24 THE GRASSES— MEADOW FOXTAIL. 



moderately stiff, moist soil, and does well under irriga- 

 tion, but it is of little value on poor dry soils. 



Mr. Sutton thinks it is only suitable for alternate 

 husbandry when the ley is to remain at least' three or 

 four years. There is scarcely a forage plant known 

 which endures cold so well as this, and spring frosts 

 do it little harm. Also it is one of the few grasses 

 that thrive well under trees. By the third week of 

 May it is in full flower, and should be cut if there is 

 sufficient of it in the meadow to warrant early mowing. 

 This necessity for early cutting should influence the 

 proportion of Foxtail in a permanent prescription. 

 The aftermath frequently exceeds the early growth 

 in bulk. 



Manuring. — Experiments at Rothamsted proved that 

 both nitrate of soda and ammonia salts did equally well 

 with the Foxtail plant. 



The Seed. — True seed of Foxtail, as Mr. Sutton says, 

 is always expensive, and so light and delicate as to 

 require exceedingly well prepared land to insure vege- 

 tation. It has been pointed out by Dr. Stebler that in 

 the ordinary seed of commerce the germinating power 

 stands at a low figure, which is due to the fact that the 

 seed is often gathered while unripe. They used to 

 consider it fair seed that grew 30 per cent., and 

 called it excellent when it grew over 40 per cent. From 

 seventy-nine trials he found an average of only 19 

 per cent, of germinating faculty. Since the above was 

 written, however, the quality of this seed has been 

 improving year by year. The collectors, more parti- 

 cularly in the North of Europe, are becoming more 

 awake to the necessity of allowing it to ripen properly. 

 The sorting and cleaning of the seed is also receiving 



