NOTES ON THE BOTANT OF EXPERIMENTAL GEASS-PLOTS, 301 



the annual momoranda sheet issued by Mr. Lawes, " The land has 

 probably been laid down Avith ^rass some centuries. No fresh seed 

 has been artificially sown within the last forty years certainly, nor 

 is there record of any having? been sown since the grass was first 

 laid down. The experiments commenced in 1856, at which time the 

 character of the herbage appeared uniform over all the plots." The 

 ground was not thoroughly botanised at the outset, and therefore it is 

 not on record what species originally grew on each plot ; but it is not 

 difficult to prove, as stated above, that the herbage was pretty uniform 

 over all the plots. 



In 1862 the first attempt at a separation of the species of average 

 samples of the hay of each plot was undertaken, and this was on the 

 whole successful ; but fi'om some diificulties which will he ex- 

 plained further on, some of the details are not quite accurate. How- 

 ever, the errors are so trifling as to barely afi^ect the main issues. A 

 report of the results appeared in the " Journal of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society," vol. xxiv., part 1. In 1867 another set of samples was taken 

 and analysed, again in 1872, and I believe it is the intention of Mr. 

 Lawes to have the fourth set taken next season. On each occasion the 

 ground has been thoroughly botanised, and notes made on the character 

 of growth exhibited by each species on the different plots where it 

 occurred. In 1872 I spent at least six weeks on these plots, and care- 

 fully examined every inch of the ground of each plot, and enumerated 

 the plants constituting the herbage. 



The exact composition of the herbage of the unmanured plots will 

 doubtless be of great interest to botanists, and serve as a standard for 

 comparison with floras of similar areas in other parts of the country. 

 In the first place, I will give a complete list of all the plants hitherto 

 observed growing on the whole area of about seven acres. 



1. RammcidacecB. 



1. Eanunculus acris, 2. R. repens, 3. R. bulbosus, 4. R. auricomus, 

 5. R. Ficaria. 



2. Criiciferce. 



6. Cardamine pratensis. 



3. Caryophjlleoi. 



7. Stellaris graminea, 8. Cerastium triviale. 



4. Hypericine<B. 



2. Hypericum perforatum. 



5. Leguminos(B. 



10. Ononis arvensis, 11. Trifolium repens, 12. T. pratense, 13. T. 

 procumbens, 14. Lotus corniculatus, 15. Lathy rus pratensis, 16. Vicia 

 Cracca, 17. V. sepium. 



6. Rosacea. 



18. Potentilla reptans, 19. P. Fragariastrum, 20. Alchemilla vul- 

 garis, 21 . Agrimonia Eupatorium, 22. Poterium Sanguisorba, 23. Spiraea 

 TJlmaria. 



7. UmbelliferfB. 



24. Conopodium denudatum, 25. Pimpinella Saxifraga, 26. Hera- 

 cleum Sphondyliura, 27. Anthriscus sylvestris. 



