ON MEADOW PLANTS OTHER THAN GRASSES.
With the grass of the field will usually be found a large proportion of
plants of a very varied, variable, and different kind. Of these, many
are useful as augmenting the mass, and even improving the quality of a
pasture; whilst, as others are altogether objectionable, we shall
presently notice them under the head of “Meadow Weeds.”
Of the more useful adjuncts of the meadow we may tabulate the
following:—
+----+------------------------+--------------------------+
|No. | Trivial Names. | Botanical Names. |
+----+------------------------+--------------------------+
| 1 | Red clover | Trifolium pratense. |
| 2 | Zigzag clover | „ medium. |
| 3 | White or Dutch clover | „ repens. |
| 4 | Birdsfoot | Lotus corniculatus. |
| 5 | Yellow vetchling | Lathyrus pratensis. |
| 6 | Purple vetchling | „ palustris. |
| 7 | Saintfoin | Onobrychis sativa. |
| 8 | Burnet | Sanguisorba officinalis. |
| 9 | False burnet | Poterium Sanguisorba. |
|10 | Tormentil | Tormentilla officinalis. |
|11 | Yarrow | Achillæa millefolia. |
|12 | Agrimony | Agrimonia Eupatoria. |
|13 | Plantain | Plantago lanceolata. |
| | Some of the smaller Compositæ. |
| | Ditto Umbelliferæ. |
+----+---------------------------------------------------+
Of these, which are arranged pretty nearly in their order of merit, the
clovers are by far the most important. These, as meadow plants, will
usually be found under the following circumstances:—
No. 1. Plentiful in good, rich, sound meadows.
„ 2. Frequent in meadows on light sandy soils.
„ 3. On thin but good soil, upland meadows.
The clovers, and indeed the clover allies, _Papilionaceæ_, as a whole,
are partial to lime,—so much so, that a dressing of this mineral to some
fields in which clovers are scarcely represented will very quickly cause
an accelerated growth of them; hence road dirt, when made from
calcareous stones, as are the _oolitic_ and mountain limestones, affords
a good vehicle for the admixture of manures or ameliorators, such as
guano, burnt ashes, soot, nitrate of soda, &c.
The following remarks upon these three clovers are from a paper by the
author in the _Bath and West of England Agricultural Journal_, vol. x.,
part 2:—
1. _Trifolium pratense_—Meadow or Broad-leaved Clover—in its wild
state is too well known to need any lengthened description. A
careful examination of field specimens will show that even in the
wild state this plant is liable to run into numberless variations;
thus, we may have the leaflets of one plant broad and almost
obcordate at the extremity, whilst others will be more or less
ovate and lancet-shaped. In some we may see dense heads of purple
flowers, varying in shade until almost white, whilst less dense
heads of flowers and general variations in height, size, and
luxuriance of the whole plant, are all circumstances in the natural
history of this species in the wild state, which will prepare us
duly to understand the nature of the many forms of the plant which
are found in cultivation. Of these we have, besides others,
English, French, American, and Dutch sorts, which differ in such
minor details as a greater or less hairiness, or variations in the
colour and size of the flowers, leaves, _&c._ The most important
point connected with the broad-leaved clover is its permanency;
some sorts scarcely maintaining a plant for two years, whilst
others are said to be more or less perennial. This, however, is a
matter which we conceive depends more upon the soil and the kind
of cultivation than upon the sort; for although all seedsmen supply
two sorts, namely, _Trifolium pratense_ and _T. pratense perenne_,
yet they run so much the one into the other, that it is oftentimes
exceedingly difficult to distinguish them. If, therefore, a farmer
wants a good strain of broad clover, he should purchase his seed
from seedsmen possessing judgment and character; for experience has
taught us that a seed which may be all that is required in one
district may result in next to a failure in another. Thus,
clover-seed from the warmer parts of England does not succeed well
when sown in cold, exposed positions; but that from the latter is
improved on transmission to the former, whilst good changes are
effected by the occasional use of foreign seed.
