861 
early in the spring in considerable abundance ; but its nu- 
tritive powers appear comparatively little. 
XXVII. Festucapratensis. Engl. Bot. 1592. C. Lond. 
Meadow fescue-grass. Nat. of Britain. 
At the time of flowering* the produce from a bog soil, 
with coal ashes for manure, is 
02 . 
Grass, 20 oz. The produce per acre - 217800 
80 dr. of grass weigh when dry - 38 dr,; \ 
The produce of the space, ditto - 152 ) 
The weight lost by the produce of one acre in drying 
6 4 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 4. 2 dr. 1 . 
The produce of the space, ditto - 22.2 £ * 
or lbs. per acre. 
0 = 13612 8 0 
8 = 6465 15 0 
7146 9 0 
1 = 957 2 1 
At the time the seed is ripe, the produce is 
Grass, 28 oz. The produce per acre - 304920 0 = 
80 dr. of grass weigh when dry - 32 dr. _ 
The produce of the space, ditto * 179.0| / — 
The weight lost by the produce of one acre in drying 
64 dr. of grass afford of nutritive matter 1.2 dr. 1 . 4fi q _ 
The produce of the space, ditto 10.2 3 
The weight of nutritive matter which is lost by leaving the 
crop till the seed be ripe, exceeding one half of its 
value - 
19057 8 
7623 0 
11434 8 
446 10 
510 7 
O 
0 
8 
8 
The value of the grass at the time the seed is ripe, is to 
that of the grass at the time of flowering, as 6 to 1 8. 
The loss which is sustained by leaving the crop of this 
grass till the -seed be ripe is very great. That it loses more 
of its weight in drying at this stage of growth, than at the 
time of flowering, perfectly agrees with the deficiency of 
nutritive matter in the seed crop, in proportion to that in 
the flowering crop ; the straws being succulent in the for- 
mer, they constitute the greatest part of the weight ; but 
in the latter they are comparatively withered and dry, con- 
sequently the leaves constitute the greatest part of the 
weight. It may be observed here, that there is a great dif- 
ference between straws or leaves that have been dried after 
they were cut in a succulent state, and those which are dried 
(if I may so express it) by nature while growing. The 
former retain all their nutritive powers ; but the latter, if 
completely dry, very little, if any. 
