ON THE MIXED HERBAGE OE PERMANENT MEADOW. 
1351 
in relative prominence in the order named, are Rumex Acetosa, Conopodium denu - 
datum, and Achillea Millefolium. There was, however, on the average, and in almost 
every case excepting in the last separation-year, a deficiency of each on the straw plot 
compared with plot 9 without straw; Rumex, however, gave a marked excess with the 
straw in the last, though the excess was much less than was the deficiency in the 
second separation-year. 
Upon the whole, then, the plot with the straw has given somewhat more produce, a 
larger percentage and actual amount of gramineous herbage, a great excess of Dactylis , 
and a fair excess of a few other grasses, with a considerable deficiency of Festuca ovina 
and several other Graminese. The Leguminosse have been scarcely affected, but the 
Miscellanese have, upon the whole, diminished in amount, though the same species 
are prominent as on the plot without the straw. 
The general characters and aspect of this luxuriant grassy herbage were those of 
tufted habit, broad leaves, large stems, and considerable tendency to flowering and 
seeding, these characters being developed in a greater degree than on the plot without 
the straw. The herbage, in fact, like that of plot 9, although composed of a fair propor¬ 
tion of grasses of good repute, was far too stemmy and coarse to constitute good hay. 
The question obviously arises—what was the explanation of the marked change in 
quantity, but especially in the relative predominance, of different species, and also in 
the character of development of the herbage on plot 13, with the straw ? 
As already intimated, the straw contained some nitrogen, some of most of the mineral 
constituents required, a great excess of silica, and a large amount of carbonaceous organic 
matter; but all of these would, presumably, become only slowly available, and con¬ 
sistently with this the relatively greater amount of produce was much more manifest 
in the later years. It can hardly be to the gradually available increased supplies of 
food that the whole of the effects are to be attributed. 
As referred to in Part I., plot 13 was somewhat earlier shaded from the afternoon 
sun than was plot 9, and it adjoins plot 12, part of which is supposed to have been 
“made ground/’ But neither does the earlier shade seem sufficient to account for the 
effects produced, nor did the observations of the sections of the soil when sampling 
plot 13 indicate anything abnormal in its condition as they did on plot 12. Further, 
a consideration of the exact circumstances of the experiment, and its results, would 
seem to lead to more natural explanations. 
Observation showed that, probably owing to the mulching effect of the straw chaff, 
and the consequent protection from the effects of spring frosts, there was a more active 
growth of young foliage quite early in the spring, and the question arises whether it is 
due to this that the grasses which have asserted the greater prominence owe their 
relatively favourable position in the struggle. With reference to this point, observations 
made on the plots have shown that occasionally when Dactylis has suffered from early 
frost, then the other grasses have come to the front. The usually great prevalence of 
Dactylis on plot 13 seems, therefore, to be reasonably attributable, at any rate in some 
degree, to protection in the early stages of its growth. Assuming this to be so, and 
8 K 2 * 
