Grass 



seems a temptingly low price^ but 1,000,000 germinating 

 seeds would cost at that price half-a-crown. 



Tall oat grass at is. a pound means 8s. id. per 

 million germinated seeds. Italian ryegrass at 3d. per 

 pound means iiid. per million. Smooth-stalked poa 

 at 9d. per pound means 5jd. per million, and so on.^ 



Grass seeds are of very different sizes, and as one 

 seed only is required to form a plant, fewer pounds 

 are wanted of the smaller ones. 



By this time the reader will appreciate the skill and 

 experience of those ancestors of ours who have really 

 succeeded, somehow or other, in forming old pastures 

 which let sometimes at £^ to £6 per acre, and are pro- 

 bably not surpassed by those of any other country in 

 the world. 



Unfortunately we must confess that those old pastures 

 were not much assisted by British botanists. Even now 

 there are great differences of opinion as regards essential 

 points. 



Mr. Elliot's many years of careful experimenting have 

 led to very interesting results which, if true, would 

 revolutionise our ideas in laying down pastures. It is 

 unnecessary to say that those expensive trials of his 

 were carried out at his own expense. In any other 

 country, abundant funds would have been at once pro- 

 vided by the Government to confirm and extend such 

 valuable work. 



Mr. Kipling says that " Providence looks after the 

 British Government because it is so big and helpless/' 

 which we hope is true. 



1 Tschermak. - Scott Elliot (2). ^ Elliot, R. H. 



* Aitken. ^ Hunter. 



273 



