188 THE PRINCIPLES OP AGRICULTURE 



323. In lowland meadows, a battle royal, 

 which is most interesting and instructive to 

 watch, goes on from year to year. Most of the 

 plants hold their places so tenaciously, and so 

 many hardy new ones appear, that the plants 

 soon become too numerous and then dwarf one 

 another, in which case the production is di- 

 minished. On these moist lands there is little 

 difficulty in securing sufficient plants : the prob- 

 lem is rather how to destroy some of them, that 

 better conditions may be secured for those 

 which remain. 



324. It has been shown (316) why the pas- 

 tures should be fully covered with plants ; but 

 permanent meadows should have fewer plants. 

 If there are too many, the grasses will not grow 

 to their full size, and many of the leaves on the 

 lower half of the stalks will be yellowish, insipid, 

 and lacking in aroma because they have not 

 received enough sunlight. If there are too many 

 roots in the soil, there will not be sufficient food 

 for all except when the soil is extremely fertile 

 and moist ; and few plants will come to normal 

 maturity. The grasses which are grown too thick, 

 and consequently have been excluded from a full 

 supply of sunlight, are poor in quality, like the 

 apples which grow in the shade on the lower 

 branches. 



325. All this goes to show how necessary it 



