THE SELECTION OF GRASSES AND CLOVERS. 59 



that for a plant of sucli rapid growth it does not greatly im- 

 poverish the land for the next crop. 



The objections whicli have been nrged against the use of 

 Perennial B.ye Grass in mixtui'es for })ermanent pastures are 

 largely owing to the improper employment of Annual Eye Grass 

 in its place. The latter is only adapted for one year's ley, and 

 its use in a permanent prescription is indefensible. Most of tlie 

 advantages of tlie annual variety can be obtained from its more 

 permanent relation, but reliable seed of the former is more 

 difficult to procure. 



Phleum pratense (Timothy, or Meadow Catstail). — To see 

 this grass in perfection a visit must be paid to tlie United States, 

 where it is grown alone, and yields amazing crops of hay three 

 feet, four feet, and in one recorded instance six feet hio-h. The 

 pastures of tliat country are wanting in our liner meadow grasses, 

 and for this, among other reasons, Timothy is all the more highly 

 prized. It is supposed to have been introduced into England for 

 agricultural purposes about the middle of the last century, and is 

 now widely distributed throughout the conntry. It is perennial 

 and fibrous-rooted, but on dry and poor soils it becomes bulbous- 

 rooted. 



It is useless to sow Timothy on sandy or dry gravelly soils, 

 or on mountain pastures, but the plant luxuriates in clay districts 

 and on moist soils, and is unsurpassed on peat. Its character 

 varies greatly in different soils and situations. It is one of the 

 most certain grasses to grow, and is specially serviceable in the 

 company of Foxtail, because it fills the gap between the first 

 growth and the aftermath of that grass. Another substantial 

 advantage is that the plant reaches the height of its productiveness 

 in the first year after being sown, but unless it is properl}' fed 

 there is a tendency to weakness in the third or fourth year, and 

 considering the severe tax wliich such a [)lant necessarily makes 

 on the soil, this will occasion no surprise. 



No other iirass will bear extremes of heat and cold better than 



