1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



669 



he still cuts two tons of hay to the acre ; and he 

 finds that botli these species also abound and in- 

 crease on the better specimens ol'calcareous loanny 

 sand. 



Festuca nvlna, or sheep's fescue, forms a thick 

 and fine tur( on dry sandy soils, and on elevated 

 1 '.nd, forms a pasture which has been much re- 

 commended for sheep ; but accordinir to the expe- 

 rience of an eminent arrriculturist, this species of 

 fescue, and its other numerous varieties, have been 

 described, fi'om repeated observation, as being 

 constantly relused both by sheep and all other cat- 

 tle, whenever they could set any other kind of 

 food.* It is, however, found very commonh' upon 

 the downs, together with the festuca durhiscvla, 

 or hard fescue, the festuca glabra, or smooth fes- 

 cue, the festuca cambrlca, or Welch fescue, and 

 the festuca rubra, or creeping ft?scue, which are 

 therefore all welljadapted to poor land; and their 

 herbage beinij nearly evergreen, has been describ- 

 ed by Mr. Sinclair, as invaluable for winter pas- 

 ture. 



Festuca Miacca, or darnel-like fescue, in some 

 respects resembles rye-grass, and has been sup- 

 posed by botanists to be a hybrid plant, produced 

 by rye-grass and flote-fescue ; but this is a mistake, 

 as the darnel both springs earlier and is superior in 

 produce to rye-grass. f 



Lathyrus pratensis, or meadow vetchling. fur- 

 nishes a copious, succulent and tender herbage of 

 very considerable bulk, is relished by cattle,"and 

 forms an important addition to the crop of hay, 

 though it flowers late. The vicia sepium, or bush- 

 vetch, which is a variety of the former — both be- 

 ing species of perennial tares — flowers earlier, 

 though not until July, and some extraordinary in- 

 stances of its product have been recorded in difli?r- 

 ent experiments regardmg its culture. J Mr. T.mn- 

 ton found that they had spread both on his sandy 

 loam and upon his clays ; but although the latter 

 had the advantaire in point of increase of plants 

 on the light land, yet the produce was not so large 

 as upon a more clayey soil. 



Plantago lanceolata, or rib-ijrass, though gene- 

 rally combined with other grasses, yet has been 

 sown without admixture, and produces a consider- 

 able herbage on rich sands and loams, and on 

 poorer and drier soils answers well for sheep; be- 

 ing much used on the hills in Wales, where its 

 roots spread and occasion a degree of fertility in 

 districts which would otherwise be little better than 

 bare rock. But botanists difl'er in their estimation 

 of its qualities, for by some it is said to be inju- 

 rious to cows, and by others, it is asserted that the 

 richness of the milk in the celebrated dairies of the 

 Alps is attributable to this grass, and the common 

 lady's mantle, or alchemilla vulgaris. When sown 

 along with clover, it is also said to prevent cattle 

 from being hoven.|| 



Poterium sanguisorba, or burnet, is also fre- 

 quently sown alone, and is considered as the best 

 adapted of all fbrarre plants to bear the rigor of 

 winter in exposed situations ; it is, therefore, much 



* Essay by George Toilet, Esq. Comm. to the Board 

 of Agric. vol. iii. p. 428. 



t Sinclair, Hort. Gram. Woburn., p. 179. 



I Withprin<j on British plants, vol. iii.; and letters in 

 the papers of the Bath Society, vol. iii. 



II Cheshire Report, p. 181. 



used by stock-masters, particularly for sheep, as it 

 supplies an important addition of food In the |)inch- 

 ing season of the early part of spring; but if 

 made into hay, when uncombined with other 

 grasses, it is coarse and unpalatable. By itself it 

 is, indeed, an inferior food ; fijr although it posses- 

 ses atonic and aromatic property, which renders it 

 of considerable value when mixed witli the grasses 

 of the elevated pasture of the downs, and it is 

 there invariably cropped close to the ground, yet 

 if grown separately, it is rejected by all stock, un- 

 less they be pressed by hunirer. When intended 

 lor summer pasture, or for hay, it should therefore 

 be joined with other grasses; or, at least, with 

 white clover, which will both render it more pala- 

 table, and afford a heavier crop, than if sown 

 alone. On poor chalky soils, it has also been tried 

 with flood eflect in combination with cock'sfbot, 

 and also with small quantities of meadow-fescue 

 and perennial-fi^scue; and its hardy nature on 

 soils of" that descrif)tion, renders it worthy of atten- 

 tion. It forms, indeed, a large portion of the natu- 

 ral herbage on some extensive tracts of the South 

 Downs, and although most abounding on chalk, it 

 thrives also in both sand and gravel. 



jflopecurus pratensis, or meadow f()x-tail, which 

 is one of the earliest and most valuable grasses 

 produced in our climate, vegetates with extraordi- 

 nary luxuriance, and is therefore abundant, both 

 as a first crop and as after-grass; it is therefore 

 justly considered as holding the first place among 

 the best grasses, whether used green as fodder, or 

 made into hay, and caitle are very fond of it, 

 though it is said to be less relished by oxen, than 

 bjr other stock. It produces a great quantity of 

 seed, which tnay be easily gathered while the 

 grass is growing, as it overtops most others; but 

 the seeds are seldom found in hay, for they gene- 

 rally ripen and fidi out hefpre the oilier grasses are 

 ready to be mown. There are two other species 

 of the fox-tail, which all flourish chiefly on strong 

 moist soils, but, although each bearinir nearh' the 

 same character, this is the best. Mr. 'J'aunton 

 saj-s, that on his dry ground, he found them all 

 considerably weakened, and tha-t one of them — a 

 German black-seeded species — had nearly disap- 

 peared ; but where they were mixed in a meadow 

 on clay, with a dark moory mould on the surface, 

 they each maintained their size and bulk as well, 

 or better, than any other grass. They indeed 

 grow to great perfection on all moist loams and 

 clays; and although not cut until late in the sum- 

 mer, when the radical leaves of many other grass- 

 es are decayed or withered, these continue green, 

 and present no impediment to the scythe. "In 

 fine, it possesses all the rerjuisites of a sood gfJis^s 

 — namely, quantity, quality, and earliness." It 

 yields also abundance of seeds, but they are sub- 

 ject to be destroyed by an insect. 



Cyirosurus crystatus, or crested dog's-tail, grows 

 upon sandy and calcareous soils, and is, therefore, 

 well calculated for dry upland jiastures, where it 

 forms a thick, short turf, and affords wholesome 

 food for sheep. It flowers about July; but the 

 variety called Cynnsurits cceruleus, or blue doij's- 

 tail, which is found upon the tops of the highest 

 limestone rocks, is one of the earliest grasses, and 

 as it endures the summer drought, is therefore well 

 calculated for sheep pasture. 



Phleum pratense. or meadow cat's-tail, of which 

 there are two varieties, — the larger and the less, — ■ 



