Explanation 
of plate. 
Distinguish- 
ing 
characters. 
88 
in South-Brabant. Werner is of opinion that the diseases observed, in cases where the animals have 
been fed on Alsike, are due to the presence of Trifolium elegans in it. He says: »In 1874, horses 
were fed on Alsike clover produced in Eastern Prussia, After 10 days, the mucous membrane of the 
mouth became swollen and excoriated. When the fodder was changed, these symptoms very soon 
disappeared. Horses having white feet, or white spots on the skin or head, were seen to have these 
spots swollen, and covered with large scars produced by the exudation of an albumin-like discharge. 
This rendered the animals incapable of work for a long period. The disease failed to appear among 
horses not marked with white, No experiments have been made on cattle. « 
XVI. Sheep’s fescue. 
Festuca ovina, Hackel. 
The figures relate exclusively to the genuine variety of sheep’s fescue. 
Fig. A. Entire plant; shewing the setaceous leaves, a young, contracted panicle (to the left), 
and a panicle in flower and spreading (to the right). 
1. Spikelet before flowering. 
» 2. Spikelet in fruit. 
3. False fruit, ventral surface. 
, 4 False fruit, side-view. 
5. False fruit, dorsal surface. 
,. 6. Caryopsis, ventral surface. 
7. Caryopsis, dorsal surface. 
8. Caryopsis, side-view. 
,, 9. Transverse section of a young leafy shoot; the leaf-sheath is split, and the blade folded. 
,, 10. Transverse section of the blade of a fully developed leaf (after Hackel). 
,, 14. The two-eared ligule, — 
Sheep’s fescue (estuca ovina. Hackel) is distinguished from the other species by 
the following characters. The growth is compact and tufted (fig. A). All the branches 
are intravaginal. The leaves are permanently folded and bristle-like with 3 to 7 ribs, the 
ligule two-eared, and the leaf-sheath split. The ovary is glabrous. The following varieties 
of the species are distinguishable: — 
1. Genuine Sheep’s Fescue, F’. ov. L. var. vulgaris Koch | Fest. ovina L. 
2. Hard Fescue, &. ov. L. var. duriuscula, Koch Fest. ov. subspecies 
3. Fine-leaved Fescue, /. ov. L.. var. tenuifolia, Sibthorp } eu-ovina, Hackel 
4, Sheep’s Fescue of Valais, . sulcata, Hackel var. valesiaca, Fest, suleata, Hackel 
Schleicher F’, ov. subspecies sul- 
5. Striated Sheep’s Fescue, &. sulc. var. genuina, Hackel cata, Hackel Mon. 
6. Chamois Fescue, /. rupicaprina, Hackel (Fest. ov. subspecies frigida, var, rupic., 
Hackel Mon.) 
. Sheep’s Fescue of Haller, Fest. Halleri, Hackel (fest. ov. subspecies levis var. Halleri, 
Hackel Mon.) 
8. Alpine Sheep’s Fescue, Hest. alpina, Suter. (Fest. ov. subspecies alpina Hackel Mon.) 
The first two subspecies, viz. the genuine and the hard sheep’s fescue haye most 
importance in agriculture. The botanical description and the plate relate exclusively to 
~ 
