$6 THE COMMON REED. 
(which was nearly always covered with water) afford 
sufficient nutriment to maintain five farm horses, in 
good condition, from April to the end of harvest, with- 
out any other food ; and that it yielded even more than 
they could eat. The Cottenham and Chedder cheeses 
are said, in a great measure, to derive their celebrity 
from the cows feeding on this grass. 
Its seeds are small, and are remarkable for their 
$weet flavour and nutritious qualities. They are an- 
nually collected in Poland, and are exported thence, 
into Germany, and other parts of the continent, under 
the name of manna seeds. These are used in soups, 
gruel, and puddings, even by persons of the first rank 
and consequence. When ground into flour, they are 
convertible into bread, which is little inferior to that 
made of wheat. The bran of these seeds is stated by 
Linnseus to be useful as a medicine for horses that are 
troubled with worms. Geese are fond of the seeds, and 
well know where to find them. It is remarkable that 
these seeds have hitherto been entirely neglected in 
England ; though without difficulty they might be ob- 
tained in sufficient quantity to prove beneficial. 
49. The COMMON REED (Arundo phragmites, 
Fig. 33) grows in ditches, ponds, and by the sides of 
rivers, attaining the height of six or seven feet, and 
flowering about the month of July. 
Reeds are frequently made into screens or fences for 
gardens, and they are considered particularly eligible 
/or sheltering tender plants from injury by cold, or 
blighting winds. They likewise make excellent weavers 9 
eombs; and, when nailed across a frame of wood- work, 
are frequently employed as a foundation for plaster 
floors. They are sometimes made into chair bottoms ; 
and into thatch for cottages and out-buildings. 
From the flowers of the reed the country people of 
Sweden extract a green dye, which they occasionally 
use for woollen cloth ; and we are informed that, from 
