574 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Dec., 1901. 
a : Pure Ash| Crude |PureAsh! Crude |PureAsh| Crude | Pure Ash! Crude 
Analysis of Ash:— in Hay. Ash. in Hay. Ash. in Hay. Ash. in Hay. Ash. 
= ay | a = 
Carbonic acid ... CO, AY 1°83 | “30 | : “85 g 
Unburnt carbon C 3% 19 ol SRS : 3°54 Bl 
Silicaay yh. peels “DT 577 2°59! 35°81 2°49 | 37:20 ae 
Sulphuric acid ... SO; ‘21 2°11 17 244 | alt 171 aie 
Chlorine ... Pal AT 4°73 “64 8-91 “64 9°55 ats. 
Phosphoric acid P,O; 53 5°33 33 4°59 "24 3°57 (a taiiee 
Ferric oxyde... Fe,O3 26.) 2°57. 12 1°66 03 | “40 oBe 8 
Lime _... ... CaO, 3°82 | 38°46 96 | 13:27 43 6°42 aS3.5 
Magnesia ... MgO 49 | 4°92 “40 547 "26 3°90 aE a bo 
Potash ... ... K,O | 8:14] 31°59 1:78 | 24°55 215| 32141 SEs 
Sodas 0h #..Na,O,} 0635) $3752 15} 211) —23| 352) ess 
|————_ | | Dy cA 
| 10102 102°10 | | 10230, SE cS 
Less Oxyg. equiv. to Cl.|... 1:07 # 2°01 Joo 215 — 4% 
Total san foe | 9995] ... | 10009] ... | 10015 2™ 
I i | | 
The analyses show that Paspalum dilatatum is of quite a different nature 
with regard to its feeding value than the other grasses—Couch Grass, Prairie 
Grass, and Cocksfoot—which all contain much more nitrogenous matters, and 
the feeding ratio or the ratio of the digestible nitrogenous to the digestible 
non-nitrogenous matters is, in the latter grasses, much nearer to the required 
standard of 1 + 5'4; whereas Lucerne, which is a nitrogenous crop, contains too 
much nitrogen to be used as feed by itself, the feeding ratio being 1 + 2°4. 
With regard to the amount of plant foods taken from the soils during the 
‘growth of the crops, it will be seen that Lucerne, Prairie Grass, and Cocksfoot 
require a large amount of potash salts—Lucerne, in addition, a large amount of 
lime. To compare the amounts of plant food with those previously given, I 
give the following table :— 
Prairie Cocksfoot | Paspalum | Ordinary English 
= Imcerne. | “Grass, Grass.  dilatatum. | Pasture. | Meadow. 
Lb. per Acre., Lb. per Acre.|Lb. per Acre. Lb. per Acre.|Lb. per Acre.|Lb. per Acre, 
| 7 33 49 
Nitrogen... sf: a8 Ne. 102 87 339 63 
Potash ... ost: ay Ay 109 107 417 81 14 51 
Sodaes ck kaa OS Mae 1D 9 | 45 Bd 11 9 
-Lime ae te ny = 132 57 ' 83 18 | 9 82 
Magnesia a ies: “3 17 24 ( 50 | 10 14 
Phosphoric acid Se re 18 20 46 25 12 12 
When comparing the amounts of mineral substances taken from the soil 
by the various crops, the different age of the crops must be taken into account, 
as the above amounts are taken up by Lucerne in about four weeks’ time, by 
Prairie Grass and Cocksfoot in four to five months. Again, it must be remem- 
bered that Lucerne is able to draw its plant foods to a great depth from the 
subsoil, whereas grasses are depending mostly on the top soil. The nitrogen, 
again, which for all the grasses must be actually present in the soil in one form 
or the other in order to obtain a good crop, is, in the case of Lucerne and any 
other leguminous crop, taken, by the aid of their root nodules, from the 
atmosphere. 
I take the opportunity of correcting a slight error which occurred in the 
former article on grass analysis. The figures given as tons of hay per acre are 
really the total amount of dry substance per acre; the actual amount of hay per 
acre should be as follows :— 
Paspalum, Ord, Pasture. 
Tons hay per acre... <x, By4oh .. 1606 
Lb. hay per acre’... ax. ‘Thedlrfil non BYES 
