1196 
MESSRS. J. B. LAWES, J. H. GILBERT, AND M. T. MASTERS, 
With the mineral manure and the double amount of ammonia-salts, there was again 
great deficiency in the yield of the grasses; but here Dactylis glomerata was by far the 
most prominent, and gave a large amount of both leafy and stemmy growth. Agrostis 
vulgaris came second in prominence, and both Alopecurus pratensis and Poa pratensis 
were fairly represented. With this predominance of a few free-growing grasses, the 
amount of miscellaneous herbage was considerably less than half as much as on the 
same plot in 1862, and only about a quarter as much as on the plot with the smaller 
quantity of ammonia-salts in the same year, 1867. The weed which maintained the 
most prominent place in the struggle was Rumex Acetosa; Conopodium denudatum 
coming next. Only two other species were found in the sample, and these in only very 
insignificant amount. 
The nitrate of soda was not sown until April 10, when growth would be fairly 
established, so that the loss by drainage which would otherwise result from the excess 
of rain would be checked, and active vegetation favoured. The excess instead of 
deficiency of produce which was thus obtained with the mineral manure and nitrate of 
soda consisted almost exclusively of gramineous herbage. Poa trivialis contributed 
about one-third, and Bromus mollis more than one-sixth of the whole produce; whilst 
Lolium perenne , Dactylis glomerata, Arena jlavescens, and Holcus lanatus were also in 
fair proportion. The crop was characteristically very stemmy, the most so of any in 
the series, and Bromus especially was shedding ripe seeds. It will be remembered 
that whilst June, the maturing month, was in 1862 very wet and unusually cold, it 
was in 1867 very dry, and though not so warm as usual, by no means so cold as in 
1862. Hence, the grasses which had been brought so rapidly forward under the 
influence of the nitrate of soda were unable to ripen. With this free and forward growth 
of grasses, leguminous plants occurred in quite insignificant amount, and miscellaneous 
species in less than average quantity. Of the latter, Conopodium denudatum , 
Anthriscus sylvestris, and Rumex Acetosa were in the greatest prominence. 
Thus, with the very fluctuating climatal characters of the season of 1867, we have, 
with the varying floras, and the varying and irregularly and late-sown manures, widely 
varying characters of growth. There was in some cases an excess, and in others a 
deficiency of produce compared with the average. The different gramineous species 
were very differently affected ; Leguminosse were generally deficient, and miscellaneous 
plants were for the most part in excess. The growth was, upon the whole, much more 
characteristically leafy than stemmy ; but with nitrate of soda it was very character¬ 
istically stemmy. 
Season 1871-2. 
Between the separation season of 1867 and that of 1872 a remarkable period 
intervened, so far as the growth on the experimental plots was concerned. One of 
those four intervening years (1869) was the one of highest productiveness in the whole 
series; another (1868) came only second in this respect; and a third (1870) gave by 
