Grass 



millions of useful bacteria and insects are utterly de- 

 stroyed. There cannot be any accumulation of good 

 humus, and the grasses that eventually survive such 

 treatment are just the sour, woody, or wiry kinds that 

 are the least valuable of all. 



When the South African veldt is enclosed and properly 

 pastured the yield may be indefinitely increased, but that 

 will not be for a very long time to come. 



In England the best grass pastures are the rich 

 river alluvials, which were once thickets of Phragmites 

 or brakes of alder and willow. Next to these are the 

 rich grazing lands, '' old pastures " which have been 

 gradually brought into perfect condition by generations 

 of skilful farmers. 



Nothing else on the farm can compare with these grass 

 lands. Store bullocks, milch cows, and young cattle will 

 yield a far higher profit when grazed upon them than 

 can possibly be expected from any other farm crop. 



This illustrates the truth of M. Porcius Cato's view 

 (B.C. 234). To feed stock well was in his opinion the most 

 certainly profitable of all agricultural operations. The 

 next was ^'tofeed moderately "(that is, ofcourse, the stock). 



It is neither at all easy in such a climate as ours to 

 make such a pasture, nor even after it has been made 

 to keep it in the best condition. 



There are the following distinct and different points 

 which have to be carefully studied. 



I. Those grasses only must be chosen which are 

 wholesome and relished by animals. 



There are many poisonous plants, such as hemlock, 

 foxglove, Equisetum, Oenanthe, Cicuta and the like, 

 which a curious botanist often discovers by the hedges 

 or in the ditches of a pasture field. One would have 

 expected that the poisonous or wholesome nature 

 of every British plant had been definitely decided by 



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