﻿Localities. — In meadows, pastures, cultivated fields, road sides, waste 

 places. &c. Common. 



Perennial. — Flowers in June and July. 



Root somewhat creeping, fibrous. Culms several, from 1 to 2 

 feet high, round, rigid, leafy, with purplish tumid joints, the lower- 

 most of which are bent. Leaves strap-shaped, pointed, flat, dark 

 green, smooth, striated. Sheaths somewhat compressed, of a light 

 yellowish green, striated, smooth. Stipula short, projecting a little 

 beyond the base of the leaf, membranaceous, entire, blunt. Spike 

 2-ranked, nearly upright, with a smooth common stalk or rachis. 

 Spikelets numerous, alternate, upright, nearly sessile, either distant 

 or crowded, many-flowered. Outer palea strap-spear-shaped, 

 keeled, acute, generally with a short awn, just below the cloven tip, 

 scarcely distinguishable, and frequently wanting. Styles very short. 

 Seed strap-shaped. 



Sir J. E. Smith enumerates 3 varieties of this species; his variety P. ( L. tenue 

 of Linnjeus,) he informs us, “ is only a starved state of the plant, with 3 or 4 

 florets only, but still the spikelet extends beyond the calyx.” I have cultivated 

 this variety in the Oxford Garden for many years, and it has not changed its 

 character, as given above; 1 have also found it to be only of annual duration. 

 This circumstance seems almost sufficient to constitute a specific difference. 

 Variety y. of Sir J. Smith has a branched, or compound, general spike ; and 

 variety S. has a short, broad, egg-shaped, close one ; these two varieties are oc- 

 casionally found about Oxford. Mr. Sinclair notices a viviparous variety, and 

 another with a double flower. 



The Eye-grass appears to have been cultivated in this country previous to the 

 year 1677, and is said, in Plot s Natural History of Oxfordshire, to have been 

 first sown in the chiltern parts of that county, and to have been afterwards 

 brought nearer Oxford by one Mr. Eustace, of Islip. “ The natural habit of 

 this Grass is to produce much and comparatively heavy seed ; this property ren- 

 ders it not only an unprofitable impoverisher of the ground, compared with 

 Cock’s-foot C Dactylis glomerata, 1. 108.^ and other species, but also a trouble- 

 some weed in the wheat ciop when that follows it in rotation. The produce is 

 chiefly in the Spring, for the Midsummer and aftermath crop of herbage is al- 

 ways deficient. On the other hand, Rye-grass is valuable for Spring produce, 

 its seed vegetates in a superior manner, is easily collected, and is less expensive 

 at first. If the pioduce and nutritive powers of Eye grass be compared with 

 those of Cock’s-foot Grass, it will be found inferior in the proportion of 18 to 8 

 nearly ; to Meadow Foxtail ( Alopecurus pratensis, t. 4>.) in the proportion of 

 12 to 5; and to the Meadow Fescue fFestuca pratensis J in the proportion of 

 17 to 5. In the comparison from which the above estimates were made, the 

 crops at the time of perfecting the seed were omitted for the sake of comparison. 

 In the alternate husbandry. Eye-grass possesses the valuable property of arriv- 

 ing soon at perfection from seed. The Meadow Foxtail, which is greatly su- 

 perior to Rye-grass in early growth and weight of produce, is defective in its 

 seed, and, like the Meadow Fescue, does not attain perfection in one season. 

 The objection to Eye-grass in the alternate husbandry, may he greatly removed 

 by combining with it a portion of Cock’s-foot, Timothy ( Phleum pratense, 

 t. 68.7, Meadow F’escue, and Meadow Foxtail Grasses. The aftermath pro- 

 duce would be found double in quantity lo that of Rye-grass and Clover alone; 

 and should it happen, on any occasion, to he desirable to continue the ley more 

 than one year, the pasture would improve instead of diminish in the produce of 

 pasturage. Another advantage is the superior quantity of vegetable matter 

 which this mixture of different grasses affords to the soil when ploughed in. 

 Among the numerous varieties of Eye-grass (of which a Mr. Whitworth had, 

 in 1823, collected as many as 60), the following are the most interesting to the 

 Agriculturist. 1. Common Eye-grass ; this is used when only one year’s ley is 

 required or praticed. 2. llroad-spiked llye-grass. 3. Facev’s Rye-grass; 

 this is a valuable variety on most soils. 4. Russell’s llye-grass; this will be 

 found by far the most valuable variety in all deep soils of thq best quality for 

 permanent pasture. 5. Ruck,’s. 6. Whitworth’s; this and Pacey’s are 

 well adapted for high wold lands. 7. Stackney’s ; this approaches near to that 

 of the Russell llye-grass. — The usual quantity of Rye-grass seed sown per 

 acre in the alternate husbandry, is 2 pecks with 14 pounds of clover ; a quantity 

 too small to stock the surface with plants, and consequently a large space of the 

 soil is left unoccupied, by the numerous vacancies between them.” Sinclair, 

 in Baxl. Lib. of Agricul. and Horticul. Know], p. 305. 



