PRAIRIE MANAGEMENT. 137 



allow fire to consume it with the growing crop of green grass. 

 Burn a patch in June, and the young grass will immediately 

 spring up, which, in July, will afford a rich pasture of young, 

 tender, juicy grass, about eight inches high. Burn another 

 patch in July, which will afford another pasture in August ; and 

 a third on the first day of August, which will remain green and 

 tender till killed by winter frosts. In this way juicy pasture 

 may be secured from early spring until the succeeding win- 

 ter. But some forecast is necessary to secure this. In the 

 previous autumn these spots should be selected and made 

 secure by burning round, as the hunters know how ; other- 

 wise they might be consumed in the general conflagration, 

 which often sweeps hundreds of miles of prairie grass in the 

 fall of the year. Supposing no cultivated grasses are pre- 

 pared, sheaf oats, or hay and corn, should be given at night ; 

 the flock going out to pick what they can through all the fine 

 days of autumn and winter. 



" In the summer the shepherd must have a cabin near his 

 pasture ground, and a sheep-3'ard with a loolf -proof fence. 

 The flock must be out at the first dawn of day, and graze 

 late in the evening. During all the heat of the day they will 

 shade in some neighboring grove. The shepherd must have 

 his horn and rifle, and a pair of good hunting dogs, to chase 

 away the wolf and fox. The size of the flock may be limited 

 only to the size of the pasture. For a summer establish- 

 ment I should select an eminence on some of our extensive 

 prairies, and build four cabins, for the families of four shep- 

 herds — all under the eye of an experienced man. These 

 four shepherds should each diverge • with their respective 

 flocks to the four points of the compass, and all return at 

 night. 



" Where there are no cultivated grasses, there should be 

 large fields of early sown rye, for winter and early spring 

 food. Also oats, sown, perhaps, in the same field where 

 oats grew before, by ploughing the field immediately after 

 the crop is off, and sowing about a bushel to the acre. If 

 no cultivated grasses are provided for sheep to feed on in 

 autumn, it is difficult to keep up their condition in the latter 

 part of the year. But the greatest advantage is to be derived 

 from blue grass, which, if shut up in June, will keep green 

 all winter ; and, if a succession of pastures is provided, 

 the sheep will do well upon them all the winter, and will 

 only need feeding when the snow is frozen on the ground." 



12* 



