ALFRED BROWN OF GRASSES AND OTHER FORAGE PLANTS. 
22 1 
the permanent pasture or rotation grass lands; but as it is apt when 
two or three years old to form clumps, it should never be sown alone, 
but always with other grasses. The seed being smaller and lighter 
than ryegrass, one pound of it will sow as much as two pounds of the 
latter. The best seed comes from New Zealand, it being cleaner and 
stronger in growth than the European samples. 
Then there are other two or three grasses which force them¬ 
selves on our notice, and which are almost always rivals with the 
cocksfoot in the struggle for existence, notably the meadow foxtail 
and timothy. These two grasses resemble one another very closely 
in the shape of their flower heads, but you can at once tell them 
by touch, the timothy being hard and rough, while the foxtail is soft 
and woolly. 
Meadow foxtail, Alopecuris prafensis, is a valuable grass, and 
deserves to be more widely cultivated; but it is a difficult grass to 
introduce, owing to its poor germinating quality, though of late years 
this has been steadily improving. It is a grass indispensable in the 
permanent pasture, but as it takes two or three years to come to its 
full growTh it is of little or no use in alternate husbandry. 
It is very early, and forms by the end of April abundance of 
juicy leaves which are greedily devoured by horses and cattle. It is 
only suitable for sowing on rich, moist soil, as on light land its 
growth is weak and apt to give out. In sowing, one pound of foxtail 
is equal to four pounds of ryegrass seed, while about two pounds to 
an acre is the quantity usually sown. 
Timothy or catstail grass, Phleuin pratense^ unlike the foxtail, is 
more adapted for hay than permanent pasture, as it is very apt to die 
out in about three years’ time; and not only this, but the abundance 
of stems it throws up makes it fitter for hay purposes. Timothy is seen 
at its best on damp, stiff soils, and has the merit of withstanding cold 
and wet. 
Another grass, not quite so well known to agriculturists as some 
of the preceding, is the tall oatgrass, Avcndth'CTUin ciV6ncic6uiH, This 
grass has been the subject of a deal of discussion, as some authorities 
have it that there are two distinct varieties, one with a bulbous root 
and another with a fibrous. This latter is said to be the true tall 
oatgrass. 
Of course this is a very important matter to farmers and worth 
thorough investigation, as while the fibrous-rooted variety, according 
to Mr. Wilson of Carbeth, is said to be the most nutritious of all our 
grasses, still, if it is apt to become bulbous in certain soils, it would 
have to be carefully used and kept out of all fields intended for alter¬ 
nate husbandry, as it would be almost impossible to clear the ground 
of its tubers. ^ 
