Tall Fescue Grasses. 95 



course, with reference to light soils in the, comparatively 

 speaking, dry climates of the eastern sides of these 

 islands. Writing on agriculture in 1888, in Morton's 

 Netv Farmers' Almanac, Mr. Faunce de Laune says, 

 with reference to this grass, "I imagined in 1884 that I 

 was the first person who had noticed its wonderful 

 quality of withstanding drought. But the same quality 

 was also observed the same year in America, and it 

 was only in October, 1887, that I found, in a book 

 written by the late curator of Glasnevin Botanical 

 Gardens, the same grass mentioned as growing luxuri- 

 antly on a dry calcareous soil." 



I am informed by Mr. James Hunter of Chester, 

 the well-known seedsman, that: — 



" Great care requires to be exercised in purchasing this grass, 

 as there are two kinds supplied to farmers under the name of 

 tall fescue — the first valuable, and the second worthless — and 

 that is evidently why there is a difi'erence of opinion as regards 

 this grass. The former — i.e., the valuable kind — is grown for 

 its seeds in the Ehenish provinces in a limited district, and is 

 supplied to seedsmen who will pay the price for it ; and this 

 price, the moment any increase of competition occurs, naturally 

 runs up to a high level, and the difficulty of obtaining a regular 

 and considerable supply of the seed at a reasonable price leads to 

 the importation of the tall reed fescue of ISlew Zealand, which is 

 an extremely coarse and harsh grass, and quite unsuitable as a 

 pasture grass. Any one seeing it in a pasture would be sure to 

 condemn it, and hence the bad reputation into which tall 

 fescue has fallen. As the Ehenish seed costs about twice as 

 much as that of the reed fescue from New Zealand, there is 

 therefore a strong temptation to supply the latter instead of the 

 former, and it is thus of obvious importance to obtain a guarantee 

 as to the kind supplied, and also to send it to the botanist 

 for examination. It may be well to mention that in a sample 

 sent to me of the New Zealand species there is ergot." 



Tall oat grass (Avena elatior). — This is a very 

 hardy, droughft-resisting, and productive grass (for 

 which quality it is much valued on the Continent), 



