They
have no stalk of their own; they are sessile or seated on the stem. As
the spikelets are flat and grow on two sides of the stem only, each stem
looks as if it had been pressed in a book, as perhaps you have sometimes
pressed flowers.
The leaves are dark green, glossy and shining. On the under side of each
leaf there is a prominent rib which extends the whole length. This rib
is one of the signs by which Mr. Hammond can tell a blade of Rye Grass
at once without seeing the flower.
This is one of the farmer's most useful grasses. It forms a close thick
carpet or sward, and, the more it is trodden on by animals grazing, the
better it seems to thrive.
Here is another excellent grass, with a flower quite different in
appearance from the last. It is called Timothy Grass. It was first
cultivated in America by a man named Timothy Hanson, and it is now
always known by his Christian name. Mr. Hammond knows this, and now you
know it too; but a good many farmers who have plenty of Timothy Grass in
their fields do not know the reason of its name.
[Illustration: COWSLIP.
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