54 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES 



the great weight of produce, its early and late growth, and 

 the important fact that it endures the trampling of stock, are 

 all strongly in favour of sowing seed freely. 



The endurance of Rye Grass under severe treading 

 deserves more than a mere passing mention. By the sides of 

 country roads a thick formation of turf, the envy of those who 

 wish to make a lawn, is often observable ; and this turf will 

 be found to consist almost exclusively of Rye Grass. On one 

 occasion, in company with Mr. Carruthers, we both at the 

 same instant noticed the strong development of Rye Grass at 

 the gate of one of my pastures, then laid up for hay, where 

 cattle usually congregated before milking-time in the seasons 

 when the field was grazed. Examination proved that the Rye 

 Grass was also prominent on the green path across the field. 

 Had the extraordinary growth been near the gate alone, the 

 inference might have been di-awn that the increase of such a 

 gross feeder as Rye Grass was attributable to the droppings 

 from cattle kept waiting there ; but as the herbage throughout 

 the entire length of the path, which traverses several different 

 soils, is nearly all Rye Grass, it affords evidence of superiority 

 over every other grass as to the capabUity of the plant for 

 enduring the tread of man and beast. This characteristic 

 accounts for the large proportion of Rye Grass found in the 

 fields of this country which have been depastured from time 

 immemorial. 



Exceptionally heavy dressings of nitrogenous manures 

 applied to Rye Grass when in mixture with other varieties for 

 a hay crop are inimical to its existence, because the manures 

 enable coarse grasses to obtain the ascendency. But when 

 Rye Grass is sown alone, or mixed with Broad Clover only, 

 the crop is greatly increased by the application of manures, 

 proving that the plant has no inherent objection to them. 

 Both at Chiswick where Rye Grass was grown alone, and at 

 Rothamsted where it formed only a portion of the herbage, 

 moderate doses of nitrate of soda had a marked effect upon its 



