CHAP. IX CARE OF ESTABLISHED PASTURES 6i 



discussed on page 62, we need here merely point out the necessity of fre- 

 quently spreading them evenly over the surface of the pasture to prevent loss 

 of food, as the grasses in immediate contact with unspread manure are rejected 

 by stock and grow into rank tufts, and also to obviate the possibility of Ergot 

 attacking the flower-heads which are thus produced. 



Grazing 



Profitable Grazing. — Not only must the improvement of stock be con- 

 sidered, but it is most important to maintain or increase the fertility of the 

 land by stocking it with cake-fed animals or otherwise manuring it. 



Horses and mules bite very closely to the ground, and by their continual 

 movements waste more herbage than cattle. When feeding off a pasture it is 

 advisable to confine its use at first to horned stock, which chiefly gather the 

 taller herbage, horses following, and sheep, which eat without repugnance 

 what is left, coming last of all. 



Some horses or sheep are necessary in every pasture, but too great a pro- 

 portion injures the sprouting of the plants. By properly proportioning the 

 animals and regularly moving them, pastures can be fed off evenly, and 

 wholesome changes of diet may be provided. 



In orchards it is sometimes necessary to fasten a kind of martingale on 

 cattle, to prevent them reaching the branches of fruit-trees and hedge-plants, 

 while allowing them as much liberty as possible. As a general rule, liberty is 

 as essential for profitable grazing as is freedom from disturbing influences. 



Grazing in Spring. — The date at which grazing can be safely commenced 

 in spring varies with the seasons ; but cattle should not be turned out until 

 the grasses have made a fair start and until the ground is sufficiently firm to 

 prevent treading injuring the young shoots, though by too great delay a 

 portion of the fodder, growing hard and unpalatable, may be rejected by 

 stock. It is especially important to keep sheep off grass which is just starting 

 into growth, since they eat some plants off so closely as to occasionally 

 destroy them altogether; besides which their peculiar snatching method of 

 feeding is responsible for the uprooting of many young grasses. Of course, 

 those pastures in which early species predominate will be ready for grazing 

 first. 



Grazing in Autumn. — Pastures should be eaten down close before 

 winter ; but the time at which stock must be taken off the land depends 

 entirely upon the season ; and should be so regulated that autumn grazing 

 does not interfere with the spring pasturage. 



Irrigated Pastures. — Irrigated pastures can only be grazed during 

 summer and the first days of autumn, when the soil is so dry that the hoofs 

 of stock do not make an impression on the surface. When depastured in late 

 autumn or winter, the banks of the ditches are often broken down, and the 

 treading of heavy stock makes cavities in the ground, in which water accumu- 

 lates and rests during the winter, to the detriment of desirable pasture plants 

 and the encouragement of sedges and other weeds of moist lands. 



Tufts and Culms. — If from neglect in spreading droppings or from any 

 other cause certain plants are rejected by stock and grow into coarse tufts, 

 they must be cut with a scythe ; after which the new herbage will be readily 

 eaten. Every tuft should be cut in December. 



The flower-culms of such grasses as Crested dogstail and, to a less degree, 

 Perennial rye-grass — which are passed over by stock — must be prevented from 



