THE GRASSES— CRESTED DOGSTAIL. 39 



Crested Dogstail. 



(Cynosurus cristatus.) 

 Extra good seed will sometimes weigli up to 36 lbs. per bushel. 



Standard of germination, of H.M.'s Office of Works, 

 go per cent. Some seedsmen guarantee 95 per cent. 



Chas. Johnson reports that this grass frequently 

 forms the principal part of the sward in 

 situations natural to it, viz., high and dry 

 pastures or sheep downs. In such situations 

 no species is more valuable. Owing to the 

 depth to which its roots penetrate, it remains 

 green long after most~ other species have 

 withered. It is not at all, however, adapted 

 for general cultivation — the stems being too 

 harsh and wiry, and the herbage unproductive 

 where a crop of hay is required. 



Curtis (who bases his qualifications to pronounce 

 opinions regarding the grasses on " twenty years culture 

 and observation of them ") says that — finding this grass 

 produces but little foliage ; that its stems are wiry and 

 constantly refused by cattle; that, on account of its 

 roots being fibrous and penetrating to no great depth, 

 it becomes in dry summers little better than an annual 

 — he is induced to think less favourably of its intrinsic 

 merits. 



Dr. Steblee considers it one of the best grasses — not 

 valuable so much in respect of its produce as in regard 

 of its high nutritive qualities. Prospers best in a 

 humid climate, and forms an essential part of the best 

 pastures in England, Holland, Schleswig-Holstein, and 



