COMPARED WITH TIMOTHY. 113 



To say that it is, or would be, the best grass in our 

 climate and on our soils, would be altogether prema- 

 ture ; but it has the credit abroad of being equally- 

 suited to all the climates of Europe, giving more abun- 

 dant crops, of a better quality, and better relished by 

 animals, than the perennial rye grass. It is one of the 

 greatest gluttons of all the grasses, either cultivated or 

 wild, and will endure any amount of forcing by irriga- 

 tion or otherwise, while it is said to stand a drought 

 remarkably well. 



The soils best, adapted to Italian rye grass seem to 

 be moist, fertile, and tenacious, or of a medium con- 

 sistency ; and on such soils it is said to be one of the 

 best grasses known to cut green for soiling, affording 

 repeated luxuriant and nutritive crops. I have not 

 seen enough of it to speak from personal observation 

 or experience of the comparative profit of this grass 

 and Timothy for cultivation here ; but its comparative 

 nutritive value is well known fi'om the thorough and 

 reliable analyses of Professor Way. By these it ap- 

 pears that 100 parts of Timothy grass, as taken from 

 the field, contain 57.21 per cent, of water, 4.86 per cent, 

 of albuminous or flesh-forming principles, 1.50 per cent, 

 of fatty matters, 22.85 per cent, of heat-producing prin- 

 ciples, such as starch, gum, sugar, &c., 11.32 per cent, 

 of woody fibre, and 2.26 of mineral matter or ash ; while 

 100 parts of Italian rye grass, taken from the same. kind 

 of soil and in the same condition, green, contained 75.61 

 per cent, of water, 2.45 of albuminous or flesh-forming 

 principles, .80 of fatty matters, 14.11 of heat-producing 

 principles, starch, gum, and sugar, 4.82 of woody fibre, 

 and 2.21 of mineral matter or ash. Of these, the flesh- 

 forming principles, fatty matters, and heat-producing 

 principles, are, of course, by far the most important; 

 and in all these our favorite Timothy very far excels 

 10* 



