A PASTURE HANDBOOK 55 



straw may be used to make the roof. About 15 square feet of roof 

 surface will be required per head of mature cattle. For protection 

 against cold, rains, and sleet livestock should have more shelter, 

 such as sheds open only on the south. Where there is little rainfall 

 but much cold wind a windbreak such as a tight fence, rows of trees, 

 or blufi's are needed. 



As streams may be polluted or have banks which are dangerously 

 steep, wells and springs are usually the safest source of water. More- 

 over, water from underground sources is more likely to be adequately 

 supplied with minerals than surface water, especially in areas of 

 heavy rainfall where the soluble material of the surface soil is quite 

 thoroughly leached out. If dependence must be placed on ponds, it 

 is important to keep the area draining into the pond as clean as pos- 

 sible (fig. 15). Carcasses and droppings may cause the water to be 

 a source of disease. Such water may cause poisoning, on account of 

 having passed through moldy or decayed vegetation. 



ROTATION GRAZING 



The practice of rotation grazing consists in grazing two or more 

 pastures in regular order with definite rest periods for the pastures. 

 When only two pastures are involved this type of grazing is sometimes 

 known as alternate grazing. Results from several experiments con- 

 ducted in Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington on typical 

 pastures of the better type, and in South Dakota on native range, were 

 inconclusive in some cases, but in others the rotation plan increased 

 the carrying capacity from 8 to 1 2 percent. They indicate that there 

 is not usually justification in going to much expense to divide pastures 

 that are already established especially when it is also necessary to 

 provide shade and water in each division. 



Another form of rotation is that of using several different lands of 

 pasture. Tliis requires careful planning in order to have the animals 

 on each pasture when they can get the most from it without reducing 

 its productive capacity later on. An example is the use of rye in 

 April, bluegrass in May and June, Sudan grass in July and August, 

 lespedeza in September, and bluegrass in October and November. 

 The choice of pasture crops will vary with different regions. On the 

 western range, the rotation is important cliiefly in connection with 

 deferment of grazing on certain areas every 2 or 3 years in order that 

 the desirable grasses may reseed and strengthen theii* root systems. 



HOHENHEIM SYSTEM OF PASTURE MANAGEMENT 



The Hohenheim system of grassland management was developed 

 at Hohenheim, near Stuttgart, Germany, in 1916. It was the result 

 of an eft'ort to produce milk without the feeding of concentrates, wliich 

 were difficult to obtain in Germany during the lattei" part of the W^orld 

 War I period. The system is designed to supply a luxuriant growth 

 of grass rich in protein, thereby maldng it possible for the animals, at 

 least during the summer months, to obtain from pasture all the feed 

 necessary. 



The Hohenheim system is best adapted to dairy cattle and is dis- 

 tinguished from the usual methods of grazing by the following fea- 

 tures: (1) Division of the pasture into from 4 to 8 paddocks, about 



