12 



for the production of the so-called Canary-seed, used for feeding 

 caged singing-birds : the demand for this purpose being limited, 

 the crops raised are only local, and were for a long period almost 

 exclusively confined to the Isle of Thanet. Horses are fond of the 

 chaff, and it is esteemed wholesome food for them ; but, with this 

 exception, the value of the seed is the only source of remuneration 

 to the farmer, the produce in straw being nearly worthless. It 

 requires a rich soil, well manured, and not too retentive of moist- 

 ure. The seed is sown in February, in drills about eight inches 

 apart, and the plants are eventually thinned out to two or three 

 inches distance in the rows, a necessary provision for the after use 

 of the hoe to keep them clear of weeds, the growth of which is 

 more rapid than their own. As the seed ripens, it is more liable 

 to the depredations of small birds than any other kind of grain, a' 

 circumstance that renders an open country, like that of Thanet 

 and the adjoining parts of Kent, with few trees and hedge-rows to 

 shelter them, essential to the success of the crop. The produce is 

 from thirty to forty bushels per acre, but the crop is precarious. 

 In the green state this grass seems peculiarly grateful to cattle, 

 but it yields too little food on the same space of ground to compete 

 with those in ordinary use. 

 Annual. Flowers in July. 



Phalaris aeundinacea. Reed Canary Grass. Plate XI. 



Panicle erect, with spreading branches. Spikelets clustered, 

 leaning in one direction. Imperfect flowers one or two hairy scales 

 at the base of the palese. 



Phalaris arundinacea, Linmeus. E. B. 402 ; ed. 2. 77. Calama- 

 grostis variegata. Withering. Arundo colorata, Aiton, Hortus 

 Kewensis, ed. 3. Digraphis arundinacea, Lindley. 



A common plant on the borders of rivers, pools, and ditches. It 

 creeps widely at the root, but, unlike many grasses of similar habit, 

 tends to form dense tufts, which contribute greatly to the consoli- 

 dation and support of the banks on which it grows. The flowering 

 stems, erect, smooth, and comparatively slender, vary in height 

 from two to five feet ; terminating in a beautiful, variously branched 

 panicle five to eight inches long, the spikelets of which are clustered 

 at the extremities of the branchlets and lean in one direction. 

 Leaves half an inch or more in breadth. Flowers varying in hue 

 in different situations from almost white to pale green in the shade, 

 and under exposure to the sun to rich shades of purple and yellow, 

 with large red anthers ; whence the specific names, variegata and 

 colorata, above quoted. The floral structure will be understood by 

 reference to the magnified views, of which, a represents the glumes. 



