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Habitat. It occurs wild on roadsides on the borders of fields, in meadows and pastures, and on village 
greens, commons etc, 
Limits In Britain it is found at a height of 4450 ft., in the Bavarian Alps at 2500 ft., and in the canton 
of altitude. of Glaris, according to Heer, at 5000 ft. Along the borders of the St. Gotthard it ascends to 5600 fl, 
Climate. In cold situations it may often suffer from a rigorous winter, although it is not “ort 
pletely destroyed. If the soil is somewhat compact, drought has little effect upon it. This 
is shown by the fact, that in a dry year, when a mixture of grasses is sown, perennial 
rye-grass persists in spite of the drought, while other grasses succumb and die. This de-- 
pends on its habit of forming a compact sward of »bottom« grass. The moist maritime 
climates of England and the countries round the North Sea, are very suitable for its growth, — 
especially where the soil is of a heavy nature and of good quality. 
Soil. Moist and rich loams and clays are most appropriate. If the supply of moisture and — 
nutriment is adequate, it can also be grown on loamy sands and sandy loams, as well as 
on marly and calcareous soils. On a rich drained soil, which is not too light, it is a suc- 
cess; but on heaths, dry sands and soils of a scorching type, it does not grow. In gene- 
ral, it requires stiffness as well as moisture in the soil; it can be grown even on the heay- 
iest clays, provided they are drained. 
Substances According to an old analysis of Wolff*), 1000 lbs. of rye-grass hay remove from the soil: — 
removed from Nitrogen. : 18.9 lbs. Lime. 10.6 lbs. 
ane al Phosphoric acid. 10.0 ,, Magnesia. Des 
Potash . ‘ : B93 as Sulphuric acid , 6.0 ,, 
Soda. : . aes Silica. , : AOsd. 4 7 
Manures. Rye-grasses, whether perennial or Italian, are more benefitted by liquid manure than 
any other grasses. Wollny, for example, obtained the following results per acre: — 
Without manure 890 Ibs. of hay 
With . PUNT Wem oe us 
The quality of the fodder produced from the manured plots is also improved. 
As a top dressing, nitrate of soda is very beneficial. Stevenson found that 13/4 cwt. 
per acre might be given with profit. : 
Irrigation. Irrigation also acts very beneficially, provided that the land is well drained; if the co 
water at all stagnates, the action is very injurious. 
Growth. Growth, yield, nutritive value. Perennial rye-grass vegetates luxuriantly, forming at 
complete sward of »bottom grass«, which prevents weeds from springing up. It stands 
frequent cutting and depasturing. ‘The tread of cattle acts beneficially rather than inju- 
riously, a very good point about a pasture grass, : = 
Development. According to Karmrodt’s experiments, the maximum yield is obtained in the year 
after sowing. The yield per acre was as follows: — - 
in 1 year 2 cuttings 6050 Ibs. hay 
et gee eS W370 
pepee eee ae 5 8366 
Oh Ae ae Oe eT RS 
The first cutting is always best. 
Cutting should take place immediately before flowering, to prevent the hardening of 
the culms and consequent loss of nutritive value. The plant comes into flower for ‘th ler 
first time from the beginning to the middle of June. Flowering is repeated and goes on 
till late in September, so that a second and a third crop of culms may be obtained. 
*) Dr. Emil Wolff. Aschenanalysen von landwirthschaftlichen Produkten, Berlin 1871. 
