NEW ZEALAND PRACTICAL HANDBOOKS.

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NEW ZEALAND

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NEW ZEALAND PRACTICAL HANDBOOKS.

PASTURE PLANTS

AND

PASTURES OF NEW ZEALAND

BY

F. W. HILGENDORF, MA, D.Sc. (N.Z.)

Sometime Senior Scholar and First Class Honoursman
in Natural Science of the University of New Zealand.

Biologist to the Canterbury Agricultural College,
Lincoln, N.Z. *

Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington ;
Melbourne and London :

WHITCOMBE & TOMBS LIMITED

;/^U

PREFACE.

nHHIS little volume is published in the hope that it may
prove useful to both farmers and students. No other
crop approaches grass in importance, and yet in many parts
of the country no other crop is so little studied. A good
deal of attention has been devoted in the following pages
to the means of recognising the various grasses, as it is
considered that the ability to recognise the different
varieties is the surest way to induce a study of their
habits and capabilities. On this study depends the
solution of the most important of all problems facing
the New Zealand farmer, namely : " What is the best
grass mixture to sow on my land ?"

F.W.H.
LINCOLN, 1918.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAP. I. DESCRIPTION OF BOTANICAL AND AGRI-
CULTURAL CHARACTERS OF COMMON
PASTURE GRASSES

CHAP. II. DESCRIPTION OF WEED GRASSES AND
NATIVE GRASSES -

CHAP III. KEY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF ALL COM-
MON GRASSES

CHAP. IV. DESCRIPTION OF CLOVERS AND OTHER
PASTURE PLANTS WITH KEY FOR
IDENTIFICATION

CHAP. V. MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES : GRASS
MIXTURES -

31

44

50

68

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OR NEW ZEALAND.

CHAPTER I.

THE COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

The majority of the pastures in New Zealand will be
found clothed with only some four or five grasses, but in
exceptional circumstances some dozen additional species
may be found. It is the design of this chapter to describe
these grasses so that they may be recognised and named,
to discuss their value as fodder, and their suitability to
different classes of soils.

In the description of a grass, the leafage is of most im-
portance because that is to be found all the year round,
while the flowers can be found for only a short period.
The following terms are used in describing the leafy portion
of a grass : — The sheath is the part in which all the leaves are
folded together to make a kind of a stem from which the
blades of the leaf spring. The liguk is a transparent mem-
branous flap standing up at the junction of the sheath and
the blade. Its presence or absence and its shape when

present are very
important points in
identifying grasses.
It can be very plainly
seen in Cocksfoot
and Prairie Grass for
example. The ears
are a pair of hooked
structures springing
from the base of the

leaf blade and more

or less enfolding the sheath. They are very well developed in
barley. A rhizome is an underground creeping stem, giving
off roots downwards and frequently leaves upwards at

c

Fig. 1.— A : Base of blade. B : Ligule. C : Sheath.

Note pointed ears between B and C in the
right-hand specimen (after Ward).

6 . PASfTUftE/FI^VNTS ANb .PASTURES OF N.Z.

each knot. All grasses with rhizomes are called ' ' Twitches."
A stolon is an overground creeping stem rooting where the
knots touch the ground. A common example is found in
the Strawberry, and among grasses, stolons are often found
in Creeping Bent. A spikelet is one of the small clusters
in which the flowers of grasses are arranged. They are
familiar objects in the Rye grasses, being the structures on
which children count " Tinker, Tailor, etc.'* In most grasses
they are smaller and more crowded together than in the
Rye grasses. An awn is a hair-like projection from part of
the spikelet. Awns are well seen in Italian Rye.

The habits of growth of grasses in New Zealand are often
very different from their habits in England, and English
books are therefore often misleading in estimating the value
of a grass for local conditions.

The following grasses are those commonly or occasionally
sown in New Zealand pastures.

Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerate). — A strong-growing,
broad-leaved, perfectly hairless grass, with a bluish tinge on
the leaves. The sheath is strongly compressed so as to have
almost cutting edges. Ligule fairly developed and some-
what pointed. Upper surface of the blade practically
ribless but with a rather deep groove. Blade gradually
tapering to the tip.

This is one of the most valuable grasses used in New
Zealand. It is quite permanent, and produces a very large
amount of palatable fodder. It can be profitably sown on
every class of ground. The only real disadvantage it suffers
from is that it dies down almost entirely in winter, at any rate
in the South, and starts into growth late in spring. It has,
besides this, several fancied disadvantages, which are almost
universally held to limit its usefulness. These are that it
always grows in tufts, leaving bare ground between the tufts,
and that it takes about three years to establish itself, so

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

that it is useless for temporary pastures. Both of these
disadvantages are due, not to the character of the grass,
but to the manner of treating it. Cocksfoot is very com-
monly sown at the rate of three or four pounds to the acre,
in a mixture containing 20 or 25 pounds
of Perennial Rye. It is no wonder
that the Cocksfoot grows in tufts.
If a sufficient seeding were applied it
would form a turf at least as good
as that provided by Perennial Rye.
The fact that Cocksfoot usually takes
two to three years to establish itself is
again due to the thin seeding of this
grass in a mixture. The Rye Grass
develops earlier in summer and runs to
seed. It thus becomes less palatable
and the sheep leave it and feed almost
exclusively on the Cocksfoot, worrying
the life out of the few scattered plants.
The wonder is that the Cocksfoot ever
becomes established. If it is sown
pure (or with Dogstail) at the rate of
14 or 15 pounds per acre, and grazed
in the least degree reasonably it will
establish itself in the first season. It
is not intended byj these remarks to
advocate the sowing of Cocksfoot
pure, but to show that its chief
reputed disadvantages belong not to
the grass itself but to the method
of sowing it. This at least is true, that Cocksfoot is
used far too sparingly. Three or four pounds to the acre
leads to a waste of money — much more does the sowing
of one pound such as one often sees. About 10 to 12

Fig. 2.— Cocksfoot.

