162 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



It is sometimes sown in autumn, but those who have had the fullest experience in its 

 cultivation give a preference to spring sowing. As a proof of the fondness of sheep for this 

 grass, it has been observed that when mixed with red clover, and sheep have been turned 

 into the field after it is mowed, they will eat down the Italian rye grass in preference to the 

 clover. 



Its comparative value is well known from the thorough and reliable analyses of Prof. 

 Way. By these, it appears that 100 parts of timothy grass, as taken from the field, contain 

 57.21 percent, of water, 4.86 percent, of albuminous or flesh-forming principles, 1.50 per 

 cent, of fatty matters, 22.85 per cent, of heat-producing principles, such as starch, gum, 

 sugar, etc., 11.32 per cent, of woody fiber, and 2.26 of mineral matter or ash, while 100 parts 

 of Italian rye grass taken from the same kind of soil, and in the same condition, green, con 

 tained 75.61 per cent, of water, 2.45 of albuminous or flesh-forming principles, .80 of fatty 

 matters, 14.11 of heat-producing principles, starch, gum, and sugar, 4.82 of woody fiber, and 

 2.21 of mineral matter or ash. Of these, the flesh-forming principles, fatty matters, and 

 heat-producing principles, are, of course, by far the most important; and in all these our 

 favorite timothy very far excels the Italian rye grass, showing a nutritive value nearly 

 double. Nor has the Italian rye grass any advantage over timothy or herds-grass in the dried 

 state, though the difference is by no means so marked, the former, dried at 212 Fahrenheit, 

 containing 10.10 per cent, of flesh-forming principles, the latter 11.36; the former containing 

 3.27 per cent, of fatty matter, the latter 3.55; the former containing 57. 82 per cent, of heat- 

 forming principles, the latter 53 35. 



There are 432,000 seeds in a pound of Italian rye grass, and from thirteen to eighteen 

 pounds in a bushel. 



Couch Grass, Quitch Grass, Twitch Grass, Dog Grass, Chandler Grass, etc. 



( Triticum repens). The chief generic marks of this grass are, three or several flowered spikelets, 

 compressed, with the flat side towards the rachis; glumes nearly equal and opposite, nerved, 

 lower palea like the glumes convex on the back, awned from the tip, upper flattened, stamens 

 three ; mostly annuals, but others are perennials, to which the couch grass belongs. The spe 

 cific characters of couch grass are, roots creeping extensively, stem erect, round, smooth, 

 from one to two or two and a half feet high, striated, hfving five or six flat leaves with 

 smooth, striated sheaths ; the joints are smooth, the two uppermost very remote, leaves dark 

 green, acute, upper one broader than the lower ones, roughish, sometimes hairy on the inner 

 surface, smooth on the lower half. Inflorescence in spikes. Flowers in June and July. 

 Introduced from Europe. 



This plant is generally regarded by farmers as a troublesome weed, and efforts are made 

 to get rid of it. Its long, creeping roots, branching in every direction, take complete posses 

 sion of the soil and impoverish it. &quot;When green, however, it is very much relished by cattle, 

 and if cut in the blossom it makes a nutritious hay. I have seen acres of it on the Connecti 

 cut River meadows, where it had taken possession and grew luxuriantly, and is called wheat 

 grass, from its resemblance to wheat. It goes in different sections by a great variety of names, 

 as quake grass, quack grass, squitch grass. It is important to destroy it if possible. 



The Downy Oat Grass (Trisetum pubescens) is a very hardy perennial grass, naturalized 

 on chalky soils, and on such soils its leaves are covered with a coating of downy hairs, which 

 it loses when cultivated on better lands. It is regarded as a good permanent pasture grass 

 on account of its hardiness and its being but a slight impoverisher of the soil, and yielding a 

 larger per cent, of bitter extractive than other grasses grown on poor, light soils. It is there 

 fore recommended abroad as a prominent ingredient of mixtures for pastures. It flowers 

 early in July. Formerly classed as Avena pubescens. 



