retired from that post. When he was appointed in 1871 no pro- 

 vision existed in England for the farmers who wished to ascertain 

 the quality of seeds supplied to them or to obtain the advice of a 

 botanist in other matters. 



The first investigations made by Mr. Carruthers concerned the 

 quality of the seeds supplied to the farmer for his pastures, which 

 was then most unsatisfactory. Scarcely one sample of meadow 

 fescue examined was free from rye-grass ; and the germination was 

 so low that some samples were even below 10 per cent. 



In 1882 the Botanical Committee, under whose direction Mr. 

 Carruthers worked, published a recommendation that members of 

 the Society should obtain certain guarantees as to purity and germ- 

 ination of the seeds they purchased. This step had a remarkable 

 effect in improving the quality of seeds. In 1883 two leading firms 

 offered in their catalogues, at ordinary market prices, grass seeds 

 of much higher quality than the Committee suggested. Other seed 

 merchants followed, so that now the guarenteeing of seeds is nearly 

 universal with the leading firms. 



The Committee next dealt with forming new and improving old 

 pastures. It had been the practice for the merchants to sell 

 mixtures prepared for different geological formations, in which 

 mixtures the chief ingredients were perennial and Italian rye-grass. 

 These mixtures gave a good crop of grass for a year or two and 

 then would begin to fail. 



In dealing with this problem it was important to find out what 

 plants were palatable to the stock. 



The grasses which flower and seed in a well fed pasture afford 

 evidence as to the plants which are not palatable ; they have been 

 rejected in the grazing. The next step was to find what grasses 

 supplied the largest amount of nutriment and lasted most. 



Many experiments were carried on by Mr. Carruthers at the 

 Society's farm at Woburn. 



The Committee were greatly aided by the observations and 

 experiments of the late C. De L. F. De Laune, carried on with the 

 assistance of the Society's Botanist, and by the works of Swayne, 

 Curtis, Thornhill and Sinclair. Many worthless and second rate 

 grasses were got rid of and the grasses used were limited to those 

 that were palatable, nutritious and perennial, namely cocksfoot, 

 meadow fescue, foxtail, timothy, one or two meadow grasses (Pod) 

 with white and red clover. 