A : Flower Head.

B : Base of blade.

(after Percival).

8

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

pounds to the acre, mixed with Rye Grasses and Dogstail, will
give a permanent pasture of great value, but this matter will be
referred to more fully under the heading of ' ' Grass Mixtures."
Cocksfoot seed is harvested with the sickle and flail on
Banks Peninsula and elsewhere in very large quantities,
the average area saved for seed during the last ten years
having been 30,000 acres. The seed varies in weight from
12 to 17 pounds per measured bushel, and the price varies
accordingly. An average in normal years is about 7Jd. per
pound. This and all other quotations in this chapter refer
to the price of dressed seed as sold by seed merchants to
farmers, and no notice is taken of rise in price induced by
war and drought.

Perennial Rye (Lolium perenne). — A rather small grass,
distinctly red at the base of the leaf sheath, just below where
it enters the ground. Blade and sheath hairless. Sheath

just underneath the leaves
distinctly compressed 'into
an oval shape. This fact
is most easily distinguished
by gently rolling the sheath
between the fingers. Ligule
very short and cut off
square. Small clasping ears.
Upper surface of blade dis-
tinctly ridged, lower side
shiny.

This is the most populai
grass in England and New
Zealand, and one of the
most valuable. It pro-
duces a large amount of
feed of high palatability and

Fig. 3. — Perennial Rye Grass. ± ••• TJ. xi_ •

(after Fream). HUtntlVC Value. It thrives

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES. 9

extraordinarily under the trampling of stock, and on
roadsides may be seen occupying the land next to the metal,
while Cocksfoot thrives nearer the fences, where the tramp-
ling of stock is less severe. Rye grass remains green all the
winter, and starts growth very early in Spring, being much
superior to Cocksfoot in these respects. This long list of
good qualities, together with the cheapness of its seed, have
led to the very extensive use of this grass, and perhaps
it would not be too much to say that 70 to 80 per cent, of
the grass seed sown in New Zealand is Perennial Rye. The
wide range of utility of this grass cannot be denied, and yet
it is quite certain that it is used too widely and without
sufficient discrimination. 'From the list of its virtues given
above that of permanence is absent. It is shallow rooted,
and on light land with a rainfall of under 30 inches its life
is very short, often little exceeding two or three years.
Even within this period it becomes thin and patchy, and a
paddock is often unprofitable for many months before it is
ploughed up. Again, on the heaviest lands, although Rye
Grass is permanent there, other grasses such as Timothy and
Foxtail will give a much greater bulk of feed. In making
up mixtures for thelightest and heaviest lands, then, Perennial
Rye should be very much reduced in amount, and perhaps
it would be a good thing if it were somewhat reduced
in the great majority of the mixtures used in New
Zealand. In the Clifton Park system of grassing to which
reference will be made later, this grass is entirely rejected on
account of its short life and shallow-root system. On heavy
lands, and in wet seasons, Perennial Rye tends to be attacked
by rust, which causes considerable scouring in stock.

Rye Grass seed is gathered in all the agricultural districts
either by means of the reaper and binder, or very frequently
by strippers, an average of 50,000 acres of this grass and
Italian Rye having been annually saved for seed during the

10

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

past ten years. Seed from old pastures is preferred by
buyers, as this tends to ensure that the seed has been saved
from plants of a truly perennial nature. Poverty Bay seed
is in great demand because of this factor. Other named
strains are Pacey's, and Devonshire Evergreen, but their
vogue in New Zealand is only slight. The seed from old
plants tends to be small and shotty, and so the weight
per measured bushel is an indication of the age of the plant
whence the seed was gathered. Good seed runs about 29
pounds to the bushel, and an average price is 4s. 9d. per
bushel of 20 pounds.

Italian Rye (Lolium italicum). — A stronger growing grass
than Perennial Rye. It is similar in all its botanical
characters except that the sheath just underneath the blades
is round instead of compressed. In the flowering stage a

noticeable difference occurs
in that the flowers of Italian
Rye have the hair-like
projections called "awns,"
which are absent from
Perennial Rye.

Italian Rye produces
much more feed than does
Perennial, and is very well
liked by stock of all kinds.
It, however, lasts only one
or two years, except on the
very heaviest and richest
ground when it may become
almost permanent. It is
sometimes used alone (at
about 40 pounds per acre)

Fig. 4.— Italian Bye Grass. Or with Red Clover, for SOW-

(after Fream). mg m Autumn to obtain a

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES. 11

large amount of fresh grass in the Spring, and given a
moist and warm Autumn is very successful when so used.
It is chiefly employed however, in mixtures, at the rate
of about five to ten pounds per acre to give feed during
the early part of a pasture's first season, with the idea that
as it dies out, more permanent grasses will develop and
occupy the space it leaves. About five pounds per acre
is usually quite enough. More seed does not produce
very much more feed, and is apt to leave the pasture
patchy.

