546 TEE farmers' handbook. 



Grazing. 



In dry districts the value of lucerne as a grazing crop commends itself to 

 stock-owners. Being very drought-resistant, it often provides acceptable 

 green feed when other succulent fodder is scarce or non-existent, and after 

 a long dry spell it is almost an axiom that lucerne is the first plant to grow 

 when rain comes. 



The pasturing of stock upon lucerne, however, is attended by two risks — 

 one to the plants and one to the stock. 



Lucerne should not be pastured during the first or second season of its 

 growth, as the plants are not then sufficiently strong to withstand the in- 

 evitable trampling. Again, it will not stand continual grazing at any time, 

 and the method should be to put sufficient stock on to eat it down quickly, 

 and then to move them off before the young plants have commenced to shoot. 

 The paddock should be subdivided into small lots for grazing, so that the 

 stock can be moved from one to the other in quick succession. Temporary 

 fences should be erected and shifted as required. This prevents injury to 

 the plants, and reduces the loss of feed. 



Even with reasonable care, the use of lucerne as a pasture will inevitably 

 lessen the life of the plants. Lucerne not irrigated and fed off by stock in the 

 drier districts will probably require to be resown after a very short period — 

 perhaps as short as four years. Whenever possible, a cut for hay or green 

 feed should be taken. 



" Bloat," or hoven, is caused by feeding stock upon green, succulent 

 fodder at a time when the stomach is practically empty; or by giving an 

 abundance of gas-producing feed before the digestive organs of the animal 

 have been accustomed to dealing with such material. Cattle and sheep 

 appear to be the only domestic animals subject to the danger. If the 

 lucerne is wet at the time of eating, the liability to bloat is increased, and 

 the danger is especially great when the crop is in the early stages of growth. 



In the drier districts there is not as great danger of bloat as on rich 

 alluvial flats, for the simple reason that there is not the same abundance 

 of succulent fodder. 



Stock should not be put on lucerne when it is wet. The danger is accen- 

 tuated in humid, windy weather. If possible the animals should go on with 

 a full stomach. They should first have their appetite appeased with grass, 

 green maize, sorghum, or other similar feed. Bloating usually occurs when 

 hungry animals are put on the feed and eat large quantities, and it also 

 occurs if they are put on and taken off for periods. They should be kept on 

 continuously and never allowed to get hungry. 



If the stock cannot be placed in the paddocks with full stomachs, they 

 should be taken on and herded for twenty minutes or so, and then taken off 

 for about an hour; then put on for another twenty minutes, and the process 

 repeated until the stock are no longer hungry. This practice is recom- 

 mended whenever stock are being introduced to lucerne after other feeding. 

 When they have become accustomed to the feed they can be left alone. 



Soiling is far more economical than pasturing for all kinds of live stock. 

 Animals grazing on lucerne generally destroy far more than they eat by 

 trampling down the fodder. Various estimates are given of the increased 

 number of animals which can be carried on a given area by this method, 



