THE FARM.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 85, 20 September 1915, Page 4

THE FARM.

Permanent Pastures. The Question of GrazingA recent issue of tbe "National Stockman" contains the folloving interesting comments on the question 1 of how permanent pastures should be grazed:— After seven years' experience I conducting experiments with handling pastures the writer beileves there is no more important factor in keeping up the production of a pasture than judicious care in keeping it stocked properly. In order to make the meaning clear toe following definition of termß is offered Light gfEziDg is usrd teie to mean grazirg with so few aniitals that a considerable amount of herbage is allowed tj grow up aud form seed. Closs grazing is used to mean keeping the land sto?ked with sufficient animals tJ keep the grass from goirg to seed, but not so close as to injure tbe crowns of the plants; in other words, such degree of grazing as will keep a sod in a condition similar to a wellkept lawn. Ovjr-grazing is us d to mean pasturing so heavily tfcat the plants are eaten off clear to the giounc l , the crowns of the plants > injured, and the plants gradually destroyed. Many writers confuse ihese terms and use close grazing as synonymous with over-grazinu. PASTURE PLANTS. In order to appreciate tee importance of this matter of putting just tbe right amount of stock on a pasture we must understand the same facts in regard to plant growth. Plants are divided into ' annuals, biennials and perennials, dependiigo.i whether they live one, two or mare than two years respecl tivtly. A knowledge of the nature . of tbe species in tfai3 respect is of t prime importance when studying pastura paints. Plants differ aleo 1 in the manner in which tbev k reproduce their kind. Some plants aie entirely dependent on seeds for reproduction while others can pro- . palate their species by means of underground stems, by root stalk?, and some by runners above ground. As a rule our best pasture plants, such as white clover, bluegras?, Bermuda grass, quack grass and redtop, are able to itcrease Ibtir stand without the formation of a single seed. Some annual plants, as Japan clover, may maintain (heir existence under p:sture conditions bv seeding so close to the groui.d that they escape destruction by live stock. The third fact to be kept in mind is that none of the plants which we need to consider can exist for any Lng period of time without green leaves to manufacture new material for growth. ENGLISH PRACTICE. An English authority, Martin J. Sutton, has this to say in his book entitled "Permanent and Temporary Pastures": "Again, immense damage is done to some pastures by cutting the crops for hay late in the season. ■ Many of the graEs s have time to form and ripen their seeds, and nothirg exhausts plantd so much. 1 Some of the iiner grasses cannot be safely taxed in this way. They may endure the ordeal once or twice, but if the drain on their resources is frequently repeat.d they gradually dwindlle away. So long as the:e grasses are mown early or grazed, they are perfectly perennial, as is conclusively proved by their coni tinued existence in some if tte fii.est old pastures of the kingdom, where they have never been allowed to Beed." In another parargaph the same writer states:— "A further means of deteriorating grass land is the practice of allowing pastures reserved especially for horned cattle to be over stocked. When an ox-pastuic is eaten down so bare as to allow ths roots of the mote succulent glasses to become > scorched it is a serious injury not only for that year's feed but for several subsequent seasons. In one of the recent hot summers I hoped by a liberal allowance of cake to make a pasture carry more stock than ths crop justified, and the result was disastrous to the plant. On the other hand, a sheep pasture cannot well be cropped too close to maintain constant growth of the sweet fine herbage ot what it should consist." All of which leads to the conclusion that undergrazmg may be detrimental to pasture as well as overgrazing. The remedy for too light grazing is to add more stock and mow the pastures early. Mowing late in the season might destroy some ef the late blooming weeds, but would fail in the matter of keeping the grass in a vigorous growing condition. It has been frequently noted that stock will eat mown grass after it has wilted, when they refused to touch it before it was cut. The summer silo or soiling crops may be used to supplement the pasture that is overstocked, but if these are not available it is better to sacrifice some of the stock than to ruin the pasture. AN OLD QUESTION. There is nothing new or original in this argument ot close xrazing to eradicate weeds and promote a close, even turf of pasture grasses. Judging by tbe agricultural literature of the period the practice seems to have been thoroughly understood by the farmers of Great Britain fifty to a hundred years ago. All the old writers emphasised the importance of "properly stocking a pasture," which meant keeping the grass grazed down to fine sward. If the Etock, did not keep the grass sufficiently cropped, it was mown before it had time to mature. The famous permanent pastures of England could not have been developed by any other method. In every field numerous plants spontaneously spring up some of which are disliked by one class of animals, while they are eaten by others; and some of which plants, though eaten with avidity at a particular period of their growth, are entirely rejected by the same beasts at another period of their age. Hence, they say, it becomes necessary not only to have u great variety of cattle in tbe sairii pasture, but also very particular attention is required to augment or diminish the proportions of some of these classes of animals at certain periods nl' (he year; otherwise some part nf the product' will run to waste, unlcsi indeed it be hard stocked to tueh a degree us t-j retard i their thriving. I