158 



Obs.— The culms and leaves grow in dense tufts ; the panicle, before tlie time of flowering, is 

 of a fine glossy purple colour ; the blossom is woolly at the base, awn knee-bent, half as 

 long as the blossom; calyx generally 2-flowered, rarely three; the inferior floret sitting. 

 Flo. Ger. 257; Wither. Arr.; E. Bot. 1453; Host. t. 42; Flo. Dan. 240. 



Native of Britain. Root fibrous, perennial. 



Kvperimenfs.— At the time of flowering, the produce from a heath soil incumbent on clay, is, 



dr. qr. 



Grass, 15 oz. The produce per acre 

 80 dr. of grass weigh, when dry 

 The produce of the space, ditto 



oz. 



163350 



lbs. 



10209 



6 



26 

 78 



53088 12 



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 time the seed is ripe, the produce is. 



Grass, 14 oz. The produce per acre 

 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, ditto 

 The produce of latter-math is, 

 Grass, 4oz. The produce per acre •• 



64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 



3318 12 

 6891 5 4 



2 

 7 2 



5104 11 



319 11 



'i 



152460 



9528 12 



30 

 84 



57172 8 



3573 4 8 



5955 8 



2 



7 



4764 6 



297 12 6 



1 3 



43560 



1191 



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



2722 8 



74 7 



21 4 5 



The proportional value in which grass, at the time of flowering, exceeds that of the latter- 



math, is as 8 to 



/ 



Two spaces of a heath soil and a clayey loam were sown with the seeds of this grass on the 

 20th of May, 1812; the seed vegetated well, and the produce was collected in the month of 

 August following. It consisted of, 



From the heath soil, grass 4 oz. which afforded of nutritive matter 



- 60 grains. 



From the clayey loam, grass 2 oz. which^ in proportion, afforded of nutritive matter 56 grains. 



From which it appears, that the produce of this grass, on a heath soil, is superior to that on 

 a clayey loam, in the proportion of 2 to 1. An instance was brought forward under the subject 

 of Agrostis canina, where the Agrostis stolomfera produced, the first year of sowing, one-third 

 less of grass on a clayey soil than on a sandy soil ; but in the succeeding years, the produce 

 from the clayey loam tripled that from the sandy soil. With the Zig-zag Hair-grass the case is 

 directly the reverse, for the produce of the clayey soil diminishes yearly, till the grass at length 

 disappears altogether. I mention this, merely to shew the danger of drawing hasty conclusions 

 from the experience of one or two seasons only. 



The Aira Jlexuosa is much more productive on its natural soil than the Fesiuca ovina; but it 

 requires a deeper soil, though not a richer. The Festuca ovina is more common among heath, 

 (Erica vulgaris); l\e Aira Jlexuosa among furze, (Ukx eiiropceus); though both grasses fre- 

 quently grpw iutermixed on the same soil. To those wbp attempt the improvement of such 



J 



