300 
The Herbage of Pashtres. 
I found a brick-shaped block of soil, clothed at the top with 
green sward. Each block of turf, as it came to baud, was 
planted in bare land of very poor quality, to such a depth that 
the herbage came on a level with the surrounding soil. Save 
that the adjacent land was kept free from weeds, the turfs re- 
ceived no treatment whatever ; they were simply allowed to grow 
upon their own soils, and were carefully watched from day to 
day, in order that the botany of each turf might be accurately 
recorded. After June the herbage upon each area in turn was 
closely cut with sheep-shears, and at once submitted to botanical 
analysis, firstly into its proximate constituents of gramineous 
herbage, leguminous herbage, and miscellaneous herbage, and 
then each of these sections into its specific ingredients. As soon 
as possible these were weighed in the green state on a balance, 
with metric weights, and the results recorded. 
A former volume of this Journal 1 contains the results of a 
previous investigation of a similar nature, and it was in conse- 
quence of the controversy which arose thereon that I determined 
to continue the inquiry upon fresh pastures, and in a different 
season, in order the more thoroughly to test the validity of the 
conclusions based upon the results of the former series of ex- 
periments. 
The total number of blocks of turf which have thus been 
subjected to investigation is 80, this including the 25 comprised 
in the first inquiry. Of these, 48 came from England, 6 from 
Wales, 14 from Ireland, and 12 from Scotland. Of the English 
specimens, 5 were obtained from Somerset ; 3 each from Berk- 
shire, Cambridgeshire, and Shropshire ; 2 each from Cheshire, 
Cumberland, Derbyshire, Dorset, Essex, Kent, Lincolnshire, 
Monmouthshire, Staffordshire, and Wiltshire ; and 1 each from 
Buckinghamshire, Devon, Durham, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, 
Herefordshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Northumberland, 
Warwickshire, Westmoreland, Worcestershire, Yorkshire (East 
Riding), and Yorkshire (North Riding). In all, therefore, 28 
English counties are represented, this being two-thirds of the 
total number. Exactly half of the counties of Wales are repre- 
sented, one turf having been received from Cardiganshire, 
Carmarthenshire, Carnarvonshire, Denbighshire, Merionethshire, 
and Pembrokeshire, respectively. The 14 Irish turfs come from 
II counties: 3 from Meath, 2 from Kildare, and 1 each from 
Antrim, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Kerry, Mayo, Queen's Co., Tippe- 
rary, and Wexford. Scotland furnished 3 specimens from 
Perthshire ; 2 each from Forfarshire and Midlothian ; and 1 
1 Vol. XXIV., 2nd Series (1868). 
