54 THE GRASSES— HARD FESCUE. 



in it are Sorrel, Tufted Hair-grass, and soft Brome 

 grass. 



The writer remembers meeting with a sample of 

 Hard Fescue a few years ago. It was offered by a 

 Continental house, and looked so bad that he analysed 

 it with the following result: — A hundred grains con- 

 tained 58 of Hard or Eed Fescue, 27 of 

 Tufted Hair-grass, 4 of Meadow grasses, 

 4 of Sorrell, i of Chickweed, 2 doubtful 

 seeds, and 4 bits of quartz. This, of 

 course, was a very bad case, and there 

 are not many like it (let us hope), but 

 still a sufficient number of impure parcels 

 of the smaller fescues may be met with to 

 warrant the statement that almost all the 

 seed of this species that is imported would be the better 

 of a special cleaning and recleaning before being sown. 

 There are wholesale and retail seedsmen who devote 

 themselves to the cleaning of the natural grasses, and 

 the buyer can purchase perfectly pure seed if he will 

 go to the trouble to look for it. 



Stimulating manures do little or nothing for Hard 

 Fescue, they only encourage other grasses at its 

 expense. 



At Wdburn, Hard Fescue, grown on a hard clayey 

 loam, gave of grass per acre — 



T. cwts. qrs. lbs. 



At time of flowering . . . .8400 

 WMcli yielded of hay per acre . ■ 3 13 3 9 



At the seed ripening period it increases its weight of 

 grass, but loses nutritive matter. 



