Annual  Report  of  the  Consulting  Botanist  for  1882.  259 
by  Mr.  De  Laune  * the  quantity  of  fescues  would  be  90  lbs., 
the  price  of  which  at  Is.  fid.  would  be  6/.  15s.  If,  however, 
50  per  cent,  of  this  seed  were  rye-grass,  the  price  ought  to  be 
4/.  10s.  And  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  merchant  who 
sells  fescue,  half  of  which  is  rye-grass,  at  Is.  per  lb.,  gets  the 
same  profit  as  the  merchant  who  charges  Is.  fid.  per  lb.  for  pure 
fescue.  The  buyer  should  fully  realise  this.  The  seeds  of  the 
two  grasses  are  so  alike  in  form,  size,  and  weight,  that  few  are 
able  to  detect  the  presence  of  the  rye-grass.  My  observations 
lead  me  to  believe  that  few  dealers  are  aware  of  its  presence  in 
their  samples.  Fescue  seed  is  largely  imported  from  Germany, 
and  is  mixed  with  the  cheaper  seed  of  rye-grass  before  it  reaches 
the  merchant  in  England.  I have  reason  to  believe  that  large 
quantities  of  rye-grass  grown  in  the  north  of  Ireland  are  an- 
nually exported  to  Germany  to  be  employed  in  adulterating 
'these  fescues.  It  is  important  to  the  purchaser  that  he  should  be 
Fig.  1. — Rye-grass.  Fig.  2. — Meadow  Fescue. 
Both  figures  ten  times  the  natural  size. 
able  to  distinguish  between  the  two  seeds,  and  this  can  easily  be 
done  with  the  naked  eye,  or  at  any  rate  with  the  help  of  a small 
pocket  lens.  In  both  grasses  several  seeds  are  produced  in  each 
* ‘Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,’  1882,  p.  261. 
S 2 
