NORTHERN LANDS AND GRASSING SAME.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1372, 24 February 1912, Page 23

NORTHERN LANDS AND GRASSING SAME.

After the subject of climate, another important subject deserving consideration is that of grossing the lands. With a climate of its own, naturally the lands of the .listu'ct will nave peculiarities of their own in regard to grasses, as to what will succeed and what will not. In the past, obviously most of the settlers just followed pretty well the fame mixture without any consideration as to difference in foil, situation, etc. I have seen Chewing i'escue carrying less than a .sheep to tlie acre, with alongside on the rame class of land paspnlum, carrying over three sheep, So far as the Omana JJlock is concerned, it is of such good quality that the question of grassing does not require much consideration, except to remark that a good deal of paspalum has been sown about the run. This is important from a dairying point of view, because when every other grass is burnt up paspalum rcnniins as green and succulent, as green maize. It's tlio dairyman's friend in the dry months of ' the year, and the man who has got a paddock of it will go on milking two months longer than the man without it. With a paddock of paspalum the dairyman can dispenso with growing green stuff—it will carry him through and costs nothing to grow. It is the finest pasture for milk-producing or fattening, stock, and it is capable of converting j qtiite medium land into the satao value as to carrying capacity as tho most expensive cocksfoot land in the country, always providing it is properly managod, that is, fed down and properly stocked. It has in some quarters obtained a bad name, but only where farmers have allowed it to grow rank, when cattle and stock naturally pass it. They do just the same with cocksfoot treated tho same way; that ia no fault of the grass, it is a fault of the man who ifl too careless to obsorve. Southerners or outsiders will have the opportunity of judging of tho value of paspalum in Omana. An enthusiastic believer in paspalum says among other facts given:— 'I have a paddock of 35 acres of good paspalum which has not had a spell, you may say, for two years, my . 120 milkers . having been in it two days n week ail that lime," and again, "yon will bo quite safe inlaying that paspalum will carry three times as much stoclv as any other grass." 'These notes on the place are made rather full, so as to .givo selectors a good idea of what they are going Jo see, and tho matters they will have to consider when there.