126 BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 
Alpine dairies to this plant (and another); but Linnzeus says, cows 
refuse it, and this every shepherd knows to be the case as far as re- 
spects the flower stalks. Zappa, of Milan, and Arthur Young, speak 
in high terms of it; but the general feeling and practice of scientific 
agriculturists is against it, and it is now seldom sown.” 
Perhaps the last words that have been written upon the subject are 
those of Werner,* who urges that the advantages of the plant are that 
it yields early pasturage, lasts for a long time, and bears continual 
cropping; that it is readily eaten by cattle, and that its deep roots 
enable it to withstand drought, to grow upon poor land, and to obtain 
its nourishment without exhausting the upper layers of soil. In view 
of these circumstances, it may not be amiss to encourage the growth 
of the plant upon poor, sandy pastures. But for fertile fields, on the 
other hand, it is disadvantageous; since its low-lying leaves occupy an 
amount of space altogether disproportionate to the value of the plant, 
and tend to crowd out or cripple the neighboring vegetation. In a 
mowing field, the total amount of forage yielded by the plantain is 
very small as compared with the yield of a similar area occupied with 
clover plants or good grasses. | 
PursLANE (Portulaca oleracea) was formerly frequently cultivated 
_as a potherb. It was used as a salad also, and for garnishing and pick- 
ling, but it has been superseded by better plants and is now little used. 
Compare Loudon’s “ Encyclopedia of Plants.” The fondness of 
swine for this plant is well known, and the analysis goes to show that 
the dry matter in it must be a highly nutritious food. The sample was 
collected July 14, 1876, from a garden plot on the Plain-field of the 
Bussey Institution. The plants were in bud, but not yet in blossom. 
Purslane. Green. Dried at 110°C. 
Weather: | 45,8) hep isin) ol ov *) ee ee 
Ash (free from C & CO.) .4 0 see's ees eee 21.06% 
PA LOUIS ©) ia a oy “es co ee 30.25 
Carbohydrates (including fat) . . . . 2.56 34.73 
Cellulose (freefromash) . .... . 1.08 13.96 
100.00 100.00 
Dry organic matter - . . « « » « « 5.88 78.94 
Fat (ether extract)’. . 5 5 +) 6, wis SURO 5.35 
Nitrogen . ..... . - ~ . 0.357—0.359 4.83— 4.86 
Crudeash . ... -. + + « . 1.98—1.94 26:08-——26i26 
* In his “ Handbuch des Futterbaues,” Berlin, 1875, pp. 628-630. 
