IIORTUS GRAMINEUS WO B U R N EN SIS. 



163 



in the foregoing details of experiments, will assist to deter- 

 mine the above point in most instances. I may be per- 

 mitted to illustrate this by an example : 



Tares are said to be more fattening than white clover, 

 cock's-foot grass, or meadow-fescue. 



3,000 grains of the green herbage of — 



Woody or indiges- Nutritive 



tible substance. Water. matter. 



Common vetch, or tares {vicia var.. &^^- s^s. grs. 



sa^/t'a) consist of. 557 2,250 193 



White cloyev {trifoliiwi repens) 470 2,430 100 



Cock's foot grass (c?«c^j///sg/owera^a) 1,135 1,740 125 



Meadow-fescue (festuca pratensis) l,2t>0 1,590 150 



Hence, 1,135 grains of the woody fibre of tares are combined 

 with 27^ grs. of saline matter. 



The same quantity of white clover 



is combined with 3311 ditto. 



The same quantity of cock's-foot 



grass is combined with 37^ ditto. 



The same quantity of meadow- 

 fescue is combined with 27t3 ditto. 



The tares and white clover contain, therefore, nearly one- 

 third more of water than the natural grasses, cock's-foot 

 and meadow-fescue. The white clover is remarkable for the 

 superior quantity of extractive and saline matters it affords, in 

 proportion to the woody or indigestible matter. The excess 

 of water or superfluous moisture, in tares, and the small pro- 

 portion of extractive and saline matters they contain, must 

 render them a less valuable food in the early part of spring, 

 when the weather is cold and moist, than in the latter part 

 of that season, or in summer. If some of the natural 

 grasses were combined with the tares, it would correct this 

 over succulency of their nature. The annual species of 

 grass appear to be the most proper for this purpose, merely 

 because they soonest afford a supply of herbage from the 

 time of sowing. The field brome-grass (bromus arvensis), 

 and common barley, have their nutritive matters, and the 

 proportions of water to that of woody fibre in their substance, 



M 2 



