deposition of mud over the area tenanted by the grass. The 
level of the mudbank becomes raised, the mud itself firmer. 
Further, the decay of each year's growth enriches gradually the 
mud with nitrates and sulphides and other salts, and prepares it 
for the reception of types of vegetation which were until then 
excluded from it. On the landside of the Spartina belt, where 
there is only a foot of water at high-tide, a growth of Aster Tri- 
polium and Obione portulaccoid.es springs up among the grass, the 
first heralds of the reclamation of land that has set in. If the 
process continues the muddy foreshore will gradually be replaced 
by terra firma. But another effect is more immediate, that of 
the protection which the grass affords to the shore behind it 
against the erosive action of the sea. The stems of the grass 
opposing themselves in their millions to the onrushing tides, to 
currents and the wind-driven sea act like a natural breakwater 
to the shore behind them. It might be feared that the grass 
would become a nuisance to navigation by blocking up the water¬ 
ways, but this is not the case . Bound to shallow water, it is 
not likely to invade the deeper water channels. On the contrary, 
the consolidation and gradual elevation of the' grassgrown fiats 
along them tends to increase the scouring action of the currents 
and tides on the sides and bottoms of those waterways, making 
their banks steeper and increasing their depth. 
There is no reason why artificial plantations of Townsend’s 
grass, under conditions corresponding to those of its native 
habitat, should not be successful. Propagation by division is 
easy, and the grass takes on well and grows rapidly, as experi¬ 
ments made in the Medway River and in New Zealand show. 
When the grass is young the leaves and stems are succulent 
and sweetish, and cattle and horses relish it. Several American 
species of Spartina are cut and fed to horses and cattle on a 
large scale. Analyses of Townsend’s grass, made on behalf 
of the Board of Agriculture, show that for nutritious qualities it 
is quite equal to its American allies, and may be classed as a 
good average fodder grass. Other uses to which the grass has 
been put and might be put on a larger scale are for thatching, 
and, above all, for mulching. It has even been tried for paper¬ 
making, but with doubtful success. 
The Native Plan Is of Britain and Germany: A 
Comparison. 
Bv Miss C. Agnes Rooper. 
Read before the Botanical Section, March 13th, 1913. 
TN| beginning my paper, I wish to say that the authority for 
“*■ the statements I am about to make is Herr Drude. This 
eminent German botanist, in company with other Continental 
