Canadian Agriculture. 
231 
of nitrogen in the fine; cartli, which is at least double that found in the sur- 
face soil of good English pasture. There is an ample proportion of phosphoric 
acid, and the supply of potash is very large, as is usually the case with soils 
formed of the debris of volcanic rocks. Lime alone, of all the elements of 
fertility, is present in feeble proportion, and its application to this and similar 
soils will probably be of groat benefit in the near future, before tlie need arises 
for the use of the ordinary artificial manures. The high relative proportion 
of magnesia is note^vorthy in connection with the wheat-growing properties of 
the soil. 
Native Herbage. — The most essential feature of the prairie is, 
perhaps, its treeless character, this characteristic being, in fact, 
indicated in the name (Fr. prairie, a meadow). Thus the great 
mass of the vegetation of the prairie is composed of herbage, 
though shrubs may sometimes be seen in swampy localities, 
and the course of a river or stream is often indicated by a line 
of low trees. The character and feeding quality of the prairie 
herbage are matters of prime importance from an agricultural 
point of view, and it is well to recall the fact that for ages 
the prairie has been the grazing ground of vast herds of 
buffalo, whose descendants are now fast disappearing. This 
fact alone is highly suggestive of the nutrient character of the 
plants which clothe the prairie ; much more so, indeed, than 
might at first be inferred from a cursory examination of the 
prairie flora. On my journey to the Rocky Mountains I was 
fortunate in making the acquaintance of Professor John 
Macoun, M.A., F.L.S., the botanist to the Geological and 
Natural History Survey of Canada, and still more fortunate in 
being allowed, through this gentleman's kindness and courtesy, 
to avail myself of his advice and experience, founded on years 
of arduous labour and exploration in the North West. On my 
mentioning to Professor Macoun my desire to familiarise 
myself with the native forage plants of the prairie, and par- 
ticularly with the grasses and clovers, I was much surprised by 
his informing me that there is not a single true clover, not one 
species of the genus Trifolium, indigenous to the prairie soil. 
Nevertheless, the leguminous family, as a whole, is by no 
means unrepresented on the prairie ; and, as a matter of fact, 
while in Ontario only twenty-six species of Leguminosce have 
been recorded, no less than forty-two species have been found 
in the North- West, the most noteworthy of these being, perhaps, 
the so-called purple prairie clover, Petalostemon violaceum ; the 
white prairie clover, F. candidus ; the purple prairie vetch, 
Vicia Americana ; the prairie pea or purple pea-vine, Lathyrus 
venosus ; and various milk vetches belonging to the genera 
Astragalus and Oxytropis. Though the leguminous herbage 
of the prairie presents no species identical with those of 
Britain, the species of Graminese, on the other hand, coincide 
