SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times, [ESTABLISHED 1878.] THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1894. POA PRATENSIS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4661, 1 March 1894, Page 2

SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times, [ESTABLISHED 1878.] THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1894. POA PRATENSIS.

Reverting to the question of laying down land in permanent pastures, about which soma remarks appeared in these columns a week or two ago, we would now draw attention to a particular Bpecies of grass, which is very sparingly sown in this district, and which has claims for consideration which are not perhaps sufficiently recognized, Poa pmtmis is of course altogether unstated for use in cultivated ground. The [armor who crops his loud looks upon it as a weed, and a most troublesome weed it is, Its habit of creeping from tbe root and the amazing vitality of' the rootlets, which throw up shoots in all directions, are properties whioh do not recommend it to tho husbandman, It has no place in any system of alternate husbandry, but as n permanent pasture grass it possesses certain undoubted advantages, In tho first place it is a nutritious giass, and, when it fotms the. great built of the pasture, as in partßof Kentucky, stock of ail classes do very well upon it. It stands drought well, and is not nearly so sensitivo to frost as softer grasses, For the latter reason it is specially useful for winter feed, and that is the strong pointin iis favour. In the VVuitaropa as a rule very little winter fodder is saved on stations for sheep. On such runs the carrying capacity is of course limited to the number of sheep for which sufficient grass can be found in the winter, and ihe superabundance of the late spring and early summer to a lai ge extent goes to waste. The extent to which ryegrasßandcocksfoot can be preserved on tho pasture for winter use is very limited. After the first few severe frosts little iB left of the autumn growth, and what is left lias small nutritive value, In the milder weather in winter when there is some growth in these grasses tho produce is soft and watery, and if sheep have nothing else to feed on, they ate likely to suffer from "scour." Any grass therefore which produces a fair amount of winter feed of a less laxative nature, and whioh, from its greater power of resisting the effeois of frost can to a certain extent be saved on the pasture for winter use, ought not to be lightly rejected, One of the objections to tbe sowing of/joa pratemis is that, owing to its strong habit of growth and its creeping roots, it has a tendency to choke other grasses, and take possession of the pasture to the exclusion of everything else, For that and other reasons thia grass ought cot to bo indiscriminately sown, but it is probable that the tendenoy in qaestion has been exaggerated, and it is certain that it is very much modified by the nature of the aoil. This grass is included in many of the mixtures recommended by English authorities and has been used by. some of our. local Bettlera pretty freely, although as a rule it is rejected altogether. We are inclined to think that its use—itß judicious use of courso-might be largely extended in this district with great advantage