134 Agricultural Section [PT n 



nature of the soil, that it is necessary to grow, and also harvest 

 them under uniform conditions, if we wish to compare the com- 

 position of one with another. 



Even then it must be borne in mind that the composition and 

 nutritive value of the plant are by no means the same thing, since 

 it is not the amount of food substances present, but the actual 

 amount of digestible food present which matters to the animal. The 

 proportion of total food present which is digestible (coefficient of 

 digestibility) varies not only with each species, but also with each 

 stage of development attained by the plant (see p. 182). 



It is to be hoped that in the near future this matter may be 

 fully investigated by some botanist working in connection with 

 a chemist and making use of direct feeding experiments. Mean- 

 while we must remember that although the nutritive value of 

 a plant is a very important point in determining its agricultural 

 value, it is far from being the only one. Whatever nutritive 

 value a forage plant may possess it is useless to the farmer unless 

 its produce is eaten and relished by live stock. A plant may 

 possess considerable agricultural merit even though either its 

 yield or nutritive value are only moderate. It may be capable 

 of growing under circumstances where better plants would entirely 

 fail, and therefore under such conditions it becomes the more 

 valuable plant. 



It must in fact be acknowledged that each of our cultivated 

 grasses has a special value of its own for particular circumstances 

 of soil, climate, and agricultural requirements. Our aim therefore 

 should always be to place each species under the conditions for 

 which it is best adapted, for by so doing its greatest agricultural 

 value will be realised. In the present chapter these special con- 

 ditions and requirements are as far as possible indicated for each 

 species. 



Agrostis alba, L. var. stolonifera. 

 For Botanical description see p. 54. 



Fiorin or Creeping Bent-grass is widely distributed throughout 

 the temperate regions of the world and thrives more especially 

 where the rainfall is heavy or the soil is inclined to be wet. 

 On dry soils its produce is very scanty. As its propagation 



