14 



in the new settlements of the arid districts, all culture must be in the 

 nature of experiment, and much judgment and large information are 

 needed to guide the experimenter to the best results. 



Relation of Stock to Pastures. The farmer and grazier should always 

 bear in mind that his pastures should be adapted to the kiud as well 

 as the quantity of stock which he keeps. Cattle and sheep are very 

 different in their feeding habits, the sheep cropping the grass very 

 close, and cattle requiring to have the grass longer in order to get a 

 bite. Horses again do not bite as close as cattle. By judiciously 

 proportioning the kind of stock kept on the pasture a much better 

 result may be obtained by keeping both cattle and sheep than by 

 keeping either alone. The field will thus be kept cleaner and in better 

 condition. 



Management of the Pasture. Care must be observed that cattle or 

 sheep be not put upon grass too early in the spring, before the grass has 

 fairly commenced to grow. This rule applies particularly to sheep, who 

 will in suc-h cases eat the heart out of the grass crown, to its entire 

 destruction. When, however, the grasses have made a good start there 

 will be much of the taller stalks and coarser culms which the sheep will 

 reject, and which cattle will crop with avidity. As the season advances 

 there are often bunches of grass neglected by both cattle and sheep, giv- 

 ing to the pasture a rough and uneven appearance, when the mower 

 should be run over the pasture, after which the old tufts will send up 

 another crop of tender blades. 



No precise date can be given for beginning to graze pastures iii the spring. Cattle 

 should not be Burned in until there is enough feed to keep them going without too 

 much help from hay, nor until the ground is firm enough to prevent their hoofs from 

 damaging the young shoots of the grasses. 



On the'other hand, if the grass gets too old, the animals refuse much of it, and the 

 fodder will be lost. Pastures consisting largely of early, strong-growing grasses, 

 particularly cock's foot (orchard grass), will need to be stocked before others which 

 produce finer and later varieties.* 



It is sometimes a nice question to determine when to take stock off 

 the pastures in the fall. This will depend much on the length of the 

 growing season in any particular locality. In northern latitudes the 

 growth of vegetation wjll be arrested early, and when the grass has 

 quite ceased to grow the stock should be removed that the ground may 

 be iii proper condition for an early start in the following spring. Usu- 

 ally, however, in northern sections of the country the question is effect- 

 ually settled by the early descent of the winter snows. In southern 

 latitudes the climate is so mild that the growing season continues all 

 winter, so that stock live mainly or entirely upon the growing grass, 

 there being sorts there which naturally make their principal growth in 

 the coolest portion of the year. 



* Button on Permanent and Temporary Pastures, 



