TICKLE GRASS. — BROWN BENT. 39 



Thin Grass {Agrostis perennans). — Panicle diffusely 

 spreading, pale green ; branches short, divided, and 

 flower-bearing from or below the middle; found in damp, 

 shaded places. Perennial. Flowers in June and July. 



Hair Grass or Fly-away Grass, Tickle Grass 

 [Agrostis scabra), is another species belonging to this 

 genus, with a panicle very loose and spreading, pur- 

 plish; the long capillary branches flower-bearing near 

 the apex ; stems slender, one to two feet high ; leaves 

 short and narrow. Flowers in June and July. Common 

 in old fields and drained swamps. It is of no particu- 

 lar agricultural value. 



The large, loose panicles are exceedingly delicate and 

 brittle when the plant is ripe and dr}', and easily break 

 away from the stalk, when they are blown about by the 

 wind scattering their seeds far and wide ; and hence it 

 is frequently called " Fly-away Grass," illustrating one 

 of the admirable contrivances of nature for the distribu- 

 tion of the seeds of grasses and other plants. 



Brown Bent or Dog's Bent Grass {Agrostis canina), 

 another species of agrostis, has for its specific charac- 

 ters an erect, slender, spreading panicle ; root peren- 

 nial and creeping ; stem erect, slender ; leaves flat and 

 linear. The palea shorter than the glume, and fur- 

 nished with a long, bent awn on the back, a little below 

 the middle ; spikelets at first greenish, afterwards brown 

 or slightly purple. Meadows and pastures, and wet, 

 peaty places — introduced. Flowers in June and July. 

 It is of no special agricultural value. 



The Alpine Brown Bent {Agrostis canina, var. al 

 2nna), the Upright Flowered Bent, and many other 

 species, might be mentioned ; but, of all the species of 

 this genus, the redtop and whitetop are the most com- 

 mon as agricultural grasses among us. 



