MEADOWS AND MAKING HAY. 431 



these crops were not so pastured. While it may be ad- 

 missible to pasture meadows in the autumn, where cli- 

 mates are mild, where the aftermath is so strong that it 

 threatens to, at least, partially smother the plants and 

 the weather is so moist that it could not be cured, it is 

 never admissible to graze aftermath so closely that it will 

 not protect sufficiently the roots of the plants in winter. 

 It may be admissible to graze the same kinds of meadow 

 much more closely in the autumn and winter in mild cli- 

 mates, than in those that are cold. In fact, it may be 

 death to some meadow plants to gTaze them in winter 

 at all in cold climates; such is alfalfa. Again where 

 snowfall is abundant, and almost certain, grazing rank 

 meadow plants in the late autumn may prove helpful, 

 v.diereas similar grazing of the same kind of plants, 

 when the}^ are almost certain to be exposed, would be 

 about sure death to them. 



Should aftermath or rowen be abundant, the mower 

 will remove it more evenly than grazing and it may be 

 cut high purposely, the better to afford winter protec- 

 tion. In such instances, mowing would be preferable 

 to grazing. 



Ordinarily the aim should be to have permanent 

 meadows go into the Avinter season, with enough of a 

 covering to protect them sufficiently against adverse 

 winter weather, such as may be expected in the locality. 

 Some plants under certain conditions will not provide 

 more aftermath, from year to year, than is necessary 

 to form such a covering. When they do not, they should 

 never be pastured, while in permanent meadow. But 

 the richness of the "Tound, and the character of the 



