on Permanent Meadow Land. 
403 
grown without them. The mere flowering and seeding stems of 
this Graminaceous herbage, would contain a higher percentage of 
Dry matter than the leaves and younger shoots. But besides the 
detached leafy matter, the larger culms grown by the ammoniacal 
salts, were themselves more luxuriant and succulent, and carried 
more green leaves and shoots than the smaller ones grown under 
otherwise comparable conditions, but without the ammoniacal 
salts. 
It is obvious, then, that the percentage of the Dry matter in 
such complex and heterogeneous produce as hay, is dependent 
on too many coincident causes, to be of itself any unconditional 
indication of the character, or degree of maturity, of such 
produce. 
The percentages of mineral matter and of nitrogen in the dry 
substance of the hay grown by the different manures, will be 
some further guide as to the comparative degrees of succulence, 
or maturity, of the produce developed under the different con- 
ditions. 
MiNEEAL MaTTEK (Ash). 
The mineral matter was determined by burning to ash the 
portions of hay which had been dried at 212° F., and reweighed 
for the determination of the dry matter. The burning was con- 
ducted on sheets of platinum placed in cast-iron muffles, heated 
by coke. Duplicate determinations were always made. The 
meaii percentages, only of the two determinations, are given in 
Table XII. ; and the individual results are recorded for reference 
in Tables II., III., and IV., in the Appendix. 
In ripened produce, such as our crops of corn, the relations of 
tlie percentages of mineral matter in the dry substance in a 
series of comparable specimens, are pretty clear indications of 
the relative degrees of elaboration and ripeness of such produce. 
Other things being equal, the smaller the percentage of Mineral 
matter in the dry substance, the more highly elaborated, or the 
riper, is the specimen. The percentage of nitrogen in our ripened 
corn-crops is affected in a somewliat similar manner. Other 
tilings being equal, the lower the percentage of nitrogen in the 
dry substance, the higher, taking the average of seasons, will be 
the condition of maturation of the produce. 
The like generalisation appears to be more applicable to the 
composition of the complex and but partially ripened produce, 
liay, than would perhaps have been anticipated. 
The hay-season of 1856 was wet and cold, and the produce it 
yielded contained a very low percentage of dry substance.*|f The 
hay-seasons of 1857 and 1858 were, upon the whole, much drier 
and warmer, and, accordingly, the percentages of dry substance in 
2 D 2 
