82 



XA TUKL 



[A-V:'. 2 2, 1883 



been quite away from hedgerows, several species of Bro- 

 mus might have accompanied B. mollis, while Arrhena- 

 theruni avenacctDii and nrachypcdhim sylvaticutn might 

 also have been looked for. The total absence of Glyceria 

 further shows the fairly dry character of the soil. Lastly, 

 the 10 species of Leguminosse fall under 5 genera — of 

 Trifolium 4 species, Lotus and Vicia 2 each, Lathyrus 

 and Ononis i each. 



Ten species of grasses occur on all the plots : Antho- 

 xanthum odorntiiiii, Alopccurjis pra tenuis, Afrrostis zml- 

 garis, J/oltiis lanattis, Avcna Jlavcsccns, Poa pratensis, 

 Poa Irivialis, Dactylis ghmeraUx, Festuca ovina, and 

 Lolittm peretsne. Fcshna cliator \iii% only found in one 

 plot, and F. loliacea in two. Phlcum pratcnse occurred 

 in about one-fourth the number of plots, Aira caspitosa 

 in about one-half, Briza media, Cynosurus cristahis, 

 Festuca pratensis, and Bromus mollis in sixteen or seven- 

 teen. No leguminous plant occurred in all the plots, but 

 Lat/iynis pratensis was found in nineteen plots, Trifo- 

 lium repens and T. pratcnse in seventeen, Lotus cornicu- 

 latus in sixteen, and T. minus, T. procuinbens, L. major. 

 Ononis arvejisis, Vicia sepium, and V. Cracca only in one 

 each. 



These details will serve to indicate the nature of the 

 flora of the plots. Certain miscellaneous plants common 

 on many old pastures in this country are conspicuous by 

 their absence. The dry and level character of the mea- 

 dow will account for the absence of Caltha and Juncus. 

 No species of Geranium is recorded. But the most note- 

 worthy fact appears to be the absence of certain scrophu- 

 lariaceous genera, which are by no means uncommon on 

 old grass lands, namely, Bartsia, Euphrasia, and Rhinan- 

 thus. The quality of the land is probably too good for 

 the first two, and the application of manure would cer- 

 tainly be against Euphrasia, but Rhinaiithus Crista-gnlli 

 is very common on old meadows, as, for example, in 

 Derbyshire and Worcestershire. 



The object which the authors kept in view in writing 

 this section of their report was, in their own words, " to 

 show both the normal botanical composition of the herb- 

 age, and the changes induced by the application of the 

 different manuring agents, and by variation in the cli- 

 matal conditions of the different seasons ; and, as far 

 as may be, to ascertain what are the special characters of 

 growth above ground or under ground, normal or induced, 

 by virtue of which the various species have dominated, 

 or have been dominated over, in the struggle which has 

 ensued." At the outset it was noticed that those manures 

 which are most effecti\e with cereals grown on arable 

 land were also most active in increasing the quantity of 

 grass amongst the herbage, and that the manures which 

 are most beneficial to beans or clover produced the 

 greatest proportion of leguminous herbage. Thus, the 

 highest gramineous produce resulted from a highly nitro- 

 genous manure, such as ammonia salts or nitrate of soda, 

 with alkaline salts, particularly potash ; but side by side 

 with the increase in the total gramineous herbage there 

 was a decrease in the actual number of species of grass. 

 On the other hand, the highest percentage of leguminous 

 produce was the result of a mixed mineral manure with 

 potash. The percentage results on the following plots 

 illustrate these points : — 



Pt;t 7 Plots 3 and 12. Plot n. 



Gramiiiea; ... 6178 ... 67'43 ... 94'96 



Leguminosa; ... 22'7i ... S'2o ... 001 



Other Orders... 1551 ... 24'37 ... 5-03 



loo'oo loo'oo 100*00 



Plot 7 was the most favourably manured for leguminous 

 produce, it received mixed mineral manure alone, in- 

 cluding potash ; plots 3 and 12 were the two unmanured 

 ones ; plot 1 1 was the most favourably manured for 

 gramineous produce, it received 800 lbs. ammonia salts 

 with mixed mineral manure, including potash. 



