GRASS. 



\i\it tlie tria! comes wTien t!ic objp(!^ of ourexperimpnt has 

 be;'n in a meadow or palUiro feveral years, v. licii its li'nrcs 

 from long growth arc mattod togetlicr, and it meets with 

 powerful neighbours to dilpute every inch of ground with 

 it : if it then continues to be produdtive, it muft. have merit. 

 We fee that lucern, when Ictt to itfelf, is foon overpow- 

 ered ; if we fow broad-'.eavcd clover, which is nioft undoubt- 

 edly a perennial, the firfl year We (liall have a great crop of 

 clover ; let this field be loft to itfelf, and the clover, like tiie 

 Incern, will yearly diminilh, not becaufeit is a biennial, as 

 fome have fuppofed, but becauie plants hardier or more con- 

 genial to the loilufurp its place : this (hews, then, tliat at the 

 fame time that we introduce a good plant, that plant uuiil 

 alfo be a powerful one, able to keep polfefTion, and conti. 

 nue to be produdlive. 



With regard to the fecond quality, or that of the cattle's 

 thriving on the food they eat ; this is, undoubtedlv, of great 

 confequence, and it is to be regretted that our kno\vledge of 

 the moil nutrient herbage is fo limited: of thofe plants which 

 have been cultivated, we are able to fpeak with fome cer- 

 tainty ; it is well known that clover, lucern, faintfoin, tares, 

 and feveral other plants, have a tendency to fatten cattle ; 

 but what gratfes, or other plants, which have not been iub- 

 jefted to a feparate cultivation, have this particular tendency, 

 remains to be afcertained bv experiment. But as legumi- 

 nous plants, in general, are found to agree with cattle, we 

 may reafonably conclude that a certain quantity of them 

 muff be proper in pallures. Certain pailures are found to 

 be more bateable or feeding than otiiers ; but whether this 

 arifes from fituation, or their particular produce, remains 

 alfo to be difcovercd by further obfervation. 



Refpefting the third quality, or the early growth of 

 plants, as the farmers and graziers unitedly complain of the 

 want of early herbage in the fpring ; thofe plants, therefore, 

 which are found to put forth early foliage, and to be grate- 

 ful to cattle, are delerving of great attention. As far as 

 graffes are concerned, the fweet-fcented vernal, the meadfnv 

 tox-tail, the fmooth and rough-ftalked meadow-grals, will 

 e^^ecl all that can be expefted from thofe of Britifli growth: 

 much, very much, howe»er, will depend on feafons : if the 

 winter be very fevere, or north-eafterly winds prevail in the 

 fpring, graffy herbage will be backward : to counteract tb.e 

 bad effecls of fuch feafons, our pallures fliould be warmly 

 fituated, not drenched with moillure, fheltered by thick 

 hedges, and divided into fniall enclofures: in lliurt, a fet of 

 enclofures fliould be formed for this very purpofe, where 

 there is a profpeCl of its anfwering the deligns of the culti- 

 vator. But where early paihirage is the dellderatum, otiier 

 plants, as well as graffes, may deferve a place amongfl them, 

 as rib-wort, or rib-grafs (plantago lancfulala), dandelion 

 {leontodon taraxacum), broad-leaved clover [trifolitim pratinje), 

 with many others of the fame kind. And as an earlv her- 

 bage, though it is valuable for pallurage, is no lefs fo for 

 hay ; by the middle of May at furthell, a meadow of this 

 fort wovild be fit for mowing, and the fecond hay-making 

 might commence by the time that hay-making ufually takes 

 place in the country. The writer has fometimes thought, 

 but perhaps the idea is too fpcculative, that we ought to 

 have two forts of meadows, one for liay, the other for 

 paflure ; that our hay-meadows (Iwuld confill entirely of 

 graffes, and chiefly for this rcafon, that the hay would on 

 that account be much foouer made ; an objeft of confe- 

 quence at all times, but more fo when the procefs com- 

 mences in May. In June and .Inly the more powerful heat 

 of the fun is able to exficcate the thick leaves and llalks of 

 the more fucculent plants ; but, in the neceflary prolonga- 

 tion of this bufinefs, the graffes mull materially fuiior. But 



for the purpofe of pafturagf , thf attentron of the apricultor 

 (ho\ild be chiefly directed to fuch forts of graffes as have the 

 propenfity of running to leaves, in preference to fuch a« 

 abovuid more in flowcr-ftalks or ftems. 



