F A R M E R S' REGISTER. 



S6l 



is llie lorJIv possessor of many of these extensive 

 sheep vvaiks. Thousands of black- faced sheep, 

 the usual varietiesof liiese lowerin,"; hills, are annu- 

 ally driven to the niarUeis in Eiiinhur^Hi, Glascrow, 

 &c. To my Ias:e, liiey produce the finest niuilon 

 in Europe. I have often thoufrlit that not only 

 these breeds of sheep, but liie pastures on which 

 (hey are led, miciit be easily and successfully in- 

 troduced into the mountainous districts of our 

 country. 



In Germany, the common epurry (spergula ar- 

 veiisis,) is cuhivaied as a winter pashire lijr sheep 

 jmd cattle, [t is sown on the stubble after the 

 corn crojis are ren)oved. It is said that the mut- 

 ton, as alv'so the milU and butter of cows, fed on it, 

 are of a very superior quality. I'here is a dis- 

 tinct variety of this plant, called the branchinf; 

 epurry {spergula arvensis nimosvs,) which is now 

 coming in geneial use. It conies earlier and is 

 one-ihird more productive. I did not observe it 

 in Great Britain, and the English liirmers did not 

 <hink it equal to many other grasses already in 

 cultivation. It has been accidentally introduced 

 into our country with our imported garden seeds, 

 and is naturalized among some of the gardens 

 on Charleston neck. I do not consider it of nmch 

 value in our climate. It does not equal our wild 

 peas (^vicia saliva and V. michclli.) 



In many portions of France i observed a very 

 i'xicnsive cultivation of a grass resembling oats, 

 called by the French, /.'y/co!«e elevee ; it is the 

 arrhenat/iennn avcnaceiim of botanists. It is some- 

 times called ray grass de France. It has not, as 

 lar as I can recollect, been introduced into Eng- 

 land, but I have heard Frenchmen jjraise it iii<jh- 

 jy, even preferring it belbre our lamed tinioihy 

 jrrass. I have no doubt it would succeed in many 

 parts of Ameiica. One ol" the earliest and best 

 pasture grasses of Great Britain is the meadow 

 <bx-tail grass {alnpecurus praUnsis.) It is, how- 

 ever, better adapted to pasturage than hay, and 

 requires two or three years alter sowing to arrive 

 nt liill maturity. But it is a pereimial, seldom 

 dies out in spots like many other grasses, and con- 

 stitutes the greater portion of many of the richer 

 pa-tures in Briisin. 



Until of late ye irs the varieties of the common 

 rye grass (loduLm perenne,) were regarded in 

 England as producinsr more grass and hay than 

 any other species. They are still cultivated al- 

 most universally on lands which arc expected to 

 be converted into wheat fields after one ortivo 

 years. Some of these varieties are annuals, others 

 perennial. None of them remain, however, more 

 than three or lour years, when it is necessary to 

 recultivate the ground. 



At the present time the Italian rye grass (Lo- 

 Hum Italicum,) is regarded on the continent of 

 Europe as the most productive of all the species. 

 It is perennial ; the leaves are broader, and it is 

 said not to be affected by the vicissitudes of either 

 heat or cold, I observed this superior grass grow- 

 ing in the neighborliood of Hamburg — in Prussia, 

 Saxony, Austria, and France— -and heard but one 

 opinion, which \vi\s ol' the most liivorable charac- 

 ter. In the French periodical (Le Culllvalcur, 

 Journal des Progrcs Agricolcs.) it is spoken of by 

 Mr. Boutleviile, a very successful agriculturist, as 

 one of ihtj most valuable grasses in the world. 

 He sows it with red clover among oats — ten 

 pounds of rye grass to the acre. 



Vol. VHI-^c. 



He concludes by saying, " T can assure you 

 that its hay is excellent for feeding horses and 

 cattle ; and that its nutritious qualities are greater 

 in proportion to its weight than that of the other 

 hays and clovers. 



In England, where it has but recently come 

 into notice, the acrounls I heard of ii were vevy 

 tavorable. The (allowing statement from a re- 

 ppectal)le farmer, whose name I omitted to notice, 

 I extracted from an agricultural pajier: 



"I cut on the 1st July, 1837, /mm ten Irish 

 perches of inferior land, my Italian rye rrmf-s ; iJie 

 stalks were from lijur to four leet and a half long. 

 Product at first cutting nine bushels of seed, which 

 I sold at 10s. 6d. (steiling) per bushel. Second 

 crop on the same year from six to seven bushels, 

 and stalk from three to three feet and a half high. 

 The hay was of the best quality. I expect ano- 

 ther crop next spririir." 



Seeds of this grass may be easily obtained from 

 Hamburg or Havre. 



There is residing in the department of the Loire 

 an ep.iinent agriculturist, by the name of Bailley, 

 who has originated a striking and permanent va- 

 riety of rye grass, called Bailley's rye grass. I 

 saw it growing on the mountains of Bohemia and 

 in France. It was stated to me, that although 

 shorter in growth, it was thicker and finer in 

 liiliage, more permanent in duration, and yielded 

 fully as heavy a crop as the Italian rye grass. 

 From this variety were produced six thousand 

 pounds to the acre. 



I shall conclude this article on the grasses with 

 a lew observations in reference to oiTr culture of 

 those species which 1 conceive well adapted to in- 

 crease the products of the dairy and to improve 

 our soils in regard to the rotation of crops, in the 

 maritime districts of South Carolina and (Georgia. 



1. The dairy. — It is well known that Charles- 

 ton, Savannah, Augusta, Columbia, and all our 

 large towns in the south, are but scantily supplied 

 either with good milk or fresh butter. A number 

 of liimilies in Charleston make a comfortable sup- 

 port by keeping lour or five cows each, purchasing 

 the grass which is brought from the country, and 

 selling milk. When the cows become dry, they 

 are sold to the butchers and others are purchased. 



I would propose that the following experiment 

 be made by some enterprising, industrious man, 

 who is not ashamed of his proltjssion, and will lake 

 a pride in attending personally to his business. 



Let a farm of one hundred and fifty acres be pro- 

 cured in the vicinity, of from three to six miles of 

 the city. Let this firm be divided into suitable 

 lots lor the cultivation of grasses and vegetables, 

 to serve as food for the cattle. Let one field be 

 planted in herds-grass, (daclylus glomerata,') 

 which answers our climate very well, as I have 

 had it flourishing in my garden for the last fifteen 

 years, and have frequently cut it as early as Fe- 

 bruary. I would preltsr planting the roots, which 

 are easily divided, setting ttiem out a loot or eigh- 

 teen inches apart. The seeds vegetate pretty well, 

 but the plants when young are often destroyed by- 

 more luxuriant grasses. Let a small field be 

 planted with the roots of the Gama grass. It is 

 very productive; cattle, although they do not pre- 

 fer it at first, soon grow fond of it, and they do not 

 seem at any time to refuse it when made into hay. 

 Let alternate fields of oats, barley and rye be 

 sown in drills, and at the same time sowing 



