Cocksfoot. 103 



mant. In a pasture composed equally of cocksfoot and 

 Chewing' s the sheep will prefer the cocksfoot during the 

 spring growth, leaving the Chewing's, which runs to 

 seed in a fibrous stalk. It is therefore necessary to sow 

 only a small quantity of Chewing's. The dogstail is a 

 wiry-stalk seeder, but has proved itself to be a first-rate 

 dry hill grass, for it resists the effects of drought, and 

 sheep are always partial to it. Poa pratensis suits most 

 New Zealand hill land, and sheep are everywhere fond of 

 it. These grasses might well be used more generally in 

 New Zealand on such country, so as to reduce the quan- 

 tity of cocksfoot, and to provide a bite when cocksfoot 

 slackens off from its rushing growth, and when it lies 

 quiescent in the winter. With these grasses for the 

 poorer lands, and foxtail and timothy for the better, the 

 economic usefulness of the area under pasture should be 

 materially enlarged. 



It is a mistake for the average grazier, or indeed 

 any grazier, unless he is experimenting on well-defined 

 lines, to burden himself with the consideration of too 

 many kinds of grasses, so few of which receive attention 

 in ordinary commercial farming operations. The un- 

 mistakable all-round usefulness of cocksfoot removes this 

 largely from him in New Zealand. He should, however, 

 know something about the main standard varieties, and 

 it is surprising how few are the sorts used in practice in 

 New Zealand, or indeed in any country. When the rye 

 grasses and cocksfoot are mentioned, and hard fescue, 

 dogstail, timothy, poa pratensis, and meadow foxtail to 

 a lesser extent, with the clovers, one quotes all the 

 grasses used to any great extent in New Zealand, and 

 about all that are necessary to use on the average grazing 

 property. In certain exceptional localities, of course, 

 other grasses are used to meet special conditions. Brown 

 and red top are sown on the dry parts of the Auckland 

 Province. They are practically the same grass as florin, 

 which, under normalconditions, is eschewed. And the 



