PASTURE. 52 1 



the banks of streams, are, under this system, sheltered by willow- 

 iind poplar-pollards, grown pretty far apart, and the produc- 

 tion of grass is thus generally favoured. Provided the same 

 species of trees are grown ; next to pollards, coppice produces 

 more fodder than any other system, and coppice-with-standards 

 approaches coppice the nearer, the less standards it contains. 

 Coppice and coppice-with-standards, for the same area, produce 

 at least five or six times as much fodder as high forest. The last 

 form of forest, especially the clear-cutting system, is the most 

 unfavoui-able for pasture. 



iv. Climaie. 



In mild climates the production of fodder is greater than where 

 extremes prevail. In the former, grazing may commence at the 

 end of April or the beginning of May, and continue till the middle 

 of October, whilst in the latter, the season for grazing is much 

 more restricted, and in upper Alpine pastures may only last 

 10 — 12 weeks. During May and June there is most fodder in 

 forests ; in high altitudes, in July. In these months grass pro- 

 duction is greater than during all the ]'est of the year. 



(b) Quality of Forest Fodder. 



As regards its quality as fodder, the amount of light which 

 herbage receives, and the nature of the soil, are more important 

 than the species of plants of which it is composed. 



The excellence of Alpine pastures depends less on the in- 

 digenous* plants (for in the North German plain and Holland 

 equally fine cattle are produced as those in the Alps) than on the 

 advantage resulting from constantly keeping the cattle in the 

 open air, the moderate distances to which cattle are driven to 

 graze, and the effects of the intenser sunlight to which these 

 lofty open pastures are exposed. On this account, provided 

 there is sufficient moisture, southerly aspects yield better pasture 

 than northerly aspects. The more the soil is sheltered by trees, 

 and the less light it receives, the poorer the quality of the fodder ; 

 hence regeneration-fellings and plantations, on protected soil 

 yield the best fodder. It is well-known that forest pastures 

 yield the best fodder before the herbage has blossomed. 



* The best Alpine fodder-plants for niik-h-cattle are -. — Poa alpiaa, Ahhcinllla 

 alpina, Plantayo alpinus, Meant. iiLuleUiiia, Achi/lca moschata, die. 



