182 Essays. 



The grasses of Otago are numerous and valuable for fattening stock : 

 and they would probaMy repay the trouble and expense of being improved 

 by cultivation, as they might prove more suitable to the'climate, and more 

 nutritious than English grasses. 



So much depends on the nature of the soil and humidity of the climate, 

 that the finest grass is often found at considerable altitudes. Thin clayey 

 soil, or light soil on recent gravel terraces, under the influence of arid winds, 

 will produce but a poor pasture of very few species ; while in the little 

 valleys of mountain ranges of the primitive rock formations, at altitudes 

 even exceeding 2,000 feet, the pasture will be abundant and consist of many 

 species of grasses. 



Nothing can show greater ignorance of grass conservation than the 

 repeated burning of the pasture in arid districts, which is so frequently 

 practised. The finer species of grass, having fine fibrous roots ramifying 

 near the surface, are either destroyed by the fire or afterwards by sun or 

 frost; while the coarser tussock grasses, spear-grass {Aciphylla), and many 

 plants worthless as pasture, having large succulent roots, strike deep in the 

 soil and are preserved. Much of the grass land of Otago has been thus 

 deteriorated, since its occupation, by fire, and it is no wonder that many of 

 the runs require eight acres to feed one sheep, according to an official esti- 

 mate. It is a fallacy to suppose that grass country requires repeated 

 burning to clear the surface of the excess of plants, as the old and withered 

 grass forms shelter to the young shoots, protecting them from parching 

 winds, sun, and frosts. It is no doubt owing to the protection afforded in a 

 similar manner by the snows of winter and spring, that the most mountain- 

 ous parts of the province up to the line of perpetual snow, if free from bush, 

 are valuable as summer pasture. 



At an altitude of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet, according to latitude, will be 

 found a belt of coarse, unnutritious tussock grasses ; but above this, in the 

 alpine zone, many alpine grasses are found, which though short are succulent 

 and nutritious. This alpine zone is much frequented by sheep in summer, 

 the highest ridges having sheep tracks on them. On Mount Alta, near the 

 Wanaka Lake, sheep feed at an altitude of 6,000 feet, and on the Kaikouras, 

 in the Province of Marlborough, at an altitude of 8,000 feet. 



G-EASSES. — The following grasses have been collected in Otago, and most 

 of them were named by Dr. Hooker. 



For the present purpose they are divided into three classes : — 

 Eirst quality, — as forming, naturally, the best pasture. 

 Second quality, — those inferior in quality and restricted distribution. 

 Third quality, — alpine grasses. 



