The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-09-30 00:00:00

IEXPERIMENTAL CULTURE of GRASSES ! EPITOME OF NEWS.
IN AUSTRALIA

In the journal Capital and Labour we read :—The
rapid disappearance from the native pastures of many
of the best and most nutritious grasses and herbs
has long been with anxiety noticed by old colonists.
Under the system of depasturing common on squattages
the least robust growers, which as a rule are also the
most fattening, very soon disappear. Just as the
toothsome prairie grass is eliminated from mixed
pastures, especially from those consisting chiefly of
rye grass, the most palatable of the native grasses are
aaso eaten out. Where land is kept constantly stocked
prairie grass has no chance of perpetuating itself from
seed, every blade being nipped off as soon as it
appears, the rye grass being left untouched until
every stool of prairie grass has been fairly eaten down
into the ground and destroyed. Where cattle only
are grazed the eradication of the grass is a slower
process than where sheep also have access to
it, but its final extinction is a mere question of
tune. In Qaeensland, as we learn from the Bri.sbane
Courier, a board appointed to institute an inquiry into
the causes of disease in live stock and plants turned its
attention more particularly to the alleged deterioration
of the native pastures, and it was reported early last
spring that some members of the board had visited the
Downs to collect plants and seeds of the best indigenous
herbs and grasses, and arrange for their experimental
culture in the public garden, l'oowoemba, the curator
of which soon had a large number in thriving condi-
tion. M ore than sixty kinds were successfully trans-
planted, and a large collection of seeds of native
grasses, although sown rather late, all made their ap-
pearance above ground. Conspicuous among the trans-
planted grasses were the highly-prized blue grasses of
Western Queensland, several of the kangaroo and
star grasses, all seeding, and many of the smaller
species formerly well known on the Downs,
but now fast disappearing from overstocking and
other causes. It is considered remarkable that two
swamp grasses from the S tanhope district "are growing
and spreading beautifully, although planted high and dry
on a raised border," The explanation of their doing so
is contained in the fact of their having abundant space
for the ramification of their roots, and consequently no
stint of food or moisture. Something analogous to
this was mentioned in the Australasian a few months
ago, in reference to the doub grass on Brown's Plains
in the colony of Victoria. More than one old resident
in that district had found it die out of uncultivated
ground during the summer droughts, and fail to re-
appear if the drought set in before the seed had been
produced, while in vineyards and other cultivated land
it continued to grow with great vigour. It would be
important to learn whether the swamp grasses above
spoken of will stand on unbroken country and amongst
other grasses, for that would be the only real test of
value. A species known as Anglo grass is regarded as
valuable for hay. The board is accumulating a large
collection of seeds from all parts of the colony, the
graziers having been appealed to to aesist in
the work. As a result of these experiments the board
expect to determine what species are likely to prove
amenable to cultivation, and whether any of them
can be thereby improved as rye grasses and others have
been, by selecting promising forms. It hopes "to test
the practicability of acclimatizing and cultivating
grasses away from their natural habitat; aid to decide
the question as to whether many of our finer grasses—
those not usually classed as seeding grasses—can be culti-
vated from the seed and thus perpetuated by being
allowed to seed by a system of rotation by grazing in
paddocks.". 'I he cultivation of foreign grasses is also
being carried on experimentally. Beds have been
sown separately with red and white clover, cocksfoot,
sanfoin, fescuas, smooth-stalked meadow, foxtail,
sweet vernal, timothy, rib gra,s, three varieties of rye
grass, lucerne of different varieties, and prairie grass.
The whole of these have flourished throughout the
very severe season, and deductions favourable
to them have been made accordingly, but the same
plants and beds must be tried for two or more
additional seasons ere anything decisive can be
said of their adaptability for taking the place of
pasture grasses in Queensland. Mixtures of several of
these grasses have not answered. The strongest in
each bed has taken exclusive possession and has killed
the others. Thus, it is said, lucerne has monopolised
the bed to the exclusion of rye and other grasses sown
with it, whilst prairie grass is rapidly causing its bed-
fellows to assume a sickly and stunted appearance It
Is the misfortune of all suchexperiments that they have
merely local significance; they prove nothing except
that certain herbs and grasses succeed under certain
conditions of soil and climate. It is necessary, there-
fore that every locality enjoying a different range of
climate should have its separate experimental garden.
The number of such establishments, even in a country
so extensive as Queensland, need not be large, nor, if
managed as economically as the Toowoomba one,
would the cost be any serious charge on the revenue.