0)1 Permanent Meadow Land. 
425 
other hand, neither do any of our records as to the character ol 
the produce in the several years, or as to the characters of the 
seasons themselves, lead to the belief that the produce of 1856 
was either in such large proportion stemmy, or so foricard, at the 
time of cutting, as that of the other seasons. Should then, fu- 
ture researches confirm the indications of these results, we should 
have to adopt the important conclusion, that a crude and succu- 
lent produce — a large proportion of whose more soluble consti- 
tuents exists in a low condition of elaboration — may at the same 
time have a large proportion of its more fixed constituents in the 
condition of comparatively indurated and innutritious cellular 
matter. Or, may it be, that, when there is a low condition of elabo- 
ration of some of the more soluble constituents, so large a proportion 
of these undergo change, as to leave the more fixed Woody matter 
in larger proportion in the remaining total dry substance ? 
When the observed variations in the character of the produce 
are borne in mind, the effects of iiuuuircs upon the relative per- 
centages of the more fixed Woody-fib;e in its Dry substance, 
are more clearly in accordance with what would be expected 
than are those of season. Taking the average result of tlie 3 
years, the Dry substance of the unmaniircd produce, contained a 
comparatively low percentage of such Woody-fibre. This pro- 
duce contained a large proportion of non-Graminaceous herbage; 
a fair proportion was stemmy, but it Avas backward, and with 
these characters there is a low percentage of Woody-fibre in 
the Dry substance. The Dry substance of the produce by 
ammoniacal salts alone, whose Graminaceous stems were com- 
paratively ripe, but which contained a very large proportion of 
leaf, contained at the same time a comparatively small propor- 
tion of the " Avoody fibre." The produce by Miheral manures 
alone consisted of a good deal of non-Graminaceous herbage, and 
the Graminaceous herbage comprised a considerable proportion 
of leaf, though its stems were comparatively ripe. With these 
characters, the percentage of the " woody fibre " in the Dry 
substance was comparatively low. Where the mixed mineral 
manure and ammoniacal salts icere used together, the produce 
was, comparatively, somewhat unripe ; but it was almost entirely 
Graminaceous, and in very large proportion stemmy, and coin- 
cidently there is a comparatively large proportion of the " woody 
fibre" in the Dry substance. The produce hy farm-yard manure 
was in a still larger proportion stemmy ; but it contained also a 
considerable proportion of non-Graminaceous herbage. The 
result was, that its Dry substance contained a comparatively 
high percentage of the " woody fibre," but not quite so high as 
that where the mineral manure and ammoniacal salts were used, 
and the produce was more exclusively Graminaceous. 
