238 GRASSES FOR MEADOWS AND PASTURES. 



means to withstand fires in dry weather. In the south it must 

 stand great heat, much moisture and much drought. In dry 

 climates it is often hard to start grasses. They must be peren- 

 nial or produce an abundance of seeds capable of starting quickly 

 when the season is favorable. 



Prom Crops of the Farm, I quote: "Strong, rich pastures, 

 producing succulent grasses abundantly are well adapted for fat- 

 tening large cattle, either without extra food or with the aid of a 

 little cake [oil meal]. Second rate pastures, especially if on a 

 cold subsoil, will generally yield a better profit from the dairy, 

 and from the rearing of young cattle. Dry, hilly pastures are 

 most suited to sheep. The grazing of land by mixed stock of 

 cattle, sheep, and horses, or these in frequent succession, will 

 keep the land more evenly grazed than where one kind only is 

 kept. Sheep eat many weeds which cattle dislike and avoid. 

 Horses are very uneven grazers." 



In the words of the late I. A. Lapham, of Wisconsin : " It 

 is not to any one species of grass that we should look for the 

 support of our stock. On the native prairies we find many 

 species intermingled, each doing its part ; some preferring low. 

 wet situations, others grow only on dry ground ; some prefer the 

 shade of forest trees, while others flourish best on the most ex- 

 posed parts of the broad prairies ; some grow only in the water, 

 others along the margins of lakes and streams ; some attain their 

 maturity early in the season, others late in autumn." 



Farmers who have a large quantity of meadow will often find 

 it best to have the grasses of different sorts in different meadows 

 that they may not all be fit to cut at the same time, thus pro- 

 longing the season for haying. 



For a meadow, grasses should mature at about the same time ; 

 for pasture the time of flowering or of most rapid growth should 

 vary and extend from early spring till late autumn, or in the 

 South they should extend over a good portion of the year. 



