PASTURES AND PASTURING. 151 



manure, or of some fertilizer, would have made a great 

 difference in the result. I have seen very remarkable bene- 

 fit from the use of the plough and reseeding, with a very mod- 

 erate application of manure, where the good grasses have died 

 out but the land had not been exhausted. 



If we examine a bit of good old pasture, we find the turf 

 made up of a variety of grasses : tall fescue { festuta-elatior) , 

 red-top (agrostis), blue grass and spear grass (different spe- 

 cies of poa), with a good sprinkling of white clover. This 

 is a pasture that bears gnawing and bears drouth. In re- 

 seeding we ordinarily do all we can to destroy these species, 

 and substitute generally only timothy and red clover. 

 These make a rapid growth till the time of ripening seed, — 

 can hardly be kept down , — and then with the drouth cease to 

 produce. Close feeding then is fatal to them, or they reach 

 the natural limit of their life. Clover is a biennial ;, timothy 

 requires a season of growth after seeding, to prepare the 

 little bulbs for the succeeding year. The crowns of the 

 clover are eaten out. The timothy is pulled up by the roots 

 and nothing is left. A few add red-top or orchard grass ; 

 but to make a complete and enduring turf, we should take 

 counsel of nature and sow a variety of true pasture grasses. 

 Here we are met by the difficulty of obtaining the seed ; its 

 relatively high cost and the question of its freshness, caused 

 by the small demand in the market. Make the demand reg- 

 ular, as for timothy seed, and the supply will be forthcoming 

 at reasonable rates. So little is gained by the ordinary cul- 

 tivation and reseeding of our steep hillsides, and so much is 

 lost by the washing under culture and the destruction of the 

 native grasses, I would bear long with such a field before 

 resorting to the plough. 



We spoke of the advantages to a dairy of little change of 

 pasture. A neighbor had all his pastures in one range or 

 connected tosrether. His cows were allowed the entire rancre 

 the whole season, and the produce of the dairy was remark- 

 ably good, even in comparison with that of those that were 

 better fed. The cows were home grown ; ate in peace, 

 "asking no questions," what was set before them; and the 

 regularity of their habits and freedom from excitement 

 seemed to make amends for any scarcity. The lying-places 



