AGRICULTUEAL GRASSES. 67 



Perennial Eye Grass was in this country first sown in the 

 Chiltern parts of Oxfordshire, and is still of great service in 

 some portions of that district on- cold sour clays, and on light 

 stony land so deficient in lime that it will not grow Sainfoin. 



The eminent Swiss botanist, Dr. F. G. Stebler, describes it 

 as ' one of the most valuable plants in our meadows. For pasture 

 on clay soils it cannot be replaced by any other plant, and there- 

 fore it is largely used in mixtures for forming pasture grass 

 of best quality. In the North of Germany there are even ex- 

 perienced growers who only sow Eye Grass with a little White 

 Clover. The duration of this plant varies much according to soil 

 and climate: I have put the last sentence in itahcs, because in 

 this remark Dr. Stebler has accurately indicated the origin of the 

 diversity of opinion which prevails concerning the period of 

 existence of this grass. For while Eye Grass is indigenous and 

 perennial in many districts, it will stand for only a limited time 

 under other conditions of soil and climate. On a burning sand 

 or thin gravel it is never permanent, but it answers on a gravelly 

 clay, is at home on all loams, and positively revels in tenacious 

 land. Even pure clay is not too stiff for it. The poorer and 

 drier the soil, the shorter will be its duration. On the contrary, 

 the richer and moreuioist the land, always supposing the drainage 

 to be good, the greater the certainty that Eye Grass will be per- 

 manent. It responds quickly to irrigation, either of pure water 

 or of liquid manure, but stagnant water soon kills it. The habit 

 of the plant points to the secret of successful treatment. It roots 



servation, a constant and by no means insignificant constituent. These meadows are 

 invariably cut before the Eye Grass has time to ripen, much less to shed its seed, so that 

 the continued presence of this grass can only be due to its perennial character.' 



In the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, Second Series, Volume XXIV. 

 Part II. No. XL VIII., Dr. Fream published an exhaustive report on the turfs he had 

 collected for the express purpose of ascertaining- the composition of the herbage in the old 

 pastures of England and Ireland which had a special reputation for high feeding quality. 

 With one exception each of the turfs showed a large percentage of Perennial Rye Grass, 

 and he stated that 'the premier position is taken by Lolium perenne,^ And in the Jour- 

 nal of the Royal Agricultural Society issued in June 1890, Dr. Fream aays emphatically : 

 ' It is but fair to myself to state that this investigation was entered upon without any 

 reference to, or even any thought of, what is known as the Rye Grass Controversy.' 



