Chapter II: Sphere of Government (13)

There are two classes of pasturage, temporary and permanent. The latter again consists of two kinds, the permanent grass natural to land that has never been cultivated, and the pasture that has been laid down artificially on land previously arable and allowed to remain and improve itself in the course of time. The existence of ridge and furrow on many old pastures in Great Britain shows that they were cultivated at one time, though perhaps more than a century ago. Often a newly laid down pasture will decline markedly in thickness and quality about the fifth and sixth year, and then begin to thicken and improve year by year afterwards. This is usually attributed to the fact that the unsuitable varieties die out, and the "naturally" suitable varieties only come in gradually. This trouble can be largely prevented, however, by a judicious selection of seed, and by subsequently manuring with phosphatic manures, with farmyard or other bulky "topdressings," or by feeding sheep with cake and corn over the field.

All the grasses proper belong to the natural order _Gramineae_ (see GRASSES), to which order also belong all the "corn" plants cultivated throughout the world, also many others, such as bamboo, sugar-cane, millet, rice, &c. &c., which yield food for mankind. Of the grasses which constitute pastures and hay-fields over a hundred species are classified by botanists in Great Britain, with many varieties in addition, but the majority of these, though often forming a part of natural pastures, are worthless or inferior for farming purposes. The grasses of good quality which should form a "sole" in an old pasture and provide the bulk of the forage on a newly laid down piece of grass are only about a dozen in number (see below), and of these there are only some six species of the very first importance and indispensable in a "prescription" of grass seeds intended for laying away land in temporary or permanent pasture. Dr W. Fream caused a botanical examination to be made of several of the most celebrated pastures of England, and, contrary to expectation, found that their chief constituents were ordinary perennial ryegrass and white clover. Many other grasses and legumes were present, but these two formed an overwhelming proportion of the plants.

In ordinary usage the term grass, pasturage, hay, &c., includes many varieties of clover and other members of the natural order _Leguminosae_ as well as other "herbs of the field," which, though not strictly "grasses," are always found in a grass field, and are included in mixtures of seeds for pasture and meadows. The following is a list of the most desirable or valuable agricultural grasses and clovers, which are either actually sown or, in the case of old pastures, encouraged to grow by draining, liming, manuring, and so on:--

_Grasses._

Alopecurus pratensis Meadow foxtail.
Anthoxanthum odoratum Sweet vernal grass.
Avena elatior Tall oat-grass.
Avena flavescens Golden oat-grass.
Cynosurus cristatus Crested dogstail.
Dactylis glomerata Cocksfoot.
Festuca duriuscula Hard fescue.
Festuca elatior Tall fescue.
Festuca ovina Sheep's fescue.
Festuca pratensis Meadow fescue.
Lolium italicum Italian ryegrass.
Phleum pratense Timothy or catstail.
Poa nemoralis Wood meadow-grass.
Poa pratensis Smooth meadow-grass.
Poa trivialis Rough meadow-grass.

_Clovers, &c._

Medicago lupulina Trefoil or "Nonsuch."
Medicago sativa Lucerne (Alfalfa).
Trifolium hybridum Alsike clover.
" pratense Broad red clover.
" pratense \ Perennial clover.
" perennne /
" incarnatum Crimson clover or "Trifolium."
" procumbens Yellow Hop-trefoil.
" repens White or Dutch clover.
Achillea Millefolium Yarrow or Milfoil.
Anthyllis vulneraria Kidney-vetch.
Lotus major Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil.
Lotus corniculatus Lesser " "
Carum petroselinum Field parsley.
Plantago lanceolata Plantain.
Cichorium intybus Chicory.
Poterium officinale Burnet.

The predominance of any particular species is largely determined by climatic circumstances, the nature of the soil and the treatment it receives. In limestone regions sheep's fescue has been found to predominate; on wet clay soil the dog's bent (_Agrostis canina_) is common; continuous manuring with nitrogenous manures kills out the leguminous plants and stimulates such grasses as cocksfoot; manuring with phosphates stimulates the clovers and other legumes; and so on. Manuring with basic slag at the rate of from 5 to 10 cwt. per acre has been found to give excellent results on poor clays and peaty soils. Basic slag is a by-product of the Bessemer steel process, and is rich in a soluble form of phosphate of lime (tetra-phosphate) which specially stimulates the growth of clovers and other legumes, and has renovated many inferior pastures.

In the Rothamsted experiments continuous manuring with "mineral manures" (no nitrogen) on an old meadow has reduced the grasses from 71 to 64% of the whole, while at the same time it has increased the _Leguminosae_ from 7% to 24%. On the other hand, continuous use of nitrogenous manure in addition to "minerals" has raised the grasses to 94% of the total and reduced the legumes to less than 1%.

As to the best kinds of grasses, &c., to sow in making a pasture out of arable land, experiments at Cambridge, England, have demonstrated that of the many varieties offered by seedsmen only a very few are of any permanent value. A complex mixture of tested seeds was sown, and after five years an examination of the pasture showed that only a few varieties survived and made the "sole" for either grazing or forage. These varieties in the order of their importance were:--

Cocksfoot 26
Perennial rye grass 16
Meadow fescue 13
Hard fescue 9
Crested dogstail 8
Timothy 6
White clover 4
Meadow foxtail 2

The figures represent approximate percentages.

