COMMON PASTURE GRASSES. 9 



extraordinarily under the trampling of stock, and on 

 roadsides may be seen occupying the land next to the metal, 

 while Cocksfoot thrives nearer the fences, where the tramp- 

 ling of stock is less severe. Rye grass remains green all the 

 winter, and starts growth very early in Spring, being much 

 superior to Cocksfoot in these respects. This long list of 

 good qualities, together with the cheapness of its seed, have 

 led to the very extensive use of this grass, and perhaps 

 it would not be too much to say that 70 to 80 per cent, of 

 the grass seed sown in New Zealand is Perennial Rye. The 

 wide range of utility of this grass cannot be denied, and yet 

 it is quite certain that it is used too widely and without 

 sufficient discrimination. 'From the list of its virtues given 

 above that of permanence is absent. It is shallow rooted, 

 and on light land with a rainfall of under 30 inches its life 

 is very short, often little exceeding two or three years. 

 Even within this period it becomes thin and patchy, and a 

 paddock is often unprofitable for many months before it is 

 ploughed up. Again, on the heaviest lands, although Rye 

 Grass is permanent there, other grasses such as Timothy and 

 Foxtail will give a much greater bulk of feed. In making 

 up mixtures for thelightest and heaviest lands, then, Perennial 

 Rye should be very much reduced in amount, and perhaps 

 it would be a good thing if it were somewhat reduced 

 in the great majority of the mixtures used in New 

 Zealand. In the Clifton Park system of grassing to which 

 reference will be made later, this grass is entirely rejected on 

 account of its short life and shallow-root system. On heavy 

 lands, and in wet seasons, Perennial Rye tends to be attacked 

 by rust, which causes considerable scouring in stock. 



Rye Grass seed is gathered in all the agricultural districts 

 either by means of the reaper and binder, or very frequently 

 by strippers, an average of 50,000 acres of this grass and 

 Italian Rye having been annually saved for seed during the 



