AGEICULTUEAL GEASSE8. 69 



them on meadow hay cut from an old pasture, and that both 

 beasts and horses show a preference for the former. 



Morton's ' Cyclopaedia of Agriculture ' contains the follow- 

 ing remark on this subject: 'According to M. Pean de Saint- 

 Gilles, a French agriculturist, the ripe straw left after threshing 

 out the seeds is a better fodder than hay made from the green 

 straw. After giving many thousand trusses of the straw to his 

 horses without other food for several months, he found that they 

 ate it as readily as the finest hay, and that it kept them in high 

 condition.' 



The objection occasionally urged against Eye Grass, that it 

 does not produce an aftermath, only holds good as to starved 

 crops, and on soils which are not adapted to grow the plant. Its 

 very cheapness has been given as a reason for not using it. In 

 the best sense of the term Eye Grass is cheap as compared with 

 many natural grasses, but surely this is a special argument in its 

 favour. It is quite true that Festuca pratensis possesses many 

 of its good qualities and excels it in aftermath, but the difference 

 in the price of the two articles is considerable, and the Fescue 

 is distinctly inferior in nutritive qualities, except in its early stage 

 of growth. 



The highly glazed leaves of L. perenne are sufficient to dis- 

 tinguish it at all seasons of the year. The leaf is narrow-tipped, 

 has an obtuse ligule, surrounded by an auricle or collar-like por- 

 tion of the blade ; whilst the younger leaves are folded through- 

 out their length on the mid-rib when emerging from the purple 

 sheath. 



One of the main reasons for including Perennial Eye Grass 

 in mixtures for permanent pastures is its rehabihty, already 

 alluded to, for ensuring a plant. This is a matter of great 

 importance, for if grasses do not occupy the ground in the first 

 season, weeds will inevitably do so. And the Eye Grass yields 

 a bulk of hay during each of the first two years such as could 

 not possibly be obtained without it. Again, the Eye Grass 

 fosters the growth of other varieties and aids the general 



