THE GRASSES. 
125 
A number more are common to both continents, like the Vanilla- 
grass, often gathered for its perfmne, and which in Northern Eu- 
rope is called holy-grass, from its being scattered before church- 
doors on holydays ; and the manna-grass, bearing sweet grains, 
which are eaten in Holland and some other countries ; the dent- 
grasses, also, good for cattle, several of which are natives, while 
others have been introduced. There seem to be some twenty va- 
rieties which thus belong to both continents. 
In addition to the preceding, there are upwards of a hundred 
more grasses belonging strictly to the soil ; many of these are 
mere weeds, though others are very useful. Among the native 
plants of this kind are nimble-will, a great favorite with the Ken- 
tucky farmers, and found as far east as this State ; several useful 
kinds of fescue-grass, and soa, one of which has something of the 
fragrance of the vernal-grass, and the reed canary -grass, of which 
the ribbon -grass of gardeners is a variety ; the salt grasses of the 
coast, also, very important to the sea-shore farmers. Among the 
native plants of this tribe we have the wild oat, wild rye, wild 
barley, mountain rice, and wild rice, found in many of the waters 
of this State, both fresh and brackish. 
Altogether, of some hundred and fifty grasses, about one-fifth 
of the number seem of foreign origin ; but if we consider their im- 
portance to the farmer, and the extent of cultivated soil they now 
cover, we must take a different view of them ; probably in this 
sense the Native grasses scarcely rank more than as one to four in 
om' meadows and cultivated lands. 
The clovers, also, though thoroughly naturalized, are most of 
them imported plants : the downy rabbit-foot," or " stone-clo- 
ver," the common red variety ; the "zig-zag," and the "hop clo- 
