278 FORAGE CROPS. 



(Setaria glauca) were not consumed so eagerly. But 

 the seed pods and seed heads of the weeds were con- 

 sumed wherever these had been produced. The 

 weeds were turned into mutton. 



Influence on Fertility. — The influence on the 

 fertihty of the soil was marked. Since but little 

 of the food was removed from the pastures, the 

 product of the same went back on the land and in 

 a readily available form. When sheep are thus 

 grazed upon land, if in addition to the pasture they 

 are also fed some grain or oil cake, the soil must 

 soon become rich in fertility and virtually without 

 labor, for the return in mutton and wool should in 

 itself bring a direct net profit. 



Sixteen Sheep Pastured on One Acre, — A sec- 

 ond experiment was carried on, which also formed 

 a part of the first experiment. It was an experi- 

 ment within an experiment. It consisted of pastur- 

 ing sixteen animals on one acre as far as it was 

 found practicable throughout the growing season. 

 Of these, six were dams and ten were lambs. The 

 acre was divided into quarters, and the pasturing 

 alternated on these. During two successive years 

 was this experiment continued, beginning with 1895. 

 It was not found practicable to keep the sheep con- 

 fined to the acre through all the season. There were 

 some short intervals each year during which they 

 had to be kept on other pasture, and in some 

 instances had other sheep to be brought in to eat 

 down the excess of pasture. After balancing the 

 pasture borrowed against the pasture given away, 

 it was found that the acre thus pastured in 1895 and 

 also in 1896 had sustained the sixteen animals for 

 about five months. With soils rich and productive, 



