AGEICULTUEAL GEASSE8. 47 



growth of the plant, especially in times of drought, have induced 

 Mr. Carruthers to strongly recommend the sowing of this grass 

 on good medium loams and strong soils, and not simply, as has 

 hitherto been advised by Sinclair and others, in moist undrained 

 clays and fens. Whether this grass will be of permanent value 

 under these new conditions, and on soils so different from its 

 natural habitat, is at present an open question. Hitherto it has 

 added considerably to the bulk of the pastures alluded to, is less 

 coarse and reed-like than the elatior of our ditches, and has been 

 almost, if not entirely, free from attacks of ergot. This latter 

 circumstance, however, is probably mainly due to the fact that 

 the pastures in question are rarely or never laid up for hay, and 

 therefore do not flower, and ergot cannot attack Festuca elatior 

 or any other grass except in the flowering stage. In the forma- 

 tion of pastures which are always grazed, and especially for those 

 in low-lying districts, Festuca elatior may be used without risk, 

 but in prescriptions for meadows which are generally cut for hay, 

 whatever their situation, I ad\dse caution, not only on account of 

 the tendency of the grass to become ergoted, but because of the 

 extreme coarseness of the hay produced. Upon the latter point 

 Mr. J. Gilbert Baker, of the Eoyal Herbarium, Kew, in referring 

 to Festuca elatior as found growing wild in England, has accurately 

 stated that ' Festuca elatior is a tall, coarse grass, with stems reach- 

 ing four or five feet in height, and leaves one to two feet long by 

 a quarter to half an inch broad.' 



The plate prepared for this work is from a drawing of a 

 portion of a plant raised from seed of the foreign Festuca elatior 

 {arundinacea) sown in hght garden soil. It will be seen that the 

 plant is very strong and far more robust than Festuca pratensis 

 grown alongside, and falls little short of the size which Mr. Baker 

 describes the plant to attain when growing wild. I have adopted 

 the distinctive name of Festuca elatior fertilis, very happily given 

 by Sinclair to the foreign seed-bearing variety, to distinguish it 

 from the English variety called by him Festuca elatior sterilis. 



I may add that Festuca elatior, whether produced by the 



