306 FIELD CROPS 



Range pastures which have become scanty from over- 

 pasturing may be greatly improved by pasturing lightly for 

 a year or two, allowing the native grasses to mature and 

 reseed. There is no better or more efficient means of im- 

 proving range pastures than this. Rotation of the pastures, 

 allowing the stock to graze on one for a time and then 

 changing to another, will result in the production of more 

 pasturage from the acreage than if the entire area is grazed 

 continuously. This rotation allows the formation of some 

 seed from time to time and thus aids in the renewal of the 

 stand of useful grasses. It is seldom practical to sow grass 

 seed on these pastures, because the acreage is so large, and 

 it is often difficult to obtain seed of the native grasses which 

 compose them. The cultivated grasses of which seed can 

 be obtained cheaply usually do not grow so well under range 

 conditions as the native kinds. 



LABORATORY EXERCISES 



Visits to pastures in the neighborhood, with careful studies of the 

 plants of which they are composed, the prevalence of weeds, and such 

 other points as appear to be important, may be made with profit. The 

 best time to make these studies is late in the spring or early in the fall. 



SUPPLEMENTARY READING 



Bailey's Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, Vol. II, pp. 434-455. 



Deal's Grasses of North America. 



Shaw's Grasses and How to Grow Them, pp. 335-402, 435-453. 



Hunt's Forage and Fiber Crops, pp. 23-36. 



Spillman's Farm Grasses of the United States, pp. 14-55. 



Voorhees' Forage Crops, pp. 311-327. 



Wing's Meadows and Pastures. 



