No. 4.] 



THE GRASS CROP. 



251 



soil. These lands prove in many instances more profitable 

 when planted with other fodder crops than grasses. 



Manuring Grass Lands. 



Next in importance to a fair degree of special adaptation 

 of the soil for a remmierative production of grasses come the 

 requirements of an efficient supply of available plant food. 

 Grasses are, comparatively speaking, large consumers of 

 plant food. A few numerical statements regarding the grass 

 crop may show in what direction and in what varying quan- 

 tities the same weight of the crop may consume the different 

 articles of plant food when raised under more or less favor- 

 able conditions. 



Green grass, at the time of forming seeds, contains seventy- 

 five per cent moisture and twenty-five per cent vegetable 

 matter per ton : — 



Meadow hay (per ton), containing from fourteen to fifteen 

 per cent of moisture : — 



Moisture, 280.00 to 300 . 00 pounds. 



Vegetable matter, 1,700.00 to 1,720.00 



Mineral constituents (in vegetable matter), 100.00 to 160.00 



Kitrogen, 80.00 to 50.00 



Phosphoric acid 7.00 to 14.00 



Potassium oxide, 32.00 to 64.00 



Calcium oxide, 6.00 to 20.00 



Magnesium oxide, 3.00 to 10.00 



Sodium oxide, 2.60 to 6.00 



Sulphuric acid 5.50 to 9.00 



Chlorine 7.50 to 16.00 



Manurial value, $5.36 to $10.50 



