THE GRASSES— R.-S. MEADOW GRASS. 87 



Lawson's Agrostographia says it is a valuable grass 

 in a mixture for pasture land, particularly on damp 

 soils, and where partly shaded by trees. It is weU 

 suited for irrigated meadows. Its creeping shoots begin 

 to grow pretty early in spring, and, by lying prostrate 

 on the ground, form a beautiful verdant sward. As the 

 season becomes more advanced, however, these shoots 

 are apt to get dried up by the effects of the sun, but 

 they shoot out again towards the end of the season, and 

 continue green during the greater part of winter. 



Mr. ilAETTN J. Sutton says that, valuable as this 

 grass is for rich soils in very moist and sheltered situa- 

 tions, he does not consider that, for any other land, it is 

 worth while to incur the cost of the seed, which, if true, 

 is always extremely expensive. On strong moist soils 

 it is now generally considered to be superior to Poa 

 prateTisis, but the favourable comparison does not extend 

 to light land liable to burn. It is liable to injury by 

 spring and autumn frosts, and by severe winters. 



Manures. — It takes from the soil, according to Dr. 

 Stebler, a large proportion of phosphoric acid and potash, 

 and a heavy manuring in the autumn promotes the 

 development of this grass. The Rothamsted experi- 

 ments established that nitrate of soda, combined with 

 mineral manures, has a marked effect on the develop- 

 ment of this grass, while on the contrary ammonia 

 salts diminished its growth. In this respect it differs 

 altogether from Smooth-stalked Meadow grass. 



The Seed.— The pure seed of this grass is very scarce 

 in commerce, because it is seldom or never grown by itself 

 for seed. Thus the bulk of what is offered and sold as 

 Eough Meadow grass is in reality the seed of some of 

 the other species of the Poa tribe, with, in the worst 



