544 



Grass and Clover Seed Growing. [Sept., 



crops, and probably very valuable strains could in many cases 

 be obtained in this way. 



Average crops of common Sainfoin produce about 8 or 9 sacks 

 (about 800 or 900 lb.) of seed per acre, and of Giant Sainfoin, 

 when seed is taken from the second cut only, as in East Anglia, 

 about 5 or 6 sacks. Trefoil yields some 5 or 6 quarters of seed 

 in cosh, though the crop is very variable in different districts. 



Grasses. — Taken as a whole a much greater proportion of 

 the grass seed which we use annually is produced at home, than 

 is the case with clovers. Italian and Perennial ryegrasses and 

 Timothy are the only three grasses produced on a large scale in 

 Great Britain. Crested Dogstail is grown to a considerable extent 

 in Great Britain, but Ireland is a much larger grower. In 

 addition to these, small quantities of Cocksfoot, Meadow Foxtail, 

 Sweet Vernal, Tall Oatgrass, Golden Oatgrass, Meadow Fescue 

 and Bough Stalked Meadow Grass are grown. 



Eyegrass. — As far as England and Wales are concerned, 

 ryegrasses are grown to a large extent in one district only, 

 the fens of north-eastern Cambridgeshire. The produce of this 

 area is very largely Italian Byegrass ; Perennial is mainly grown 

 in Ayrshire and in the carses in the neighbourhood of 

 Stirlingshire. 



A certain amount of " Annual " Byegrass is grown in Ayr- 

 shire for use in the same district, but the grass does not appear to 

 be sown in other parts of the country to any extent. This variety 

 is not Lolkim westerwoldicum. Its seed closely resembles that 

 of Perennial Byegrass, but is rather long and parallel-sided, 

 compared with a typical sample of the latter. It appears to 

 have been selected from ordinary Perennial, and is commonly 

 used in a mixture with Timothy, the idea being that the ryegrass 

 may be seeded in the first year and then die out, the Timothy 

 being harvested in succeeding years. Its strictly annual 

 character seems, however, somewhat doubtful. 



A little Perennial Byegrass used to be seeded in the 

 Okehampton district of Devonshire, but the strain has now almost 

 died out. As far as can be gathered it seems to have been a 

 valuable ryegrass, and its revival might well be worth while. 

 Byegrass is seeded on a small scale under the name of Hamp- 

 shire bents in the north and east of that county, and also in 

 the Bingw T ood district, but the industry does not seem so general 

 as formerly. 



Byegrass needs to be well ripened, and harvesting, therefore, 



