ts till late in the autumn.
The spikelets make a cluster or tail at the end of the stalk, but they
do not grow so closely together as those of the Timothy and Meadow
Foxtail.

Look at this Tufted Hair Grass. It is very pretty, perhaps one of the
prettiest grasses we have seen; but the farmer looks upon it as a weed.
It has a large and spreading head of flower; the spikelets grow on
stems, and become gradually smaller towards the top of the stalk. The
flower is purple, with a shining silvery light upon it. It grows in
thick clumps or tussocks, and cattle do not care about the leaves.

CHAPTER VIII

IN THE HAY-FIELD (_continued_)

There are many other grasses in the field; some of them are useful,
while others the farmer would call weeds. We must now look at other
flowers, and, as the grass is so tall, it will be better to choose tall
flowers which can easily be seen. We soon spy a Thistle among the grass
near the gate.

There are several kinds of Thistle in England--the Milk Thistle, the
Nodding Thistle, and some others. This is the common Field Thistle. It
is far too common to please Mr. Hammond or any other careful farmer. It
is true that it is only an annual; but, like the Dandelion, it has a
pappus attached to its seed. However hard Mr. Hammond tries to get rid
of thistles from his fields, fresh seeds are constantly blown into them
from thistles on the road-side banks, or in the fields of farmers not so
careful as himself. It is very disheartening to a good farmer to have
careless neighbours. When Mr. Hammond hears that a new tenant is coming
to a neighbouring farm, he always hopes that he will be a "clean"
farmer--that he will try to keep his fields free from weeds.

The stiff stem of the Thistle is often three or four feet tall, and
divides into smaller branches which bear a flower at the end. These
flowers are a little like those of the Red Clover; each blossom has many
small upright florets, purplish-red in colour. The leaves are not very
tempting to touch, but they are very interesting. They are divided into
several lobes or divisions, and each lobe ends in a sharp point. They
have no leaf stem to connect them with the stalk of the plant. What is
curious about them is that they do not grow from a small point on the
stalk. They are "decurrent," or running along the stalk; a broad strip
at the base of each leaf is attached to the stalk.

Docks too are far too numerous among the grass. They are very