24 



i 4 



Festuca pratensis 



Meadow Fescue 



Sj,scifo character: Panicle slanting, pointing one way ; .plket. awnless, nearly strap-Aaped; 



leaves flat. 



Native of Britain. Root fibrous, perennial. 



Obs. 



With 



variety of the Festuca elatior; but it is more justly made 

 a "distinct speciesTn the"English Botany. It differs from the Festuca elatior in having only 

 half the height, the leaves only half the breadth, the panicle shorter, and containing only 

 half the number of flowers. The panicle is but once branched, droops but slightly, and 

 leans to one side when in flower, and the flowers grow all one way : in the Elatior, the 

 panicle branches both ways; it droops much at first, and the flowers grow much more 

 loosely. The spikets are more round, ovate, and pointed, whereas in the Pratensis they 

 are somewhat linear, flat, and obtuse. Curt. Lond. ; E. Bot. 1592 ; Wither. Arr. ; Hort. 



F 



Kew. 



1. p 



165. 



Experiments, —On the 16th of April, the produce from a fertile peat soil, Avith coal-asJies as 



mauure, is 



dr. qr 



Grass, l6 oz. The produce per acre 

 64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 

 The produce of the space, ditto 



At the time of flowering, the produce is, 

 Grass, 20 oz. The produce per acre 

 The produce of the space, ditto, when dry 

 80 dr. of grass weigh, when dry 



oz. 



174240 



lbs. 







10890 



2 1 



9 



per acre 



6125 



382 13 10 



217800 



152 

 38 



103455 



The weight lost by the produce of one acre in drying 

 64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 

 The produce of the space, ditto 



At the jtime the seed is ripe, the produce is, 

 Grass, 28 oz. The produce per acre 



13613 8 

 6465 15 



7146 9 



4 2 



22 2 



15314 1 



957 2 1 



32 



- 179 



80 dr. of grass weigh, when dry 



The produce of the space, ditto 



The weight lost by the produce of one acre in drying 



64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 



The produce of the space, d^tto 



304920 



121968 



19057 8 

 7623 



11434 8 



1 2 

 10 2 



7146 9 



446 10 9 



The weight of nutritive matter which is afforded by the produce of latter-math per acre, is - 380 

 The weight of nutritive matter which is lost by leaving the crop till the seed is ripe, exceeding- 



one-half of its value, is 



510 7 8 



The grass at the time of flowering, is of greater value than that at the time the seed is ripe, 



proportionally, as 9 to 3. 



■a 



The weight of nutritive matter which is lost by leaving the crop of this grass till the seed k 



That it should lose more of its weight at this stage of growth 



very 



than at the time of flowering, perfectly agrees with the deficiency of nutritive matter in tb 

 seed crop, in proportion to the nutritive matter afforded by the flowering crop ; the straws be- 

 ing succulent in the grass of the latter crop, while those of the former are dry, and constitute a 

 much smaller proportion of the weight of the crop than in the flowering crop. It may be 



