428 
leaves linear; ligule very short, truncate ; lower palea nearly equaling' 
the glumes, mostly awnless, three-nerved ; the upper one-half its length. 
Perennial; flowers in July ; ripens in August; culms 1 to 2 feet high. 
A very valuable species. 
Moist meadows. Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. A native 
i 
also of Europe. 
The red-top is deserving of more attention from farmers than it has 
heretofore received. It is a valuable grass well liked by cattle, and ex¬ 
hausts the soil far less than Pkleum pretense , whjch is almost the only 
grass now cultivated in Wisconsin. It is adapted to moist places, and 
would soon find its way to the grounds now occupied by the compara¬ 
tively useless sedges ; and even the tamarac and cedar swamps might be 
converted into productive meadows at but little expense. 
Analysis of the ash of red-top, by Prof. Emmons : * 
Silica. 
Phosphates. 
Potash. 
Chloride of sodium 
Carbonate of lime.. 
Magnesia. 
Soda. 
Organic matter_ 
Sulphuric acid. 
Loss. 
41.90 
13.75 
4.92 
2.00 
10.03 
6.64 
9.61 
2.35 
7.39 
1.50 
100.00 
18. Agrostis Alba. Linnaeus. 
Syn. —A. stolonifera, Linn. A. stricta, Willd. A. decumbens, Muhl. 
White bent grass and Fiorin grass of the English. White top. 
Panicle narrow, contracted after flowering, (greenish-white, or slightly 
tinged with purple,) the branches rough ; ligule oblong or linear; lower 
palea, rather shorter than the glumes, five-nerved, awnless, or rarely 
short awned on the back near the tip; culms ascending, rooting at the 
lower joints. Perennial; flowers in July; culms 1 to 2 feet high. Mich¬ 
igan, Ohio, and about Lake Superior. 
A valuable grass, though esteemed much less than formerly. It is 
* Agr. of New York, vol. ii, p. 73. 
