The Natural History of British Grasses. 
473 
season has a tendency to prolong the duration of life of plants ; 
it is upon this principle in depasturing, that our meadows main- 
tain their position, as continuous patches of herbage. Constant 
haymaking would inevitably promote the dying out of good 
grasses, and this the more readily t!ie older the grass be before 
being cut, so that. in all cases it is the greatest possible mistake 
not to make hay early. Otherwise what is gained in quantity is 
mostly prejudiced in quality, and the after consequences are 
always unfavourable, circumstances arising not solely from the 
impoverishing of the soil. 
The Italian rye-grass will be found to throw out more barren 
shoots in cultivation than the common form, and this renders it 
a valuable variety : indeed, varieties — not merely species — of all 
agricultural plants should be carefully attended to, as derivative 
specimens always alter their properties in the course of years. 
By some- it is thought that new forms take the place of old ones 
in estimation, merely from fashion and caprice, but I am inclined 
to think that they are more generally resorted to from the 
necessity of trying something else, because of the previous 
failure of the old sorts, which is ever the case, even with careful 
change of seed, in course of time. The Italian rye is com- 
paratively new : and though it is perhaps not so great a favourite 
as it was in some districts, yet it may be worth a trial in most 
cases where the common rye-grass has been kept up in the 
rotation for an oft-times repeated series. 
It was with these facts in view that I was induced to experi- 
ment on a few grasses which I thought might be serviceable for 
seed-crops, and in 184:9 I tried patches of the following: — 
1. Antho.vantlium odoratum — Sweet vernal grass. 
2. Alopecurus pratensis — Meadow foxtail. 
3. Plileiim pratciise — Timothy grass. 
4. Dactylis ylovierata — Cocksfoot grass ; and by the side of 
these, by way of comparison. 
5. Lolium perenne- — Perennial rye-rgiass. 
G. „ ,, var. Italicum — Italian rye-grass. 
My plots are on a band of stiff marl, resting on the great oolite 
freestone, and are never manured ; the grasses are cut down 
yearly, and thus the following observations upon them made this 
summer may be of interest in this part of the inquiry: — 
Tliis year, 1853, all of tliem were cut with the scythe in July, 
at which time No. 1 had seeded : at present it is rapidly dying 
out, as it has but few barren shoots. 
Nos. 2, 3, and 4 stooled well, and increased in culms and 
barren shoots from year to year : they increase in quantity, and 
