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INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR. 
Of the 215 proper grasses which are capable of being cul- 
tivated in this climate, two only have been employed to any 
extent for making artificial pastures, rye-grass and cocks’- 
foot grass ; and their application for this purpose seems to 
have been rather the result of accident, than of any proofs 
of their superiority over other grasses. 
A knowledge of the comparative merits and value of all 
the different species and varieties of grasses cannot fail 
to be of the highest importance in practical agriculture. 
The hope of obtaining this knowledge was the motive 
that induced the Duke of Bedford to institute this series of 
experiments. 
Spots of ground, each containing four square feet, in 
the garden at Woburn Abbey, were enclosed by boards 
in such a manner that there was no lateral communication 
between the earth included by the boards, and that of the 
garden. The soil was removed in these inclosures, and 
new soils supplied ; or a mixture of soils was made in them, 
to furnish as far as possible to the different grasses those 
soils which seem most favourable to their growth ; a few 
varieties being adopted for the purpose of ascertaining the 
effect of different soils on the same plant. 
The grasses were either planted or sown, and their pro- 
duce cut and collected and dried, at the proper seasons, 
in summer and autumn, by Mr. Sinclair, his grace’s 
gardener. For the purpose of determining, as far as 
possible, the nutritive powers of the different species, 
equal weights of the dry grasses or vegetable substances 
were acted upon by hpt water till all their soluble parts 
were dissolved ; the solution was then evaporated to dry- 
ness by a gentle heat in a proper stove, and the matter 
obtained carefully weighed. This part of the process was 
likewise conducted with much address and intelligence by 
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