272 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



a week would seem to afford lime enough. Air-slaked 

 lime may also be mixed with the salt at the rate of about 

 equal parts, and the mixture kept always before animals, 

 so that they will not become hungry enough for salt to 

 eat too much at one time. Bonemeal is prepared espe- 

 cially for stock-feeding and may be fed in .any amount; 

 what is not digested and retained will feed the pasture. 



Example of What Lime-Deficiency Will Do. I know 

 land that appears at first glance a paradise for animals 

 and men. It lies at an altitude of between 3,000 and 

 4,500 feet in the southern mountains. It has rich, black 

 soil filled with humus and a thousand springs of spark- 

 ling soft water. The grasses and clovers grow fairly 

 well, though the shyness about either to remain in the 

 land is indicative of lime-hunger. The water is like dis- 

 tilled water. The cattle of that land are very small, 

 with especially small bone. The men are short, slender 

 and not strong. A friend cleared up a large sheep farm 

 there and put on it Southdown and Shropshire sheep of 

 fine breeding. He gave them intelligent care, yet stead- 

 ily the flock deteriorated, the size ran down, the bone 

 diminished, health and vigor were hard to maintain, and 

 at last the down sheep were replaced by Merinos which 

 throve far better for the very evident reason that Merino 

 lambs are far slower in maturing than the downs and 

 thus had time gradually to accumulate what lime they 

 needed for bone-building and body use. While these 

 pastures were too inaccessible to have lime hauled onto 

 them, I think the flock could have been maintained by 

 the simple expedient of feeding bonemeal and putting 

 lime into the drinking water and the salt. 



