144 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



sometimes on very rich soil it 

 reaches a height of seven feet. 

 An Old Crop. Eye is a very 

 old grain although it is younger 

 than wheat or barley. It has al- 

 ways been used in making bread 

 by northern peoples but has been 

 driven out of the warmer coun- 

 tries by barley and wheat. In 

 Russia it is still the principal 

 grain. 



Eye will grow on land that is 

 too light and thin for wheat and 

 barley and it has been crowded 

 out of regions with rich soil. It 

 needs well drained fields, how- 

 ever, and in severe weather 

 needs to be protected by a snow 

 covering. Eye is also a fine 

 nurse crop to seed for grass. 

 Clover will start better when 

 sown with rye than with wheat. 

 Rye as Pasture. Grazing cows 

 on rye in the fall will force a 

 large increase in milk. If the 

 stock is kept off when the ground is wet and the 

 rye is not grazed too closely the crop will not be 

 injured. Eye will furnish green food earlier in the 

 spring than any other forage crop, much earlier than 

 grass. 



Fig. 77. Rye and tim- 

 othy attacked by 

 ergot. 



