet high ; root perennial, fibrous, somewhat creeping, and forming 

 large tufts. It flowers in June and July. It is a nutritive and pro- 

 ductive grass, growing naturally in shady woods and moist, stiff 

 soils. Cattle are Very fond of it. 



The Slender-spiked Fescue, Fig. 23, is a species nearly allied 

 to the tall fescue, and possesses much the same qualities. It grows 

 naturally in moist, rich meadows, forming a good, permanent past- 

 ure grass. 



Perennial Rye Grass, Fig. 47, has had the reputation in Great 

 Britain, for many years, of being one of the most important and 

 valuable of the cultivated grasses. It is probably much better 

 adapted to a wet and uncertain climate than to one subject almost 

 annually to droughts, which often continue many weeks, parching up 

 every green thing. There is, perhaps, no grass, the characteristics 

 of which vary so much from the influences of soil, climate, and cult- 

 ure as perennial rye grass.. This grass has been cultivated in Eng- 

 land since 1677, and in the south of France from time immemorial. 

 It is inferior in nutritive value to orchard grass when green: 



Whenever it is cut for hay, it is necessary to take it in the blos- 

 som, or very soon after, since otherwise it becomes hard and wiry, and 

 is not relished by stock of any kind ; and it changes very rapidly after 

 blossoming, from a state in which it contains the greatest amount of 

 water, sugar, etc., and the least amount of woody fiber, into the 

 state in which it possesses the least amount of water, sugar, etc., 

 and the greatest amount of woody fiber and other insoluble solid 

 matter. It is regarded as a valuable grass, and worthy of attention; 

 but it is not to be compared, for the purposes of New England agrU . 

 culture, to timothy or to orchard grass. It produces abundance of 

 seed, soon arrives at maturity, is relished by stock, likes 'a variety of 

 soils, all of which it exhausts, lasts six ' or seven years, and then 

 dies out.. S3 



