NI
\

.
Vo

AC
—

@ .
OP, '199
296

Cornell University

Library

OF THE

Hew Dork State College of Agriculture

4a 6593. LY. TR].15

8101

The date shows when this volume was taken.
To renew this book copy the call No, and give to
the librarian.

Mar 20'53K

HOME USE RULES.

All Books subject to Recall.

All books must be
returned at end of col-
lege year for inspec-
tion and repairs.

Students must re-
turn all books before
leaving town. Officers
should arrange for
the return of books
wanted during their
absence from town.

Books needed by
more than one person
are held on the reserve
list.

Volumes of periodi-
cals and of pamphlets
are held in the library
as muchas possible.
For special purposes
they are given out for
a limited time.

Borrowers should
not use their library
privileges for the bene-
fit of other persons.

Books of special
value and gift books,
when the giver wishes
it, are not allowed to
circulate.

Readers are asked
to report all cases of
books marked or muti-
lated.

: Do not deface books by marks and writing.

Cornell University Library

SB 199.S96 1911

Permanent and temporary pastures,

Hise

3 1924 003 380 775 om

Cornell University

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003380775

PERMANENT
AND TEMPORARY
PASTURES

PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO, LTD., LONDON
COLCHESTER AND ETON

PERMANENT
AND TEMPORARY
PASTURES

BY

MARTIN J. SUTTON

CHEVALIER DE LA LEGION D’HONNEUR; CHEVALIER DE L’ORDRE DU MERITE AGRICOLE
FELLOW OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXAMINATION BOARD
MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND FROM 1883 To 1904
MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE BATH AND WEST AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY FROM 1880
KNIGHT OF GRACE OF THE ORDER OF THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM IN ENGLAND
ETC.

Hieuta EHpirion

London
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO. LIMITED
1911

Entered at Stationers’ Hall. All rights reserved
es ae

SBI9I9

596
a |

Nob 593
THE GOLD MEDAL
OF
THE PARIS EXHIBITION, 1900
WAS AWARDED
FOR THE EDITION OF THIS WORK
CONTAINING THE ILLUSTRATIONS

IN NATURAL COLOURS

PREFACE

TO

THE EIGHTH EDITION

By gracious permission the First Edition of this work was
dedicated to His Majesty Kinc Epwarp VIJ.—at that time
His Royal Highness THE Prince or Wates. I take this
renewed opportunity of recording my deep sense of gratitude
for the great kindness then extended to me.

To meet a continuous demand six other editions have
since been published.

For the present issue the text has been revised through-
out and brought up to date, including the latest available
statistics concerning the area under grass.

The importance of Temporary Pastures is increasingly
recognised, and I am firmly convinced that the future
prosperity of farming is intimately bound up with an extension
of the system of Leys, varying from one to four years in

duration.

Reapine: February 1911.

CONTENTS

PAGE
INTRODUCTION . ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ : : 1
THE DRAINAGE OF GRASS LAND . ‘ ‘ aa 3
CULTURAL PREPARATIONS . ‘ ¢ é ; F é e at
THE SELECTION OF GRASSES AND CLOVERS . F : é 19
TYPICAL PRESCRIPTIONS , ‘ : ‘ ‘ é : : . 28
AGRICULTURAL GRASSES (Graminee)
AGROSTIS ALBA—VAR. STOLONIFERA (iorin, or Creeping Bent G'rass) 24
ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS (Meadow Foxtail) . ‘ a ‘ r : 25
AMMOPHILA ARUNDINACEA. PSAMMA ARENARIA (Sea feed, Marrem, or Mat
Grass) . i i . ‘ ‘ 3 a ‘ ‘ j . . . 28
ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM (Sweet-scented Vernal) . ‘ 3 . 29
AVENA FLAVESCENS (Yellow Oat Grass) . ‘ ‘ 31
AVENA ELATIOR (Zall Oat Grass) . 3 ‘ : ; ‘ . ‘ 32
BROMUS INERMIS (Awnless Brome Grass, or Hungarian Forage Grass) . . 84
Bromus SCHRZEDERI (Schreder’s Brome Grass) . é : - . B4
CYNOSURUS CRISTATUS (Crested Dogstail) . : : , . 85
DACTYLIS GLOMERATA (Rough Cocksfoot) . ‘ 3: - . 87
ELYMUS ARENARIUS (Sand, or Upright Sea Lyme Grass) . A 39
FESTUCA PRATENSIS (Meadow Fescue) . : : . 40
FESTUCA ELATIOR (Tall Fescue) 3 2 é ; 43
FESTUCA OVINA (Sheep's Fescue) . . . : ‘ e 44
FESTUCA OVINA TENUIFOLIA (Fine-leaved Sheep’s Fescue) F : . . 45
FESTUCA DURIUSCULA (Hard Fescue) . : . : - 46
FESTUCA RUBRA (Red Fescue) . , : ‘ : i : 48
LOLIUM PERENNE (Perennial Rye Grass) : ‘ : ; . 50
LOLIUM VULGARE. L. ANNUUM (Common, or Annual Rye Grass) . : . 65
LOLIUM ITALICUM (Italian Rye Grass) . ay, : . 656
PHLEUM PRATENSE (Timothy, or Meadow Catstail) : . 60
POA PRATENSIS (Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass) 4 2 , - 62
POA TRIVIALIS (Rough-stalhed Meadow G'rass, or Orcheston Graxs) . 65
PoA NEMORALIS (Wood Meadow Grass) . 3 zs : d F - 66
Poa SEROTINA (Late Meadow Grass) . 2 , . - » S&T

Poa Aquatica (Water-Meadow, or Sweet Reed Grass) . 67

vill

AGRICULTURAL CLOVERS (Leguminose)

TRIFOLIUM REPENS PERENNE (Perennial White Clover) ; 68
TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE (fed, or Broad Clover) . i é F s F . . 1
TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE PERENNE (Perennial Red Clover, or Cow Grass) i 71
TRIFOLIUM HYBRIDUM (Alsike Clover) . : : : , : 74
TRIFOLIUM MINUS (Yellow Suckling) . : , i ‘ : 7 .
MEDICAGO LUPULINA (Common Yellow Clover, Trefoil, Nonsuch, Black Grass, or
‘ Hop’). ‘ : x : é ; Z , 4 : ‘é : = = 46
LoTUS CORNICULATUS (Birdsfoot Trefoil) . - : . . a 6
SUNDRY PLANTS USED FOR GRAZING, FEEDING, OR MAKING INTO HAY
ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM (Yarrow, or Milfoil) . : : . 7
CicHORIUM INTYBUS (Chicory, or Succory) . F 3 : 3 . 79
MEDICAGO SATIVA (Lucerne). 3 : é . 79
ONOBRYCHIS SATIVA (Sainfoin) . i 3 i 4 a 82
PETROSELINUM SATIVUM, OR CARUM PETROSELINUM (Sheep’s Parsley) . » . 83
POTERIUM SANGUISORBA (Burnet) , : é , ‘ ; 83
SOWING GRASS SEEDS ' 85
SPRING SOWING ‘ F 87
SOWING WITH RAPE . ‘ é * : ‘ . é . 90
AUTUMN SOWING . ‘ 2 - : 90
THE IMMEDIATE AFTER-MANAGEMENT OF NEW PASTURES. : . 98
THE MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF OLD GRASS LAND. - 100
BREAKING UP OLD GRASS LAND ; é - ‘ 107
TEMPORARY PASTURES : 110
OnE YEAR’S LEY B ‘ : . : A : . . 114
Two YEARS’ LEY . ‘ : : ; 114
THREE YEARS’ LEY . ‘ : 115
Four, SIX, oR EIGHT YEARS’ TEMPORARY PASTURE . ‘ . 115
HINTS ON HAYMAKING ‘ ’ : » . 119
HINTS ON GRAZING. ‘ F : , ; . 128
ENSILAGE (GRASS) : . : ; : : ‘ ‘ . 132

NOTES ON CERTAIN WORTHLESS GRASSES AND INJURIOUS AND
POISONOUS PLANTS FOUND IN PASTURES , ‘ F . 134

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSES OF GRASSES AND CLOVERS 145-191
INDEX . ‘ i 7 - . 193

ILLUSTRATIONS

AGROSTIS ALBA—VAR. STOLONIFERA (Fiorin, or Creeping Bent Grass)
ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS (Meadow Fosxtail) .
ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM (Sweet-scented Vernal)
AVENA FLAVESCENS (Yellow Oat Grass)

CYNOSURUS CRISTATUS (Crested Dogstail)

DACTYLIS GLOMERATA (Rough Cocksfoot)

FESTUCA PRATENSIS (Meadow Fescue)

FESTUCA ELATIOR (all Fescue)

FESTUCA OVINA TENUIFOLIA (Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescwe)
FESTUCA DURIUSCULA (Hard Fescue)

LOLIUM PERENNE SUTTONI (Sutton’s Perennial Rye Grass)
LOLIUM ITALICUM SUTTONI (Sutton’s Italian Rye Grass) .
PHLEUM PRATENSE (Timothy, or Meadow Catstail)

POA PRATENSIS (Smovth-stalked Meadow Grass)

POA TRIVIALIS (Rough-stalked Meadow Grass)

POA NEMORALIS (Wood Meadow Grass) .

TRIFOLIUM REPENS PERENNE (Perennial White Clover)
TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE (Red, or Broad Clover)

TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE PERENNE (Perennial Red Clover, or Cow Grass)
TRIFOLIUM HYBRIDUM (Alsihe Clover) .

MEDICAGO LUPULINA (Common Yellow Clover, or Trefoil)
ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM (Yarrow, or Milfoil)

PAGE

148
150
152
154
156
158
160
162
164
166
168
170
172
174
176
178
180
182
184
186
188
190

ILLUSTRATIONS OF GRASS SEEDS = pages 149, 151, 153, 155, 157, 159, 161, 163, 165,
167, 169, 171, 173, 175, 177, 179

PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY
PASTURES

From the Returns for 1909, issued by the Board of Agriculture,
it will be seen that in the United Kingdom the total area of
land under all kinds of crops, bare fallow, and grass, excluding
mountain and heath land, is 46,885,810 acres. Of this area,
27,428,244 acres are in permanent grass, and 19,457,566 acres
are arable; so that the land under permanent grass exceeds
the arable by 7,970,678 acres.

Clover, Sainfoin, and Grasses returned under rotation crops
augment the total of grass by 6,587,772 acres.

These facts demonstrate the immense national importance
of this branch of agriculture.

The object of this volume is to offer suggestions for the
improvement, where necessary, of meadows and pastures, and
for maintaining both in a highly profitable condition. It is
also hoped that those who contemplate laying down land to
grass will find in the following pages information which may
enable them to avoid waste of money, and at the same time
ensure an adequate return for the necessary outlay, which can
never be small where first-class results are aimed at.

One of the causes of the extension of grass since 1870 has
been the grave difficulty concerning labour, and this difficulty
becomes more acute in every succeeding year. The majority
of able-bodied labourers and lads refuse to work in the country.
Farmers are therefore increasingly dependent on the mechanic

B

2 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

and the engineer. It has become necessary to take advantage
of every invention and scientific discovery which reduces
manual labour. Enormous strides have already been made in
this direction. Threshing-machines, steam-ploughs, self-binders,
spraying-machines, cream-separators, and facilities for transit
have revolutionised farming conditions. Without the aid of
machinery it must be patent that British husbandry could not
be carried on by the present body of farm labourers. Finality
in labour-saving has no more been attained in husbandry than
it has in manufacturing industries.

Laying down land to grass has had a full share in solving
the labour question, and has been largely instrumental in
improving the economic position of agriculture. It has also
been the means of preventing deterioration of land and of
attracting tenants to farms. Yet it must be admitted that the
extension of permanent pastures cannot be a national advantage,
because grass land produces less food than does arable. And
many large tracts of land are entirely unsuited for the formation
of meadows or pastures; the finer grasses speedily disappear,
while the soil is gradually filled with moss, weeds, twitch, and
worthless indigenous grasses. But there is scarcely any farm
land that will not profitably respond to the alternate system
referred to in the chapter on ‘ Temporary Pastures,’ and the
advantages of this system are by no means restricted to soils
which are unsuited for Permanent Pastures. The practice of
the Lancashire and Scotch farmers has abundantly proved that
no other method of farming pays so well as laying down the
best land in artificial grasses for periods varying from two to
four years, instead of simply sowing clover and breaking up
after the first season. ‘Temporary pastures are now recom-
mended for general adoption by some of the most enlightened
and able agriculturists of the country. A wide extension of
this system is not merely a great means of lessening the labour
bill, but it also ensures the storage in the soil of a large reserve
of grain-producing energy ready for any national emergency.

TAE DRAINAGE OF GRASS LAND

Ir is beyond the scope of this work to treat the subject of
drainage exhaustively. But in offering a few practical hints
on draining operations, I propose to refer to some of the laws
which render it impossible to maintain a first-class pasture
unless land is properly drained either by natural or by
artificial means.

An impression widely prevails that, however necessary
effectual drainage may be for other farm crops, grass land
may with impunity be left undrained. This is only one of
the careless traditions which former generations have handed
down concerning pastures. No one who is accustomed to
examine water-logged meadows can fail to be impressed by
the worthless character of the herbage they produce. If there
were no cure, or the expense of the remedy were out of pro-
portion to the benefit to be derived from it, apathy might be
excusable. As to the greater part of the undrained grass
land which is now lying in a comparatively unprofitable con-
dition through stagnant water, there is no doubt that the
vegetation can be immensely improved in quality. Drainage
of pastures has never been known to be other than beneficial ;
and in most instances the quantity of hay or feed will also be
greatly augmented, although from some land already yield-
ing a large bulk of herbage of a low quality the increase after
draining may not be immediately apparent. The total weight
may even be temporarily diminished, but as the loss will be
limited to those plants which possess little or no feeding

B?

4 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

value, regret need not be wasted on their disappearance.
As a rule, the work can be carried out at a cost which will be
returned with interest in the course of a very few years.
Drainage alone will go a long way towards turning a marsh
into a profitable pasture, and it renders other improvements
possible at a trifling expense. The important point to be
urged here is that undrained land should not be laid down
to grass. Otherwise careful tillage, costly manures, and the
finest grass seeds will certainly be wasted. The result is
only a question of time. Sooner or later the valuable grasses
which are sown will be supplanted by sedge and rush and
other semi-aquatic vegetation, until the pasture gradually
reaches the worthless condition which invariably prevails on
undrained land.

Every year more water passes through land which is
naturally or artificially drained than through soil which is
generally saturated with moisture. Where stagnant water lies
no rain can enter: it simply runs off the surface by any outlet
it can find. The soil can neither breathe nor digest any
fertiliser applied to it, and it is incapable of utilising the sun’s
heat for the development of plant life.

When rain falls on a well-drained field it does more than
merely moisten the soil and supply plants with water. It
has been computed that in each year, by means of rain
alone, every acre of well-drained land in this country is
benefited to the extent of five to ten pounds of nitrogen.
One of the advantages of good drainage is that it allows the
atmosphere to be freely carried into the soil by rain, when
the oxygen sweetens and converts injurious organic substances
into wholesome food for plants. At the same time, carbonic
acid gas derived from rain and air performs the same operation
for the mineral constituents of the soil.

Another advantage which results from draining is an
increase in the temperature of the soil. It is well understood

THE DRAINAGE OF GRASS LAND 5

that evaporation produces cold, and the more rapid the
evaporation the greater the cold. Travellers in the East will
recall the delightful surprise experienced when first they drank
cool water from a porous jar while the thermometer registered
over 100°. Here is an illustration of the conditions which
prevail on a hot day with water-logged soil. Under scorching
sunshine, the soil when full of water becomes intensely cold
immediately beneath the surface. The top crust may feel
warm to the touch, but a plunging thermometer forced into
the subsoil will reveal a difference of many degrees in tem-
perature, which the rainfall on the surface is powerless to
increase. When the sun’s rays cease to fall on undrained
land the cold subsoil quickly brings the surface to its own
low temperature. This rapid change gives birth to the
mists which in autumn are so familiar in the Fens and in the
valley of the Thames. Surely there need be no wonder that
under these adverse conditions the grass on badly-drained
land is late to begin growing in spring and early to cease in
autumn.

«An eminent German authority has demonstrated that
there is an intimate connection between a warm dry soil and
economy in feeding cattle. Friable land absorbs more heat
than land which is saturated with moisture, and retains the
heat for a longer period. Upon the one animals lie warmer,
especially at night, than they do upon the other. <A large
proportion of the food consumed by animals is utilised for
the production of the heat which is constantly dissipated
from their bodies. It follows that additional food becomes
necessary to replace the animal heat lost by the colder
surroundings.

Land which is properly drained comes under the influence
of another operation of nature, to the great advantage of the
crops upon it. Water would, after it has passed through the
surface to the subsoil, be lost to plant life, were it not for

6 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

the wonderful natural arrangement known as capillarity.’
As the surface soil loses water by evaporation, it draws up
and reabsorbs moisture from below; and this is especially
the case when the soil becomes dry, and its particles are
disintegrated. The water which is thus brought from the
subsoil contains in solution some of the mineral constituents
from the formation below, which further aid the growth of plants.
This fact accounts for the widely different grasses which are
to be seen in old pastures on surface soils that appear to be
identical. The mineral constituents in a state of solution are
brought up by the water from considerable depths, and by
this means, amongst others, the geological substratum asserts
its influence upon the herbage growing on the surface.

It is a mistake to suppose that the rainfall goes direct to
the drains and is at once expelled from the land. On the con-
trary, the rain sinks into the land until it meets and mingles
with the subsoil water, and the drains do not begin to run until
the subsoil water rises above their level. While water, how-
ever small the quantity, is flowing in a drain-pipe—and probably
long after it has ceased to flow—it may be taken for granted
that the subsoil is saturated with moisture up to the level of
the drains. The rise and fall of the subsoil water are therefore
determined by the level of the drain rather than by the surface
of the soil, as it would be in an undrained state. Thus, in
well-drained land, the air is being continually carried into the
soil by rain, and forced into it by atmospheric pressure as the
subsoil water falls to a lower level, whilst the air is expelled

1 Baron Liebig, in his Natural Laws of Husbandry, thus describes the action of
water in a state of motion :—

‘If we regard the porous earth as a system of capillary tubes, the condition which
must render them best suited for the growth of plants is unquestionably this: that
the narrow capillary spaces should be filled with water, the wide spaces with air, and
that all of them should be accessible to the atmosphere. In a moist soil of the kind
affording free access to atmospheric air, the absorbent root-fibres are in most intimate
contact with the earthy particles; the outer surface of the root-fibres here may be
supposed to form the one, the porous earthy particles the other wall of a capillary
vessel, the connection between them being effected by an extremely fine layer of
water.’

THE DRAINAGE OF GRASS LAND 7

when the water rises. A water-logged surface is injurious
to plant life not only because there is too much moisture
in it and too little warmth, but because neither rain nor air
can enter from above, nor mineral constituents be drawn from
below. Drainage sets all these natural forces in motion, and
they open the soil and disintegrate its particles for the benefit
of plant life.

Again, drainage is always beneficial in promoting the early
and late growth of grass: this alone is of enormous value in
feeding stock. The early autumn and late spring frosts do
not arrest growth on drained land so quickly as on that
which is sodden with moisture. And on the latter there is
also the additional injury which the hoofs of cattle inflict
on the grasses. Thus one of the effects of drainage is to
produce an ever-growing crop.

It has been urged with perfect truth that from arable
land manures are often washed into drains, especially in wet
seasons, and that in draining a farmer may be providing
an outlet for manure which he has placed on the surface
at great expense. Experiments by the late Dr. Voelcker
and others have clearly proved that, with one exception, for
which the remedy is easily applied, the loss of fertilisers
by means of the drains is inappreciable when a green crop
is on the ground; while water flowing from the drains under
a bare fallow alongside may at the same time be highly
charged with manurial matter. Hence the grass farmer is
protected, as the arable farmer cannot always be, from this
particular loss. The exception alluded to above is the possible
loss of lime—an essential constituent of plants, and one of
the substances most easily lost by the drains. This accounts
for the necessity of applying lime from time to time on
drained land which happens to be deficient in it. But
while ammonia—which, by the process known as _ nitrifica-
tion, becomes oxidised into nitric acid, and, entering into
combination with lime, forms nitrate of lime—may possibly

8 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

be wasted, it is satisfactory to remember that superphosphate
of lime and other forms of phosphoric acid are never thus
lost. Nor does it appear that potash is easily abstracted, so
that there need be no hesitation in applying these substances
from fear that they will be carried away by the drains.

It may be accepted as a general truth that grass land
should not be drained so deeply as arable land. The weight of
engines and heavy agricultural machinery has not to be allowed
for, and there is no doubt that grass can advantageously absorb
more moisture than corn crops. Further, the roots of most
grasses do not penetrate very deep, and therefore it is desirable
to have the water somewhat nearer the surface than on the
arable part of the farm.

As to the practical part of draining I need say but little.
There are tracts of country without any arterial drainage,
no river or stream being available into which drains, if laid,
could discharge their effluent. The remedy is generally
beyond the power of private individuals. Work of this
character can only be carried out by Government, or under
parliamentary sanction by companies possessing large funds.
This subject will, no doubt, one day claim attention from
statesmen. Scientific engineering has rendered the task
possible; the real difficulty lies in its cost. Meanwhile, in
such exceptional districts, pastures having no fall for drain-
pipes may be considerably improved by a system of gutter-
cutting on the surface—a practice which would often be service-
able on land subject to floods. Water should not be allowed
to lie on portions of a field after the main stream has retired
sufficiently to enable this water to flow if only a channel were
provided.

The manner in which drainage should be carried out in
any particular case depends on soil, climate, and other cir-
cumstances, which must of course be taken into account,
although they concern the details and not the principle of
the work. The difference between the rainfall in the eastern

THE DRAINAGE OF GRASS LAND 9

and western counties,’ or between the West of England and
Treland, will regulate the nearness of the lines of drains and
the size of the pipes. But these differences do not touch
the main question, whether to drain or not to drain. Soils
which rest upon a porous subsoil certainly do not need drain-
ing. Other land may be retentive, and yet lie so high, or at
such a steep inclination, that the water is discharged with
sufficient rapidity without artificial aid. Indeed, draining
may always be considered unnecessary where the best natural
grasses grow luxuriantly. With these exceptions all clay
lands, whether the clay is only in the subsoil or rises to the
surface, and all peat lands, whether the peat has clay beneath
it or not, and in fact all land which is habitually saturated with
water, must be effectually drained before a pasture of any
value can be established.

The prejudice occasionally expressed against the adoption
of a system of drainage can generally be traced to some
instance where the workmanship has been bad, or where no
care has afterwards been taken to maintain the efficiency of
the pipes, which ought not to be covered in until they have
been proved to work satisfactorily. As draining is usually put
out to contract, this matter needs close personal supervision.

It is a safe general rule not to make any single drain too
long. Plenty of fall should be given, or the pipes may not

1 The following statistics, compiled from the Reports of the Meteorological Office,
show the difference in rainfall which occurred during 1909 in various districts in Great
Britain :—

England (Highest rainfall)—Counties of Cumberland,
Westmorland, Lancaster, Chester, Derby, and

Stafford . . : ‘ < . ‘ . 88°87 inches
i (Lowest rainfall)—Counties of London, Middlesex
and adjacent on the North and East . : . 2495 ,,
Scotland—North-East ‘ , ' : : j . 31:96 ,,
rs North-West =. : : ‘ , . ABTS. ,;
Wales j : ‘ ‘ : ‘ ' ; : . 38782 ,,

The case named by Professor Ansted in his Physical Geography is still more
remarkable. He says: ‘At Seathwaite the fall is 127 in., and a few miles off, at
Bishop’s Wearmouth in Durham, on the other side of the moors, it is only 17 in.’

10 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

work well after they have been laid some time. A good fall
renders them to a considerable extent self-cleansing ; and the
small drains should not enter the large drains at right angles,
but always obliquely, so that the water may retain its momen-
tum, when the flushing after a sharp storm will prevent the
pipes from becoming choked. For short distances near hedge-
rows or trees, the use of socket pipes securely jointed with
cement—not clay—is to be strongly recommended. The slight
additional expense may save a large subsequent outlay.

As to the depth at which the pipes should be inserted,
and the distance between the rows, no definite rule can be
laid down. Experience has proved that in heavy land they
must be near together, and not too deep; but in lighter
land the lines may be comparatively far apart. It is a
common practice to cut the trenches three feet deep and
to allow a distance of fifteen feet between the rows, but
almost every field has some peculiarity of conformation or
subsoil which affects the question. After the pipes are
covered in, one man should be held responsible for periodical
examination of the outlets, to ensure their being kept in
working order.

An indurated pan, or hard mass, may have been formed
beneath the cultivated surface by the weight of the plough
and the trampling of horses during a long series of years.
A similar condition, resulting from natural causes, is found on
some heath lands, four or five inches below the surface. These
hard subsoils are as impervious to water as beds of cement.
Before putting drain-tiles into such land, an experiment
should be made to ascertain whether satisfactory drainage
cannot be obtained by breaking up the subsoil to a sufficient
depth. If the trial prove successful, the expense of putting
in tiles may be saved, and the fertility of the land will be
increased. In many cases it may be necessary both to break
up the subsoil and to lay in pipes before effectual drainage
can be secured.

11

CULTURAL PREPARATIONS

AMONG the questions which need consideration before laying
down land to grass, probably not one has received less
attention than the condition of the soil. Grass is frequently
regarded as a last resource for thoroughly exhausted land
which no longer pays for the cultivation of any other crop.
It is too often assumed that grass will grow anywhere, and
under all circumstances. Although the old and wasteful
process of allowing land to ‘go to grass’ is no longer advo-
cated to any extent, many farmers consider it sufficient to
harrow in a few seeds, and let them take their chance. The
practice is extremely mischievous, resulting in immense loss
of both time and money. No farm crop requires more care
in the preparation of the land than permanent grasses ; and
there cannot be greater folly than to sow costly seeds,
especially of the finer varieties, on land which has not been
adequately prepared to receive them.

The choice of land suitable for permanent pasture is
seldom open. Other circumstances than fitness for this pur-
pose generally determine the matter. But occasionally it does
happen that on some estate or farm there is a possibility of
selecting the fields which are to be turned into grass. The
guiding principles are few and simple. It may be accepted as
an established conclusion, that sharp sands and gravels are not
well adapted to the formation of pastures, but that heavy loams
and most strong clays are eminently suitable for grasses and
clovers, and will produce abundant crops. The fact that heavy

12 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

soils are expensive to cultivate as arable is an additional reason
why they should be laid down to grass. Again, if there be the
choice of two fields, one sloping to the north and the other to
the south, preference should be given to the former, because
it will be less liable to burn in a hot summer.

Drainage has been referred to in the preceding chapter,
and is a matter of the utmost consequence. If the land is
naturally well drained, there will be a fortunate saving of
expense, but otherwise this operation should be preliminary
to all else.

Beyond question, the very best preparation for a spring
sowing of permanent grass seeds is a bare fallow in the
previous summer. This affords the opportunity of destroying
successive crops of indigenous annual weeds, and it is im-
portant that these should be got rid of by scarifying and
dragging rather than by ploughing, for the plough is only too
certain to bring to the surface a fresh stock of weed seeds
ready to germinate in the following spring. Many influences
may aid or hinder the work, which depends not only on the
character of the soil and the previous cropping, but also on
the atmospheric conditions which prevail while the operations
are in progress. Here the advantage of a bare fallow is
realised, because the cultivator has the whole summer and
early autumn in which to accomplish the task.

Deep ploughing should be carried out first, and if sub-
soiling is considered necessary, there is all the greater reason
for doing it early. Then, by means of the scarifier and the
roller, the soil can be cleaned and so far rendered fit to
receive the seeds that in the following spring only one or
two turns with the harrow will be required to perfect the
seed-bed. There are good reasons for insisting on thorough
preparation of the land in the first instance. Careless
and half-hearted work wastes both seed and labour, and
the routine has to be attempted a second time under great
disadvantages. Causes entirely beyond human control may

CULTURAL PREPARATIONS 13

sometimes render it needful to re-sow, even after the most
earnest effort; but no one should lay himself open to the
possibility of self-reproach for having contributed to partial
failure by neglect. More of the failures in attempting to
create pastures could, if all the facts were known, be traced
directly to the unfavourable state of the soil, and to its pre-
vious cultivation, than is generally believed, and it is true
wisdom, as well as sound economy, to wait a year, or even two
years, rather than risk sowing upon soil which is foul or out
of condition.

The bare fallow, however, will be the exception ; as a rule
it cannot be afforded. In the interests of the coming pasture,
a root or potato crop is the next best preparation, and unless
the land is capable of growing a first-class crop of roots, it
will be incompetent to produce even a fair pasture. A root
crop offers the advantage that while few are disposed to
manure a bare fallow heavily, a liberal dressing of farmyard
dung will not be denied to the mangels or swedes. To
young grasses it is a great gain when the land can be made
rich and put into good heart in the preceding year, instead
of manuring immediately in advance of sowing seed. The
tender and delicate roots of the rising grass plant may
be seriously impaired by contact with crude raw manure ;
whereas they will readily assimilate a rich dressing which
has had time to become mellow, or to be absorbed into the
staple.

Supposing land to be prepared by feeding off a crop of
turnips with sheep, it may happen that the turnips have to
be supplemented with meadow hay. If so, it is important
that the hay should be only such as has been cut very early,
otherwise the ripe seeds of the least useful grasses will, as
they pass the sheep undigested, in due time spring up and
make the pasture foul. Such grasses as Holcus lanatus,
Bromus mollis, and other worthless varieties, often find their
way into a pasture in this manner.

14 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

Whether the roots are fed off during September or
October by sheep eating hay or cake—and the use of cake is
to be strongly commended—or whether the roots are carted
off during autumn, in either case the plough should be put
into the ground the moment it is at liberty. This first
ploughing must be deep and thorough, and should be quickly
followed by another ploughing to lay the land up rough for
the winter. In February, or as early as the land is workable,
get the harrow and the roller upon it until the seed-bed is fine,
firm, and level. A tenacious soil, which dries off lumpy, may
involve the expenditure of much time and energy to put it
into good order. The delay will prove tantalising, but im-
patience is a bad husbandman, and the implements must be
kept going until a satisfactory finish is obtained. It should
be remembered that few grass seeds will grow at a greater
depth than half an inch, even in fine friable soil. In cracks
and fissures they will be utterly lost. Hence a sowing on
ground which is rough is foredoomed to partial or entire
failure, and the plants which do come will be the coarser
varieties only.

Consolidation is equally important, for the young grasses
cannot obtain foothold upon a loose or hollow soil. In such a
case it is impossible to secure a perfect plant; and here again
the finer sorts will fail. It is no unusual thing to see a full
plant of grass all round the headlands of a newly-sown field,
while the centre is thin or bare. The explanation is that
the greater traffic over the headlands created a firmer seed-bed
for the grasses than was made for them elsewhere.

Even after land has been fully prepared for the seeds, it will
be all the better if allowed to lie untouched for a few days
before sowing ; but if the season is advanced waiting may be
dangerous. Otherwise the delay offers two advantages. It
allows the soil further time to settle down, and also gives the
annual weeds a chance to start, so that by a final turn of the
harrow they may be killed before the grass seeds are sown.

CULTURAL PREPARATIONS 15

Annual weeds, unfortunately, are certain to come only too
plentifully, and will demand constant attention when grass
seeds are sown without a corn crop in spring.'

As a preparation for autumn sowing, no other crop is equal
to an early variety of Potato. Earthing-up the rows exposes
a great surface to atmospheric influences, and this materially
aids the disintegration of the soil. Another point in its favour
is that the crop is generally lifted by hand, and the soil is sub-
jected to a course of spade husbandry, which, as a preparation
for grass, is superior to all other modes of cultivation. When
digging the Potato crop the labourers should fork up and
throw aside every bit of couch they come across. This will
very effectually assist the cleaning process. The only objection

1 A remarkable instance of the vitality of buried seeds was reported by a corre-
spondent in The Times of March 26, 1894. The following is a verbatim copy of the
letter :—

‘The fact that seeds of weeds, especially of annuals, are capable of retaining their
vitality for a number of years in the soil is a circumstance well known to farmers of
arable land. An objection often advanced against deep ploughing, particularly of
light soils, is that it may “bring up the charlock.” To what length of time buried
seeds may continue alive is not certainly known, but the following carefully made
observations, sent to us by Mr. S. James A. Salter, F.R.S., of Basingfield, near
Basingstoke, are well worth recording :—‘‘Twenty-four years ago I purchased this
property (Basingfield), a large portion of which was at that time arable land bearing
good crops of grain, which were, however, in a very weedy condition, the principal
weeds being charlock (Sinapis arvensis), red poppy (Papaver Rheas), and fumitory
(Fumaria officinalis). It is important to note that all three of these plants are annuals.
Tn the autumn of that year I laid the land down to grass (permanent pasture), and
it has remained so ever since. I make hay annually with the first crop of grass;
and the second I feed off with sheep. From time to time I dress the grass with
artificial manure—kainit and superphosphate. None of the before-named weeds are
ever seen unless the soil is disturbed ; but directly the surface is broken, and soil some
six or eight inches deep is brought up and exposed to atmospheric influences and light,
all three of the weeds named appear in abundance, especially the charlock and poppy.
This occurred conspicuously last year. The seeds producing these. plants had been
buried twenty-three years, but at a depth beyond vivifying influences, though still
retaining vitality. There can be no fallacy in the observation; it has occurred over and
over again. Eight years ago, after a very hard frost and a thaw, the surface of the
ground being very rotten, I had occasion to take a waggon heavily laden across this
pasture; the wheels sank deeply into the soil, and tore up the ground, bringing to the
surface much subsoil. In the spring these furrows were filled with charlocks, and
presently, when they flowered, there were two parallel yellow ribands to be seen across
the land, following the irregular course the waggon had taken. It was a most striking
sight. There was not another charlock to be seen in the field. The seeds producing
these beautiful yellow ribands had been buried fifteen years.”’

16 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

to sowing immediately after Potatoes is the difficulty of
consolidating the land; but by planting a first-early variety
the crop can be marketed in July, and before the grass seeds
are sown in August a persistent use of the harrow and roller
will do much to make a firm seed-bed.

It will now be proper to refer to some of the emergencies
which arise when land must be laid away to grass at the
earliest possible moment, whether in a fit condition for the
purpose or not. One of the commonest instances is that of a
clover ley which it is desired to turn into a permanent pasture.
There is a natural feeling of reluctance to break up the clover
plant, and the hope is indulged that grass seeds will take upon
it. The objections to this course are many and serious,
although they are not always insurmountable. Possibly
indigenous weeds have already such a hold of the ground as
to afford very little chance of the grasses making head against
them ; and in soil crowded with clover roots the young grasses
have not a fair opportunity of establishing themselves. Still,
however undesirable the practice of turning a ley into a
permanent pasture must ever remain, necessity knows no law,
and sometimes this unpromising experiment is crowned with
success. ‘Those who leave much to chance will deserve and
obtain a poor result; but the man who is persistent and
determined to succeed will often secure an adequate return for
his labour and outlay. The chief inducement to make the
attempt is the probable saving of a considerable expense in
breaking up the land and getting it ready to sow down again.

Vigorous harrowing in the autumn is the first process
in converting an old ley, and it must be no child’s play.
There is not the least cause for alarm in the apparent wreck
of the standing plant. The more ruthlessly it is torn the
better chance will there be for the grass seeds, and the more
satisfactory the ultimate pasture. Follow up with a top-
dressing of cake-fed manure or compost early in the winter, and
the land will then, although only in a limited and imperfect

CULTURAL PREPARATIONS 17

degree, be prepared to receive the grass seeds in the following
spring. Of course the old clover plants afford shelter to the
newly-sown grasses.

So little remains to be said on this part of the subject
that perhaps it will be convenient to dispose of it at once,
although the question of seeding does not properly belong
to this chapter. As to the choice of seeds, it is mere waste
to sow fine or weak growing varieties on an old clover ley.
The adverse circumstances of the case will afford them little
chance of struggling into life, to say nothing of a profitable
existence. The sorts selected must be the stronger and
more robust of the perennial grasses, and the seed should
be got in early, before the clover has time to shoot vigorously
in spring. Accomplish the task in February if possible ; bush-
harrow after sowing, and as a finish put the roller twice over
every part of the field.

Another plan I have personally adopted, with success, has
been to feed the second crop of a clover ley in August with
sheep eating cake, sowing the grass seeds among the clover in
front of the sheep, and leaving them to trample in the seeds
and manure the land as they eat off the crop. It is important
not to sow in the early morning, or at any time when the
standing plant is wet, or the seeds will adhere to the clover
and be eaten’ by the sheep, instead of falling to the ground to
be trodden in.

Other instances of a similar character might be cited, but
as they only need some modification of the method already
explained, it may be enough to say that I have known tolerably
successful pastures to be formed on an old Sainfoin ley, a
worn-out Lucerne plant, a three or four years’ ley, and even
on clean Barley and Oat stubbles, without ploughing or using
any other implement than the harrow, the seed-barrow, and
the roller.

A different but very frequent case of emergency is that
of a piece of glebe or other land that has been neglected for

e

18 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

many years until it has become a perfect mat of black twitch
(Alopecurus agrestis). In despair of cleaning it at a reasonable
cost, the rector or owner decides to allow it to ‘ go to grass,’ as
hundreds of acres have actually gone. Wisely, itis considered
desirable to give Nature some assistance, but it is almost a
misnomer to dignify that assistance by the name of prepara-
tion. In this instance also the routine previously advised
is applicable. Rigorous harrowing in autumn, a heavy top-
dressing during winter, and the sowing of suitable strong-
growing seeds in early spring, are the means by which the
most profitable results can be ensured. I know many cases
where this rough-and-ready treatment has been followed by
a fairly paying plant. Especially may improving crops be
anticipated when the land is continuously manured, or where
grazing cattle are liberally assisted with artificial food.

19

THe SELACTION OF GRASSES AND
CLOVERS

ALL the operations which concern the making of a pasture are
important, but it is no exaggeration to say that a judicious
selection of the various grasses and clovers which are to
constitute the crop may be justly regarded as vital to success.
Failure here means the waste of all other energies, for it is
worse than useless to incur the labour and expense of establish-
ing plants which are not wanted. However good they may
be elsewhere, they will be no better than weeds if they fail to
answer the required purpose. The choice of suitable seeds has
provoked greater conflict of opinion, both among theorists and
practical men, than aught else, and in my opinion the main
cause of the controversy arises from the attempt to deduce
large inferences from small experience. The laying down of
land to grass is only an occasional incident on most farms—
perhaps it would be correct to say on most estates. It is the
exception to find persons who are able to speak from experience
based upon actual practice over more than a very limited area.
Yet the man who has achieved a single success in laying
down land may write to a daily or weekly newspaper, or
deliver a speech at a local farmers’ club, from which it
might be assumed that the agriculturists of the United
Kingdom will find in a particular mixture of seeds the
preventive of all the ills to which grass lands are subject.
A little knowledge on laying down land is a very dangerous
thing. No prescription, however excellent every one of the
c2

20 PERMIANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

varieties which compose it may be, can by any possibility be
suitable for universal application. The attempt to put forward
even a first-class mixture of grasses for all soils and all
purposes savours essentially of empiricism. Those who possess
the widest experience on this subject are least inclined to lay
down rigid rules. Land agents who have had the manage-
ment of large estates in various parts of the country, and
who have had greater opportunities for extensive observation
than most men, are exceedingly careful to consider differences
of soil, subsoil, and the purpose to which each individual
pasture is to be devoted; and their success is chiefly attri-
butable to the wise application of general knowledge to special
cases.