Special observations and complete botanical separa- 

 tions made at intervals of five years to determine the 

 influence of seasonal variations show that " a given quan- 

 tity of the produce grown under the same conditions as 

 to manuring might be composed very differently in two 

 different seasons." 



The influence due to the special medium through which 

 a particular plant-food, such as nitrogen, is presented to 

 the plant, is aptly illustrated in the following extract . — 

 " Because a particular grass, or other plant, is little bene- 

 fited by ammonia salts for instance, it does not follow 

 that it will not be favoured by nitrates ; nor, because if 

 while growing in association with other species it may 

 not be specially benefited by a particular manure, does 

 it follow that it would not derive advantage from the same 

 substance when growing separately." 



Nearly all the plants on the plots are perennials, very 

 few are annuals, Broinis mollis being the only case 

 amongst the grasses. The advantage possessed by deep- 

 rooting over surface-rooting plants was well brought out 

 in the droughty season of 1870, when the latter suffered 

 considerably from lack of moisture. The locomotive 

 power of underground stems is of great use to some 

 plants : " the stock continues to grow at one end, year 

 after year, the opposite end gradually dying away. In 

 the course of a few years the plant therefore occupies 

 quite a different position from that which it at first had." 

 Notwithstanding the general rule that the chief effect of 

 nitrogenous manures is to favour the extension of foliage 

 and give it depth of colour, while that of mineral manures 

 is to encourage stem formation and the production of 

 seed, and notwithstanding that excessive nitrogenous 

 manuring prolongs the development of the vegetative 

 organs till perhaps the resources of the plant are ex- 

 hausted or the season is over, while excess of mineral 

 manures may induce premature ripening, yet so far as 

 the experiments have gone no absolute change in the dis- 

 tinctive forin of any plant has been efl'ected by the pro- 

 longed use of the different manures, though changes of 

 degree are sometimes very marked, as m the tufts of 

 Dactylis glomerata. 



The battle for life between the various species of plants 

 growing in the meadow is dependent much less on the 

 chemical composition of the soil than on its physical cha- 

 racter, its capacity for holding water and its permeability 

 to roots. The immediaie source of victory lies very 

 generally in the powerful root-growth of the survivors, 

 the term "root" here covering all kinds of underground 

 stem. The various influences affecting the struggle for 

 existence amongst meadow plants are discussed by the 

 authors in a fascinating manner, and this part of the 

 memoir is of special value to the botanical student. 



Every plant occurring on the plots is dealt with indi- 

 vidually, and in the case of each grass and leguminous 

 plant and of the more commonly occurring weeds, a table 

 showing the relative predominance is given. The fact 

 that plants closely allied morphologically may yet differ 

 widely in their physiological endowments is strikingly 

 illustrated by the two species of Poa, P. trivialis and P. 

 piatensis. These two plants, sprung at no very distant 

 period from a common ancestor — for this, we presume, is 

 the morphological significance of their being placed in 

 the same genus — differ only in the most trivial points : P. 

 pratensis is smooth, stoloniferous, and has a blunt ligule ; 

 /-■. trivialis is rough, has no stolons, and possesses a 

 long pointed ligule. We read that " the stolon-bearing 

 Poa pratensis is specially benefited by nitrogenous manure 

 in the form of ammonia salts (in combination with mineral 

 manure), but not at all by nitrate of soda, whereas the 

 more finely-rooted and wo-!\-%Ko\ox\\ie.xan% I'oa trivialis has 

 declined markedly on the ammonia plots, but has re- 

 mained very prominent on the nitrate plots, especially 

 where the larger amount of nitrate was used with the 

 mi.xed mineral manure." Thus in 1872, on plot 9 (mineral 



