84 On Natural Grasses. 



lands, are Dactylis glomerata, Cocksfoot ; Festuca pratensis, Mea- 

 dow fescue ; Cynosurus cristatus. Crested dogstail ; Festuca durius- 

 cula, Hard fescue ; Lolium perenne var. Varieties of rye~grass ; and 

 Bromus erectus, Upright brome-grass. 



When the texture of a soil is of a medium quality as to moisture 

 and dryness, or consists of the best proportions of calcareous matter, or 

 chalk, clay, siliceous sand, with decomposing and soluble animal and 

 vegetable matters, all the most nutritive and productive, or essential 

 permanent pasture grasses, succeed in perfection, and constitute the 

 produce of the richest fattening pastures. For instance, a careful 

 examination of the composition of the herbage of a pasture near Croft 

 Church, Lincolnshire, which fattened through the summer one large 

 ox, and from three to four sheep, per acre, was found to consist of, 

 in the largest proportion, Alopecurus pratensis, Daclylis glomerata, 

 Festuca pratensis, Festuca duriuscula, Cynosurus cristatus, Phleum 

 pratense major, Poa trivialis, and Lolium perenne var. with a small- 

 er proportion of the following species, but intimately combined with 

 the former : Avena flavtscens, Holcus avenaceus, Agrostis stoloni- 

 fera var. latifolia, Hcrdeum pratense, Viciasepium, Anthoxanthum 

 odoratum, Achillea millefolium, Trifolium repens, Trifolium pra- 

 tense perenne^ Agrostis palustris, Holcus lanatus (in small quantity), 

 Poa pratensis ; in all twenty distinct species. In a turf, one foot 

 square, of this pasture, the earth was carefully washed from the roots 

 of herbage, and the individual plants of which it consisted separated, 

 when their number amounted to one thousand and ninety. The in- 

 timate nature of this soil may be understood, by the following state- 

 ment of the results of a chemical examination of it : 400 parts gave of, 



Parts. 



Water of absorption, - 60 



Fine sand, partly siliceous and partly aluminous, - 160 

 Decomposing vegetable matter, - 40 



Oxide of iron, - 8 



Carbonate of lime, or chalk, - 32 



Soluble vegetable, animal and saline matters, - 6 



Alumina, or pure matter of clay, - 25 



Silex, or pure earth of flints, - - 65 



Excess of moisture, and loss in collecting the different products, 4 



400 



In the above soil, the proportion of calcareous matter or mild lime 

 is considerable ; the oxide of iron in a moderate quantity ; the propor- 

 tion of clay to siliceous impalpable earth is small, but the decomposing 

 animal and vegetable matters are in a full proportion. The pasture on 

 this soil, as before observed, fattened one bullock of heavy weight, and 

 from three to four sheep per acre. 



We shall give another example, from a soil of a different texture, 

 situated in a local climate, differing as regards moisture. 



400 parts of the soil of a rich natural pasture at Endsleigh, belong- 

 ing to the Duke of Bedford, in Devonshire, and which fattened on an 

 average, in the course of the season, one ox of one hundred and sixty 

 stone, (Smithfield weight), and wintered two sheep per acre, gave of, 



