328 GRASSES FOR MEADOWS AND PASTURES. 



means to withstand fires in dry weather. In the south it must 

 stand great lieat, much moisture and much drought. In dry 

 climates it is often hard to start grasses. Tliey must be peren- 

 nial, or produce an abundance of seeds capable of starting quickly 

 when the season is favorable. 



From Orojis of the Farm, 1 quote: "Strong, rich pastures, 

 producing succulent grasses abundantly are well adapted for fat- 

 tening large cattle, either without extra food or with the aid of a 

 little cake [oil meal]. Second rate jiastures, especially if on a 

 cold subsoil, will generally yield a better jirofit from the dairy, 

 and from the rearing of young cattle. Dry, hilly pastures are 

 most suited to sheep. Tlie grazing of land by mixed stock of 

 cattle, sheep, and horses, or these in frequent succession, will 

 keep the hind more evenly grazed than where one kind ojily is 

 kept. Sheep eat many weeds which cattle dislike and avoid. 

 Horses are very uneven grazers.'' 



In the words of the late I. A. Lapham, of AVisconsin : " It 

 is not to any one sjiecies of grass that wo should look for the 

 sujiport of our stock. On the native prairies we find many 

 species intermingled, each doing its part; some preferring low, 

 wet situations, others grow only on dry ground ; some i)refer the 

 shade of forest trees, while others flourish best on the most ex- 

 posed parts of the broad prairies; some grow only in the water, 

 others along the margins of lakes and streams; some attain their 

 maturity early in the season, others late in autumn." 



Farmers who have a large quantity of meadow Avill often find 

 it best to have the grasses of different sorts in different meadows 

 that they may not all be fit to cut at the same time, thus pro- 

 longing the season for haying. 



For a meadow, grasses should mature at about the same time ; 

 for pasture the time of flowering or of most rapid growth should 

 vary and extend from early spring till late autumn, or in the 

 South they should extend over a good jiortion of the year. 



