862 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



meadow. And if in addition to this we add real fertilizers 

 of the more stimulating or manurial kind, we shall find 

 an increase not only in red clover, but in the best 

 grasses, and other valuable elements of a rich pasture. 

 This proposition is proved by an examination of the 

 position in which the T. medium, the zigzag, or cow- 

 grass clover, is usually found, namely, not side by side 

 with the red clover, as the same meadow will seldom 

 find them as allies in the struggle for dominion over 

 other herbage ; but where lime is present, the red clover 

 will be the rule, and the cow-grass seldom interferes. 

 And where calcareous matter is deficient, but sand is 

 the prevailing soil-element, there the cow grass will be 

 the rule, and the red clover the exception. So, then, 

 when we see a broad-IeafeJ clover on the mixed soils of 

 the calcareous deposits of a great part of England, we 

 shall usually find it to be red clover, and the cow-grass 

 will be very rare, as it is in the Cotteswoldsj and where 

 it does occur, it will be on account of some accidental 

 sand deposit in the midst of the otherwise calcareous 

 beds; but if we examine the sand lands upon the merely 

 comminuted silicious rocks, the cow-grass will be the 

 prevailing clover. Hence on the sandstone hills, in South 

 Wales, Scotland, and even Ireland, it would be difficult 

 to find the common red clover, while the cow-grass 

 clover is very plentiful. 



It was doubtless the fact of observations of this kind, 

 relative to these two forms of clover, that suggested the 

 bringing of the cow-grass into cultivation ; for as the red 

 clover was found to be but little permanent on light or 

 sandy soils, and the cow-grass was found to be more so, 

 it got into the seed market under the title of perennial 

 clover. 



In order to an understanding of the differences in 

 these two plants, we copy the following descriptions 

 from " English Botany," 2nd Edition. 



" TriWiumprateHse ; PurpleClover. — Stems ascend- 

 ing, stipules ovate, bristle-pointed. Heads ovate, dense. 

 Calyx hairy, four of its teeth equal, the lower one 

 longer ; petals unequal. 



" Common in meadows and pastures, but more cer- 

 tainly wild on calcareous hills. Stems about a foot 

 high, branched. Leaflets elliptical, more or less acute, 

 or obcordate ; generally with a pale lunulate spot to- 

 ward the base. Lower-tooth of the calyx about half as 

 long as the tube of the corolla. Flowers produced 

 throughout the summer, reddish purple. 



" Tr if oUum medium (Zigz8gTrefoil.)-Stem8 branched, 

 zigzag; leaflets elliptical. Stipules tapering, converging. 

 Heads lax, subglobose, solitary, terminal ; two upper-teeth 

 of the calyx rather shorter. Petals nearly equal." 



" Frequent in dry and rather elevated pastures. The 

 zigzag stems, spotless leaves, and larger and less com- 

 pact heads of flowers distinguish this from T. pratense. 

 Corolla deep purple." 



These descriptions show us the botanical distinctions 

 of these two plants in their wild state ; but if we take 

 up their cultivated forms with a view to make out these 

 differences, it is astonishing what an amount of confusion 

 we shall get into, the fact being that the one has so 

 merged into the other, that it is oftentimea next to im- 



possible to make out any decided botanical characters ; 

 and this is so well known to seedsmen, that they have for 

 some time ceased to pretend to supply Trifolium me- 

 dium under that name, but now adopt the term Tri- 

 folium pratense-perenne, to distinguish their agricul- 

 tural cow-grass from broad clover. 



We quite think the term fully justified, as there can 

 be but little doubt that they are, after all, only varieties, 

 and both the T. pratense and the T. medium forms 

 become so much changed by cultivation, that it has 

 given rise to no end of disputes as to what should be 

 the proper qualities of either, so that if either is to 

 possess the permanency it once did, seed must be newly 

 obtained from the original wild sources. Still, as we 

 meet with them in pastures, the T. pratense will indicate 

 calcareous soils, and the T. medium no less those of a 

 silicious nature ; and they are, therefore, vfi bad indicia 

 of the nature of the soil. 



The Trifolium repens is a plant of good character in 

 herbage. It usually increases where lime has been added 

 to the meadow, and more especially ft well trodden by 

 depasturing, and it should be periodically rolled. In 

 laying down permanent pasture it should never be left 

 out, and indeed this, and either of the preceding forms, 

 according to the nature of the soil, should never be 

 omitted. 



In all examinations into the nature and condition of 

 meadows, care should be taken to ascertain if the species 

 be really the T. repens, white Dutch clover, or the T. 

 fragiferum (the strawberry-headed species), as the latter 

 is fond of wet clays, in which we are inclined to think 

 it is oftener present than is generally conceived ; but if 

 depastured, its head of persistent coloured calyces, 

 which has the aspect of a strawberry, is seldom per- 

 fected ; still the white flowers just blu&hed with pink are 

 sufficiently characteristic. 



The genus Lotus is often found as part of the herbage 

 of a meadow. It needs no further notice except to point 

 out that its species, as well as others of the papilionacete 

 or pea-flowered plants, are always useful as adjuncts to 

 pasture, and there is not, to our knowledge, a prejudicial 

 plant amongst them. 



b. Salutary plants are those that are not meritorious 

 merely for their feeding properties, which indeed may 

 be very poor in some of the forms, but there can be 

 but little doubt that they act as condiments, or perhaps 

 as stimulants, narcotics, or astringents, and so have the 

 effect of preventing that tendency to scouring which is 

 too often the effect of vapid food. If we examine into 

 the causes of the difference in the nutritive value of 

 meadow as compared with what is termed artificial hay, 

 we shall find that the former has little flavour ; in fact, 

 the rye-grasses and clovers by themselves are anything 

 but aromatic ; but meadow hay, and more especially 

 where the herbage is of very mixed character, is always 

 full of aroma, and much of this is due to the presence 

 of the Anihoxanthum odoraium, or sweet-scented vernal 

 grass, which indeed ought to have been put under this 

 head, had not our object been to speak of plants other 

 than grasses. 



Now, we frequently find a mixture of grasses and 