It may be interesting to recall some of the extraordinary
statements which have been made in public journals and at
local farmers’ clubs as to the value of certain grasses. Several
years ago it was confidently declared that Italian Rye Grass
should not only be grown alone and in alternate leys, but that
no permanent pasture could be successful which did not
contain a large proportion of it. After this assertion had been
fully discussed and proved to be erroneous, there was a rebound
to the other extreme. It was freely affirmed that Italian Rye
Grass degenerated into twitch, and was therefore untit for
cultivation. There can scarcely be a doubt that samples of
this grass containing seeds of twitch have been sown, but this
pest has never been produced by pure seed of Italian Rye
Grass. I entirely agree with those who hold that Italian
should as a rule be excluded from mixtures which are
intended to form permanent meadows or pastures, and I also
concur in the general consensus of opinion among practical
men that as a forage plant Italian Rye Grass has a high value
either sown alone or as a component of ley mixtures.

Among the grasses which have provoked great diversity
of opinion, Cocksfoot affords a conspicuous example. Instead
of being reserved for those soils and purposes for which it

THE SELECTION OF GRASSES AND CLOVERS 21

possesses an undoubted value, it has been recommended for
the production of high-class hay everywhere, and even for
sowing on geological formations for which it is totally unsuited.
Excellent pastures have been literally ruined by the introduc-
tion of Cocksfoot. Alternate leys on the Chiltern Hills, where
Rye Grass and Clover had previously answered well, have, by
the introduction of Cocksfoot, yielded almost unsaleable hay,
and, having once been allowed to seed, the Cocksfoot has
proved difficult to eradicate. Those who are familiar with the
art of forestry are well aware that it would be futile to
attempt to grow elm timber on sandy land, or larch on land
which is only fit for Scotch fir. Had the laying down of grass
received the careful attention which has been devoted to
forestry, it would be considered just as unreasonable to sow
any one species of grass on all soils and for all purposes, as to
recommend elm trees to be planted everywhere.

The sowing of Poas has been condemned as unnecessary
because it happened that some varieties of Poa were indigenous
where the experiment was made. But a New England farmer
will not hesitate to sow Poa pratensis alone, and long experi-
ence has proved that he does not prize this grass too highly.
On the other hand, in certain districts of New Zealand, where
Poa pratensis develops a troublesome twitch-like habit of the
worst character, the suggestion that it should be sown at all
would only provoke an expression of incredulous amazement.
Surely such a widely different estimate of the value of a single
variety may well suggest a doubt as to the universal adaptation
of any one kind of grass to all soils and districts. Those
who possess the largest knowledge, obtained from the widest
sources, agree that each individual case must be considered
independently and on its own merits. From the beginning
there should be a clear understanding of the condition and
capabilities of the soil. The subsoil, too, must be taken into
account, for sooner or later its influence will tell decisively
upon the existence of certain grasses. Then the purpose of

22 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

the crop must not be overlooked. Whether it is chiefly for
hay, or entirely for grazing, will prove an important considera-
tion in determining the sorts to be sown. Even the kind of
cattle the land is intended to carry is worth more than a passing
thought. Mulch cows, fatting stock, sheep and horses, or a
combination of these animals, can be provided for, if proper
care be taken in the selection of grasses and clovers.

In succeeding chapters the various plants, seeds of which
are generally sown for permanent pastures and alternate
husbandry, are described, with their relative value, fitness for
certain purposes, and such other particulars as indicate the
sorts and proportions to be used on the different soils and
under the conditions usually prevailing in this country. In so
complex a subject it is not easy to make the selection in any
case. But I am anxious, as far as may lie in my power, to
prevent a repetition of the costly blunders which have too
often been made in this branch of British agriculture. With
this object in view six typical prescriptions of Grasses, Clovers.
&c. for various soils are given on the following page.

23

ce: c=
4b
Ea |

rt

POD
ra OD ri 23

Ne

6-0

aaoe sa
"490 10,7

samog daayg

|
|

: (1OA0TO OFT AA [BIUUOELAT)
(40A0| Por, [eruuea0g)

(19A0],) Surppoug)
*(qOAOTD OYISTY)

(ssv4) MOPBOTT Poyx[eys-IN0yT)
(ssv1x) MOpBe, poxyTeys-TJOOUTG)

* (S8BLD MOPBETT POOM)

* — (Ayyounry)
(Kopsreq 8,deoyg)
; * (arogureg)
; ‘(ousoon'T)
({rogaay, MOTTO X)

({LOfory, YOOJSpAtG 107'BE1x))

0-00T 0-00T 0-00T 0-00T | 0-00T
GG 8% 6-9 F9 LG
ok GP 8-8 6-6 LP
GG oar ai =
a 6G GG VG UP
= GIT — 6-9 GIT
6-6 a GIT GG —
L-8 am 6. 6-4 —
8G LTT GG 8-0T | 9-1T
9-0 ae aa — as
10 _ ~ — =
0-1 ae ae aa =
VG 0% TS OT FG
—_ 0 aa —- 4
6-0 a 6-0 7 =F
9-FT GET 9-61 GIT 0-31
BY mare 9:9 TG | a
GL 6-9 G8 9-8 L-8
Gh GG 6-9 &% GG
GT 87 = SG | OP
8-L GS PY 6G 0G
8G GPT T-9 8-6 0-81
8G VT 9-6 6-1 PT
GG a LG &G ( GS
cat a | 6-1 LT LT
LL 9ET | 0-8 6-6 GIT
- ex || FE Ot 4 i
6-0 = 0-T 6-0 ane
aron god aaov rad | aaoe rad eroe sad | alot Jad
8d 19, “quad 19g “quad Jag ‘quao dag {| *9uad Jag
yreqo tao | slog STOTT slog Aumeo0T smevory
Wavy wunipw | daa yout

stiog Ayseag | fey Aavar

({royory, JOOsprtq)

(sseaxy oy Teruuerog)

* (ono#oyT pox)
(anose,y MopBeyy)
fonose,y 8,dooyg)

* (enose,t 11%)

* (ondse,] pre _)
(joozsxyoo9 Yysnoyy)
(Tr24850q poysorp)
(S84) 48Q AOT[OX)
((eur9 A 4o0Mg)
(reqxX0,q Mopeey[)
"+ (ator)
((HOF[TT 10 ‘moze x)

euuesed sttodox timi[o}14y,
euuesod osuoyvad UMIT[OJIAy,
SNULUL WAUT[OJLLT,
taMpraqAy WINIPOFLAT,
BITCIATI} BOT

sisueyead Bog

SITVIOUIOU BOT

astoyerd MMOL

TAN UT[O80190 7 TUNABL)
BATYBS stoLIqoUCQ

BATYES OSVIIPOP,
eurpndny osuorpe yi

xofeur snjo'y
snye[NolUI0o snyory
euuesed tumi1[ory

Aqua GON489,J

sisuoyead von4se,T

BUIAO BON4SOT

TOMB BONS WT
BTNOSsniinp Bonysa,7
eyeromIo[s st[Aqovq
snyeqsi19 snansoudy
SUBOSOART] VUOAW
TuUNnye1OpO TUNTYWeKOyUY
sisueyead snamoedo[y
BAQJIUOTOIS SIBOLT VY

TUM POP TEAL BOTTTOV

SIOAO[O PUB SOSsBAT) JO FAIJOLIV A

ramod Suryeururs03

qsoySiy oy} Jo oq 07 pedosd puv emd Apoojzod ‘ysoaavy ysel oyy Aq poonpoid pees ysouy on} st Ajor1wA YORo yey pus ‘o10% aod ‘sq] OF JO
Surpoos [e40} BoTIMsSe MOTEG SOT{E} OY} “IDIOM OY} OF SY “SSVIL) MOD YIM IOAOTD OFTT MA surredutos Aq uses oq ACUI SB ‘SLOACT) UT PUNO] st
aoUeIeYIp ouIeS OT, “ssVINH MOPLET PoeyTeys-Tyoomg puv yoojsyooH 10 ‘AyJOUITT, puv ondse,T MOpPBET 8B Yons sosHBIY) OMY JO sordures
Sumeduros fq pooyszopum ApULsur oq TTL SGT, “poopul opra AqaA st couereyIp oY} Sosvo OUIOS UT PUB ‘punod sed spoes jo toquimu anyjroois
@ UTEIUTOD SOOIIVA OM} ON “TOS Jo puny Aue ro oTGeyIns ore yoryAr syuerd Jo suotjz0dord oy} AToyenooe JuIy~e4s Jo poyyotu ATUO OY] ST STILT,
‘qysiem Aq you ‘aaquinu hq poos jo suorzodord oy} 0} xoyor seInSY I} SIOACTO puv sossviny Jo suordrsosead pwordéy SuLMOT[OF oy} UT

‘SUHAOT) UNV SASSVUD AO

SNOLLdIUISaAdd TVIId AL

24 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES
(GRAMINE:)

AGROSTIS ALBA—VAR. STOLONIFERA
(Fiorin, or Creeping Bent Grass).

Tuts plant thrives in spongy soil which is not firm enough to
produce ordinary herbage, and in land which cannot be drained
it will get a living where other grasses perish. In moun-
tainous districts where rain falls frequently and abundantly,
and the atmosphere is moist, Fiorin grows freely, both on light
land and on peat. The plant affords very early feed in spring,
but the chief value lies in its continued growth late in autumn.
Fiorin has been pastured as late as the middle of December.
If not eaten down in autumn the herbage in the following
spring is sweet and wholesome food for young stock. One
disadvantage is the liability of the panicles to become ergoted ;
another, that where Fiorin exists in large proportion the turf
looks brown for some time after the hay has been cut.

Although this grass has the peculiarity of rooting from the
procumbent nodes of the stem, especially in pastures much
trodden by cattle, it is not dependent alone upon the surface
soil for support. In suitable situations the roots penetrate
the subsoil to a considerable depth, and a series of rainy
summers always creates a demand for seed out of proportion
to its value, but when hot dry years return Fiorin is quite
as unreasonably condemned.

The Agrostis family is generally deficient in nutritive
value, and although 4. alba stolonifera is regarded as an
exception, and has been highly recommended by several

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 25

authorities, I do not concur in the opinion that it should
invariably be included in ordinary prescriptions, if only for the
reason that the true variety is not always to be depended on
from a sowing of seed. The method of securing Fiorin by
obtaining plants from land where it grows indigenously, cutting
up the long trailing roots, and planting them in prepared
ground, is far too costly a process.

Some of the other forms of Agrostis, such as 4. vulgaris,
A. dispar, A. capillaris, A. alba, and A. nigra, are known to
be inferior to the true Fiorin, and the seeds of these cannot
always be certainly distinguished, even by a botanist, from
those of A. stolonifera. A. vulgaris is the Common Bent, and
is usually regarded as a weed grass, although it is occasionally
sown for a purpose outside farming. A. alba is the worthless
Marsh Bent, and is never sown: neither is of the least value
as fodder.

In the absence of the flowering panicle, Agrostis alba
stolonifera is easily recognised at all seasons of the year by the
short leafy branches which burst through the sheath at each
node of the numerous stolons. The ligule is long and pointed,
and sometimes serrated at the margin. .

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 148 and 149.

ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS
(Meadow Foxtail).

Of the native species of -flopecurus, this is the only
one which is used for agricultural purposes, and it is justly
regarded as one of the most important grasses we possess.
Cattle show great partiality for it, and chemical tests reveal
its high nutritive qualities. oxtail is thoroughly perennial in
character, and does not attain complete development until three
years after seed is sown. The full value of the plant cannot,
therefore, be realised in alternate husbandry unless the ley is
to remain down more than two years. Even then Cocksfoot

26 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

is preferable for temporary pastures, although it is less
nutritious than Foxtail. The latter is, in fact, essentially a
landlord’s grass, for which he may willingly pay in the full
assurance that the future of the pasture will justify the outlay.

Foxtail begins to bloom about the middle of April, but
by the third week of May it is practically in full flower, and
should there be a sufficient proportion of it in a meadow to
warrant early mowing, the crop ought to be cut; for although
ripening does not, as is the case with néarly all other grasses,
seriously deteriorate the quality, it is wasteful to allow the bulk
of its palatable and nourishing herbage to be shrivelled up and
lost on the ground while other varieties are maturing. The
necessity for early cutting should influence the proportion of
Foxtail included in a prescription for a meadow, but in laying
down a pasture this consideration need not be entertained.
After taking a crop, it is one of the quickest grasses to
commence growing, shooting up its green herbage before other
varieties make a start, and in bulk the aftermath frequently
exceeds the early growth.

One characteristic which gives Meadow Foxtail a high
value is the immense amount of leafy herbage produced in
proportion to the quantity of stalk, and for this reason the
extent of its presence in a pasture often remains unsuspected.
The early growth is also in its favour. Other conditions being
equal, a pasture which contains Foxtail in abundance will carry
stock ten days in advance of a pasture in which it is wanting.
These facts have doubtless suggested the idea that Foxtail
is peculiarly a pasture grass, but it yields so good a crop, of
such excellent quality, that it is almost of equal service for
making into hay. As one of the few grasses that thrive under
trees, it should be plentifully used in sowing down orchards
and shady pastures.

In the North, Meadow Foxtail is not much sown for hay,
because in high latitudes the culms seed long before other
herbage is fit for the scythe. Otherwise this grass is as well

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 27

adapted to Scotland as to the North of Europe generally.
There is scarcely a forage plant known which endures cold so
well, and spring frosts do it little harm. Even in the severest
winters, when other grasses suffer much damage, Foxtail re-
mains comparatively uninjured. The distribution of the plant
in this country is very unequal. In Devonshire it is un-
common, and in South Wales rarely seen, but it is plentiful
in most of the alluvial meadows bordering the greater rivers
of England. Where this grass is entirely wanting I should
scruple to recommend the sowing of any quantity in new
pastures; but the great excellence of the herbage renders a
trial on a limited scale desirable.

Sometimes Foxtail is carelessly mistaken for Timothy,
but, besides other differences, the former comes to maturity
quite a month before the latter. Both flourish in strong soils,
and a stiff loam or clay is necessary to fully develop the fine
qualities of Foxtail, and to maintain the herbage in a green
state during hot dry weather. On well-drained retentive land
the growth is very luxuriant, and during prolonged rain a
heavy crop may be beaten down, when the plant is liable to
rot at the roots. This fact again points to the necessity of
mowing in good time. Although it is useless to sow seed on
undrained land, this is one of the best grasses known for land
under irrigation, and the water-meadows in the South of
England, in which it grows freely, produce immense crops.

On very dry soils Foxtail is so stunted and diminutive as
almost to lose its distinctive characteristics; but even under
such conditions it may sometimes be worth using in small pro-
portion, and wet seasons will prove that this is not a mistaken
policy. In parks and paddocks surrounding residences, where
a green appearance and constant growth are important, seed
should be sown freely. The result will gratify the eye of the
proprietor and benefit the cattle which graze upon the pasture.

True seed of Alopecurus pratensis is generally expensive,
and it is so light and delicate in formation as to need

28 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

exceedingly well-prepared land to ensure vegetation. Unfor-
tunately, the stiff soils which specially suit Foxtail are the
most difficult to make fine in time for sowing. But for this
grass alone it is worth a strenuous effort to get the land into
good order.

The short, degenerated, truncate ligule, and the long,
broad, prominently veined leaves, together with the involute
character of the emerging leaf, distinguish this species in the
absence of its flowering spike-like panicle. A further aid to
identity is the dark brown or violet sheath.

Experiments at Rothamsted and Kidmore prove that
nitrate of soda and mineral salts have a marvellous effect upon
the growth of Foxtail. It assimilates larger quantities of
manure than many other grasses, and differs from Cocksfoot in
the fact that the latter appears to benefit more from ammonia
salts than from nitrate of soda, whereas Foxtail does equally
well with both.

Most of the seed imported into England comes from
Southern Russia. The German seed sold at Breslau is imma-
ture and grows badly. Occasionally very fine samples are
obtained from Sweden, but the best seed of all is Dutch ; and
although the most careful botanist can detect no difference
between the seed grown in Holland and that obtained from
other countries, the Dutch seed produces a much more robust
as well as an earlier plant.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 150 and 151.

AMMOPHILA ARUNDINACEA (Host.)
PSAMMA ARENARIA (R. & S.)
(Sea Reed, Marrem, or Mat Grass).

An Act passed in the reign of Elizabeth, and renewed
in the reign of George II., prohibited the pulling up of
this plant, or the destruction of it in any other way. Like

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 29

Elymus arenarius, it is used for fixing sand on the sea-coast,
but it possesses no feeding value, and is rejected by all
herbivorous animals. The name of Mat Grass arises from
its being employed as a material for mats. It also makes
excellent thatch. The time of flowering is July.

ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM

(Sweet-scented Vernal).

A very distinct species, grown chiefly for the pleasant
odour it imparts to the hay crop, which enhances the price of
the hay. It is only when the grass is dry that the fragrance
is fully distinguishable. So marked is this quality that in the
South of Europe an extract is obtained from the plant which
is used in the manufacture of scent. This is one of the earliest
grasses to start growing in spring, and it comes into full flower
at the beginning of May. The plant is a true perennial,
exceedingly hardy, and continues growing until late in autumn,
so that the aftermath is actually much larger in bulk, as well as
more nutritious, than the first crop. This fact clearly indicates
that Sweet Vernal is quite as valuable for grazing as for cutting.
Another characteristic of this grass is the brilliant green colour
of the herbage ; hence seed should be included in mixtures for
ornamental grounds in larger proportion than would be reason-
able if the quantity of hay or grass were of primary con-
sideration ; while, for the park, especially round a mountain
home, it is invaluable. But to sow the seed for lawns is a
mistake, although it has been recommended for that purpose.
The leaves are too broad and flat, and look unsightly in a
sward that is kept down close.

Sweet Vernal grows abundantly in some parts of Devon!
and in the Eastern Counties, and the plants invariably thrive

1 A gentleman in South Devon has written me concerning Anthoranthum

odoratum as follows :—
‘This grass grows wild in this neighbourhood in the hedgerows, and cattle are

30 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

better in pastures among other varieties than when two of
them happen to be contiguous. On deep, rich, moist soils this
grass grows luxuriantly, and on marshy land it throws up
flower-culms all through the summer. In wet, peaty land the
growth is so large and reed-like as to deceive those who are not
experienced botanists. Sweet Vernal also thrives under the
shade of trees and does remarkably well under irrigation. Yet,
strange to say, it grows freely on thin moors and sandy dunes,
and appears to be capable of living in soil which will not
support any other useful grass.

When out of flower the plant is easily recognised by its
sweet-smelling, short, broad leaves, as well as by the fringe of
long hairs which surround the neat, obtuse ligule. The leaves,
too, are somewhat hairy on both upper and lower surfaces.
By masticating the stalk a lavender-like flavour can be
detected.

The agreeable perfume imparted to hay by Sweet Vernal
has created a demand for seed out of all proportion to the
supply. Seed is gathered by hand from plants growing
wild in the woods and clearings of Central Germany, and
only a very small quantity is sent to this country. Hence
the frequent substitution of the annual species A. Puelii,
which is every year largely exported from Hamburg under
the name of Sweet-scented Vernal. This grass (4. Puweli),
which is not a native of Britain, cannot be made partially
permanent even by the process of cutting, for it flowers
all the summer long, and if prevented from seeding at hay
time, the flower-heads are thrown up later, and, as cattle
do not relish them, seed is produced and the plant dies. It
is therefore extremely important to secure the true perennial
Anthoxanthum odoratum, which is, and always must be, a
costly seed.

fond of it in the winter months. It has the merit of shooting very early in the spring.
Towards the end of February, after a few days of mild and moist weather, it
commenced to sprout strongly, and I observed that all kinds of cattle preferred it to
other grasses.’

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 31

Although manure is not directly injurious to Sweet
Vernal, indirectly it destroys this grass by enabling other
varieties to elbow the plant out of existence.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 152 and 153.

AVENA FLAVESCENS
(Yellow Oat Grass).

This grass is not nearly so well known or appreciated as
it deserves. It prospers in marl and calcareous soil, and in
all light land rich in humus, particularly in that which contains
lime. The forage is of good quality, and is greedily taken by
cattle.

lvena flavescens does not flower until midsummer. In
the Thames Valley it contributes no inconsiderable portion of
the herbage of the water-meadows, and over the South of
England it affords a fair quantity for the scythe at hay time,
while the aftermath is abundant. The leaves are pale green ;
flowers golden yellow, and they show conspicuously.

In the absence of the flower the plentiful supply of soft
deflexed hairs upon the lower sheaths, together with the
ciliated ligule, are characteristics by which this grass may be
recognised. In a favourable light the low acute ribs of the
blade are clearly visible, and a single row of hairs is discernible
along each rib.

The seed of Yellow Oat Grass is always expensive,
and is sometimes difficult to obtain in sufficient quantity.
Probably many of the adverse opinions expressed concerning this
variety have resulted from sowing in its stead that pestilent
weed Aira flewuosa (Wavy Hair Grass), the seed of which is
not altogether dissimilar from that of Avena flavescens, but has
often been sold for it by those who are not familiar with the
true article. Seed of the latter, however carefully saved, only
germinates moderately well, and the high price necessitates its
sparing use. When arranging the prescription for a pasture

32 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

a full seeding of other grasses must be given, and then, if
expense be no object, a pound or two of Avena flavescens may
be added.

Both at Rothamsted and Kidmore this grass has shown
itself capable of holding its own very fairly without any
manure at all. Nitrate of soda and mineral manures, however,
considerably augment the produce.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 154 and 155.

AVENA ELATIOR

(Holcus avenaceus ; Arrhenatherum avenaceum).

Tall Oat Grass, or False Oat Grass, is known by all these
names ; and in Dauphiné, where it is very much grown,
especially for seed, it is called Fromental. Sinclair recom-
mended this grass for agricultural purposes; but, notwith-
standing his favourable opinion, it has not in this country
received the attention it deserves. At one time, no doubt, its
value was overestimated, and, in the reaction which naturally
followed, the grass was consigned to undeserved neglect.
Possibly the somewhat bitter taste, and the aversion which
cattle at first display towards it when grown alone, may
account for the indifference shown to it in England, although
when mingled with other grasses the slightly bitter flavour is
not apparent. On the Continent, and especially in Sweden,
where it is largely cultivated, both cattle and sheep take it
freely. Its value for cold northern countries is indisputable,
but a warm climate is necessary to fully develop its great
merits. In the Southern States of North America it is
known by the names of Evergreen Grass and French Rye
Grass, and is regarded as one of the very finest grasses for
producing an immense weight of herbage, far surpassing
Timothy in the abundance of its crop. The roots penetrate
so deeply into the soil as to enable the plant to withstand both
cold and drought.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 83

Tall Oat Grass may be grown almost everywhere, but it
is seen to least advantage on poor thin land. On good light
and medium soils, as well as in all forms of clay, if not too
damp, it grows from two to four feet high. In warm forcing
situations it produces two heavy crops of hay in one season,
and will continue to throw a blade until autumn frosts appear.

The plant starts into growth very early in spring, and
after the crop has been mown there is one peculiarity which
must be borne in mind, or much waste may result. When cut
this grass absorbs moisture in the same manner as Trifolium
ancarnatum, and therefore hay containing it must be got into
rick as rapidly as possible. As the stems are not succulent,
Avena elatior can quickly be made into hay, which keeps
particularly well.

For permanent pastures this grass cannot always be
regarded as suitable, on account of its uncertain duration on
some soils, and there is also the objection that the herbage
is extremely coarse.

The long, smooth, narrow, deep green leaves, the youngest
of which are tightly twisted or rolled throughout their length,
together with the truncate hairy ligule and keeled sheath,
enable a student to determine this species when the flowering
panicle is absent.

The rapid growth of .dvena elatior makes the plant a gross
feeder, and it will absorb any reasonable quantity of manure,
especially of the nitrogenous class.

When sown in autumn a much larger produce is obtained
in the following year than from a spring sowing.

A weed variety of this grass, growing in arable land, is
characterised by the formation of a bulb-like growth in the
ground, just above the root, and is known by the name of
Onion Couch. Tall Oat Grass has no resemblance to Avena
fatua, the Wild Oat Grass or Havers, which is a weed of corn-
fields, and is much like the cultivated oat in appearance.

34 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

BROMUS INERMIS

(Annless Brome Grass, or Hungarian Forage Grass).

In the South-east of Europe Hungarian Forage Grass is
much used and produces an extraordinary amount of fodder.
The plant is also largely grown in several parts of North
America, where it endures both heat and cold, thriving where
no other grass of any value can be relied on. In this country
it is not indigenous, but all kinds of stock eat it greedily, even
in preference to Italian Rye Grass. Compared with that grass,
Bromus inermis starts earlier in spring, yields quite double the
crop at the first cut, and the analysis made by Dr. J. Augustus
Voelcker shows the Bromus to be the richer in albuminoids
and nitrogen.

The plant is perennial, grows rapidly, and yields an
immense quantity of succulent herbage. Seed is usually sown
alone for a forage crop, but unfortunately the germination in
the open is rather capricious, even after the usual tests have
proved satisfactory.

BROMUS SCHREDERI
(Schreeder’s Brome Grass).

Although Bromus Schrederi is not a native of Britain, and
cannot claim to be strictly perennial, it is a valuable forage
plant, remarkable for its habit of free growth in early spring
and late autumn. The coarse herbage is very sweet, nutritious,
and is readily eaten by stock. Constant mowing or grazing
is the secret of successful culture, and the growth should not
be allowed to attain a greater height than eighteen or twenty
inches ; four or five crops will then be produced in a year. In
warm moist seasons especially its usefulness will be manifested.
Several years ago I saw a field of Schrader’s Brome Grass
which kept an extraordinary head of sheep penned on it. The

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 35

crop was ready again at one end of the field as soon as the
sheep had finished at the other.

The roots feed on the surface, and the plant will thrive on
the thinnest soil. So vigorous is the growth that weeds are
crowded out, and in my opinion Bromus Schreederi has not
been cultivated in England to the extent it deserves.

This is the Prairie Grass of Australia, and is of immense
value as a fodder crop in the arid districts of that country.
It will therefore be inferred that wherever drought is prevalent,
especially for long periods, it is desirable that an experimental
plot should be sown, as the plant may prove to be of great
service.

CYNOSURUS CRISTATUS
(Crested Dogstail).

One of the chief grasses of British agriculture. Asso-
ciated with Hard Fescue and Sheep’s Fescue it may be said
to compose the best of our sheep pastures. It constitutes a
valuable bottom grass, and is supposed to exercise a beneficial
influence in the prevention of foot-rot. Certain it is that
sheep show great partiality for the leaves, eating them down
so closely that there would be a danger of the plant being
exterminated were it not for the fact that the seed-culms soon
become hard, and are then rejected by the animals, with the
result that seed is matured and shed copiously almost every
season. Superficial observers have occasionally misnamed these
stalks ‘ bents,’ and have depreciated the grass accordingly. Up
to the time of forming seed these stalks do no harm, but the
actual production of seed interferes greatly with the aftermath.
To prevent this injury it is sometimes worth while to put the
mower over the pasture in the early part of July to take off
the rising culms.

At the time the crop is cut the herbage of Dogstail is too
small to make much difference in the weight of hay, and the

p2

36 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

fact has been urged as an objection to the sowing of seed. The
answer is, that this is distinctly a grazier’s grass. In all the
most celebrated natural sheep pastures of the country its value
for grazing is shown by the extraordinary growth in August,
when other grasses are giving up.

On lawns and pleasure-grounds the fine evergreen grass
is especially prized; and in deer parks Dogstail should be
liberally used, for deer are, if possible, more fond of it than
sheep.

Cynosurus thrives in compact soil and will endure con-
ditions under which few other grasses can exist. The roots
are hard, and as they penetrate deep the plant is naturally
adapted for dry soils, and can withstand drought. Still I have
seen it growing luxuriantly on tenacious clays, especially near
the sea. Cynosurus forms a conspicuous proportion of the rich
pastures in Romney Marsh and other low-lying parts of Kent,
and it is remarkable that a grass which does so well in such
situations should also find a congenial home on thin upland
pastures. On dry loams with a chalk subsoil seed should be
sown freely. In fact, there is hardly any soil in the kingdom
for which the plant is unsuited. Full maturity is not reached
until the second or third year.

The following description of the foliage will aid in deter-
mining the presence of Crested Dogstail in pastures. Lower
sheaths yellowish white; leaves tapering from base to tip ;
under surface of leaves glossy ; young leaves folded on the
mid-rib ; ligule truncate.

At Rothamsted and Kidmore Cynosurus cristatus appeared
to thrive equally well on the unmanured plots and on the plots
dressed with mineral manures alone. The plant manifested
antipathy for ammonia salts, and an appreciation of nitrate of
soda.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 156 and 157.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 37

DACTYLIS GLOMERATA
(Rough Cocksfoot).

Cocksfoot is indigenous in hedgerows and ditches in almost
all parts of England, and is one of the most widely distributed
of all the grasses, but prior to the introduction from the United
States in the eighteenth century, it does not appear to have
been sown for agricultural purposes. The plant shows con-
siderable variations in character in different soils and situations.
On dry calcareous land this grass is stunted and wiry, while
in fertile valleys and rich land it grows to an immense size.
Its proper place is on good, strong, damp soils in low-lying
districts, where a great quantity of leafy herbage is produced.
In such lands the culms do not change so quickly to woody
fibre as on drier soils, and the stalks are eaten down by stock
with greater relish. Even on the land which best suits this
grass I would sow less of it than is generally advised, and
substitute larger proportions of Meadow Fescue and Foxtail.
For Cocksfoot is an unsightly grass, growing in great tufts ; the
foliage is harsh to the touch, and the coarse hard stems, two or
three feet high, are not only objectionable to the eye, but they
prevent the hay from fetching top market price, and the flower-
heads are extremely liable to ergot. Besides, the aftermath
of Cocksfoot is inferior in quality to that of Foxtail, and on
thin soils, in a dry season, the former is often very much
withered by rust.

It has been asserted that an acre of Cocksfoot will
sustain twice as many sheep as an acre of Timothy. This may
be true of the early growth, but it certainly does not hold good
of the later crop, for the productiveness of the two grasses is
nearly reversed after midsummer.

Some years ago a writer gave Cocksfoot greater prominence
than older authorities assigned to it. Asa result old pastures

38 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

have unfortunately been ruined by a sowing of the seed,
and new pastures have had to be broken up because this grass
was sown in too great proportion. Concerning the immense
cropping power on strong moist soils there cannot be two
opinions ; but the plant does not endure long-continued drought
so well as Foxtail, and is entirely out of place in upland
meadows. When a fine hay crop is the chief desideratum,
Cocksfoot should be omitted altogether, and its place be filled
by Meadow Fescue.

The valuable qualities of Cocksfoot are even better
realised in a three or four years’ ley than in a permanent
pasture.’ With Rye Grass and Clover it forms a superior
feeding ley, and yields a very bulky crop for consumption on
the farm, where coarseness is not objectionable. Full maturity
is not attained until the second year.

Cocksfoot comes into flower in June, and meadows in
which it abounds must be cut early, so that the flowering culms
may be in a young stage of growth. After early cutting,
the plant quickly starts again, and while tender the herbage is
much relished by all kinds of cattle. Mere size or coarseness
is not a standard of excellence, for a smaller crop of Cocksfoot
from a rich, light loam has been proved by analysis to be more
than equivalent to a heavier crop taken from fen land, and the
quality is always higher before flowering than after the seed
has been developed. Experiments show that in April ten per
cent. of the herbage of this grass consisted of nutritive matter :
while at midsummer the proportion was only about three and
one-third per cent. These are important facts to be borne in
mind in laying down a new pasture. ‘To make Cocksfoot into
hay at the end of April, however, would necessitate the sowing

1 The Swiss authority, Dr. F. G. Stebler, is very emphatic on this point. He says:
‘Tt is chiefly in temporary meadows that it is most advantageous. Yet if sown too
largely at first it has the same fault as if sown alone, forming cushions, and consequently
an unequal turf. It is better to begin by sowing but little, and, after allowing other
sorts to develop properly, to sow a little more later. Only in exceptional cases is it
necessary to sow more than 15 per cent. at first. A good rolling is very beneficial in
spring. This levels the tufts.’

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 39

of this grass alone, because other varieties are not ready for
cutting at that time; and Cocksfoot manifests such a strong
tendency to grow in clumps, that, with no other grass to
occupy the interstices, the soil would be only partially filled
with plants.

The great size of Cocksfoot points to its usefulness in
covers, although unfortunately it does not answer well with
brushwood. Yet it thrives under trees, as is implied by its
American name of ‘ Orchard Grass.’ On pastures which are
much shaded, a considerable proportion should be sown in
company with Foxtail and other grasses which are reliable
beneath dripping foliage.

Upon an understocked pasture Cocksfoot will send up
flowering stems, and I strongly advocate running the mower
over in time to prevent seeding.

The thick, yellow base of the shoot, compressed above,
and the strongly keeled leaf, with its erose ligule, will, in the
absence of the flowering head, distinguish this species at all
seasons of the year.

Cocksfoot when stimulated with ammoniacal manures has
a remarkable tendency to smother and starve out the clover
of a pasture in which it abounds.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 158 and 159.

ELYMUS ARENARIUS
(Sand, or Upright Sea Lyme Grass).

No other grass is equal to this for binding loose or blow-
ing sand, for which purpose the mat-like roots are naturally
adapted. Seed has been extensively sown on portions of the
English and Dutch coasts. Height, four feet. Flowers in
July.

40 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

FESTUCA PRATENSIS
(Meadow Fescue).

Meadow Fescue is common in Great Britain and on
the continent of Europe, and its presence is a fairly certain
indication of good land. In situations adapted to the re-
quirements of the grass it scarcely suffers from winter cold or
spring frosts. It flourishes in strong, deep soil, especially
in low-lying meadows and valleys where a moist atmosphere
prevails; and in this country is rarely successful at an eleva-
tion of 500 feet above the sea level. Festuca pratensis is
abundant in the Vale of Aylesbury—noted for the luxuriance
of its pastures—and is thoroughly at home in well-drained
clay districts. Professor Buckman says: ‘In rich meadow
flats, as in the Vale of Berkeley, the celebrated locality for the
production of Double Gloucester cheese, the Festuca pratensis
is a common and valuable denizen.’ Again he says: ‘In an
agricultural point of view Festuca pratensis is indicated for
best lowland pastures not liable to floods.’ Scarcely any grass
equals this for land under irrigation, although it is entirely
unsuited to a water-logged soil.

Some writers have recommended Meadow Fescue for
one or two years’ leys, but as the plant requires three years
to attain maturity, I cannot advise the sowing of seed for a
shorter period than three or four years. I regard it as a land-
lord’s grass, to be used principally for permanent pastures.

Festuca pratensis seldom flowers until the end of June,
and does not usually mature seed until the first week in
August. The ripening of seed lowers the nutritive quality,
although it does not greatly diminish the bulk. Sinclair’s
experiments proved that between the time of flowering and the
development of seed the depreciation in feeding value was
very serious indeed. But there is no need to anticipate loss on

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 41

this ground, because, being a late-flowering species, the hay is
almost always cut before the danger becomes imminent. One
other point deserves mention here. Where hay is cut in the
first or second week of June, this grass will not be at its best,
and therefore seed should be sown more sparingly than where
the hay harvest occurs about midsummer.

The introduction of Meadow Fescue into America fur-
nishes another example of an alteration in character which
such a change sometimes brings about. The time of flowering
is much earlier there, the plant thrives at a higher altitude,
and often grows four feet high, instead of about two feet high
as in England. In East Tennessee this grass flourishes and
makes superior hay at 1,500 feet above the sea level. The
verdant growth during winter in North Carolina has secured
for it the local designation of ‘ Evergreen Grass,’ and in Virginia
it is known as ‘ Randall Grass.’

In habit, Meadow Fescue resembles true Perennial Rye
Grass, but the herbage of the former is more leafy, and the
seed-culms fewer. On light thin soils, and at altitudes where
Festuca pratensis is unsuitable, an additional quantity of true
Perennial Rye Grass, combined with Festuca duriuscula and
Festuca ovina tenuifolia, may well take its place.

Although Meadow Fescue occasionally grows rather rank,
the herbage is always tender and succulent, and the quality of
the hay first-rate. With cattle the plant is ever a favourite,
and, if possible, is even more relished than Foxtail. These two
grasses flourish under the same conditions, except that the
Fescue scarcely stands heat so well as Foxtail. For practical
purposes I am inclined to regard Festuca pratensis as the
better grass, especially as the germination of the seed is more
reliable, and experiments have shown its decided superiority
in bulk. Up to the time of ripening seed an acre produced
209 pounds more nutritive matter than did an acre of Foxtail
in the whole year. The early growth of Meadow Fescue is
not large by comparison, but before the end of June it leaves

42 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

Foxtail far behind. After the crop of the latter has passed its
prime, the former continues to grow, and thus maintains a
supply of herbage which would otherwise be wanting in the
pasture. At the time hay is cut Cocksfoot is superior in bulk,
but Meadow Fescue largely atones for the deficiency by its
increased production afterwards.

Stock show a marked preference for Meadow Fescue over
Cocksfoot, if the latter is allowed to grow the least old. The
one is invariably eaten down close; the other is frequently
permitted to develop into large tufts and send up wiry culms
which the animals refuse to touch. Horses also eat Festuca
pratensis greedily, and seed should always be sown for their
benefit on suitable land, especially as the paddocks are often
within sight of the mansion, where constant verdure is
desirable.

All points considered, this may properly be regarded as
one of the most valuable grasses that can be sown.

The following characteristics will help to determine this
species in the absence of the flowering panicle: Sheath
smooth, reddish purple at base ; young leaves involute (rolled)
in bud; ligule very short, obtuse, surrounded by a well-
marked auricle ; blade glossy on lower surface.

At Rothamsted, Meadow Fescue did not show to
advantage. It occasionally manifests rather unexpected
antipathies as to soil, and in some localities is starved out
of pastures by other grasses. Nitrate of soda and mineral
manures alone seem capable of augmenting its growth.
Stebler, however, speaks favourably of the effects of fresh
farmyard manure.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 160 and 161.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 43

FESTUCA ELATIOR
(Tall Fescue).

The indigenous variety of I’. elatior, found in marshes,
ditches, and tidal waters of this country, is coarse, harsh, and of
little value for good pastures. On imperfectly drained clays,
unsuited to the growth of finer grasses, its merits as fodder
have been recognised by Sinclair and other authorities. Seed
is produced very sparingly and is generally attacked by clavus
(ergot), which renders it infertile.

The Continental variety, known as J’. arundinacea, matures
fertile seed which is saved and exported to this country. The
plant is vigorous in growth and finds a congenial home on
moist clays and undrained fens, but is not quite so robust as
the native variety, of which specimens may be found in water-
meadows of the South of England. The herbage produced
by the imported seed is very coarse, but fairly nutritive in
quality, either cut for soiling, or after it has been harvested
as hay and reduced to chaff.

Experience proves that this Fescue is not permanent on
soils which differ materially from its natural habitat, and
therefore seed should be sown with judgment, especially as the
grass is liable to become ergoted.

