Germany

Sweden.....

Denmark and Norway..

France......

1,546,976
where it grows best in calcareous and clay
36,129
soils. Hardy, but without superior nutritious
5,540 1,588,645 properties.

208,063

British America........

117,142

China, (in California al

41,443

most exclusively,)

All other countries, or unknown.....

291,558=

723,485

5,062,414

The increase of the whole population of the United States in the seven decades, from 1790 to 1860, is very nearly at the rate of 333 per cent. for 10 years.

Agrostis ramorissima, lateral-branching bent grass. Nearly allied to the A. Mexicana. Remarkable for the number of branches that issue from its joints, and woody nature of its

stem.

Agrostis repens, creeping rooted bent, or white bent. This is a species of couch grass very difficult to eradicate, the roots striking deeper than the plough, and shooting up from the least particle left in the ground. Handpicking is the most effectual means of destruction.

The Agrostis stolonifera, (var. Latifolia,) or long-leaved creeping bent, or fioren, is represented in Plate No. X. of the Hay-grasses, n. It appears to be much superior in point of productiveness and nutritive qualities to the other varieties of Agrostis stolonifera, from which it differs so little in appearance as to make it difficult to discriminate between them. This variety appears to be confined to rich old pasture land, whilst the others are found in different soils, the clays, light sands, moors, bogs, marshes, bottoms of ponds and ditches, etc.

Though a very few years have elapsed since the hitherto almost mythic land of California came into possession of those capable of developing its extraordinary resources, surprising progress has already been made. To say nothing of its almost infinite mineral wealth, its agricultural advantages are incalculable, and the cereal products are perhaps eclipsed by those of its fruit-growing capacities. Especially is its soil and climate adapted to the vine and the production of wines, which even now rival the best vintages of Europe, and will doubtless soon eclipse them in the markets of the world. They are recommended not only by their general purity and grateful qualities, but by their being more readily digested and freed from excess of acids and other offensive qualities which often render European wines irritating and unwholesome. This remark is particularly applicable to the Sonoma hocks, and to the Angelica and other wines of Los Angelos. Some of the red wines, misnamed Port, rival the Burgundy and Hermitage of Southern France in their rich violet bou-Red-top of the Middle and Northern States bequet.

Several years ago the Agrostis stolonifera was introduced into England by Dr. William Richardson, under the name of Fioren. He published an account setting forth its characteristics, with experiments showing its nutritive qualities, from which it would appear to be a valuable grass for some situations, at least in the moist climates of England and Ireland.

The variety which has been called by botanists Agrostis vulgaris, is common in fields laying out in grass, and has doubtless given the name to the genera, derived from the Greek word Agros, a field. The well-known Herds, or

long to this family, and has received the name of Foul Meadow Grass from the difficulty with which it is eradicated when it has once obtained a footing.

Another variety is called White-top.

AGROSTIS. The bent grass. An extensive genus of grasses, which from their general character of thriving best on marshy or wet soils, are of comparatively little value to the farmer. In America they have obtained little notice; but in England they are often made of considerable account, and the follow-ral; but let the proprietor of a rich ancient ing varieties are noticed.

There has been much prejudice existing against the different species of Agrostis in gene

pasture divest a part of it of this grass entirely, and the value of the plant will be demonstrated in the comparative loss of late and early herbage. The cock's foot grass is superior to the larger variety of the creeping bent, in the proportion nearly of 11 to 9. The meadow fescue is also superior to fiorin in nearly the like proportion as cock's foot. The meadow fox-tail grass is inferior to fiorin in the proportion nearly of 6 to 7. When cultivated separately, for the purpose of green food or hay, fiorin requires to be kept perfectly clear of weeds, its couchant habit of growth affording great encouragement for the health of upright growing plantsunder this circumstance, weeds. It flowers in

England about the second and third weeks of July, and the seed is ripe about the second and third weeks of August. The mode of converting florin into hay, during the winter months, is amply detailed in Dr. Richardson's publica

tions on Fiorin. Full information will there

The rust attacks the culms and leaves of both varieties which gives the plants a dirty brown appearance; the Agrostis vulgaris is always free from this disease. The brown bent flowers in the second and third weeks of July, and ripens the seed in the end of August.