The numerous varieties of Italian Rye that have appeared
of late years have been only a qualified success. Giant
Italian proves a giant only where given good land and plenty
of moisture, but is certainly a better strain than some others
on the market. Perennialized Italian has no claims to its name,
as it lasts little longer than the common strain and is pro-
bably less productive. Westernwolth's is certainly a vigor-
ous grower in its first season, and is of great value when it
is sown to last only a single season, but its life is too short to
allow it to be used in mixtures, for under many conditions
it becomes almost strictly an annual.

The seed, like that of Perennial Rye, is gathered with the
binder, or occasionally with the stripper. In favourable
circumstances yields of 50 to 60 bushels are not uncommon,
and the crop then becomes more profitable than wheat.
The life of the pasture is, however, always shortened by
cutting a crop of seed. Many of the ' ' awns ' ' are knocked
off in threshing, and the best of samples do not usually show
more than 80 per cent, of awned seeds, while the usual run
of seeds has probably less than 50 per cent, of seeds with
awns. Such seed is difficult to distinguish accurately from
that of Perennial Rye. The average price of the seed is
4s. 9d. per bushel of 20 pounds.

12

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

Timothy (Phleum pratense). — A strong growing grass
with a bluish tinge on the leaf. At the base of the leaf sheath
under the ground, and just above the roots, is a single or at
most two bulb-like swellings. This is very characteristic.
The leaf sheath is round and the ligule conspicuous. There
are no ears.

Timothy will last for
six years or longer de-
pending on the nature
of the soil. It thrives
best on heavy lands,
and will succeed on
wet clays where other
grasses often fail, or
on medium lands with
a rainfall of about 30
inches. It is quite
unsuited for light
soils or dry districts.
Under suitable con-
ditions the abundance
of feed it produces is
hardly excelled by
that of any other
grass in cultivation. The fodder is of the greatest
palatability especially to cattle and horses. In general
it is more a cattle than a sheep grass, just because it
thrives best on the heavier soils. It is very economical to
sow for several reasons. The seed is small, and there are
about 1,100,000 of them to the pound, while in Perennial
Rye for instance 240,000 seeds go to the pound. Thus if
28 pounds of.Ryegrass is sufficient for an acre, about 6J
pounds of Timothy should be sufficient also. But the seed
is rounded and solid, and so is very easily covered too deeply

Fig. 5.— Timothy, (after Fream).

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

13

in the soil. For this reason eight pounds per acre are used
when Timothy is sown pure. More usually four or five pounds
are sown in mixtures, and this quantity gives a considerable
bulk of feed. A striking result often occurs in such mixtures.
The Timothy appears to have failed, owing to its great palat-
tability. It is grazed more closely than the other grasses,
and therefore escapes notice, until by accident or design a
piece of the field is protected from stock. The high pro-
ductivity of Timothy, its palatability, the cheapness of
its seeding, and its relatively long life make this one of our
most valuable grasses. On any lands the least inclined to be
heavy, or on medium lands with over 30 inches of rainfall,
Timothy should replace a large quantity of the Perennial
Rye usually shown. The seed costs about 6Jd. per pound.

Crested Dogstail (Cynosurus cristatus). — Dogstail is
rather a small grass, much like Perennial Rye in growth.
It usually has a faint, but
unmistakable yellow tinge
at the base of the sheath,
just under the ground, and
this colour is sometimes
more distinctly seen when
the outer dead sheaths are
stripped off. For the rest
it is much like Rye Grass
in the ears, ligule-and ribs.

Dogstail is a strictly
permanent grass on prac-
tically all classes of land.
The amount of feed pro-
duced is rather small —
distinctly less than in the
case of Rye Grass, and
while fairly palatable it is

Fig. 6. — Crested Dogstail (after Fream).

14 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

also highly nutritious. It grows low and dense, and is
useful for forming a close turf and filling up spaces
between other grasses. While it, of course, thrives best
on the heavier soils, it will hold its own indefinitely
on all soils but the very lightest, and is therefore
of great value in securing permanent pastures on
such land. The seed stalks are very wiry, and are unan-
imously rejected by stock. A very important result of this
is that Dogstail ripens its seed even while the paddock is
being depastured, unless, of course, the stocking is unusually
heavy. Thus the seed is scattered so that new plants occupy
all vacant spaces. If a field then is designed for a permanent
pasture only a little Dogstail need be sown at first, and it
will spread and occupy the spaces left by the shorter lived
grasses as the latter die out. For instance a field sown in a
mixture containing only half a pound of Dogstail to the acre
was found in nine years to be clothed with that grass almost
entirely. A pound or so per acre of Dogstail should always be
mixed with Cocksfoot in mixtures for permanent pastures
for second class lands, as it tends to lessen the bad effect
of the tufty nature of that grass under the usual conditions
of sowing. Its close growth and turfy habit make it
a valuable constituent of lawn mixtures. It is useless for
temporary leys as it is somewhat slow in maturing, and as
mentioned before of only moderate growth. Growing
Dogstail for seed is a feature of the district near Palmerston
North. Colonial seed is better than English, which fre-
quently contains dog daisy as an impurity. The normal
price of the seed in recent seasons has been about Is. 4d.
per pound.

Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratensis). — A grass of robust
growth, with coarse, stiff, and rather pale green leaves.
At the base of the sheath there is a distinct red coloura-
tion. The sheath is rounded, but the ears and ligule are

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

15

as in Rye Grass. The chief distinguishing character of this
grass is the distinct roughness of the upper surface and
edges of the blade when it is drawn from tip to base over
the tongue or lip. This test
needs to be made carefully
or blood will flow.