True seed when compared with that of F’. pratensis is
distinguishable by its larger size and the more pointed shape
of the grain. There is a perceptible roughness on the back of
each seed, the three nerves extending the whole length of the
grain being armed with minute spines which are visible under
an ordinary microscope. In the smaller seed of F. pratensis
these spines are entirely absent.

The illustration published on page 162 of this work was
drawn from a portion of a plant raised from seed of the foreign
F. elatior (arundinacea). It will be observed that the plant
is far stronger in habit than is F’. pratensis illustrated on

44 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

page 160. Both were grown alongside in light soil under
similar treatment.

When not in flower Tall Fescue may be recognised by the
following characteristics of the herbage. Upper surface of
the deep green leaf very prominently ribbed, and hard to the
touch, especially so at the edges. The round lower sheaths
are striated and rough; the bottom of basal sheath purple
or red.

For description and chemical analysis, see page 163.

FESTUCA OVINA
(Sheep’s Fescue).

Under the name of Festuca ovina all the smaller Fescues
are occasionally referred to, and much confusion has arisen from
the practice. A writer may speak in strong terms against or
in favour of /. ovina, and it will afterwards appear that he
was alluding to F. duriuscula. Again, both F. duriuscula
and F’. rubra, although perfectly distinct varieties, are not
only mistaken for each other, but are also confused with
F’, ovina. The last named possesses certain characteristics by
which it may be distinguished from all other small Fescues,
and although there is a difficulty in collecting seed it is
possible to obtain the true variety; but if true and reliable
the price is generally high. As regards luxuriance, colour,
and fineness of the herbage, this grass may be termed inter-
mediate between F’. duriuscula and F’. ovina tenuifolia, and
therefore it will continue to be regarded as more suitable
for grazing than for making into hay. On sheep runs and in
situations which favour the growth of this Fescue, the succulent
foliage will always be appreciated, while for lawns its merits
in the formation of a fine close turf cannot fail to claim
attention.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 45

FESTUCA OVINA TENUIFOLIA
(Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue),

Only a small proportion of the seed sold in England under
the name of Festuca ovina tenuifolia is the true fine-leaved
variety. From descriptions which are published in this
country it is obvious that the distinguishing characteristics of
the seed are unknown to some of those who offer it, and as
it generally costs much more than seed of FE. duriuscula or
F. rubra, the great diversity in the quotations for this grass
is easily accounted for.

The Fine-leaved Sheep’s Fescue (F. ovina tenuifolia) is
the smallest grass cultivated for agricultural purposes, and is
perfectly distinct from other Fescues, being densely tufted,
with abundance of very narrow leaves and slender flower-
stalks. The herbage is succulent, although wiry in appearance,
and the culm has the peculiarity of being angular, while all other
cultivated Fescues have round stalks. The plant comes into
flower the third week of June, grows from six to twelve inches
high, and retains its green colour during hot dry weather.
It is therefore much used in the making of lawns, for which
purpose it possesses a special value in combination with other
fine-leaved grasses.

Where Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue grows freely it is a
favourable indication of a healthy neighbourhood.

For hay this grass is practically useless, as the growth
is too dwarf to be gathered by machine or scythe. This
is pre-eminently a pasture grass for sheep on poor light
soils and in hilly country, especially where the subsoil is
chalk, and it is generally believed to exercise a beneficial
influence on the wool. It forms a principal component
of the pastures on chalk downs, where its herbage is
very sweet and nourishing, and Southdown mutton doubt-
less owes its fine flavour and quality to being fed on this

46 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

wholesome grass. In Scotland it constitutes a large part
of the sheep herbage of the Highlands, and all through
Russia and Siberia it affords almost the only pasturage for
cattle and sheep on dry, sandy, rocky soils where no other
grass will grow. In this country horned stock show it no
favour.

The roots penetrate to a great depth, and it is note-
worthy that as the plant is unable to avail itself of nitrogenous
manures, it soon disappears from a pasture which is manured
to suit stronger-growing grasses.

Fine-leaved Sheep’s Fescue is peculiarly adapted for
autumn or, correctly speaking, for late summer sowing. The
seedlings are so small that they are liable to be choked by
spring weeds, and if sheep are turned in too soon they tear up
many plants. But when well established on a poor thin soil
Festuca ovina tenuifola maintains its position, and is a match
for any intruder. Full development is not attained until the
second or third year.

The long, slender, setaceous, folded leaves, no thicker than
thread, and tightly encased by the sheaths in pairs and threes,
together with the russet green of the foliage, will ensure the
recognition of this grass in upland pastures.

On the soils which especially suit Fine-leaved Fescue
it is almost indispensable, and the feeding value is very high.
For dry hilly pastures a considerable proportion of seed
should be included in the mixture.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 164 and 165.

FESTUCA DURIUSCULA
(Hard Fescue).

The common name applies solely to the flower-heads,
which, when ripe, become decidedly hard. The herbage,
however, is tender, succulent, and much liked by all kinds
of cattle.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 47

Hard Fescue forms one of the principal constituents of
the sheep pastures of this country. On all suitable soils it is
of importance in forming a close bottom to the turf among
stronger-growing varieties, and in this respect is of especial
service for upland pastures. Sinclair found Hard Fescue to
thrive best in company with Festuca pratensis and Poa trivialis.
His experience is confirmed by my own, and I also find that
when sown with Fine-leaved Sheep’s Fescue a close and
nutritious crop is produced for sheep on down land.

Early in spring Hard Fescue starts into growth, flowering
at or a little before midsummer, and yields an abundant latter-
math. On moist and rich soils it affords an immense amount
of herbage, which sometimes grows higher than the seed-stems,
and the plant will endure drought when the land is in good
condition. As the nutritive value is much diminished by
the formation of seed, the crop should be cut in time to prevent
deterioration. In hay the presence of this grass is generally
indicative of superior quality, and mountain graziers insist that
Hard Fescue contains more * proof’ than many varieties that
receive a higher character from the chemist.

Festuca duriuscula is more robust in growth than F’. ovina
tenuifolia, and occupies a position among the smaller Fescues
similar to that filled by &. pratensis among the taller species.
The plant does not grow in tufts, but is perfectly distinct ; the
seed is larger, and is wanting in the rich golden-brown colour
which distinguishes true seed of Festuca ovina tenuifolia from
that of all other Fescues. On good soils Hard Fescue is
also undoubtedly superior to Red Fescue. In dry seasons the
former is quite able to hold its own, but in such years the
plant develops a partially creeping habit. Red Fescue, on
the contrary, in wet summers, loses to some extent its well-
known creeping character. This does not make it a matter of
indifference as to which of the two is sown. Each variety is
constant in character on the soil which suits it, and there is
waste of time and loss of fodder in putting either plant on land

48 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

where it will take several years to adapt itself to uncongenial
surroundings.

The folded, almost cylindrical, stiff, deep glaucous green
leaves, which radiate from the point of union of the short
sheaths, and the absence of a ligule, are sufficient to determine
the presence of this species in the pasture.

As Hard Fescue is the most widely distributed of the
small Fescues, the seed is naturally the cheapest, and is fre-
quently accepted for the higher-priced sorts by those who are
unacquainted with its appearance. This variety may properly
be regarded as the least expensive and most desirable base,
or bottom-herbage grass, of a permanent mixture for nearly
all soils. But for alternate prescriptions it should be used
cautiously. On some soils the plant is difficult to eradicate,
and after a ley is broken up it is often troublesome among
corn.

Stimulating manures do little or nothing for Hard
Fescue; they only encourage other grasses at its expense.
At Kidmore the bone plots exhibited the most favourable
results.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 166 and 167.

FESTUCA RUBRA
(Red Fescue).

The popular name is derived from the reddish brown
colour of the lower leaf-sheaths. The difficulty of obtaining
true seed of this grass has fostered the frequently expressed
opinion that it is only a form of J”. duriuscula. But besides
a more robust habit, it is further distinguished by its creeping
roots, which enable the plant to remain green and succulent
when other grasses are burnt up. For this creeping tendency
some writers have wholly condemned Red Fescue. I am
unable to go that length, and regard the plant as an essential
constituent on poor dry harsh soils and upland pastures,

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 49

especially for its great power of withstanding drought. This
quality naturally fits the plant for use on railway slopes, and
for all burning soils and hot climates. Yet it endures both
cold and shade ; indeed, under these conditions the herbage is
more abundant. For golf links, putting greens, and recreation
grounds Red Fescue is unequalled in the endurance of hard
wear. It also offers the further advantage of needing mowing
less frequently than some other grasses, and for this reason it
is useful on banks and slopes.

Red Fescue shoots rather later in the spring than Fine-
leaved Sheep’s Fescue, and produces an abundance of small
herbage which fills up the bottom of a pasture, and also
renders it serviceable in ornamental grounds. The plant
flowers in June, and ripens seed about the middle of July.
This is one of the few grasses which improve as they get older,
the leaves and stems being actually more nutritious, as well
as of greater bulk, at the time of ripening seed than earlier in
the season. All cattle like the herbage, and with hares it is so
great a favourite that a quantity of seed should be sown where
this game is preserved in large numbers. Red Fescue must be
regarded as especially a pasture grass; for hay it is of small
utility, and the lattermath is inconsiderable. Sinclair believed
it to attain perfection in the second year, and limited its
duration to seven or eight years.

In the absence of the flowering culm, the reddish purple
base of the short sheaths, and the long, flexuous, shining, deep
green, half-closed leaves, together with the pale-red under-
ground stolons, are a sufficient guide in determining this
variety.

The seed resembles that of Festuca duriuscula, but is
larger and germinates well—decidedly better in the open air
than under artificial conditions.

50 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

LOLIUM PERENNE
(Perennial Rye Grass).

An American writer enumerates between sixty and
seventy varieties of Rye Grass, but no great experience is needed
to discover that in so long a list there are more names than
sorts. The majority are mere synonyms; others are selections
having no permanent character; so that for practical purposes
the number of distinct varieties may be reduced to about half
a dozen. In the United States, moreover, the term Rye
Grass is applied to several species of Elymus; hence it is
necessary to make sure as to the species concerned when
reading American observations on Rye Grass.

Lolium perenne was the first grass gathered separately for
agricultural purposes. It is better known and more frequently
used than any other species, and notwithstanding the assertions
that it is biennial and not perennial, I am satisfied that it is
entitled to the name by which it has been known since 1611,
the date of the earliest agricultural book which mentions it.
That this grass is not perennial on all soils, nor under adverse
conditions, may be freely admitted, and under similar circum-
stances few, if any, grasses are durable. But when seed of
true Perennial Rye Grass is sown on suitable soil and the
natural requirements of the plant are met, it will prove to be
perpetual.

Perennial Rye Grass was in this country first sown in
the Chiltern parts of Oxfordshire, and is still of great service
in some portions of that district on cold sour clays, and on
light stony land so deficient in lime that it will not grow
Sainfoin.

Dr. F. G. Stebler describes it as ‘one of the most
valuable plants in our meadows. For pasture on clay soils
it cannot be replaced by any other plant, and therefore it
is largely used in mixtures for forming pasture grass of best

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 51

quality. In the North of Germany there are even experi-
enced growers who sow only Rye Grass with a little White
Clover. The duration of this plant varies much according
to soil and climate. JI have put the last sentence in italics,
because in this remark Dr. Stebler has accurately indicated
the origin of the diversity of opinion which prevails con-
cerning the duration of this grass. While Rye Grass is
indigenous and perennial in many districts, it stands for a
limited time only where soil and climate are unfavourable.
On a burning sand or thin gravel it is never permanent,
but it answers on a gravelly clay, is at home on all loams, and
revels in tenacious land. Even pure clay is not too stiff
for it. The poorer and drier the soil, the shorter will be
its tenure. On the contrary, the richer and more moist the
land, always supposing the drainage to be good, the greater
the certainty that Rye Grass will be permanent. The plant
responds quickly to irrigation, either of pure water or of
liquid manure, but stagnant water soon kills it. The natural
habit points to the secret of successful treatment. The
roots are maintained by the surface soil, and as poor land
speedily becomes exhausted by the free growth, of necessity
the plant dies.

Pastures which are stimulated by the droppings of cake-
fed cattle, or which are dressed at proper intervals with
farmyard manure, continue to grow Rye Grass year after year
without re-sowing. When hay is cut early, seeding is, of
course, impossible, and if the pasture is grazed the cattle will
take care that seed does not ripen. They never permit the
heads to flower; the culms and herbage are always closely
cropped.

Seed of Perennial Rye Grass germinates with unusual
freedom, and it may be relied on to produce a crop under con-
ditions that are fatal to other varieties. The plant matures
very quickly and is not injured by the tread of cattle. While
other grasses are dependent on season and weather, Rye Grass

B2

52 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

is able to hold its own under all circumstances, enduring
winter frost and summer heat. Another great advantage is
that Perennial Rye Grass is so little deteriorated by being
allowed to grow old before it is cut. In fact, there is no doubt
that as the crop becomes nearly ripe the quality improves,
and probably the discrepancies between some chemical
analyses and the experience of farmers in feeding stock are
traceable to premature cutting.

The high feeding value of Perennial Rye Grass is shown
by Dr. J. Augustus Voelcker’s report and analysis, from
which it will be seen that of the larger grasses Foxtail only
is superior to Perennial Rye Grass in nutritive properties.
Experiments made by feeding cattle on hay composed ex-
clusively of this grass confirm my estimate of its valuable
qualities. It also deserves to be widely known that Rye
Grass straw cut into chaff is a very substantial food for
cattle. An experienced farmer, probably the largest grower
of Rye Grass in this country, informed me that he always
prefers to give his store cattle and horses the chaffed straw
of Rye Grass, when it has been harvested in good condition,
to feeding them on meadow hay cut from an old pasture,
and that the animals show a decided preference for the
former.

Morton’s ‘ Cyclopedia of Agriculture’ contains the follow-
ing remark on this subject: ‘ According to M. Péan de Saint-
Gilles, a French agriculturist, the ripe straw left after threshing
out the seeds is a better fodder than hay made from the green
straw. After giving many thousand trusses of the straw to his
horses without other food for several months, he found that
they ate it as readily as the finest hay, and that it kept them
in high condition.’

The objection occasionally urged against Rye Grass, that
it does not produce an aftermath, only holds good as to starved
crops, and on soils which are not adapted to grow the plant.
Even the very cheapness of the seed has been given as a reason

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 53

for not using it. In the best sense of the term Rye Grass is
cheap as compared with many natural grasses, but surely this is
a special argument in its favour. It is quite true that Festuca
pratensis possesses many of its good qualities and excels it in
aftermath, but the difference in price is considerable, and the
Fescue is distinctly inferior in nutritive qualities, except in its
early stage of growth.

One of the main reasons for including Perennial Rye Grass
in mixtures for permanent pastures is its reliability, already
alluded to, for ensuring a plant. This is a matter of great
importance, for if grasses do not fill the ground in the first
season, weeds will inevitably appear. And the Rye Grass
yields a bulk of hay during the first two years which cannot
be obtained without it. Again, Rye Grass fosters the growth
of other varieties and aids the general progress and develop-
ment of such grasses as are slow in attaining maturity.
For all these reasons I advocate the use of Perennial Rye
Grass seed in prescriptions for permanent pastures. On land
which cannot maintain Rye Grass permanently, excellent
service will be rendered while it lasts, and the plant will yield
up its place when other grasses are sufficiently established
to occupy the soil. Meanwhile crops of valuable herbage will
be secured.

Most of the Rye Grass seed sown in England is saved in
Scotland and in the North of Ireland, and I have no doubt
that its acclimatisation in those cold districts tends to maintain
its hardiness and its permanency. The popular notion that the
first year’s crop of Perennial Rye Grass seed produces only an
annual plant is a mere fiction, but to ensure a crop consisting
exclusively of the true perennial variety it is necessary that
maiden seed should be rejected for permanent pasture.

For alternate husbandry Perennial Rye Grass is indis-
pensable, whatever the soil may be. Even on land where the
plant certainly would not be permanent, seed should be liberally
sown for a short term of years. The excellence of the herbage,

54 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

the great weight of produce, its early and late growth, and
the important fact that it endures the trampling of stock, are
all strongly in favour of sowing seed freely.

The endurance of Rye Grass under severe treading
deserves more than a mere passing mention. By the sides of
country roads a thick formation of turf, the envy of those who
wish to make a lawn, is often observable; and this turf will
be found to consist almost exclusively of Rye Grass. On one
occasion, in company with Mr. Carruthers, we both at the
same instant noticed the strong development of Rye Grass at
the gate of one of my pastures, then laid up for hay, where
cattle usually congregated before milking-time in the seasons
when the field was grazed. Examination proved that. the Rye
Grass was also prominent on the green path across the field.
Had the extraordinary growth been near the gate alone, the
inference might have been drawn that the increase of such a
gross feeder as Rye Grass was attributable to the droppings
from cattle kept waiting there ; but as the herbage throughout
the entire length of the path, which traverses several different
soils, is nearly all Rye Grass, it affords evidence of superiority
over every other grass as to the capability of the plant for
enduring the tread of man and beast. This characteristic
accounts for the large proportion of Rye Grass found in the
fields of this country which have been depastured from time
immemorial.

Exceptionally heavy dressings of nitrogenous manures
applied to Rye Grass when in mixture with other varieties for
a hay crop are inimical to its existence, because the manures
enable coarse grasses to obtain the ascendency. But when
Rye Grass is sown alone, or mixed with Broad Clover only,
the crop is greatly increased by the application of manures,
proving that the plant has no inherent objection to them.
Both at Chiswick where Rye Grass was grown alone, and at
Rothamsted where it formed only a portion of the herbage,
moderate doses of nitrate of soda had a marked effect upon its

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 55

growth, and the fact was especially noticeable that the nitrate
produced an immense amount of root-fibre as well as leafy herb-
age. It is also interesting to find that at Rothamsted, after
decreasing for three years, Rye Grass slightly increased in pro-
portion to the other surrounding grasses, thus affording evidence
of its perennial character. Ammonia salts, which proved so
powerful a stimulant to some of the stronger grasses, did not
benefit Perennial Rye Grass sufficiently to enable it to hold
its position against them. On the nitrate plots only was its
position maintained. At Kidmore the plant flourished in the
bone plots.

The highly glazed under side of the leaves of L. perenne,
together with the prominent mid-rib, are sufficient to dis-
tinguish it at all seasons of the year. The leaf is narrow-
tipped, has an obtuse ligule, surrounded by an auricle or collar-
like portion of the blade ; whilst the younger leaves are folded
throughout thei length on the mid-rib when emerging from
the flat purple sheath.

For illustration, botanical description, and chemical
analysis of Sutton’s Perennial Rye Grass—a branching variety,
considerably dwarfer than Pacey’s, and still more perennial in
character—see pages 168 and 169.

LOLIUM VULGARE. L. ANNUUM
(Common, or dunual Rye Grass),

Seed of this plant is larger and flatter than that of the
Perennial and Italian varieties. It is almost as broad as the
seed of Bromus mollis, but is lighter and awnless. Annual
Rye Grass deserves to be better known, for it possesses valuable
properties, yielding a good bulk of nourishing herbage of a
light green colour, and sending up a dense mass of flowering
culms. The roots, being small, are more easily got rid of
when the ley is ploughed than are the roots of the perennial

56 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

variety ; and there is a general concurrence of opinion that
although the plant is of such rapid growth, and draws its
nourishment entirely from the surface soil, it does not greatly
impoverish the land for the next crop.

The objections which have been urged against the use of
Perennial Rye Grass in permanent mixtures are largely owing
to the substitution of Annual Rye Grass. The latter is only
biennial in duration, and there are several reasons why seed of
so short-lived a plant should not be included in prescriptions
for permanent pasture.

LOLIUM ITALICUM
(Itahan Rye Grass).

I wish to prevent the possibility of a misunderstanding
by saying at once that this grass is under consideration here
solely in its proper connection with alternate husbandry. Ina
permanent pasture it is generally harmful, and the seed should
rarely be included in a prescription for that purpose.

Italian Rye Grass was probably first cultivated in Lom-
bardy, and spread thence through Europe. It was introduced
into England in 1831 by the late Mr. Charles Lawson, of
Edinburgh, who was an old friend of my father. At first
Mr. Lawson imported seed from Hamburg, but a few years
later he was able to obtain it direct from Leghorn. The
experiments made with Italian Rye Grass by the late Mr.
William Dickinson resulted in crops which were then
considered marvellous, and for many years his name was
prominently associated with this fodder plant. His system
no doubt suggested the idea of sewage treatment, and it is not
too much to say that without Italian Rye Grass the present
method of sewage farming could not be carried on. There is
no other green crop, except perhaps Bromus inermis, which
can be substituted for it, or which will yield equally valuable
herbage.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 57

There are considerable variations in the character, pro-
ductiveness, and duration of the several strains of this plant ;
still, roughly speaking, all are biennial. The seed which is
imported from the Continent yields very heavy crops, but is
so infested with pernicious weeds as to need most careful
cleaning before it is fit to sow. To avoid the risk of making
the land foul, seed has long been grown in Ireland, and con-
tinuous selection has developed all the good qualities of the
imported stock, except its extreme vigour. Lolium italicum
Suttoni, which is now largely grown, was obtained by careful
selection of the most free-growing and leafy plants. This
stock grows with extraordinary rapidity, with but a small
proportion of stalks, so that the crop, whether green or made
into hay, is of specially fine quality.

Italian Rye Grass will grow in almost any soil, but is least
satisfactory on poor dry land, unless it can be freely assisted
with liquid manure. Fair results have, however, been obtained
from heaths dressed with marl and farmyard dung. This
grass needs warmth and moisture, and in rich damp soils
the growth is extremely rapid. Irrigation by liquid manure
results in enormous crops, following each other in surprisingly
rapid succession ; and the plant is so hardy as to endure our
coldest winters without injury, while it starts earlier in spring
and grows later in autumn than any other grass.

Italian Rye Grass is so much preferred by stock, that
when a two years’ ley which contains it is fed off, the cattle
will not allow a single flower-stem to ripen. The forage
promotes a great flow of milk, and improves the flavour of
butter and cheese. The celebrated Parmesan cheese is said
to be made from the milk of cows fed entirely on Italian Rye
Grass.

No wonder, therefore, that with such remarkable qualities
the plant should have been recommended and used for
permanent pastures, although nearly every authority has pro-
nounced it unsuitable for that purpose. Italian Rye Grass is

58 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

so gross a feeder as actually to choke and smother the Poas and
finer Fescues, instead of simply nursing and sheltering them
from scorching heat and severe frost as does the comparatively
slower-growing Perennial Rye Grass. Valuable as Italian is
for alternate husbandry in the company of other strong-growing
grasses, such as Cocksfoot and Timothy, I have always objected
to its use in permanent pastures, even during the years when
the contrary custom prevailed. This view is now admitted to
be sound, and the circumstances must be altogether excep-
tional which warrant the admixture of any proportion of the
seed in a prescription for permanent pasture.

With singular inconsistency, some writers who disapprove
of Italian Rye Grass in a mixture of permanent grasses,
advocate its employment for renovating an old pasture. <A
more illogical proposition has never been made. When the
brief existence of Italian Rye Grass terminates, the pasture
willsbe left in a worse state than before.

There is a prejudice against this grass because it severely
taxes the soil, and it is quite true that Italian Rye Grass will
appropriate all the nourishment it can get. But this is an
argument in its favour. It means that the plant is a powerful
agent in extracting constituents from the soil, which it yields
up in valuable food for cattle. Given the desire of obtaining
from an acre of liberally fed land the largest possible produce
within twelve months, and Italian Rye Grass has no equal for
fulfilling the condition.

Another prejudice is that Italian Rye Grass is a bad pre-
paration for wheat. On that point Mr. Dickinson’s own words
can be quoted : ‘ Thirty sheep may be kept upon Italian Rye
Grass, fed through hurdles, upon as little land as ten can be
kept upon the common system upon common grass, and the
finest crops of wheat, barley, oats, and beans may be grown
after the Italian Rye Grass has been fed off the two years
of its existence. Wheat invariably follows the Italian, and
splendid crops are grown.’

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 59

Again, it is objected that twitch is produced by Italian
Rye Grass. With pure seed this is impossible, but plenty
of Italian Rye Grass seed infested with twitch is freely bought
and sold every year. The remedy is in the buyer’s own hands.
When twitch is already in the soil, a starved crop of Rye Grass
may give the couch an opportunity of asserting itself. Still,
the tendency of a well-fed and frequently cut crop of Italian
always favours the destruction of twitch.

Italian Rye Grass is very frequently sown with Broad
Clover in composite mixtures for alternate husbandry, and it
may also be used with Avena elatior when amore durable crop
is wanted. But the most profitable method is to grow Italian
Rye Grass alone, because the crop can be cut before the stalks
become hard and lose their nutritive qualities. Another reason
why Italian should not be allowed to grow old is that the plant
is extremely succulent, and in warm thundery weather there is
a risk of the roots beginning to rot. On this account a very
bulky crop cannot be safely left for seed in a hot, damp
summer.

The usual months for sowimg are February, March,
September, and October, and the quantity three bushels per
acre, but seed may be sown at any time from spring to autumn.
The plant is rolled in spring, the crop is cut frequently, and
the land broken up in the following spring twelvemonth.
Many farmers make it a rule to sow in October, and on
warm moist soils crops have sometimes been cut at Christmas,
and again in the following April. Such experience, however,
is exceptional, but it proves the hardiness and fertility of
the plant.

Italian Rye Grass, when out of flower, may be recognised
by the same characteristics which distinguish L. perenne, with
this difference: in LZ. perenne the sheath is flat, while in
L. italicum the sheath is round.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 170 and 171.

60 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

PHLEUM PRATENSE
(Limothy, or Meadow Catstail).

To see this grass in perfection a visit must be paid to the
United States, where it is grown alone, and yields amazing
crops of hay, three, four, and in one recorded instance six feet
high. In the pastures of that country some of our finer
meadow grasses are unknown and Timothy is more highly
prized than with us. It is supposed to have been introduced
into England for agricultural purposes about the middle of the
eighteenth century, and is now widely distributed. The plant
is perennial and fibrous-rooted, but under certain conditions
the root shows a tendency to take a bulbous form. Indeed,
the character of the plant varies considerably in different soils
and situations.

Timothy luxuriates in clay districts and on moist soils, and
on peat the growth is unsurpassed. ‘This is one of the grasses
most certain to grow, and is specially serviceable in the company
of Foxtail, because it fills the interval between the first growth
and the aftermath of that grass. Another substantial advan-
tage is that Timothy. attains the height of its productiveness in
the first year after being sown, but unless it is properly fed
there is a tendency to weakness in the third or fourth year ;
and considering the tax which it necessarily makes on the soil,
this will occasion no surprise.

No other grass will bear extremes of heat and cold
better than Timothy, and in rigorous winters, which severely
test the endurance of other hardy grasses, this will stand
the trial uninjured. All cattle eat the herbage greedily,
and horses manifest especial fondness for it. Timothy
adds materially to the weight of the hay crop, and is not
only highly nutritious while young, but the feeding value
increases until the seed is formed. If, however, the plant

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 61

is allowed to mature seed, little or no aftermath is to be
expected.

This grass is generally regarded as a late variety, and cor-
rectly so, because it flowers in July. Still, the early herbage
is good, and sheep may be run over a pasture containing a
large proportion of it until late in spring without endangering
the crop of hay. The plant is really mown to greatest advan-
tage before the ears are out of their sheaths, having regard to
the quality of the hay and the quantity of the aftermath. It
should be clearly understood that I am here alluding to the
treatment of a meadow containing an unusual proportion of
this grass.

When grown alone as a fodder plant, Timothy may be
allowed to remain uncut not only until in full flower, but even
for ten days or a fortnight later, and during that time the
feeding value will be augmented. Sinclair says that, ‘subject
to the weather being such as to keep it in growth, every two
days’ growth after flowering will increase its nutritive value as
much as any eight days’ growth before that period.’ But these
hard wiry stalks, when dried, can scarcely be called hay, and
although they may be nutritious, it is desirable to reduce them
to chaff before they are given to cattle.

Timothy should form a constituent of every permanent
prescription for heavy soils, but as in recent years there has
been a tendency to give undue prominence to this grass,
I consider it necessary to say that an excessive proportion
in a pasture may be mischievous. The herbage is coarse,
the stalks soon become hard, and in that state the increased
feeding value is of no service if cattle refuse to graze them,
as they undoubtedly do; or if the abundant presence of this
grass reduces the price of the hay.

When seed is freely shed there is a danger that the
plant will take almost exclusive possession of the land,
especially on those formations which favour its growth. And
once sown it is a very difficult grass to eradicate. All points

62 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

considered, great judgment is requisite in order to realise the
full advantage of Timothy, and at the same time to maintain
the general efficiency of the pasture.

A marked characteristic of the plant is its extreme hardi-
ness, and for this quality Timothy is extensively grown in
Canada in association with Alsike Clover, for one and two
years leys. For the same purpose it has won favour in Scotland,
where experience has proved that hay made from Timothy
and Alsike is highly sustaining food for horses in hard work.
Such hay, when well harvested, is in constant demand at a
profitable figure. Another excellent crop is obtained by sowing
a mixture of Timothy and Cow Grass. It would perhaps be
impossible to find two plants which are more suitable for
growing together. For alternate husbandry generally Timothy
offers very substantial benefits; the only objection to its
employment for a term of years is the trouble experienced in
getting rid of it when the ley has to be broken up.

The greyish-green tint of the short, broad leaves, and
involute character of the emerging leaf, together with the
smooth sheath and obtuse ligule, clearly distinguish this grass
from others when the cylindrical flower-spike is wanting.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 172 and 173.

POA PRATENSIS
(Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass).

Although there is a general resemblance between this
grass and Poa trivialis, the two plants differ materially in
habit, character, and structure. Poa pratensis is unlike Poa
trivialis in having broader and blunter foliage, an obtuse ligule
to its leaf, smooth stalks, and creeping roots that send out
long stolons which take a horizontal direction and form
little tufts. Each species has a value of its own, and is
fitted to serve a purpose for which the other is less adapted.
Poa pratensis is naturally suitable for enduring drought, while

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 63

Poa trivialis thrives in moist land. This is the chief constitu-
tional difference between the two plants, and although each of
them will to some extent conform to the conditions which
specially favour the other, yet the distinction clearly indicates
the use to which each one should, as a rule, be applied.

Poa pratensis does not root very deeply, but is dependent
principally upon the surface soil, and is therefore met with on
all geological formations if the surface happens to be suitable.
All eminent authorities concur in recommending it for good dry
soils, and my own experience has convinced me of the correct-
ness of their opinion, but light land must be rich in humus to
ensure success. On heavy and tenacious soils this grass will
often grow, but it is not then seen to the greatest advantage.

During the first year Poa pratensis remains small and
does not throw up any stalks. When fully established it
flowers once annually ; after the stems are cut, no others are
formed until the following season. Primarily this is a pasture
grass, because the flowers rise too early for the scythe.
Otherwise, for very forward cutting it is valuable for hay,
and when the crop has been taken, a good aftermath of leafy
herbage follows. The earliness of Poa pratensis is no doubt
attributable to the fact that the plant appears to be insensible
to cold, or growth would not continue during spring frosts.
The presence of a large proportion of this grass will, by the
shelter it affords to other varieties, make an early pasture, and
for this reason it is of especial service to the grazier, to whom
half a ton of feed at the end of March or the beginning of
April is of more importance than a ton in May.

For lawns, Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass may be
freely sown, as it is strictly perennial, and forms a fine
compact turf.

In the West of Ireland, where this grass grows all the
year round, it should be largely used ; and, as one of the most
suitable grasses for fogging, it is serviceable in Wales. For
railway embankments or other situations on which a rapid

64 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

matting turf is wanted for holding the soil together, no more
valuable plant can be introduced.

Under the name of Kentucky Blue Grass, or June Grass,
Poa pratensis has been cultivated in the United States with
striking success. When once established as a pasture the value
of the land is immediately enhanced. Americans grow it on
their richest soil, and are surprised that we use the plant so
little and never sow it alone.

Experience of a different character has been realised in
some parts of New Zealand, where this grass has developed a
very objectionable habit of growth and is difficult to eradicate
from arable land when once it has obtained a footing. This
fact does not prove the worthlessness of the grass for British
use. The case is analogous to that of our familiar Sweetbriar,
which since its introduction into Tasmania forms thickets in
that country, entangling and overpowering other vegetation,
throwing underground suckers across fields, and matting the
soil with a dense mass of fibre. But we are not on that
account inclined to sacrifice the charming bush of our gardens
and hedgerows. Neither the merits of Poa pratensis when
cultivated in America, nor its demerits when sown in certain
districts of New Zealand, however interesting they may be,
need influence our estimate of the value of a grass which
experience has proved to be of great service in this country.

The rounded, concave tip of the leaf, together with the
obtuse ligule, the yellowish green of the lower sheaths, and
short stolons, will enable the observer to determine the
presence of this species in a pasture.

Dressings of nitrate of soda discourage the growth of
Poa pratensis, while mineral superphosphates combined with
ammonia salts foster it. At Kidmore decorticated cotton cake
was also conducive to the growth of this grass.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 174 and 175.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 65

POA TRIVIALIS
(Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, or Orcheston Grass).

This variety differs from Poa pratensis in having narrower
foliage, a long pointed instead of a blunt ligule to its leaf,
fibrous instead of creeping roots, and slightly rough sheaths.
The roughness is only apparent to a sensitive touch, but is
readily perceived when the grass is drawn across the tongue.

Poa trivialis was first sown in this country about 1780,
and in recent years it has been mistakenly recommended for
all purposes. On strong moist soils, where Poa trivialis is
quite at home, it surpasses Poa pratensis both in quantity and
in quality, but the favourable comparison does not extend
to light land liable to burn, on which the superiority of Poa
pratensis becomes manifest. The plant is subject to injury by
spring and autumn frosts, and also by severe winters. It is
rich in potash and phosphoric acid, and soon exhausts land
which is not naturally good or constantly fed.

This grass forms a large part of the turf of valleys in
mountainous districts where the rainfall is considerable. It
thrives under trees, prospers in water-meadows and all moist
situations, and bears well the hoofs of stock, but it must be
‘mown before the foliage turns yellow at the base, or it is liable
to rot. Sinclair says that it is unprofitable for any purpose on
dry exposed situations.

Poa trivialis flowers at the usual time for cutting hay, but
is especially useful for pastures nevertheless. The herbage is
of more value at the time of ripening seed than earlier in the
season, but as ripening does not take place until the end of
July, it is impossible in the South of England to keep the hay
crop Waiting for it. The aftermath is good after early cutting
only. Sinclair advises its use for permanent pastures on rich
soils and in sheltered positions, and I quite agree with this
view. Valuable as this grass is for such situations, I do not

F

66 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

consider that for any other land it is worth while to incur the
cost of seed, which, if true, is always expensive. Wherever
Poa pratensis will answer, it should be used instead.

When not in flower this species is recognisable by the
slender leaf, which gradually tapers from the base to the tip of
the blade, and has a well-marked keel. The young leaves are
compressed, and folded on the mid-rib, the lower sheaths are
loose and tinged violet-purple.

At Kidmore nitrate of soda and muriate of potash had
a marked effect on the development of this grass; ammonia
salts diminished its growth. The Rothamsted experiments
have clearly established the fact that in this respect it differs
altogether from Poa pratensis.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 176 and 177.

POA NEMORALIS
(Wood Meadow Grass).

Wood Meadow Grass starts growth very early in spring,
yields a greater bulk of herbage than Poa pratensis, bears
drought remarkably well, and is the most valuable of the
cultivated Poas. For lawns and ornamental grounds it
answers admirably, and is indispensable for sowing under the
shade of trees. The seed is too costly, and the supply too
uncertain, to warrant a large use of it in ordinary grass-land
farming.

The very short sheath—not more than one-quarter of the
length of the flat blade—together with the laciniated obtuse
ligule, and the compressed character of the younger leaves, are
points by which this variety may be recognised when not in
flower.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 178 and 179.

AGRICULTURAL GRASSES 67

POA SEROTINA
(Late Meadow Grass).

In comparison with P. pratensis and P. trivialis this
' variety is later in flowering and in ripening seed. The plant
is successful on almost all kinds of soil, especially on rich
moist land. For hay it is a valuable grass, producing an
abundance of foliage early in the season. The aftermath is
not very great, but in permanent pastures it has the merit of
growing freely between the period of ripening and after-yield
of most other grasses.

Quite a year is required to develop strong plants of Late
Meadow Grass, and for this reason it cannot be recommended
for alternate husbandry. ‘True seed is difficult to obtain.

In the absence of the flowering panicle Poa serotina can
always be distinguished from Poa nemoralis by the short blunt
ligule.

POA AQUATICA
(Water-Meadow or Sweet Reed Grass).

Adapted for low-lying land subject to floods, nutritious,
and generally liked by cattle. In the Fen districts it forms
a large part of the herbage, and yields abundant crops of hay.
From the name it will be understood that this grass is specially
suitable for water-meadows, and seed may also be included
in permanent mixtures for undrained clay. The flowering
occurs in July and August.

Poa aquatica is also known as Glyceria aquatica, and is
common in the water-meadows of the South of England,
where the closely allied Floating Sweet Grass, Glyceria
fluitans, is also frequently found.

FQ

68 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

AGRICULTURAL CLOVERS
(LEGUMINOS2)

TRIFOLIUM REPENS PERENNE
(Perennial White Clover).

Tuis plant was first cultivated in the Netherlands ; hence
the familiar name, Dutch Clover. Probably it was not sown
in England until the beginning of the eighteenth century,
although it is now indigenous all over the country. The seed
will lie dormant for a long time and at a great depth, and be
ready to spring into life when brought to the surface. The
habit of the plant is creeping, and when once established it
soon covers the ground. Sometimes its luxuriance is excessive,
and the numerous flower-heads, for which cattle manifest no
partiality, are a disadvantage, so that in sowing White Clover
judgment should be exercised. In warm, rainy seasons it
spreads rapidly, but makes little or no progress during cold,
dry weather. Besides the mass of fibrous surface roots there
is a long tap-root which goes deep into the subsoil, sustaining
the plant during drought, when only the parent stem grows,
the lateral and creeping shoots remaining dormant.

The character of this clover differs materially, according to
the soil on which it is grown. Sinclair remarks that ‘it main-
tains itselfin soils of opposite natures,’ because of its peculiarity
in having two distinct forms of root. It prospers on mellow
land containing lime, and on all soils rich in humus, from marl

AGRICULTURAL CLOVERS 69

to gravel, or gravelly clay. In poor land it does better, and is
less sensitive to atmospheric influences, than Red Clover, and is
of great importance on Jand which cannot be depended on to
grow Perennial Red Clover. In early spring it produces very
little food, and the plant is so dwarf that it is practically
useless for cutting. For a crop of hay Alsike is preferable.
Still, Perennial White Clover forms an essential constituent
of every good pasture. All cattle eat the herbage with
relish, but it is less useful for the production of milk than of
flesh, and is of special service in fattening sheep. No doubt the
crop is more palatable to stock before the plant flowers than
afterwards ; indeed, a profusion of flowers is no indication of
an abundant bite. White Clover is not suitable for culture
alone, and it is better for cattle when mingled with grasses,
especially with Perennial Rye Grass. The Norfolk farmers
largely use it for ewes and lambs, but from difference of
climate the favourable opinion they entertain is not shared by
practical men in the West of England.

