THE COMMON CEREALS. 187 



rather than harmful to the grass. And the same 

 would seem to be true of the treading of cattle, 

 though in a less degree. 



PASTURING CEREALS WHEN YOUNG. 



On the rich soils of the upper Mississippi basin, 

 cereals may oftentimes be pastured for a time by 

 sheep with positive advantage to the crop. This 

 has been demonstrated by individual farmers, but 

 not with that exactness that could be desired. The 

 sheep are allowed to feed upon the grain for a longer 

 or shorter period, and then they are removed and 

 the crop is left to mature. 



Benefits Resulting. The following are chief 

 among the benefits resulting from such depasturing : 

 i, the treading of the land by the hoofs of the 

 sheep tends to make it firmer, and because of this 

 increased firmness, the loss of moisture from sur- 

 face evaporation is materially lessened; 2, cropping 

 off the grain when it is young tends to make it stool 

 more, and consequently increases the number of the 

 heads of the grain ; and, 3, the pasturing hinders that 

 excess of growth in the crop which it would other- 

 wise have on very rich lands in moist seasons, hence 

 the liability to lodge is lessened and the energies of 

 the plant are centered on producing grain rather 

 than exhausted in producing an excess of straw. 



Mode of Pasturing. The sheep may be put 

 upon the grain as soon as it is far enough advanced 

 to furnish them with food, or they may be allowed 

 to roam over it from an adjacent grass pasture from 

 the date of sowing. The duration of the pasturing 

 will depend chiefly on the character of the season. 



