THE GRASSES— TALL MEADOW FESCUE. 6i 



drought. From this it would appear that it might be 

 used with advantage on light soils as well as on those 

 that are heavy and wet. 



!Mr. M. J. SuTTOX would exclude this grass entirely 

 from prescriptions for meadows which are generally 

 cut for hay, not only becatise of the tendency of the 

 grass to become ergotted, but because of the extreme 

 coarseness of the hay produced. This authority adds 

 further that the plant when indigenous to this country 

 is practically sterile, yet on the Continent of Europe, 

 where it is known as Festuca arundinacea, it is fertile, 

 and seed of it is saved and exported to England 

 annually. The plant, whether produced from the 

 divided roots of the indigenous variety or from seed 

 of the Continental F. arundinacea, equally maintains 

 the characteristic creeping habit of the root, which is 

 a distinctive feature as compared with F. pratensis. 



The Seed of the true Tall Fescue is larger, flatter, and 

 more pointed than that of the common Meadow Fescue. 

 Formerly it used to be difficult to get seed of Tall 

 Fescue free from admixture of Perennial Kyegrass, 

 and in some cases even yet such samples may be met 

 with. Mr. Hunter says that " absolutely pure seed of 

 F. elaiior cannot be obtained, the purest samples 

 usually containing from two to five per cent, of Eye- 

 grass, about the same proportion of Cocksfoot, and some 

 Meadow Fescue." 



In addition to a natural sterility, a good deal of the 

 seed of the Tail Fescue grass is rendered useless by 

 the attacks of an insect which penetrates the ovary and 

 destroys the germ. Therefore, from one cause or an- 

 other, as much of the Tall Fescue seed of commerce is 

 of low germinating power, it follows that if a proportion 



