27 
It succeeds best on warm, moist soils, more especially on marls rich in humus, on 
moist loamy sands, or on good calcareous loams. A stiff soil is best; on such it comes 
to great perfection, and gives splendid produce. On clay, containing humus or lime, it 
also thrives very well, if the subsoil is porous; on heavy clay, it is less certain, and 
the produce is smaller. On poor sand, or any very dry soil, it does not thrive well. 
Sprengel *) states that it can be cultivated on heath land which has ben well marled and li- 
berally supplied with farmyard manure. 
1000 Ibs. of Italian rye-grass hay remove from the soil: — 
Nitrogen . 20.8 Ibs. Lime . 4 . 6.0 Ibs. 
Phosphoric acid. Sol b! Magnesia ; ; Fea4 5, 
Potash . : jae Sulphuric acid TES. i 
Soda. 5 ie a silica. . a) Sen oee, 
According to Karmrodt’s experiments, Italian rye-grass requires less mineral matter, 
and more nitrogen, than perennial rye-grass. 
No other grass repays manuring so well as this; on sewage-farms it is especially pro- 
fitable. Dickinson obtained 8 or 9 crops of hay in a year from a well drained clay soil 
with a clayey subsoil. The total yield was 224,400 lbs. of grass, and 44,000 Ibs. of hay. 
The average produce of 7 cuttings was 154,000 Ibs. of grass, and 50,800 Ibs. of hay. 
Dickinson reckoned the nutritive value as equivalent to that of the best clover. By using 
liquid manures, other agriculturists more especially in Scotland, have also obtained mar- 
vellous produce.**) 
The liquid manure is led by a set of pipes, from the stables and cattle-stalls, to a reservoir where 
fermentation goes on. Before using, it is diluted with two or three times its bulk of water. Two 
tanks are generally used; the one receives the fresh urine, while fermentation is going on in the other. 
From these tanks, iron pipes, laid at a depth of 2 to 2'/2 ft., convey the liquid to the field; the 
pipes are arranged so that every part of the field may be supplied from them. At appropriate points 
hydrants are set up. Hose connected with these spread the liquid over the surface. The fluid is 
driven through the tubes either by its own hydrostatic pressure, or by pumps. Although such arran- 
gements are very costly, they give good results, After each cutting, 5,000 to 7,500 gallons of the dilute 
liquid are distributed to each acre. Often, however, the ground is first spread with guano, or other man- 
ures; these are washed into the soil by the liquid. With guano at its present high price, other manures, 
such as Chili saltpetre, bone-meal, or sulphate of ammonia should be used either separately or mixed. 
At Hofwyl, Fellenberg, without the underground tubes, merely using the liquid manure in the 
ordinary way, took 8 mowings. The liquid used should not be too concentrated; the best results are 
obtained by frequent distribution of very dilute liquid. 
On a light soil with a warm exposure, Italian rye-grass is much benefitted by irriga- 
tion; this is well exemplified in the case of the irrigated grass-lands of Lombardy, where 
70°/o of the whole herbage is Italian rye-grass. These grass-land called »Marcita«, can be 
be mown 5, 6, or even 8 times in a year. The process of rigation can be very readily 
studied in the neighbourhood of Milan: — there, the conditions suitable for irrigation are 
almost perfect: the soil is a loam, rich in humus, permeable and warm. The mildness of 
the climate also adds to the fertility. 
*) Dr Karl Sprengel. Meine Erfahrungen im Gebiete der allgemeinen und speziellen Pflanzenkultur. Zweiter Band. 
Leipzig 1850. 
#*) Dr, Eduard Hartstein. Die fliissige Diingung und das italienische Raygras. Bonn 1859. See also article »Agri- 
culture« in Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition. 
Soil. 
Manure. 
Irrigation. 
