40 



are able to retain their vitality for many years. Many of the seeds die 

 comparatively soon after burial^ and as time goes on the number of 

 living seeds gradually becomes less, though the evidence shows that 

 some seeds will survive burial for at least 58 years. Usually most of 

 the older arable seeds survive in the lower depths of the soil where the 

 conditions are less variable, whereas the shorter the time that land has 

 been under grass the greater the proportion of arable seeds 

 found near the surface. While the stock of arable seeds is diminish- 

 ing with the lapse of time, the supply of grassland seeds is being 

 augmented by fresh seeds ripened by the surface vegetation and 

 gradually carried down into the soil. Naturally the greater proportion 

 of these seeds are found in the upper inches of soil, comparatively few 

 penetrating below the eighth inch. 



TECHNICAL PAPERS. 



XXXII. " West Country Grasslands." Winip^red E. Brenchley, 

 Journal of Bath and West and Southern Counties Society, 

 1917- 11, 85-112. 



During the summer of 1916 a survey was made of some of the 

 grassland in Gloucester and Somerset with special reference to the 

 weed flora. In this paper an account is given of the association of some 

 of the chief grassland weeds with alluvium, clay soils, peat, calcareous 

 and non-calcareous sandy soil, and also of the effect of herbage on stock 

 in some special cases. 



Some weeds were found to be specially obnoxious because they 

 tainted the milk or had bad effects upon the animals themselves. 

 Garlick, ramsons, hemlock, moon-daisy and woodwax were all accused 

 of tainting the milk. Horsetail has a bad reputation for causing scour, 

 and huffcap is disliked by animals and is regarded as being very 

 detrimental to them. 



Besides these directly harmful weeds a number of plants require 

 special attention ; these include nettles, creeping thistle, black-bull 

 thistle, yellow rattle, bindweed, hardhead, and others. 



Some parts of the fields were characterised by a special flora. 

 Round the gates and along paths where the soil becomes much trodden, 

 greater plantain, silverweed and rough meadow grass were common. 

 The site of an old manure heap was marked by arable weeds derived 

 from seeds carried in the manure, as knotgrass, groundsel, fat hen and 

 shepherd's purse ; and on the site of old ricks strong growths of broad 

 dock, dandelion and nettle were often seen. 



Under the shadow of trees the herbage takes on a distinctive 

 character, particular species growing in definite association. Cocksfoot, 

 foxtail and rough meadow grass are the three most marked species in 

 these situations, but a few others arc found occasionally, as buttercups, 

 dock, sorrel and pignut. 



Bindweed = Convolvulus arvensis. Horsetail = Equisetum arvense. 



Black Bull Thistle = Cirsium lanceolatum. 'KuficsiTp = Aira caespitoia. 



Broad Dock -= Rumez obtusifolium. Knotgrsa^i^ =Pol>/gonum oviculare. 



Buttercup = Banunculus sp. Moon-daisy = Chri/santhemttm leucanthemum. 



Cocksfoot =Dactylis glomernla. Nettle = Urtica dioica. 



Dandelion =■■■ Taraxacum vulgare. Pignut = Conopodium denudatum. 



Dock == Ihimex criitpus. Ramsons =^//mTO ursinum. 



Fat Hen=Chenopodium album. Rough Meadow-grass = 7*or/ tririalis. 



Foxtail = A hpecurus pratensis. Sliepherd's Purse = Cn-psella bursa -pasloris. 



Garlic =^ Allium vineale. HilyerM-eed^Potodilla ameriua. 



Greater Plantain Platdauo major Sorrel ^liumr.r AcctoKa. 



Groundsel = Scim-U, nili/aris. 'I'histie = Cir.^iinn arirn.v'. 



Hard-head = 0/(^«?<rfV( nigra. Woodwax =GL'/(;.s^r thictoria. 



Hemlock = Cotiium macnlalum Yellow Rattle = Rh immtkus crista-galli 



