THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



From the North American Farmer. 



TUSSOCK GRASS, (DACTYLIS C^SPI- 

 TOSA.) 



As already intimated, I proceed to give 

 your readers a brief description of the far 

 famed Tussock grass of the Falkland Islands, 

 that certainly is worthy of some attention in 

 this country, and may at no distant day form 

 a highly important addition to the list of 

 grasses in some sections. This grass has 

 been mentioned in one or two numbers of the 

 Patent Office report, though not very fully 

 described. It is there stated that successful 

 attempts have been made to introduce it into 

 Scotland and Ireland, and experimenters are 

 sanguine in the belief that it will soon become 

 extensively cultivated, at least on peat lands 

 where it thrives most luxuriantly. It was 

 raised from the seed, which could be easily 

 brought to this country, and doubtless soon 

 will be, for it is a grass too highly recom- 

 mended to remain long neglected. 



It had received no special notice until the 

 Falkland Islands were colonized by the Bri- 

 tish, when an account of it was made public. 

 Recently these islands were visited by the ce- 

 lebrated Dr. Hooker, who has given a full 

 description of it in his "Flora Antarctica," 

 published 1845-47. 



It belongs to the same genus of the Orchard 

 grass (Dactylis glomerata) though differing 

 widely from it in its general aspect and habits. 



It is a perennial of very slow growth, re- 

 quiring three or four years to reach maturity, 

 but may be cut annually during this time, 

 without injury. It will reach the height of 

 seven feet by the close of summer, after hav- 

 ing matured and been cut over. This grass 

 produces from a single seed the almost incre- 

 dible number of four hundred stems; forming 

 a tuft, having a diameter of three or four feet; 

 "the base of each culm being nearly as broad 

 as the thumb, and when pulled out young, 

 they yield an inch or two of a soft, white, and 

 sweet substance, of the flavor of a nut, and so 

 nutritious that two American sailors, who de- 

 serted a vessel in an unfrequented part of the 

 Falklands, subsisted on little else for fourteen 

 months." 



It is described as being a "gregarious grass, 

 extending in patches sometimes lor nearly a 

 mile," and is found principally on the borders 

 of peat lands, near the sea, though it thrives 

 in pure sand, that is enriched by sea weeds 

 and the excrement of sea fowl. 



It is also found in the interior of the islands 

 on cliffs, whither the seeds have been carried 

 and manured by birds. Hence its general 

 proximity to the sea does not lead to the in- 

 ference that its nearness to the salt water is 

 essential to its growth, but that it is driven to 

 the shore by other plants that occupy the cen- 

 tral portions. The following extract from the 

 report of the Governor of these islands, is ve- 

 rified by Dr. Hooker, and will very reasona- 



bly induce the highest expeclations relative 

 to the capabilities and value of this plant. 



" Duiing several long rides into the country 

 I have always found the Tussock flourishing 

 most vigorously in spots exposed to the sea, 

 and on soil unfit for any other plant, viz: the 

 rankest peat bog, black or red. 



" It is wonderful to observe the beaten foot- 

 paths of the wild cattle and horses, marked 

 like a foot track across the fields of England, 

 extending for miles over barren moor-lands^ 

 but always terminating in some point or pe- 

 ninsula covered with this favorite fodder; 

 amid which one is almost certain to meet with 

 solitary old bulls, or perhaps a herd of cattle, 

 very likely a troop of wild horses, just trotting 

 off as they scent the coming stranger from 

 afar. To cultivate the Tussock grass, I should 

 recommend that its seeds be sown in patches, 

 just below the surface of the earth and at 

 distances of about two feet apart; it must af- 

 terwards be weeded out, for it grows very 

 luxuriantly, frequently attaining a height of 

 six or seven feet. It should not be grazed, 

 but cut or reaped in bundles. If cut, it quickly 

 shoots again; but is injured much by grazing j 

 for all animals, especially pigs, tear it up to 

 get at the sweet nutty- flavored roots. It has 

 been used abundantly when made into hay, 

 being preferred by the cattle even to the green 

 state of any of the other excellent grasses in 

 the Falklands. Indeed, so great is their fond- 

 ness for it that they will eat the thatch off the 

 roof of a house in winter, and will scent it a 

 considerable distance and use every effort to 

 get at it." 



In continuation, Dr. Hooker interestingly 

 remarks, "there are few plants which from 

 perfect obscurity have become objects of such 

 interest as this grass. The Tussock in its 

 native state seems of almost no service in the 

 animal economy. A little insect, and the only 

 one that I observed, depends on it for suste- 

 nance; a bird, no bigger than the sparrow, 

 robs it of its seeds; a few sea-fowl build among 

 the shelter of its leaves; penguins and peterel 

 seek hiding places among its roots, because 

 they are soft and easily penetrated, and the 

 sea-lions cower beneath its luxuriant foliage; 

 still, except the insect, I know no animal 

 or plant whose extinction could follow the 

 absence of this, the largest vegetable produc- 

 tion in the Falklands, which does not even 

 support a parasitical fungus. These same 

 sea-birds breed or burrow where no Tussock 

 grows; rocks elsewhere suit the sea-lion's ha- 

 bits equally well; and the sparrow, which 

 subsists on other food eleven months of the 

 year, could surely make a shift without this 

 for the twelfth. 



"Certain it is that the Tussock might yet 

 be unknown and unprized amongst plants, if 

 cattle had not been introduced to its locality 

 by man; who thus became, first the injurer, 

 and then the protector and propagator of the 

 existence of this noble grass; for the herbivo- 

 rous quadrupeds which he carried to the Falk- 