The fertilisation of White Clover is aided by insects.
From ten flower-heads visited by bees Darwin obtained ten
times as many seeds as from a corresponding number protected
by gauze. On a subsequent occasion he failed to obtain a
single fertile seed from twenty protected heads.

When White Clover is one of the constituents of mixed
grasses and clovers, the application of ammonia salts and
nitrate of soda so develops the gramineous herbage that there
is a smaller growth of White Clover than when the land is
left unmanured. Mineral manures—basic slag especially—con-
siderably augment the crop of White Clover, and a similar
result is obtained from dressings of marl or vegetable ash.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 180 and 181.

70 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE
(Red, or Broad Clover).

Red Clover is said to be indigenous in every country in
Kurope except Greece. In a wild state its presence is an
indication of the fertility of the soil. Although a strong-land
plant, it will grow on almost any soil, and contains so much
moisture that only one-fifth of the weight of the green crop is
found in the haystack.

Winter and spring frosts are very injurious to Red Clover,
and to save the plant a top-dressing of long manure is some-
times necessary, for which, however, there is a return in due
time.

A considerable diversity can be discerned in the various
strains of Red Clover. Seed is imported from all parts of
Europe, and large quantities from North and South America.
Each country has one or two well-defined types of this plant,
and although growers may be careful to avoid buying any
but so-called English seed, the fact that the stock may only
have been imported two years previously will account for the
differences which are every year visible in crops of Red Clover.
The prejudice existing against foreign seed, especially that from
America and France, is well founded. Experience has proved
that seed from either country produces a smaller crop than
can be obtained from a stock which has been acclimatised in
England for many years, and there is also the great danger of
Dodder to be considered. The most virulent form of this
parasite is found in the Red Clover imported from Chili.
Seed from that country is infested with Cuscuta chilensis, a
species of Dodder so large in the grain as to render it most
difficult to eliminate from the clover seed. So far as European
seed is concerned, there can be no doubt that the Broad Clover
grown in Styria and in some districts of North Germany is
as robust and hardy as English stocks.

AGRICULTURAL CLOVERS 71

Trifolium pratense is quite unsuited for permanent
pastures, but should form a large proportion of an alternate
mixture. The great root-growth made during the two years
of its existence is the best possible preparation for the following
wheat crop.

Red Clover is incapable of self-fertilisation, and the
Humble Bee is almost exclusively the medium by which
pollen is conveyed from anther to stigma. In Australia and
New Zealand, until the Humble Bee was introduced, seed
was rarely ripened, and the Red Clover sown in those colonies
was all imported, principally from England.

The character and culture of Red Clover are so well
understood as to render further remark needless.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 182 and 183.

TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE PERENNE
(Perennial Red Clover, or Cow Grass).

This clover doubtless originated in a cross between
Trifolium pratense, or Broad Clover, and Trifolium medium,
or Zigzag Clover.'' The latter has never been in commerce,
nor has it been grown as a crop, except for experimental
purposes. Yet some writers have fallen into the error of
confusing it with the true Perennial Red Clover, which in
Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, and Wiltshire is known
as Cow Grass. In these counties Cow Grass is of immense
importance, and enters largely into the rotation of arable
land. The use of it is extending to other parts of England,

l Trifollum medium.—The Cow Grass, or Zigzag Clover, of botanists is so called
from the decided zigzag growth. So distinct is the plant that it can scarcely be classed
with Red Clover at all. The blossom is darker in colour than that of Trifolium
pratense, the head less dense, invariably growing on a long peduncle instead of
immediately adjacent to the leaf. The absence of the broad membranous stipule,
and the substitution of one which is long and narrow, terminating gradually in a spear-
like point, is also a marked characteristic, by which those who have once observed

this peculiarity are never again likely to mistake Zrifoliwm medium for Trifolium
pratense.

72 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

and it is astonishing that so valuable a plant has not long
since been widely recognised as indispensable for temporary
pastures, instead of being restricted to permanent pastures
only.

Trifolium pratense perenne differs from Broad Clover in
having a somewhat taller, smoother, and, except in its very
young state, a less hairy stem, and a stronger, less fibrous, and
more penetrating root. The plant carries its flowers some
way above the foliage, surpasses Broad Clover in succulence
and weight of crop, and stands frosts much better.

The root of Perennial Red Clover reaches down into the
subsoil, enabling it to obtain moisture and nourishment in the
hottest weather, when Red Clover gives up from drought.
This penetrating habit also affords a means of sustenance to
the plant on land which is too poor to grow Broad Clover, and
frequently makes it desirable to increase the proportion of this
seed for pastures on thin uplands.

Perennial Red Clover has two characteristics which
greatly augment its value: flowering does not begin until at
least ten days later than Broad Clover, and the more robust
and solid stems remain succulent and eatable by stock long
after Broad Clover has become pithy and withered. Perennial
Red Clover fills up the gap between the first and second
cuttings of Broad Clover, and comes into use at a time when
no other green food is available for the horses of the farm,
but it rarely gives a second crop of any consequence.

Cow Grass produces comparatively little seed from its
single crop; whereas Red Clover yields a good crop of seed
from the second cutting, after the first has been taken as
fodder. Consequently seed of the perennial variety is neces-
sarily high in price.

It is worth noting that Cow Grass is understood on
Mark Lane, and in many parts of England, to mean no more
than a fine handsome sample of Broad Red Clover. The true
Perennial Red Clover is rarely obtainable, except from those

AGRICULTURAL CLOVERS 73

who make its culture a study. And, just as all Rye Grass
has been condemned because the annual variety has been used
where only the perennial kind should have been employed,
so true Cow Grass—Tvifolium pratense perenne—has been
disparaged because Broad Clover has been called by its name
and supplied as the genuine article.

When the late Mr. H. M. Jenkins was in Flanders on his
tour with the late Mr. James Howard some years ago, he
found that this Perennial Clover was relied on as the chief
soiling crop, and was used in exactly the same way as in the
English counties I have named. So far as I am aware,
however, true Belgian Cow Grass is never offered in this
country, and if it were offered, there would be the risk of
its being foul.

The true Perennial Red Clover is an invaluable plant for
permanent pastures, and should be included in every mixture
for that purpose. Its presence in a pasture at midsummer,
when Alsike is giving up, is of great service, and although
it does not produce a second crop for the scythe, it yields
a quantity of excellent food. Perennial Red Clover is not
perpetuated in pastures by seed, as is commonly supposed, but
from short stout branches extended from the parent plant,
which root and take the place of the parent should conditions
of soil or climate interfere with its perennial character.

Dr. Stebler observed that the plant differs from ordinary
Red Clover in having a less fibrous root, stalks generally solid
instead of hollow, and that it produces fewer flowers, and
therefore a smaller yield of seed. As a consequence true seed
is always expensive and difficult to obtain. Dr. Stebler also
supports my opinion that this clover is more strictly perennial
than any other variety, and he distinctly states that it is a
mistake to confound Trifoliwm pratense perenne with Trifolium
medium.

At Rothamsted, ammonia salts had the effect of elimi-
nating this plant from the various plots to which they were

74 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

applied, whether alone or in conjunction with mineral manures.
Nitrate of soda also diminished the growth. Even potash and
mineral manures did not maintain the permanence of this
clover. It is a remarkable fact that the unmanured plots,
where there was little other herbage to interfere with it, were
the only plots on which Cow Grass retained its original
position. The Rothamsted experiments, however, decisively
proved this plant to be more enduring than T'rifolium repens ;
hence there can be no doubt whatever as to its great value in
laying down land to pasture.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 184 and 185.

TRIFOLIUM HYBRIDUM
(Alstke Clover).

Although this plant was named by Linneus, there is
reason to doubt whether it is a hybrid between Red and
White Clover, as is generally assumed. The common name
of Alsike is derived from the village of Syke, near Upsala in
Sweden, where it has been grown with great success. The
plant is indigenous in Southern Europe, yet it does not appear
to have been cultivated until after the example was set in
Sweden, whence it reached this country.

Alsike Clover is a true perennial, and on the Greensand
formation comes up year after year where once it has been
sown, but on some light soils it is not permanent. Were it
not for the surface growth, and the consequent inability to
withstand drought, Alsike would take a more important
position in agricultural operations than Broad _ Clover,
especially as the former will often grow on clover-sick land.

The plant is peculiarly adapted for damp soils, and is
decidedly more productive in wet than in dry seasons; it
endures heat and cold well, succeeds in undrained clays better
than any other variety, and is the only clover that will stand

AGRICULTURAL CLOVERS 75

irrigation. But in the event of a crop being laid on a damp
soil it should be promptly cut ; if left it may begin to rot at
the base.

For meadows and pastures Alsike Clover is far superior to
White Clover, as it produces a crop tall enough for the scythe,
and materially adds to the total weight of hay. It also pro-
duces. more keep and is better relished than White Clover.
On some soils Alsike will grow quite as much herbage as
Red Clover, and as the vegetation is principally composed of
leaves, care is requisite in the process of making hay, to pre-
vent them from being broken off and lost, especially as the
plant is more succulent than Red Clover and takes longer to
make into hay.

The time of flowering approximates to that of Cow Grass,
and the nutritive value is highest at the flowering stage.
Alsike is not hasty in getting old and pithy, and renews growth
quickly after cutting, although the total of the aftermath is
only equal to half the first cut. Still, the plant has a high
value for pastures, and is one of the best for alternate hus-
bandry. It flourishes in the same deep moist soil as Timothy,
and makes an excellent companion to that grass. With Tall
Oat Grass, Italian Rye Grass, and Cocksfoot it also combines
well and yields excellent forage.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 186 and 187.

TRIFOLIUM MINUS
(Yellow Suckling).

Notwithstanding the fact that this is an annual clover and
the growth is very small, yielding but scanty produce on the
gravelly soils and stony land where Yellow Suckling finds
a congenial home, it is by no means unworthy of a place in
a permanent mixture. On the Greensand this plant is of
considerable value, forming a dense mass of herbage and seed-
ing itself down every year. When grown with Rye Grass,

76 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

and cut before the herbage is too old, it makes excellent hay
which is much relished by stock. In such a case the roots
cannot be depended on for another crop, but if pastured
and kept constantly down the plant will provide a bite all
the summer.

The small foliage of Trifolium minus is admirably suited
for lawns and pleasure grounds.

MEDICAGO LUPULINA
(Common Yellow Clover, Trefoil, Nonsuch, Black Grass, or ‘ Hop’).

A fibrous-rooted biennial which flowers from May to
August, and to a casual observer closely resembles Yellow
Suckling ; but the foliage is a paler green, the stems much less
hard and wiry, the flowers not so dark, whilst the entire
plant is usually covered with a fine down. The black seed-
pods, which have earned for it the name of ‘ Black Medick,’
are also useful as a means of identification. Trefoil starts so
early in spring as to give a bite before any other clover, and
flowers ten or fifteen days in advance of Trifolium pratense.

Although the procumbent habit of growth prevents the
plant from yielding much herbage for the scythe, and there
is very little aftermath, the quantity of keep in spring is con-
siderable. Trefoil is primarily adapted for alternate husbandry,
being only biennial in duration. Seed is, however, so freely
shed by this clover as to render it practically permanent, and
as chemical analysis shows the herbage to be nutritious, there
is good reason for including a small proportion in most
permanent mixtures, especially as it grows compactly and
helps to make a good bottom to a pasture. Where Trefoil is
indigenous in abundance, seed need not be sown, nor should
it be admitted to those soils on which it is liable to smother
other plants.

Common Yellow Clover endures cold better than heat,
will grow freely on almost any soil, and shows preference for

AGRICULTURAL CLOVERS 77

such as are calcareous, because lime is one of its necessities.
Clay maz is its special home. Fresh green manure does not suit
the plant, but a top-dressing of a good compost or of vegetable
ash generally brings a full crop. All manures containing
potash and phosphoric acid have a magical effect on its growth.
Sheep injure it less than they do Red Clover.

Trefoil is rarely sown alone, but frequently with White
Clover, and it is important that the Trefoil should not be
allowed to predominate, or it may take entire possession of the
land. Foxtail, Sweet Vernal, and Smooth-stalked Meadow
Grass combine well with Trefoil in affording early and valuable
herbage.

Many farmers call this clover‘ Hop,’ but it must not be
confounded with the true Hop Clover, Trifolium procumbens,
a native British plant, which is not used in agriculture.

For illustration, description. and chemical analysis, see
pages 188 and 189.

LOTUS CORNICULATUS
(Birdsfoot Trefoil).

As a strict perennial, attaining maturity in the second
year after sowing, this variety often fills up the bottom of a
pasture when other sorts are deficient, and will do this on land
which is clover-sick. Birdsfoot Trefoil is useful for all soils,
and is remarkable for its endurance of drought, however
extreme. On high exposed thin soils it is more productive
than any other clover, and it augments the total of the crop
without apparent detriment to the taller, upright-growing
varieties. Therefore, if expense need not be considered,
seed in limited quantity should be sown. Unfortunately,
such soils do not often warrant the outlay for this clover,
the price of which is almost prohibitory.

Birdsfoot Trefoil is eaten with avidity by all kinds of
stock. The plant has narrow leaves, a smooth stem, and
bright yellow flowers, occasionally tinged with red.

78 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

SUNDRY PLANTS USED FOR GRAZING,
FEEDING, OR MAKING INTO HAY

ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM
(Yarrow, or Milfoil).

Yarrow is neither a grass nor a clover, but a compositaceous
plant, like the daisy, the tansy, and the chamomile. As an
ever-present constituent of dry pastures it naturally claims
consideration here. The leaves are dense, elegantly fimbriated,
and the flowering time is after midsummer. The plant is
strictly perennial, and multiplies itself by root-growth. It
appears to be independent of the presence of potash in the
soil, and flourishes where clovers scarcely maintain existence
or fail entirely.

Achillea Millefolium is adapted for pastures, not for
meadows, and seed should be excluded from any mixture for
a crop that is to be generally mown. Sheep are very fond of
the herbage, which is believed to impart an excellent flavour
to mutton, venison, and to butter also, notwithstanding its
astringent qualities.

On dry gravels and light sands that will scarcely support
any other plant Yarrow will grow, and no summer is too hot
for it. So great is its power of enduring drought that after a
dry season there is always a large demand for seed, and as this
is difficult to obtain of reliable germination, the price often
runs up to an extravagant figure.

Ammonia salts appear to be inimical to the growth of
this plant, nitrate less so, but heavy doses of any ammoniacal

SUNDRY AGRICULTURAL PLANTS 79

manure are certain to reduce its bulk by increasing the
strength of surrounding grasses. Mineral manures alone seem
to favour its development.

For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see
pages 190 and 191.

CICHORIUM INTYBUS
(Chicory, or Succory).

A perennial which grows wild in dry wastes, on roadsides,
and the borders of fields in many parts of England. When in
bloom its bright blue flowers are very conspicuous. The plant
is cultivated to a considerable extent on the Continent, and
the blanched leaves have been used from time immemorial for
salads. Chicory flourishes on nearly every class of soil, and
has been proved to be profitable on poor sands as well as
on richer and more productive land. Associated with Burnet
and mixed grasses and clovers, seed may be sown to produce
pasturage for sheep and cattle. The radical leaves, which
shoot up close to the ground, are continually cropped by stock,
and afford excellent fodder.

MEDICAGO SATIVA
(Lucerne).

Dr. Stebler controverts the opinion that the common
name of this plant is derived from the canton or town of
Lucerne, in Switzerland, although he is at a loss to account
for the appellation.

Lucerne was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as
a forage plant. It is mentioned by Virgil, and by several agri-
cultural writers at the beginning of the Christian era. In Persia
and other Eastern countries the plant is still used for horses.

Throughout the American continent it is known by the Spanish
name of Alfalfa.

80 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

Wet summers diminish the culture of Lucerne in
England, but dry seasons always restore it to favour, although
English farmers have never appreciated its merits to the same
extent as their Continental brethren. In part, no doubt, this
is owing to climate, and in part to soil. Lucerne is essentially
a plant for dry climates and dry soils. Cold, dry air has no ill
effect upon it; but moisture, with or without heat, is directly
prejudicial. Its duration depends more on the subsoil than
the surface; indeed, the nature of the surface is of small
moment so long as the subsoil is caleareous. In some parts of
the Continent Lucerne remains as good a crop twenty-five
years after sowing as in the third year of its existence, but in
this country five years is the usual term, and seven years may
be considered the fair limit of its vigorous life, even on suitable
land. It is interesting to note the diverse surface soils on
which Lucerne thrives, but investigation will always prove
that whatever the nature of the surface may be there is
a substantial agreement in the subsoils where this plant
flourishes. The distance to which the tap-roots penetrate is
almost incredible. In the first season they will often go
down two feet or more. I have been told of one instance
where a Lucerne root was traced unbroken to a depth of
sixteen Teet,

But for its unsightliness Lucerne would be more fre-
quently sown for permanent pastures than it is, a practice
advocated by the late Sir J. B. Lawes. The plant develops
so rapidly that it stands far above the surrounding herbage,
and imparts a broken and irregular appearance to the meadow.
Still, it must be conceded that a certain proportion of Lucerne
is desirable in every prescription of seeds intended for the
formation of a permanent pasture where the subsoil contains
abundance of lime.

In many localities Tucerne cannot be cultivated suc-
cessfully, and to attempt to grow it on impervious clay, or
on any cold adhesive land, will only be waging a fruitless

SUNDRY AGRICULTURAL PLANTS 81

war against Nature. Warm and calcareous soils are highly
favourable, and a sheltered field, sloping to the south, will
suit it to perfection, provided always that lime can be reached,
for this the plant must have. Sometimes there is a strong
desire to grow Lucerne on soil deficient in lime. To meet
the case a heavy dressing of marl is applied six months
before sowing; but the process is costly, and at best the
effects are temporary, because it is impossible to bury the
marl deep enough to feed the roots after they have pierced
the surface soil. The richer the soil the earlier will Lucerne
come to full development, and land should be chosen in
which the roots will be able to strike down without undue
resistance.

The principal point in the culture of Lucerne is to secure
a thoroughly clean seed-bed. Weeds soon ruin the plant, and
therefore farmyard or stable manure, although good in itself,
is dangerous from the seeds it may contain. Ash of all kinds
is beneficial, and, of course, artificial manure can be freely
resorted to. Three hundredweight of superphosphate per acre
is a good dressing. ‘The best preparation is a crop of potatoes.
As arule, April is the time for sowing, and the seed must not
be deeply buried. In England Lucerne is almost always sown
alone, while on the Continent a thin seeding of corn is often
put in with it.’

When well established the herbage must on no account
be allowed to grow old before being cut; in fact, the plant
should not be permitted to flower.

Lucerne is rarely made into hay, as the leaves are lost
during the drying, and the process is exceedingly wasteful.
The most convenient and profitable way of growing it is to
sow a patch near the homestead, so that the daily portion

1 My friend the late Mr. Clare Sewell Read told me that he had been most
successful in obtaining a plant of Lucerne by sowing it in wheat, while he had never
succeeded with it in barley, and seldom when sown alone. He attributed the failure
among barley to the closer sowing of this corn as compared with wheat; and the failure
when sown alone to the plant being smothered by annual weeds.

G

82 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

when cut has only to be carried a short distance to the stables.
The plant is peculiarly rich in albumen, and is even more
nutritious than Red Clover. When given alone, especially if
cut very young, there is a possibility that cattle fed upon it
may become blown, but when chaffed with good oat or barley
straw Lucerne is a wholesome and valuable food. Several
cuts are obtained in a year, making altogether an immense
weight of keep. It is not worth while to sow seed unless the
crop can be allowed to stand for at least three years.

Between 1893 and 1909 the area of Lucerne in England
expanded from 17,617 acres to 64,908 acres, the extension
amounting to 47,291 acres—a sufficient proof that the merits
of Lucerne are increasingly appreciated, especially in seasons of
drought.

ONOBRYCHIS SATIVA
(Sain foin).

Sainfoin has been cultivated in this country for over two
hundred years. It is essentially a food for sheep, and in
pasturing the plant they do it no injury. Sainfoin is also
useful for horses, but produces nothing like the quantity of
green food that can be obtained from Lucerne.

In Norfolk and some other of the Eastern counties,
Sainfoin takes the place of Red Clover, and is rarely allowed
to remain down more than two years, generally only one.
Against this practice nothing can be urged, for it is probably
the best possible preparation for wheat. But the method
adopted in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire,
of putting down Sainfoin alone for four or five years, has
grave disadvantages. Gradually the Sainfoin plant diminishes,
and every form of worthless vegetation increases, until the
land becomes exceedingly foul. Instead of sowing Sainfoin
alone, to remain down more than two years, the seed may
with advantage form one of the constituents in a mixture of

SUNDRY AGRICULTURAL PLANTS 83

grasses and clovers for three or four years’ ley. The sowing
of Sainfoin alone is expensive, and more or less precarious.
When combined with strong-growing grasses there is less risk
of failure, and the grasses keep down weeds and prevent the
growth of couch and other pests which almost invariably over-
run a pure Sainfoin ley after the first two years.

In the green state Sainfoin is quite free from the danger
of blowing cattle, and when made into hay it is an admirable
and nutritious food. But the making of Sainfoin hay is rather
a difficult business, particularly in catching weather. Like
Trifolium, the plant has a hollow stem, which when cut is
more quickly deteriorated by wet than any of the clovers.

There are two varieties, the common, and the giant or
double cut, the latter being the earlier and more rapid-growing
of the two, but decidedly less durable.

PETROSELINUM SATIVUM, or CARUM PETROSELINUM
(Sheep’s Parsley).

Parsley is frequently included in mixtures of grasses for
uplands and sheep downs. Sheep manifest a great fondness
for the herbage, which has been said to be a preventive of
rot and red-water in that animal. Hares will visit gardens for
the sake of the Parsley grown in them, and where this game is
abundant it may be worth while to sow patches in the covers.
The seed germinates so slowly that six or seven weeks may
elapse before a plant is visible.

POTERIUM SANGUISORBA
(Burnet).

Burnet is a perennial, and a native of Britain. When
sown alone the coarse unpalatable herbage is declined by all
kinds of stock unless pressed by hunger, but it is eaten when

«2

84 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

associated with more tempting herbage. Seed is sometimes
sown with grasses on poor chalky soils, where in dry summers
sheep graze the closely cropped pastures. In mixtures of
seeds for rabbit-warrens, Burnet may be employed with advan-
tage, and it is occasionally used in limited proportion for
pastures on light sandy soils.

85

SOWING GRASS SEEDS

THE actual work of sowing grasses is simplicity itself, but as
the germination of the seed and the equal distribution of
the plant depend on the accuracy of the process, the details
should be carried out with due regard to the serious loss which
carelessness entails. The necessity for making the seed-bed
fine and firm has already been explained. At sowing time
the soil should be dry enough to allow the implements to
work freely without any tendency to gather clods on the
roller. Waiting for suitable weather may tax the patience
severely, but it is worse than useless to enter into a conflict
with Nature. All such conflicts inevitably end in the defeat
of man.

The first operation is to run the harrow over the land
to prepare it for the seed, which may be sown either by
hand or by means of the seed-barrow. Some men are very
skilful in spreading seeds equally, and on a still day their
work may be successful. But grass seeds are light, and
a gentle breeze is sufficient to make the sowing irregular.
As the barrow delivers the seed near to the ground, it will,
as a rule, distribute the grasses more evenly than the most
practised sower by hand. But whichever method is adopted,
there is a decided advantage in making two sowings. Half
the quantity should be sown by passing up and down the
land, and the other half by crossing the first sowing at right
angles.

«A bush-harrow is the best implement for covering the
seeds, but a light iron harrow will answer, and the lighter it is

86 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

the better. The object to be secured is that as many seeds as
possible shall be thinly covered with soil. Grass seeds will
germinate and become established when they are merely
pressed upon the surface of the earth, provided they are not
consumed by birds or scorched under a hot sun. But many
seeds will fail to germinate at a greater depth than half an inch.
Hence the necessity of a fine soil and shallow sowing.

The roller must promptly follow the harrow, and it makes
a better and more certain finish to go over the ground twice
in different directions with a roller of moderate weight than to
accomplish the task at one stroke with a heavier implement.
The importance of this part of the work will be made apparent
if any spots are missed by the roller, for on those spots no grass
will appear.

A good plant may often be obtained by rolling with the
Cambridge or ring roller. Then sow the seed, and after-
wards cross the land once or twice with the ordinary smooth
roller.

Sowing grass seeds by the seed-drill is a modern practice,
and for light sandy soils, especially in a dry spring, it has
decided advantages. Under favourable conditions drilled seeds
germinate freely, and endure summer drought when surface-
sown seeds become malted. The covered drills afford pro-
tection from direct sunshine, the seeds have more certain
access to moisture, and on corn that has grown too high in
spring to render broadcasting a safe procedure the drill
may often be available. In any case the coulters should
be carefully adjusted for shallow sowing, and must be set as
closely as possible. Sowing at two operations should also
be regarded as a necessity. ‘The harrow will not be requisite
after drilling, but the importance of rolling firmly down is
of even greater consequence than when seeds are got in by the
hand or seed-barrow.

Hard and fast rules cannot be laid down as to the time
for sowing. In a great measure it depends on the weather,

SOWING GRASS SEEDS 87

and perhaps the easiest way of arriving at a conclusion will be
to consider separately the relative merits of spring and autumn
sowing.

Spring Sowing.—The term ‘spring sowing’ is here
intended to apply to the months of March, April, and May,
and as a rule it is better to sow early than late. In the early
spring the soil is generally moist enough to keep the plants
growing after they have made a start. But as the season
advances the state of the ground becomes increasingly critical
in this respect, and there is the risk that it may get too dry
to maintain the grasses until the next rainfall. Then follows
the extreme mortification of seeing a promising plant gradually
wither away.

April is properly regarded as a safe and favourable
month in which to sow, but if the seed-bed is ready and the
land in working order by the middle of March, there need be
no scruple as to putting in the seed. And should there
happen to be signs of approaching rain, it is worth any
reasonable effort to get the sowing done and the land rolled
down before a change of weather can stop the work. It is
an advantage to sow before rather than immediately after a
shower, even supposing the land can be worked soon after
rainfall, which may or may not be the case. The seeds
gradually absorb moisture from soil and dew until rain comes,
and then the plants rapidly spring up.

To sow later than the end of May is most hazardous.
Even the middle of May will often be too late, especially
on heavy soils, which in a dry season are also liable to crack,
to the injury of the grasses.

Now comes the question as to sowing alone or upon a
corn crop. This depends on the object in view, as well as on
the length of the purse. Apart from the money considera-
tion, each method has its advocates, and undoubtedly there
are sound reasons to be urged in favour of either practice.

88 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

When a first-class pasture or an ornamental park sward
is wanted as quickly as possible, and the cost is of no
importance, the sowing of grass and clover seeds without
corn will, in the majority of seasons, produce the most
satisfactory pasture in the shortest time. Opportunity is thus
afforded for early and frequent mowing, which tends to
strengthen the young grass. A still more valuable service
is rendered by the scythe in preventing weeds from seeding,
and these are certain to be troublesome enough under the
most favourable conditions. On the other hand, in an
extremely dry summer, the shelter of a light corn crop will
prove of great value to the young grass plant. It may even
result in an actual gain of time. Without its aid there is a
possibility that the grasses may stand still or completely fail for
want of moisture. An established pasture when burned brown
by the sun speedily recovers its verdure after rain, but young
grasses cannot endure so fiery an ordeal.

The assistance rendered in checking weeds is another
benefit derived from a corn crop. To appreciate its value,
compare one of the finer grasses with some weed growing
near, and it will at once be apparent that the delicate stripling
has no chance of resisting its masterful neighbour. The
annual weeds will die out by-and-by, but in the meantime
almost every one of them will destroy some grass plants. It
follows that the more abundant the weeds the thinner will
be the pasture, and until the grasses tiller out and cover the
ground the crop will be proportionately small. Unfortunately,
both drought and weeds prove more injurious to the smaller
than to the coarser grasses. The fact that corn assists in
the battle against both foes is quite sufficient to account for
the very general practice of sowing permanent grass seeds
with a corn crop.

On the pecuniary value of the corn it is needless to
dwell. The point is too important to escape attention, and,
as a rule, this consideration is alone sufficient to determine

SOWING GRASS SEEDS 89

the question in favour of corn. Of course a corn crop will
levy the usual tax upon the land, and it should be clearly
understood that the grasses are not to sustain the loss. A
liberal top-dressing of cake-fed manure must be applied after
the corn is cut, to compensate the grass for what the corn has
absorbed.

One point is of utmost consequence if corn is not to
injure the coming pasture, and this is the necessity of a very
light seeding of corn. A heavy crop is harmful in itself, and
involves further danger when it becomes laid. On the spots
where a heavy crop is lodged the grass will probably be
killed outright, and the slight additional gain derived from
a full seeding of corn will be more than counterbalanced by
losses in the grass plant, to say nothing of the labour of
patching it afterwards.

The time for sowing grass seeds with spring corn will be
either immediately after the corn is got in, or when it is only
two or three inches high. It is well understood that the less
forward the cereal, the better the chance for the grass.

On heavy, and especially on rich land, the choice of corn
is open. It may be either barley, oats, or wheat, and wheat is
always desirable for the grass.! For lighter soils barley or oats
are available, and oats are preferable to barley.

Under certain conditions it answers well to cut the oats
green, and turn the crop into hay or silage. ‘This method of
treating the herbage helps to keep down weeds quite as much
as when the oats are allowed to mature, and it takes far less
out of the land.’

1 T have been most successful from an April sowing on a thin plant of wheat, and
the late Mr. Clare Sewell Read said: ‘I never find any difficulty in obtaining a plant
from seeds, even in May, when sown with wheat, for then the ground is firm and the
surface soil very fine. Often when the seeds fail in barley, the headlands round by
the gates have a good plant, because there is fine mould on the surface and a solid
bottom.’ i

? A well-lnown Scotch agriculturist states that he ‘considers the best method
of sowing to be with about two bushels of oats, to be cut green before there is any
kernel. There is a large crop of useful fodder, the small seeds have beneficial protection
while they require it, annual weeds are kept down, and the grasses get relief by the

90 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

Occasionally a field in autumn wheat is wanted for a per-
manent pasture, and there is no difficulty if the land be clean
enough, and the grass seeds can be sown before the wheat is
too high. In favourable weather the seeds may be put in even
as early as the middle of February, as the corn will defend
the young grass from injury by frost. Should the wheat be
very backward, however, or stand thin on the ground, the
sowing had better be deferred for a time. In the event of
the land being at all foul, hand-hoeing must be resorted to,
and this will open the ground for the grass seeds. The
requisite harrowing and rolling will be beneficial to the
wheat plant.

Sowing with Rape.—Notwithstanding all that has
been said in favour of sowing Rape with grass seeds, I cannot
recommend the practice. Instances can doubtless be cited
where no injury has resulted. But the great objection
remains that Rape necessitates feeding off the crop by sheep,
and, when the Rape is ready, the grasses rarely have sufficient
hold of the ground to bear grazing with impunity. The
animals eat the hearts out of some plants, pull up many more,
and altogether do a lot of harm to a young pasture.

Autumn Sowing.—Many writers have vexed their souls
concerning the relative merits of spring and autumn sowing,
without getting nearer to a solution of the problem. It
cannot be solved at all by generalities, although the attempt
has often been made. For practical ends it may be disposed
of here by accepting necessity as a guide, and ‘then perhaps
there need be little or no controversy about it. The decision
largely depends on the possibility of working heavy land in
a wet spring. Sometimes autumn sowing is resorted to

early cutting at the stage most suitable for them to have full possession of the soil.’
He adds: ‘I have sown down one hundred and sixteen acres in this way. The same
grasses, sown at the same time, and sometimes on parts of the same field, but with the
oats allowed to ripen, have proved decidedly inferior.’

SOWING GRASS SEEDS 91

when a hot dry summer has scorched the life out of a spring
plant. This is one of the many misfortunes to which the
agriculturist is liable, but it does not touch the point now
under consideration.

Were all the land of the United Kingdom light, probably
the question would never have arisen. There would have been
a general consensus of opinion in favour of spring sowing. It
is the extreme difficulty of making heavy land ready for grass
seeds before the spring is too far advanced which renders the
state of the weather of so much more importance when sowing
grasses than when sowing any other seed. Sometimes it is
absolutely impossible to thoroughly pulverise a tenacious soil
until May is far gone, and then it is very risky indeed to
put in grass seeds. Thus late summer or so-called autumn
sowing becomes imperative. Having reached this conclusion,
it is satisfactory to remember that in addition to the chance it
affords of making a thoroughly sound seed-bed, the tempera-
ture of the land in autumn is highly favourable to the
germination of grass seeds, particularly in the North of
England. Further benefit is to be derived from the clearing
of successive crops of annual weeds, most of which would
have appeared among the grasses of an earlier sowing.

The danger of an autumn sowing mainly concerns the
clovers. Young grasses, especially of the stronger varieties,
will stand much winter cold with impunity. Not so the
clovers, although when established they also will endure
severe weather unharmed. While young, a wet cold winter
will almost certainly make an end of them. <A retentive soil
fosters a magnificent pasture containing plenty of clovers when
once the plants are matured. Yet on such soils it frequently
proves extremely difficult to obtain clovers from a sowing of
seed in autumn.

As to the best month for autumn sowing, it must not be
forgotten that grass seeds are peculiarly liable to be ‘ malted’
under a burning sun when the ground is not moist enough to

92 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

keep the plants going. A shower on a dry soil, followed
by scorching sunshine, is quite sufficient to destroy the
germs, and many failures of autumn- as well as of spring-
sown seeds are attributable to this cause alone. Even when
the failure is not total, it is a serious matter if the finer
grasses are killed and only the coarser varieties survive. After
the stronger varieties have had a six months’ start it is very
difficult to establish the finer grasses. As a consequence the
pasture may always be inferior in quality.

Supposing, however, that the soil is not too dry, and is
otherwise in good condition, sowing in August is to be
commended, and the earlier the better. The plants will
then have a chance of becoming fairly strong before winter
sets in. The first week in September is, in most seasons,
the latest date at which a permanent pasture can be sown
down with any reasonable hope of a satisfactory result, except
in the extreme South.

I have formed a good grass layer by sowing in autumn
with winter oats, and the grass came so forward as to be fit to
carry stock in September of the succeeding year.

Every field sown in August or September should undergo
a searching examination in the following spring. If it is
evident that the clovers and finer grasses have failed, more
seed of the missing sorts should be sown before the grasses
become too strong. There need be no anxiety as to the effects
of spring frosts, for the grasses will afford the young clovers
friendly and effectual shelter.

93

THE
IMMEDIATE AFTER-MANAGEMENT
OF NEW PASTURES

A SPRING sowing of grasses is made at a time when atmospheric
changes are sudden and severe, and grass seeds are not so well
constituted for resisting these violent changes as corn and other
heavy seeds. Besides, the spring is never so dry and cold as to
prevent the growth of weeds, nor is the May sun hot enough
to kill them; but after sowing, a long spell of unfavourable
weather will seriously retard the grasses. Meanwhile the
ground may be covered with chickweed, groundsel,' and other
weeds. As these extend, the chances of the grasses. diminish,
until at length it is possible that only a few spots will be found
on which they show sufficiently to prove that there would have
been a crop had circumstances been favourable. In a back-
ward spring early sowing increases the danger of the grasses
being smothered by weeds.

But if early sowing has its perils, late sowing is not free
from them. From the former arises the possibility that the
young grasses will be injured by weeds, and from the latter
that before the grasses are sufficiently established to endure
great heat, they may be scorched beyond recovery by fierce
sunshine. Or the soil may be so dry that the germination of
the seed is dependent on rain, and if only a brief shower falls,
the seeds will start. Then, should there come the dry blast of
an east wind, or burning drought, every seedling will perish.

1 Groundsel will actually flower when the thermometer stands near the freezing
point. Humboldt observed the plant growing in the upper reaches of the Andes, just
below the region of eternal snow, where the sun has little power and where hurricanes
are incessant.

94 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

I am not conjuring up difficulties for the sake of saying
‘There is a lion in the way,’ but rather to show that for
so important and costly an undertaking as laying down land
to grass there is absolute necessity for insisting on the
cleanest possible seed-bed. Even when the farmer has done
his utmost to clean the land, plenty of weeds will spring up.
It is then a question of precedence. If the grasses come
quickly, the annual weeds do little harm when promptly
checked, but if the weeds obtain a strong lead, the injury to
the grasses may prove serious, perhaps entirely destructive.
Happily, the majority of seasons favour the sower, but that
does not relieve him from the obligation of taking every reason-
able precaution to ensure success under what may prove to be
very adverse influences. Possibilities must be considered, and
by being forearmed the probability of success will be enhanced.

In the immediate after-management of newly-sown grass
the advantages of dispensing with a corn crop can be fully
realised. It is impossible to render active assistance to
grasses sown in corn until the crop is cut and carried; but
when grass is sown alone the plant can be mown with a sharp
scythe as soon as it is a few inches high, and the benefit will
speedily be visible. After mowing, the roller should be put
over the land again, which will help still further to consoli-
date it, and to give the young plants a firm grip of the soil.
The more frequently the pasture is mown and rolled during
summer, the more rapidly will the ground be clothed with
verdure. By August or September, in a favourable season,
the grass may be allowed to grow on to produce a small latter-
math hay crop, after which it will carry horned stock, eating
cake, through the autumn. The young crop should never
be allowed to grow unchecked until winter sets in, as the
herbage has a tendency to rust and rot away.

Although constant mowing will get rid of groundsel
and other annual weeds, it is powerless against such pests as
docks and coltsfoot. These can only be removed by a spud or

IMMEDIATE AFTER-MANAGEMENT OF NEW PASTURES 95

narrow hand-hoe, and for the sake of the future of the pasture
it is well worth while to give these strong-growing weeds
early and persistent attention. Thistles can be eradicated
by repeatedly chopping them off near to the ground with
an old scythe until they bleed to death.

Should it be found by the middle of May that the grass has
failed, no time must be lost in shallow-ploughing or cultivating
the land, breaking it down again into fine tilth, and re-sowing.
Supposing, however, that the seed has taken over the main area,
leaving some bare spots, these must have their crust broken
with a hoe, followed by a heavy rake, and be re-sown, raked over.
and again rolled down. When the plots which have missed
plant are too large for hand work, the harrow can be employed
instead of the hoe and rake. It will never do to assume that
the crop is all right. Rather assume that it is not perfect until
examination has shown the contrary.

Grasses and clovers sown with corn should not be allowed
to suffer injury from thistles and other coarse weeds. The
destruction of these pests is necessary for the corn, and is
imperative for the success of the grasses. Immediately the
corn is off the ground the whole field should be carefully
examined to ascertain whether there is a plant or not. After
a wet harvest there will be no difficulty in deciding promptly.
But in a dry season I do not advocate a hasty judgment.
The dry stubble, the parched ground, and the brown herbage
all help to mislead. A few hours of warm soaking rain may
put a new complexion on an old face in so brief a time as
to produce an almost magical effect, and therefore it is not
wise to be in too great a hurry to pronounce upon success or
failure. More than one instance has come to my knowledge
where a spring sowing of permanent grasses has been followed
by a dry summer, and on cutting the corn scarcely any grass
was visible. A top-dressing of four hundredweight of bones
and superphosphate per acre was applied with such good effect
that in the following summer a heavy crop of hay was cut.

