Bromus Sterilis. Barren Brome G R ASS. 
BROMUS Linnai. Gen. PI. Triandria DigyniA. 
Rati Gen. 27. Herb.®, graminifqli®, flore imperfecto culmifer®. 
BROMUS Jlerilis, panicula patula, fpiculis oblongis diftichis, glumis fubulato-ariftatis. Lin. Syft. Vegetab.p. 103, 
BROMUS panicula nutante ; locuftis feptifloris ; glumis - argute lanceola tis, lineatis, fubhirfutis. -Hiller, 
hift. ri. 1505. 
FESTUCA avenacea fterilis elatior. Bauhin. pin. 9. 10. 
BROMQS herba, five avena fterilis. Parkinfon , 1147. Bromos fterilis. Gerard, emac. Rati Synop, p. 412. 
Great wild Oat-Grafs or Drank. Hudjon. FI. Angl. p. 40. Scopoli. FI. Carniol. p. 78. 
RADIX fibrofa. 
CULMI pedales ad bipedales, fubere&i, teretes, laeves, 
ad balin infradti ; Geniculi tumidi. 
FOLIA longa, plana, una cum vaginis molliflime vil- 
lom. 
PANICULA magna, nutans ; Pedunculi plerumque 
fimplices, ad bajin tumidi. 
SPICULE biunciales, fubcompreflb, apice divergentes, 
fis- '• 
CALYX: Gluma bivalvis, Valvulis inaequalibus lineari- 
lanceolatis, fg. 2. 
COROLLA: bivalvis. Valvulis inaequalibus, exteriore 
longiore, concava, ftriata, apice membranacea, 
bifida. Arista re£ta Corolla duplo longiore 
terminata,^. 3. Valvula interiore planiufcula, 
ciliata, fg. 4. 
NECTARIUM : Glumul® duze acuminatae, ad bafin 
biglandulofae, fg. 6. 
STAMINA : Filamenta tria, capillaria, Anther.® 
fla vx,fg. 5. 
PISTILLUM: Germen oblongum, apice truncatum five 
emarginatum, pars inferior ex qu& ftyli pro- 
deunt et quod verum Germen efle videtur, 
nitida, fg. 7. pars fuperior albida, villofa,y?g. 8. 
Styli duo plumofi, patuli,^. 9, 
SEMEN ex purpureo-fufcum, oblongum, ariftatum, 
calyce tedium,^. 10, denudatum, fg. 11. 
ROOT fibrous. 
STALKS from one to two feet high, nearly upright, 
round and fmooth, at bottom crooked or el- 
bowed ; the Joints fwelled. 
LEAVES long and flat, covered* together with their 
fheaths with foft fhort hairs. 
PANICLE large, and drooping, the Peduncles gene- 
rally Ample, and fwelled at their bafe. 
SPICUL^E about two inches long, flattifh and divert 
ging toward the extremity ,fg. 1 . 
CALYX : a Glume of two Valves, the valves inequal, 
long and narrow,^?#. 2. 
COROLLA : compofed of two Valves, which are ine- 
qual, the exterior Valve longeft, concave, ftria- 
ted, at top membranous and bifid, terminated 
by a ftraight Arista twice the length of th'e 
Corolla, fg. 3. the interior Valve nearly flat, 
and ciliated, fg. 4. 
NECTARY : two fmall long-pointed glumes with a 
fmall gland at the bafe of each,_/fg\ 6: 
STAMINA: three fmall Filaments: the Anther® 
yellow, fg. 5, 
PISTILLUM: the Germen oblong, at top flat or {lightly 
emarginate, the bottom part from whence the 
Styles proceed, and which feems to he the true 
Germen, is fmooth and fhining, fg. 7, the 
upper part white and villous, fg. 8. two 
Styles, feathery and fpreading, fg. 9. 
SEED of a purplifh brown colour, oblong, bearded, en- 
clofed within the Calyx, fg. 10. the Calyx 
ftripped off, fg. 1 1 . 
