4 Mr. John Lindley on the 



. hay of the best English meadows. But if the distance recom- 

 mended by Mr. Moorcroft be sufficient for the growth of the 

 plants, that is to say, one foot, then allowing a plant to pro- 

 duce only half a pound of hay, an acre would yield the amazing 

 weight of something more than nine tons and an half, a quantity 

 which certainly appears to exceed credibility. 



It is much to be regretted that from the length of time which 

 elapsed between the despatch of the seeds by Mr. Moorcroft and 

 their arrival in England, that is to say, from the 15th of August 

 1822, to the month of April, 1824, their vegetative powers had be- 

 come so much exhausted as to render it extremely doubtful whe- 

 ther success will attend the experiments upon growing them. 

 Now, however, that attention is called to the plant, other and 

 speedier means may be employed for despatching the seed ; no 

 difficulty in procuring which can now be anticipated, Mr. Moor- 

 croft having made arrangements with Ripghias, the Kenphun, 

 and Mahomed Khan, the Chummul of Draz, for a supply of any 

 required quantity of the seed. 



The Prangos Hay Plant is a perennial herbaceous plant, with 

 a large fleshy root-stock, usually measuring at the top from 18 

 to 22 inches in circumference, and formed by the aggregation of 

 an infinite number of crowns or winter buds clustered together 

 at or above the surface of the ground. The croivns are closely 

 covered over by the coarse fibrous remains of the old leaves, by 

 ■which the buds must be effectually protected from frost or acci- 

 dents when the plant is in a state of rest. From each crown rises 

 an abundance of finely cut leaves about two feet long, when dried, 

 of a highly fragrant smell, extremely similar to that of very good. 

 new clover hay. They are supra-decompound, quite smooth, with 

 linear, entire, or three-parted segments ; -their principal petiole is 

 slightly sheathing at the base with a crisp thin margin ; upwards 

 it is solid, round, or slightly angular, with a smooth finely-striated 

 skin. Of the secondary petioles there are from six to ten op- 

 posite pairs, according to the vigour of the leaf ; they are in all 

 respects like the primary petiole, except being smaller and more 

 compressed, and having the first pair of their segments proceeding 



