98 THE GRASSES OF TENNESSEE. 



ENGLISH RYE GRASS— (Lolium perenne.) 



Introduced into this country from Europe, a good pasture grass, one to 

 two feet high, with loose spikes five to six inches long, seven to nine flow- 

 ered, twelve to eighteen of them arranged alternately on 

 the fiexuous rachis, glumes single, fine nerved, linear — lan- 

 "ceolate, mucronate. Paleae herbaceous, equal, the outer palea 

 of the lowermost floret shorter than the glumes. Panicle 

 spiked, about six inches long. Culm one to eighteen inches 

 high, erect, bearing five to six leaves. Joints purplish, the 

 first and second rather remote. (Gould.) ,-, 



This was the first grass cultivated in England, 

 and is a great favorite, occupying the same posi- 

 tion there that timothy does with us. It is but 

 little cultivated in the United States. It is said 

 to impoverish land rapidly, and will run out in 

 a few years. The shortness of its roots will not < 

 permit it to^endure drouth, but it is adapted to a 

 great variety of soils. It is of quick growth, 

 and will sometimes yield forty bushels of seed 

 per aere. It produces a nutritious herbage. 

 There are no less than seventy varieties produced 

 in England. Wolff's and Knop's analysis shows 

 the hay to contain : 



Flesh formers 10.2 



Heat producers 38.9 



Crude fibre. 30.2 



Fat 2.7 



Ash 6.5 



Water 14.3 



One of the most valuable species of this grass 

 is the Lolium Italicwn mentioned below. We do not re- 

 gard the ordinary English rye grass of special value to 

 Tennessee farmers. 