Meadow Fescue is a
perfectly permanent grass,
suited to medium heavy
soils. It produces a con-
siderable quantity of fodder,
and is well liked by stock
in spite of the coarseness
of its leaf. These features
make it one of the most
admired grasses in England,
but in New Zealand it has
not proved itself of great
utility. It establishes its
full growth but slowly, and
does not yield its maximum pis 7._Meadow Fesone.

return until two or three (after Fream).

years after sowing. When

once established, however, it appears to hold its place
long after many other grasses have disappeared. This
feature and its excellent English reputation justify
wider trials of this grass in different localities where
permanent pasture is desired on land of fair quality or
with good rainfall. Its past performances in New Zealand,
however, do not warrant its being sown in more than
experimental quantities. A seeding of about 15 pounds per
acre in a mixture should be tried on a small area, rather
than a very light seeding on a larger area. The seed is almost
entirely of American origin, and costs about lid. per pound.

16

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

Tall Fescue (Festuca elatior). — In leaf characters this
grass is merely a coarse and robust form of Meadow Fescue,
although the two grasses are very different in general
appearance. It grows most freely on swampy land where
it will form great clumps five feet in height.

As a pasture grass Tall Fescue is li ttle used. In swamps it
is now generally looked upon as a nuisance, though it has done
much good in carrying a certain quantity of stock until the
swamps were drained. Sown upon hills in districts of sufficient
rainfall it grows well, and then assumes much the habit of
Meadow Fescue. Its extended use cannot be recommended.
Che wings Fescue (Festuca saburicola) . —
Of all the species similar in growth to
Sheep's Fescue, Chewings is the only
one at all largely used here, and it will
be taken to serve as a type of the whole
group. It is a very small, low growing
grass, its leaves rarely exceeding 6 inches in
length, while they are often shorter, even
when fully grown. There is frequently a
slight red colouration at the base of the
sheath. The leaf is very narrow, and is rolled
towards the middle so that it becomes quite
like a bristle or a pine needle. The ligule
is very small, and is often barely visible.
There are two rounded shoulder-like ears,
not enfolding the stem, and these give one
of the best identification marks of the species
(v. fig. 9, p. 17).
Fig. 8.— Chewings Chewings Fescue is an absolutely

Fescue. . , ,

A: section of bristle- permanent grass that grows on every class

like blade. r, ., ~_ .. , , , , . „

B: Base of leaf shew- of soil, even the lightest and driest. Here

ing shoulder-like .-,-,., .-, . -, ,-,

ears. indeed, it appears to thnve better than on

C : Flower head. , .. . - ,, , , -, r

(after Fream) better soils, since in the latter case it has

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES. 17

to stand the competition of numerous other grasses, while on
dry shingle it reigns alone. This is its chief, if not its only
virtue. The bulk of feed produced is very small, and
what there is, has a distinctly low palatability. When
turned on to plots of various grasses,
sheep will, if hard pressed, positively paw
up the creeping stems of white clover
before they will touch Chewings Fescue. On
arable ground it forms a close growing twitch,
which ploughs up into solid sods very difficult
to work down into a tilth. For these reasons
one cannot recommend the sowing of Chew-
ings Fescue except on the very poorest and
lightest soils, where nothing else will thrive.
Even in such localities it is open to question
whether one of the Danthonias would not
be more profitable, especially if an occasional crop is con-
templated ; though it is true that the Chewings Fescue will
come again after the crop without sowing any seed.

For lawns, however, Chewings Fescue cannot be ex-
celled. It is fine leaved, dark green, slow growing, forms
a close turf that tends to prevent the ingress of weeds, and
suffers very little from the ravages of grass grub. The seed
is cheap enough to be applied at the rate of 150 Ibs. per acre
without undue expense, and if this grass is sown pure it
will give an infinitely better lawn than many of the elaborate
and expensive mixtures usually sold. Of course it has dis-
advantages. It is somewhat slow to establish itself, and
it turns brown unless watered in the height of summer. For
the rough sort of lawn that is rarely if ever mowed this grass
is quite unequalled.

Chewings Fescue is largely grown is Southland, where it
was first accidentally introduced and afterwards separated out
by Mr. Chewing. It is extensively saved for seed, which in

18

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

normal seasons is sold at about 6Jd. per pound. The seed
is apt to lose a large proportion of its germination capacity
after the first season.

Prairie Grass (Bromus unioloides). A very strong grow-
ing grass, with broad, light green leaves. The sheath is
compressed into an oval shape, and is covered with velvety
hairs, while the blade is usually quite hairless.

Prairie grass produces a great
wealth of foliage of the highest
palatability to cattle, horses and
sheep alike. It starts into
growth extremely early in the
season, if, indeed, one should not
rather say extremely late, for it
often produces a great deal of
feed in early winter. It has,
however, the grave disadvantage
that when sown in mixtures it is
immediately eaten out. How far
this is due to the nature of the
grass, and how far to the small
amount introduced in the
mixture one is not prepared to
say. It is true, however, that
the grass appears to be permanent
along hedges and ditches where
the stock cannot easily reach it
(though this maybe largely due to

self -seeding), and that in one or two districts it is sown pure,
and then appears to survive stocking perfectly. If it is
sown pure, the stock can be removed when the Prairie Grass
is nearly bare ; but if sown in a mixture, it will, owing to its
great palatability, be eaten right out while there is still
abundance of feed in the paddock. It would, therefore,

Fig. 10.— Prairie Grass.

