134 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES 



Notes on Certain Worthless Grasses 

 AND Injurious AND Poisonous Plants 

 FOUND IN Pastures 



No feature of modern farming is more calculated to excite 

 a feeling of astonishment than the indifference shown to the 

 presence of worthless grasses and pernicious weeds in pastures. 

 On too many farms something green, and plenty of it, appears 

 to be the supreme object of attainment. Whether the crop 

 is made into hay, or beasts and sheep are turned out to eat 

 what they can, and reject or tread down the remainder, the 

 animals are expected to thrive on the herbage. 



Every arable farmer knows that unless land is kept clear 

 of couch, black grass, thistles, &c., the crops of corn must 

 suffer ; but it does not appear to be equally evident to the 

 grazier that certain plants, however useful they may be else- 

 where, must in a pasture be classed among weeds. It is no 

 sufficient answer to say that the plants increase the bulk of 

 herbage. They are none the less weeds on that account. The 

 objectionable character of some other plants is freely admitted, 

 and feeble, intermittent attempts may possibly be made to 

 eradicate those which are easily recognised, and are admitted 

 to be directly injurious or actually poisonous to sheep, and 

 especially to milch cows. The erroneous impression that it is 

 difficult or impossible to eliminate these worthless or injurious 

 plants from grass land has deterred many farmers from 

 attempting the task, or, at all events, there has not been the 

 persistence that would have achieved success. Were it only 

 possible to deal with the pests of grass land by the plough 

 and scarifier, as on arable soil, the effort would be hopeless. 



