628 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Akt. LXI. — TJie Farm : Winter Pasture and its Grazing. 

 By J. E. Wilkinson, M.A. 



[Bead before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 4th November, 



1891.] 



It is a common opinion among Canterbury farmers that there 

 are annually two seasons of no growth of grass on the plains 

 — the first during summer drought, and the second during 

 the severity of winter. These tw'o seasons of no growth are 

 usually well defined, and it goes without doubt that there is no 

 growth in the summer when every tuft of grass is seen to be 

 parched dry ; but with respect to the winter season the evi- 

 dence of no growth is scarcely sufficient, and to make a test I 

 measured regularly during the winter of 1890 the blades on 

 selected shoots of rye-grass and cocksfoot, with the result that, 

 so far as that locality — Eichmond, Christchurch — was con- 

 cerned, there was a continual growth throughout June, July, 

 and August. Measurements were made twice a week, which 

 showed that the minimum rate of growth was during open 

 weather — sunny by day and frosty at night — while a shower of 

 rain always produced comparatively ' a burst of growth. It 

 •was also seen from the totals that the growth during August 

 was as great as that during June and July together, a result 

 hinting that not nature but our system of grazing is at fault 

 when we find, as is so often the case, our sheep-feed scarcer 

 in August than in June or July— a point that will be referred 

 to again. 



During the past winter I again took careful and regular 

 measurements every two days of the blades on selected shoots, 

 and plotted the curves of growth on a chart, again showing 

 growth to be continuous but irregular. The observations made 

 this year at Addington were more extensive than last year's, 

 the shoots measured comprising one of rye-grass and one of 

 cocksfoot allowed to grow naturally, and one of rye-grass and 

 one of cocksfoot kept clipped short, at about ^in. average of 

 blades. The clipped tufts were taken to represent the state 

 of our XDastures under our prevalent system of close grazing, 

 and the undipped tufts to represent pastures not stocked 

 during June, July, and August. It has seemed to me for a 

 good many years that the ordinary system of close grazing 

 secures a minimum yield of grass. Through extensive periods, 

 twice a year, the cry of scarcity of feed is heard in two-thirds 

 of the plains, and an inspection of the pastures of these times 

 shows that the shoots have been eaten to the core, and each 

 plant has become a hard knob, devoid of power of growth and 



