262  Annual  Report  of  the  Consulting  Botanist  for  1882. 
sweet  vernal,  7 per  cent. ; cocksfoot,  6 per  cent. ; florin,  3 per 
cent.  ; Yorkshire-fog,  2 per  cent. 
The  number  of  the  different  kinds  in  one  hundred  grass  seeds 
of  the  mixture  recommended  by  Mr.  De  Laune,  already  referred 
to,  would  be  : — florin,  22  ; foxtail,  16  ; cocksfoot,  16  ; fescues, 
15  ; cat’s-tail,  12  ; rough  meadow-grass,  12  ; and  crested  dog’s- 
tail,  7. 
Only  by  selecting  the  species  of  grasses  to  be  used,  purchasing 
them  separately,  and  paying  for  them  a fair  price,  can  a good 
mixture  be  secured.  Two  samples  of  mixtures  supplied  to 
Members  as  the  mixtures  recommended  by  the  Society  were 
composed  of  the  same  species  as  the  mixture  now  given,  and 
nearly  in  the  same  proportions. 
In  some  grasses  the  purchase  of  shelled  seeds  would  prevent 
much  disappointment  and  loss.  I have  had  sent  to  me  a 
sample  of  shelled  florin,  which  germinated  almost  100  per  cent. 
Several  samples  in  the  condition  in  which  this  seed  is  generally 
purchased  had  more  than  half  the  bulk  composed  of  empty 
chaff.  A sample  of  Poa  aquatica  offered  to  a Member  of  the 
Society  contained  75  per  cent,  of  chaff. 
Two  samples  of  florin  were  considerably  ergotted.  I am 
convinced,  from  the  inquiries  frequently  made  to  me  about 
injuries  to  stock,  produced  by  ergot,  that  the  danger  from  this 
powerful  parasite  in  pastures  is  not  fully  realised. 
I have  prepared  for  the  Education  Committee  a series  of  six 
diagrams  exhibiting  the  principal  grasses  to  be  selected  and 
avoided  in  laying  down  pastures,  giving  magnified  representa- 
tions of  their  seeds,  the  diseases  of  wheat,  potato,  and  clover. 
I trust  they  may  be  useful  to  the  Members  of  the  Society. 
I also  prepared  for  the  Journal  Committee  a paper  on  Mildew 
on  Wheat,  which  was  published  in  the  last  number  of  the 
Society’s  ‘Journal.’  I have  repeatedly  visited  the  farm  at 
Woburn  in  connection  with  the  experiments  being  carried  on 
there  as  to  the  life  of  several  of  the  more  common  natural  and, 
so-called,  artificial  grasses. 
The  uncertainty  as  to  the  duration  of  the  life  of  cultivated 
clovers,  led  to  the  resolution  of  the  Council  to  test  this  by 
actual  experiment  on  the  farm,  and  further,  to  determine  what 
species  or  varieties  of  red  clover  had  the  longest  life.  In 
natural  pastures  two  red  clovers  are  found — Trifolium  qjratense 
and  Trifolium  medium.  To  the  first  belong  the  names  red 
clover  and  broad  clover,  and  to  the  other,  marl  clover,  zigzag 
clover,  and  cowgrass.  But  the  application  of  these  common 
names  has  been  very  irregular  and  uncertain.  In  Morton’s 
‘ Cyclopaedia,’  under  the  article  “Trifolium,”  Mr.  Bentham,  in 
