Mixed Herbage of Grass-Land. 
137 
Plot 16, — 14 tons farm-yard manure. 
Plot 17. — 14 tons farm-yard manure ; and 200 lbs, ammonia- 
salts. 
With the view of both controlling and adding to the nume- 
rical results of the botanical separations, it was decided to have 
systematic series of notes taken on the ground. To this end, 
between three and four weeks prior to the date of cutting were 
devoted to making observations, as under : — 
1. On each plot seriatim ; remarking the predominance, and 
character of development, of the different plants. 
2. On each of the most important plants seriatim ; comparing 
its predominance, and character of development, on the different 
plots. 
3. On the relative conditions of ripeness of the plots generally, 
and of individual descriptions of plants just befoie cutting. 
Then, after the crop was cut, and before its removal from the 
ground, further notes were taken, with the full view of the pro- 
duce of the entire plot then at command, the former ones having 
been made only at either end of the respective plots. 
Lastly, notes on the second crop were taken. 
In the separations of 1858, the number of species deter- 
mined in any one sample in no case amounted to twenty ; the 
undetermined Graminaceous herbage was, however, subdivided 
into four or five different lots, supplying, in addition to the defined 
species, so many different descriptions of herbage ; but in the 
separations of 1862, forty or more defined species weie^in some 
cases identified. It is not supposed that a greater number of 
plants occurred in the produce of 1862 than in that of 1858. The 
result is doubtless due to the much greater amount of attention 
and labour bestowed upon the more recent separations. There 
is, however, no doubtj that, although the more general character- 
istics of the herbage on the respective differently-manured plots 
remain the same as formerly — that is to say, as to the general 
predominance respectively of Graminaceous, Leguminous, and 
Miscellaneous herbage, and tendency to stemmy or leafy deve- 
lopment — yet that there is a considerably altered predominance of 
particular plants, as a further consideration of the results will 
show. 
It is not proposed to comment in detail upon the numerical 
results given in the large folding Table (facing p. 164), nor to 
quote at any length from the voluminous written observations to 
which reference has been made, as such a treatment of the 
subject is more suitable to the pages of a Botanical than of an 
Agricultural Journal. 
