PANICK-GRASS-HAIR-GRASS.

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Grasses which, for their utility for human food, deserve to be ranked among the corn group.

There are gigantic Panick-grasses in Brazil, with delicate and tender foliage, most valuable for cattle; and the Guineagrass, or Great Panick, forms the most profitable pasturage in Jamaica.

Our British Panick-grasses occur rarely, and in small quantities; they have two or three florets enclosed between each pair of glumes, one of which is neuter. The glumes are ribbed.

The Rough Panick (Panicum verticillátum) has smoothjointed stems, and the glumes keeled.

The Green Panick (P. víride) of which I have received a specimen from Norfolk, has erect stems, and a crowded spiked panicle; and the Loose Panick-grass (P. crus-gálli) has its flowers to one side, the panicle branched, and the leaves lanceshaped and harsh.

The Hair-grass family have also two or three florets enclosed between each pair of glumes; the paleæ continue unchanged until the seed is ripe.

The Crested Hair-grass (Áira cristata) grows only eight inches high; its panicle is lanceolate and downy. The Water Hair-grass (A. aquática) has a spreading panicle, and its glumes are abrupt and notched. These two have no

awns.

The Tufted Hair-grass (A. cæspitósa) is an elegant plant, raising its large light panicles of glossy florets three feet high. It grows in mat-like masses in woods and hedges; the florets have one awn from the bottom of the outer glume.

The Wavy Hair-grass (A. flexuósa) is smaller; its panicle contains fewer florets, and the awn rises from the middle of the outer glume. We have these Grasses in great abundance about our woods and moors in Swaledale; and I have the Waved species from the Cheese Wring, Cornwall.

The Silver Hair-grass (A. caryophyllea) I gathered at Plumpton Rocks, near Harrogate; the cluster is less dense

even than that of the last-named species, and the flowers have a silvery hue; the awn is twice as long as the glumes.

The Grey Hair-grass (A. canéscens) was sent to me from Ventnor, where it grows on the seashore; its panicle is much more dense than those of its brethren, and it is less attractive in consequence.

I have the Early Hair-grass (A. præcox) from Hawkhurst. It is a very neat little plant, growing one or two inches high, and flowering in May; its panicle has very few florets.

The Soft-grasses do not form first-rate pasturage, as all their foliage is more or less hairy. Like several of the families recently mentioned, that of the Soft-grass has two or three florets enclosed between each pair of glumes. The paleæ form the coat of the seed, and are awned. The glumes are keeled. Certain species of Soft-grass inhabiting India, Arabia, and the Cape, are used as Millet, and called by the same name, as well as the Panicks.

is

The Meadow Soft-grass (Hólcus lanátus) is very woolly. The lower floret is perfect, and without an awn; the upper awned. It grows freely in meadows and pastures, and its dense panicle of downy florets, slightly tinged with pink, are very familiar.

The Creeping Soft-grass (H. móllis) flowers a fortnight earlier than the Meadow species, coming into bloom in the middle of June. It has fewer flowers in its panicle, and the upper floret has a very prominent awn. These two have a great resemblance to one another. I have gathered both frequently in Swaledale, and also near Hawkhurst.

The Oat-like Soft-grass (H. avenáceus) is quite as common as the others, and no member of the tribe can exceed it in beauty. It bears no outward resemblance to the other two Soft-grasses, which do not much exceed a foot in height. The Oat-like species grows in hedges and waste places, and sometimes among corn. I have often seen it five or six feet in height. Its leaves are broad, deep green, and rough. Its panicle is spread and tapering; the florets large, with unequal

MELIC-MOOR-GRASS.

333

glumes, and a prominent awn to the lowest floret. The stamens are long, and the anthers deep purple. It is a very useless Grass, though so handsome.

The Holy-grass (Hieróchloe boreális) I have never seen, except in the Botanical Gardens at Edinburgh. It is an elegant grass, with pale green foliage, and scattered panicles of florets, three to each spikelet. The centre flower is perfect, and has two stamens; those at either side are barren, and have three stamens. It inhabits lofty glens in Scotland.

The Melic-grasses are among the most elegant of the tribe, but, as is often the case with the beautiful Grasses, they are of no great service. They have one or two florets, between the glumes.

The Wood Melic-grass (Mélica uniflóra) has the panicle slightly branched; it is turned to one side, and somewhat drooping. The barren florets are stalked, and the fertile are seated; they are of a beautiful violet hue. The foliage is broad, and of a delicate pale green. This grass abounds in woods everywhere.

