CHAPTER XXVI. 



1. PASTURE, GRAZING, AND FODDER PLANTS 



2. MEDICINAL PLANTS OF CEYLON 



3. EDIBLE HERBS USED IN CEYLON 



PASTURE, GRAZIXG, ETC. 



[S. SINHALESE; 7'.=TAMiL3. 



A striking feature of agriculture in the tropics is the scarcity 

 of pasture, natural or artificial, for grazing stock. Here we iind 

 the natural herbage characteristic of cooler climes replaced by 

 jungle or scrub ; a large portion of the natural grasses grow 

 coarse and wiry ; what should be herbs are shrubs, and weeds 

 soon over-run cleared areas unless frequently eradicated. A 

 contributing factor to the scarcity of pasture is the fact that our 

 cultivated crops are mainly perennial trees or shrubs, not annuals 

 as in temperate countries, so that it is impracticable to adopt any 

 system of crop rotation, which ordinarily includes forage and 

 grazing crops. Added to these circumstances, there is often 

 either insufficient or excessive rainfall, or soil which is of a hard 

 impervious nature and lacking in humus, the latter being one of 

 the most essential ingredients in good pasture land. It must, 

 however, be admitted that the absence of conditions which 

 naturally conduce to good pasturage can to some extent be 

 overcome, and circumstances demand that the best efforts be made 

 to that end. Cattle are especially indispensable to the peasants, 

 either for dairy or draught purposes, yet it is surprising how little 

 is attempted to provide for their proper sustenance. The average 

 native owner of cattle (and few who are not) seldom makes any 

 attempt to provide pasture for them, and they are constantly 

 allowed to roam and pick up what they can. A few head of 

 cattle, properly nourished, should be regarded as a useful asset to 

 every estate, whether in the low-country or at the higher elevations. 

 In addition to their dairy produce, cattle furnish excellent natural 

 manure. Some planters maintain that, for most crops, this is the 

 best of all manures, and in the days of coffee cultivation in Ceylon 



