lo Nov., 1908.] Culture of Permanent Pastures. 661 



Of the various grass seeding machines available, it may be said that 

 they are quite useful for seeds which flow readily through them, but the 

 evenness of the seeding depends too largely on the uniformity of the man's 

 pace, and again they are incapable of very fine adjustment. With seeds of 

 about the same size and weight, they afford a handy and rapid means of 

 sowing, but since they cast their seed very high into the air the absence 

 of even slight winds is an absolute sme qua tion in regard to their use. 



When the grass seeder attached to the ordinary grain manure drill is 

 called into requisition the coulters should be set as close together and as 

 shallow as possible. They are useful for sowing grass seed in the spring 

 on a grain crop that has developed too far to permit of broad-casting, but 

 this advantage is not a very weighty one, as except on wet land the over- 

 growth could be profitably fed back by turning in a good sized flock of 

 sheep for a short period. In regard to the covering of the seed, the aim 

 should be to have the seeds just barely covered — hence the paramount 

 importance of providing a finely broken seed bed. Whenever seeds have 

 been sown by hand, barrow, or machine, a brush harrow, or a very light 

 tine harrow, will be suflficient to secure the desired soil covering. On light 

 soils the roller should first be used to consolidate the land and to press 

 the seeds firmly in. A light harrowing should follow immediately to avoid 

 undue loss of moisture, and caking of the surface. Harrowing and rolling 

 are unnecessary when grass seed is sown on a growing crop, o.r when a 

 coulter drill has been employed. The smaller seeds hardly require covering 

 so far as germination is concerned, but the loss caused by birds is so great 

 that the operation is an indispensable one. About half an inch of soil is 

 sufficient cover for such seeds as clover, foxtail, cocksfoot, &c., whereas 

 the larger varieties, which are best sown through a drill, do better at a 

 depth of from i inch to 2 inches. On strong clayey soils only a very light 

 roller should be used, for if the surface be made too granular and heavy 

 rain should fall, the soil will run together and set hard on the top, thus 

 interfering with free germination. It is important, however, to recognise 

 the inadvisability of disturbing the soil whilst the seeds are germinating, 

 as the young plants are so easily killed at that stage. 



Manuring of Pastures. 



This is doubtless the most complicated manurial problem at the present 

 time. In a good permanent pasture we have to deal with a large variety 

 of plants representing different genera and even different natural orders. 

 Each makes its own special demands upon the soil fertility, and each is 

 capable of being stimulated by the application of just those particular 

 plant foods that it stands most in need of. The problem, then, that 

 confronts us is how to increase the total yield of the field without upsetting 

 the natural balance and changing the composition of the turf. It is an 

 established fact that unmanured pasturage shows a far more complex 

 composition than that which has been regularly and liberally dressed, and 

 this is solely due to the fact that a few species have been unduly encouraged 

 to the extinction of others. Where hay-growing is the primary object, the 

 knowledge is taken advantage of to promote a more even and a bulkier crop 

 of forage than could ever be obtained from a well mixed sward, and care is 

 taken that the same manure is used in every season so that the greatest 

 benefit possible mav be derived, for even such closely related fertilizers as 

 nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia favour different grasses. How- 

 ever, for permanent grass lands — and it is these we are now considering — 

 such a system is in every way unsuited. Pasturage is expected to furnish 



