148 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



plant, ■which is now known to botanists as Ceratochloa unio- 

 loides, is commonly known as Australian Prairie Grass. 

 It occurs from Central America to the last Alpine zone of 

 Northern Argentina, and has spread- over many parts of the 

 globe. It is described as one of the richest of all grasses, 

 grows continuously, and spreads rapidly from seeds, par- 

 ticularly on fertile and somewhat humid soil. It is a very 

 nutritious fodder and pasture grass, besides which it is said 

 to be very valuable for sowing in coverts, as it entices hares 

 and rabbits into the woods, away from the grain crops. 



Prangos pabularia, Tibet Hay. — A perennial, belong- 

 ing to the TJmbelliferse, forming a stem a few feet high. It 

 is a native of Tibet, as its common name implies, where it 

 is extensively used as a fodder for sheep, goats, and oxen. 

 It was introduced for cultivation as a fodder plant in this 

 country about 1840, but it did not succeed. 



Perhaps the most important fodder plant introduced 

 during this century is that which is now so well known as 

 Prickly Comprey. This was first brought to notice in 

 1877, and advertised as Symphytum asperrimum. The 

 history and value of the plant is thus summarised in the 

 Kew Report for 1878 : — " It is apparently identical with a 

 Symphytum which has long been naturalised in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Bath and elsewhere, and which has been iden- 

 tified by botanists with S. asperrimum, a native of the Cau- 

 casus. Neither the naturalised nor the forage plant appear 

 to be really identical with that species, but the latter has 

 been found by Mr. Baker to agree with Symphytum pere- 

 grinum, which appears to be not certainly known as wild 

 anywhere, but to be probably a hybrid of garden origin be- 

 tween Symphytum officinale and S. asperrimum. ... In 

 England Prickly Comfrey has been found very useful for 

 winter fodder, as it forms large tufts of root leaves, which 

 start into growth early in the year, and bear several cut- 

 tings ; it is greedily eaten by animals which refuse ordinary 



