NOTES ON WORTHLESS GRASSES, ETC. 135 



Happily, the weeds of pastures are amenable to treatment 

 which, though far less costly, is more effective, lasting, and 

 remunerative in its results. Some few of the deep-rooted 

 plants, as thistles, coltsfoot and rushes, need repeated attention 

 with the scjrthe or spud for two years ; but the majority of 

 pasture weeds succumb to well-regulated and suitably adjusted 

 doses of chemical manures, which beneficially stimulate the 

 nutritious grasses. The grazier may therefore clean and enrich 

 his land at the same time, and prove by his own experience 

 that as a rule the poor pasture is foul, while the rich pasture 

 is clean. 



To effect an improvement takes time and needs patience. 

 A pasture or meadow which has deteriorated through years of 

 neglect cannot be won back to first-class condition in a single 

 season, nor can a good and clean crop be maintained in its 

 most profitable state without unceasing vigilance. It is, 

 however, reassuring to know that the necessary cost of labour, 

 and the outlay for manures which favour the development ot 

 the stronger-growing grasses and at the same time discourage 

 the growth of many forms of pernicious vegetation, will on 

 pastures eventually yield a far more abundant return than can 

 be recouped from a similar expenditure on arable land. 



In order to prevent the deterioration of pastures, or to 

 impro\'e the herbage, worthless plants should be promptly 

 recognised, and methods of eradication be understood. This 

 involves a knowledge of the pests of pastures, their duration, 

 mode of perpetuation, and other peculiarities which may suggest 

 the readiest means of compassing their destruction. Large 

 weeds, such as thistles, docks, and coltsfoot, are too con- 

 spicuous to escape notice. Less obtrusive but equally baneful 

 subjects are too often allowed to Live on ; and the bad grasses, 

 because they happen to be grasses, continue to flom-ish, to the 

 exclusion of species rich in feeding constituents. 



As a rule, the low condition of a pasture is most mani- 

 fest near its boundaries. This may arise fi-om the neglect of 



