III. —BOTANY. 
Art. XLVI.—On Grasses. By S. M. Cunr, M.D. 
[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 1st September, 1877.] 
I map the honour on a former occasion of laying before the Wellington 
Philosophieal Society the results of some of my observations on those 
grasses and fodder-plants that, from experiment in acclimatization, growth 
and culture, and after chemical analysis, grazing of cattle and horses, 
and folding of sheep upon them, had been found to be valuable for the 
grazier and farmer to introduce into their fields and pastures, with the 
object of making them far more productive than they are at present with 
the grasses and clovers usually sown. 
It is well known that there is a great scarcity of grass in the pastures 
during the dryness of summer, and also in a cold or wet winter; my 
experiments have proved to me there were exotie grasses that would supply 
this deficiency, and clothe the pastures at all times with abundant and 
nutritious herbage. In addition to the grasses already mentioned in my 
former paper, I now desire to give you the results of further experiments 
upon other new grasses not hitherto cultivated by farmers and pastoralists 
in New Zealand. It is probable that for a considerable period pastoral 
pursuits will be more profitable to many of those who come to invest their 
capital in New Zealand than the growing of cereals. 
That the profitable return to individuals and the money introduced into 
the colony for the wool, tallow and other produce may be the greatest in 
proportion to the quantity of land occupied by the sheep, cattle, ete., it 
behoves the pastoralist to make two blades of grass grow where one grew 
before, and also that these two blades shall be of a more nutritive kind than 
the one was. Therefore as competition within and without the colony is 
likely to increase, the pastoralist must make up his mind to grow not only 
the best and most fattening grasses, but sow such a variety of them that he 
will be able to keep the largest number of stock upon his land both summer 
and winter. But as, in addition to the graziers, there will be a large 
number of colonists who, having labour within their own families, or who 
for other reasons will be able to carry on the cultivation of cereals 
conjoined with the production of meat, wool, etc., in a rotation of agri- . 
cultural operations, it follows that these farmers will find it best to grow 
the most suitable grasses upon their fields during the time the live-stock 
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