316 Report of the Consulting Botanist for 1886. 
were largely made up of meadow fescue. The average germi- 
nation amounted to 76 per cent, but a considerable number did 
not reach 60 per cent. The most serious impurity present in 
this grass was ergot, which occurred in 12 per cent, of the 
samples. The favourite natural locality for tall fescue is the 
banks of streams or ditches, and there ergot is likely to be more 
abundant than anywhere else in a field. 
The smaller and less important fescues were this year true to 
their several kinds. The germination of sheep's fescue (^Festuca 
ovina, Linn.) was low, being only 53 per cent., while the 
samples of hard fescue {Festuca duriuscula, Linn.) were good, 
averaging 74 per cent. These smaller wiry fescues are desirable 
elements in a good pasture, only in upland or otherwise excep- 
tional localities. 
The samples of cock's-foot (Dacti/lis f/lomerata. Linn.) were 
generally free from impurities, and where impurities occurred 
they were obviously due to careless harvesting or imperfect 
cleaning, and not to deliberate adulteration. Yorkshire fog 
{Holcus lanatus, Linn.) was the chief impurity, and it was occa- 
sionally accompanied with rye-grass and fescues. The germi- 
nation maintained a high average, amounting to 79 per cent.; 
some samples fell below 50 per cent., but a considerable propor- 
tion were over 90 per cent, 
A large proportion of the samples of meadow foxtail (Alope- 
curus p7-atensis, Linn.) contained the seeds of tufted hair-grass 
(Aira cwspitosa, Linn.), and often in considerable quantity, 
amounting to 14, 18, and 22 per cent. The germination of this 
grass throughout the past year was, on the whole, poor, yet only 
9 per cent, of the samples fell below 50 per cent, of ger- 
mination. 
Yellow oat grass (^Avena flavescens, Linn.) had a high ger- 
mination, but all the samples examined by me had a consider- 
able proportion of other seeds, chiefly meadow grass and small 
seeds of dogstail. 
The samples of Timothy (Phleum pratense, Linn.) were,' as a 
rule, clean, though this grass is often the vehicle of conveying 
weeds into a pasture. Several samples contained from 8 to 12 
per cent, of the seeds of sorrel, chickweed, poppy, scorpion grass, 
and self-heal. The average germination reached 89 per cent., 
but the great majority were considerably over 90 per cent. 
The meadow grasses were very unequal, both in quality and 
germination. Rough-stalked meadow grass (Poa trivialis, Linn.) 
was generally free from the seeds of other grasses, but one 
sample was made up of nearly 50 per cent, of small seeds of 
dogstail. The germination averaged 65 per cent., but a few 
samples did not have a quarter of the seeds germinating, while 
