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the village common land for their cattle. “ Every one of their fields," 
e says, * is enclosed with a hedge, and then comes a headland of grass 
from 15 to 20 feet wide all round the field, and produeing capital 
grass, There is a double object in this practice, for, as the fields are 
hedged, and have trees round them for supplying firewood and wood 
for implements, the people know € well that crops will not grow 
when thus shaded, but that grass will. They obtain four or five 
cuttings of grass in the year as food for their cattle, and when the 
fields are er the cattle are let in to graze on them Dib 
grass (Cynodon nce") as a crop for irrigation gives a great yield, 
and is about the only grass that keeps green in the hot weather. At 
Belgaum, fields are grown with grass; two cuttings are obtained 
yearly, and 6 annas isthe sum paid for 100 lbs. of green grass. 
seed is ever sown, only the grass that comes up naturally being 
used." 
To supply grass to military Pu eg in — regular grass farms 
have recently been established. These tarted by Sir Herbert 
Macpherson at Allahabad in 1882, and since Yom have been extended 
largely. 
. Previous to the introduction of the grass farm uem the i 
had been to send out *grass-cutters," whose duty it was to cut and 
collect grass for the troops from wherever 278 could. Owing toa dp 
supply of grass being now obtainable by the * grass-cutters” from 
Government grass lands great saving has Beo experienced, and the 
grown at military stations in India has been so increased that it is now 
possible to supply not only the British troops, but even the ps 
cavalry with it. The saving at Allahabad alone for the seven yea 
1882-89 was estimated at Rs. 91,158. The extent of the Allahabad 
grass farm is 3,558 acres. 
Ensilage, or the preserving of green fodder, has been carried out at 
many places in India. The cost as between mdr and that of 
silage is, however, unfavourable to the latter. One advantage of cutting 
an early crop of grass for silage is that there are many grasses, such as 
numerous species of Panicum, which seed in the rains; these may be 
secured as silage if rain continues, whereas the other grasses, being kept 
baek somewhat, yield a good hay erop about October, when the rains are 
over. It may further be said in favour of silage that by means of it 
some grass which would otherwise have been altogether lost owing to 
the heavy rains is saved by being put into the silo. “Voelcker concludes : 
* I differ entirely from the opinion of one of my predecessors to the 
effect that India is the great field for the development of silage. 
That it is the field for haymaking I am much more ready to think, 
ot 
making, for it makes itself. Silage, I repeat, will only be useful 
when by means of it can be saved what would otherwise be lost 
The ee tropical grasses are selected as possessing special pres 
for fodder purposes. Amongst them are plants suitable for almost ev: 
condition found i in tropical ‘oes The list has had the saya 
| revision of Sir Joseph Hooker, who is now working out the 
grasses of British India and who has suggested some emendations of the 
commonly nomenclature. 
