916 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK x. 



pasture plant than as a meadow plant. The yield varies considerably 

 with season and soil, and according to the manuring and preparation 

 of the land. 



As regards its hardiness rye-grass suffers sometimes in cold situa- 

 tions in winter, without, however, succumbing. The humidity of 

 maritime climates like those of England, and of the countries border- 

 ing the German Ocean, suits it best, especially when growing on good 

 clays. Cool, compact soils suit it well, and even very heavy soils, if 

 well drained. 



Though many varieties of rye-grass have been named such as 

 Pacey's perennial, Devon eaver, &c. they present no well-marked or 

 permanent differences. 



To the grazier no grass exceeds rye-grass in importance ; probably, 

 indeed, no other grass equals it. No hay fetches so high a price as that in 

 which rye-grass is the leading constituent. No pastures afford richer 

 grazing than those in which rye-grass has been proved to predominate. 

 As to its duration, Mr. David Wilson, writing in the " Farming World 

 Year Book, 1891," says, " That it is sufficiently permanent is proved 

 by the examination of old pastures made by Messrs. Fream & 

 Carruthers, 1 which show that no other grass is so abundant in the 

 most feeding old pastures all over the United Kingdom." 



One of the strangest arguments ever brought against a farm plant 

 was directed against rye-grass when it was urged by the opponents of 

 this species that it is " greedy of manure " and " robs the soil." It 

 would hardly be possible to adduce any more potent facts in its favour. 

 In applying fertilisers to land the object really is to feed the crop and 

 not to manure the soil. A crop that readily abstracts from the soil the 

 fertilisers that are therein available is precisely the crop to encourage. 

 What fertility the crop does not utilise is lost. Rye-grass prevents 

 this loss. 



Though pre-eminently a grass of permanent pasture, rye-grass is also 

 largely employed in mixtures of " seeds " for one or two years' ley, 

 intended to afford a hay crop, and also to provide temporary pasturage. 

 If only on account of its prompt and luxuriant tillering, rye-grass 

 ought never to be omitted from any mixture intended for a good soil. 



The " seed " of commerce (fig. 417) comes chiefly from Scotland and 

 the North of Ireland, where rye-grass is cultivated upon a large scale. 

 It is collected by the seed merchants, cleaned a second time, and 

 assorted into various qualities. Special care is taken to clean it of 

 seeds of Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus), soft brome (Bromus mollis), 

 and rat's-tail fescue (Festuca sciuroides). The rye-grass seed itself is 

 classified into several commercial sorts, according to weight, purity, 

 and germinating capacity. As the better qualities possess, in general, 



1 Readers interested in the controversial side of the subject are referred to a paper ou 

 " The Herbage of Old Grass Lands," by W. Fream, in the " Journal of the Royal Agricul- 

 tural Society of England," 1888, and to another on " The Facts about Rye grass as deter- 

 mined by Experiment," by the same author, in the "Transactions of the Surveyors' 

 Institution," 1889-90. Also to papers by Carruthers and Fream respectively, in the "Journal 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society," 1890. 



