CHAPTER II 

 OUR PASTURE GRASSES 



Agrostis — Bent-Grass 



Creeping or Stoloniferous Bent-Grass ; Fiorin-Grass {Agrostis^ 

 alba, var. stolonifera). — Perennial, with long creeping stems, which root at the 

 nodes and form a compact, felted " bottom-grass " ; flowering towards the end 

 of July ; and ripening seed in August. The fodder from suitable soils is 

 nutritive, and is eaten, though not relished, by stock ; but the plant becomes 

 wiry, unproductive and disagreeable on dry lands. It starts late in spring ; 

 develops rapidly, attaining almost to its maximum yield the first year ^ 



FlORlN. 



{Agrostis alba, var. stolonifera.) 



luxuriates on moist soils ; and does well under irrigation. Uninjured by cold^ 

 this grass continues to grow until winter, and is often grazed so late as 

 December. In this late growth is its only value. The ordinary hay crop is 

 small, the principal produce being obtained at the second cutting or as late 

 pasturage. The following yields per acre have been recorded : — Pinkert, in 

 Germany, 4,400 to 8,800 lbs. of hay per acre; Vianne, 6,290 lbs.; and 

 Sinclair, at the time of flowering, 17,696 lbs. of green, or 7,742 lbs. of dried^ 



