' 10 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



For the Farmers' Register. 

 GRASSES AND GRASS CULTURK OF FRANCE. 



Mr. Editor — Here is a brief account of some of 

 the grasses which are moeily used in Franco, 

 taken from ' Le Bon Jardinier,' for the ' Farmers' 

 Reorisler.' 



loraie vivace, Ray grass of England, Lolium 

 perenne, Darnel. Ol' all meadow grasses, this is 

 that whicli is most generally sown in France. It 

 is very much used under the name of Gazon An- 

 glais, (English turf',) to form a covering ot'grcen. 

 \x\ farming, the results that are obtained liom it 

 are infinitely various, on accoiint of the climate, 

 the soil, and other local circumstances, which is 

 without doubt one of the causes of the great dil- 

 ference of opinion in regard lo its merits. In ge- 

 neral one may admit ihat the ray grass is not (in 

 France particularly) a good plant for mowing. 

 There are however exceptions ; and one oden 

 sees it in low and moist meadows, from two lo 

 three feet high, vigorous, well provided with 

 leaves, and not coming to maturity sooner than 

 the other grasses. In such rases it should be es- 

 teemed, and may be regarded as equal to any hay 

 that you may find. One should then partially use 

 it in sowing similar meadows ; but without these 

 favorable circumstances the hay is bleached, and 

 is perfectly dry, and I have seen horses refuse it, 

 although cut when just commencing to flower. It 

 is then as pasturage that it is desirable to use it on 

 all lands vvhere it cannot obtain sufficient humidity 

 to produce good hay. On level lands, particularly 

 on those which are rather stiff than light, it will 

 render good service in this manner. Its precoci'y, 

 its facility of recovering after severe grazing, and 

 of shooting again and strengthening itseli^, al- 

 though much eaten and trampled, together with 

 the nourishing and fattening qualities of this 

 grass, are well known by experience, and assign 

 it a usefijl place among grasses. In situations and 

 on lands that are dry and scorching, the ray grass, 

 whether as hay or as pastura-ge, is but an indiffe- 

 rent resource ; and in every case its success and 

 its product are always proportioned to the degree of 

 humidity of climate and of soil. In England, 

 where for this reason its success is much more 

 general than in France, they often form, with a 

 mixture of ray grass and red or white clover, a 

 meadow destined to last from two to four years 

 and even more. If one sows a field in ray grass, 

 the addition of these two plants in small propor- 

 tion is always desirable. For pasturage, they add 

 only the white clover; but one might add wiih 

 good effect the Trejle fraise, and also the Lotlner 

 cornicule. One hundred pounds of seed are am- 

 ply sufficient fi^r a hectare of meadow land ; for 

 grazing, twice that quantity is necessary. They 

 sow it in February and March, or in September 

 and October. But where a small piece of good 

 land is cultivated, and is to be irrigated with care, 

 it may be sown at any season of the year. 



Ivraie d' Italic, Bay grass of Italy, L'dium Ita- 

 licum. Switzerland and the northern part of Italy 

 have recently furnished us this grass, which has 

 been cultivated for some years with much success 

 in those countries. Some regard it as a variety of 

 the ray grass, (Lolium perenne,) oihers as a "dis- 

 tinct species. This last opinion appears lo me to be 

 the most probable : the plant, although resembling 



our ray grass in the head, differs widely in other 

 respects. It does not mat itself on the ground aa 

 does our variety. Its shoots and its leaves, rising 

 up more perpendicularly, are larger and of a more 

 bluish green, the stalks more elevated, and the 

 flowers always bearded. The Ivraie d'ltalie has 

 also a disposjiion to |)Ut out and grow again after 

 it has been mowed, which is altogether foreign to 

 the oifier varietj'. They announced it as vivacious, 

 and lasting lor three or four years, but from the 

 observations of Mons. de Dombasle, and those 

 which I have made myselfj or which have been 

 communicated lo me, it does not appear that it af- 

 fords good produce lor the sickle lor more than 

 two years. It is also objectionable because it is 

 liable to the mildew and the spur. Opinion is not 

 yet decided as to the nature of the soils to which 

 It is best adapted, and particularly as to the power 

 it possesses of succeeding on dry and indifferent 

 lands. I could mention many remarkable in- 

 stances of its success, but the greatest number of 

 attempts give me reason to believe that it requires 

 a moist soil, or at least a cool one, which must be 

 at the same time rich. It is probable that it will 

 be a long time before we can arrive at any definite 

 conclusion about the habits of this plant, because 

 it offers strange inequalities and disparities in its 

 vegetaiion and Us results. Some persons attribute 

 this to a difference of varieties ; already specula- 

 tion has seized this idea, to oH'er seeds of ibe 

 really good varieties of the Ivraie d'ltalie in op- 

 position to what are bad. I do not believe the dis- 

 tinction well founded ; but when I have studied it 

 by comparaiive attempts, I shall endeavor to 

 make public any conclusions that I may derive 

 from my essays. It is however certain, that, 

 whenever the Ivraie d^Italie thrives and flourishes, 

 its produce and its vigor of vegetation are truly 

 wonderlul. I have known a piece of ground 

 sown in May to give in the same year three good 

 mowings of hay. Tlie rapidity of its growth 

 prevents its being sown with the small grain 

 crops, as it will outgrow them, and perhaps stifle 

 them. It is therelore necessary lo sow it alone 

 in the autumn or in ihe spring, at the rate of from 

 forty to filiy kilogiammes per hectare. 



Panis Sieve, Herbe de Guinee, Panicum altissi- 

 mum, Guinea grass. The great reputation of the 

 Guinea grass in America has long since induced 

 attempts to be made to introduce its culture into 

 France. These experiments however did not 

 succeed, probably because they were made with 

 seed of plants which came from the Caribee 

 islands ; hut, since 1820, some seeds obtained from 

 Carolina have had mucli belter success. At Pa- 

 ris and at Geneva, the plants which were obtain- 

 ed liom these seeds have withstood the severity 

 of our ordinary winiers, and some resisted the ri- 

 gorous frosts of 1820, 1830, 1832. Mons. le 

 Comple de Mosfjourg has sown it with Success on 

 a lot in the environs of Cahors. The plant, al- 

 though producing but few seeds, has with me for 

 many years propagated itself, and may be looked 

 upon as having become acclimated. In Ame- 

 rica the Guinea grass is propagated by slips, 

 which are obtained by separating the tults that 

 become very large, each one affording a great 

 number o' cuttings. This method is equally practi- 

 cable here. If one wishes to raise it from the seed, 

 it is necessary to so<v them about the last of April 

 or first of May, on a bed with a aouthern exposure. 



