AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 65 



into England in 1831 by the late Mr. Charles Lawson, of 

 Edinburgh, who was an old friend of my father. At first 

 Mr. Lawson imported seed from Hamburg, but a few years 

 later he was able to obtain it direct from Leghorn. The 

 experiments made with Italian Rye Grass by the late Mr. 

 William Dickinson resulted in crops which were then 

 considered marvellous, and for many years his name was 

 prominently associated with this fodder plant. His system 

 of irrigation with liquid manure no doubt suggested the idea of 

 sewage treatment, and it is not too much to say that without 

 Italian Rye Grass the present method of sewage farming could 

 not be carried on. There is no other green crop, except 

 perhaps JBromus inermis, which can be substituted for it, or 

 which will yield equally valuable herbage. 



There are considerable variations in the character, pro- 

 ductiveness, and duration of the several strains of this plant ; 

 still, roughly speaking, all are biennial. The seed which is 

 imported from the Continent yields very heavy crops, but is 

 so infested with pernicious weeds as to need most careful 

 cleaning before it is fit to sow. To avoid the risk of making 

 the land foul, seed has long been grown in Ireland, and con- 

 tinuous selection has developed all the good qualities of the 

 imported stock, except its extreme vigour. Lolium italicum 

 Suttoni, which is now largely grown, was obtained by careful 

 selection of the most free-growing and leafy plants. This 

 stock grows with extraordinary rapidity, with but a small 

 proportion of stalks, so that the crop, whether green or made 

 into hay, is of specially fine quality. 



Italian Rye Grass will grow in almost any soil, but is least 

 satisfactory on poor dry land, unless it can be freely assisted 

 with liquid manure. Still, fair results have been obtained 

 from heaths dressed with marl and farmyard dung. This 

 grass needs warmth and moisture, and in rich damp soils 

 the growth is extremely rapid. Irrigation by liquid manure 

 results in enormous crops, following each other in surprisingly 



