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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 the top, and 
nearly bare below fro m 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 sanguinale vdr 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 Loo short and not abundant enough. 
Andropogon or Chrysdpogon aciculatus commonly known here as 
‘‘love grass” is well enough known to all who keep lawns. It 
is perhaps our commonest 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 nc-t woolly, and suitable for tennis. It grows on very 
poor sods as well as on richer ones, but seems rather to dislike too 
damp spots. It is probably not a native of the Straits Settlements, 
but I 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 small round 
