26 THE GRASSES 



this offer was such as to induce the same society to offer, in 

 1769, a gold medal to the person who should give the best 

 account of the properties and comparative values of any 

 two . or more-, natural grasses. Previous to this sufficient 

 attention had been given to- the grasses to establish the 

 terms natural and artificial grasses — the latter being ap- 

 plied to the plants selected fer cultivation in meadows and 

 pastures, but-which are not really grasses. As yet, however, 

 no systematic efforts had been made to test, by experiment 

 or analysis, the relative values of the several grasses. In 

 1822 this attempt was made by the Duke of Bedford, wh'.i 

 set his gardener, George Sinclair, to work to collect all the 

 natural grasses of England into a grass garden, the first of 

 the kind ever attempted in England. In this garden, and 

 another, subsequently established for himself by Sinclair, 

 a long series of experiments were, tried with the various 

 grasses, testing with admirable patience and skill their 

 properties and qualities. While it is true that the chemical 

 tests applied by Sinclair were too meager and simple to 

 command our implicit confidence, more valuable lessons con- 

 cerning the grasses have never been taught than are con- 

 tained in Sinclair's accouuts of the " Woburn Experiments," 

 in his book called " Graminea Woburnensis." Many of 

 these lessons have come to be accepted as fundamental 

 truths. He first taught, that from early spring to late in 

 winter there is no time when there is not one or more of 

 the grasses in prime condition', some containing most nutri- 

 ment before flowering, some while in flower, others while in 

 seed, and others still, owing their chief excellence to 

 their aftermath. He taught also what grasses flourished 

 best in dry weather, and what in wet. In short he laid the 

 foundation for the scientific study of the grasses, and all 

 subsequent investigations have but enlarged upon his work. 

 In 1845, Prof. Way, Consulting Chemist of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society of England, undertook the analysis of 

 the principal grasses with a view of ascertaining their rela- 



