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FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 11 



Names. 



Panicum dactylon 

 Ayrosiis stolonifera 

 Agrostis siolonifera (var.) 

 Agrostis cariiua 

 Agrostis siricta 

 Festuca pennata 

 Panicum viride 

 Panicum !=an<ruinale 

 Agroslis iol)ata 

 Agrostis repens 

 Agrostis fascicularia 

 Afrrostis nivea 

 Triticum repens 

 Aiopecurus agrestis 

 Bromus asper 

 Agrostis mexicana 

 Stipa pennata 

 Melica csL'rulea 

 Phalaris canadensis 

 Dactylis cynosuroides* 



Of the different Soils referred to in the j^ppendtx. 



In books on agriculture and gardening much 

 uncertainty and confusion arise from the want of 

 regular definitions oC the various soils, to distin- 

 guish them specifically by the names generally 

 used : thus the term " bog-earth" is almost con- 

 stantly confounded with peat-moss, and heath-soil; 

 also the terms " light loam," " heavy soil," &c. 

 are given without distinguishing whether that be 

 " light" from sand, or this " heavy" from clay. In 

 minute experiments, it is doubtless of consequence 

 to be as explicit as possible in those particulars. 

 The following short descriptions of such soils as 

 are mentioned in the details of the experiment are 

 here given lor the above purpose : — 



1st. By "loam" is meant any of the earths com- 

 bined with decayed animal or vegetable matter. 



2d. "Clayey-loam," when thegreatest proportion 

 is clay. 



3d. "Sandy-loam," when the greatest propor- 

 tion is sand. 



4th. " Brown-loam," when thegreatest propor- 

 tion consists of decayed vegetable m.atter. 



5th "Rich black loam," when sand, clay, ani- 

 mal and vegretable matters are combined in une- 

 qual proportions, the clay greatly divided, being 

 in the least proportion, and the sand and vegeta° 

 ble matter in the greatest. 



The terms "light sandy soil," "light brown 

 loam," &c, are varieties of the above, as express- 

 ed. 



Observations on the Chemical Composition of the 

 Nutritive Matter afforded by the Grasses in 

 their different states. — By Sir H. Davy. 

 I have made experiments on most of the soluble 

 products supposed to contain the nutritive matter 

 of the grasses, obtained by Mr. Sinclair; and I 

 have analyzed a few of them. Minute details on 

 this subject would be little interesting to the agri- 

 culturist, and would occupy a considerable space; I 



* In the experiments made on the quantity of nu- 

 tritive matter in the grasses cut at the time the seed 

 was ripe, the seeds were always separated ; and the 

 calculations for nutritive matter, as is evident from the 

 details, made for grass and not hav. 



shall therefore content myselfwith mentioning some 

 particular facts, and some general concliisions, 

 which may tend to elucidate the inquiry respect- 

 ing the fitness of the difl'erent grasses lor perma- 

 nent pasture, or lor alternation as green crops with 

 grain. 



The only substances which I have detected in 

 the soluble matters procured i'rom the grasses are 

 mucilage, sugar, bitter extract, a substance analo- 

 gous to albumen, and difl'erent saline matters. 

 Some of the products from the alter-math crops 

 gave feeble indications of the tanning principle. 



The order in which these are nutritive has 

 been mentioned in the first lecture : the albumen, 

 sugar, and mucilage, probably when cattle feed 

 on grass or hay, are for the most part retained in 

 the body of the animal ; and the bitter principle, 

 extract, saline matter, and tannin, when any exist, 

 probably (or the most part are voided in the excre- 

 ment with the woody fibre. The extractive mat- 

 ter obtained by boiling the fresh dung of cows is 

 extremely similar in chemical characters to that 

 existing in the soluble products from the grasses. 

 And some extract, obtained by Mr. Sinclair from 

 the dung of sheep and of deer, which had been 

 feeding upon the Lolium perenne, Dactylis glo- 

 merata, and Trilblium repens, had qualities so an- 

 alogous to those of the extractive matters obtained 

 from the leaves of the grasses, that they might be 

 mistaken for each other. The extract of the dung, 

 after being kept for some weeks, had still the odor 

 of hay. Suspecting that some undigested grass 

 might have remained in the dung, which might 

 have furnished mucilage and sugar as well as bit- 

 ter extract, I examined the soluble matter very 

 carefully for these substances. It did not yield an 

 atom of sugar, and scarcely a sensible quantity of 

 mucilage. 



Mr. Sinclair, in comparing the quantities of solu- 

 ble matter afforded by the mixed leaves of the 

 Lolium perenne, Dactylis glomerata, and Trifoli- 

 um repens, and that obtained from the dung of 

 cattle fed upon them, found their relative propor- 

 tions as 50 to 13. 



It appears probable from these facts that the bitter 

 extract, though soluble in a large quantity of water, 

 is very little nutritive ; but probably it serves the 

 purpose of preventing to a certain extent, the fer- 

 mentation of the other vegetable matters, or in 

 modifying or assisting the function of digestion, 

 and may thus be of considerable use in form- 

 ing a constituent part of the food of cattle. 

 A small quantivy of bitter extract and sa- 

 line matter is probably all that is needed; and 

 beyond this quantity the soluble matters must be 

 more nutritive in proportion as they contain more 

 albumen, sugar, and mucilage, and less nutritive 

 in proportion as they contain other substances. 



In comparing the composition of the soluble 

 products afforded by different crops from the same 

 grass, I found, in all trials I made, the largest 

 quantity of truly nutritive matter in the crop cut 

 when the seed was ripe, and least bitter extract 

 and saline matter ; most extract and saline matter 

 in the autumnal crop; and mostsaccharikie matter, 

 in proportion to the other ingredients, in the crop 

 cut at the time of flowering. I shall give one in- 

 stance — 



100 parts of the soluble matter obtained from 

 ^'i'-. Dactylis glomerata, cut in flower, afforded 



