88 THE STOCKFEEDER'S COMPANION 



changes, or the " heating " process. Warington points 

 out that the soluble carbohydrates suffer most, the 

 albuminoids at the same time being converted into 

 amides, while the digestibility of the fibre is improved. 



XIV. PERMANENT GRASS AND FORAGE CROPS. 



The importance of a regular supply of green food 

 on farms where live stock are kept from early spring 

 to late in the autumn, can hardly be overestimated. 

 Green food appears to be the natural food for milk, 

 consequently a special attempt should be made to have 

 a supply in the early spring for lambing ewes and 

 milking cows. In counties where the pastures are 

 apt to fail in the hot summer months, forage or soiling 

 crops have to be grown to tide over this dry period. 

 This was more often the case in the days when 

 seed mixtures containing rye grass and clover only were 

 used for seeding down land to permanent pastures. 

 Now, however, this difficulty can be largely overcome, 

 if a suitable mixture of seeds is selected. The following 

 hints will no doubt be found useful. 



Permanent Pasture. 



The ideal pasture is one which has a close turf and 

 gives a regular and abundant supply of nutritious 

 herbage throughout the growing season of the year. 

 In order to secure such a pasture, it is necessary to 

 include pasture plants which grow early in the year and 

 those which grow late ; plants of both tufted (top 

 grasses) and creeping (bottom grasses) habits ; those 

 with deep tap roots as well as those with shallow roots. 

 Further, it is important to include only those plants 

 which are adapted to the particular soil and climate. 

 A not unusual way of making up a pasture mixture at 