The fame writer flates, that if we examine our meadows, 

 pallures, and downs, we fliall find them pretty much in a 

 Hate of nature, and, excepting thofe paflure.i which of later 

 years have been fown with ray-grafi and clover, full of an 

 indifcriminate mixture of plants, fome of which afford good, 

 others bad food, fonic good crops, others fcarcely any crops 

 at nil : but that he may not be thought to fpeak at random 

 on this fubject, he will ilate a few facts to corroborate what 

 he has aflertcd. His worthy and much-cflcemrd friend, 

 Tliomas White, cfq. with a view to afccrtain the produce 

 of fell ral downs and commons fed on by fheep, procured, 

 from each of thofe under-mentioned in Hampfhire ai.dSaffcx, 

 a turf, which, tliough not more than fix inches in diameter, 

 and chofin i\idlferiminately, produced, on being planted ia 

 his garden, as follows : 



Different Turfs. 



Turf from Scllorn-Conimon. — Plantago lanceolata, agroflis 

 capillaris, avena tfuvcfcens, dactvlis glomerata, feiluca du- 

 riufcula, poa annua, cynofurus criftatus, trifolinm repcns, 

 crepis teclorum, acliillea millefolium, galium verum, hypo- 

 ch-.eris r:idicata, hieracium pilofclla, thymus ferpyllum. 



Turf from OaL'.'angcr. — 'IVifolium repens, holcus lanatus, 

 poa annua, agrollis capillaris, agrodis paluflris. 



Turf from Dtfurlun. — Ranunculus repens, lolium perenne, 

 holcus lunatus, prunella vulgaris, feiluca duriufcula, agroflis 

 paluflris, triiolium repens, crepis tettorum, achillea mille- 

 folium. 



'Turf from Clynd-hill. — Medicago lupulina, achillea miile- 

 folium, poa pralenfis. 



'Turf from the farr.e Avena flavefcens, feftuca duriufcula, 



fefluca ovina, hieracium pilofella, agroflis capillaris, trifo. 

 hum repens, thymus ferpyllum. 



Turf from Short-Heath. — Feiluca bromoidcs, aira prxcox, 

 juncus campeilris, poa annua, agrollis capillaris. 



Turf from Mount Cahroti. — Rumcx acetofa, daucus carota, 

 medicago lupulina, poterium fanguiforba, feiluca duriufcula, 

 avena flavefcens. 



Turf from Ringmcr-Do-j.m — Linum catharticnm, fcabiofa 

 columbaria, ornithopus perpiriillus, avena flavefcens, fefluca 

 duriufcula, tvifolium repens, hypochxris radicata, crepis 

 teftorum, lotus corniculatus, iuncus campeilris, hieracium 

 pilofclla, feftuca ovina, thymus ferpyllum, poa pratenfis. 



It is, perhaps, no fmall recommendation to the poa Iri- 

 i-'uilis, that it ia a principal grafs in that uncommonly pro<luc- 

 tive meadow near Salifbury, nifntioncd by Stillingflect, and 

 more particularly defcribed in the firil volume of tiie Memoirs 

 of the Bath Agiicultund Society. And tliat the account 

 given of the extraordinary fertility of this meadow excited 

 his curiofity, and induced him to requetl a gentleman rcfid- 

 ing near the fpot to favour him with fix fmall turfs, cut up 

 in different part'', of the faid meadow, and which beiii^j 

 planted in his garden, .it Lambeth-Marfli, produced 'as 

 follows : 



DilftifHt Turfs. 



Turf I . — Poa trivialis, ranunculus acrls, triticum «-e{>cns, 

 agroflis paluflris. 



Turf 2. — Poa trivialis, alopeciu-us pratenfis, triticiiiH 

 rcjiens. 



'Turf 3. — Poa trivialis, agroflis paluflris. 



Turf 4. — Poa trivialis, triticum repens, peucedanurj 

 iilaus. 



4 L C Tur/^.~~ 



