BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 123 
The other writer says: “I have used flax straw for feeding cows 
with calf all winter, and they are in good order, and in fact in better 
flesh than those of some of my neighbors, who fed prairie hay.” 
Ill. THe Common Prantain (Plantago major) seems to be read- 
ily eaten by sheep, who are evidently much better fitted than most 
other animals for cropping its low spreading leaves. According to 
Linneus’s table as given in the U. 8. Patent Office Report for 1847, 
p- 514, the common plantain is eaten in the green state by sheep, hogs, 
and goats, but not by horses or by oxen. According to the “ New 
England Farmer,” 1837, 16. 21, swine are particularly fond of plan- 
tains, both the root and the leaf. In early spring the leaves, some- 
what younger than those which were collected for analysis as described 
below, are sometimes boiled and eaten as greens here in New England. 
For the analysis, a large number of the plants were collected May 
25, 1876, from a variety of places upon the Bussey Farm, — some 
from upland pastures, and some from low-lying meadows. No: seed- 
stalks had as yet made their appearance, so that the analysis refers to 
the leaves alone. It was noticeable that, with scarcely a single excep- 
tion, numerous small holes had been eaten through the leaves by a 
small jumping beetle, which, as my friend Mr. S. H. Scudder informs 
me, is known as Dibolia aerea, by entomologists. As was the case 
with the other weeds, the great mass of leaves collected was dried 
upon a water bath, and the dry matter was ground to a fine homogen- 
eous powder in order to secure a fair sample of the plant for the 
_ analysis. 
The following results were obtained. It will be noticed that the 
plantain leaves, though less rich in albuminoids than either of the 
other weeds mentioned in this report, have still a composition of such 
character that they would seem to be not ill-suited for feeding animals. 
Plantain Leaves. ‘Green. Dried at 110° C. 
MEMO fee oe eo BL 440 
Ash (free from C & CO.) pate ike i BS Satie RNs 11.64% 
EIR se sk kl OO 14.29 
Carbohydrates (including fat). . . . . 11.66 62.80 
Cellulose (freefromash) . .... . 2.09 false y) 
100.00 100.00 
