94 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES 



I am not conjviring up difficulties for the sake of saying 

 ' There is a hon in the way,' but rather to show that for 

 so important and costly an undertaking as laying down land 

 to grass there is absolute necessity for insisting on the 

 cleanest possible seed-bed. Even when the farmer has done 

 his utmost to clean the land, plenty of weeds will spring up. 

 It is then a question of precedence. If the grasses come 

 quickly, the annual weeds do little harm when promptly 

 checked, but if the weeds obtain a strong lead, the injury to 

 the grasses may prove serious, perhaps entirely destructive. 

 Happily, the majority of seasons favour the sower, but that 

 does not relieve him from the obligation of taking every reason- 

 able precaution to ensure success under what may prove to be 

 very adverse influences. Possibilities must be considered, and 

 by being forearmed the probability of success will be enhanced. 



In the immediate after-management of newly-sown grass 

 the advantages of dispensing with a corn crop can be fully 

 realised. It is impossible to render active assistance to 

 gi'asses sown in corn until the crop is cut and carried ; but 

 when grass is sown alone the plant can be mown with a sharp 

 scythe as soon as it is a few inches high, and the benefit will 

 speedily be visible. After mowing, the roller should be put 

 over the land again, which will help stiU further to consoli- 

 date it, and to give the young plants a firm grip of the soil. 

 The more frequently the pasture is mown and rolled during 

 summer, the more rapidly will the ground be clothed with 

 verdure. By August or September, in a favourable season, 

 the grass may be allowed to grow on to produce a small latter- 

 math hay crop, after which it will carry horned stock, eating 

 cake, through the autumn. The young crop should never 

 be allowed to grow unchecked until winter sets in, as the 

 herbage has a tendency to rust and rot away. 



Although constant mowing will get rid of groundsel 

 and other annual weeds, it is powerless against such pests as 

 docks and coltsfoot. These can only be removed by a spud or 



