TICKLE GBASS. — BBOWN.BENT. 39 



Thin Grass '{Agrostis •pe.revmans). — Panicle diffusely- 

 spreading, pale green ; branches short, divided, and 

 floAver-bearing from or below the middle ; found in damp, 

 shaded places. Perennial. Flowers in June and July. 



Hair Grass or Ply-away Grass, Tickle Grass 

 (Agrostis scabra), is another species belonging to this 

 genus, with a panicle very loose and spreading, pur- 

 plish; the long capillary branches flower-bearing near 

 the a'pex ; stems slender, one to two feet high ; leaves 

 short and narrow. Flowers in June and July. Common 

 in old fields and drained swamps. It is of no particu- 

 lar agricultural value. 



The large, loose panicles are exceedingly delicate and 

 brittle when the plant is ripe and dry, and easily break 

 away from the stalk, when they are blown about by the 

 wind scattering their seeds far and wide ; &.nd hence it 

 is frequently called " Fly-away Grass," illustrating one 

 of the admirable contrivances of nature for the distribu- 

 tion of the seeds of grasses and other plants. 



Brown Bent or Dog's Bent Grass (Agrostis canina), 

 another species of agrostis,. has for its specific charac- 

 ters an erect, slender, spreading panicle ; root peren- 

 nial and creeping ; stem erect, slender ; leaves flat and 

 linear. The palea shorter than the- glume,* and fur- 

 nished with a long, bent awn on the back, a little below 

 the middle ; spikelets at first greenish, afterwards brown 

 or slightly purple. Meadows and pastures, and wet, 

 peaty places — introduced. Flowers in June and July. 

 It is of no special agricultural value. 



The Alpine Brown Bent {Agrostis canina, var. al- 

 pina), the Upright Flowered Bent, and many other 

 species, might be mentioned ; but, of all the species of 

 this genus, the redtop and whitetop are the most com- 

 mon as agricultural grasses among us. 



