AGEICULTUEAL GEASSES. 83 



to be contiguous. It is well adapted for deep, ricli, moist soils, 

 where it grows luxuriantly, and on marshy places it throws up 

 flower culms all through the summer. In wet, peaty land it 

 comes so large and reed-like as to deceive any but an expe- 

 rienced botanist. It also thrives under the shade of trees, and 

 accommodates itself remarkably to irrigation. Yet, strange to 

 say, this grass is equally at home on thin moors and exposed 

 sandy dunes, and further experiments should be made with it on 

 reclaimed land and sandy wastes near the sea, for it will live in 

 soil which will not feed any other grass, and isolated plants flourish 

 where only rushes and heather have existed before. It is also 

 believed to have the property of discouraging the growth of moss. 

 This grass is easily recognised when out of flower by its 

 sweet- smelling, short, broad leaves, as well as by the fringe of 

 long hairs which surround the neat, obtuse ligule. The leaves, 

 too, are somewhat hairy on both upper and lower surfaces. 



The agreeable perfume imparted to hay by Sweet Vernal has 

 created a demand for seed out of all proportion to the supply. 

 It is gathered by hand from plants growing wild in the woods 

 and clearings of Central Germany, and only a very small quantity 

 is sent to this country. The result is the frequent substitution 

 of the annual species A. Puelii, of which a large quantity is 

 every year exported from Hamburg under the name of Sweet- 

 scented Vernal. This grass {A. Puelii) cannot be made partially 

 permanent even by the process of cutting, for it flowers all the 

 summer long, and if prevented from seeding at hay time, the 

 flower-heads are thrown up later, and, as cattle do not rehsh 

 them, seed is produced and the plant dies. It is, therefore, 

 extremely important to secure the true perennial Anthoxanthum 

 odoratum, which is, and always must be, a costly seed. 



Although manure does not directly injure this grass, it 

 indirectly effects its ruin by enabling other varieties to elbow it 

 out of existence. 



The botanical description and chemical analysis are given 

 on page 144, facing an illustration. 



*D 



