ly  frequents  sea-shores  and  sandy  spots,  and  often  in  very  sandy 
spots  such  as  sand  hills,  becomes  quite  stiff,  the  leaves  wiry  and 
pungent  (whence  its  name).  It  is  not  rarely  met  with  inland,  how- 
ever, and  I have  seen  lawns  of  it  a good  way  from  the  sea.  It  has 
short,  slender,  simple  and  solitary  spikes  of  small  yellowish  spikelets. 
This  makes  excellent  turf  in  sandy  places  by  the  sea,  compact 
and  smoo'h,  and  forms  most  of  the  turf  in,  and  round,  the  town  of 
Malacca;  but  in  damper  spots,  especially  inland,  it  cannot  be  recom- 
mended as  it  makes  too  woolly  a carpet.  That  is  to  say  the  stems 
^ grow  several  inches  tall,  bearing  the  leaves  at  tlie  top,  and 
nearly  bare  below  from  the  fall  of  the  leaves,  so  that  the  foot  sinks 
deeply  into  it,  and  when  mown  the  grassy  portion  is  apt  to  be  cut 
off  leaving  unsightly  brown  patches  of  stems  only,  while  for  tennis 
it  is  equally  unsatisfactory  as  the  ball  simply  sinks  into  it. 
Cynodon  dactylon,  the  Doub  grass,  is  a slender  creeping  grass 
with  very  narrow  grey  leaves,  and  two  slender  spikes  of  flowers 
on  a short  stem.  In  appearance  it  much  resembles  the  grey  Pas- 
palum  sanffuhiale  var  debile,  but  is  more  compact,  and  usually 
shorter.  It  is  certainly  the  best  grass  for  tennis  lawns,  but  is 
rather  more  particular  as  to  soil  : naturally  a sea-shore  grass  it 
seems  to  dislike  wet  clayey  soils,  and  indeed  one  seldom  finds  it 
far  away  from  the  sea^  It  grows  rather  slowly,  the  creeping  stems 
being  short.  It  is  used  in  India  as  fodder  but  does  not  come  into 
use  in  that  way  here  as  it  is  too  short  and  not  abundant  enough. 
Andropogon  or  Chrysopogon  aciculatus  cowixnovAy  known  here  as 
‘^‘love  grass,”  is  well  enough  known  to  all  who  keep  lawns.  It 
is  perhaps  our  ('ommonest  grass  and  also  attracts  attention  from 
its  adhesive  spikelets  borne  on  a stiff  panicle  about  a foot  tall.  It 
is  objected  to  by  many  people  on  account  of  the  way  the  spikelets 
adhere  to  and  burrow  into  the  clothing.  It  is,  however,  a good 
grass  for  turfing,  as  its  creeping  leafy  stems  form  a strong  soft  mat, 
dense  but  not  woolly,  and  suitable  for  tennis.  It  grows  on  very 
poor  soils  as  well  as  on  richer  ones,  but  seems  rather  to  dislike  too 
(lamp  spots.  It  is  probably  not  a native  of  the  Straits  Settlements, 
but  1 have  seen  considerable  tracts  of  it  in  Pahang,  where  it 
formed  good  grazing  ground  for  buffaloes. 
Fodder  Grasses. 
As  a rule  grass  for  fodder  for  cattle  and  horses,  is  not  cultivated 
here  ; the  supplies  being  derived  from  various  pieces  of  swampy 
ground  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  grass  cutters  take  almost  any 
grass  that  they  can  find  long  enough  to  cut,  and  usually  the  fodder 
consists  of  a mixture  of  grasses,  sedges,  and  weeds  which  grow  with 
them.  What  is  preferred,  however,  is  a grass  taken  from  a swampy 
bit  of  ground  too  wet  for  any  cultivation  but  that  of  rice  or  sago. 
The  chief  grasses  therein  are  Isachne  australis  and  Leersia 
hexandra,  both  excellent  fodders. 
Isachne  australis  is  a slender  narrow-leaved  grass  about  a foot 
or  more  tall  with  a creeping  base,  and  a panicle  of  srnall  round 
