58 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



monly called "English" rye grass. It is largely in use 

 in England but almost unknown in America except west 

 of the Cascade Mountains on the Pacific Coast. Animals 

 prefer rye grasses to most other cultivated grasses, the 

 seed is usually good and the grass makes a great amount, 

 as much as 40 bushels to the acre, so that the farmer 

 can save his own seed with ease if he likes. On the 

 irrigated plains of northern Italy rye grass makes great 

 crops and in England and Scotland where there are 

 irrigated farms it is employed and makes as many as four 

 cuttings in a year of very heavy forage. Spillman says 

 that the sewage meadows near Edinburgh grow rye 

 grass and yield enormously; also that it is grown much 

 in western California, Oregon and Washington on the 

 moist dyked lands. 



Rye grass was one of the earliest grasses adopted 

 into culivation. Spillman remarks that the early English 

 husbandmen at first made no attempt to separate the 

 various grasses but grew them altogether. Later they 

 began saving the seed of rye grass and it has been popu- 

 lar ever since. It is said that it was taken to Europe 

 from England. The Italian grass sown in the fall makes 

 a fine winter lawn for the South, and is considerably 

 used in this way. 



From my observations, the rye grasses are probably 

 desirable in mixtures for pasture and meadow, and have 

 hardly received the attention that they deserve in 

 America. 



Quantity of Seed to Soiv. The seed weighs 20 pounds 

 per bushel and commonly about two and one- 

 half bushels are sown to the acre. Rye grass is in 



