8 



PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z. 



pounds to the acre, mixed with Rye Grasses and Dogstail, will 

 give a permanent pasture of great value, but this matter will be 

 referred to more fully under the heading of ' ' Grass Mixtures." 

 Cocksfoot seed is harvested with the sickle and flail on 

 Banks Peninsula and elsewhere in very large quantities, 

 the average area saved for seed during the last ten years 

 having been 30,000 acres. The seed varies in weight from 

 12 to 17 pounds per measured bushel, and the price varies 

 accordingly. An average in normal years is about 7Jd. per 

 pound. This and all other quotations in this chapter refer 

 to the price of dressed seed as sold by seed merchants to 

 farmers, and no notice is taken of rise in price induced by 

 war and drought. 



Perennial Rye (Lolium perenne). A rather small grass, 

 distinctly red at the base of the leaf sheath, just below where 

 it enters the ground. Blade and sheath hairless. Sheath 



just underneath the leaves 

 distinctly compressed 'into 

 an oval shape. This fact 

 is most easily distinguished 

 by gently rolling the sheath 

 between the fingers. Ligule 

 very short and cut off 

 square. Small clasping ears. 

 Upper surface of blade dis- 

 tinctly ridged, lower side 

 shiny. 



This is the most populai 

 grass in England and New 

 Zealand, and one of the 

 most valuable. It pro- 

 duces a large amount of 

 feed of high palatability and 



Fig. 3. Perennial Rye Grass. TJ. xi_ 



(after Fream). HUtntlVC Value. It thrives 



