THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



307 



upon the nature of the old stock which may be on hand 

 from the previous year, and the price per acre which a 

 purchaser is willing io stand ; for no rubbish would 

 seem too bad for many of the samples which we have 

 examined, both as to kinds and quality ; indeed, with 

 most of the grass formula; it is a mercy that only a tithe 

 of the seed should possess the power of germination. 



We must here caution our readers against the free 

 admbcture of Italian ryegrass that is sometimes resorted 

 to in preparations for permanent pasture. This of 

 course must be by design, either to get rid of some old 

 stuff that will fill up the bushel, or with a view to show 

 something for the money. A friend of ours once took 

 us over his quickly- formed pasture, for which he had 

 gone to great trouble and expense in due preparation, as 

 it was meant to augment the meadow in the front of his 

 house, wlien the following conversation occurred : — 



Our Friend. — There ! see the rich herbage for the 

 second year after sowing ! 



Ourself. — But it is principally Italian ryegrass, which 

 is not perennial. 



Our Friend. — That is botanical theory, and this seed 

 was sent me by a practical man and a respectable seeds- 

 man. 



Ourself. — We shall see. 



We did see ; for in three years after, our friend wrote 

 to say that his promising pasture was all bare, and 

 solicited botanical advice as to what kinds had better be 

 sown for a new trial. 



As an evidence of the truth of the positions we have 

 here advanced, both as regards unscientific mixtures— if 

 it be no worse — and impure seeds, we cannot resist giving 

 the following analysis of a sample of a " permanent 

 pasture" mixture : — 



Loliura pereune. \ About equal parts formed the 



,, Italicum (annaal). j basis of the mixture. 



Bromus mollis. — Another annual grass. 



Dactylis glometata. 



Alopecurus prateasis. — A moist meadow grass. 



Phleum pratense. 



Festuca pratensis. — A moist meadow grass. 

 ,, duriuscula. — A dry meadow grass. 

 „ bromoides. — A common weed grass in seeds on 

 sandy soils. 



Poa pratensis. 



Arrhenatherum avenaceuna. — Keally a weed as far as va'ue 

 is coacerued. 



Cynosurus cristatus. — The same. 



Hol:u3 lauatus. — Quite a weed. 



Weeds in a bushel, 25,600; and here the Lolium italicum 

 should properly be added. 



We have here, it is true, a collection with some good 

 grasses, but still quite improper for any meadow, as the 

 soil and circumstances of the one are not those of 

 another, and the lop andr.Italian rye-grass arc so pro- 

 lific of seeds that the former would ultimately get 

 possession of the soil, as h is a wild grass per- 

 fectly natural to our climate, whilst the latter, though 

 growing readily as a crop, is still only an induced variety, 

 which soon wears cut in consequence. 



Such then is the nature of the weeds which are ab- 

 solutely sown in laying down permanent pastures ; but 

 we must not forget that there are in England lots of old 

 pastures which have borne weeds for ages , and yet that these 

 have grown together with the true crop for the hay har- 



vest, or are allowed to disfigure the depastured meadow, 

 diluting the hay on the one hand, and taking the place 

 of pasture plants on the other : such for instance are 

 thistles, nettles, docks, and even worthless grasses 

 themselves. 



Now, if we look carefully into the natural history of 

 such interlopers in meadows as we should deem weeds, 

 we shall find that they may readily be referred to under 

 the following heads : 



lat. Plants which are weeJs by reason of taking up space 

 without adding to the crop either of grass or hay. 



2nd. Plants iunocuous in themselves, but which yet take 

 up space in the pasture without yielding food, and also dilute 

 the quality and quantity of the hay. 



3rd. Plauts which by reasoa of their mechanical structures 

 are inconvenient to cattle both for pasture and hay. 



4th. Plants of poisonous properties. 



5th. Plants which, though not poisonous, impart a disagree- 

 able flavour to milk, butter, and cheese. 



But besides those comprehended under the above 

 heads, and which will be hereafter more minutely de- 

 scribed, are others, which though scarcely recognized as 

 weeds, are yet interlopers in pasture, not only from 

 being in themselves useless, but from taking up the 

 room which should be occupied by nutritious herbage : 

 such are the useless grasses, sedges, and rushes. 



Among the useless grasses besides the annual species, 

 which, of course, are mischievous on permanent mea- 

 dow, are perennial species which usually grow in clusters 

 or " tussacs" or "hassocks." Such are the following : 



Aira cajipitosa tussac — Hair grass. 

 Brachipedium peranatura — False brome orass. 



These arc recognised by the farmer as" sour grasses," 

 for as cattle usually refuse to eat them, it is natural to 

 conclude that they have a disagreeable flavour ; some, 

 however, assert that they are produced by " sour land," 

 and true it is that well-drained and well-cultivated 

 meadow soil in "good heart or condition" will seldom 

 or never show the slightest sign of these innutritions 

 species. 



Again, the appellation of " sour grasses" is very 

 commonly given to the carex or sedge tribe, which, 

 though near allies of grasses, yet belong to the natural 

 order of ct/peracece, whilst the true grasses are arranged 

 under that of grammijiacece. Now, the sedges are ad- 

 mitted on all hands to be sapless and innutritions ; they 

 delight in poor sands and what are called " hungry" 

 clays, and though it is true that cattle will occasionally 

 eat off" the tender shoots (as indeed what will they not 

 eat, when starved on a poor common or miry swap }) 

 yet the disfavour in which they are held is soon mani- 

 fested when anything better is to be liad in their vicinity. 

 Just so is it with the poorer grasses : they are wonder- 

 fully like the sedges in habit : the presence of both 

 squally mark poverty and want of condition in the soil 

 where they occur, because they elect to grow under such 

 circumstances, and indeed cannot otherwise flourish, for 

 the moment better rule is commenced in the proper 

 action of the drain, in the amelioration of the soil by 

 the fertilizer, and in the general attention to civilization, 

 even in the so-called natural meadow, which cultivation 

 supposes, then away go the wilder denizens, not only 

 from being driven out by a better race, which will 