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

19

seem to be a grass well worth giving a trial under favourable
conditions of stocking, especially where winter grass is of
great importance.

The seed is very large, and therefore a considerable
weight, say 40 pounds, should be sown per acre. Owing to
the difficulty of covering the seed when it is broadcast, it
should be drilled in 7 in. rows, and then cross-drilled, sowing
half the seed at each operation. Some seed is grown locally,
and it is always better than the imported article, which often
produces plants that suffer from smut. At Moumahaki
Experimental Farm a pure strain was isolated by Mr. W. S.
Hill, and this has given very satisfactory results from the
point of view of increased yield. The seed averages in price
5s. 3d. per bushel of 20 Ibs.

Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis).
A strong growing grass with bluish-green
leaves growing only on damp land or in
moist climates. From the main plant go
off rhizomes a couple of inches in length,
and the ends of these are upturned and
produce leaves. The sheath is round, the
ligule short and obtuse, the ribs on the
upper surface of the blade are noticeably
flat, not sharp. The whole plant is hair-
less and the leaf has a tendency to roll up
on hot days. The dead sheaths at the base
have a purplish tinge in their brown.

Foxtail is a permanent grass producing
a great wealth of feed. It starts into
growth very early in spring. It is highly
palatable and improves under stocking, |§i] \\.\
there being several pastures over 40 years
old even in so new a country as New Fig- u-
Zealand. Foxtail-

20 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

The small rhizomes, while never forming anything like
a twitch, enable the grass to obtain a good hold on the ground
and to spread slightly as it reaches its full growth. The three
striking disadvantages of this grass, that prevent its being
more widely sown are as follows : (1) It is suited only to lands
where there is always sufficient moisture without water-
logging. A heavy rainfall is not essential if the soil has a
high water retaining capacity, and on the other hand it will
succeed on medium soils with a rainfall approaching 60
inches. The grass is quite useless in light or medium soils
where the rainfall is under 40 inches. (2) It takes a year or
two to establish its full growth, and therefore is useful for
only permanent pastures. (3) The seed is light and fluffy,
difficult to sow, and of very low germinating capacity, as
a rule not over 50 per cent., and sometimes as low as 10 per
cent. Thus many attempts at using this grass profitably
have failed. But is clear that Meadow Foxtail has a distinct
sphere of great usefulness, and indeed it is regarded in
England as absolutely the best grass for permanent pasture
in heavy land— such as drained swamps. In mixtures for
such soils Foxtail should always be included, as there are
numerous examples of its great success in both Islands of
New Zealand.

Seed was formerly largely imported but is now harvested,
chiefly by hand, in the Manawatu District. Although this
seed is better than that imported from Europe, yet its
germination is uncertain, and it should always be tested
before purchase. Samples germinating 60 per cent, are
good. The seed is bulky, weighing about 10 pounds per
bushel, and an average price is Is. 4d. per pound. European
seed is often adulterated, and Colonial seed impure, so that
a sharp look out should be kept for worthless admixtures.

Creeping Bent, Fiorin or Brown Top. — (Agrostis alba
and other species). — An exceedingly variable grass, which,

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

21

beside the above names, has the following applied to it, viz.,
Black Bent, Red Top, Waipu Brown Top, and Water Twitch.
The grass, as the last name implies, produces creeping stems
which in some varieties are subterranean, and in others
sprawl over the ground, and strike roots wherever a knot
comes in contact with the soil. The sheath is round, the
ligule distinct, and the blade tapers regularly from base
to tip. There are acute and prominent ribs on the upper side
of the blade, and no groove along its middle line. But all
these characters are somewhat obscure (except the taper-
ing blade), and while there is no grass easier to recognise,
there is none for which it is harder to detail diagnostic
characters.

Creeping Bent is a
perfectly permanent grass
producing a rather small
amount of feed which is
fairly well liked by sheep —
and this seems truer of
Brown Top than of the
other varieties. It is
thought in the North Island
to have poor fattening
qualities, but this is not
at all a universal experi-
ence. It thrives best on
very wet or swampy soils,
but does very well on light
soils with a rainfall of 50
inches or over. It be-
comes established in its
first season from seed, but
starts into growth rather
late in each season. Owing

Fig. 12. — Flower head of Creeping
Bent, (after Percival).

22 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

to its twitchy habit it is never sown in arable land, though
it often becomes a serious weed there ; on unploughable
land of the better quality the twitchy habit tends to cause
Creeping Bent to crowd out other grasses and to become
sod-bound itself. But on really poor land with a good rain-
fall this grass is one of the most valuable, and along the
foothills of Canterbury its spontaneous spread into the
tussock is responsible for greatly increased sheep carrying
capacity. In swamps, too, Creeping Bent is of great value as
in some circumstances it thrives better than any other grass.

There are a very large number of strains or varieties
recognisable, and a useful piece of work could be done in
isolating the best of these for varying conditions. The
variety known as Waipu Brown Top has a distinct and
possibly deserved vogue in some districts. This name, and the
American one of Red Top refer to the brownish pink tinge
that is very striking when masses of the grass are in flower.
Creeping Bent makes a very useful lawn grass, standing a
good deal of wear, and making a fine turf not liable to be
injured by grass grub. It is therefore almost universally
included in lawn mixtures, and could profitably be used in
larger proportions.

Some seed is saved in the north and east of the North
Island, but nearly all is imported. It is very small and
light, and six pounds are sufficient to sow an acre com-
pletely. An average price of the seed is Is. 4d. per pound.

