Annual  Report  of  the  Consulting  Botanist  for  1882. 
257 
Moisture 11 ‘18 
*Organic  matter  and  ammoniacal  salts  ..  ..  19 ‘15 
Phosphate  of  lime 21  • 16 
t Alkaline  salts,  &c 13 '83 
Insoluble  siliceous  matter  * ..  34 '68 
100-00 
* Containing  nitrogen 3-96 
Equal  to  ammonia 4'81 
f Containing  phosphoric  acid  1 • 86 
Equal  to  tribasic  phosphate  of  lime  ..  ..  4*05 
Total  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid  . . ..  11-55 
Equal  to  tribasic  phosphate  of  lime  ..  ..  25-21 
This  guano,  it  will  be  noticed,  contains  no  less  than  one-third 
its  weight  of  useless  siliceous  matter  (stones  and  sand).  I 
consider  the  sample  to  be  worth  scarcely  8/.  15s.  per  ton  ; it 
is  an  imposition  to  ask  13/.  a ton  for  such  a guano. 
Mr.  Noel  informed  me  that  three  tons  of  the  guano  had  been 
bought  at  13/.  5s.  per  ton  by  Mr.  Joseph  Patten,  of  Manor 
Farm,  Bilbroughton,  Worcestershire,  from  a manure  company  ; 
but,  as  the  manure  turned  out  very  bad,  the  company  allowed 
back  6/.  5s.  per  ton. 
Dr.  Voelcker  also  reported  several  cases  in  which,  under  the 
name  of  Black-Sea  Rape-cake,  inferior  manure-cake  had  been 
sold,  which  principally  consisted  of  the  siftings  of  oily  seeds, 
and,  in  addition  to  a variety  of  weed-seeds,  contained  much 
sand  and  dirt. 
XI. — Annual  Report  of  the  Consulting  Botanist  for  1882.  By 
W.  Carruthers,  F.R.S. 
INCREASED  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  conditions  under 
which  permanent  pastures  can  be  best  laid  down.  The  memoir 
by  Mr.  De  Laune,  published  in  the  Society’s  ‘ Journal  ’ in  the 
spring  of  this  year,  and  the  action  of  the  Seeds’  Committee  in 
recommending  purchasers  of  seeds  to  require  a guarantee  ac- 
cording to  a published  standard,  have  quickened  the  interest 
in  this  important  subject. 
I have  had  to  deal  with  numerous  inquiries  as  to  the  grasses 
which  constitute  existing  pastures,  and  I have  examined  and 
tested  more  than  160  samples  of  grass  seeds  on  behalf  of 
Members  of  the  Society. 
The  standard  recommended  by  the  Society  was  fixed  from  a 
consideration  of  the  actual  results  of  my  examinations  of  seeds 
carried  on  for  many  years.  The  germinating  value  may  no 
YOL.  XIX. — S.  S. 