be likewise found on the productive powers, | likewise superior. Neither of these varieties uses, modes of cultivation, &c., of this grass, appears to be of much value to the farmer. deduced from the Doctor's own experiments. Agrostis stricta. Rock bent; upright bent. Trichodium rupestre (Schrader). This species being inferior to the common bent in most points, its value to the agriculturist can be but little. The only property that renders it worthy of notice is, the small degree in which it impoverishes the soil: when cultivated on a poor, silicious, sandy soil, the produce, though somewhat inferior, continued for six years, without diminishing in the yearly quantity, and without any manure being applied; a circumstance which was not manifested in any other species of grass.

Agrostis vulgaris canina. Awned fine bent. (Brown bent, or Agrostis canina, Wither. Arr. Smith's Engl. Flora. Agrostis vulgaris var. 2. Do. var. 1.) As this is a much less common plant than the variety of Agrostis vulgaris before described, and as it differs so much from that variety in the properties which constitute the farmer's distinguishing characters of grasses, the name canina is here added. The vulgaris mutica is more common to sandy soils; the v. canina to clayey soils. The weight of nutritive matter in which the produce of one acre of the awnless variety of Agrostis vulgaris canina exceeds that of the awned variety is 151.8. The comparative merits of the Agrostis vulgaris exceed those of the Agrostis vulgaris canina nearly as 2 to 1. The crop of the awnless variety is greater than that of the awned, but it is much less nutritive, being as 10 to 7; the spring and autumn produce is

Agrostis vulgaris mutica. Common bent; fine bent grass. [See Plate 6, d, of Hay Grasses.] This species has four varieties, according to Dr. Schrader. The first is distinguished by being awned (see Agrostis vulgaris canina, and Trichodium caninum); the second by awnless and diseased flowers (see Agrostis pumila of Willd. Spec. Plant. i. p. 371); the third by its diseased awned flowers; the fourth, by having the flowers viviparous, Agrostis sylvatica.

The common bent is one of the earliest of the bent grasses; in this respect it is superior to every other of this family; but inferior to several of them in the quantity of produce it affords, and the nutritive matter it consumes. It is the most common grass on natural sandy pastures; and even on more tenaceous soils, that are elevated and exposed, it is frequent. It flowers from the third week of June till the second week of July, and the seed is ripe the beginning of August.

The following tabular arrangement shows at a glance the proportional value of the seve ral varieties of Agrostis, in seed and in flower, and their yield per acre of green and dry produce on various soils, and comparative qualities of nutrition.

called Foul Meadow Grass. The last name
being evidently derived from the great difficulty
with which it is eradicated when it has once
obtained a footing. The grass called white-top,
appears to be a variety of Herds. There
seems to be considerable obscurity and confu-
sion in the descriptions given of this grass.
The common characteristics of the plant, as
seen in the meadows of Pennsylvania, Dr.
Darlington says, resemble those of the A. alba,
the White or Yellow Tops of the Eastern States.
It affords a tolerably good pasture for cattle,
and valuable in swampy grounds, which its
roos tend to consolidate; but it is not much
este ned for hay, and is now seldom, if ever,
an cbject of special cultivation in the Middle
Staces.
The Pennsylvania farmers are so op-
posed to having Herds grass rooted in their
fields and meadows that they reject clover and
every other grass seed in which the least
Herds appears. Among the species found in
the United States, are the following-

A. pungens, or Virginian Agrostis, frequenting dry, sandy banks, and road-sides, flowering in the southern part of Pennsylvania, in August. This species differs much, in habit, from most

others.

A. cinna, common on rivers and islands below tide-water, from Canada to the Carolinas, flowering in June, &c.

A. juncea, found in barren, sandy places, from New Jersey to Florida; flowering from July to August.

4. laterifolia, found in rich soil on the edges of woods from New York to Florida, especially in the western countries, where it appears to be of more value. In the southern parts of Pennsylvania it affords an indifferent pasture in the latter part of summer, but is not regarded as of much consequence, which may indeed be said of most, if not all, of the American species of agrostis.

