284 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



This grass may be distinguished from other rye 

 grasses by having: short, armed or bearded spikelets, and 

 by the quicker, larger and more vigorous character of 

 the growth. It also differs from perennial rye grass 

 in having broader leaves, in the better feeding quality 

 of the grass and in its being less permanent. 



Italian rye grass is biennial or perennial, frequently 

 lasting two to three years. Under some conditions, how- 

 ever, it is an annual. The difference in duration arises 

 doubtless from a difference in conditions of climate and 

 soil and from a difference in the treatment of the plants. 

 In climates with stern winters it is an annual. It 

 would seem to stand foremost in rapidity of growth 

 throughout the entire season of vegetation. As many as 

 eight or ten cuttings have been made in a single season 

 under forced conditions of growth. It has been known 

 to produce soiling food in five to six weeks from the date 

 of sowing and every few weeks subsequently, until 

 the arrival of winter. But to grow thus rapidly the con- 

 ditions for growth must be very favorable. It will en- 

 dure any amount of forcing by way of irrigation and 

 fertilization, the returns being usually proportionate to 

 the attention thus bestowed upon it. It forms a dense 

 turf while it lasts, but it is of course short lived. It 

 is one of the earliest grasses in spring and one of the 

 • last to cease growing in the autumn. Some writers 

 claim that it will endure both heat and drought well. 

 Others say that it does not well endure drought and this 

 view would seem to be correct. It cannot live through 

 the cold winters of the northern states unless under 

 very exceptional conditions. 



