IMPROVEMENT OF GRASS LAND 139 



A considerable amount of investigation has been made 

 at various times into the botanical composition of the 

 herbage of permanent grass land, and it has been 

 demonstrated that many of Britain's best pastures con- 

 tain a considerable proportion of so-called weeds. 



In an investigation conducted some twenty years ago, 1 

 the late Dr. Fream showed that the species of plants found 

 growing in old pastures are not numerous. The plants 

 to which he refers in his paper number 31 grasses, 

 some of them, such as Holcus lanatus, being weeds, 

 8 leguminous plants, and 18 miscellaneous species 

 of weeds not grasses or clovers. In his subsequent 

 paper 2 he only found it necessary to mention 2 1 

 grasses, 5 leguminous plants, and 22 miscellaneous 

 species or weeds. In the complete investigation, which 

 involved the examination of 80 turves taken from 

 pastures in 28 English counties, 6 Welsh counties, 8 

 Scotch counties, and 1 1 Irish counties, the following 

 plants occurred the stated number of times in the 

 80 turves: 



Bent Grasses (Agrostis sp.) . . . . .76 times. 



Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus] . . . . 63 



Buttercups {Ranunculus sp.) . . . . . 66 



Narrow-leaved Mouse-ear Chickweed (Cerastium 

 triviale) ......... 49 



Common Sorrel, or Sour Dock (Rwnex Acetosd) . 32 

 Ribgrass, Ribwort, or Plantain (Plantago lanceolatci) 25 



Hawkbits (Leontodon sp.) 19 



Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris] 14 



Daisy (Bellis perennis) 11 



Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium} . . . .10 



Excluding Yarrow, which under certain circumstances 

 is a useful plant, the remaining species include' the 

 really significant weeds present in the pastures, others 



1 Jour. R.A.S.E., 1888, pp. 415-447. 



2 Ibid., 1890, pp. 3S9-39 2 - 



