MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



45 



waste from trampling. This method also permits the 

 grasses to grow to proper maturity, so that the amount 

 of growth is a maximum. Another method of accom- 

 plishing the same end is to divide the pasture by- 

 means of temporary or permanent fences, and allow 

 the stock to remain in one inclosure till the grass is 

 closely eaten before admitting them to the next. 

 Meanwhile the herbage in the inclosure first pastured 

 is allowed to grow up again before it is eaten dow r n a 

 second time. Both of these methods require much at- 

 tention from the herdsman, and are hardly practicable 

 on farms where beef production is a prominent fea- 

 ture. One or the other of these intensive forms of 

 pasturing might be practiced with profit with dairy 

 cows, sheep, or hogs. Both of them are close kin to 

 the method of soiling. 



In many parts of the country the cereals are used 

 extensively for pasture with excellent results. This 

 te particularly the case in the South. Oats are used 

 more frequently for this purpose than the other 

 cereals, though in part of western North Carolina, and 

 adjacent regions in adjoining States, a Southern va- 

 riety of rye is used extensively. Around Sherman, 

 Texas, a winter variety of barley has recently gained 

 much favor, and is extensively used for winter pasture. 

 It is said to yield more abundant feed than oats, rye, 

 or w 7 heat, while stock eat it with greater relish. In 

 favorable seasons — that is, when there is no drouth to 

 check growth — any of the cereals sown the middle of 

 September in the South will furnish considerable feed 

 by the first of November. Stock may be kept on 

 these pastures till in the spring, when the grains begin 