Poa Pratensis or Kentucky Blue Grass (Poa pratensis). —
This grass is usually called by its botanical name in New
Zealand, but is often called merely "twitch" — a most
indefinite term. It is rather low and creeping, has very
distinct rhizomes well developed, a compressed sheath,
and leaves of the characteristic "poa" build. That is,
they are flat and ribless, but have a pair of fine narrow
lines like tram lines running in a shallow depression along

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

23

the top of the midrib ; the sides of the blade are parallel to
near their top, and then rapidly contract to a point, so that
the blade has usually a canoe-shaped tip.

Poa pratensis is
quite permanent, and
produces a close com-
pact turf. The amount
of feed it gives is only
moderate, but its
palat ability is high.
It is never sown on
land intended for crop-
ping, where indeed
it forms one of the
best known twitches.
Though the grass has
the very highest repu-
tation in America for
permanent pasture —
forming the famous
Kentucky Blue Grass,
yet it has here not a wide sphere of usefulness. On
light dry lands it does not thrive, and in places where
there is much moisture it can be replaced with
Creeping Bent ; between these two extremes, however,
is a large area of land where Poa pratensis might be employed
for pastures which are intended to lie down permanently,
but this is just the class of land where Cocksfoot thrives.
Despite American practice, then, Poa pratensis should be
used in only small quantities, say half a pound per acre, to
form a turf between Cocksfoot tufts. It is a question, how-
ever, whether Dogstail cannot do all that Poa pratensis
can, and at the same time give more feed, and less prospect
of subsequent trouble.

Fig. 13.-— Poa pratensis, (after Fream).

24 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

The seed is very small and light, and its germination is
usually very poor. Any test of its germination capacity
should, however, be conducted with the seeds exposed to
light. The seed is mostly of American origin.

Poa Trivialis or Rough Stalked Meadow Grass (Poa
trivialis). — This grass is very much like the former in all
points regarding its leafy parts, but it never produces
rhizomes, and therefore is not a twitch.

It is permanent, but produces only a moderate amount
of feed which, however, is of fair quality. It succeeds best
in warm moist climates on rather good soil. Here it makes
a close sole of grass, and for this reason is more or less
regularly used in Taranaki and northern parts of Wellington
Districts. It is useful in the same way as Dogstail is, that
is, for forming a close turf among taller growing grasses ;
but while Dogstail combines best with Cocksfoot, Poa
trivialis finds its best companion in Foxtail.

The seed is still smaller and lighter than that of Poa
pratensis and its germination better. Seven pounds will
completely sow an acre, and therefore it must be sparingly
used (about half-a-pound) in mixtures. An average price
of the seed is Is. 5d. per pound.

Paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum). — This grass also is
known by its botanical name. It is of very robust growth,
and is practically confined to the northern half of Auckland
Province. It has very strong rhizomes, a compressed sheath,
and the edges of the ensheathing part of the leaves are
fringed with long spiky silken hairs. There is a large ligule
with a sparse fringe of long hairs behind it, and the blade of
the leaf is cigar-shaped, that is, distinctly broader in the
middle than at either end.

Paspalum is a permanent grass producing a large
quantity of fodder on suitable soils. It thrives only in
the warmest portions of the Dominion, since in other

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

25

parts it takes most of the summer to recover from the
unfavourable effects of the winter, and so produces feed
only in Autumn. Even in Auckland this objection holds
to a considerable degree, so that
Paspalum is purely a summer
grass.

Rich and heavy swampy soils
are most suited to its growth,
and in pure swamps it effects a
wonderful transformation in a
few years, solidifying and binding
them, and covering them with a
luxuriant growth. Its very strong
rhizomes, however, make it quite
unsuitable for land which is likely
to come under the plough, and the
fear has been expressed that there
is by far too much Paspalum
in North Auckland. Foxtail or
Cocksfoot would be much more
profitable.

The seed is largely imported from Victoria, and owing
to its irregular ripening is often of very low germinating
capacity. Seed shaken out, not cut, is much better, but of
course more expensive. The rhizomes are sometimes
planted instead of sowing seed, but the planting method is
applicable to only very small areas. Seed sown in Autumn
very often lies dormant till next summer, but then germinates
quite satisfactorily. The average price is about Is. Id. per
pound.

Danthonia (Danthonia semiannularis and D. pilosa). —
The above two species, which are natives of New Zealand,
are confused under the name Danthonia, and from the
farmer's point of view one description will apply to

Fig. 14.
Paspalum dilatatum.

26

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

both. The grass is low growing, and is of a greyish green
colour. It has usually some sparse hairs on the sheath
and blade, but its most notable character is a tuft

of long silky hairs round the
base of the blade near where the
ligule appears in most grasses.
There is no lateral expansion of
the base of the blade suggesting
ears, and this last point is
necessary to differentiate it from
Microloena.

Danthonia is a perfectly
permanent grass, producing a
small amount of feed of rather
low palatability. In the South
Island, therefore, it is usually
looked upon as a weed to be
burned or ploughed out so as
to make room for better grasses.
This is especially the case where
of recent years Danthonia has
shown a tendency to spread
into pastures whence it was

banished by the plough when the tussock was first
broken up. It is there thought to be killing out the
English grasses, whereas it is probably only filling up bare
spaces caused by the death of the plants unsuitable for per-
manent pastures. The seed is easily carried in the wool of
sheep. Danthonia is commonest on dry, clay hills, or stony
flats, and has the great merit of being able to thrive in districts
too dry to support almost any other grass. Che wings Fescue
is its only rival in this respect, and of the two Danthonia is the
less unpalatable, and has the advantage of being easily got rid
of if it is desired to bring the land again under the plough.