Before laying down grass it is well to examine the species already growing round the hedges and adjacent fields. An inspection of this sort will show that the Cambridge experiments are very conclusive, and that the above species are the only ones to be depended on. Occasionally some other variety will be prominent, but if so there will be a special local reason for this.

On the other hand, many farmers when sowing down to grass like to have a good bulk of forage for the first year or two, and therefore include several of the clovers, lucerne, Italian ryegrass, evergreen ryegrass, &c., knowing that these will die out in the course of years and leave the ground to the more permanent species.

There are also several mixtures of "seeds" (the technical name given on the farm to grass-seeds) which have been adopted with success in laying down permanent pasture in some localities.

+---------------------+------+---------+----------+-------+---------+--------+
| | | | | |Cambridge|General |
| |Young.|De Laune.|Leicester.|Elliot.| average.|purpose |
| | | | | | |mixture.|
+---------------------+------+---------+----------+-------+---------+--------+
| Cocksfoot | .. | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| Perennial ryegrass | .. | .. | 2 | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| Meadow fescue | .. | 6 | 2 | .. | 5 | .. |
| Hard fescue | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .. |
| Crested dogstail | 3 | 2 | .. | 1 | 3 | .. |
| Timothy | .. | 3 | 1 | .. | 2 | 2 |
| Meadow foxtail | .. | 10 | .. | .. | 1 | 1 |
| Tall fescue | .. | 3 | 1 | 3-1/2 | .. | 2 |
| Tall oat grass | .. | .. | 1 | 3 | .. | .. |
| Italian ryegrass | .. | .. | 2 | .. | .. | 5 |
| Smooth meadow grass | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
| Rough meadow grass | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
| Golden oat grass | .. | .. | 1/4 | 1 | .. | .. |
| Sheep's fescue | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Broad red clover | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 2 |
| Perennial red clover| .. | 1 | .. | 1-1/2 | .. | 2 |
| Alsike | .. | 1 | 1-1/2 | 1 | .. | 2 |
| Lucerne (Alfalfa) | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 8 |
| White clover | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Kidney vetch | 6 | .. | .. | 2-1/2 | .. | .. |
| Sheep's parsley | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
| Yarrow | 1 | 1 | 1/4 | 1 | .. | .. |
| Burnet | 8 | .. | .. | 8 | .. | .. |
| Chicory | 4 | .. | .. | 2-1/2 | .. | .. |
| Plantain | 4 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| +------+---------+----------+-------+---------+--------+
| Total lb. per acre | 30 | 40 | 17 | 40 | 30 | 40 |
+---------------------+------+---------+----------+-------+---------+--------+

Arthur Young more than 100 years ago made out one to suit chalky hillsides; Mr Faunce de Laune (Sussex) in our days was the first to study grasses and advocated leaving out ryegrass of all kinds; Lord Leicester adopted a cheap mixture suitable for poor land with success; Mr Elliot (Kelso) has introduced many deep-rooted "herbs" in his mixture with good results. Typical examples of such mixtures are given on preceding page.

Temporary pastures are commonly resorted to for rotation purposes, and in these the bulky fast-growing and short-lived grasses and clovers are given the preference. Three examples of temporary mixtures are given below.

+-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+
| | One | Two | Three |
| | year. | years.|or four|
| | | | years.|
+-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+
| Italian ryegrass | 14 | 10 | 6 |
| Cocksfoot | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Timothy | .. | 2 | 3 |
| Broad red clover | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Alsike | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Trefoil | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Perennial ryegrass | .. | 5 | 10 |
| Meadow fescue | .. | 2 | 2 |
| Perennial red clover | .. | 2 | 2 |
| White clover | .. | 1 | 2 |
| Meadow foxtail | .. | 1 | 2 |
| +-------+-------+-------+
| Total lb. per acre | 30 | 36 | 40 |
+-----------------------+-------+-------+-------+

Where only a one-year hay is required, broad red clover is often grown, either alone or mixed with a little Italian ryegrass, while other forage crops, like trefoil and trifolium, are often grown alone.

In Great Britain a heavy clay soil is usually preferred for pasture, both because it takes most kindly to grass and because the expense of cultivating it makes it unprofitable as arable land when the price of corn is low. On light soil the plant frequently suffers from drought in summer, the want of moisture preventing it from obtaining proper root-hold. On such soil the use of a heavy roller is advantageous, and indeed on any soil excepting heavy clay frequent rolling is beneficial to the grass, as it promotes the capillary action of the soil-particles and the consequent ascension of ground-water.

In addition, the grass on the surface helps to keep the moisture from being wasted by the sun's heat.

