AGRICULTURAL SPECIES OF BENT GRASSES. 9 
Rhode Island bent, by a curious and unfortunate misidentification, 
has for a long time been referred to both in seedsmen’s catalogues 
and in botanical publications as Agrostis canina L. Agrostis canina, 
popularly known in England as brown bent, is sparmgly introduced 
in America. It has never been handled pure in the seed trade, 
although its seed is a common impurity in seed of South German 
mixed bent. 
The authority responsible for the identification of Rhode Island 
bent as Agrostis canina is obscure, but Beal (2, p. 151) adopted it 
in 1887, while Olcott (12, p. 179-180) in the same year mentioned 
the name with the following explanation: 
The botanic situation was complicated some 10 or 12 years ago by the well-meaning 
efforts of a Providence merchant—assisted by a botanist—to stem the tide of adulter- 
ation. This injured his own business and that of seed growers in the Narragansett 
country, who relied for a living on their sales of fine Agrostis seed under the trade 
name of Rhode Island bent. After what he considered a sufficient examination this 
worthy botanist declared that the systematic name of Rhode Island bent should be 
Agrostis canina, and this name was actually adopted in the lists of several eminent 
seedsmen. 
This unfortunate error has continued both in commercial and 
botanical publications to the present day. As both the seed and 
other characters of brown bent are very distinct from Rhode Island 
bent, it is to be hoped that the error in due time will be generally 
recognized. 
Rhode Island bent was formerly a grass of considerable commercial 
importance, but in recent years it has been little gathered. Seeds- 
men continue to include it in their lists, but the seed offered is nearly 
always redtop or South German mixed bent, or a mixture of these 
two. There were two reasons for the commercial decline of true 
Rhode Island bent: (1) The development of the redtop-seed industry 
in IJIlinois and (2) the importation of South German mixed bent 
seed. The seeds of these three are very much alike and can easily 
be substituted one for another. Redtop seed is much the cheapest 
of the three. For this reason it was often substituted wholly or in 
part for Rhode Island bent. Furthermore, redtop is more valuable 
for hay and pastures than Rhode Island bent, so that the use of the 
latter for these purposes declined. For fine lawns, however, Rhode 
Island bent is much superior to redtop. 
Rhode Island bent makes a fine, close turf, scarcely inferior to 
that produced by SouthGerman mixed bent. At the time of writing 
(January, 1918) no seed of South German mixed bent is available, 
owing to conditions arising out of the European war. Rhode Island 
bent is, however, a very satisfactory substitute for use on lawns 
and golf courses, for which there exists a very large demand. Prac- 
55049°—18—Bull. 692——2 
