THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH GRASSES. 29 
Ligule ... The tongue of the leaf. 
Blade ....The lamina, or free part of leaf. 
Floral { Glumes ..The outer chaff-scales, in pairs. 
Envelopes ( Glumels. . The inner chaff-scales, ditto. 
Sheath ...The folding portion of a leaf. 
‘ Filament . The thread supporting the anther. 
Fertiliz. ; Stamen ... | Ane ...The pouch containing the pollen. 
i Pollen . ..The fertilizing dust. 
Pistil ..... { Style ....The support of the stigma. 
Stigma. ..The receptacle for the pollen. 
Seeds ....The reproductive organ. 
A barren shoot....A flowerless branch. 
Inflorescence—Thus far we have described the separate 
parts of the structure of grasses; we have now to point out 
the terms used to designate these in aggregation, which will 
be briefly considered under the following heads :— 
a. Herbage, that is the leaf portion, principally con- 
cerned in pasture. 
6. Culms, or parts which grow upright, and make up so 
much of the bulk and weight of hay. 
c. Heads of flowers, the various forms which they 
assume. 
a. The quality of grasses depends so much upon the 
quantity and physicai character of the herbage, that for 
agricultural purposes these should always be noted with 
great care ; hence, if for hay, both bulk and quality is much 
influenced by luxuriant leafage, a character in which grasses 
will be found to differ in a remarkable degree; if however 
this be rough and unpalatable, that is, the “sour grass” of 
the farmer, no matter how great its quantity, such should 
be discouraged. Again, if for depasturing, it will be neces- 
sary to note such facts as longevity, and how the species 
succeeds in sending up herbage under continual mutilation 
by feeding off. 
Most grass meadows are sometimes mown for hay and 
then depastured in the shape of aftermath, whilst in some 
years no hay crop is taken, so that it is necessary to en- 
courage the growth of all such species as will be found 