Aira cæspitosa. Turfy hair-grass; hassuck grass. [See Plate 6. of PASTURE GRASSES, m.] This grass is of a very innutritious nature; but even if it had greater nutritive powers, the extreme coarseness of the foliage would render it unfit for cultivation. It delights in moist clayey soils, where the water stagnates; but is found in almost every kind of soil, from the dry sandy heath to the bog. It forms dense tufts in pastures very disagreeable to the sight, which are termed hassocks, bull's faces, &c., by farmers. It is a most difficult plant to extirpate, when in considerable quantity. Some persons, to get rid of it, dig up the tufts, and fill up the holes with lime compost; this, no doubt, would answer the end, at least for a few years, if all the roots were destroyed; but this is never the case: a circle of roots is left, which, in one or two seasons, produce larger hassocks than before; and besides, when the hassocks are numerous, the expense attending this process is considerable. Others depend on occasional mowings to keep the hassocks under; but this is productive of little good, particularly if the mowing of the tufts be de ferred till the autumn, which I believe is the common practice. I have found no treatment weaken or retard the growth of grass so much as cutting it closely, before and after the first tender shoots appear in the spring. But the only effectual and most profitable mode of extirpating this grass is by first paring and burning the surface of the land, and by making proper drains, to correct, as much as possible, the tenacious nature of the soil; in this case surface-drains are as necessary as those termed hollow. Sand should likewise be applied during the course of crops taken previous to returning the land again to permanent pasture, if such should be desirable, from its local situation; as that, for instance, of a park or policy. This grass flowers about the third week in July, and the seed is ripe towards the

The late Judge Peters introduced the fiorin into Philadelphia county, in 1812, by import-end of August. ing a quantity of the strings or layers from which it is always propagated in Ireland. For some reason its cultivation has not been kept up, and at present it is difficult to be found in America. When once it has obtained a footing in a suitable soil, it is scarcely to be eradicated, for which reason it is not adapted to the alternate system of husbandry.]

AIR (Air, French, aër, Lat). The element or thin medium in which terrestrial animals move and breathe, and which surrounds the earth to a considerable height. See ATMOSPHERE and GASES.

AIRA. A genus of grasses, of which there are but few species capable of being cultivated to advantage as field grasses.

Aira aquatica. Water hair-grass. This plant is an aquatic, found naturally growing in the mud of standing pools, or running waters in England. It is, therefore, unfit for cultivation. Mr. Curtis says, that it is the sweetest of the British grasses; but there are several species which contain more sugar, in proportion to the other ingredients which compose their nutritive matter, as the Glyceria fluitans. Elymus arenarius. Poa nemoralis var. angustifolia, Poa aquatica

Aira cristata. Crested hair-grass. Poa cristata. Crested meadow-grass. Host. ii. p. 54, t. 75. This native grass was formerly ranked by botanists under the genus Poa, but has since been referred to that of Aira, to which it is more closely allied. The produce of this species, and the nutritive matter it affords, are equal to those of the Festuca ovina at the time the seed is ripe; they equally delight in dry soils, though the Aira cristata will thrive well and remain permanent in soils of a moist and clayey nature, which is different from the Fes tuca ovina. The greater bulk of the produce of the Aira cristata, in proportion to its weight, makes it of inferior value to the Festuca ovina. In some parts of the country it grows on dry pastures plentifully, where it appears to be but sparingly eaten by cattle, particularly if the pasture be not overstocked. Rye-grass (Lolium perenne), sheep's fescue (Festuca ovina), yellow oat-grass (Avena flavescens), crested dog's tail (Cynosurus cristatus), meadow barley (Hordeum pratense), flexuose hair-grass (Aira flexuosa), are all preferred by cattle to the crested hair-grass. The nutritive matter of this grass differs but little in its composition from those of the above: it approaches nearest