28 PEEMANENT AND TEMPOEAEY PASTUEES. 



This grass is not much sown north of the Humber, be- 

 cause in high latitudes the culms seed long before other herbage 

 is lit for the scythe. Otherwise it is well adapted to the Scotch 

 climate, for thei'e is scarcelj' a forage plant known which en- 

 dures cold so well as this, and spiing frosts do it little harm. 

 Even the severest winters, in which other grasses suffer much 

 damage, only injure Foxtail to a trifling extent. Its distribu- 

 tion over this country is very unequal. In Devonshire it is 

 uncommon, and in South Wales rarely seen. In districts where 

 it is entirely wanting I should scruple to recommend the sowing 

 of any quantity in new pastures ; but the great excellence of 

 the grass renders a trial on a limited scale desirable. 



Sometimes Foxtail is carelessly mistaken for Timothy, but, 

 besides other differences, the former comes to maturit}^ quite a 

 month before the latter. Both rejoice in strong soils, and a stiff 

 loam or clay is necessary to fully bring out the fine quahties of 

 Foxtail, and to maintain it in a green state during hot dry 

 weather. Still it luxuriates in warmth, and on well-drained 

 land in moisture also, but during prolonged rain a heavy crop 

 may be beaten down, and then it is liable to rot at the roots. 

 This fact again points to the necessity of mowing in good time. 

 Alopecurus cannot endure a waterlogged soil, and it is useless 

 to sow seed in such positions. Yet it is one of the best grasses 

 known for land under irrigation, and the water meadows in the 

 South of England, which are largely formed of this grass, produce 

 immense crops. 



On very dry soils Foxtail is so stunted and diminutive as to 

 appear to be almost a different grass, but even in such soils it 

 may sometimes be worth sowing in small proportion, and wet 

 seasons will prove that this is not a mistaken policy. In parks 

 and paddocks round residences where a green appearance and 

 constant growth are important, it should be sown freely. The 

 result will be grateful both to the eye of the proprietor and to the 

 taste of the Alderneys and hunters which graze upon the pasture. 

 True seed of AlnpecurvR pratensi'^ is always expensive, and 