The sort known in the market as _T. pratense perenne_ is probably
intermediate between the wild species _T. pratense_ and _T.
medium_. Our own experiments have shown that, on cultivating _T.
medium_, which is a sand-lover, in strong land, in three years it
has been very difficult to distinguish it from some of the
varieties of _T. pratense_. We incline, therefore, to the opinion
that as the _T. medium_ holds to sandy soils in the wild state, its
seed was brought into cultivation with a view to light-soil
cropping; and from this source has probably been derived the
so-called _T. pratense perenne_, which variety is certainly more
perennial in such light soils as would be quite unfit for the true
_T. pratense_. The latter, indeed, seems to be more permanent in
soils containing a quantity of lime, while the former, where it can
be got of a good sort, is certainly best adapted for sandy soils.
2. _Trifolium medium_—Zigzag Trefoil—is distinguished from the _T.
pratense_ by its larger, but more lax, head of reddish pink (not
purple) flowers, which are solitary, on the apex of a stalk, which
at each joint is bent at a considerable angle; hence its name. Its
leaflets are elliptical, and not broader at the upper margin. This
plant is a constant denizen of sands and light soils. In fact, its
naturally growing in soils unfitted for the broad-leaved clover
seems to recommend it for cultivation; and though, as before
pointed out, we more than suspect that the so-called cow-grass
clover was originally derived from this source, and that the _T.
medium_ is after all but a variety of the _T. pratense_, it is now
quite merged as a farm-plant into the broad-clover forms; so that,
if we are to possess it as a separate plant, it must be again grown
from the wild seed; and then, if it is to be kept pure, it must not
be cultivated on clays or limestones, or, if our view be correct,
it will soon lose its true distinctive character.
3. _Trifolium repens_—White Dutch Clover—has been long in
cultivation throughout Europe and America. It is one of our
commonest native plants, and appears to have become less changed by
cultivation than most other plants; yet there is reason to think
that with careful selection a much improved strain may be brought
about. In pastures an immense accession of Dutch clover is often
seen to follow some kind or another of top-dressing, especially of
lime, old mortar, or town rubbish. This is accounted for by the
fact that this clover is in reality of universal occurrence; and
its creeping habit of growth, besides seeding, causes it soon to
make a rapid increase where its conditions of growth are made
suitable. As an agricultural plant its position is in light soils,
for which it is usually mixed with other clovers and grasses in
varied proportions.
4 and 5 are often found scattered in meadows, though not usually in any
abundance in those of the richer kind; still, in laying down land for
permanent pasture, there can be no objection to a small admixture of
their seed.
6, the _Purple Vetchling_, though local in rich river pastures, is yet a
good plant, and might perhaps be advantageously brought out as an
addendum to mixtures designed for good lowland positions.
7, _Saintfoin_, is a good pasture plant for chalks and limestones; and
in laying down land for permanent pastures in such position, should not
usually be omitted. It is also a good species to sow on railway banks,
not alone for the beauty of its flowers, but for the binding effects of
its deeply-diving roots.
8 and 9, the _Burnets_, will be found,—the _true_ in rich damp bottoms
and on river flats, the _false_ on dry, calcareous soils. They are
neither plants that we should care to grow; but in their wild state in
their respective pastures we should, on the other hand, not be inclined
to make war against them as weeds. The same opinion, indeed, might be
briefly expressed as regards Nos. 10, 12, and 13. In fact, the whole
here grouped may be said to possess more or less bitter and astringent
qualities, and so become useful in checking the vapidity which is
sometimes found in purely grass herbage.
11, the _Yarrow_, should be encouraged in most pastures, as it not only
possesses the qualities just mentioned, but its leaves are so small and
its stems and flowers so easily dry when cut, that there is no chance of
its smothering out the grass in growing, or of its retarding the process
of haymaking. It also bears constant nibbling with sheep, which are
remarkably fond of it, without injury, as it rather becomes finer for
being depastured.
12. The larger composite plants, as dandelion, the hawkweeds, blackhead,
&c., are, from their coarseness and the room they take up, highly
objectionable; but the yellow hawkbits, thrincia, and the
before-mentioned yarrow, are by no means objectionable.
13. The above remarks will equally apply to the _Umbelliferæ_. Large
plants like the cow-parsnip and common beaked parsley are objectionable
from their size and want of feeding properties, whilst the small
pimpinella and earth-nut do not offer these objections. Here, however,
it must be confessed that we are bordering on the domains of weeds in
pasture, to which we must devote a separate chapter.