VEGETATION OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES 65 



will be less nourishing. Nitrogenous manures should not be 



applied to permanent grazing pastures. If the animals grazing 



on them are fed with corn and oilcake, then it is 



sufficient to supplement the animal droppings 



with some non-nitrogenous artificial manure, 



such as kainit, or basic slag. Thistles ought 



to be cut down twice in the year, directly they 



appear above ground in the spring and before 



the time of flowering in the late summer ; if 



they gain a footing in a pasture they deprive 



the grass of nourishment. The ox pastures of 



Leicestershire are some of the best in the 



country. It is stated that all the manure 



they receive is five to six hundredweight of 



common salt to the acre, applied in the autumn 



about every seventh year. Care is taken to 



spread the animal droppings constantly, in 



order to prevent uneven grazing. 



Natural pasture can often be distinguished 

 from artificial by the wild plants growing on it. 

 Several different grasses are found in it, and 

 each season has its own appropriate flora, so 

 that there is a regular succession of plants re- 

 placing each other. Further, in wet years 

 certain plants are prominent ; in dry ones 

 certain others. There is consequently a great 

 deal to observe in the vegetation of any bit 

 of natural pasture. The nature of the soil, 

 whether hard limestone, or chalk, or sand, etc., 

 should be noted ; then the dominant grass to- 

 gether with the sub-dominant species ; and 

 lastly, the other plants belonging to each 

 season of the year. The plants that flower 

 at the same time should be recorded, and it 

 will be found on comparing one year with FIG. 25. sheep's 



, , J.-L i / i i i Fescue (Festuca ovind). 



another that the chief plants succeed each 



other in a regular order. The colouring of the pasture at each 



season is worth noting : in the spring, the bright green of the 



VOL. V. 5 



