1232 
MESSES. J. B. LAWES, J. H. GILBEET, AND M. T. MASTEES, 
The favouring conditions for its growth are : its hardiness, rapid, vigorous, and 
early growth, which enable it to get the start of its competitors. These qualities, 
combined with its deep roots and numerous subterranean offsets, cause it to spread 
rapidly, and to exhaust the soil for the smaller, less deeply-rooting grasses. Its early 
seeding tendency is also a favourable circumstance in its competition with others. 
The conditions of its predominance are indicated in the following table. 
Table XXXVIII. — Relative predominance of Alopecurus pratensis. 
A lopecurus pratensis 
Was First, Second, or Third, 
among the total Grasses, as under. 
"Yielded 5 per cent, and over, 
to the total Mixed Herbage, as under. 
1862. 
1807. 
1872. 
1877. 
1862. 
1867. 
1872. 
1877. 
r 2 . . . 
5-61 
3 . . . 
, , 
, , 
5-82 
4-2 . . 
2 
, , 
. , 
14-75 
10 . . . 
. . 
2 
, . 
10-35 
16-51 
11-1 . . 
3 
3 
13-ii 
12-35 
9-91 
Plots < 
11-2 . . 
2 
2 
6-33 
22-65 
20-11 
13 . . . 
. . 
5-89 
6-78 
14 . . . 
, . 
2 
„ . 
, . 
20-18 
15 . . . 
6'90 
5-95 
, . 
7-17 
16 . . . 
2 
8-27 
15-22 
12-23 
17 . . . 
i 
i 
2 
2 
23-94 
2171 
16-25 
12-72 
19 . . . 
i-r- 
— 
. , 
, . 
— 
— j 
5-40 
120 . . . 
— 
— 
■— 
— 
6-80 
Total <j 
f First . . 
Second 
L Tliird . . 
1 
0 
0 
i 
r 
i 
0 
3 
1 
0 
4 
0 
} 2 
7 
7 
10 
It is seen that this plant was only first on plot 17, with nitrate of soda alone, and 
that only in the first two separation years. It occupied a second or a third place on 
plots all of which were more or less liberally manured; it was, indeed, second on three 
of the nitrate of soda plots. 
It has exceeded 5 per cent, of the produce on an increasing number of plots from one 
separation year to another; and in the last it did so only on highly-manured plots, 
and especially on those with nitrate of soda. As is seen, it did not, on the majority of 
the plots, reach 5 per cent.; in fact, on many it was quite insignificant in amount; but 
under the influence of liberal manuring favourable to it, it reached from 10 to 15, and 
even to nearly 24 per cent. 
From the foregoing results it appears that the deep and freely-rooting Alopecurus 
pratensis, with its numerous underground stolons, thrives best with high manuring, 
supplying much nitrogen. In this respect it comes into competition with Dactylis 
glomerata; which, however, maintains its prominence on the ammonia but not on the 
nitrate plots; whereas the Alopecurus does so on both the nitrate and the ammonia plots. 
