Poor people sometimes stuff their pillows with the down of the cotton grass; but there is a prevailing opinion that it is not wholesome to sleep on. This down is probably too brittle to be manufactured by itself into thread, yet, in combination either with wool or cotton, it may be spun into a strong and uniform yarn, from which gloves, stockings, and cloth, in small quantity, have been made. Its brittleness has been much corrected by a simple chemical process. Wicks for candles have sometimes been made of it. 35. _BULL-RUSH_ (_Scirpus lacustris_, Fig. 19).--Of the stems of this plant the rush bottoms of chairs are made. Being of soft and pliant texture, totally destitute of roughness, the bull-rush is also sometimes used for the stuffing of pack saddles, making of mats, and thatching of cottages. 36. _MEADOW FOX-TAIL GRASS_ (_Alopecurus pratensis_, Fig. 20) is a very common but valuable kind, which grows freely in moist and fertile pastures and meadows. It possesses, in a superior degree to any other grass, the three great requisites of quantity, quality, and early growth. The best hay which is brought to London is said to be from meadows where this grass abounds; and, in many parts adjacent to the metropolis, it is extremely abundant. 37. _TIMOTHY GRASS, or MEADOW CATS-TAIL_ (_Phleum pratense_, Fig. 21), is a grass much cultivated in several parts of North America, and particularly in wet, loamy grounds, where, though coarse and hard, it is found extremely productive and useful. Such has been the celebrity of Timothy grass, that a gentleman (William Strickland, Esq.) was requested by the Board of Agriculture to make inquiries concerning it; and, from his remarks, it appears that this grass is the chief support of cattle wherever the meadows of it abound. He saw extraordinary crops of Timothy grass growing, as thickly as it could stand upon the ground, three or four feet high, and, in some instances, as coarse as wheat straw. It is cut before it arrives at maturity; and horses are said to prefer the hay that is made of it to every other kind, and to thrive peculiarly well upon it. Though a native and very common grass in our own country, it is doubtful whether our climate be sufficiently warm to bring it to the same perfection in which it is found in America. It has, however, been cultivated in England with considerable success; and, when used for green food, for which it is particularly calculated, it may be cut two or three times in one season; but, when intended for hay, it should be cut at least a week before it flowers.