53 THE COMPOSITION OF GRASSES. 



COMPOSITION OF A CROP OF MEADOW GRASS. 



^'ater 8,378 lbs. 



Carbon 1315^ 



Hydrogen 144 | ^, , ,., , 



Nitroo-en ^g > Combustible matter 2,613 lbs. 



Oxygen and Sulphur 1105 j 



Potash 56.3 



Soda 11.9 



Lime 28.1 



Magnesia 10.1 



Oxide of Iron .9 



Phosphoric Acid... 12.7 



Sulpliuric Acid 10.8 



Chlorine 16.2 



Silica 57.5 



Sand, &c 4.5 



|>Ash _. 209 lbs. 



Total crop 11,200 lbs. 



From the soil plants obtain, by means of their roots, all their 

 ash constituents, all their sulphur, and nearly the whole of their 

 nitrogen and water. From the atmosphere they obtain, through 

 their leaves, the whole, or nearly the whole, of their carbon, 

 with probably small quantities of nitrogen and water. The 

 amount and composition of the ash of succulent plants, as 

 meadow grass and clover, is greatly influenced by the character 

 of the soil and the manure applied. 



For most of the above paragraph the writer is indebted to the 

 Chemistry of the Fartn, by E. AA'arington. 



Meadow hay contains a much larger proportion of potash and 

 lime than is found in the ripened grain of the cereals. 



The Chemical Composition of American (grasses.* — In 

 submitting grasses to chemical analysis, with a view of judging 

 of their nutritive value, it is usual to determine the amount pres- 

 ent of water, ash, fat or oil, fiber and nitrogen. From the latter 

 the amount of albuminoids to which it is equivalent is readily 

 calculated by multiplying by a factor which represents the per 



. * Taken by permission from the Agricultural Grasses, by the United State Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, 1884, Clifford Richardson, Assistant Chemist. 



