Bromus Sterilis. Barren Brome Grass. 



BROMUS Llnnrcl. Gen. PL Triandria Digynia. 



Rati Gen, '27. Herb^: graminifoli^, flore imperfecto culmifer^e. 



BROMUS prills, panicula patula, fpiculis oblongis diftichis, glumis fubulato-ariftatis. Lin. Syfl, Vegetab. p. 103. 



BROMUS panicula nutante ; locuftis feptifloris ; glumis argute lanceolatis, lineatis, fubhirfutis. Haller. 

 hlfl. n. 1505. 



FESTUCA avenacea fterilis elatior. Bauhln. pin. 9. 10. 



BROMOS herba, five avena fterilis. Parkin/on, 1147. Bromos fterilis. Gerard, emac. Rail Synop. p. 412. 

 Great wild Oat-Grafs or Drank. Hudfon. Fl. Angl. p. 40. Scopoll. Fl. Carnlol. p. 78. 



RADIX nbroia. % ROOT fibrous. 



CULMI pedales ad bipedales, fubere&i, tcretes, lasves, | STxALKS from one to two feet high, nearly upright, 

 ad bafin infra&i; Geniculi tumidi. % round and fmooth, at bottom crooked or el- 



I bowed ; the Joints fwelled. 



FOLIA longa, plana, una cum vaginis molliffime vil- | LEAVES long and flat, covered, together with their 

 lofa. I fheaths with foft fhort hairs. 



PANICULA magna, nutans ; Pedunculi plerumque I PANICLE large, and drooping, the Peduncles gene- 

 fimplices, ad bap tumidi. % rally iimple, and fwelled at their bafe. 



SPICULE biunciales, fubcompreflae, apice divergentes, | SPICULiE about two inches long, flattifh and diver- 

 Jlg. 1 . ^ ging toward the extremity,^. 1 . 



CALYX: Gluma bivalvis, Valvulis inaequalibus lineari- t CALYX: a Glume of two Valves, the valves inequal, 

 lanceolatis, Jig. 2. | long and narrow,^: 2. 



COROLLA : bivalvis, Valvulis inaequalibus, exteriore ¥ COROLLA : compofed of two Valves, which are ine- 

 longiore, concava, ftriata, apice membranacea, | qual, the exterior Valve longeft, concave, ftria- 



bifida, Arista recta Corolla duplo longiore f ted, at top membranous and bifid, terminated 



terminata,j^-. 3. Valvula interiore planiufcula, t by a ftraight Arista twice the length of the 



ciliata, fig. 4. I Corolla, Jig. 3. the interior Valve nearly flat, 



% and ciliated, Jig. 4. 



NECTARIUM: Glumul;e duse acuminata, ad bafm | NECTARY : two fmall long-pointed glumes with a 

 biglandulofae, fg. 6. | fmall gland at the bafe of each, fg. 6: 



STAMINA: Filamenta tria, capillaria, Anther/e % STAMINA: three fmall Filaments: the Anthers 

 flavas,/^. 5. I yellow, /#. 5. 



PISTILLUM: Germen oblongum, apice truncatum five % PISTILLUM: the Germen oblong, at top flat or (lightly 

 emarginatum, pars inferior ex qua ftyli pro- | emarginate, the bottom part from whence the 



deunt et quod verum Germen effe videtur, | Styles proceed, and which feems to be the true 



nitida, ^ 7. pars fuperior albida, villofa 3J /^. 8. | Germen, is fmooth and mining, fg. 7. the 



Styli duo plumoii, patuli, fg. 9. I upper part white and villous, Jig. 8. two 



f Styles, feathery and fpreading, fg. 9. 



SEMEN ex purpureo-fufcum, oblongum, ariftatum, | SEED ofapurplifh brown colour, oblong, bearded, en- 

 calyce te&um, fig. 10, denudatum, fig. 11. % clofed within the Calyx, fig. 10. the Calyx 



I ftripped off, fig. 1 1 . 



Much praife is due to the late ingenious Mr. Still ingfleet for his attempts to introduce, more generally among Far- 

 mers, a knowledge of our moft uieful EnglifhGrafies : his obfervations on this fubjecl: are fo exceedingly pertinent that 

 the infertion of them cannot fail to prove highly acceptable to fuch as have the promotion of Agriculture at heart. 



" It is wonderfull to fee how long mankind has neglected to make a proper advantage of plants of fuch importance, 

 " and which in almoit every country are the chief food of cattle. The farmer for want of diitinguilhlng, and feledting 



by making a right choice, 

 ; land admits of. At prefent 

 grafs, what does he do ? he either takes his feeds indifcriminately from 

 " his own foul hay-rick, or fends to his next neighbour for a fupply. By this means, befides a certain mixture of all 

 " forts of rubbifh, which muft neceflarily happen ; if he chances to have a large proportion of good feeds, it is not 

 ** unlikely, but that what he intends for dry land may come from moift, where it grows naturally, and the contrary. 

 " This is fuch a flovenly method of proceeding, as one would think could not poffibly prevail univerfally ; yet this 

 " is the cafe as to all grafles except the darnel grafs, and what is known in fome few countries by the name of the 

 " Suffolk grafs; and this latter inftance is owing, I believe, more to the foil than any care of the hufbandman. 

 " Now would the firmer be at the pains of feparating once in his life half a pint, or a pint of the different kinds of 

 "grafs feeds, and take care to fow them feparately; in a very little time he would have wherewithal to ffock his 

 " farm properly, according to the nature of each foil, and might at the fame time fpread thefe feeds feparately over 

 " the nation by fupplying the feed-fhops. The number of grafles fit for the farmer is, I believe fmall ; perhaps half 

 *' a dozen, or half a fcore are all he need to cultivate; and how fmall the trouble would be of fuch a talk, and how 

 " great the benefit, muff be obvious to every one at firft fight. Would not any one be looked on as wild who mould 

 * c fow wheat, barley, oats, rye, peafe, beans, vetches, buck-wheat, turnips and weeds of all forts together ? yet how is it 

 *' much lefs abfurd to do what is equivalent in relation to grafles ? does it not import the farmer to have good hay 

 *' and grafs in plenty ? and will cattle thrive equally on all forts of food ? we know the contrary. Horfes will 

 ** fcarcely eat hay, that will do well enough for oxen and cows. Sheep are particularly fond of one fort of grafs, 

 " and fatten upon it fafter, than on any other in Sweden, if we may give credit to Linnaeus. And may they not do 

 " the fame in England ? How fhall we know till we have tried ? Nor can we fay that what is valuable in Sweden 

 " may be inferior to many other grafles in England ; fmce it appears by the Flora Suecica that they have all the 

 " good ones that we have. But however this may be I fhould rather chufe to make experiments, than conjectures." 



The prefent Grafs is not one of thofe which are worth the Farmer's cultivation, but fo much the reverfe, that 

 moft Authors have called it fierllls, not becaufe it is really barren but from its inutility with refpecl: to Cattle. 



It grows exceeding common under hedges and flowers in May and June. 



In order to have a clear idea of the ftrutture of the parts of fructification in the Grafles, they fhould be examined 

 juft at tfie^time, or rather before the Anthers have difcharged their Pollen, a fmall fpace of time makes a coniiderable 

 alteration in their appearance. 



In this fpecies of Bromus as well as in the Bromus mollis the Styles proceed from the middle of the Germen and not 

 from the top, this is a peculiarity which feems to have efcaped the notice of Schreber who has written profefledly on 

 the Grafles, and examined them with more accuracy than any preceding Writer. In his figures the Styles proceed 

 always from the Apex of the Germen, 



