38 THE GRASSES— SCHRCEDER'S BROME GRASS. 



same thickness as the seed of the Perennial Eyegrass, 

 it is impossible to separate the one from the other. 

 The great flat white seeds of Bromus mollis, and occa- 

 sionally the slender, long-awned seeds of Bromus sterilis 

 and Bromus asper, may be easily recognised in impure 

 samples of Home and Foreign Italian. Agriculturists 

 should carefully avoid sowing seeds that contain ad- 

 mixture of the seeds of any of those Brome grasses. 

 In any land except the very worst they are out of 

 place, and come under the head of weeds. 



SchroBdep's Brome Grass. 



Mr. Martin J. Sutton says that this grass has not 

 been sufficiently cultivated in England, and strongly 

 urges its inclusion in mixtures for two or three years' ley 

 which are mainly to be fed off. There is a prejudice 

 against it because of the harshness of its foliage, yet it 

 is a valuable forage plant. It is one of the earliest 

 grasses to start in a temporary pasture; it grows so 

 strong as to crowd out weeds ; it feeds on the surface, 

 and will thrive on the thinnest soil. In warm moist 

 seasons especially its usefulness will be manifested. 

 Mr. Sutton once saw a field of this grass keeping an 

 extraordinary flock of sheep, which were penned on it 

 during a hot summer. The crop was ready at one end of 

 the field as soon as the sheep had finished at the other. 



Professor Phaees (of Mississippi) says it varies in 

 the time of starting growth ; but, when once started, its 

 growth after the successive cuttings or grazings is very 

 rapid. It is tender, very sweet, and stock eat it 

 greedily. It makes also a good hay, and produces an 

 immense quantity of leaves. 



