AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 65 



into England in 1831 by the late ^Ir. Charles Lawson, of 

 Edinburgh, who was an old friend of my fether. At first 

 31r. Lawson imported seed from Hamburg, but a few years 

 later he was able to obtain it direct from Leghorn, The 

 experiments made with Itahan Rye Grass by the late Mr. 

 WiUiam Dickinson resulted in crops which were then 

 considered marvellous, and for many years his name was 

 prominently associated with this fodder plant. His system 

 of uTigation with hquid manure no doubt suggested the idea of 

 sewage treatment, and it is not too much to saj^ that without 

 Itahan Rye Grass the present method of sewage forming could 

 not be carried on. There is no other gi-een crop, except 

 perhaps Bromus inet^mis, which can be substituted for it, or 

 which will yield equally valuable herbage. 



There are considerable variations m the character, pro- 

 ductiveness, and duration of the several strains of this plant ; 

 still, roughly speaking, aU are biennial. The seed which is 

 imported from the Continent yields very heaw crops, but is 

 so infested with pernicious weeds as to need most careful 

 cleaning before it is fit to sow. To avoid the risk of making 

 the land foul, seed has long been grown in Ireland, and con- 

 tinuous selection has developed aU the good quahties of the 

 imported stock, except its extreme vigour. LoUum it alien ni 

 Suttoni, which is now largely gTown, was obtained by careful 

 selection of the most free-growing and leafy plants. This 

 stock grows with extraordinary rapidity, with but a small 

 proportion of stalks, so that the crop, whether green or made 

 into hay, is of specially fine quality. 



Itahan Rye Grass will grow in almost any soil, but is least 

 satisfactory on poor dry land, unless it can be freely assisted 

 with hquid manure. Still, fair results have been obtained 

 from heaths dressed with marl and farmyard dung. This 

 gi'ass needs warmth and moisture, and in rich damp soils 

 the growth is extremely rapid. Irrigation by liquid manure 

 results in enormous crops, following each other in surprisingly 



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