I 



582 



dr. qr. 



oz. lbs. 



64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter - 2 0^^ . . 3743 XO = 233 15 10 

 The produce of the space, ditto - - 5 2 



At the time the seed is ripe, the produce is, 

 Grass, 11 oz. 8 dr. The produce per acre 



125235 = 7827 3 



80 dr. of grass weigh, when dry - - S6 p, } ^ . 56355 12 = 3522 3 12 





The produce of the space, ditto - - 82 3f 



fni -Till IP ' J • - -^ - - " 4304 15 



Ihe weight lost by the produce oi one acre m drying 



64 dr. of grass afFord of nutritive matter - 2 3 ^ ^ ^ 5381 3 =: 336 5 3 



The produce of the space, ditto - - 7 ^t 



The weight of nutritive matter which is lost by taking' the crop at the time of flowering,) ^^^ ^ ^^ 



exceeding one-fourth of its value, is - 



The proportional value in whicb the grass of the seed crop exceeds that at the time of flowering, is as 8 to 11. 



The produce of latter-math is, 



h 



Grass, 7 oz. The produce per acre - - 



76230 = 4764 6 



y 



64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter - 3 dr. per acre ^ 3573 4 — 223 5 4 



h 

 h 



The proportional value in Avhicli the grass of the latter-math exceeds that of the flowering- 

 crop, is as 3 to 2, and that of the seed crop as 12 to 11. 



Here then is a satisfactory proof of the superior value of the crop at the time the seed is ripe, 

 and of the consequent loss sustained by taking it when In flovs^er; because, in this instance, tlie 

 M^eight of each crop is nearly the same, and the latter-math which would be produced in Ae 

 time that is taken up in perfecting the seed, is infinitely less than that of many other species 

 of grass, where the loss of latter-math, under such circumstances, would far outweigh any supe- 

 riority of the nutritive qualities of the crop at the time the seed is ripe, if such superiority was 

 great, which is seldom found. 



The weight of hay produced from the grass of the flowering crop is much less, in propor- 



^ 



tion to that formed by an equal weight of the grass of the seed crop. In Mr. Young's Annals of 



Agriculture we are informed, that so long ago as the year 1785, Mr. Boys, of Betshanger, in 



Kent, a farmer of the highest reputation, raised, at much expence, and several years' attention, 



from twenty to thirty bushels of the seed of this grass, which he then offered for sale at three 



shillings per pound. He says that it makes a very fine thick turf, and will produce a great 



quantity of very excellent grass from moist rich soils. He used the straw after the seed was 



thrashed, instead of hay, for his riding horses, and they preferred it to his best meadow ky. 



To have the land covered thick, more than seven pounds of seed should be sown to the acre. 



Pr, Smith observes, that it does not bear the frost so well, nor does it shoot so early in the 



spring, as the Poa pratensis; but when the weather becomes warm enough to make grasses in 



general shoot, this grows faster, and produces a greater crop of bottom leaves, than most 



others. • The experiments above detailed were made before I met with the observations of 



Mr. Young and Dr. Smith, just quoted, and all my observations tend to confirm those opinions 

 concerning this grass. 



The superior produce of this Poa over many other species, its highly nutritive qualities, the 

 seasons m which it arrives at perfection, and the marked partiality which oxen, horses, and 

 sheep have for it, are merits which distinguish it as orje of the most valuable of those grasses 

 which affect moist rich soils a„d sheltered situations : but on dry exposed situations it is altoge- 