Fig. 16.— Danthonia

semiannularis.

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES. 27

In the North Island, on the other hand, Danthonia is
often looked upon as a valuable pasture grass, and is sown
either broadcast, or by buying sheep in autumn off Danthonia
country such as Nelson. On the hills north of Wellington
Danthonia country is reported to have a carrying capacity
of two ewes per acre.

Danthonia seed is saved to some extent in New Zealand.
It is very light and fluffy, and difficult to sow by hand or
machine. The two varieties are mixed in most samples
purchased. Where it is possible to buy them separate
D. pilosa is very much the better variety. An average
price of the seed is about Is. 2d. per pound, but it varies con-
siderably from year to year.

Rice Grass or Microloena (Microloena stipoides). — This
is another native grass. It is rather low growing, has
rounded sheaths, and a noticeable tuft of hairs in the position
of the ligule. There are sometimes seen properly formed
ears, but always at the base of the blade are two expansions
different in colour from the blade, and suggesting the bases of
ears. The leaf is broad and of a rather light green colour.

Microloena is a permanent grass occurring chiefly in the
Auckland Districts. It is useful only for poor lands, and
indeed is usually sown for only one particular purpose.
In some cases manuka when cut and burnt comes up again
so thickly as to choke out all the grasses usually sown.
It is then that Microloena is used, and it is found to resist
the manuka to a greater degree than any other grass avail-
able. The seed sells at about Is. 3d. per Ib.

Tall Oat Grass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum). — A tall
growing dark-green grass with long and wide but thin
and papery leaves. On the upper surface of the leaves the
hairs are disposed in lines, as can be seen if the leaf is held
with an end in each hand and then looked at lengthways
with one eye closed and the other at a level with the blade.

28

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

Fig. 16.

(after Percival).

Tall Oat Grass has a certain popularity in
parts of Europe. In England it is called
' ' French Rye Grass. ' ' It grows very quickly
and produces a considerable amount of fodder.
Further it will withstand the very driest
conditions, but it is apparently unpalatable
to the highest degree. A horse confined in
a paddock of less than one tenth of an acre
every day for several years had bared all the
ground except that occupied by a few tufts of
tall oat grass, which were left to grow in full
vigour, and several similar examples might
be quoted. However, when forming a con-
stituent of a mixture sheep will eat it, but
it is probable that if it were introduced into
a mixture in sufficiently large proportions to
be of any importance, its unpalatability would
make itself apparent in the falling-off in
condition of the sheep. Even in France and
Switzerland where the grass is largely used,
it is recognised that cattle will not eat it green,
but when mixed up in hay it is not rejected.

All the seed used in New Zealand is im-
ported. It has long twisted awns like that
of wild oats. The price is about Is. 3d. per
pound.

Canary Grass (Phalaris bulbosa). — A very
tall, strong growing perennial grass, with one
or more swellings less than the size of a
pea, above the roots. From these swellings
very numerous branches are given out. The
blade is broad, and flat, and bluish, and the
ligule one of the longest in our farm grasses,

COMMON PASTURE GRASSES.

29

Phalaris is a somewhat recent introduction. It grows
very luxuriantly, and makes its chief growth in the
winter. During its first season stock eat it greedily,
but from the second season onwards so
many seed stalks are produced 'that the
grass is less relished. Still it produces a
large amount of fodder that is sufficiently
palatable. It is often said that Phalaris
is difficult to eradicate after being down
some years. It is true that if the land is
ploughed and only slightly worked the
Phalaris will come up again, and the same
is true to a certain extent of Cocksfoot.
The roots of any strong growing grass will
require a good deal of working down
before the land is ready to sow again,
and incorporating the copious sod of
Phalaris with the soil will in many cases
be a considerable advantage. It seems
therefore that anyone wishing to assist
the production of winter feed in permanent Fig. 17.

v i -, x ™ , . Phalaris bulbosa.

pastures should try Phalaris.

The seed is now becoming more plentiful, and sells at
about Is. 6d. per pound.

REFERENCES.

The general characters of the agricultural grasses as grown-: in
England are well described in " Agricultural Botany " by John
Percival.

For characteristics of growth of grasses in New Zealand see
Cockayne, Journal N.Z. Department of Agriculture, March, 1914.

Elaborate descriptions and beautiful plates of grasses wuT.? be
found in " The Best Forage Plants," by Stebler and Schroeter,
translated by McAlpine.

30 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

For the identification of common grasses by the leaves, etc., the
best book available is " Grasses," by Marshall Ward (Cambridge
Press, at about 53.)

For Native Grasses Buchanan's " Grasses of New Zealand " is
valuable because of its plates.

CHAPTER II.

WEED GRASSES AND NATIVE GRASSES.

SECTION I. WEEDS.

It is very difficult to say what grasses are weeds, for
what is regarded as a valuable plant under some circum-
stances becomes a noxious weed elsewhere. A weed is a
plant growing out of place, and any grass, no matter how
good it is, is a weed if it is occupying ground that would
support some better grass. On the other hand, grasses
almost universally regarded as weeds become of great utility
under special circumstances, and therefore at once lose their
objectionable distinction. Several of the grasses mentioned
in the last chapter, e.g., Chewings Fescue, Poa pratensis,
Creeping Bent and Danthonia are often regarded as weeds,
while some to be mentioned here among the weeds, e.g.,
Agropyrum repens, have a distinct Sphere of utility. The
terms "weed" and "pasture grass" are therefore only
relative to the condition under which the grasses are found.

