FARMERS' REGISTER— GRAZING NEAT CATTLE. 



335 



ing (lis-tricls, where the le"an stock fire purchased at 

 various periods and of difl'erent sizes, so that, as 

 some become fat sooner than others, they niay be 

 sent to market in succession. Accordiuf]; to the 

 ])lan of" tliese graziers, tlie cattle are sometimes 

 kept tlu'oughout two winters, during the first ol 

 which they are not at fall-keep, but in the ibiiow- 

 ing sum mcrtiiey are turned into good grass, and are 

 iattcned olTin liie second winter witii the best and 

 most Ibrcing ibod the iiirmcr possesses. The 

 more common system, however, consists in buy- 

 ing small cattle as early ni the spring as the grass 

 atlbrds a good bite, when they are allowed one 

 summer''s grass, and aresfall-flittencd in the ensu- 

 ing winter. 



With regard to the management of pasture 

 grounds, it may be observed, that those which are 

 laid or allowed to rest at Candlemas, may be 

 grazed in the following May; such as are laid in 

 May, may be grazed at Midsummer; those to which 

 rest is given at that season may be grazed at 

 Lammas; while such as are laid at Lammas may 

 be grazed in October, and generally throughout 

 the succeeding winter. 



In the grazing of cattle, a variety of circum- 

 stances will claim the farmer's attention, in order 

 to conduct his business Avith regularity, or with 

 profit Henee"he ought to take especial care not 

 to turn his stock out into the pastures in the spring, 

 before there is a full bite, or the grass has obtained 

 a sufficient degree of length and maturity; for neat 

 cattle, whose tongues chiefly enable them to collect 

 the food, neither can norAvill bite near the ground, 

 unless tliey are compelled by extreme hunger, in 

 which case, it is obvious they cannot enjoy their 

 feed, and consequently cannot thrive in propor- 

 tion. 



Where beasts are turned into fields, consisting 

 either of clover entirely, or of a mixture of natu- 

 ral and artificial grasses, great circumsj)ection is re- 

 quired, to see that they do not eat so eagerly, or to 

 such excess, as to become blown or hoven, an af- 

 fection to which cows are more peculiarly liable 

 than any other neat cattle. That disorder, how- 

 ever, may be prevented either by feeding the ani- 

 mals so as to gratity the cravings of apj)etite be- 

 fore they are turned into the pasture, or by con- 

 stantly moving them about the field for a few 

 hours after they have been turned in, that the first 

 hall at least may sink into their maw before the 

 next be deposited. Should they, notwiihstanding, 

 be attacked with that dangerous swelling, thej^ 

 may be relieved by adopting the remedies pointed 

 out in Book VI. Chap. 1. 



Although the various grasses of which a pasture 

 is composed ripen at diflerent periods, j'et the 

 sward usually attains its greatest luxuriance about 

 Midsummer; and from that time to Lammas it 

 possesses a peculiar sweetness, so that stock may 

 be allowed, during th'e intervening period, to bite 

 somevvhat nearer to the ground. It will, however, 

 be necessary to remove iiitting cattle, (as already 

 intimated,) Irom time to time, into fresh grounds; 

 so that by taking the uppermost and choicest part 

 of the grass, they may feed both expeditiously and 

 thoroughly. The gi-ass left beiiind them may be 

 fed off first with laboring cattle, and ailerwards 

 with sheep. This last-mentioned point cannot be 

 too minutely regarded; for, if cattle be in want, 

 thev will lose more flesh in one day than they can 

 possibly gain or recover in three. 



Such pastures as lie in fenny or other situationa 

 which retain moisture lor a long time, ought to be 

 ted off as early as possible, lest sudden or long-con- 

 tinued rains descend, which will not only render 

 the juices of the grass thin and watery, and ulti- 

 mately putrescent, but which will also materially 

 affect the health and constitution of the animals. 

 To prevent t lie losses consequent on such acci- 

 dents, it will therefore be indispensably nece.s.sarj'', 

 daily and attentively to inspect the grazing stock; 

 and if any beasts appear to be affected by eating 

 wet grass, they should be immediately conducted 

 into dry shelier, and fed with hay or straAv; or, if 

 they cannot be conveniently removed, they must 

 be driven to the driest spot, and there supplied 

 with sivect cut grass and dry fodder. 



The hard or light stocking of pasture ground la 

 a point on which many experienced graziers are 

 by no means agreed. By some it is contended, 

 that pastures ought to be stocked very lightly; 

 alleging, that although much of the produce is 

 thus allowed to run to seed, which the cattle will 

 not eat, and which is consequently trodden under 

 foot, where it is rotted by rain, and thus wasted; 

 yet experience, say the advocates for light stocking, 

 evinces that a greater profit will, upon the whole, 

 be thence derived than by any other practice, on 

 account of the superior thriving of the animals. 



By others, on the contrarv^, it is maintained, 

 that the practice of light stocking is highly to be 

 condemned; because it not only tends gradually to 

 diminish ils produce, but also to encourage the 

 growth of coarse and unprofitable grasses, which 

 materially deteriorate the pastures; and that the 

 hard stocking of grass lands, particularly those of 

 a rich quality, is an indispensable requisite of 

 good management. It must be confessed, that 

 the superior tertility of the hard-stocked Lincoln- 

 shire pastures tends greatly to corroborate these 

 assertions, which receive further support from the 

 practice of the most experienced graziers in 

 Romney Marsh. It is recommended by a third 

 party, (whose opinion, perhaps, approximates more 

 nearly to the truth,) that mixed-stock should be 

 always kept on the same field; for the foul grass, 

 produced by the dung of some animals, will be 

 consumed by others; and as it is well known that 

 different species of cattle prefer diflerent kinds of 

 grass, there is an evident advantage in this prac- 

 tice. 



In every field, numerous plants spontaneously 

 spring up, some of which are disliked by one class 

 of animals, while they are eaten by others; and 

 some of which plants, though eaten with avidity 

 at a particular period of their growth, are entirely 

 rejected by the same beasts at another period of 

 their age. Hence, they say, it becomes necessary, 

 not only to have a great variety of cattle in the 

 same pasture, but also a very j^articular attention 

 is required to augment or diminish the proportions 

 of some of these classes of animals at certain pe- 

 riods of the year; otherwise some part of the pro- 

 duce will run to waste, unless indeed it be hard 

 stocked to such a degree as to retard their thriving. 

 On this it is, however, to be observed, that 

 where a great variety of animals are allowed to go 

 at large in the same pasture, they rarely feed with 

 that tranquillity which is necessary to ensure thriv- 

 ing. It frequently hajipens that one class, or sort 

 of beasts, wishes to feed or to play, while others 

 are inclined to rest; thus they mutually tease and 