96 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

If the plant is evidently all right, there can be no doubt
that it will abundantly pay to give a top-dressing of farmyard
manure, or some good artificial, to help the young grass into
vigorous growth. Bare spots caused by the laying of the corn
or from any other agency must be lightly broken, sown, and
rolled down again. It will be quite necessary to look these
patches over in the following spring to see that they have passed
safely through the winter, otherwise they must be sown once
more.

Should the failure be total, it will generally be impossible
to smash a hard stubble, and get it clean, fine, and firm by the
first or second week of September ; and therefore it is usual to
defer re-sowing until the following spring. On two or three
occasions I have risked sowing grass seeds on an unbroken
stubble, after the manner common with Trifolium. In each
case the stubble was unusually clean, and directly the corn
was carried, a heavy drag was put over the land and the
seed was bushed in. The success was very marked indeed,
but I do not feel justified in drawing large inferences from
a few experiments of this kind.

A pasture sown with corn will not, after the corn is cut,
be in the same condition for grazing as when grasses are
sown alone. In the latter case the care and attention that
can be devoted to the plant through the summer make all
the difference. After a showery season horned stock can
sometimes be turned on to a stubble containing young grass
without inflicting serious injury. But if there are occasional
instances of this kind there can be no doubt about the folly
of permitting sheep to graze it. Sheep bite extremely close,
and with a snatching movement which uproots an immense
number of young plants that have not sufficient hold to
bear the strain. Another fact is worth consideration. Both
cattle and sheep, if allowed to graze too soon, are apt to
pick out certain grasses and clovers for which they have a
partiality, leaving others to seed or to develop into ugly tufts.

IMMEDIATE AFTER-MANAGEMENT OF NEW PASTURES 97

Whenever this happens it is wise to let a man go over the
ground two or three times, and cut these tufts down. The
new growth will afterwards be eaten close.

It is unquestionably sound practice to mow a permanent
pasture the first year after sowing, and on some soils it may
be advisable to mow in the second year also. The loss to the
land must, of course, be restored, either by a liberal dressing
of farmyard manure, in autumn, or by artificials rich in
phosphates and potash, applied in spring.

In the early management of autumn-sown grasses, the
object to be kept constantly in view is the promotion of free
growth before winter sets in. Topping the young grass with
the seythe and rolling will prove advantageous to the plants
in helping them to cover the ground and become firmly
rooted. Immediately the growth begins in spring mow once
more, and a final rolling is also essential. After an autumn
sowing it is especially necessary to cut the hay crop very
early. When it is carried, cattle may be turned in to
graze.

Several of the finer grasses, if permitted to seed while
young, are so weakened that they die, and on some soils
they appear to perish more readily than on others. This
does not show that such grasses should be excluded from a
prescription for a permanent pasture, as some writers affirm.
It would be just as reasonable to say that because certain
varieties which revel in a dry soil disappear after a succession
of wet summers, therefore they ought to be omitted. A
pasture is laid down that it may yield nutritious herbage, not
that seed may be saved from it. Grasses which require three
or four years to attain maturity—and there are varieties which
do not reach their highest vigour in less time—must of
necessity be weakened or destroyed by producing seed in the
first or second year after sowing, just as animals are per-
manently stunted by allowing them to reproduce their species
at too early an age.

u

98 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

The opinion is widely entertained that the critical period
of a pasture is the third or fourth year after it has been sown.
But if a pasture begins to fail about that time, it is probably
attributable to mismanagement and starvation. No farmer
supposes for a moment that he can for several years in suc-
cession take heavy crops off arable land and put nothing on
it. Yet this is a very common delusion concerning grass land.
And I say most emphatically, that the man who thinks it
reasonable to treat either a new or an old pasture on that
principle deserves to find it deteriorate in quantity and in
quality also. Liberties of this kind are sometimes taken with
a rich old pasture, and the injury may not at once be
apparent ; but it is most unreasonable to expect that a young
pasture will become established under the starving system and
at the same time yield heavy crops.

One cause of the early deterioration of some new pastures
is no doubt traceable to grave faults in the prescription of the
grasses sown. Too many farmers are content if they can only
see ‘something green,’ without bestowing a thought as to
whether the ‘ something’ is good or bad. So long as men will
only pay about half the value of a first-class prescription of
permanent grasses and clovers, dealers will be prepared to
supply so-called permanent mixtures, consisting mainly of
annual varieties of Rye Grass, Yorkshire Fog, Tussock Grass,
and other cheap seeds utterly unsuitable for the purpose.

In a subsequent chapter reference is made to feeding an
old pasture by supplying the animals upon it with cake, and
there is no better means of enriching the land. But if the
plant cannot be safely fed off until about eighteen months
after sowing, obviously some other means of stimulating the
pasture must be adopted, and this is why I strongly advise a
top-dressing of farmyard manure after corn is carried, or as
an alternative an application of artificial manure in spring.

The Rothamsted and my own experiments at Kidmore
have demonstrated a fact which I am anxious to emphasise.

IMMEDIATE AFTER-MANAGEMENT OF NEW PASTURES 99

After every care has been exercised in selecting suitable
grasses and clovers, and a plant has been established, the
herbage of any piece of grass will eventually depend on the
after-management. If a field which has been judiciously sown
be divided into several portions, and each portion is subjected
to distinct and continuous treatment for successive years, a
decided difference in the herbage of the several parts will
become manifest. Certain manures encourage the growth of
certain grasses, and indirectly effect the destruction of those
species which are not benefited, by enabling stronger neigh-
bours to choke them. Those who have carefully observed
the results obtained in the late Sir J. B. Lawes’s experimental
grass plots will adequately realise the importance of applying
suitable manures, not merely for the purpose of augmenting
the crop, but as a means of maintaining or destroying some of
the grasses.

Manuring is not the only way of effecting changes in
the character of a plant of grass. Some varieties are specially
adapted for grazing, others for making into hay. A fine old
pasture which has been fed for many years will often yield a
miserable crop of hay, and may be utterly ruined by being
mown for several consecutive seasons. Conversely, a meadow
which has been mown for years and kept in condition by
annual top-dressings may prove altogether unsatisfactory as a
pasture. Grazing gives all varieties of grasses, except a few
which will not bear treading, a full chance of existence ; while
haying fosters the growth of those grasses which come to
maturity at a particular period of the year. Some of the most
valuable pasture grasses are often entirely absent from good
old meadow land. It is therefore desirable as far as possible
to reserve meadow land exclusively for mowing, and pasture
land for grazing.

100 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

THE
MANAGEMENT AND [MPROVEMENT
OF OLD GRASS J.ANDP

In 1872 there appeared in the Royal Agricultural Society’s
Journal an account by Mr. H. S. Meysey Thompson of a
personal inspection made by him of the grass lands of England
and Ireland. His laborious journey included visits to the
most famous grazing districts, and it was undertaken when
farmers were at the height of their prosperity. The following
are his conclusions :—

‘Ist. That although very excellent management is to be
met with in parts of our best grazing districts in
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire,
Somersetshire, and several other counties, this
must be considered quite exceptional, and the
treatment of the bulk of the grass land of the
country is very unsatisfactory.

‘2nd. That our grass lands, if properly managed, would
be easily able to meet the demand made upon
them for an increased production of meat, even if
the supply required were greatly in excess of the
present rate of consumption.

‘8rd. That money judiciously laid out in improving
grass land makes a better return than money laid
out on arable land.’

These remarkable statements are as worthy of profound

attention from those who possess old pastures, as from those

THE MANAGEMENT OF OLD GRASS LAND 101

who contemplate laying away arable land to grass. Unfortu-
nately, much of the grass land of this country is now in
very little better condition than at the time Mr. Thompson
wrote. There is not the least exaggeration in saying that
thousands of low-lying meadows and upland pastures are not
yielding half the produce which could be obtained from them
were the land in better heart. These pastures grow inferior
hay and little of it, the production of milk is restricted, and the
capacity for fattening stock is diminished. The result is an
enormous national loss, and the truth must be told that this
loss is almost entirely avoidable. The prime cause is negli-
gence, begotten of the mistaken notion that a pasture is
self-supporting. There is a very general assumption that the
owners and occupiers of grass lands are not only relieved from
the anxiety and expense of arable tillage, but that they are
under little or no obligation to make any return to the soil for
all that may be taken from it in the form of hay, milk, or
meat. I propose to specify some of the influences which have
reduced many English pastures to their present unsatisfactory
state, and to suggest means of restoring them to fertility.

One of the principal causes is the practice of taking hay
crops for several successive years without giving any adequate
return in manure. The necessity for treating arable land
liberally is never disputed for a moment. Yet the arable land
has the advantage of being constantly broken up and enriched
by rain, air, and other of Nature’s fertilising agencies ; while a
pasture is, by its fixed condition, debarred from the benefit of
all cultural operations, except the use of the harrow and roller.
If properly drained, grass land can generally be maintained in
the full tide of fertility by judicious manuring alone ; but this
is often negligently or wilfully withheld.

The prevalent idea that continuous haymaking is inimical
to the welfare of a meadow is entirely illusory, and probably
arises from the failure to give any return to the land for the
crops taken from it. Of course the hayrick can be made the

102 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

instrument of impoverishing grass land more quickly than
overstocking ; still, it is not so much the cutting of a meadow
which is injurious, but withholding the top-dressing of manure
or compost which all mown grass should annually receive.
Again, immense damage is done to some meadows by
cutting the crops for hay very late in the season. Many of
the grasses have time to form and ripen their seeds, and
nothing exhausts plants so much. Some of the finer grasses
cannot safely be taxed in this way. They may endure the
ordeal once or twice, but if the drain on their resources is
frequently repeated they gradually dwindle away. So long as
these grasses are mown early, or grazed, they are perfectly
perennial, as is conclusively proved by their continued exist-
ence in some of the finest old pastures of the kingdom where
they have never been allowed to seed. To manage any
pasture or meadow in such a way as to exterminate some of its
most valuable and nutritious grasses is surely killing the goose
that lays the golden egg. And this is exactly what is done by
constant greed for the rick. Of course an early crop means
a smaller bulk of hay, but unless the turf is exceptional in
character the quality is higher than from a later cutting,’ and

1 In the Journal of the Bath and West and Southern Counties Society for 1890-91,
page 375, it was suggested by the editor that I should undertake a series of experi-
ments with the object of determining ‘the value of aftermath, according to the period
of the first cutting; also to determine the relative food-producing powers of a meadow
when various times of cutting were resorted to.’ I gladly assented to the suggestion,
and my friend Dr. Voelcker was kind enough to undertake the chemical part of the
experiment. The results were published in the Society’s Journal, Vol. II., Fourth
Series, from which I have extracted the following comparative table of five plots
in the same field, having the same aspect, soil, and other conditions calculated to ensure
uniformity of growth :—

ANALYSES OF GRASS FROM THE Prors—First Currine. In Drrep (at 212° F.) Stare.

Date of Solubl Insoluble |Digestible| Indigestible | Soluble "Matter
Plot ate 0 oluble nsoluble igestible | In iges ible Carbo- atter Sili
Cutting |Albuminoids |Albuminoids Fibre Fibre hydrates, &e. eae ica
No.1! June 3 3-41 7°82 3112 26°67 23°43 5:75 1:80
oO) rae WG 2:28 6°67 32°61 30°87 20°93 5:02 1:62
» &| July 2 1:46 6:92 32:14 31:70 20°41 551 1:86
» 4 » 15 1:81 6:98 27°35 31:10 24:78 5:69 2:29
» D » «29 3°44 5:67 28°88 30:47 24°33 5:10 211

THE MANAGEMENT OF OLD GRASS LAND 103

the loss of bulk in the first instance results in a net gain, for
the aftermath will be the greater, and the pasture will not be
damaged for future seasons. Where grasses perish, the gaps
are almost certain to be filled by worthless or noxious forms of
vegetation, and thus the herbage diminishes in value so long
as a false system of management is pursued.

Another source of injury to pastures arises from the
manner in which grazing is conducted. It should not be
necessary to repeat so trite a remark as that land is never
enriched by the droppings of cattle fed exclusively upon its
herbage, but, on the contrary, must by degrees become the
poorer for supporting the lives and increasing the weight of
the animals which graze upon it. In milk and flesh the land
yields its produce in highly concentrated forms, and without
external aid the process of exhaustion must of necessity go on.
But when the herbage consumed is supplemented with cake,
corn, roots, hay, or other extraneous food, benefit is conferred
on the pasture in addition to the advantage which the animals
derive from it. The improvement will, of course, be gradual,
and its progress be regulated by the quantity and the quality
of the additional food supplied. In this extra feeding of
grazing animals there is a simple and economical means of
enriching a poor pasture, and the increased weight of the
stock is an immediate if only a partial return for the outlay.
Agricultural chemists tell us, and their analyses are supported
by experience, that animals only assimilate one-tenth of the
nutritious qualities of cake or other highly concentrated
feeding stuffs, and that the remaining nine-tenths, after
passing through the cattle, are available for vegetation, in
a form specially adapted to meet the requirements of plant
life. This explains the marked improvement which is always
observable when grass is depastured by cake-fed cattle—an
improvement superior to that effected by a dressing of
farmyard manure, because none of the valuable elements are
lost by fermentation. And this fact suggests the economical

104 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

aspect of the practice. The carting of heavy bulks of manure
is avoided, and the land at once has the benefit of the
droppings. When manure is stacked in heaps, or is allowed
to lie in the farmyard, some of its most fertilising constituents
drain away or are dissipated in the atmosphere. It will also be
evident that to graze a pasture by day and fold on the arable
at night is a very ingenious device for ruining grass land.
Even when sheep are helped with cake, it is no sufficient
compensation for their absence during twelve out of the
twenty-four hours.

A further means of deteriorating grass land is the practice
of allowing pastures reserved especially for horned cattle to
be overstocked. When an ox-pasture is eaten down so bare as
to allow the roots of the more succulent grasses to become
scorched, it is a serious injury, not only for that year’s feed,
but for subsequent seasons. In one instance, during a hot
summer I hoped by a liberal allowance of cake to make a
pasture carry more stock than the crop justified, and the result
was disastrous to the plant. On the other hand, an established
sheep-pasture can seldom be cropped too closely for main-
taining constant growth of the sweet fine herbage of which it
should consist.

Widespread indifference prevails as to the predominance
of such weeds as cowslips, primroses, orchids, daisies, and
plantains, although these plants frequently show that the soil is
in such a condition as to be incapable of maintaining nourish-
ing herbage. The mere presence of these weeds and of barley
and brome grasses is an evil in itself, and they indicate that
the land is starved, just as tussock grass, rushes, and sedges
prove the need of drainage. Thistles, docks, coltsfoot, and
other large weeds may also abound, and they cannot be
eradicated without the constant use of the scythe and spud.
In a foul pasture the weeds are generally so mixed up with
what good herbage there may be, that they can only be
improved out of existence as better grasses are induced to take

THE MANAGEMENT OF OLD GRASS LAND 105

their places. A heavy dressing of salt applied after weeds
have been cut will kill a large proportion of them, and an
application of gas-lime has been known to effect a surprising
change in the herbage of an inferior pasture. The folding of
sheep thickly will also produce marked benefit on poor upland
grass if the animals are at the same time fed with corn or cake.
They should be penned on the ground long enough to make
it as brown as a fallow, and then many weeds will be killed
outright. This practice differs very much in its effects from
that of giving sheep the run of the land. Whatever dis-
courages the growth of rough herbage encourages that which
is better. It is equally true that, however good a pasture
may be, it has only to be treated with a policy of masterly
inactivity, and in time it will revert to the waste condition of
a moorland.

AV succession of wet summers is another fruitful source of
injury to pastures. The bulk of herbage forced from them
during warm damp seasons tends greatly to their impoverish-
ment, and some of the grasses which are more especially
adapted for dry soils will probably perish. Well-drained land
naturally suffers least. Land not well drained becomes sour
and unwholesome, and only the sedges and coarse water-
grasses survive.

Hitherto nothing has been said about seed, and it may
be frankly admitted that with hberal management it is quite
possible to restore the fertility of some pastures without sowing
seed. But the remedy will take time, perhaps many years ;
and it is a penny-wise and pound-foolish procedure to
occupy a long period in making an improvement which might
be effected in a single season. The outlay beyond that
necessarily incurred in carrying out the improvements already
suggested is very trifling. In every case where the plant
stands thin on the ground it will pay to sow a few pounds
of the finer grasses and clovers per acre. <A farmer I am
acquainted with sows every autumn on an old pasture twenty

106 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

pounds of grass seeds per acre, because he has found by
experience that the result is an increase of a ton of hay
per acre in the cut of the following year. The seed may be
sown either before the grass starts growth in February, or
late in August or the beginning of September. On damp land
preparation should be made by an application of salt to the
most weedy parts, and a severe dragging over the entire surface.
A well-mixed compost of lime, the contents of ditches, and
any other available rich material, should be distributed over
the whole meadow, and the seeds can be sown on any day
when the ground is dry enough to permit the roller to be used.
To ensure germination it is important that the bush or chain
harrow should precede the roller. The meadow should then
be laid in for hay, and after the crop is cut cattle may be
allowed to depasture the land, but sheep must not be admitted
until the following year. Upland pastures may be treated in a
similar manner.

For destroying moss there is no better dressing than two
cart-loads of lime mixed with eight cart-loads of light loam
per acre. The heap should be turned several times until the
lime is thoroughly slaked and well incorporated with the loam.
After dragging the turf with heavy iron harrows, the com-
post should be evenly spread. There will soon be a marked
improvement, and a full return for the outlay.

The effect of dragging a pasture is not everywhere
appreciated at its full value. The mechanical action breaks
up the congested surface, allows the atmosphere to penetrate
to the roots, and thus promotes a free and healthy growth of
the plants. It also enables the grasses to absorb and derive
benefit from any fertilising agent or compost which may be
applied to the surface, instead of allowing part of the dressing
to be washed away by the first heavy rain.

BREAKING UP OLtp GRASS LAND

SoME pastures are so unproductive and foul with weeds, that
in order to secure better crops the only satisfactory course is to
break them up, grow turnips or other roots for a year or two,
and then sow good permanent grasses and clovers. This is
always a serious proceeding; but if, in addition to breaking
up the land, there be also the willingness to incur the cost
of paring and burning, I believe the operation may often be
worth undertaking, provided the soil is suitable.

A poor mountain pasture, however difficult it may be
to ameliorate its condition in other ways, must on no account
be destroyed. Paring and burning will almost certainly fail
to increase its productiveness, and it is well-nigh impossible to
form a sod on such land by artificial means. Nor will burning
answer with any light sandy soil. Unless clay is a principal
constituent, burning is to be avoided, for it will only do harm.
As arule, peats and thin clays resting on chalk are benefited
by the process. The colour of the soil as a rule indicates
whether or not burning will be advantageous. A bronzy
black soil is fair evidence of the presence of protoxide of iron.
Where this chemical compound exists in quantity burning
will generally improve the soil, for the protoxide is injurious
to vegetation ; by the action of fire it becomes a peroxide,
which is beneficial to plant life.

An old and easy mode of discovering whether land will
benefit by burning is to place sods in a large iron pot or
kettle, closely covered, and place over a gentle fire. The

108 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

heat must not be sufficient to create a flame. Gradually the
sods will char away to ashes. If the land is suitable, the
ashes will be red and powdery, mixed with a few black
particles, and when put into water will make it more or less
muddy. In the proportion that the water holds the ashes in
suspension will the land be benefited by burning. If the land
is unsuitable, the ashes will be sandy, and instead of making
the water thick they will be precipitated to the bottom,
leaving the water almost clear. Supposing this experiment to
be in favour of the operation, even then only a small area
should be tried until there is conclusive evidence that the
proceeding would be advantageous.

There is no necessity to pare the soil deeper than three
or four inches, and instead of the spade or turfing iron, a
paring plough made for the purpose is to be preferred, especially
as it leaves the slice of soil on its edge, so that a drying wind
soon fits it for being gathered into heaps. To economise
labour, many small fires scattered over the field have been
advocated, and undoubtedly they save much carrying of the
turf and facilitate the spreading of the ashes. But small heaps
are very wasteful. It is almost impossible to prevent them
from flaring, and that is ruinous. Large dense masses, how-
ever, can be burned slowly and evenly, and at a comparatively
low temperature. This point is worth attention, for it makes
an enormous difference in the fertilismg value of the ash.
The inorganic constituents of the soil are rendered soluble when
burned slowly, and become more insoluble when overburned.

The effect of burning is to get rid of all the organic
matter. But the mineral constituents—with the exception
of nitrogen—remain, and they are so transformed by fire as
to be easily assimilable by future crops.

The consumption of all the organic matter by fire is of
course a destructive process, and in itself involves a consider-
able loss, but the effect of fire upon the inorganic substances
goes far to neutralise this loss. The soil is rendered capable

BREAKING UP OLD GRASS LAND 109

of assimilating ammonia, nitrogen, and other plant foods more
rapidly than before. Fire reduces clay to a friable, disinte-
grated condition, when the staple readily absorbs fertilising
matter. The late Dr. Voelcker conclusively proved this to be
the case, and that the effect of heat is to transform some of the
mineral elements from an insoluble to a soluble state. For
instance, as the soil probably contains various compounds of
silicates and of lime, the lime becomes liberated by the heat,
and, under the high temperature, attacks the silicates, sets free
part of the potash from its insoluble compound, and converts
it into soluble plant food. This liberation of potash has
probably more to do with the success of burning than any
other result consequent upon it. Thus the action of fire
effects chemical and physical changes in the soil which are of
material advantage to the plant life which follows. Burning
has really very much the same effect, but in a more intense
degree, that liming has in sweetening the soil, and in setting
free quantities of inorganic matter which were previously in a
locked-up condition.! An admixture of lime with the ashes
greatly augments their value for clay soils.

Burning also destroys the noxious forms of vegetation, and
the land is freed from bots and grubs, and other destructive
larvee of insects.

It is usual to take at least one crop of roots immediately
after burning, and in such a case a mis-plant is rarely known.
The ashes absorb so much moisture from the atmosphere, and
give it up so slowly, that turnip seeds have plenty of time to
germinate, however great the heat. Even the fly is seldom
troublesome on newly-burned land.

1 The following is Sir H. Davy’s analysis of the ash of burnt turf :—

Parts
Carbonate of lime . : 80
Sulphate of lime, or gypsum . ‘ : : . ; é é ll
Charcoal , ‘ 9
Saline matter, principally sulphate af potash nnd mtitiate efx magnesia . 3
Oxide of iron . 15
Insoluble earthy sation. 82

200

110 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

TEMPORARY PASTURES

ALTHOUGH a large proportion of the cultivated soil of the
United Kingdom is perfectly adapted for being laid away to
pasture, it is unquestionably true that certain soils do not
take kindly to permanent grasses. ‘There are also cases where
absence of fences and want of funds to make them, the
cultural preparations and expense of the seeding, combine
to render the creation of a permanent pasture impracticable.
In relation to this subject I published a short paper some
years ago which had this question for its title: ‘Is there no
Alternative?’ As an answer I ventured strongly to press
upon the attention of agriculturists the necessity of adopting
the system of alternating grass with corn and roots as a
means of enabling them to work with less capital and of
reducing the labour bill by at least one-third. The late
Mr. Clare Sewell Read gave the sanction of his high authority
to this practice by publicly stating that he considered it to
be the only possible way of meeting modern conditions of
agriculture.

Several of the reasons why some land will not grow a
satisfactory permanent pasture are very ably stated by one of
the greatest French agricultural authorities, Monsieur H.
Joulie. In his essay on ‘ Permanent and Temporary Meadows
and Pastures,’ for which the Société des Agriculteurs de
France awarded him a gold medal, he says :—

‘ At first the grass plants find a soil suitably dressed with
farmyard or other manure, that is to say, containing all the

TEMPORARY PASTURES 111

elements necessary for their growth. So they grow vigorously.
But little by little the soil becomes more compact, the subsoil
more dense, and the rain or water of irrigation penetrates with
greater difficulty. During the droughts of summer the moisture
rises up less easily from the subsoil, and thus, from physical causes,
the production settles down to a normal level. In time the
chemical condition of the land also undergoes a material change :
not only is the layer of soil which is occupied by the roots rendered
incapable of supplying a sufficiently large amount of the elements
necessary to the vegetation, but, owing to the continued accumu-
lation of vegetable débris, the layer of soil in which the roots live
at length becomes sour, even where the earth may originally have
been calcareous, and may still be so in the underlying layers, so
that the good plants tend to disappear and give place to a
vegetation which is characteristic of sour land.’

After giving the reasons and experiments which prove his
case, Monsieur Joulie adds :—

‘From all that has been stated we can now draw the following
practical and economical conclusions :—

“1st. That the cultivation of roots and cereals deprives the soil
of nitrogen, whilst that of grass and leguminous plants, temporary
or permanent, on the contrary, causes it to accumulate in the soil.
That nitrogen being the most expensive manure to buy, it is not
economical to devote part of the land permanently to arable and
part to grass, for while the one uses up the nitrogen, the other
accumulates it in excess. On the contrary, it is preferable to
alternate on the same piece of land the cultivation of roots and
cereals with that of grass leys, so as in a measure to repair by
the second the loss of nitrogen which the first cause to the soil.
By this means cultivation can be kept up indefinitely without
purchased nitrogen, provided that the land be maintained in a
fit state of richness as regards the mineral elements which are
indispensable to healthy vegetation.

‘2nd. The practical application of this principle is, that the
temporary occupation of the land by a grass ley for two or three
years, which takes its turn in the rotation of crops, should be
preferred. We thus secure the improvement of the soil obtainable
from the cultivation of Leguminose (clover, lucerne, vetches, &c.).
But as this class of plant will not succeed on every soil, temporary
“leys” with gramineous (grass) herbage ought to give, where

112 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

leguminous plants do not succeed, analogous, if not equally good,
results, and so assist materially in solving the problem of producing
cereal, root, and other crops with increasing economy.’

Upon nearly all soils alternate husbandry may be adopted
with immense advantage, and on light sandy soil, where a
satisfactory pasture is rarely formed, it is far wiser to sow a
temporary than a permanent mixture. The periodical breaking-
up of the land at the end of every three or four years, and its
treatment as arable for one or two seasons, will render it capable
of again yielding valuable crops of grass.

The heavy crops that can be obtained from artificial
grasses during a limited number of years are, no doubt, partly
attributable to the judicious selection of grasses and clovers.
But other influences are at work. The continual use of
manure has put the land into good heart, and cultural opera-
tions have allowed the atmosphere to set free the elements
which grasses readily assimilate. There are, unfortunately,
plenty of instances where improper seeding or starved land
renders a profitable permanent pasture impossible. 'To these
preventable causes I am not now alluding, but to soils
which, in despite of fair treatment, agglomerate and become
impervious to atmospheric influences, and refuse to give up
the necessary elements for the continuous free growth of
grasses.

Apart, however, from this question of an unsuitable soil,
there are weighty reasons for the adoption of a system of
alternate husbandry. Two-thirds of many farms might
with advantage always be in artificial grass. A great saving
is effected in tillage operations, horseflesh, and labour, and
the land breaks up at the end of the term in excellent
condition, full of clover roots as a store of nourishment
for the succeeding grain crop. The custom of maintaining
agricultural holdings that are almost entirely arable, or almost
entirely pastoral, has failed to meet the necessities of our time.
What is wanted now is a combination of arable and pastoral

TEMPORARY PASTURES 113

husbandry, so that when corn does not pay and stock is profit-
able, or vice versd, each occupier may obtain benefit from one
branch of his business. The grazier would be profited in being
able to winter his own stock instead of selling it to make
a winter’s manure for the arable farmer. On the other hand,
the arable farmer would not then, as now, be compelled to
sell his stock immediately his roots were exhausted, or pay the
grazier to summer the animals for him. When neither arable
nor pastoral farms yield a profit, the system I am advocating
has the merit of reducing expenses to a minimum.

The specialismg of agriculture has been carried to
injurious excess. Great arable farms, without enough pasture
to keep half a dozen cows, and large grazing farms that are
wanting in sufficient arable to grow straw and roots for winter
consumption, should both be regarded as evils. The admirable
system, pursued in Lancashire and in Scotland, of annually
laying away in artificial grasses a proportion of each farm
for a period of three or four years, is so successful that it is
surprising the practice has not long since been adopted all over
the country.

On midland and southern farms the custom long prevailed
of sowing Broad Clover alone, or in occasional instances with
an admixture of Rye Grass. The more profitable method is,
however, gradually advancing in favour, and every year an
increasing number of farmers find that the best results are
obtained from clovers combined with such heavy-cropping
grasses as Cocksfoot, Foxtail, Timothy, and Rye Grass. I am
fully persuaded that the general adoption of short-term leys
will prove to be a substantial gain. In itself the system of
temporary pastures is good, and a means of good, for it opens
up a superior method of farming which can be conducted with
a smaller capital than is necessary for the management of a
purely arable farm.

The assumption that there is no alternative between the
old four-course system and laying down land to permanent

I

114 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

pasture will not bear a moment’s examination. The result
of this fallacy is fraught with mischief, and entails an
enormous loss on the farmers of this country every year.
The alternate system offers a remedy of proved value, the
adoption of which will tend very materially to turn a deficit
into a favourable balance. Cocksfoot, Timothy, Italian Rye
Grass, and other strong-growing grasses, not only produce
heavy crops of nutritious hay, but they smother weeds and
keep the land clean ; that is, supposing it to have been in a
reasonably clean condition when sown. The alternate system
will justify neither slovenly preparation nor foul seeding.
Those who sow rubbish will assuredly reap as they sow. The
seeds sold for leys sometimes consist largely of Goose Grass
and Yorkshire Fog, with a liberal sprinkling of sorrel and
docks. Let no man who puts such a vile mixture into his
land blame the system I am advocating for the miserable
results he may obtain.

One Year’s Ley.—For this purpose the varieties must
obviously be restricted to those which yield a large and imme-
diate return. Either Annual or Italian Rye Grass will form
the basis of the mixture, and an addition of Perennial Rye
Grass will generally be desirable, as also a very small quantity
of Cocksfoot and of Timothy. For grazing, Broad Clover
is preferable to Cow Grass, and White Clover will also be a
necessary constituent. But for hay, Alsike should replace
White Clover. Where Trefoil is indigenous, especially if it
appears freely, seed of this clover is not wanted in a mixture.
In other cases a proportion of it may be an advantage to
the crop.

Two Years’ Ley.—The extended duration of the ley
justifies an increase of Timothy and Cocksfoot, but it is very
easy to overdo the latter. Italian will almost certainly be
preferable to Annual Rye Grass, although the proportion must

TEMPORARY PASTURES 115

be diminished, and a larger quantity of Perennial Rye Grass be
substituted. Alsike and White Clover should be more freely
sown, and the weight of Broad Clover be slightly reduced. A
heavier total seeding will be necessary to make a satisfactory
two years’ ley than is required for a single season, and more
regard must be paid to peculiarities of soil and to the object
in view.

Three Years’ Ley.—Besides retaining Timothy, Alsike,
White Clover, and Perennial Rye Grass, it is still an advantage
to include some Italian Rye Grass, Broad Clover, and Trefoil
for the sake of the first year’s produce. The value of the hay
will be increased, and the pasture will be more palatable to
stock, by partially replacing Cocksfoot with Meadow Fescue ;
Foxtail may also be introduced. When the ley is needed
for pasturage, an addition of Hard Fescue will render good
service by making the bottom grass dense, and the Broad
Clover can then be supplemented with Cow Grass. On
chalky soils either Sainfoin or Lucerne may be desirable.
The total quantity of seed will approximate more nearly to
that required for a permanent pasture, although the finer
varieties will be omitted.

Four, Six, or Eight Years’ Temporary Pasture.—
There is a general impression that, for so long a term as four
years, a permanent prescription should be employed, but this
involves needless expense. Some of the finer grasses that are
properly included for permanent pastures would be wasted if
sown for four years only ; they would scarcely become established
until the term had nearly expired, and would certainly yield
no adequate return for the outlay incurred. For the longer
periods of six or eight years some modifications in the
prescription must be made, but these will depend on the
circumstances of each particular soil. The principal object
is to produce heavy crops, which can only be secured by

12

116 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

an almost exclusive use of the stronger-growing grasses and
clovers.

Reverting to the question ‘Is there no Alternative ?’
referred to at the opening of this chapter, it is interesting to
remember that subsequent to the publication of a former
edition of this work there appeared in ‘The Times’ an instruc-
tive communication from the late Earl of Leicester, Ik.G., des-
cribing the results of trials made at Holkham, Norfolk, with
the object of securing, on poor soils, pasture that should last
for a period of not less than six years. The mixture of seeds
that was found to give the best results consisted of Cocksfoot,
Perennial Rye Grass, Italian Rye Grass, Meadow Fescue,
Hard Fescue, Tall Fescue, Timothy, Tall Oat Grass, Yellow
Oat Grass, Alsike Clover, White Clover, and Yarrow. It is
very desirable that the pasture should not be too closely
grazed by sheep during the summer months of the first two
or three years, and it is better, when practicable, to mow the
crop the first year after laying down. The rye grasses ensure
a sufficiency of herbage during the time other varieties are
attaining full development. The two oat grasses are included
because they are native to the Holkham district. With
suitable modifications in the constituents, and a considerable
addition to the quantity of seed per acre, as may be needed by
local conditions of soil and climate, this mixture, which has
given such good results on poor soils in Norfolk, might prove
useful in other districts.

Temporary pastures are, as a rule, sown with spring corn,
and they require substantially the same treatment as_per-
manent pastures, although, as the grasses employed for the
former purpose are strong growers, there is not quite the same
necessity for extreme caution in preparing the land; but even
here laxity and carelessness entail a sufficiently heavy penalty.

A temporary pasture may, in a favourable summer,
afford a valuable bite for horned stock soon after the corn is

TEMPORARY PASTURES 117

cut ; and as the grasses are robust and comparatively coarse,
although none the less nourishing on that account, they will
not be injured by the hoofs of cattle. The rolling should be
done in November, instead of waiting until spring. Supposing
stock to be kept off the ground, and the autumn prove warm
and genial, it will sometimes be possible by the end of
October to get a cut of useful green food.

The pasture needs bush-harrowing and rolling down early
in spring before being laid in for hay. The first year’s crop
will mainly consist of Rye Grasses and Clovers, but the bottom
of a three or four years’ ley may be expected to improve for
at least two years, and the Foxtail, Timothy, Cocksfoot, and
other plants will increase in bulk in the third and fourth
seasons.

A heavy dressing of cake-fed farmyard manure, applied
towards the close of the year, will pay well. Nothing improves
artificial grasses so much, and there must be no niggardliness
in its use. The fresher the manure when placed on the
ground, and the less it has been allowed to ferment, the better
the grass will thrive. In the Kidmore grass experiments
good results were also obtained from a dressing per acre
of one hundredweight of nitrate of soda, with three-quarters
of a hundredweight of muriate of potash, given in alternate
years.

Leys which are intended to stand for a period of six or
eight years are especially suited for poor or hilly land which
cannot be profitably cultivated until an improvement has been
effected in the texture of the soil. By a judicious selection of
deep-rooted plants much can be done to increase the fertility
of the land, reduce the cost of tillage, and discourage the
growth of weeds. Among the plants which are adapted for
the purpose are Burnet, Chicory, Kidney Vetch, Cocksfoot,
Tall Fescue, Tall Oat Grass, Rib Grass, and Yarrow. Nearly
all endure prolonged drought almost with impunity. The
selection of these plants and the proportions of the seeding

118 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

must be determined by the character of the field to be laid
down. From a mixture wisely chosen paying crops for grazing
or cutting are produced during the entire period of the ley.
When the ground is broken up a crop of roots may be taken,
followed by corn, and a similar course repeated for another
term. Land which has long been regarded as of little value
may thus be gradually brought into fertile condition, until it
is amenable to the regular course system of the farm.

119

HnTs ON HAVMAKING

«\. Goop deal has been written for and against the practice of
mowing and grazing alternately. Strictly speaking, meadow
land is always mown, and pasture land is always grazed.
Although the terms and the practice are sometimes regarded
as convertible, there is more in the distinction than appears at
first sight. Certain grasses are better adapted for the scythe
than for being eaten down by stock, and some fields contain a
preponderance of one or more of these varieties. A meadow
which answers to its strict definition should consist of those
grasses which flower almost simultaneously, so that the entire
crop may be ready for mowing at one time. Sucha crop must,
of necessity, be most unsatisfactory for grazing. There will
be no early or late grasses for the cattle, but a heavy weight in
June and July, which cannot be fed off economically. On the
other hand, a good pasture, consisting of the grasses which
ensure a continued succession of food, yields but a poor hay
crop. However, the question now under consideration is not
the best means of creating either the one or the other, but
the turning into hay of grass set apart for that purpose.

The presence of stones, crocks, and other hard rubbish
deposited by top dressings not only diminishes the crop
while growing, but will by-and-by make it necessary to set the
machine high enough to avoid breakage. Now the mower
should always be set as low as possible, for the bottom herbage
is, weight for weight, more valuable than the top, and every
inch of the former counts both in weight and in quality. The

120 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

clearing of stones from the field is therefore worth scrupulous
attention, and it should be done before the grass makes a start
in early spring. The turf must also be well bush-harrowed
and firmly rolled down.

The time for mowing varies in different localities and in
different seasons. But there are sound reasons for urging the
importance of cutting the grass young, before even the earliest
varieties have formed seeds in their flower-heads. In most
grasses, and in all clovers, the formation of saccharine matter
takes place in their stems during the early stage of growth,
and the best hay is usually made from grass before the flower-
ing heads have begun to turn colour. Experiments made
in the chemical laboratory prove that, although there are
exceptions, the great majority of grasses contain nearly double
the quantity of nutritive matter before, than they do after,
ripening seeds. This applies also to the clovers which form so
large a proportion of every good meadow.

An objection to the early cutting of grass deserves a
passing remark. It is quite true that young grass shrinks
more than grass of older growth. In other words, a larger
quantity of moisture is evaporated by the former, but as the
loss is pure water only, it is of no importance whatever. Hay
from an early mowing has the advantage over that which is cut
later of being higher in quality and far more digestible, to
say nothing of increased aftermath and the benefit conferred
on the pasture by early cutting."

1 The following free extracts are from ‘The Relative Feeding Value of Grass Cut
at Different Periods of Growth,’ by Martin J. Sutton and Dr. J. A. Voelcker, published
in the Journal of the Bath and West and Southern Counties Society, Vol. II., Fourth
Series, and subsequently issued by the Society as a separate pamphlet :—

‘ An old pasture at Kidmore was divided into five plots resembling each other in
texture, aspect, surface soil, subsoil, and’ in the botanical constituents of the turf.
These five plots were cut on the different dates named in the subjoined table. The
total weight of hay produced for the season was practically the same for Plots Nos. 1
and 3; but the fact must not be lost sight of that the relative dryness of hay in the
field is solely dependent on the state of the atmosphere at hay-time, and it is quite
impossible, in a series of cuttings extending over the whole season, to take up the
hay in the same degree of dryness each time. The real basis of comparison is not the
weight of hay, nor the weight of green produce, but the dry weight after moisture

HINTS ON HAYMAKING 121

Mowing machines have greatly altered the conditions of
haymaking, and the change is not always in favour of the hay.
The temptation is to cut more grass than can be dealt with,
and in wet seasons this may involve serious loss ; for in a scorch-
ing time grass becomes hay almost without any making, and if
not promptly ricked it may be so burnt up as to render the
fibres hard and woody.

