392 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



PRINCIPLES OF MANURING 



The Rothamsted experiments with different manures on per- 

 manent meadow land deacrihed. — Ammoniacal inaunres 

 used in successive years shown to be conducive to a bulky 

 but coarse pastoral herbas;e. — Phospho-calcareoua manure, 

 conjointly with salts of potash, soda, and magnesia, shown 

 to be favourable to the growth of a more nutritious, al- 

 though less abundant yield of grass.— The futility of the 

 chemical analysis of plants, in estimating their economic 

 value, illustrated. 



Everyone acquainted with the husbandry of pastures 

 is aware, that the close sward which carpets the meadow 

 or permanent grass-field is various in its botanical com- 

 position, and that amongst the many species of plants 

 falling within the term pastoral-herbage, great diversity 

 of nutritive or economic value exists between kind and 

 kind. Hence, therefore, it would have been idle here 

 to expatiate on points so trite as these are, were not 

 gome preliminary consideration of them necessary to 

 the argument about to be pursued : and having offered 

 this short apology for entering, as we briefly shall, on 

 this common-place subject, we proceed to remark that 

 no grass-field, whether kept for grazing or mowing pur- 

 poses, can be deemed a prime one, which does not con- 

 tain a decided preponderance of individual herbs which 

 in the technical language of botany belong to gramin- 

 eous genera. Associated with these there ought also 

 to exist a considerable minority of leguminous plants. 

 Of the former class, rye-grass, the poas, fescues, cocks- 

 foots, &c., are representatives. The clovers, birds- 

 foots, vetchliugs, &c., belong to the legumens. But 

 besides these two prevailing orders, most grass-lands 

 contain a greater or less intermixture of what may be 

 called an undesirable herbage, except when existing in 

 decidedly less proportion. To this class belong the 

 narrow-leaved plantain (rib-grass), yarrow, and crows- 

 foot ranunculus. Everything else may at once be con- 

 signed to the category of weed. 



1. Of the Grasses. — Now, although these are to be 

 regarded as the chief generic constituents of a good 

 pasture or meadow vegetation, yet it is no less certain 

 that of the total number of species indigenous to Britain, 

 numbering about 130, fev/er than thirty-five are recog- 

 nised as coming within the pale of grass-husbandry ; 

 and of these no more than ten or eleven are deemed 

 choice. The following table, chiefly compiled from the 

 article on " Grasses" in " Morton's Cyclopedia of Agri- 

 culture," exhibits the names, and relative positions in 

 point of quality, of the domesticated species : 



Table I. 

 Choice and Inferior Species of Pasture Grasses. 

 Choice Species. 

 Foxtail-grass .......... Alopecurua pratensis. 



Rough cocksfoot Dactylia glomerata. 



Hard fescue Festuca duriuecula. 



Tall fescue. . „ „ elatior. 



? fescue , heterophylla. 



Meadow fescue ., „ pratensis. 



Perennial fescue „ perenne. 



Rye grass . , Lolium perenue. 



Timothy or catstail Phleum pratense. 



Wood meadow gra?s .... Poa nemoralis. 

 Small „ .... ^, triviahs. 



Smooth „ .... „ pratenaia, 



^i^»"^l ,. .... „ annua. 



For Water Meadows. 

 ? Triaetum flavescens. 



Fioriu grass Agrostia stolonifera. 



Manna grass. . . o Glyceria aquatica. 



„ ,. .. „ fiuitans. 



? Phalaria arundinacea. 



Inferior Species. 



Sweet-scented vernal grass. Authoxanthum odoratum. 



Crested dogstail grass .... Cynosurus cristatus. 



? Milium effusum. 



Tall oat grass Arrhenatherum avenaceum. 



Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus. 



Bentgrass, Agrostis vulgaris. 



? Aira coespitosa. 



? Brachypodinm sylyalicum. 



Great fescue grass Festuca gigantea. 



Creeping „ „ rubra. 



Sheeps , „ ovina. 



? Holcus mollis. 



? „ pratensis. 



Not uncommon as Weeds in inferior pastures. 



Quaking grass Briza media. 



Brome grass Bromus mollis. 



Meadow cat-grass. Avena pratensis. 



2. Of the Leguminous sitecies of Pasture-'plants. 

 — Altogether the British species of this botanical order 

 are about eighty in number, comprising the clover (10 

 species), bird's-foot, bird's-foot trefoil, medic, tare, 

 vetch, sainfoin, kc; and we now give 



Table II. — Showing the Pasture-species of Leguminous 

 Herbage, arranged in Choice and Inferior classes. 



Choice Species. 



Perennial red clover Trifolium pratense 



Dutch or white clover .. .. „ repens 



? „ hybridum 



Medic Medicago lupulina 



Bird's-foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus 



Greater „ „ mojor 



Inferior Species. 



? Trifolium filiforme 

 ? „ minus 



Yellow vetchliug Lathy rua pratensis. 



3. Of Miscellaneous Pasture-Plants. — These be- 

 long to various botanical orders, but they may be 

 tabulated together. 



Table III, — Showing the species of Miscellaneous Pastoral 

 Herbage, arranged in Choice and Inferior species. 



Choice Species. 



Rib-gras8 Plantago lanceolata 



Yarrow Achillsea millefolium 



Inferior Species (Weeds). 



Carroway Carum carui 



Sheep's sorrel Rumex acetosa 



Catchfly Silene 



Crow's-foot or buttercup.. Ranunculus 



Speedwell Veronica 



Bedstraw Galium 



The purpose for which the foregoing tables are given, 

 will evolve itself in the sequel ; and we now enter on 

 what will form the text of this paper, namely, the 

 "Report of Experiments with different Manures on 

 Permanent Meadow-land." By J. B. Lawes, F.R.S., 

 F.C.S., and Dr. J. H, Gilbert, F.C.S.-i?oy, Ag, fourn., 

 yol. xix., 18.'>8. 



