The Herbage of Pastures. 
379 
of Rumex) cut on the lower surface. The herbage was unusually tine-leaved, 
and when cut on July 27, the exposed turf was seen to be slightly mossy. 
The proximate analysis gave : — 
Gramineous herbage, 70 | Leguminous, 8 ] Miscellaneous, 16. 
The leguminous herbage was made up exclusively of Trifolium repens. 
Of the miscellaneous herbage, four-fifths was Ranunculus repens, and the 
remainder was made up of Prunella vulgaris, Cerastium triviale, and Rumex 
6p. The gramineous herbage yielded the following results: — ■ 
Anthoxanthum odoratum } 
A vena fiavescens 
Festuca pratensis J 
Undetermined . . . 
Festuca ovina et var 39 
Agrostis sp 29 
Holcus lanatus 14 
Dactylis glomerata .... 1 1 
Cynosurus cristatus .... 1 
The Agrostiswas chiefly A. vulgaris, with a little A. stolonifera. The great 
abundance of the narrow-leaved fescues arfu of Agrostis vulgaris will readily 
account for the tine herbage which appeared to predominate upon this turf. 
No. 64. — Another turf from the same place, but taken from land which 
Sir James Richardson states was laid down in 1832, so that the pasture is 
fifty-seven years old. The proximate separation gave :— 
Gramineous herbage, 80 | Leguminous, 10 | Miscellaneous, 10. 
The leguminous herbage consisted exclusively of Trifolium repens, whilst 
the miscellaneous herbage was nearly all Carduus, with a little Ranunculus 
repens and Rumex sp. The gramineous herbage yielded : — 
Anthoxanthum odoratum \ 
Poa trivialis 
Holcus lanatus 
Undetermined G 
Alopecurus pratensis .... 39 
Agrostis sp 33 
Festuca ovina et var 16 
Cynosurus cristatus .... 2 
A vena fiavescens 2 
The most noteworthy differences between these two turfs are that the 
one from the more modern pasture yielded Alopecurus pratensis, whilst that 
from the older one did not ; whereas that from the older pasture afforded 
Dactylis glomerata, which did not show itself upon the younger turf. 
No. 65. — A turf sent by Captain J. S. Black, Balgowan, Perthshire, from 
a feeding-pasture which was sown down nearly forty years ago. Captain 
Black writes that his grass-lands have a high reputation in their district. 
He adds, about this grass-land : — 
" Some of it has not been broken up within the memory of anyone 
living, but the greater part of it (according to the custom of the country) is 
allowed to lie in grass for about thirty years, more or less, and then it is put 
through a course of cropping of four or five years. One 23-acre field after 
such a course, and after being sown down with grass in the summer of 1887, 
was let for the grazing season of 1888 for 70/." 
The turf was nine inches deep, the soil having the appearance of a reddish- 
brown, medium loam ; the deep face showed no trace of rootlets. The herbage 
was cut on July 5, and yielded : — 
Gramineous herbage, 56 | Leguminous, 3 | Miscellaneous, 41. 
_ The leguminous herbage was made up entirely of Trifolium repens. The 
miscellaneous herbage consisted for the greater part of Ranunculus' acris, 
the remainder being Ranunculus repens, Cerastium triviale, and Taraxacum. 
The separation of the gramineous herbage gave the following results ; — 