Muchpraife is due to the late ingenious Mr. Stilling fleet for his attempts to introduce, more generally among Far-» 
mers, a knowledge of our moft uleful Englifh Graffes : his obfervations on this fubjedt are fo exceedingly pertinent that 
the infertion of them cannot fail to prove highly acceptable to fuch as have the promotion of Agriculture at heart. 
“ It is wonderfull to fee how long mankind has negledted to make a proper advantage of plants of fuch importance, 
“ and which in almoft every country are the chief food of cattle. The farmer for want of diftinguifning, and fele&ing 
“ grafles for feed, fills his pafture either with weeds, or bad, or improper grafles ; when by making a right choice, 
“ after fome trials he might be fure of the beft grafs, and in thegreateft abundance that his land admits of. At prefent 
“ if a farmer wants to lay down his land to grafs, what does he do ? he either takes his feeds indifcriminately froni 
“ his own foul hay-rick, or fends to his next neighbour for a fupply. By this means, befides a certain mixture of all 
“ forts of rubbifti, which muft neceflarily happen ; if he chances to have a large proportion of good feeds, it is not 
“ unlikely, but that what he intends for dry land may come from moift, where it grows naturally, and the contrary, 
“ This is fuch a flovenly method of proceeding, as one would think could not poffibly prevail univerfally ; yet this 
“ is the cafe as to all grafles except the darnel grafs, and what is known in fome few countries by the name of the 
“ Suffolk grafs; and this latter inftance is owing, I believe, more to the foil than any care of the huibandman. 
“ Now would the farmer be at the pains of feparating once in his life half a pint, or a pint of the different kinds of 
grafs feeds, and take care to fow them feparately ; in a very little time he would have wherewithal to ftock his 
“ firm properly, according to the nature of each foil, and might at the fame time fpread thefe feeds feparately over 
“ the nation by lupplying the feed-lhops. The number of grafles fit for the farmer is, I believe fmall ; perhaps half 
“ a dozen, or half a fcore are all he need to cultivate ; and how fmall the trouble would be of fuch a talk, and how 
“ great the benefit, muft be obvious to every one at firft fight. Would not any one be looked on as wild who fhould 
“ low wheat , barley, oats , rye, peafe , beans, vetches, buck-wheat, turnips and weeds of all forts together ? yet how is it 
“ much lefs abfurd to do what is equivalent in relation to grafles ? does it not import the farmer to have good hay 
“ and grafs in plenty ? and will cattle thrive equally on all forts of food ? we know the contrary. Horfes will 
fl fcarcely eat hay, that will do well enough for oxen and cows. Sheep are particularly fond of one fort of grafs, 
and fatten upon it fafter, than on any other in Sweden, if we may give credit to Linnaeus. And may they not do 
“ the fame in England ? How fhall we know till we have tried f Nor can we fay that what is valuable in Sweden 
“ may be inferior to many other grafles in England; lince it appears by the Flora Sueeica that they have all the 
good ones that we have. But however this may be I fhould rather chule to make experiments, than conjectures.” 
The prefent Grafs is not one of thofe which are worth the Farmer’s cultivation, but fo much the reverfe, that 
moft Authors have called it f erilis, not becaufe it is really barren but from its inutility with refpeCl to Cattle. 
It grows exceeding common under hedges and flowers in May and June. 
In order to have a clear idea of the ftructure of the parts of fru&ification in the Grafles, they fhould be examined 
juft at the time, or rather before the Anther a have difcharged their Pollen , a fmall fpace of time makes a confiderable 
alteration in their appearance. 
In this fpecies of Bromus as well as in the Bromus mollis the Styles proceed from the middle of the Germen and not 
from the top , this is a peculiarity which feems to have efcaped the notice of Schreber who has written profefledly on 
the Grafles, and examined them with more accuracy than any preceding Writer. In his figures the Styles, proceed 
always from the Apex of the Germen, 
