AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 61 



quality. In the North of Germany there are even experi- 

 enced growers who sow only Rye Grass with a little White 

 Clover. The duration of tliis plant varies much according 

 to soil and climate.'' I have put the last sentence in italics, 

 because in this remark Dr. Stebler has accurately indicated 

 the origin of the diversity of opinion which prevails con- 

 cerning the duration of this gi-ass. While Rye Grass is 

 indigenous and perennial in many districts, it stands for a 

 limited time only where soil and climate are unfavourable. 

 On a burning sand or thin gravel it is never permanent, 

 but it answers on a graveUy clay, is at home on aU loams, and 

 revels in tenacious land. Even pure clay is not too stiff 

 for it. The poorer and drier the soil, the shorter will be 

 its tenure. On the contrary, the richer and more moist the 

 land, always supposing the drainage to be good, the greater 

 the certainty that Rye Grass wiU be permanent. The plant 

 responds quickly to irrigation, either of pure water or of 

 liquid manure, but stagnant water soon kills it. The natural 

 habit points to the secret of successful treatment. The 

 roots are maintained by the surface soil, and as poor land 

 speedily becomes exhausted by the free grovsrth, of necessity 

 the plant dies. 



Pastures which are stimulated by the droppings of cake- 

 fed cattle, or which are dressed at proper intervals with 

 farmyard manure, continue to grow Rye Grass year after year 

 without re-sowing. When hay is cut early, seeding is, of 

 course, impossible, and if the pasture is grazed the cattle will 

 take care that seed does not ripen. They never permit the 

 heads to flower ; the culms and herbage are always closely 

 cropped. 



Seed of Perennial Rye Grass germinates with unusual 

 freedom, and it may be relied on to produce a crop under con- 

 ditions that are fatal to other varieties. The plant matures 

 very quickly and is not injured by the tread of cattle. A^^ile 

 other grasses are dependent on season and weather. Rye Grass 