The stems of grass are protected by a thin coating of
silicate, which has been termed ‘ Nature’s waterproof mantle.’
Tossing the grass about breaks the stems, and at the fractures
moisture enters and decay is hastened. Hence in continued
wet weather the cut grass should be allowed to lie just as it is
left by the scythe or mower, when it will take the minimum of
harm. In fine weather the tedding machine should be used
much more freely than is commonly the case, for every time
the machine goes over the ground a different surface is exposed
to the sun. Often, when the end of a field is reached, the

had been expelled by a temperature of 212° Fahr. A glance at the table will show
that the total dry weight of herbage comes out in the same order as the numbering of
the plots—z.e. Plot No. 1 vielding the largest quantity, and No. 5 the smallest.

‘By comparison of Plot No. 1 and Plot No. 4 (the first cutting of the latter Plot
taking place simultaneously with the haymaking of the district) the loss resulting
from late mowing is only too apparent.

ToraL CoNsTITUENTS IN LBs. PER ACRE OF THE DIFFERENT CUTTINGS
PRODUCED ON EACH PLor.

.

| Plot 1.* : 3. OH ql

—— Pee 3, out. anne . ee Anis 2, eae pai 15, ae, ie 29,

| Oct. 39° Sept. 17 Sept. 29 Oct. 29 | Oct. 29

| Ibs. . Ibs. Ibs. lbs. lbs.
Soluble Albuminoids ‘ . 124 120 85 68 177

| Insoluble Albuminoids . ; 706 | 536 502 538 | 402

| Soluble Carbo-hydrates, Ke. . .| 44 = 1,228 1, 121 1,089 , 1,195

| Digestible Fibre. : 2461 | 2,294 2'104 1,947 | 1,874
Mineral Matter (excluding Silica) : 442 868 ’370 376 | 348

Indigestible Fibre ‘ : 1,860 | 2,008 1,897 1,755 | 1,769 |

Water . ‘ , : : . | 21,593 16, 549 | 16,550 13,111 14,991

| Silica ‘ : : . . 335 165 156 | 219 188 ;

| Total produce per acre, in lbs. . | 28,665 23,268 22,785 19,103 | 20,944 |

| Total dry weight per acre, in Ibs. | 7,072 6,719 | 6,235 | 5,992 5,953’

* Only No. 1 Plot produced a third crop.

122 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

beginning is ready for turning again, and it is a mistake to
suppose that because scorched grass makes bad hay, therefore
quickly made hay resembles scorched grass. These remarks
are intended to apply exclusively to meadow hay. Clovers,
Sainfoin, &c., should be turned in the swath by hand, and with
the utmost care, to avoid breaking off the leaves.

When a particular field is ready, the whole strength of
the farm should be concentrated on the labour of gathering
and carting the hay to the rick. I have known a crop of grass
cut one morning and stacked at night ; but the crop was light,
the heat unusual, and the desiccation of the plant had consider-
ably advanced before the mower was used. Although it is
seldom done, I am persuaded that in hot weather grass might
often with advantage be put into windrows on the day it is cut.
Dew is well-nigh as injurious to half-made hay as rain, and grass
which has parted with much of its water on a hot summer day
is in a condition to reabsorb moisture from the atmosphere at
night. This process goes on much more rapidly when the hay
lies scattered on the ground than when it is raked together.
The cocks should not be opened too early in the morning, and
if the sun prove hot it will spoil the colour to scatter the grass
very much. Greenness is one of the indications of well-made
hay, while a brown shade, whether resulting from rain or sun-
burning, is a certain sign of deteriorated condition. Three
days ought to make good hay in fair weather from an ordinary
crop. Grass which is cut one day, tedded repeatedly the next,
cocked that night, and opened out again on the following
morning, may be fit to carry in the afternoon of that—the
third—day. A very heavy crop, however, or a crop in which
there is an unusual proportion of clover, must not be ricked so
quickly, nor must it be left too thin on the ground. Succulent
grass with large solid stems, full of moisture, is least easy to
turn into hay, and is most lable to fire when ricked. This
danger is often increased by fine weather, because the leaves
and smaller shoots become ready to carry more quickly than

HINTS ON HAYMAKING 123

the succulent stems. Those who have had experience with
water-meadows are aware of the extreme hazard of carrying
hay from them too soon. An old and safe test of fitness is
to gather together a few of the stout stems and twist them
tightly into a rope. If moisture exudes, the grass is not
ready for the rick. Clover stems, Cow Grass especially,
contain a large amount of moisture, and if ricked too soon
there is a risk of the heat rising injuriously. Where clover
forms a large proportion of the crop the haymaking machine
should not be used.

Dry and benty grass which does not contain much clover
will almost ‘ make itself’ in fine weather, and but little fear
need be entertained that it will fire. Indeed, if the rick does
not heat somewhat the hay will be of inferior quality.

Ricks may occasionally be seen standing on the bare
ground where floods are not unknown. It is unwise to erect
them on such spots, for they absorb moisture almost as readily
as a sponge. Some injury will certainly ensue from the
damp ground, and the whole bulk of hay may be made
mouldy by a flood. The cost of stone or iron staddles will
often be repaid in a single year, and they render it safe to
put hay into a rick much earlier than where this means of
bottom ventilation is lacking.

The best shape for a rick is square. A thin oblong form
exposes too large a surface to the atmosphere, and a very
high-pitched roof is objectionable on the same ground. The
bottom of the stack should be smaller than the eaves, so
that rain falling from the thatch will clear the sides of the
rick. In building, the centre should always be kept higher
than the outside, and every layer of grass must be firmly
trodden down. The roof must be steep enough to shoot off
rain and snow, but it injures the upper portion of the hay to
go higher than is necessary to secure this object. Roughly
stated, the top of the rick measured across under the eaves
should be about one and a half or two feet more than from

124 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

the eave to the ridge. This gives almost an equilateral
triangle.

Rick-cloths cost money, but they are of great service in
protecting partially-made ricks when hay-carting is suddenly
arrested by rain. They also render it easy to proceed with
several ricks simultaneously, and therefore the grass can be
stacked in a more moist condition than when a rick has to be
hurried up and promptly thatched. Indeed, rick-cloths save
all anxiety about thatching, for the task can be deferred
until after the first rise of heat has been dissipated, and it is
consequently safe to put the roof on.

The practice of making ventilating shafts in the centre of
a rick by pulling up a box or sackful of hay as the work proceeds
need only be resorted to in catching weather, when it is im-
possible to put the hay together in first-rate order. No doubt
the contrivance has prevented many ricks from firing, but it
restricts the partial fermentation which takes place in a solid
stack, and this is an important influence in the manufacture of
a fragrant sample of hay. A much better method of treating
grass about the dryness of which there is a doubt, is to place
layers of dry straw between thicker layers of hay. The straw
will absorb the excessive moisture, and with it many of the
valuable juices of the clovers, which will greatly enhance the
feeding value. This procedure is not available for hay which
is intended to be sold, but it will make capital fodder for home
consumption.

‘ Weathered ’ hay—that is, hay which has been repeatedly
soaked and dried until much of its value has been lost—will
be improved in quality and made more palatable to stock by
sprinkling coarse salt over the layers of the rick as the building
proceeds. From ten to twenty pounds of salt should be used
for each ton of hay.

After grass is cut for hay, it parts with nearly three-
fourths of its weight by evaporation; but, except under the
influence of long-continued rain, no chemical change of

HINTS ON HAYMAKING 125

importance occurs in the field. In the rick, however, very
considerable chemical changes take place, such as the creation
of sugar by the action of heat on the starch contained in the
grass. The difference between good and bad hay nearly as
often results from too little or too great heat being evolved in
the stack, as from faults in the process before stacking. Over-
heating, even when it does not go so far as to blacken and char
the hay, produces so much acetic acid as to make the fodder
sour and unpalatable. Dr. Thompson showed that 3874
pounds of grass are required to make 100 pounds of hay. The
loss is chiefly water, but not entirely so. This is demonstrated
by the fact that an animal which thrives on 100 pounds of
grass will not do nearly so well on 25 pounds of hay sup-
plemented with 75 pounds of water. The loss of nutritious
ingredients is of course attributable to the process of fermenta-
tion carried on in the stack. The sugar has been largely
converted into alcohol and carbonic acid, by which a certain
amount of waste has occurred.

However closely a field may be raked after the hay cart,
a quantity of loose hay will remain scattered about, and
it will be well worth while to turn in cattle to pick this up,
and also to browse on the patches round the headlands and
ditches which have escaped the mowing machine. Much
waste is incurred by carelessness in this matter, and if the grass
by the hedges and ditches is not eaten down while green, it
will be unsightly all the summer. Immediately the cattle
have consumed the fodder they must be driven out of the
field, to give the aftermath time to make a fair start.

The making of aftermath hay is not by any means general,
and is always precarious. Autumnal dews and shortening
days, combined with the succulent nature of the herbage, are
all against it. But as many of the late-growing grasses, of
which the herbage principally consists, are specially nutritious,
there is a prevalent opinion that the lattermath is of higher
quality than the first cut.

126 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

The old Welsh system of ‘fogging,’ or allowing the hay
crop to cure itself, uncut, in the open fields, demands but brief
notice here. The fields are fed off by winter stock early in the
spring up to the end of April; then the grass is laid in as if
for hay, but is left uncut all the summer, and stock are not
permitted to graze until December. Welsh farmers state that
cows feeding on the dry grass give as good butter as in the
spring of the year; that the frost makes the grass sweet; and
that the herbage shoots very much earlier in the following
spring, because it is protected by the brown growth of the
previous year; also that when mixed with the old grass it is
much more wholesome and sustaining food. The inducement
to adopt this system is that all expense and anxiety of hay-
making are avoided. Some farmers actually let their grass
fields stand untouched from May until February or March of
the following year, when the stock are turned out of doors.
No doubt the practice supplies a great deal of food at a time
of scarcity, and this food is specially prized for the early-
calving cows. The whole system is, of course, contrary to all
the recognised canons by which grass land is managed in
England.

The quantity of hay annually produced in Great Britain
differs widely from year to year, and this variation is mainly
attributable to the character of the season. On the following
page the Returns of the Board of Agriculture are quoted
for ten years, from 1900 to 1909 inclusive. From these
figures it will be observed that although the acreage does
not greatly vary during the decade, there is an enormous
divergence in the crop realised in different years. The smallest
yield was 132,365,975 cwt. in 1901, and the largest weight
208,584,680 cwt. in 1907.

The estimated average production per acre of rotation
hay in the former year is 25:48 cwt., and in the latter year
32°97 cwt., while from permanent grass the return is 16°63 ewt.
in 1901 and 27:23 cwt. in 1907. Roughly speaking, it may

HINTS ON HAYMAKING 127

be said that about two thirds of the annual production is
obtained from permanent meadows and one third from clover,
sainfoin, and grasses under rotation.

Year Areas, Estimated Total Produce.
= Acres. Cwt.
1900 ... ... 6,574,836 170,554,892
1901... ... 6,706,517 132,365,975
1902 ... ... 6,944,805 201,386,651
1908... ... 7,166,720 195,061,446
1904... 0... 7,087,445 187,455,180
1905 ... ... 6,876,998 164,627,200
1906... ... 6,975,447 171,690,660
1907... 0... 7,186,254 208,584,680
1908 ... ... 7,181,808 194,402,780

1909 ... ... 6,812,467 167,369,020

128 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

HINTS ON GRAZING

Mosr watchful care is needed to obtain the best results from
grazing land, and only those who are actually engaged in the
business have any adequate conception of the ceaseless anxiety
it involves. Two main objects must be kept steadily in view—
the constant progress of the stock, and the maintenance of
fertility in the pasture. It may be necessary to change the
cattle from field to field, or to alter the relative proportions of
sheep and horned stock at very brief intervals. However
arduous the labour, the cattle must be kept growing; and the
grass be so fed off as to avoid waste and ensure continuous
herbage. Allowance has also to be made for differences in
seasons. In dry summers, what little grass there may be is
extremely valuable for its high quality and sustaining power ;
but when vegetation is rank and sodden with moisture, a
much larger quantity may fail to put on flesh. Truly ‘the
farmer’s eye makes the beast fat.’

No precise date can be given for beginning to graze
pastures in spring. Cattle should not be turned out until
there is enough feed to keep them going without too much
help from hay, nor until the ground is firm enough to prevent
their hoofs from damaging the young shoots of the grasses.
On the other hand, if the grass gets too old the animals will
refuse much of it, and the fodder will be lost. Pastures
consisting largely of early, strong-growing grasses, particularly
Cocksfoot, will need to be stocked before others which pro-
duce finer and later varieties. Even after cattle have made

HINTS ON GRAZING 129

a start. late spring frosts or a persistent east wind will some-
times upset the grazier’s calculations, and the stock may
begin to go back through scarcity of food. Then a supply
from the Mangel clamp, or from a few acres of Cabbage or
Thousand-headed Kale, will prove a boon indeed.

When sheep begin to graze in mixed pastures they will
probably keep the plant down close; but, as herbage grows
more rapidly, young horned stock should be added, so as to feed
down the rising culms and flower-stalks which the sheep pass
by. Sometimes neither sheep nor bullocks will eat the stems
of Cocksfoot, and then it is necessary to run the mower over
the pasture to prevent a copious seeding of this grass, which,
however valuable in suitable proportions, is on certain soils a
great pest when allowed to predominate. I have known cattle
to derive benefit from grazing in one pasture by day and in a
different field at night. It is interesting to note the eagerness
which stock soon display for this change in their run.

A pasture specially adapted for fattening bullocks should
not, as a rule, have sheep put on it; and a perfect sheep pasture
should never have the grass long enough to feed a bullock ; but
from an ordinary pasture, devoted to mixed stock, the aggre-
gate produce will be most profitably utilised by a judicious
combination of horned stock, horses, and sheep. The grazier
affords clear evidence of his skill by the manner in which he
takes advantage of the special characteristics of every separate
field as the seasons vary. In so proportioning stock as to feed
the crop down evenly he benefits the pasture, and by changing
the animals from field to field a difference of diet is ensured, for
scarcely any two pastures produce exactly the same herbage.
Each animal has its own likes and dislikes, but between them
they are almost certain to clear the crop. Calves need the best
grass that can be given them, and they generally thrive better
alone than in company with other animals. Cows and sheep
feed better together than do fat bullocks and sheep, and this
mixture of stock is exceedingly good for the grass. But a

K

1380 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

first-rate bullock pasture is not certain to be a suitable place
for milch cows; they are more likely to put on fat than to
increase the flow of milk.

As fat beasts approach fitness for the butcher they become
very dainty, and will often leave behind a lot of feed. This
should be got rid of quickly by crowding the field with store
stock. Then a brief rest will prepare it for bullocks again.
It is a wise rule to start the stock on the worst pasture of the
farm, and gradually move them forward to that which is
better. Stock which have once had good food will not take
kindly to that which is inferior, but when placed upon it they
lose flesh, and this is ruinous for the grazier.

No matter how rich a pasture may be, I believe it to be
sound practice for the beasts, for the grass, and for the farmer’s
pocket, to supply a liberal addition of Cabbage, Mangel, and
above all of oil cake, before the feed runs at all short. A good
grazier will not be content unless the stock lie down on the
pastures a great part of every day. If they do not quickly
satisfy appetite they cannot put on fat, and this is impossible
when the animals are wholly dependent on grass which is eaten
down close.

A. stringent rule cannot be laid down as to when grazing
land should be cleared of cattle for the winter. It must be
done in time to ensure ample pasturage in the following spring,
and the grass should be eaten down close before very cold
weather sets in. It is surprising with what relish cattle will
take some of the coarse grasses late in autumn which they
have refused to eat during summer. Frost no doubt sweetens
and makes these coarse tufts palatable. If they are not
consumed they must be mown before Christmas.

The necessity of scattering the droppings of cattle is well
understood, although it is often neglected. By postponing this
work until late in the year a quantity of grass is lost to the
grazier. Large unsightly patches of herbage appear, which the
animals will not touch. Yet, after the grass of these patches

HINTS ON GRAZING 131

is mown and has become withered, it is often sought for by
animals affected with scour, and it has been stated to have
a medicinal effect in curing them. The right thing to do,
however, is to have the droppings scattered frequently, and in
any case of neglect to have the tufts mown. An appliance
attached to the chain harrow will effect the most complete
distribution of all droppings.

A supply of pure water is a matter of great consequence
for the animals. It is true they will drink that which is
impure, stagnant, and filthy, but it is a vitiated taste, and
such water is distinctly injurious to them. Tube wells often
prove cheaper and better than the old system of pond-making.

Shade and shelter are also helpful to cattle. Trees and
hedgerows save them from fierce sunshine, and ditches should
not intervene to prevent access to the shade. Groups of trees
in the field not only add to the beauty of the landscape, but
prove beneficial to the animals on scorching days. Rough
sheds, open in front and facing south, are desirable in early
spring, as they afford protection from biting east winds and
cold, violent rains. In these sheds lumps of rock salt should
always be kept within reach of the stock.

132 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

ENSILAGE
(GRASS)

THE preservation of green fodder, in an undried state, for
winter feeding is not a recent discovery. The long and severe
winters which prevail in Canada compelled the stock-keepers
of that country to adopt the system long before it became
familiar to farmers in the United Kingdom.’ At first an
underground silo, or a special construction above ground, was
considered imperative, but it was soon discovered that air
could be excluded from forage stored in old barns and out-
houses, and silage has even been made in casks. It is there-
fore obvious that costly buildings are not essential, and the
erection of them has practically ceased. The silage stack is
generally preferred. By this contrivance sweet or sour silage
can be made at will, and the atmosphere can be effectually
prevented from injuring more than a few inches of the exterior
of the fodder. The stack also offers an advantage over the
fixed silo, as it can be erected on any spot that will save
haulage and facilitate feeding.

Subtropical plants such as Maize and Sorghum are grown
expressly for conversion into silage, and almost every kind of
herbage which this country produces has been experimented
on, with more or less satisfactory results. Here I am only
alluding to ensilage in relation to grass, and, so far as
its application to this crop is concerned, I am_ persuaded
that the use of the silo or silage stack will, in favourable

1 In so different a climate as that of the islands of the South Seas the natives avail
themselves of the principle of the silo for the preservation of bread-fruits.

ENSILAGE 133

seasons, be the exception. Grass will continue to be turned
into hay very much as heretofore. When a farmer can convert
his grass into hay in three genial days, it is improbable that
he will consent to cart nearly four times the weight of green
fodder to the silo, with the risk of failure in the end.

Still it has been demonstrated that in wet summers the
silo or silage stack is sometimes a real boon. In districts
where the average of seasons is unfavourable to haymaking,
ensilage has materially modified the conditions of profitable
farming. The reports of greatest success come from farms
worked under the alternate system of three or four years’
leys. Prescriptions of grasses, clovers, &c., specially adapted
for growing suitable herbage for the silo produce the best
silage.

Lattermath grass may with advantage be sent to the silo
or silage stack, on account of the difficulty of making hay in
autumn, and, as the late crop has the reputation of possessing
more ‘ proof’ than the summer cutting, it will be all the more
valuable for ensilage. The decision to convert a crop of grass
into silage should be acted upon from the outset. It is a
mistake to suppose that hay badly washed by rain can yield
good silage. In wet seasons the hay is not only more
costly to make, but when made is of low feeding quality ;
so that silage in such years will not only be cheaper but
superior.

Those who have tried silage as food for dairy cows are
practically unanimous in its favour, although there is some
risk in feeding it alone. In fattening bullocks, however,
the Rothamsted experiments prove that, for putting on flesh,
swedes and mangels have a considerable advantage over grass
or clover silage, whether sweet or sour.

Analyses show that in the process of conversion there is a
serious loss in the nutritive qualities of green provender after
it is placed in the silo.

134 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

NOTES ON CERTAIN WORTHLESS GRASSES
AND INJURIOUS AND POISONOUS PLANTS
FOUND IN PASTURES

No feature of modern farming is more calculated to excite
a feeling of astonishment than the indifference shown to the
presence of worthless grasses and pernicious weeds in pastures.
On too many farms something green, and plenty of it, appears
to be the supreme object of attainment. Whether the crop
is made into hay, or beasts and sheep are turned out to eat
what they can, and reject or tread down the remainder, the
animals are expected to thrive on the herbage.

Every arable farmer knows that unless land is kept clear
of couch, black grass, thistles, &c., the crops of corn must
suffer ; but it does not appear to be equally evident to the
grazier that certain plants, however useful they may be else-
where, must in a pasture be classed among weeds. It is no
sufficient answer to say that the plants increase the bulk of
herbage. They are none the less weeds on that account. The
objectionable character of some other plants is freely admitted,
and feeble, intermittent attempts may possibly be made to
eradicate those which are easily recognised, and are admitted
to be directly injurious or actually poisonous to sheep, and
especially to milch cows. The erroneous impression that it is
difficult or impossible to eliminate these worthless or injurious
plants from grass land has deterred many farmers from
attempting the task, or, at all events, there has not been the
persistence that would have achieved success. Were it only
possible to deal with the pests of grass land by the plough
and scarifier, as on arable soil, the effort would be hopeless.

NOTES ON WORTHLESS GRASSES, ETC. 135

Happily, the weeds of pastures are amenable to treatment
which, though far less costly, is more effective, lasting, and
remunerative in its results. Some few of the deep-rooted
plants, as thistles, coltsfoot and rushes, need repeated attention
with the scythe or spud for two years; but the majority of
pasture weeds succumb to well-regulated and suitably adjusted
doses of chemical manures, which beneficially stimulate the
nutritious grasses. The grazier may therefore clean and enrich
his land at the same time, and prove by his own experience
that as a rule the poor pasture is foul, while the rich pasture
is clean.

To effect an improvement takes time and needs patience.
«\ pasture or meadow which has deteriorated through years of
neglect cannot be won back to first-class condition in a single
season, nor can a good and clean crop be maintained in its
most profitable state without unceasing vigilance. It is,
however, reassuring to know that the necessary cost of labour,
and the outlay for manures which favour the development ot
the stronger-growing grasses and at the same time discourage
the growth of many forms of pernicious vegetation, will on
pastures eventually yield a far more abundant return than can
be recouped from a similar expenditure on arable land.

In order to prevent the deterioration of pastures, or to
improve the herbage, worthless plants should be promptly
recognised, and methods of eradication be understood. This
involves a knowledge of the pests of pastures, their duration,
mode of perpetuation, and other peculiarities which may suggest
the readiest means of compassing their destruction. Large
weeds, such as thistles, docks, and coltsfoot, are too con-
spicuous to escape notice. Less obtrusive but equally baneful
subjects are too often allowed to live on; and the bad grasses,
because they happen to be grasses, continue to flourish, to the
exclusion of species rich in feeding constituents.

As a rule, the low condition of a pasture is most mani-
fest near its boundaries. This may arise from the neglect of

136 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

hedgerows and ditches, or from the carelessness of neighbours,
who permit the dissemination of weed seeds, to their own loss
and that of adjoining owners. In this matter it is not often
possible to control the action of others, but it is the duty of
every occupier to destroy with an unsparing hand the evil
tenants of his own land.

From the series of experiments made by the late Sir J. B.
Lawes and Sir J. H. Gilbert at Rothamsted, and confirmed
by my own independent trials at Dyson’s Wood and Kidmore
Grange, it has been demonstrated that most of the annual
and not a few of the perennial weeds can be, for all practical
purposes, eliminated from a pasture by applications of
combined mineral and ammoniacal salts. Judicious dressings
of these salts augment the growth of the stronger grasses,
so that buttercups, dandelions, plantains, sorrel, and Briza
media are starved out, and even Bromus mollis is considerably
reduced in vigour. Lime alone is a powerful aid in promoting
luxuriance among the better class of herbage, and is also
distinctly prejudicial to weeds, especially to those of annual
duration. Early cutting, too, has produced remarkable effects
in discouraging weed life. In the years 1891 and 1892 part
of a meadow at Kidmore Grange, thickly strewn with weeds,
was cut in advance of the usual haymaking season, and in
the second year a marked diminution of worthless plants was
perceptible, as compared with the remaining portion, which had
been cut at the time usual in the district.

To enumerate all the worthless plants found in pastures
is beyond the design of this chapter. In alluding to those
which are most common and injurious to stock, opportunity
will be seized to indicate the readiest means of reducing their
numbers and of preventing their perpetuation.

Coltsfoot (Tussilago Farfara).—Pastures on poor, stiff
clays are not infrequently overrun with this weed. The
creeping underground stems render spudding impossible, but
the yellow flower-heads, which appear in advance of the leaves

NOTES ON WORTHLESS GRASSES, ETC. 137

during February and March, should be cut, to prevent seed
being ripened ; and another cutting when the leaves are about
half-grown will weaken the plants.

Couch, or Twitch (7Vriticum repens)—A_ pest that is
universally known, and appears to be almost irrepressible.
The rootstocks are stout, and minute portions will grow and
spread in all directions, robbing the land of its fertility. On
light soils which have not been thoroughly cleaned before
sowing seeds it is very troublesome, but as the turf becomes
consolidated the couch diminishes in quantity, and under good
management it eventually disappears. It is never found in
rich old pastures.

Docks (Rumex sp.) are found on all farms. The species
most troublesome in grass lands are Rumea obtusifolius and
Rumex crispus, both perennials, flowering and _ seeding
abundantly. In the South of England, the flowering period
is about the first or second week in June, and the destruction
of plants should be accomplished before that time. By means
of the docking iron, when the ground has been softened by
rain, the whole of the tap-root can be removed, and it is
important not to leave a remnant, or fresh growth will give
renewed trouble. Should there be no opportunity of drawing
the roots, frequent cutting at the collar will weaken the
docks, and when persistently followed up will reduce their
numbers. It is a mischievous practice to throw docks into
ditches or under hedges; very little moisture is requisite to
maintain life and enable them to perfect seed.

Comparatively few samples of clover harvested in this
country are entirely free from dock seed, but it is true
economy to ensure a pure sample.

Foxtail, Slender (Alopecurus agrestis).—This annual,
the Black Twitch of the Midlands, also called Hungerweed, is
chiefly troublesome in temporary pastures on sandy and other
light soils, and the objection to it is that the mass of root-

138 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

fibres absorbs the available plant-food in the soil, without
making a return in wholesome herbage. Consolidation of the
turf is unfavourable to its existence, and in grass kept close
and firm it is starved out. The seed of Slender Foxtail,
sometimes in considerable proportion, is found in low-priced
samples of Alopecurus pratensis.

Knapweed, or Hardheads (Centaurea nigra).—A
tough, much-branched perennial, common to many pastures
and leys, on both wet and dry soils. Where it is very abun-
dant or shows a tendency to spread, the use of ammonia salts
and mixed minerals will almost banish this weed from grass
lands.

Ragwort (Senecio Jacobea).—A coarse, perennial weed,
allied to the common groundsel, sometimes attaining a
height of four feet. It throws up bright golden flower-heads,
seeds freely, and is common in the light-soil pastures of many
districts. Cattle avoid it, but sheep are said to eat the leaves
when young. A single plant will spread over a space eighteen
inches in diameter. The roots are brittle, and it is futile to
attempt to draw them in spring, as every scrap left in the
ground will produce a vigorous plant in the following season.
Cutting the flower-heads before full development results in the
shrinking and hardening of the roots, which are then easily
drawn when the soil has been softened by autumnal rains.

Rib Grass, or Narrow-leaved Plantain (Plantago
lanceolata).—A_ free-seeding, deep-rooting perennial, common
to most soils. Its presence among grass is countenanced by
some farmers, who have yet to be convinced that other and
more nutritious herbage might profitably occupy its place ;
on this point comparative analyses leave no room for doubt.
Whatever manurial dressings are favourable to the grass crop
are prejudicial to Rib Grass. The seed is one of the most
frequent impurities of Red Clover, and Perennial Rye Grass
often contains a considerable percentage of it.

NOTES ON WORTHLESS GRASSES, ETC. 139

Sedges and Rushes (Carex sp. and Juncus sp.).—Even
under vigilant supervision these plants will sometimes intrude
on the low-lying portions of water-meadows, and if neglected
they multiply so rapidly as practically to exclude the
gramineous herbage. The most effectual mode of destroying
these semi-aquatics is to drain the land thoroughly ; where
this is impossible the herbage must be cut low several times
in every season.

Soft Brome Grass (Bromus mollis)—The early and
abundant production of seed facilitates the spread of this
pernicious grass. So rapidly is the seed-crop developed that
the leaves and stems are drained of the little nutrition they
possessed, and the herbage is therefore worthless as hay. As
Soft Brome Grass is of annual, or at most of biennial, duration,
early mowing for two or three seasons reduces it in meadow
lands, and in pastures it can be diminished by a dressing of
ammonia salts combined with mineral manures.

Sorrel, Common (Rumex Acetosa), is closely allied to
docks, and is found in nearly all meadows, sometimes in great
profusion. The plant sends down its tap-root to a considerable
depth, and destruction by hand is almost impracticable.
Dressings of mineral and ammonia salts weaken sorrel, and at
the same time assist the grass crop.

Thistle, Creeping (Carduus arvensis).—W hen once esta-
blished in a pasture this weed is difficult to extirpate. Soils
rich in lime are its favourite home. On such land the strong
rootstocks creep in all directions, and penetrate to a depth of
two or three feet. Constant spudding in early spring, when
the shoots are full of sap, will hasten the exhaustion of this
perennial weed.

Thistle, Marsh (Carduus palustris), often abounds in

low-lying marshes, and sends up a solitary erect stem to a
height of three or four feet. A large quantity of seed is

140 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

ripened, and disseminated over a wide area, during July and
August. Spudding low down, before the flower-heads have fully
developed, is the best means of destroying this annual thistle.

Tufted Hair Grass, or Tussock Grass (Aira cespi-
tosa).—The great raised tufts of this grass which are seen in
some low-lying meadows are a proof of neglect and mismanage-
ment. Its herbage is worthless, and is so harsh and dense as
to interfere with both scythe and machine at hay-time. The
roots impoverish the land, and where a few plants have been
allowed to develop, they should be removed by grubbing.
Efficient draining will always ensure the extirpation of Tussock
Grass. The seed of this grass is often one of the impurities
of Alopecurus pratensis, and of some other grasses used in
laying down land.

Woolly Soft Grass, or Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lana-
tus).—One of the most persistent and troublesome of the worth-
less grasses, possessing structural endowments which ensure its
continued existence under extremely varied conditions. The
perennial roots form a dense mat near the surface, and the
plant endures both drought and frost almost with impunity.
The flowering period extends from June until late in autumn,
and if left undisturbed a large quantity of seed is perfected.
Manuring appears to have little effect in reducing the vitality
of Woolly Soft Grass, unless a high degree of fertility is
continuously maintained. Early mowing tends to weaken the
plant, and prevents the seed from maturing. Depasturing
and the close treading of land by sheep have been known to
lessen the proportion of this grass ; and it is certainly advisable,
in the event of flower-heads showing in autumn, to skim the
meadows with a scythe.

Seed of Holcus lanatus is found more or less in all
inferior samples of A/opecurus pratensis, Cynosurus cristatus,
and some other grasses used in prescriptions for sowing
down permanent and temporary pastures.

NOTES ON WORTHLESS GRASSES, ETC. 141

Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus Crista-galli).—A_ parasitic
annual which preys on the roots of grasses and clovers in
many water-meadows and poor, damp pastures. Cattle dislike
it, and as the seeds are matured before meadows are usually
mown, there is full opportunity for its increase. Salt at the
rate of three or four hundredweight per acre, applied to those
portions of the pasture where Yellow Rattle abounds, will
greatly reduce and may entirely exterminate the plant.

The plants already described are negatively objectionable,
being deficient in those qualities which are essential in crops
intended for the support of animal life. Economic prin-
ciples demand that such plants should be destroyed, and their
places filled with herbage which contributes to the credit side
of the agricultural balance-sheet.

The plants to which I have now to refer possess the
far more serious fault of containing active poisons, or of being
injurious in some other way, such as tainting milk and ren-
dering butter unsaleable. Cattle, and especially in-calf cows,
frequently show a predilection for unusual herbage, and the
death of valuable animals may be the first intimation that
watercourses, hedges, and ditches have not been kept free
from poisonous plants ; or the loss of a good market for milk
and butter may be almost equally disastrous. When cattle
are first turned out of their winter quarters, tufts of Garlic-
Mustard, Yellow Rocket, and Crow Garlic are very tempting ;
but they are all milk-tainting plants, and should not be
permitted to exist where live-stock have access.

Buttercups (Ranunculus acris and R. bulbosus).—These
two varieties are common in meadows and pastures, and in
their green state taint the milk of cows that eat them. The
volatile, acrid constituent is dissipated when the plants are
dried and made into hay. Of the two, R. bulbosus is less
acrid than #&. acris, and stock are less disposed to eat the
latter, which flowers later in the season than the former.

142 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

A. satisfactory mode of extirpating Buttercups has yet to
be discovered. They are too numerous to be dealt with
individually, but they occupy so much space that no reason-
able effort should be spared to weaken their growth. Early
mowing checks them, and a generous dressing of farmyard
and artificial manures assists the valuable herbage, while it
discourages the development of Buttercups.

Crowfoot, Celery-leaved (Ranunculus sceleratus), is by
far the most poisonous of our native Ranunculi. It imme-
diately affects the milk of cows that eat the leaves, and has
been known to cause the death of young stock. The habit of
the plant is erect; the leaves glossy, rather fleshy, and divided,
somewhat resembling those of celery ; the small pale yellow
flowers appear throughout the summer, and, like the leaves,
emit a strong nauseous odour when bruised. ‘This species can
be exterminated by pulling up the plants, which is very easily
done; and if ditches and ponds are thoroughly cleaned for a
couple of seasons, during May or June, Celery-leaved Crowfoot
will cease to be troublesome.

Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna).—A poisonous
plant, found in waste places on chalky and limestone soils,
which is easily distinguished by its solitary purple flowers and
the fetid odour of the leaves when bruised. Whenever this
plant is discovered it should be effectually destroyed.

Fetid Mayweed, or Stinking Chamomile (Anthemis
Cotula)— A white-flowered, annual, compositaceous plant,
having furrowed stems and finely-cut leaves covered with
minute resinous glands, secreting an acrid principle which
blisters the skin when the plant is handled. The offensive
odour differentiates this from other Mayweeds, such as the
Common Chamomile and the Corn Chamomile. The species
is common in rough pasture lands and leys, and should be kept
under by the repeated use of a sharp hoe.

NOTES ON WORTHLESS GRASSES, ETC. 143

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Tansy (Tanacetum
vulgare), and Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium) are well
known to be injurious plants, and should not be allowed to
exist within reach of cattle and sheep.

Garlic, Crow (Allium vineale)—The green, fistulous,
onion-like leaves of this plant show conspicuously in pastures
and meadow land early in spring, while the grass is yet short,
and the tufts appear to be very tempting to milch cows, whose
milk is at once affected by its pungent, acrid properties. The
flowers, or rather the heads of bulbils, are thrown up in July,
and if allowed to mature they disperse and grow with great
rapidity. Persistent hand-pulling of the bulbous roots early in
the year is the only way of ridding pastures of Crow Garlic.

Garlic-Mustard (Alharia officinalis or Stsymbrium
Alfiaria).—A rank annual cruciferous plant, which emits the
odour and tastes strongly of Garlic. It is common in hedge-
rows, and early in the spring its alluring bright green leaves are
often eaten by cows, when a very unpleasant flavour is im-
parted to milk and butter. The boundaries of pastures should
be freed from this plant before the white flower-heads appear
in May. Seed is freely perfected in June or July. This plant
is also known by such names as Hedge Mustard, Sauce Alone,
and Jack-by-the-hedge.

Hemlock, Common (Coniwm maculatum).—A_ strong-
growing biennial, found in hedgerows and woodsides of dry and
sandy soils. In the second year it grows to a height of four or
five feet, and flowers in July. The leaves are bright green,
very large, and cut into fine segments; the stem large, hollow,
and spotted with purple. The plant possesses in a marked
degree the qualities of a narcotic poison, and when bruised it
emits a powerful mouse-like odour which is very characteristic.
By cutting off the rank growth early in the season flowering
and seeding may be prevented ; and as this is one of our most
injurious native plants, continuous efforts should be made to
destroy it.

144 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

Hemlock, or Water Dropwort (G@nanthe crocata).—
A coarse-growing, umbelliferous, poisonous perennial, attain-
ing a height of three or four feet, and having deep green
compound leaves. The umbels of white flowers appear in
July. In the South of England and the Midlands this plant
often abounds in ditches and by the side of watercourses to
which cattle have access. Cutting down the plants in spring
and early summer, and keeping ditches, &c., clean, are the
most efficacious means of preventing mischief from this
dangerous plant.

Meadow Saffron (Colchicum autumnale).—A poisonous
bulbous plant, which is not uncommon in light-soil pastures
and meadows in the Midlands. The pale purple flowers appear
in autumn, followed by broad, glossy, lily-like leaves in the
spring. The bulbs should be forked up immediately the plant
is discovered.

Water Pepper (Polygonum Hydropiper).—An evil-
smelling, pungent annual, which grows in ditches and water-
courses, and affects the milk of cows if eaten. It should be
rooted out and destroyed.

Yellow Rocket (Barbarea vulgaris).— A _yellow-flowered
cruciferous plant, which often grows in abundance by ditches
and streams, and in early spring throws up large tufts of
turnip-like leaves, which, notwithstanding a pungent, nauseous
flavour, are freely eaten by cattle, with the result that milk
and butter are tainted. Before stock are turned on to the
pastures in spring a labourer should be sent round with a hoe
to cut the tufts below the crown, and as the plant is of biennial
duration only, it can be easily destroyed. Seeding should not
be allowed.

As a rule, the wise and safe course is to collect all injurious
plants after they are cut or uprooted, and burn them.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTIONS, ANALYSES

ILLUSTRATIONS

OF THE PRINCIPAL

GRASSES AND CLOVERS

USED IN

PERMANENT PASTURES

AND IN

ALTERNATE HUSBANDRE1.

ALSO

ILLUSTRATIONS OF GRASS SEEDS.

147
NOTE by Dr. J. A. VOELCKER.

THE analyses in the following pages represent the chemical composition of the several
grasses and clovers opposite which they appear. Each variety was grown separately
and was perfectly pure ; the sample being taken, in every instance, as nearly as possible
at the time when it would have been cut for hay.

In these analyses for the first time the relative amounts of true albuminoids have
been determined directly. and not, as in previously recorded results, merely given by
calculation of the total nitrogen into albuminoids. It will be observed that in every
case a very considerable proportion of the ‘Total Nitrogen’ exists in a non-albuminoid
form, and that these proportions vary much in the individual grasses. It is not
intended in these remarks to indicate more than the chemical features brought out
by the analyses ; for it must be apparent that chemical analysis alone cannot fully
determine the relative values of different grasses and their suitability for permanent
or other pastures. The adaptability of some kinds of grasses for certain soils, the
amount of growth attained, the time of maturity, the length of duration, the ability
to resist drought, the strength to overpower weeds, and other circumstances, must
of necessity be taken into account. As far, however, as the chemical properties are
concerned, the analyses show that the several grasses, cut just as they would have
been for haying, have very different nutritive properties. These differences are most
marked in respect of the water. the total nitrogen and albuminoid nitrogen, and in a
somewhat lesser degree in the digestible fibre, soluble carbo-hydrates, &c.