The graminaceous crops of western Europe generally are similar to those enumerated. Elsewhere in Europe are found certain grasses, such as Hungarian brome, which are suitable for introduction into the British Isles. The grasses of the American prairies also include many plants not met with in Great Britain. Some half-dozen species are common to both countries: Kentucky "blue-grass" is the British _Poa pratensis_; couch grass (_Triticum repens_) grows plentifully without its underground runners; bent (_Agrostis vulgaris_) forms the famous "red-top," and so on. But the American buffalo-grass, the Canadian buffalo-grass, the "bunch" grasses, "squirrel-tail" and many others which have no equivalents in the British Islands, form a large part of the prairie pasturage. There is not a single species of true clover found on the prairies, though cultivated varieties can be introduced. (P. McC.)

GRASSE, FRANCOIS JOSEPH PAUL, MARQUIS DE GRASSETILLY, COMTE DE (1722-1788), French sailor, was born at Bar, in the present department of the Alpes Maritimes. In 1734 he took service on the galleys of the order of Malta, and in 1740 entered the service of France, being promoted to chief of squadron in 1779. He took part in the naval operations of the American War of Independence, and distinguished himself in the battles of Dominica and Saint Lucia (1780), and of Tobago (1781). He was less fortunate at St Kitts, where he was defeated by Admiral Hood. Shortly afterwards, in April 1782, he was defeated and taken prisoner by Admiral Rodney. Some months later he returned to France, published a _Memoire justificatif_, and was acquitted by a court-martial (1784). He died at Paris in January 1788.

His son Alexandre de Grasse, published a _Notice bibliographique sur
l'amiral comte de Grasse d'apres les documents inedits_ in 1840. See
G. Lacour-Gayet, _La Marine militaire de la France sous le regne de
Louis XV_ (Paris, 1902).

GRASSE, a town in the French department of the Alpes Maritimes (till 1860 in that of the Var), 12-1/2 m. by rail N. of Cannes. Pop. (1906) town, 13,958; commune, 20,305. It is built in a picturesque situation, in the form of an amphitheatre and at a height oL 1066 ft. above the sea, on the southern slope of a hill, facing the Mediterranean. In the older (eastern) part of the town the streets are narrow, steep and winding, but the new portion (western) is laid out in accordance with modern French ideas. It possesses a remarkably mild and salubrious climate, and is well supplied with water. That used for the purpose of the factories comes from the fine spring of Foux. But the drinking water used in the higher portions of the town flows, by means of a conduit, from the Foulon stream, one of the sources of the Loup. Grasse was from 1244 (when the see was transferred hither from Antibes) to 1790 an episcopal see, but was then included in the diocese of Frejus till 1860, when politically as well as ecclesiastically, the region was annexed to the newly-formed department of the Alpes Maritimes. It still possesses a 12th-century cathedral, now a simple parish church; while an ancient tower, of uncertain date, rises close by near the town hall, which was formerly the bishop's palace (13th century). There is a good town library, containing the muniments of the abbey of Lerins, on the island of St Honorat opposite Cannes. In the chapel of the old hospital are three pictures by Rubens. The painter J. H. Fragonard (1732-1806) was a native of Grasse, and some of his best works were formerly to be seen here (now in America). Grasse is particularly celebrated for its perfumery. Oranges and roses are cultivated abundantly in the neighbourhood. It is stated that the preparation of attar of roses (which costs nearly L100 per 2 lb.) requires alone nearly 7,000,000 roses a year. The finest quality of olive oil is also manufactured at Grasse. (W. A. B. C.)

GRASSES,[1] a group of plants possessing certain characters in common and constituting a family (Gramineae) of the class Monocotyledons. It is one of the largest and most widespread and, from an economic point of view, the most important family of flowering plants. No plant is correctly termed a grass which is not a member of this family, but the word is in common language also used, generally in combination, for many plants of widely different affinities which possess some resemblance (often slight) in foliage to true grasses; e.g. knot-grass (_Polygonum aviculare_), cotton-grass (_Eriophorum_), rib-grass (_Plantago_), scorpion-grass (_Myosotis_), blue-eyed grass (_Sisyrinchium_), sea-grass (_Zostera_). The grass-tree of Australia (_Xanthorrhoea_) is a remarkable plant, allied to the rushes in the form of its flower, but with a tall, unbranched, soft-woody, palm-like trunk bearing a crown of long, narrow, grass-like leaves and stalked heads of small, densely-crowded flowers. In agriculture the word has an extended signification to include the various fodder-plants, chiefly leguminous, often called "artificial grasses." Indeed, formerly _grass_ (also spelt _gwrs_, _gres_, _gyrs_ in the old herbals) meant any green herbaceous plant of small size.

Yet the first attempts at a classification of plants recognized and separated a group of _Gramina_, and this, though bounded by nothing more definite than habit and general appearance, contained the Gramineae of modern botanists. The older group, however, even with such systematists as Ray (1703), Scheuchzer (1719), and Micheli (1729), embraced in addition the Cyperaceae (Sedge family), Juncaceae (Rush family), and some other monocotyledons with inconspicuous flowers. Singularly enough, the sexual system of Linnaeus (1735) served to mark off more distinctly the true grasses from these allies, since very nearly all of the former then known fell under his Triandria Digynia, whilst the latter found themselves under his other classes and orders.