$1 
grows in localities where the soil is moist and as a consequence the rise in temperature 
more gradual. It flowers from the end of May till the end of July, about the time of 
hay-cutting. 
When it forms a main constituent of a hay crop, it should if possible be cut before 
flowering, because the culms are very compact and readily become rotten at the base, es- 
pecially on moist land. In the first cutting it reaches a height of 1 to 3 ft. and if the 
conditions are very favourable 4 to 5 feet. According to Sinclair 100 Ibs. of grass give 32.6 
Ibs. of hay; according to Vianne 34 lbs. 
Sinclair obtained an annual yield of 3,522 lbs. of hay per acre, Vianne 5,280 Ibs. and Pinkert, 
in the second year, 3,170 Ibs. 
100 lbs. of hay contain, according to the Zurich analyses, 77.0 °/o of organic matter, composed of: 
Nitrogenous matter (N < 6.25) . . 6.4 °%/o 
tb Pee il a) Gree) Whe ek, SOS 
Non-nitrogenous extractives . . . 38.8 °%/o 
Wal aes ; SP cy bh oie 
(albuminoid nitrogen 0.77 °/o, non-albuminoid nitrogen 0.24 °/o) 
According to older analyses the nutritive matter contained in the hay is: — 
Ritthausen and Scheven. Way. 
Nitrogenous matter . . . . . . 9.0 %/o 8.4 %o 
Fired. Men in a7 33.0 %o 
Non-nitrogenous extractives . . . 33.4 %o 34.3 %/o 
ak cgi DUA oe ee ae nee ig 3.2 %/o 
_ The amount of albumin is thus less than in hay of average quality, but the propor- 
tion of fat is slightly higher. 
Harvesting, impurities and adulterations of seed. Except in one district of Denmark, 
rough-stalked meadow-grass is not cultivated on a large scale for seed: it is usually gathered 
from wild plants. The seed is ripe about the end of July. It may be stripped from the 
plants by hand; it is, however, better to cut off the tops and thresh out the seed after 
ripening. 
Cleaning is difficult because the woolly hairs are so abundant and so »webbys. It is best 
to rub the seed by hand over a sieve; by repeating this operation, all the woolly hairs can 
be removed. Anyone can collect seed for himself from bare places in wheat or lucerne fields, 
on which Poa trivialis often grows in abundance. This is the more necessary to obtain 
genuine seed, which is very rare in commerce. 
Pinkert reckons 396 lbs, of seed per acre a fair yield, when the plant is grown by itself. 
In commerce the seed of Smooth-stalked meadow-grass is very often substituted for 
that of Rough-stalked meadow-grass. The seed of Poa pratensis (fig. 3, 7—11, Plate 13) is 
brownish, slightly stouter, more convex on the back, and has more woolly hair on the 
base and especially on the back; the furrow on the ventral surface is very slight. The 
seed of Poa trivialis (fig. 6 and 8, Plate 14) has a bluish tinge, is somewhat narrower, has 
less woolly hair at the base, none at all on the back, and the ventral surface is deeply 
furrowed. Adulteration with Annual meadow-grass (Poa annua, fig. 35) is not so common ; 
this seed has few hairs at the base and is almost twice as large; the pales are slightly 
winged at the margin, and the ribs at the back are very distinct. Now and then, the seed 
of Wood meadow-grass (Poa nemoralis) is mixed with that of Poa trivialis; the former 
11 
Harvest. 
Yield. 
Nutritive 
value. 
Harvesting 
the seed. 
Yield of seed. 
Impurities 
and 
Adulterations. 
