Similar in appearance, but lower in growth, are the purple anthered Cat's-tails (Phleum), tenants alike of the meadow, the pasture, and the sea-shore. They have two pointed glumes, concealing the blunt and insignificant paleae. On permanent pastures the common Cat's-tail (P. pratense), with its thin and wiry stem and its close cylindrical spike, may be found growing to the height of twelve or eighteen inches. The Sea Cat's-tail (P. arenarium) is a minute grass with a tapering spike and hairy foliage. There are three other Cat's-tail grasses, known as the Rough, the Alpine, and the Purple-stalked. They are, however, rare.

The Canary Grasses (Phalaris) next claim our attention - the tall canary-grass, with its rounded head, and broad, overlapping, and beautifully shaped glumes, of which there are two, with three or four paleae. The Reed Canary Grass (P. arundinacea) waves its panicles of soft florets by the river-side, amongst its relatives, the sedges. It binds the loose earth of the river-bank together, and is otherwise a useful grass. The Ribbon Grass of our gardens belongs to the same tribe.

The Green Beard Grasses (Potypogon) are maritime plants, haunting the sea-shore and the salt marsh. There is a perennial and an annual variety. They bloom in August, and have their florets arranged in close panicles. The annual species may be known by having awns thrice the length of the glumes.

Over the brushwood the Feathery Millet Grass {Milium effusum) spreads its green feathery panicles like a cloud, and the spreading Millet may be found in woods, rising to the height of four or five feet; the florets have two close glumes enclosing the two paleae, and several stems arise from the same root.

The silky panicles of the elegant Bentgrass family (Agrostis) hang over the foot-path alike of the wayside, the fields, and the woodland. Two unequal glumes enclosing a single floret, with transparent paleae, distinguish this family. The Fine Bentgrass (A. vulgaris) is common in meadows, and has a shining purple-tinted panicle. The Silky Bentgrass frequents sandy fields, and has its panicle waving on one side. The Brown-hued variety haunts the wayside path, and the Marsh Bentgrass (A. alba) frequents the Irish bogs, where it grows luxuriantly. It is common enough in England, as farmers know, as it has an awkward habit of getting into corn land.

The Dog's-tooth Grass (Oynodon) has its florets arranged in loose spikes, and the Finger Grass (Digi-taria), with its many spikes and purple glumes, frequent our southern shores, but are somewhat rare. The dog's-tooth grass is the "Doole-grass" of India, held sacred by the Brahmins, and is much used by the Europeans for lawns.

The next great family of grasses have two or three florets enclosed between each pair of glumes. Amongst these we have the elegant Hair Grasses (Aria) : their fine and delicate panicles give a lightness and beauty to the river-bank, the field, and the woodland, where various members of the family dwell. The Tufted Hair Grass (A. coespitosa) grows in masses by our woods and hedges, some three feet high. It has light panicles of glossy florets, which have one awn from the bottom of the outer glume. The Wavy Hair Grass (A.flexuosa), the Crested, the Silver, the Early, and the Grey Hair Grasses are also common: the latter frequents the sea-shore.

The Panic Grasses (Panicum) are found but rarely in our fields, though they are charming in our gardens and in bouquets, where they make a perfect contrast with the more diffuse and pink-tinted Soft Grass family. They have ribbed glumes, and of the two or three florets enclosed one is neuter. The Rough Panic Grass has smooth jointed stems. The Green Panic grows erect, with a crowded spiked panicle. The Loose Panic Grass has its flowers on one side; the panicle is branched, and the leaves lanceolate. These grasses are related to the millets of India, and in Jamaica and Brazil are valuable as pasturage.

The Soft Grasses (Holcus) have a crowded panicle of pink-tinged downy florets and soft hairy leaves. The paleae form the coat of the seed, and are awned. The Meadow Soft Grass (H. lanatus) has the lower floret perfect and without an awn. In the middle of June the Creeping Soft Grass (II. mollis) flowers: it has fewer flowers in its panicle, and the upper floret has a very prominent awn. There is a common broad-leaved, rough, tall-growing oat-like Soft Grass (H. avenaceus) : the florets are large and with unequal glumes; the lowest floret has an awn. The stamens are long, and the anthers deep purple.

Amongst the early grasses are the Melica, or Melic Grasses, remarkable for their broad delicately tinted foliage and purple fly-like florets. The Wood Melic Grass (M. uniflora) has a drooping slightly branched panicle; the barren florets are stalked, and the fertile seated. The Mountain Melic (M. nutans) has a drooping spike, and the paleae have no awns. On damp moorlands we may find the Purple Melic (M. coeru-lea) : its bluish-green foliage is rather narrower than the others, the florets smaller and more numerous.

"We must not overlook the early-flowering Blue Moor Grass (Sesleria coerulea), the tenant of the chalky uplands. It may be known by the spikelets being arranged in the form of an oval cluster, by its blue-tinged glumes and narrow foliage.

The Holy Grass (Hierocliloe borealis) is a pretty grass frequenting the Scottish glens. It has a scattered panicle of florets, three to each spikelet.

Who does not know the familiar Quaking Grass (Briza) ? - the "Trembling Grass," the " Quakers and Shakers " of old Gerarde, the "Ladies' tresses" of our childhood. In the Midlands there is a lingering superstition that this elegant grass brings ill luck to its possessor. There are two British varieties (B. media), and the small Quaking Grass (B. minor), which is somewhat rare.

Under the broad Greek generic term for grass (Poa) we have the true Meadow Grass, common as a weed in our gardens, and which infests our footpaths and green lanes. This family of grasses has a pair of glumes to each spikelet of many florets, and the paleae are membraneous at the joint. The Bough Meadow Grass (P. trivalis) and the Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass are the cherished inhabitants of our meadows, where they add much to the hay crop. They may be easily distinguished by the smoothness or otherwise of the stem. They grow some eighteen inches high, with full-branched panicles of small spikelets, occasionally tinged with purple. The Wood Meadow Grass (P. nemoralis) has only about three flowers on each pale green spikelet, which grows from a slender graceful panicle. The other meadow grasses are the Alpine, the Glaucous, and the Plat-stalked. The Bulbous Meadow Grass haunts the sea-shore.