The Mountain Melic (M. nútans) is more scarce. I have only found it in Mackershaw Woods, near Ripon. The flowers are arranged in a drooping spike; the paleæ have no awns.

The Purple Melic (M. cœrúlea) has narrower foliage than the others, and it has a slightly glaucous hue. The florets are violet-coloured, much smaller than those of its brethren, and more numerous. It grows abundantly on damp ground on the Yorkshire moors.

The Blue Moor-grass (Sesléria cœrúlea) inhabits similar places where the soil is chalky. It has two or three perfect florets on each spikelet, and the whole are arranged in an oval cluster or head. The glumes have a blue tinge, and the foliage is narrow.

We now come to the great Meadow-grass family, which is characterized by having several flowers in each spikelet, no awns, and the seed loose. This family is now divided into two-the Sweet-grasses and the Meadow-grasses, the former having the paleæ simple, the latter having them keeled.

We have the Reedy Sweet-grass (Glycéria aquática, Plate XVI., fig. 4) which I found on the margin of the Avon, near Leamington, and also in a pond opposite the Hall House, Hawkhurst. It is a tall Grass, with stiff sword-shaped leaves, and an erect panicle of small spikelets. The florets are all blunt.

The Floating Sweet-grass (G. flúitans) is to be found everywhere on the margin of ponds. Its panicle is oblong and branched, and its lance-shaped spikelets are close-pressed, and contain numerous florets, the paleæ of which are sevenribbed.

I have the Reflexed Sweet-grass (G. distans) and also the Hard Sweet-grass. The former grew on salt-marshy ground beside the Looe River. It is partly recumbent, and its panicles are stiff. It grows about twelve inches in length, and thus varies exceedingly from the above-mentioned members of its family, the Reedy Sweet-grass attaining the height of four feet, and the Floating of three feet.

The Hard Sweet-grass (G. rígida) is a very small plant, inhabiting the tops of walls and sandy places. Its stems are wiry, and its panicle is formed of close-pressed spikelets, all of which lean to one side. My specimen is from the Looe Cliffs.

There are a Procumbent Sweet-grass (G. procumbens) with a stiff panicle, which inhabits seashores; and a Sea Sweetgrass (G. marítima) the panicle of which is erect and branched, and very close; but I have not got specimens of them.

The true Meadow-grasses come next. Their botanical name, Poa, is the Greek word for Grass of any kind. The plants of this family have a pair of glumes to each spikelet of many florets, and the paleæ are membranous at the point.

The Rough Meadow-grass and the Smooth-stalked Meadow grass (Poa triviális, and P. praténsis) are exceedingly useful for meadow crops. They grow eighteen inches high, with fullbranched panicles of small spikelets, very often tinged with purple. The roughness, or otherwise, of the stem and leaves is a sufficient mark of distinction between them.

MEADOW-GRASS-QUAKING-GRASS.

335

The Annual Meadow-grass (P. ánnua) is the common weed of our gardens, infesting the untrodden pavement as well as the green lane, and flowering from March to November.

The Alpine and Glaucous Meadow-grasses were sent to me from Scotland. The former has a denser panicle than most of its family, and the glaucous, broadish foliage of the latter distinguishes it.

The Wood Meadow-grass (P. nemorális) has a graceful slender panicle, and only about three flowers in each spikelet. Both spikelets and leaves are of a pale green. It grows in the Easby woods.

There are a Flat-stalked Meadow-grass, the distinctive mark of which is expressed in its name; and a Bulbous Meadowgrass, with a zig-zag panicle and four-flowered spikelets. This grows on the seashore.

The Heath-grass (Triódia decúmbens) used to be counted among the Poas, but its round paleæ and conclave glumes are marked enough to allow it a genus to itself. It is a rigid plant growing in tufts, the stems often leaning towards the ground at an acute angle. The panicle is very little branched; there are four florets in each spike. It grows in swampy places on our moors in Yorkshire, and flowers in July.

The Quaking-grass is a familiar object to people of all ages. About Nantwich, in Cheshire, it used to be called "Quakers and Shakers," as Old Gerarde tells

us. With us it is often called

"Trembling-grass."

The common Quaking - grass (Bríza média) is known to us all. It has oval spikelets of seven flowers, and the glumes are shorter than the florets.

The Small Quaking-grass (B. mínor) is a rare plant. My specimen came from Devonshire. It has triangular spikelets, with seven

Fig. 82.-Quaking-grass. flowers in each; the