herd-grass, herd's-grass U.S.
[f. herd n.1 + grass.]
A name for various grasses grown for hay or pasture; esp. Timothy, Phleum pratense, and Redtop, Agrostis vulgaris.
| 1747 Franklin Lett. Wks. 1887 II. 81, I sowed nearly thirty acres with herd-grass and clover. 1787 M. Cutler in Life Jrnls. & Corr. (1888) I. 288 They begin, however, to sow some quantity of herd's-grass seed, which they call Timothy. 1834 Low Pract. Agric. (1847) 521 It [Phleum pratense] is called herd-grass in America, and is greatly valued there as an herbage and forage plant. 1856 Olmsted Slave States 41 Herd's-grass (red-top), sometimes taking the place of the clover, or being grown with it for hay. |