AGRICULTURAL SPECIES OF BENT GRASSES. jit 
VELVET BENT, OR BROWN BENT. 
Velvet bent, or brown bent (Agrostis canina L.), is native to Europe 
but sparingly introduced into the United States. A small percentage 
of the seed commonly occurs in South German mixed bent. On put- 
ting greens seeded to the latter, the velvet bent can easily be detected 
by its forming very dense circular patches of a rather pale or apple- 
green color. The leaves are finer than those of carpet bent, usually 9 
nerved, and under a lens are seen to be minutely roughened. The 
ligule is long. The patches of turf made by single plants of velvet 
bent are often a foot or more in diameter and make what is probably 
the finest of all grass turfs. Under the conditions at Washington, 
D. C., velvet bent rarely forms seeds, the flowers being replaced by 
propagula resembling bunches of small leaves, which propagate the 
plant vegetatively. When grown alone, velvet bent forms much- 
branched stolons 4 or 5 inches long and often with dense masses of 
leaves at the tip. This character does not appear in closely clipped 
turf. 
A source of a supply of seed of this grass is a great desideratum, 
as the turf it makes is of such exquisite quality and beauty of 
appearance. 
CARPET BENT. 
Carpet bent is one of the most desirable turf plants that always 
occurs in turf grown from South German mixed bent seed. Seedsmen 
commonly label South German mixed bent seed Agrostis stolonifera 
and use such common names as creeping bent, South German fiorin, 
and stoloniferous bent grass. 
The only source of supply of commercial seed has been southern 
Germany. It is said to have been gathered from natural areas of 
grass and not specially planted for seed production. 
Most of the plants grown from South German mixed bent seed are 
apparently identical with Rhode Island bent. The leaves have 
short ligules, and when grown to maturity the plants are indistinguish- 
able from Rhode Island bent. . 
In old plantings of South German mixed bent, especially on putting 
ereens, at least four forms of turf may usually be distinguished: 
(1) Bright green very fine-leafed circular patches, (2) dark green 
larger circular patches, (3) blue-green similar patches, and between 
these (4) medium green turf not in definite patches. The bright 
green very fine-leafed plant is velvet bent (Agrostis canina). The 
grass that does not form definite patches is probably nearly all Rhode 
Island bent. The other two sorts that form circular mats are forms 
of what is here called carpet bent. 
When portions of these last two are planted alone they produce 
creeping runners 3 or 5 feet long the first season, making circular 
