168 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



retain its hold upon the land when it has once been in- 

 troduced without hindering in any way the processes of 

 cultivation. Moreover, it forms a thick sod which is fav- 

 orable to dry and clear grazing, and it furnishes grazing 

 fine in character and that is much relished. It is, in a 

 sense, the cosmopolitan grass of the continent, but it is 

 not well adapted to the dry ranges of the west, nor to the 

 hot summers of the far south. Grasses of the grama 

 family must continue in great measure to furnish the 

 permanent pastures of the ranges. White clover sown 

 on blue grass pastures usually thenceforth becomes its 

 abiding partner and adds considerably to the value of the 

 grazing. Red top has a prominent place among those 

 that provide such grazing in northerly areas of the 

 southern states, and Bermuda grass still further south. 



The permanent pastures composed of mixtures may 

 usually include several of the more prominent grasses 

 and clovers. It would be correct to say that no valuable 

 grass not possessed of weedlike properties, as quack 

 grass (Agropyrum repens), for instance, is debarred from 

 being used to provide permanent pastures in some part 

 of the United States or Canada. The same is true of 

 clovers. The mixtures that may be used to form perma- 

 nent pasture in the various areas of the United States and 

 Canada are discussed in Chapter XVI of the book, 

 "Grasses and How to Grow Them," by the author. The 

 methods of establishing the pastures are also discussed 

 in the same. 



Permanent pastures sown to provide grazing for 

 sheep are not much in evidence on this continent. The 

 need for them has not been much felt, owing to the abun- 

 dance of other grazing in proportion to the numbers of 

 the sheep kept. Doubtless their day is coming, as where 

 sheep are numerously kept some form of permanent pas- 

 ture is necessary, and under most conditions that com- 

 posed of a number of grasses is more suitable and more 

 productive than a pasture composed chiefly of but one 



