132 BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION, 
results of the analyses do not accord with the popular estimation in 
which this variety of grass is held. It seems probable that our farmers 
have been misled by the fact that cattle eat both the joint-grass itself 
and the hay which is made from it much more readily than they will 
eat most of the other bog grasses. But a test like this, based solely 
upon the palatableness of a plant, is manifestly of little or no value as a 
means of determining the amount of nutritive matter in the plant; and 
the analyses make it probable that in the present instance cattle relish 
the joint-grass more than they do the rougher grasses with which it 
comes into competition, merely because of its comparatively delicate 
structure and its tenderness, so to speak. ‘They are repelled, on the 
other hand, from the various species of Carex * which grow upon our 
wet meadows as well as from the reed canary-grass, to be considered 
directly, because of the harsh texture of these plants, their roughness 
and stiffness, and the sharp cutting edges which’ many of them possess. 
I am ignorant as to the average amount of hay that could be got 
per acre, from wet land mainly devoted to the joint-grass. No doubt 
it would be large. But there is every reason to suppose that at the 
best it would be decidedly less than could readily be got from the reed 
canary-grass, as stated below ; and, in view of the chemical composi- 
tion and the easy culture of the latter, it would seem to be much 
better worth the attention of our farmers than the blue joint-grass. 
The composition of the reed canary-grass will appear from the fol- 
lowing analyses. The reader will have noticed from the descriptions 
already given that this grass was in bud when examined, but not yet 
in flower. 
Hay of Reed Canary-Grass. IIT. Ty. Fastatilewn, 
Water. . . 2 2. » « 9.56% 10.11% 9 84% 
Ash (free from C and CO,). 5.99 8.18 7.08 
mipurminoids ot ae. Oy 11.09 10.54 
Carbohydrates (including fat) 41.55 37 42 39.49 
Cellulose (free from ash) . 32.90 33.20 33.05 
100.00 100.00 ~~ 100.00 
Dry organic matter . . . 84.45 81.71 83.08 
Fatt (ether extract) . . . 2.69 3.96 3.03 
Witmer ree ayy! ©.) a SEBO 1.75—1.80 1.72 
Crudeash .... . §.99&6.13 ,3.18 & Se 7.16 
* For analyses of Carex stricta see “ Bussey Bulletin,” I. 345. 
+ Together with much green coloring matter. 