The varying proportion of water in different grasses constitutes a point of much
importance, for while the yield of two kinds may be equal in bulk, the nutritive
properties of one may be far superior to those of the other. Not only must this
be borne in mind when the grasses are used in the fresh or green state, as, e.g., for
ensilage, but also in considering them in the dried state, as hay, when, practically
speaking. the value of the dry matter in each must be taken into account. For this
reason the analyses of the grasses in the dried state, viz. at 212° Fahr., have also
been given. If any special grasses are to be selected out of the number by reason of
the high nutritive properties they possess, Alopecurus pratensis, Festuca ovina, Poa
nemoralis, and Poa trivialis must be named among the first, and then Loliwm perenne,
Phleum pratense, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Lolium italicum, and Dactylis glomerata.

In the first four named, together with Lolium perenne and Phleum pratense, the
amounts of total nitrogen and true albuminoids are considerably higher than in the
other grasses. No one grass, taking the different nutritive properties together, excels,
in a chemical sense (though others nearly approach), Alopecurus pratensis, which,
besides being rich in flesh-forming constituents, contains also a high amount of
digestible matters. While not being so highly nitrogenous in character as others
named, Anthoranthum odoratum, Lolium italicum, Dactylis glomerata, and Avena
jlavescens are specially rich in digestible carbo-hydrates, &c.

The clovers are marked by the high proportions of nitrogen and true albuminoids
they contain, and by their small amounts of indigestible woody fibre as compared
with the grasses. This may be best seen by a comparison of the analyses in the dried
state. bearing out, as they do, the practical value of clover hay. Among the clovers,
Trifolium pratense and Trifolium hybridum stand out prominently.

(Signed) J. AUGUSTUS VOELCKER.

NOTE AS TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Tue illustrations were drawn from fine but not extravagant specimens. As an
instance I may mention that near the Timothy represented on page 172 there was
growing a very much larger head, which measured rather more than nine inches.

Each flower or portion of a plant is drawn to the exact natural size, but it has
required care in some cases to bend the plant in such a manner as to bring the total

length within the limited space of one of these pages.
MARTIN J. SUTTON.

L&

NIFERA.

(FIORIN, OR CREEPING BENT GRASS.)

GROSTIS ALBA—VAR. STOLO

149

AGROSTIS ALBA—VAR. STOLONIFERA.

FIORIN, OR CREEPING BENT GRASS.

Roots creeping, rootstock perennial and_ stolon-
iferous. Stems 6 inches to 3 feet. Leaves numerous,
ere flat, and usually scabrid ; sheath
Plies ag rough; ligule long and acute.
(Fiorin, or Creeping Bent Grass.) Panicle spreading, with whorled
branches. Spikelets one-flowered,
small. Empty glumes larger
than flowering glumes, unequal,
smooth, and awnless. Flower-
ing glumes slightly hairy at the
base, with occasionally a minute
awn. Palea minute and cloven
at the point. Flowers from
July to September. Grows in

With and without the chaff.
Magnified 15 diameters. pastures and damp places

throughout Europe, Siberia, North Africa, and North

America.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Waters. ‘ j - ‘ . 67:22 —_—

*Soluble aibpisineids j é . : “06 19
**Insoluble albuminoids . . . . . 144 4:37
Digestible fibre . . 2. . 10°14 30°93
Woody fibre . 2 8 . 13°30 40°57
+Soluble mineral matter. : . ‘i » 185 5°64
TtInsoluble mineral matter. - 198 2°98

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. - 501 15°32

*Containing Nitrogen a> [S62 exe 01 +03
**Containing Nitrogen i ei fg . e 23 “70
Albuminoid Nitrogen “94 “73

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen... “19 “58
Total Nitrogen +43 131

+Containing Silica . a A a 17 51

¢{Containing Silica... Ws ce “60 1:83

© Se, ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS.

(MEADOW FOXTAIL.)

151

ALOPECURUS PRATENSIS.

MEADOW FOXTAIL.

Roots fibrous, rootstock perennial. Stems 1 to 3
feet, erect and smooth. Leaves flat and broad ; sheath

SEED OF . ;
aLopecurus pratensis, Smooth and longer than its leaf ;

(Meadow Foxtail.)

ligule large and truncate. Panicle
spike-like, cylindrical, and obtuse.
Spikelets one-flowered, and later-
ally compressed. Empty glumes
larger than flowering glumes, hairy
on the keel, awnless. Flowering
glumes with straight awn inserted
at the middle of the back. Palea
none. Flowers from the middle of

Taps - diameters, April to June. Grows in meadows
and pastures throughout Europe, North Africa, Siberia,
and North-western India.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. soe eee 5558

*Soluble albuminoids a P “50 113
**Insoluble albuminoids . . . . . 2°56 5°75
Digestible fibre . . » . « 14°22 32°01
Woody fibre .. ; . 16°42 36°96
+Soluble mineral maiter . « » «# » 2158 5°81
ttInsoluble mineral matter. , “94, 211

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 7:20 16:23

*Containing Nitrogen . “08 18
%*Containing Nitrogen . 3 % 41 92
Albuminoid Nitrogen “49 1:10

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . ‘ . ae: a - +30 67
Total Nitrogen Fn9! ait

+Containing Silica . ‘ $3) oa +37 ve

+tContaining Silica . gl. Re oe OR ‘ 52 dé

ANTHOXANTHUM
ODORATUM.
(SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL.)

153

ANTHOXANTHUM ODORATUM.

SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL.

Roots fibrous, rootstock perennial. Stems 1 to 2 feet,

tufted, erect, glabrous, and with few joints. Leaves

ee hairy, flat and pointed ; sheath

ANTHOXANTHUM oporatum. Tibbed and slightly hairy ;

(Sweet-scented Vernal.) ligule hairy. Panicle spike-like,

pointed at summit, uneven

below. Spikelets one-flowered,

il lanceolate. Empty glumes in

Natura) 'WO pairs; outer two much

size, larger than the flowering

glumes, unequal, hairy at the

keels and pointed at the ends,

awnless; second pair shorter

and narrower than first pair,

equal; also hairy and both

awned, one with short straight

awn inserted at the back near

Wig nd without the ha the summit, the other with long

bent awn inserted at the centre

of the back. Flowering glumes small, glabrous, and

awnless. Palea adherent to the seed. Stamens two.

Anthers large. Flowers April and May. Grows in

fields, woods, and on banks throughout Europe, Siberia,
and North Africa.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. ‘ : e . 61°84 —_

*Soluble albumingids : : P : “69 181
**Tnsoluble albuminoids . ‘ : ‘ « 1°31 3°44
Digestible fibre . 3 » + 1443 37°81
Woody fibre... me 3 . 14:56 38°15
tSoluble mineral matter . ij . 176 4°61
TtInsoluble mineral matter. : 83 2°18

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. - £58 12-00
100°00 100-00

*Containing Nitrogen . < : : ‘ll +29
*=*Containing Nitrogen . . . . 6 21, +55
Albuminoid Nitrogen +32 84

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . © E +20 “55
Total Nitrogen +62 1:39

+Containing Silica . . ne 38 99

++Containing Silica . ; 3 44 151

=
4
La

AVENA FLAVESCI
(YELLOW OAT GRASS.)

COPYRIGHT S, & 8.

155

AVENA FLAVESCENS

YELLOW OAT GRASS.

Rootstock perennial, creeping, and somewhat sto-
loniferous. Stems 1 to 2 feet, erect, glabrous, and

SEED OF

striated. Leaves flat; radical

AVENA FLAVESCENS. leaves and sheaths hairy ; ligule

(Yellow Oat Grass.)

truncate and ciliated. Panicle
\ spreading, with many branches,
broad at the base and pointed

| -atural at the summit. Spikelets

#2. three- or four-flowered, small,

shining, and of a_ bright
yellow colour. Empty glumes
unequal, keeled, and rough.
Flowering glumes hairy at the
base and toothed at summit,
with slender twisted awn spring-
ing from below the middle of

Front and side views magnified the back. Palea narrow, short,

B Glametetse and blunt. Flowers June, July,
and August. Grows in pastures throughout Europe,
North Africa, and Asia.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water < ¢ é ; 63°11 —
Soluble sthumiinisids : s ; —_— —_—
*Insoluble albuminoids ; ; ; . 1:50 4:06
Digestible fibre 2 F 11:95 32°39
Woody fibre ; . 14:05 38°09
+Soluble mineral matter « i . 1:04 2°81
ttInsoluble mineral matter. . dl 3°01

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 724 19°64

*Containing Nitrogen . 24 +65
Non-albuminoid Nitrogen A 14 738
Total Nitrogen +38 1.03

+Containing Silica . 13 5
+{Containing Silica . 78 2-03

CYNOSURUS CRISTATUS,

(CRESTED DOGSTAIL.)

COPYRIGHT

157

CYNOSURUS CRISTATUS.

CRESTED DOGSTAIL.

Rootstock perennial, stoloniferous. Stems 1 to 2
feet, tufted, erect, smooth, and wiry. Leaves very

SEED OF
CYNOSURUS CRISTATUS.
(Crested Dogstail.)

Front and side views magnified
10 diameters.

narrow, ribbed, slightly hairy ;
sheath smooth ; ligule short and
bifid. Panicle spike-like, secund.
Spikelets many-flowered, ovate,
flat, with a barren spikelet
consisting of empty glumes
arranged in a pectinate manner
at the base. Empty glumes
sharply pointed, shorter than
flowering glumes, unequal, with
prominent rough keels. Flower-
ing glumes lanceolate, with a
short awn at summit. Palea
very thin, slightly ciliated.
Flowers July and August.

Grows in dry hilly pastures throughout Europe,
Western Asia, and North Africa.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water . 72°33 —
Soluble slouainaids — —_—
*Insoluble albuminoids . 1:50 5°38
Digestible fibre 791 28°59
Woody fibre 11:34 40°98
{Soluble mineral mater. ‘i . 2°08 751
ttInsoluble mineral matter. . 76 2°74.

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, &e. . 4:08 14°80

*Containing Nitrogen .
Non-albuminoid Nitrogen .

+Containing Silica .
+}Containing Silica .

“24 86

: -18 65
Total Nitrogen —_-42 151
19 “68

39 141

DACTYLIS GLOMERATA.

(ROUGH COCKSFOOT.)

159

DACTYLIS GLOMERATA.

ROUGH COCKSFOOT.

Roots fibrous, rootstock perennial. Stems 2 to 3
feet, erect, stout, and smooth. Leaves broad, keeled,

and rough; sheath

SEED OF ‘ligule long. Panicle
DACTYLIS GLOMERATA.
(Rough Cocksfoot.)

| Natural

Front and side views magnified
8 diameters.

scabrid ;

secund,

spreading below, close and
pointed above. Spikelets three-
to five-flowered, laterally com-
( pressed, and closely clustered at
the end of the branches.
sie. glumes smaller than flowering
glumes, unequal, keeled, and
hairy on upper part of the keel,
pointed at summit. Flowering
glumes with hairy keel, pointed,
and ending in a short awn.
Palea bifid at summit, and
fringed at base. Flowers June
and July. Grows in pastures,

Empty

woods, orchards, and waste
places throughout Europe, North Africa, North India,

and Siberia.

ANALYSIS.

Grass in

Natural State.
Water. : F : P . 60°74
*Soluble Sburingids 3 : : : 25
**Insoluble albuminoids . : ‘ , . 150
Digestible fibre . . hs 11:30
Woody fibre . es « «¢ « 16°24
tSoluble mineral wistter . oe ee 204
ttInsoluble mineral matter . . 91
Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 7:02
100-00
*Containing Nitrogen . é : 04
*"“Containing Nitrogen . 24
Albuminoid Nitrogen ~ 28

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen .
Total Nitrogen +46

+Containing Silica . . : a é : e y +35
t+tContaining Silica . E ‘ “51

Dried at
212° Fahr.

RATENSIS.
(MEADOW FESCUE.)

Z VESTUCA P

161

FESTUCA PRATENSIS.

MEADOW FESCUE.

Rootstock perennial. Stems 18 inches to 3 feet,

tufted, erect, and smooth. Leaves flat and smooth ;

SEED OF sheath smooth; ligule short.
FESTUCA PRATENSIS, " ze
(Meadow Fescue.) Panicle spreading, but closer

and narrower than in F’. elatior,
WA scaturar With fewer branches. Spikelets
iia many flowered, lanceolate.
Empty glumes shorter than
flowering glumes, unequal and
acute. Flowering glumes rough,

and slightly awned. Palea

acute and ribbed, with hairy
Front and side vi gnified
momen diameters. nerves. Flowers June and July.
Grows on good pastures throughout Europe and

Northern Asia.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fabr.
Water. ‘ x ‘ - é . 71:04 —
Soluble albuminoids 2 F ‘ 2 = —
*Insoluble albuminoids 3 : : . 13 3°88
Digestible fibre. » «» « SOL 30°77
Woody fibre . 2 oe 1251 43°19
Soluble mineral mation: ‘ . 105 3°62
tInsoluble mineral matter . , 64 2°21

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 4°72 16°33

*Containing Nitrogen . a 18 “62
Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . > 18 62
TotalNitrogen 36 1:24

+Containing Silica a og . +39 1-35

LATION.

A
p
ie)
Q
ia)
&
4q
4
<
a

<x
OO
—
=
wn
i
ee

163

FESTUCA ELATIOR.

TALL FESCUE.

Rootstock perennial, somewhat — stoloniferous.

Stems 3 to 6 feet, erect and smooth. Leaves broad,
Es flat, and scaberulous; sheath
FESTUCA ELATIOR. smooth ; ligule short. Panicle
eG diffuse and nodding. Spikelets
many-flowered, half an inch long
or more, lanceolate. Empty
glumes shorter than flowering
glumes, acute and unequal.
Flowering glumes broad, rough,
and toothed at the apex. Palea
acute and ribbed, with hairy

nerves. Flowers June and July.

Grows in damp pastures and

Front and side views magnified
6 diameters.

wet places throughout Europe,
North Africa, and North America.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.

Water. = BIS25 —

Soluble sihiuminotds : ; Ao —
*Insoluble albuminoids . : 131 4°50

Digestible fibre. 6°80 23°65

Woody fibre .. » «1425 49°56

Soluble mineral matter ‘ < . 109 3°79
tInsoluble mineral matter. . “56 195

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 474 16°55

*Containing Nitrogen . ae 78 e- % 21 “72
Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . j 13 +45
Total Nitrogen 84 117

+Containing Silica. a & 8 31 1-08

i
Nee ah
. vi y
wa G -
SS), / ES
|
\
LPG
i) i —
Nid a
ih Mi
vA tv) |
7] APN |
NY (! “iy
‘4 g \
My hy Y
a \ \\ } Lyi Z Nii
SS Gy wr ey {
Q Lie a
Y Ay

COPYRIGHT
S$. 25.

/ FESTUCA OVINA TENUIFOLIA.

(FINE-LEAVED SHEEP'S FESCUR.)

165

FESTUCA OVINA TENUIFOLIA.

FINH-LEAVED SHEEP'S FESCUE.

Rootstock perennial, tufted. Stems 6 to 12 inches,
erect, and densely tufted, rough at the upper part and

SEED OF

FESTUCA OVINA TENUIFOLIA.

(Finc-leaved Sheep’s Fescue.)

Natural
size.

Front and side views magnified
15 diameters.

smooth below. Leaves very
slender, chiefly radical, upper
ones rolled; sheath smooth;
ligule bilobed.

Panicle small, erect, contracted,

long and
and subsecund. Spikelets many-
flowered, small, upright.
Empty glumes shorter than
flowering glumes, unequal and
acute. Flowering glumes small,
with minute awn. Palea toothed,
with hairy nerves. Flowers

June and July. Grows in dry,

hilly pastures throughout Europe, Siberia, North

Africa, North America, and Australia.

Water :
*Soluble albuminoids
**Tnsoluble albuminoids
Digestible fibre
Woody fibre
+Soluble mineral matter .

ttInsoluble mineral matter.
Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e.

*Containing Nitrogen .
**Containing Nitrogen

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen .

+Containing Silica .

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
55°62 —
1:06 2°44,
1:54 3°37
16°72 37°77
15°31 34°49
1:59 3°60
1:72 3°88
6°44 14°45
100-00 100-00
‘17 “39
24 54
Albuminoid Nitrogen “41 93,
ay} ec» 8 23 54
Total Nitrogen “+64 147
69 1:58
1-45 3-26

+tContaining Silica .

FESTUCA DURIUSCULA.

COPYRIGHT

(HARD FRSCUE,)

167

FESTUCA DURIUSCULA.

HARD FESCUE.

Rootstock perennial, slightly creeping. Stems 1 to

2 feet, erect, and tufted, but less so than in F. ovina

SEED OF tenuifolia. Stem-leaves flat,
FESTUCA DURIUSCULA. _
(Hard Fescue.) lanceolate, and striated ; sheath

( downy; ligule almost or en-

Nee tirely obsolete. Panicle erect

size.

and spreading when in flower.
Spikelets many-flowered, and
larger than in F’. ovina tenuifolia.
Empty glumes lanceolate and
unequal. Flowering glumes

narrow, with a short awn.

Palea toothed, with hairy nerves.
sc a Flowers June and July. Grows
in hilly places throughout Europe, North Africa,

Siberia, North America, and Australia.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. ; ‘i , . ‘ . 61:98 —

*Soluble attumniotds ; : ‘17 “44
**Tnsoluble albuminoids . ‘ ‘ . 1:50 3°94
Digestible fibre . . . . 653 17:18
Woody fibre .. . 23°19 60°99
+Soluble mineral matter . : . 152 4°01
ttInsoluble mineral matter. . “86 2:26

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 4:25 11:18

*Containing Nitrogen . 3 a ‘ -03 07
**Containing Nitrogen . . é e. 1% 24 63
Albuminoid Nitrogen 27 70

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen... 3 5 ‘lL +29
Total Nitrogen 738 199

+Containing Silica. 38 99
1:34

ttContaining Silica. % 5 47

LOLIUM PERENNE SUTTONI.
(SUTTON'S PERENNIAL RYE GRASS.)

Wy
fy

169

LOLIUM PE

RENNE SUTTONI.

SUTTON’S PERENNIAL RYE GRASS.

Roots fibrous, rootstock perennial, sometimes sto-
loniferous. Stems 1 to 2 feet, bent at the base, ascend-

SEED OF
LOLIUM PERENNE SUTTONI,
(Sutton’s Perennial Rye Grass.)

size.

Front and side views magnified
diameters.

ing, smooth, and slightly com-
pressed. Leaves flat, narrow,
and obtuse; edges and upper
surface scabrid ; sheath smooth
and compressed; ligule short
and blunt. Panicle spiked.
Spikelets many-flowered, soli-
tary, sessile, distichous. Empty
glumes, only an outer one to
each spikelet, except in the case
of the upper spikelet, which
has two, lanceolate, smooth, dis-
tinctly ribbed, and shorter than
the spikelets. Flowering glumes

obtuse, ribbed, and with sometimes a minute awn.

Flowers May and June.

Water :
*Soluble atheamtnaida
**Insoluble albuminoids
Digestible fibre

Woody fibre

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
. 62:01 —

38 1:00

2°06 5°38

7:98 21°01

17-71 46°62

2°90 7:64

18 2°05

tSoluble mineral matter
ttInsoluble mineral matter

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, & &e. * 6:18 16°30

*Containing Nitrogen
**Containing Nitrogen .

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen .

' +Containing Silica .
{Containing Silica .

06 16

a +33 86
Albuminoid Nitrogen +39 1-02
38 1-00

Total lances 7 2:02

05 +13

+32 84

LOLIUM. ITALICUM SUTTONL

171

LOLIUM ITALICUM SUTTONI.

SUTTON’S ITALIAN RYE GRASS.

Annual or biennial.

Root fibrous. Stems 2 to 4

feet, erect, stout, smooth. Leaves long, broad, glab-

SEED OF
LOLIUM ITALICUM SUTTONI.
(Sutton’s Italian Rye Grass.)

Front. and side views magnified
7 diameters.

rous, and succulent; sheaths
slightly rough; ligule short
and obtuse. Spikelets many-
flowered, sessile, distichous on
a long rachis. Upper empty
glume only present in the
terminal spikelet; lower
empty glume persistent, lan-
ceolate, obtuse, scarcely
reaching to middle of spike-
let. Flowering glumes lanceo-
late. Awn almost as long
as glume. Palea ciliate at

base. Flowers June and July. Not known in a wild

state.
ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. 60°84 —
*Soluble aliuminoids "25 “15
**Insoluble albuminoids . 1:31 3°31
Digestible fibre 11°46 29°30
Woody fibre 11:09 28°32
+Soluble mineral matter . 1:35 3°47
1:10 2°81

ttInsoluble mineral matter

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 12°60 32°04

*Containing Nitrogen .
**Containing Nitrogen .

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen

+Containing Silica .
+tContaining Silica .

“04 12

oS a : 21 53
Albuminoid Nitrogen 25 “63
aa ge eee 19 “50
Total Nitrogen “44 115

"24 61

“91 2°33

as
ears
=H
mm 4
Ba
8
a a

5
=e
.20
me
&
= 6
a.
a

173

PHLEUM PRATENSE.

TIMOTHY, OR MEADOW CATSTAIL.

Rootstock perennial, somewhat creeping. Stems
1 to 3 feet, erect and smooth. Leaves short, flat, and
soft; sheath smooth; ligule
SEED OF FE < : a
puteum pratense, Oblong. Panicle spike - like,
(Pimothy, or Meadow Catstail.) cylindrical, elongate, and com-
fe t. Spikelet -fl d
Natwray P2Ct- pikelets one-flowered,
size. laterally compressed. Empty
glumes larger than flowering
glumes, equal, each with stiff
hairs on the keel and a short
scabrid terminal awn. Palea
minute and pointed. Flower-
ing glumes much smaller than
empty glumes, toothed and
ee ee awnless. Flowers end of June
to August. Grows in meadows
and pastures throughout Europe, North Africa, Siberia,
and Western Asia.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water . ‘ ‘ : ‘ ‘ . 39°99 —

*Soluble ativan noNda ‘ é ‘ 25 43
**Insoluble albuminoids . ss : « 219 3°63
Digestible fibre i <s . 12°74 21:23
Woody fibre... a %& . 31°97 53°27
tSoluble mineral Tisthek . 8:59 5:98
ttInsoluble mineral matter. . 1:26 2°09

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 801 13:37

*Containing Nitrogen ‘ 04 07
**Containing Nitrogen : < +35 +58
Albuminoid Nitrogen +39 “65

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen... 5 +48 “80
Total Nitrogen 87 1-45

+Containing Silica . 5 q : 127 +45,

+tContaining Silica . e c 69 1:15

COPYRIGHT

8&8, LAO ) ft oe YW ON | \
x POA PRATENSIS.

(SMOOTH-STALKED
MEADOW GRASS.)

175

POA PRATENSIS.

SMOOTH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS.

Rootstock perennial, creeping, and stoloniferous.
Stems 1 to 2 feet, erect, smooth, and rather stout.
Leaves flat, rather broad and

SE @ 3
pon creeds slightly concave at the tip;

(Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass.) sheath smooth and longer
than its leaf; ligule short
and blunt. Panicle loose,
spreading, and pyramidal in
shape. Spikelets three- to
five - flowered, compressed.

Empty glumes much webbed,

lanceolate, almost equal.
Flowering glumes _ larger,
webbed, keeled, and acute.

Front and side views magnified Palea short. Flowers June
15 diameters.

and early in July. Grows in
meadows and pastures throughout Europe, Siberia,
North Africa, and North America.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. . 65°81 —_
Soluble albuminoids oo —_
*Insoluble albuminoids . sl 5°31
Digestible fibre. ‘ 9°29 27:17
Woody fibre . ‘ 15°24 44°57
+Soluble mineral matter . Tl 3°24
+{Insoluble mineral matter. 1-42 413

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, ke. . __ 5:32 15°58
10000 =: 100-00

—=s ——s

*Containing Nitrogen . 39 “$5
Non-albuminoid Nitrogen “15 “44
Total Nitrogen at 1:29

+Containing Silica -40 1-17

+{Containing Silica 1:13 3-29

POA TRIVIALIS.
(ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS.)

=
“I
“]

POA TRIVIALIS.

ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS.

Rootstock perennial, somewhat creeping, but not
stoloniferous. Stems 1 to 2 feet, erect, rough and
slender. Leaves flat, narrow,

SEED OF

RODS RINIATIS: acute, and rough ; sheath rough
(Rough-stalked Meadow Grass.)

; and equal to its leaf; ligule

Natural long and pointed. Panicle
loose, spreading, and pyrami-
dal in shape. Spikelets three-
to five - flowered, compressed.
Empty glumes webbed, lanceo-
late, and nearly equal. Flower-
ing glumes keeled and acute.
Palea short and slightly fringed.

Flowers June to end of July.

Front and side views magnified
15 diameters.

Grows in meadows and pastures throughout Europe,
Siberia, North Africa, and North America.

ANALYSIS.

Grass in Dried at

Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. ‘ : . 42°50 —
*Soluble albrnindida é : F ‘ : 92 1°56
**Insoluble albuminoids . : : : . 150 2°69
Digestible fibre © 6 «a « « d845 32°00
Woody fibre... ay fap - Ss . 20°31 35°32
+Soluble mineral matter, ‘ : 2°24 3°90
ttInsoluble mineral matter. . 158 2°75

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo- hydrates, &e. . 12°50 21:78
100°00 = 100°00

*Containing Nitrogen . A is “ 4 “14 +25
**Containing Nitrogen . * : _ 24 43
Albuminoid Nitrogen 38 +68

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen. . ee te +13 24
Total Nitrogen 51 +92

+Containing Silica. . . ‘ Fi 15
+tContaining Silica . a é 4 ‘ 1:40 2-44

COPYRIGHT

NEMORALIS.
(WOOD MEADOW GRASS.)

POA

Le

POA NEMORALIS.

WOOD MEADOW GRASS.

Rootstock perennial, slightly creeping, but not
stoloniferous. Stems 1 to 3 feet, erect, smooth.

B Leaves narrow, pointed, rough
SEED OF

POA NEMORALIS. on the surface and outer edges ;
(Wood Meadow Grass.)

{ sheath smooth; ligule none or

Natural very minute. Panicle diffuse,

slender, and nodding. Spikelets
lanceolate, compressed. Empty
glumes acute, nearly equal,
sometimes slightly webbed.

Flowering glumes rather larger,

Front and side views mamifea lanceolate, with three hairy

ier tibs. Palea with nerves slightly
fringed. Flowers June and July. Grows in woods and

shady places throughout Europe and Northern Asia.

ANALYSIS.
Grass in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. 3 . ‘ 4 . 35°92 —

*Soluble albuminoids é ‘ - : . 1:08 1-69
**Tnsoluble albuminoids . a: is és . 2°69 4°19
Digestible fibre 2. 2. 2. 2... 148 27°28
Woody fibre . P 2 ‘ : . 27°65 43°15
_jSoluble mineral matter . Scat, a rae, S265 4:14
ttInsoluble mineral matter. . 2°25 3°51

" Ghiceapleyll soluble carbo-hydrates, &e. . 10°28 16°04

*Containing Nitrogen . 1 aed 17 “27
Containing Nitrogen . ‘ 43 67
Albuminoid Nitrogen 60 “94

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . . > . 26 41
Total Nitrogen 86 1:35

+Containing Silica " 2 z “78 1:32
272

7tContaining Silica é c 1:73

w

ig COPYRIGHT S. & S,

TRIFOLIUM REPENS PERENNE.

(PERENNIAL WHITE CLOVER.)

Isl

TRIFOLIUM REPENS PERENNE.

PERENNIAL WHITE CLOVER.

Rootstock perennial. Stems solid, prostrate,
creeping, rooting at the nodes. Stipules lanceolate-
cuspidate. Leaves on long stalks. Leaflets obtuse
or obcordate ; margins finely toothed, generally with
a white curved band. Peduncles axillary, long, erect,
bearing a globose head of flowers. Pedicels deflexed
after flowering. Calyx-teeth unequal, subulate, slightly
shorter than tube. Corolla persistent, white or pink,
turning brown. Pods three- to four-seeded. Flowers
from May to October. Native of Europe, North Africa,
Asia, India, and North America.

ANALYSIS.
Clover in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fabr.
Water. ; a 3 ‘ ‘ . 80°59 —

*Soluble aibantuotts ‘ moe oe OY 36 1°88
**Insoluble albuminoids . . . . . 144 7°56
Digestible fibre. 2 eee 488 24°71
Woody fibre . . . rr wi) 24°36
{Soluble mineral matter. . . . . 89 8:20
ytInsoluble mineral matter. 3 a “81 4:21

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, ee. . 565 29-08

*Containing Nitrogen % é s 058 +30
**Containing Nitrogen . 3 “ ‘ Baby 121
Albuminoid Nitrogen “288 1-51

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . i 8 ‘ 29 1-51
Total Nitrogen 378 3-02

+Containing Silica : . ae ashe” 13 69

+tContaining Silica ° +30 1:56:

if i " i
a fh wit a i
CN,
on
wt Wa He

Ms H MI
vuan ! iW) WW

Hi

i
Lote ny

THT
Ht
Hi COPYRIGHT

TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE.

(RED. OR BROAD CLOVER.)

183

TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE.

RED, OR BROAD CLOVER.

Biennial. Root much branched, fibrous. Stems
hollow, branching from base, clothed with fine hairs.
Stipules membranous ; free portion adpressed to stem,
terminating abruptly in a bristle-like point; veins
anastomosing. Leaflets oblong, obtuse, pubescent,
usually strongly marked with a crescentic band.
Heads terminal, sessile, globose. Flowers dull rose-
purple. Calyx-teeth hairy, as long as tube. Corolla
persistent, turning brown. Pods one-seeded. Flowers
June to September. Grows throughout Europe,
Central and Northern Asia, and India.

ANALYSIS.
Clover in Dried av
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. 2 : ‘ , : . 66°89 —

*Soluble dituatndiats é 2 , : é 62 1:94
**Tnsoluble albuminoids . , p ‘ . 2°94 8°87
Digestible fibre . . . «. «. . 5:70 17°22
Woody fibre . . «weet, 26°52
tSoluble mineral matter. . . . . 2°58 7°80
ttInsoluble mineral matter . . 4 67 2°02

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, -_ . 11°82 35°63

10000 =100-00

*Containing Nitrogen . a ‘ « a + “10 31
**Containing Nitrogen . Gp) Be od ek 47 1-42
Albuminoid Nitrogen “37 1-73,

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen. . . . +26 81
Total Nitrogen “83 254.

+Containing Silica a & a a e a ‘ 2 “03 +10

+tContaining Silica . . . +06 19

TRIFOLIUM
PRATENSE PERENNE.
(PERENNIAL RED CLOVER, OR COW GRASS.)

N
COPYRIGHT \
8.48.

TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE PERENNE.

PERENNIAL RED CLOVER, OR COW GRASS.

Perennial. Root long and tapering. Rootstock
branching freely. Stems solid, erect or ascending,
glabrous or sub-glabrous, tinged with purple. Stipules
membranous, veined, gibbous at the base, free portion
longer than in T. pratense, and more or less purple.
Leaflets elliptical or oblong-lanceolate, broadly marked.
Heads terminal and axillary, sessile or slightly stalked,
ovoid. Flowers deep purple. Calyx-tube sub-glabrous,

teeth setaceous, unequal, pods one-seeded. Flowers

July.
ANALYSIS.
Clover in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. : ‘ 5 3 : . 70°24 —
*Soluble atvuminoids 4 , 2 ‘ ‘ “56 2:00
**Insoluble albuminoids . : : ‘ a 231 7°81
Digestible fibre . ©. . . . . 1766 25°68
Woody fibre . 2... wetSt*sé«CS HV. 28°63
Soluble mineral matter . : : . . 1:94 6°52
fInsoluble mineral matter . . F “60 2°03

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, &e. - 817 27°33

*Containing Nitrogen . a 2 é a ‘i ¢ % +09 +32
**Containing Nitrogen . : a 2 37 1-25
Albuminoid Nitrogen —-46 137

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . +16 54
Total Nitrogen “62 241

Containing Silica ‘ Deo ah -06 +23

TRIFOLIUM HYBRIDUM.

(ALSIKE CLOVER.)

Ist

TRIFOLIUM HYBRIDUM.

ALSIKE CLOVER.

Rootstock perennial. Stems hollow, branched,
flexuous, glabrous. Stipules ovate-lanceolate, veins
few. Leaflets obovate or elliptical denticulate.
Peduncles axillary, longer than the leaves. Heads
globose, depressed. Calyx glabrous, teeth equalling
tube. Corolla persistent, white or pink, turning
brown. Pods three- to four-seeded. Flowers July
and August. Native of Europe, North Africa, and
Western Asia.

ANALYSIS.
Clover in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water... : . 70°78 —_

*Soluble albuminoids . x : - . 106 3°69
**Insoluble albuminoids . : P 2:00 6°81
Digestible fibre . . . . . . 584 18°30
Woody fibre . . . . . . 849 29°05
tSoluble mineral matter . ‘ a & . 1:90 6°49
ttInsoluble mineral matter . . 4 74 2°55

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, boo. - 9°69 33°11

*Containing Nitrogen “17 59
**Containing Nitrogen . +32 109
Albuminoid Nitrogen “49 1-68

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . 888 1-21
Total Nitrogen “84 2-89

“01 “08

+Containing Silica
{Containing Silica ee é a 07

COPYRIGHT

n48, MEDICAGO LUPULINA.

(COMMON YELLOW CLOVER, OR TREFOIL.)

189

MEDICAGO LUPULINA.

COMMON YELLOW CLOVER, OR TREFOIL.

Annual or biennial. Stems much branched from
base, hairy or sub-glabrous. Leaflets obovate, den-
ticulate, emarginate, mucronate. Stipules obliquely
ovate-toothed. Peduncle longer than the leaf. Head
many-flowered, depressed, ovoid. Flowers bright lemon-
yellow. Pedicels shorter than calyx; calyx-teeth
longer than tube. Standard of corolla longer than
wings. Pods naked, black, one-seeded. Flowers May
to August or September. Distributed throughout
Europe, North Africa, and India.

ANALYSIS.
Clover in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. 4 3 s : . 7147 —_

*Soluble steanindtie : : ? s : “42 1:50
**TInsoluble albuminoids_ . 1:81 6°50
Digestible fibre 6°10 21:22
Woody fibre 7:85 27°51
+Soluble mineral matter . 2:05 7:19
ttInsoluble mineral matter 1:25 4:39
Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, Sou 9:05 31°69
100:00 100-00
*Containing Nitrogen . f c i 069 24
“Containing Nitrogen : : ae 3 29 1:04
Albuminoid Nitrogen +359 1-28
Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . . 7 a s 38 1°35
Total Nitrogen “739 2-63
' Containing Silica G Gt) OM “ee. Se AP Ais -20 ‘70

+tContaining Silica ae . ee 67 2-01

ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM. "Fy

(YARROW, OR MILFOIL.)

191

ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM.

YARROW, OR MILFOIL.

Rootstock perennial, creeping extensively under-
ground, with smooth reddish stolons. Stems 2 to 3
feet, erect, furrowed, woolly or sub-glabrous. Stem-
leaves lanceolate ; radical leaves stalked, both doubly
pinnatifid; lobes cut into linear segments. Heads
corymbose, dense. Phyllodes oblong, obtuse, glabrous.
Flowers white’ or pink. Ray flowers few, ligule broad
as long. Disc flowers perfect, five-toothed. Fruit
oblong, compressed, shining. Flowers June to Sep-
tember. Native of Northern Europe, Northern and
Western Asia, Northern India, and North America.

ANALYSIS.
Yarrow in Dried at
Natural State. 212° Fahr.
Water. ‘ ‘ i 5 r ° . 73:01 —_—

*Soluble albuminoids . 4 ‘ 3 3 05 25
**Insoluble albuminoids . ‘ 7 : . 137 619
Digestible fibre . . . . . . 6°82 31:04
Woody fibre . 2... we AG 29°51
Soluble mineral matter . F 5 s . 1:33 6:04
tInsoluble mineral matter . . . . 98 4:47

Chlorophyll, soluble carbo-hydrates, &c. . 4°95 22°50

*Containing Nitrogen ee ee: eae -008 04
**Containing Nitrogen . i . mee aes +22 99
Albuminoid Nitrogen 228 1-03

Non-albuminoid Nitrogen . otis ‘ <i A “16 75
Total Nitrogen +388 1-78

Containing Silica c é Bahr we ay 38 1:73

INDEX

PAGE
Achillea Millefolium .
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 191
— — Illustration 190

After-Management of New “Pastures 93-99

Agricultural Clovers . .68-77
— — Botanical Descriptions, Ana-

lyses, and Illustrations 180-189

— Grasses 24-67

— — Botanical Descriptions, Seeds,

Analyses, and Illustrations 147-179

Agrostis alba—var. stolonifera. 24
———W— Botanical Description
and Analysis 149
— — — — Illustration 148
—eapillaris. ©. . . . 25
—dispar . . .) 25
— nigra A % & 2 3 25
—vulgaris .. oo om a 26
Aira, czespitosa i. 3h 140
—flexuosa. . . . . . 381
Alfalfa. .. wo e. ot 99
Alliaria officinalis ‘ 143
Allium vineale 143
Alopecurus agrestis . 137
— pratensis 2)
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 151
— — Illustration 150
Alsike Clover ; ls . 74
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 187
— — Illustration 186
Ammophila arundinacea .. 28

Analyses of Grasses and Clovers 147-191

Annual Rye Grass 55
Anthemis Cotula. . 142
Anthoxanthum odoratum ‘ . 29
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 153
— — Illustration 152

PAGI
Anthoxanthum Puelii 30
Arrhenatherum avenaceum 32
Artemisia Absinthium 143
Atropa Belladonna 142
Autumn Sowing of Grass Seeds 90
Avena elatior 32
— fatua 33
— flavescens : oll
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 155
— — Illustration 154
Awnless Brome Grass 34
Barbarea vulgaris 144
Birdsfoot Trefoil 77
Black Grass (Clover) 76
— Medick 76
Blue Grass, Kentucky 64
Botanical Descriptions of Grasses
and Clovers 147-191
Breaking up Old Grass Land 107-109
Broad Clover 70
— — Botanical Description and
Analysis. 183
— — Illustration 182
Brome Grass, Awnless: 34
— — Schreder’s 34
— — Soft 139
Bromus inermis . 34
— mollis 139
— Schreederi 34
Burnet . é 83
Burning the Soil 107
Buttercups . 141
Carduus arvensis 139
— palustris . 139
Carex .-.. 139
Carum Petesdlinum 83

194 PERMANENT
PAGE
Catstail, Meadow 7 60
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis 173 |
— — Illustration 172
Celery-leaved Crowfoot 142 |
Centaurea nigra... 138
Chamomile, Stinking . 142 |
Chicory. : we ong OD
Cichorium Intybus 7
Clover, Alsike . - 74
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis 187
— — Illustration 186
— Broad ‘ . , + “TO
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis 183
— — Illustration 182
— Common Yellow (Trefoil) . 16
— — — Botanical Description and
- Analysis 189
— — — Illustration 188
— Dutch 68
— Hop 76
— Perennial Red » FL
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 185
— — — Ihstration . 184
— — White. . 68
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 181
— — — Illustration . 180
— Red ve =. 20)
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis 183
— — Ilustration 182
— Yellow Suckling 75
— Zigzag 71
Clovers, ‘Agricultural . 68- 77
— — Botanical Descriptions, Ana-
lyses, and Illustrations 180-189
— Selection of 19-23
— Typical Prescriptions of Grasses
and. 23
Cocksfoot, Rough é 37
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 159
— — Illustration 158
Colchicum autumnale 144
Coltsfoot 136
Common Hemlock 143
— Rye Grass 55
—Sorrel . 139
— Yellow Clover (Trefoil) . 76
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis 189
— — — Illustration . 188
Conium maculatum 143
Couch . 137
Cow Grass 71

' — — Botanical

AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

PAGE

Cow Grass, Botanical Description

and Analysis

_ — — Iustration
' Creeping Bent Grass 2
' ——— Botanical Description and

Analysis

| —-~— Illustration .
— Thistle

Crested Dogstail
— — Botanical
Analysis.
— — Illustration
Crowfoot, Celery-leaved

Description

, Crow Garlic
_ Cultural Preparations

Cynosurus cristatus

—— Botanical Description
Analysis.

