430 GRASSES AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



Grazing Permanent Meadows. — As the primary ob- 

 ject in growing and maintaining permanent meadows 

 is to secure hay, rather than pasture, whatever will main- 

 tain them in a condition to produce hay is of paramount 

 importance. Pasture should be sought from them only, 

 therefore, to remove a superabundance of covering, such 

 as would hinder their productiveness and, in some in- 

 stances, their existence unless they are grazed. This 

 will mean, therefore, (1) that the grazing of hay plants 

 should not be done at any season of the year, if such 

 grazing would endanger the life, vitality or productive- 

 ness of the plants; (2) that, if admissible, at certain 

 times, it should never be done at such times as it may 

 work harm ; (3) that it should not be done when mowing 

 will answer the purpose as w^ell or better. 



Some meadow plants should seldom or never be grazed 

 vvhile being grown for meadow. Timoth}^ is one ,,of 

 these, alfalfa is another, and Johnson grass, a third. 

 This does not mean that these plants should not be pas- 

 tured at all, but the aim should be to avoid pasturing 

 them to the greatest extent practicable. Timothy will 

 sometimes endure winter pasturing very well and remain 

 productive, as in bottom lands or on tide lands in the 

 Puget Sound region. In the other instances, it will 

 produce fair crops from year to year, if never grazed, 

 while if grazed closely in the autumn, the yields will 

 be reduced fully 50 per cent ; the same is true of alfalfa ; 

 it is also true of Johnson grass, that it may seldom be 

 pastured closely with injury. It is almost certain that 

 wliere alfalfa and timothy will endure pasturing in the 

 autumn and winter, the returns would be greater if 



