ROUGH MEADOW GRASS. 181 



that in dry, scarce years, crops Have been made with horses 



and mules, that had no other provender than a Blue Grass 



lot. 



ROUGH MEADOW GRASS— (Poa Trimalis.) 



Culms roughisli backwards, leaves rough edge, the lower elongated; 

 ligules long, pointed; panicles dense lance shaped spikelets subsessile, 

 two to three flowered oblong acute, five veined, flowers in May and June 

 in the latitude of Tennessee. 



This is a perennial, and to the common observer, very 

 much resembles blue grass. In the North it is a common 

 meadow and pasture grass, mixing well with orchard grass, 

 making twice as much when mixed with other grasses as 

 when sown by itself. It delights in shady places, and is 

 admirably adapted to wood pastures and the banks of streams. 

 It stands tramping as well as herds grass, but will not bear 

 cutting, as the exposure of the roots to the sunshine soon 

 kills it. The seed weighs fifteen pounds to the bushel, and 

 two-thirds oi a bushel is amply sufficient for an acre. 



Cattle are very fond of it, preferring it to almost any 

 other grass. Way's analysis of it cut in flower, shows the 

 following result: Water, 73.60; flesh-formers, 2.58; fat, 

 0.97; heat-producers, 10.54; woody fibre*; 10.11; ash, 2.20- 

 Messrs. Scheven & Bitthausen's analysis shows : Water 

 78; flesh-formers, 2.3; fat, 0.8; heat producers, 8.4; 

 woody fibre, 8.8; ash, 1.6, Wolff and Knops' analysis 

 may be seen on page 36. Woburn experiments by Sinclair 

 gave 7,486 pounds per acre cut in flower; loss in drying } 

 5,246 pounds; nutritive matter, 233 pounds. Cut in seed 

 produce of one acre, was 7,829 pounds; loss in drying, 4,304 

 pounds; nutritive matter, 336 pounds. The produce of the 

 aftermath was 4,764 pounds and 223 pounds of nutritive 

 matter. The chief destinction between this and the blue 

 grass is, that the blue grass has a wooly web which en- 

 tangles the seeds, making it difficult to sow them. In the 

 Poa Trivialis the seeds are comparatively free. We hatv« 

 spoken of it under the head of Meadow grasses, though it is 

 far better for the pasture. 



