28 The Practical Stud Groom. 



there are a few general principles which are applicable to 

 all grazing operations. Neither very poor nor very rich land 

 is suited to the rearing of bloodstock. Of the two evils, 

 the latter is more often responsible for the bloodstock 

 breeder's disappointments than the former. Intelligent 

 grazing and manuring will improve the poor pasture, but 

 great care and trouble are required to ensure that the over 

 rich pasture does not get richer, even under grazing 

 operations alone. This much admitted, the most desirable 

 class of cattle required is obvious. On the poor pasture, 

 store cattle not less than two years old are wanted. These 

 having practically finished their frame or bone-growing 

 stage, will return to the soil, in their excrement, all the 

 bone-forming elements they have taken from it. They 

 will, therefore, not be robbing the land of an element so 

 necessary to the foal or yearling. Furthermore, every 

 pound of oil-cake fed to the cattle will add to their value, 

 and to the improvement of the soil fertility of the pasture. 

 On the other hand, when matured steers are put on the 

 very rich pasture, they get so " forward" in condition, 

 that the temptation arises to put a butcher's "finish " on 

 them by a ration of oil-cake, with disastrous results to the 

 already over-rich pasture. On the really " ideal " stud 

 farm, i.e. y where the pasturage is neither too rich nor too 

 poor, beef-cattle and cows with calves should find no place. 

 With the beef-cattle, the oil-cake temptation is supple- 

 mented by that of moving them to a better paddock when 

 they have polished off the short herbage and are showing a 

 natural disinclination to tackle the long and coarser 

 grasses, for fear they should " go back " in condition. 

 The objection to dairy cows and cows with calves at foot 

 is that the bone-forming elements the cows take up from 

 the soil, are either taken to the city in the milk churns, 



