50 THE NATURAL MWISTORY OF BRITISH GRASSES. 
six to eight florets, awnless; leaves mostly upright, of a 
dark-green hue; of this there are several varieties.—P. 
Lolium Italicum—locuste of from six to eight awned 
florets; leaves broad drooping, of a light green colour.—B. 
L. temulentum —locuste equal in length with the glumes. 
—A. 
The Z. perenne in its usual form is found almost every 
where, but more especially in good pastures: brought under 
cultivation as “seeds,” it is liable to a great number of 
variations, especially in size and in a disposition to a greater 
or less permanency of growth, and hence arise the many 
names which its varieties are known by in the seed-market. 
The properties of the true LZ. perenne are such as to render 
it very valuable to the farmer, as it soon arrives at maturity, 
yields a good weight to the rick, and in the meadow stands 
depasturing to any extent, yielding a perennial supply of 
good succulent leaves, which are readily eaten by stock of 
all kinds. In arable culture, however, its permanency is 
most uncertain, as it generally begins to die out, especially 
after the first hay crop; and this all the sooner and the 
more certain in proportion to the longer time the grass is 
left before being cut. 
The L. Italicum, which is perhaps after all only a variety 
of the L. perenne, has been much recommended as a self- 
grass, and particularly for soiling: the reports of its yield 
under watering with sewage manure are almost fabulous: 
however, on limestone soils, and on light lands in general, 
if is now sown as a separate crop, in which case it comes in 
for pasture in the following spring, in which state it may be 
continued for onc or two years according to circumstances, 
though it seems to be, strictly speaking, a biennial form. 
These varieties of rye-grass are the only ones usually em- 
ployed in seeds in this country, and they are either sown 
by themselves or in company with different trefoils, such as 
Trifolium pratense, T. medium, T. repens, Medicago lupu- 
lina, and others. The principal reasons for its preference, 
as stated by Sinclair, are the quantity of seed which it 
