30 PEEMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES. 



known which endures cold so well as Foxtail, and spring frosts' 

 do it little harm. Even in the severest winters, when other 

 grasses suffer much damage, Foxtail remains comparatively un- 

 injured. Its distribution 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 recom- 

 mend the sowing of any quantity in new pastures ; but the 

 great excellence of the grass renders a trial on a hmited scale 

 desirable. 



Sometimes Foxtail is carelessly mistaken for Timothy, but, 

 besides other differences, the former comes to maturity 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 qualities 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 pratensis cannot endure a water- logged soil, and it is 

 useless to sow seed on undrained land. 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 variety, but even under such con- 

 ditions it may sometimes be worth using 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 or Kerries which graze upon the pasture. . 

 True seed of Alopecurus pratensis is generally expensive, and 

 it is so light and delicate in formation as to need exceedingly 

 well-prepared land to ensure vegetation. Unfortunately the stiff 

 soils which specially suit Foxtail are the most difficult to make 



