INTRODUCTORY 7 



cultivated in an experimental way, over a series of years, 

 upwards of one hundred species of Australian grasses to- 

 gether with the best that could be obtained in Europe, Asia, 

 Africa, and America, to test their drought enduring properties 

 and other qualities by comparison, I can conscientiously say 

 that no part of the world possesses richer and more varied 

 pasture vegetation than Australia, and if careful attention 

 is given to it, and judicious stocking is practised, the grasses 

 and other herbage will maintain their vigour and economic 

 value indefinitely. Some years ago stock-owners in various 

 districts thought to improve the grazing capacity of their 

 pastures by sowing seeds of the so-called English grasses. 

 These succeed well enough in those parts of Australia which 

 have a climate and rainfall somewhat similar to those of 

 Northern Europe, but these comprise an exceedingly small 

 area in comparison with the whole of the continent. To 

 sow such grass seeds on most of the grazing areas in this 

 country would simply be courting failure. Very few stock- 

 owners are aware that an acre well clothed with grass contains 

 from fifteen to twenty million plants, though in some excep- 

 tional cases as many as forty million plants have been recorded 

 to the acre. Nor are they aware that the number of grass 

 seeds required to sow an acre, supposing it to be sown at the 

 rate of forty pounds is approximately twenty-two millions. 

 This applies to ordinary grasses as, for example, the different 

 species of Eragrostis and Panicum. It will be gathered from 

 these facts that in order to maintain good stock feed, the natural 

 pastures should be systematically attended to. To accom- 

 plish this every pastoral holding should be divided into 

 paddocks, which should be grazed in rotation, and each 

 paddock should have at least three or four months' rest every 

 year, and particularly for a period during seeding time. By 

 this method not only would the herbage recuperate, but it 

 would have an opportunity of producing seed, which in due 