— — Illustration

Dactylis glomerata. .
— — Botanical
Analysis.
— — Illustration
Deadly Nightshade
Digitalis purpurea
Docks
Dogstail, Crested
— — Botanical
Analysis.
— — Illustration
Dragging of Grass Lands .
Drainage of Grass Land
Dropwort, Water
Dutch Clover

Description

Description

185
184
24

149
148
139
35
and
157
156
142
. 143
. 11-18
35
and
157
156

157
156
106

. 3-10
144

68

Early Cutting of Grass for Hay 102, 120

Eight Years’ Temporary Pasture

Elymus arenarius
Ensilage (Grass)
Evergreen Grass

False Oat Grass . F
Feeding, Plants used for
Fescue, Hard

Analysis.
— — Illustration
— Meadow .
— — Botanical
Analysis
— — Illustration
— Red 2
— Sheep’s .
— — Fine-leaved

Description

Description

115

and

and

— — — Botanical Description and

Analysis
— — — Illustration .
— Tall.

INDEX

PAGE
Fescue, Tall, Botanical Description
and Analysis . 163
— — Illustration e « 862
Festuca arundinacea. . . . 43
—duriuscula . . . . . 46
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 167
— — Illustration . . 166
—elatior 2. 2. 2... 48
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 163
— — Illustration » «+ « 162
—ovina. 5 : : » . 44
——tenuifolia . . 45
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 165
— — — Illustration . . . 164
— pratensis aoe ow ma AO
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 161
— — Illustration . . . 160
—rubra . . wtetSt*é« BB
Fetid Mayweed .. . . 142
Fine-leaved Sheep’s Fescue 45
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 165
— — — Illustration . . . 164
Fiorin . . wee wt
— Botanical Description and
Analysis 149
— Jlustration 148
Fogging : . 126
Forage Grass, Hungarian ~ . . 84
Four Years’ Temporary Pasture 115
Foxglove . . . . . . 148
Foxtail, Meadow. : % ‘ F 25
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 151
— — Illustration a) ees 150
— Slender ss « « 137
Fromental . oe ee ee ee
Garlic, Crow 143
Garlic-Mustard . . . 148
Glyceria aquatica 6 ww wCOBT
Graminez ge 24-67
Grass, Annual Rye S> 8 May eee “OD!
—Awnless Brome . . . . 34
— Black (Clover) zi . . 76
— Common Rye e- ) oR ca. 205
—- Couch wy 137
— Creeping Bent . . . . 24
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 149
— — — Illustration . 148
—Evergren . . . . . Al
— False Oat oo 8 2 4 B82
— Hungarian Forage. . . . 34
—TItalian Rye . So we oe 86

195
PAGE
Grass, Italian Rye, Sutton’s,
Botanical Description and Ana-
lysis. 171
—-— Llustration 170
—- June ‘ » ele «64
— Kentucky Blue ; e. oe 64
— Late Meadow S owe oa av OOD
— Mat. « «© «8 «© w» «» 28
— Orchard . . a : ‘ . 389
—Orcheston . . . . . 65
— Perennial Rye . . 50
— — — Sutton’s, Hotanioal “ie.
scription and Analysis . 169
— — — — Illustration . 168
—Randall. . . . . . 41
— Rib. - . 138
— Rough- stalked Meadow. 65
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 177
—- — — Illustration . . . 176
— Sand C8 2 3 . 39
— Schreeder’s Brome 2» « « 84
— Smooth-stalked Meadow . 62
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 175
— — — Illustration . 174
— Soft Brome és F : . 139
—Sweet Reed . . . . . 67
—Tall Oat. . « « 82
— Tufted Hair, or Tassoele . 140
— Upright Sea Lyme an kt a, OO)
— Water Meadow... , . 67
— Wood Meadow . 66
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 179
— — — Illustration . 178
— Woolly Soft . . . 140
— Yellow Oat . . 31
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 155
— — — Illustration . . 154
Grasses, Agricultural . . 24-67

— — Botanical Descriptions, Seeds,
Analyses, and Illustrations 147-179

— and Clovers, ies ane
tions of : 23

— Selection of 19-23
— Worthless, in Pastures 134-144
Grass Land, Drainage of . 3-10
— — Old, Breaking up 107- 109
— — — Management and Improve-
ment of 100-106
— Seeds, Autumn Sowing of . . 90
— — Illustrations of . . 149-179
——Sowing. to UK «85-92
——w-—withRape. . . . 9
——Spring Sowingof . . . 87
Grazing, Hints on ‘i ; . 128-131
— Sundry Plants used for 78-84

196

PAGE

Hard Fescue x .
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis. . 167
— — Illustration 166
Hardheads .. : 138
Hay, Sundry Plants aed for : 78-84
Haymaking, Hints on 119-127
Hayricks . 123
Hedge Mustard . a pt, ee TAS,
Hemlock . . ‘ ? . 143, 144
Hints on Grazing . . . 128-131
— — Haymaking . 119-127
Holeusavenaceus . . . . 382
— lanatus soe ee «140
Hop. so & —» 76
Hungarian Forage Grass - . . 34
Hungerweed 137

Illustrations of Grasses and Clovers
148-188
Improvement and Management of

Old Grass Land 100-106
Injurious Plants in Pastures 134-144
Italian Rye Grass . . . . 56
——-— Sutton’s, Botanical De-

scription and Analysis . 171
— — — — Illustration 170
Juncus . 5 - : 2 . 139
June Grass . ; ‘ ‘ 4 . 64
Kentucky Blue Grass ~ oo. «64
Knapweed . . 138
Late Meadow Grass . . A - 67
Leguminose os. 68-77
Ley, One Year’s . 114
— Two Years’ . 114
— Three Years’ . 115
Liming Grass Land . 106
Lolium annuum . 2 : . . 55
— italicum . ‘ 56

— — Suttoni, Botanical Description

and Analysis. 171
— — — Illustration . - . 170
— perenne . 50
— — Suttoni, Botanical Description
and Analysis. 169
— — — INustration . - « 168
—vulgare. . 2... OB
Lotus corniculatus . . . . 77
Lucerne mH. <B> Me wr Gas ge. PAO
Management and Improvement of
Old Grass Land 100-106
Marrem Yo ar Jae tel. Gn 28
Marsh Thistle 139

PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES

PAG!
MatGrass . . . . . . 28
Mayweed, Fetid . 3 ‘ . 142
Meadow Catstail Boos oe ae 260
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 173
— — Illustration . 3 . 172
—Fescuee . . . . . . 40
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 161
— — Illustration di . 160
—Foxtail . . . 25
— — Botanical Description and
Analysis. 151
— — Illustration . . . 150
— Grass, Late . . A « OF
— — Rough- stalked . ~~» ©6665.
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . V7
— — — Illustration . . « 176
— — Smooth-stalked s » «» 62
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 175
— — — Illustration . » . 4
— — Wood . : 66
— — — Botanical Description snd
Analysis . 179
— — — ImIustration . 178
— Saffron Go Te Ee . 144
Medicago lupuling . . . . 76
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 189
— — Illustration 2 ‘ . 188
—sativa . k : . i . 79
Milfoil... 78
— Botanical Description and "Ana-
lysis 191
— Illustration 190:
Moss, to Destroy 106
Mustard, Garlic- 143
— Hedge 143
Narrow-leaved Plantain ; 138
New Pastures, After-Management of
93-99
Nightshade, Deadly . . . . 142
Nonsuch . $ - 76
Note by Dr. J. A Voeleker 147
Notes on Worthless Grasses and
Plants in Pastures . 134-144
Oat Grass, False A 2 i . 32
——Tall . . . 2... 82
——Yellow ... . $i
— — — Botanical Deseription and
Analysis . 155
— — — IIlustration . 154
=== Wild's ou & a « ‘a | 88

(nanthe crocata

INDEX

PAGE
Old Grass Land, Breaking up . 107-109
— — — Management and Improve-

ment of 100-106
One Year’s Ley . 114
Onobrychis sativa 82
Orchard Grass 39
Orcheston Grass . 65
Paring the Soil 107
Parsley, Sheep’s . 83
Pastures, Introduction 1, 2
— New, After-Management of. 93-99
— Temporary 110-118
Pepper, Water . 144
Perennial Red Clover. 71
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 185
— — — Illustration . 184
—Rye Grass. . 50
— — — Sutton’s, Botanical es
scription and Analysis . 169
— — — — Illustration 168
— White Clover . 68
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 181
— — — Illustration . 180
Petroselinum sativum 83
Phleum pratense. F 60
— — Botanical Description and
Analysis. 173
— — Illustration 172
Plantago lanceolata . 138
Plantain, Narrow-leaved . 138
Poa aquatica 67
— nemoralis 66
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 179
— — — Illustration . 178
— pratensis : : ‘i 62
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 175
— — Illustration 174
— serotina . 67
—trivialis . ae 65
—-— Botanical Description and
Analysis. 177
— — Illustration 3 176
Poisonous Plants in Pastures 141-144
Polygonum Hydropiper 144
Poterium Sanguisorba 83
Preparations, Cultural J1-18
Prescriptions of Grasses and Clovers 23
Psamma arenaria 28
Ragwort 138
Randall Grass 41
Ranunculus acris 14]
— bulbosus 141
— sceleratus 142

197
PAGE
Rape, Sowing with Grass Seeds 90
Rattle, Yellow 141
Red Clover . 4 * 70
—— Botanical Description and
Analysis 183
— — Illustration 182
—— Perennial . a Oe
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 185
— — — Illustration . 184
—Fescue . 48
Rhinanthus Crista- all 141
Rib Grass 138
Rocket, Yellow . 144
Rough Cocksfoot we Me! ea SOI
— — Botanical Description and
Analysis. 159
— — Illustration : ‘ 158
Rough-stalked Meadow Grass » . 65
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 177
— — — Illustration . 176
Rumex Acetosa . 139
— crispus 137
— obtusifolius 137
Rushes . 139
Rye Grass, Aniuel 55
— — Common 55
— — Italian . 2 ‘ . 56
——-— Sutton’s, Botanical De-
scription and Analysis . 171
— — — — Ilustration 170
——Perennial. . . . . 50
——— Sutton’s, Botanical De-
scription and Analysis . 169
— — — — Illustration 168
Saffron, Meadow 144
Sainfoin 82
Sand Grass . 39
Schreder’s Brome Grass : 34
Sea Lyme Grass, cee 39
— Reed ; 28
Sedges . . 139
Selection of Grasses and Clovers 19-23
Senecio Jacobea 138
Sheep’s Fescue 44
— — Fine-leaved » 45
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 165
— — — Illustration . 164
— Parsley es 83
Sisymbrium Alliaria . 143
Six Years’ Temporary Pasture. 115
Slender Foxtail .. 137
Smooth-stalked Meadow Grase 62
— — — Botanical Description and
Analysis . 175
— — — Illustration . 174

198 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES
PAGH PAGE
Soft Brome Grass 139 | Triticum repens . 137
Sorrel, Common . 139 | Tufted Hair Grass 140
Sowing Grass Seeds . 85-92 | Tussilago Farfara 136
——-—with Rape... . 90 | Tussock Grass 140
Spring Sowing of Grass Seeds. . 87| Twitch. . 137
Stinking Chamomile . 142 | Two Years’ Ley . a 6 114
Succory ‘ i <s .e 79 | Typical Prescriptions of Grasses and
Suckling, Yellow. . 1... 75 Clovers 23
Sweet Reed Grass . . . . 67
Sweet-scented Vernal. : k . 29 Upright Sea Lyme Grass . 39
—w— Botanical Description and
Prien S18 ae Vernal, Sweet-scented . 29
— — Hhustration 52) ___ Botanical Description and
Tall Fescue. . . . . . 48 Pair nee —
és aos — — Illustration 4 : 152
a igs a Voelcker, Dr. J. A., Note by : 147
Analysis. 163
_ a es ses tle eas a Water Dropwort 144
Tanacetum vulgare 143 | — Meadow Grass 67
Tansy . a. 143 | — Pepper. . sa
Temporary Pastures. . 110-118 | White Clover, Perennial 6S
Thistle, Creeping 139 | — — — Botanical Description and
— Marsh 139 Analysis . 181
Three Years’ Ley , fs 115 — — — Illustration . 180
Timothy 7 . : f 60 Wild Oat Grass . 33
— Botanical Description and Ana- Wood Meadow Grass . e
lysis. maaan 173 | —— — Botanical Description and.
— Illustration : . 172 Analysi Sie 3 179
Trefoil. ; . 76 | = Mlhstration . 178
— Botanical Description and Ana- Woolly Soft Grass 140
lysis. 189 | Wormwood . 143
= Tilistra ton ae 1gg | Worthless Grasses in Pastures . 134- 144
— Birdsfoot ty ee ys adh. ta CHEE
Trifolium hybridum . . . . 741] Yarrow ; 78
—— Botanical Description and — Botanical Deseription | and “Ana-
Analysis. 187 lysis. F 191
— — Illustration 186 | — Illustration ‘ 190
—medium . x : ‘ - 71 | Yellow Clover, or Trefoil . 5 i a (6)
—minus . . . . . . 75 | —— Botanical Description and
—pratense. . . . . . 7 Analysis. 189
—w— Botanical Description and — — Illustration 188
Analysis. 183 | — Oat Grass ‘ s 8h
— — Illustration 182 | — — — Botanical Description and
—w—pperenne . 71 Analysis . 155
— — — Botanical Description ‘arid — — — Illustration . 154
Analysis . 185 | — Rattle 141
— — — Illustration . 184 | — Rocket 144
—vrepens perenne. - 68 | -—Suckling . 75
— — — Botanical Description and. Yorkshire Fog 140
Analysis . 18]
— — — Illustration . 180 | Zigzag Clover 71
PRINTED BY

SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., LONDON
COLCHESLER AND ETON

pyrite

Permanent and Temporary Pastures.

By MARTIN J. SUTTON, F.LS.

EIGHTH EDITION. Completely revised. This edition is illustrated with 22
beautiful engravings of Natural Grasses, Clovers, &c., and it includes 44 Analyses of
ieee Clovers, &c., prepared expressly for this work by Dr, J. Augustus Voelcker.

oth, 5s.

POPULAR EDITION, including all the Chapters contained in the Eighth Edition,
but omitting the Illustrations, Analyses, and Index. In Paper Cover, 1s.

REVIEWS OF FORMER EDITIONS.

‘So much wealth is stored up in our grass-covered acres that no means should
be neglected of adding to their productive capacity. The subject is one which, on
account of its intrinsic interest, has long commanded the attention of practical men,
and of none more successfully than of Mr. Martin J. Sutton in “Permanent and
Temporary Pastures.” The present edition is admirably printed, and it may be
recommended with the greatest confidence to all who are interested in the manage-
ment and improvement of grass lands..—THE TIMES.

‘A very comprehensive work on pas- “The work contains information of so
tures."—DAILY TELEGRAPH. important a nature that it should be read

by all agriculturists.’

‘One of the most useful of books for COUNTY GENTLEMAN.
farmers in the present times is Mr. Martin ‘The most useful book on grasses for
J. Sutton’s “Permanent and Temporary | the information of the farmer that has
Pastures.” "THE STANDARD. ever come before us, its verbal and illus-

‘The well-known work ‘ Permanent nae aa De ses oe Nya arcane

and Temporary Pastures,” by Mr. Martin

J. Sutton, has long been recognised as an

indispensable guide to farmers, but in view

of the greatly altered conditions under

which farming is now pursued this excellent a the most careful study on the part of
armers.

book becomes even more necessary than ‘
ever. —MORNING POST. NORTH BRITISH AGRICULTURIST.

“Recognised all the world over as
being the leading work on this most im-
portant subject. The book is well worthy

“The book is a complete treatise on its
“Mr. Martin J. Sutton’s valuable book, | subject, and it is written in a clear and
which, since it was first published, has | interesting style, the practical information
rightly been regarded as the standard work | given being of the highest value.’
on the subject of grass lands, requires no LIVE STOCK JOURNAL.
introduction. The author has brought “A work which will be read with keen
his admirable work thoroughly up to date | interest by agriculturists generally, for
in every department, and for the sake of to-day permanent and temporary pastures
the farming industry of the country we | are of greater importance to English farm-
only hope that the number of readers will ing than at any period, possibly, in the
go on increasing until the information it | modern history of that industry. No
affords has become the prized possession | pains have been spared to make the work
of every occupier of grass holdings. The | as complete a treatise upon the subject as
excellent illustrations and accompanying | possible, and practically and scientifically
botanical descriptions sensibly enhance the | it may be regarded as a standard authority
value of the handsome book for class-room | on this important subject.’
study. —THE FIELD. ESTATES GAZETTE.

Through all Booksellers, from
SmmpKin, Marsuatt, Hamitron, Kent & Co. Luwtrep, London;

or direct from
SUTTON & SONS, READING.

1

Suttons Gold Medal
Educational Cabinets

OF NATURAL GRASSES, WORTHLESS
GRASSES, AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, &c.

Prepared for use in Agricultural Colleges, Museums, Schools,
and by Agricultural Lecturers, &c.

COPYRIGHT S. & S.

No, 1.—Polished Oak, glazed, Educational Cabinet, with sun-blind, containing 24 varieties
of Natural Grasses suitable for Permanent and Temporary Pastures, giving popular
and botanical names, soils and localities where usually found, with analyses by
Dr. Voelcker of the Grasses, both dried and green, and 75 glazed boxes of Grass and
Agricultural seeds. Size, 30 in. by 30 in. Price 40s.

SUTTON & SONS, Seed Growers and Merchants, READING.

11

Educational Cabinets—continued.

COPYRIGHT 8, & S.
No, 2.—Polished Oak, glazed, Educational Cabinet, with sun-blind, containing 24 varieties
of Natural Grasses suitable for Permanent and Temporary Pastures, giving popular
and botanical names, soils and localities where usually found, with analyses by
Dr. Voelcker of the Grasses, both dried and green, and 24 glazed boxes of seeds of the
same Grasses. Size, 34 in. by 22 in. Price 20s.

Grasses useless in Agricullure

and found in Bod Hay and Pastures.

|

iz i [LS pet | ai Fes | Rat | Gel i
FS Sea oe ES Se ae Se es a ee es ee Se

COPYRIGHT S. & S.
No. 3.—Polished Oak, glazed, Educational Cabinet, with sun-blind, containing 24 varieties
of Grasses useless in Agriculture, and found in bad hay and pastures, giving popular and
botanical names, soils and localities where usually found, with 24 glazed boxes of seeds
of the same Grasses. Size, 34in. by 22in. Price 20s.
iii

Educational Cabinets—continued.

COPYRIGHT S, & S,

No. 4,—Glazed Educational Cabinet, containing 24 varieties of Natural Grasses suitable
for Permanent and Temporary Pastures, giving popular and botanical names, soils and
localities where usually found, with analyses by Dr. Voelcker of the Grasses, both dried
and green. Size, 28in. by 17in. Price 8s. 6d.

Grasses useless in Agriculture

and found in Bad Hay and Pastures.

COPYRIGHT S. & S.

No, 5.—Glazed Educational Cabinet, containing 24 varieties of Grasses useless in Agriculture,
and found in bad hay and pastures, with popular and botanical names, soils and localities
where usually found. Size, 28in. by 17in. Price 8s. 6d.

1v

Educational Cabinets—continuea.

Sullons f)

cha =n"

COPYRIGHT 8, & S.
No, 6,—Wooden Case, containing 40 varieties of Agricultural and Horticultural seeds in
metal-capped bottles, giving popular names, with a table showing the use of each variety.
Price 8s. Gd. The Set of 3 (Nos. 4, 5, 6), 25s.

Analyses of Natural Grasses (
from Mr. M. J. Sutton’s Work or

BQP2BOLYSWILSSELSSSESSQDOSS
eo, : , = SSas

COPYRIGHT S. & &.

No. 7,—Sutton’s Composite Collection of Useful and Useless Grasses, in Japanned
Vasculum, with brass handle and fittings, containing 36 varieties of Grasses, giving
popular and botanical names, soils and localities where usually found, with analyses by
Dr. Voelcker of the Useful Grasses, both dried and green; also 60 metal-capped glass
bottles of Grass and Agricultural seeds. Price 10s. 6d.

v

Grasses, Clovers, Seeds, &c.

No, 8,— Botanical speci-
mens of Natural Grasses,
Leguminous Plants, and
certain Weeds (see list
on following page), with
popular and_ botanical
names. Mounted on
cardboard, 1s. each;
Unmounted, 6d. each.

No, 9. — Grasses (both
useful and useless in
Agriculture) made up in
bundles, with popular |
and botanical names,
soils and localities where
usually found.

Price 2s. 6d. per dozen.

COPYRIGHT S&S.

No, 10.—Grass seeds and Agricultural
seeds, in metal-capped bottles.
Per dozen, 3s.

COPYRIGHT S. & S,

No, 11.—Weed seeds, of the commoner
sorts (see list, page viii), in small
metal-capped bottles.

Per dozen, 5s.

COPYRIGHT 3. & S,

vi

List of Weed Plants referred to under No. 8.

AGRIMONY
(Agrimonia Eupatoria).
AVENS
(Geum urbanum).
BEDSTRAW,
GREAT HEDGE
(Galium Mollugo).
BEDSTRAW, LADY’S
(Galium verum).
BINDWEED, SMALL
(Convolvulus arvensis).
BROOM-RAPE
(Orobanche minor).
BUCKWHEAT, CLIMBING
(Polygonum Convolvulus),
BUGLOSS, SMALL
(Lycopsis arvensis).
BUGLOSS, VIPER’S
(Echium vulgare).
BURDOCK
(Arctium Lappa).
BUTTERCUP, MEADOW
(Ranunculus acris).
BUTTERCUP, BULBOUS
(Ranunculus bulbosus).
CAMPION, WHITE
(Lychnis vespertina).
CAMPION, BLADDER
(Silene inflata).
CARROT, WILD
(Daucus Carota).
CAT’S-EAR
(Hypocheris radicata}.
CHARLOCK
(Sinapis arvensis).
CHICKWEED
(Stellaria media).
CHICKWEED,
MOUSE-EAR
_(Cerastium vulgatum).
CLEAVERS
(Galium Aparine).
COLTSFOOT
(Tussilago Farfara),
CORNFLOWER
(Centaurea Cyanus).
CRESS, WINTER
(Barbarea vulgaris).
CROWFOOT,
CELERY-LEAVED
(Ranunculus sceleratus).
CROW GARLIC
(Allium vineale).
DAISY, COMMON
(Bellis perennis).
DAISY, OX-EYE
(Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum).
DANDELION
(Taraxacum officinale).
DOCK, LARGE
(Rumex obtusifolius).
DROPWORT, HEMLOCK
(Enanthe crocata).
DYER’S GREEN WEED

(Genista tinctoria).

DYER’S WEED

(Reseda luteola).
FUMITORY

(Fumaria officinalis).
GOAT’S BEARD

(Tragopogon pratensis).
GOOSEFOOT

(Chenopodium album).
GROUNDSEL

(Senecio vulgaris).
HAREBELL

(Campanula rotundifolia).
HEMLOCK

(Conium maculatum).
HEMP NETTLE

(Galeopsis Tetrahit)
HENBANE

(Hyoscyamus niger).
HORSETAIL

(Equisetum arvense).
KNAPWEED

(Centaurea nigra).
KNOTGRASS

(Polygonum aviculare).
LADY’S SMOCK

(Cardamine pratensis).
MADDER, FIELD

(Sherardia arvensis).
MALLOW

(Malva sylvestris).
MANGEL, WILD

(Beta maritima).
MARIGOLD, MARSH

(Caltha palustris).
MARJORAM, WILD

(Origanum vulgare).
MAYWEED, SCENTLESS

(Matricaria inodora).
MAYWEED, STINKING

(Anthemis Cotula).
MEADOW VETCHLING

(Lathyrus pratensis).
MELILOT, COMMON

(Melilotus officinalis).
MIGNONETTE

(Reseda lutea).
MUGWORT

(Artemisia vulgaris).
MUSTARD, GARLIC

(Sisymbrium Alliaria).
MUSTARD, HEDGE

(Sisymbrium officinale).
NETTLE, STINGING

(Urtica sp.).
NIGHTSHADE, BLACK

(Solanum nigrum).
NIGHTSHADE, DEADLY

(Altropa Belladonna).
NIGHTSHADE, WOODY

(Solanum Dulcamara).
NIPPLEWORT

(Lapsana communis).
PANSY, WILD

(Viola tricolor).

PARSLEY, FOOL’S
(4thusa Cynapium),
PARSNIP, WILD
(Pastinaca sativa).
PEARLWORT
(Sagina procumbens).
PERSICARIA, COMMON
(Polygonum Persicaria).
PERSICARIA, BITING
(Polygonum hydropiper).
PLANTAIN, BUCKSHORN
(Plantago Coronopus).
PLANTAIN, GREATER
(Plantago major).
PLANTAIN, HOARY
(Plantago media).
PLANTAIN, RIBWORT
(Plantago lanceolata).
POPPY, CORN
(Papaver Rheas).
RADISH, WILD
(Raphanus Raphanistrum).
RAGWORT
(Senecio Jacobza).
RATTLE, YELLOW
(Rhinanthus Crista-Galli).
REST HARROW
(Ononis arvensis).
ST. JOHN’S WORT
(Hypericum perforatum).
SCABIOUS, FIELD
(Scabiosa arvensis).
SELF-HEAL
(Prunella vulgaris).
SHEPHERD’S PURSE
(Capsella Bursa-pastoris).
SILVER WEED
(Potentilla anserina).
SNAPDRAGON
(Linaria vulgaris).
SORREL, COMMON
(Rumex Acetosa).
SORREL, SHEEP’S
(Rumex Acetosella).
SORREL, WOOD
(Oxalis Acetosella).
SPEEDWELL,
IVY-LEAVED
(Veronica hederzfolia).
TANSY
(Tanacetum vulgare).
TEAZLE
(Dipsacus sylvestris).
THISTLE, LARGE
(Carduus sp.)
TREFOIL, HARE’S-FOOT
(Trifolium arvense).
VETCH, TUFTED
(Vicia Cracca).
WOODRUFF
(Asperula odorata).
WOODRUSH, FIELD

(Luzula campestris).

SUTTON & SONS, Seed Growers and Merchants, READING.

vii

List of Weed Seeds referred to under No. 11.

AGRIMONY
(Agrimonia Eupatoria).
AVENS
(Geum urbanum).
BEDSTRAW,
GREAT HEDGE
(Galium Mollugo).
BEDSTRAW, LADY’S
(Galium verum).
BINDWEED, LARGE
(Convolvulus sepium).
BINDWEED, SMALL
(Convolvulus arvensis).
BLUEBELL
(Scilla nutans).
BROOM-RAPE
(Orobanche minor).
BUCKWHEAT, CLIMBING
(Polygonum Convolvulus).
BUGLOSS, SMALL
(Lycopsis arvensis).
BUGLOSS, VIPER’S
(Echium vulgare).
BURDOCK
(Arctium Lappa).
BUTTERCUP
(Ranunculus sp.).
CAMPION, WHITE
(Lychnis vespertina).
CAMPION, BLADDER
(Silene inflata).
CARROT, WILD
(Daucus Carota).
CAT’S-EAR
(Hypocheris radicata)
CHARLOCK
(Sinapis arvensis).
CHICKWEED
(Stellaria media).
CLEAVERS
(Galium Aparine).
COLTSFOOT
(Tussilago Farfara).
CORN COCKLE
(Agrostemma Githago).
CORNFLOWER
(Centaurea Cyanus).
CRESS, WINTER
(Barbarea vulgaris).
CROWFOOT,
CELERY-LEAVED
(Ranunculus sceleratus).
CROW GARLIC
(Allium vineale).
CUCKOO PINT
(Arum maculatum).
DAISY, COMMON
(Bellis perennis).
DAISY, OX-EYE

(Chrysanthemum
Leucanthemum).

DANDELION

(Taraxacum officinale).

DOCK, LARGE

(Rumex obtusifolius).

DOCK, SMALL
(Rumex crispus).
DODDER
(Cuscuta Trifolii).

DROPWORT, HEMLOCK

(Gnanthe crocata).
DYER’S GREEN WEED

(Genista tinctoria).
DYER’S WEED

(Reseda luteola).
FOXGLOVE

(Digitalis purpurea).
FUMITORY

(Fumaria officinalis).
GOAT’S BEARD

(Tragopogon pratensis).
GOOSEFOOT

(Chenopodium album).
GROUNDSEL

(Senecio vulgaris).
HEMLOCK

(Conium maculatum )
HEMP NETTLE

(Galeopsis Tetrahit).
HENBANE

(Hyoscyamus niger).
KNAPWEED, GREAT

(Centaurea Scabiosa).
KNAPWEED

(Centaurea nigra).
KNOTGRASS

(Polygonum aviculare).
MADDER, FIELD

(Sherardia arvensis).
MALLOW

(Malva sylvestris).
MANGEL, WILD

(Beta maritima).
MARIGOLD, CORN

(Chrysanthemum segetum).
MARIGOLD, MARSH

(Caltha palustris).

MAYWEED, SCENTLESS

(Matricaria inodora).
MAYWEED, STINKING

(Anthemis Cotula).
MEADOW SWEET

(Spirza Ulmaria).
MELILOT, COMMON

(Melilotus officinalis).
MIGNONETTE

(Reseda lutea).
MUGWORT

(Artemisia vulgaris).
MUSTARD, GARLIC

(Sisymbrium Alliaria).
MUSTARD, HEDGE

(Sisymbrium officinale).
NETTLE, STINGING

(Urtica sp.).
NIGHTSHADE, BLACK

(Solanum nigrum).

NIGHTSHADE, DEADLY

(Atropa Belladonna).

NIPPLEWORT

(Lapsana communis).
PANSY, WILD

(Viola tricolor).
PARSLEY, BUR

(Caucalis sp.).
PARSLEY, FOOL’S

(4thusa Cynapium).
PARSNIP, WILD

(Pastinaca sativa).
PENNYCRESS

(Thlaspi arvense).
PEPPERWORT

(Lepidium campestre).
PERSICARIA, COMMON

(Polygonum Persicaria).
PERSICARIA, BITING

(Polygonum hydropiper).
PILEWORT

(Ranunculus Ficaria).
PLANTAIN, BUCKSHORN

(Plantago Coronopus).
PLANTAIN, GREATER

(Plantago major).
PLANTAIN, HOARY

(Plantago media).
PLANTAIN, RIBWORT

(Plantago lanceolata).
POPPY, CORN

(Papaver Rheas).
RADISH, WILD

(Raphanus Raphanistrum).
RAGWORT

(Senecio Jacobza).
RATTLE, YELLOW

(Rhinanthus Crista-Galli).
ROBIN

(Geranium dissectum).
ST. JOHN’S WORT

(Hypericum perforatum).
SCABIOUS, FIELD

(Scabiosa arvensis).
SELF-HEAL

(Prunella vulgaris).
SHEPHERD’S PURSE

(Capsella Bursa-pastoris).
SORREL, COMMON

(Rumex Acetosa).
SORREL, SHEEP’S

(Rumex Acetosella).
SPEEDWELL,

IVY-LEAVED

(Veronica hederzfolia).
TEAZLE

(Dipsacus sylvestris).
THISTLE, LARGE

(Carduus sp.).
VETCH, TUFTED

(Vicia Cracca).
WOODRUFF

(Asperula odorata).

WOODRUSH, FIELD

(Luzula campestris).

SUTTON & SONS, Seed Growers and Merchants, READING.

vili

Sutton’s Grasses and Clovers

FOR

Permanent and Temporary Pastures.

PRP A ke
Ww Ase 0 aE a

COPYRIGHT S.&S,

All our Grass and Clover seeds are saved separately and are so
delivered to our warehouses. Immediately on arrival each variety
is subjected to severe tests for purity and germination. Not until
satisfactory evidence has been obtained on both points is any mixture
of Grasses, or of Grasses and Clovers, allowed to be made.

For permanent pastures, and for leys varying in duration from
one to eight years, prescriptions are prepared under the personal
supervision of Mr. Martin Sutton to suit different soils and to
meet special requirements. Perfect accuracy in the proportion of
each variety included in every mixture is ensured by our special
system.

Correspondence is invited, and it is always a pleasure to us when
customers are willing to submit our seeds for critical examination
by any public botanist.

Sutton’s Farmers’ Year-Book includes a complete list of separate
Grasses, Clovers, and of all mixtures required for agricultural
purposes.

SUTTON & SONS, Seed Growers and Merchants, READING.
ix

GARDEN LAWNS, TENNIS LAWNS,
BOWLING GREENS, CROQUET GROUNDS,
PUTTING GREENS
AND CRICKET GROUNDS.

By SUTTON AND SONS.

COPYRIGHT S. & S.

CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION—SOIL—DRAINAGE—GRASS SLOPES—PREPARATORY WoORK—WEED
SrEps In Sort—EwNRIcHING THE Sor1t—SuRFACE PREPARATION—SELECTION OF
SEEpDsS—QuaNTITY OF SEED—Sow1ne—Birp ScaRES—WoRM CasTS—WATERING
THE SEED Brep—Mowrse—Ro.iiing— Destruction oF WEEDS— ANNUAL
Top-DRESSING—IMPROVING Lawns—Fatry Rinas—Moss 1n Lawns—P.Lans oF
Tennis CourRT AND CrRoQUET GROUND—PUTTING GREENS—CRICKET GROUNDS.

BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED. PRICE ONE SHILLING.

‘The information bearing on the practical work of laying down new lawns and
replenishing and maintaining old turf will be helpful to amateurs and professionals alike.
The peculiarities and functions of the different varieties of grasses are briefly described, and
the particulars given as to the quantity of seed to sow, the time and manner of sowing,
the preparation of the soil, drainage, and so forth are compiled from intimate knowledge
of the subject in hand.’—THE TIMES.

‘There is practically nothing to do with grass growing that is not fully dealt with in
this publication, whether it be beautiful garden lawns and slopes or lawns for such purposes
as tennis, croquet, and bowls. Cricket grounds and putting greens are also subjects treated
from the expert’s point of view.’-—LADIES’ FIELD.

Through all Booksellers, from
SimpkKin, MarsHatt, Hamitron, Kent & Co. Lumtep, London;
or direct from

SUTTON AND SONS, READING.

x

The Laying Out and Upkeep of
Golf Courses and Putting Greens.

By MARTIN H. F. SUTTON, F.L.S.

CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION. THROUGH THE COURSE—Ptaynixc THE CouURSE—

SirvatTioxn—DratvaGE—Soir—ImporteD Somt—EnRIcHING Som—QUANTITY OF
SEED—-SELECTION OF SEEDS—INSPECTION OF CoURSES—SowING Grass SEFDS.
PUTTING GREENS—Sraswe Linxs—Som—SEep v. Turr—Cost or TURFINC—
Cost oF SEEDING—TIME TO LAY TURVES—NATURAL TURF—SELECTION OF SEEDS—
NaMeED GrassEsS—QUANTITY OF SEED—TIME TO Sow—Sowine SEEDS—AFTER-
TREATMENT—W ATER—THE IMPROVEMENT AND UPKEEP OF GREENS—PLant Foop—
DvrPLicaTE GREENS—THIN TUrF—Mossy TurRF—WEEDs—Lawn Sanp—Mowine
AND RoLiuING—CLoOVER IN GREENS—GRaSs NURSERY—WORMS—GRAZING GOLF
CoursEs—Fatry Rinas—Fins Sanp. TEES. BRIEF HINTS.

Illustrated with numerous interesting photographs,
In paper cover, Price 2s. 6d. net,

‘With the book is incorporated part of a lecture delivered by Mr. Sutton before the
Royal Horticultural Society, and the whole forms an admirable treatise on the arts of green-
keeping and green-making. The questions of soils, grasses, manuring, drainage, watering,
and general treatment both of the course and of the putting greens are fully and exhaustively
dealt with, and the book is beautifully illustrated with unique photographs of various grasses
and other interesting pictures. The work is an invaluable one for those practically engaged
in directing green-keeping operations, and should be in the possession of every green-keeper
and every green committee. —GOLF ILLUSTRATED.

Through all Booksellers, from
Smrpkin, MarsHatt, Hammrox, Kent & Co. Lrurrep, London ;
or direct from

SUTTON AND SONS,. READING.

x1

COPYRIGHT S. & S.

The illustration above shows the. method of selecting roots for the
production of Sutton’s pedigree stock of Prizewinner Yellow Globe Mangel.
Every year several tons of typical specimens are chosen. The roots are
separately examined and laid out in rows for final inspection by one of the
partners, whose experience enables him to detect the smallest departure
from the true type. Conformity to an ideal is sought in every root. There
must be freedom from side roots, the true colour, and, above all, the density
which indicates high feeding quality. The same process is adopted with
Swedes, Turnips, Cabbage, and other farm crops offered by the Firm as a
result of more than a century’s effort to make farming profitable.

It is the constant selection of each variety that has gradually esta-
blished the value of Sutton’s pedigree stocks, which prove their superiority
by winning premier acreage prizes at leading competitions in all parts of
the Kingdom.

Many lists contain the offer of seeds bearing the name of Sutton’s, but
none are genuine without the registered trade mark which appears on a
ticket enclosed in every sack or bag from the Warehouses of the Royal Seed
Establishment, Reading.

REGISTERED TRADE MARK,

. ad
eo [REGISTERED }°

SUTTON & SONS, READING, Seedsmen to HIS MAJESTY THE KING.

X11

ENLARGED AND REVISED EDITION

OF

Sutton’s Book on Gardening.

CONTENTS. “ %

/

Cultural Articles on Vegetables. (5/=Net.
A Year’s Work in the Vegetable Garden.

Consisting of Monthly Notes and necessary reminders for securing a continuous
supply of Vegetables throughout the year.

The Rotation of Crops in the Vegetable Garden, and the
Chemistry of Garden Crops.

Cultural Articles on Flowers from Seeds and Roots,

And Monthly Notes for ensuring a successive display of the most beautiful
varieties.

Lawns and Tennis Grounds from Seeds.
The Pests of Garden Plants (Illustrated).
The Fungus Pests of Garden Plants (Illustrated),

AND

The Fungus Pests of Certain Flowers (Illustrated),

With a Complete Index.

PRESS REVIEWS AND OPINIONS OF READERS ON APPLICATION.

May be obtained direct from Sutron & Sons,

OR THROUGH ALL BOOKSELLERS FROM

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO. LIMITED, Lonpon.

xiii

WANS XN
S
TAN x

\
SS
SANS
WES
WAN