Occasionally grasses and other plants that are not of
sufficient value to sow, come up spontaneously, and occupy-
ing spaces that would otherwise be vacant, provide valuable
fodder. Such plants are then hardly weeds, but are known
as volunteers. Examples are Poa annua and Trifolium minus.

Twitch or Couch is a name that is given to any grass
with a rhizome or creeping underground stem. Such a grass,
once it is in the ground, is very hard to get out, for the
instruments of cultivation break and scatter the rhizomes,
and each piece becomes a new plant. There are some six
or seven twitches common in New Zealand, and frequently

32 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

the one that is prevalent in a district is called ' ' Twitch, ' '
without any further distinction. This leads to considerable
confusion, for different men are calling different grasses by
the same name. The following case that occurred within
the last two years will emphasise this point : — A prospective
buyer of a farm found the land covered with a certain grass.
He asked the seller ' ' Is that Twitch ? " ' ' Oh no, " was the
reply, "that's not Twitch, that's Chewings Fescue. There
is a patch of Twitch on the place, I'll show it to you,'* and
the buyer was led to a small patch of Poa pratensis. An
agreement to buy the farm was therefore signed, but on
being informed by a friend that the commonest grass on the
farm was Twitch after all, the buyer repudiated the agree-
ment, and the seller sought damages therefor, the buyer
finally paying several hundred pounds to esca pe from his
bargain. The seller thought of Poa pratensis as twitch and
the purchaser's friend thought of Chewings Fescue under
that name. Hence the trouble. Since the various twitches
differ in feeding value, habits of growth, and difficulty of
eradication, it is advisable to be able to identify them, and
to give them distinctive names. The following seven are the
commonest : —

(1) Agropyrum repens. — Twitch or Couch, sometimes
called long twitch or white twitch. The rhizomes are very
thick and of great length. They will easily penetrate
potato tubers. The sheath and blade of the leaf are often
but not invariably hairy. There is a pair of clasping ears. No
other twitch common in this country has ears. The flower
heads are superficially a good deal like those of Perennial Rye,
but observation will disclose that while the spikelets of
Ryegrass are set edgewise to the stem, those of Agropyrum
are set broadside on. The general height of the stems is
1 foot or 18 inches, but when growing in a crop of wheat
or oats they may reach a height of 3 ft. 6 in. or 4 ft.

WEED GRASSES.

33

This is without doubt one of the most difficult twitches
to eradicate on arable land. The great length of the rhizomes
makes them very difficult to remove entire from the ground,
and when they are dragged to the surface their
great vitality makes it very difficult to secure
their destruction. On a certain Canterbury
farm whose records have been well kept, there
is an instance of one side of a particular
paddock being worked for twitch in 1886, and
intermittently on till 1916 — a period of 30
years. In another instance this twitch had
been worked out of the ground, raked into
heaps and set fire to. After the fires had got
a good hold rainy weather set in, and there
was to be seen the curious sight of the heaps
burning in the middle and on the outside pro-
ducing a vigorous crop of green blades.

As with many weeds this grass has some
good points. It is undoubtedly relished by
stock, as patches of it in a grass paddock are
always closely grazed. Then there are two
circumstances in which it is advantageous
to introduce Agropyrum, and both these are
cases where an unbreakable turf is the chief
requisite in the grassy covering of the soil.
®n grassed sandhills, where stock are apt to
break through the turf and expose the sand,
thus forming holes which the wind may indefinitely enlarge,
Dr. L. Cockayne recommends this twitch. Again on race-
courses where the hoofs of the galloping horses tend to
destroy the turf, Agropyrum would undoubtedly give
good results. The seed is however almost unprocur-
able, as even where it occurs, it is very commonly
either quite infertile or else destroyed by ergot. The

Fig. 18.

Agropyrum

repens.
Flower head
and ears at

34 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

best way to introduce the grass would be to secure
a supply of rhizomes, chop them up and harrow or
trample them into the soil.

(2) Poa pratensis. — This is also a common twitch : It
is described on page 22.

(3) Festuca saburicola. — Chewings Fescue is another
twitch. It is described on page 16.

(4) Agrostis alba is often called Water Twitch, but is
better known under the names of Creeping Bent, Fiorin,
Red Top, etc. It is described on page 20.

(5) Holcus mollis.. — Creeping Fog, is one of the worst
Twitches we have, but fortunately it is not very common
in most districts. It is very like Yorkshire Fog in its over-
ground parts, having the same velvety leaf, red and white
leaf sheath, and pinkish feathery flower head. Underground,
however, it displays thick and strong creeping stems that
are very difficult to kill. The leaves are disliked by stock
wherever better grasses are available, and on the whole this
twitch seems to have no merit of any kind.

(6) Avena bulbosa. — Onion rooted twitch. This grass
is, above ground, much like Tall Oat Grass (v. p. 27).
Below ground, however, it displays a very characteristic
structure. There is a string of 6 or 8 onion-like swellings.
These are really knots, and vary in size from that of a pea to
that of a hazel nut. Each knot is capable of independent
growth when broken off from the parent stem. The grass
is not really a twitch because it has no rhizomes, and it will
not spread at all if it is not disturbed. Ploughs and harrows,
however, break up the strings of knots and scatter them far
and wide, so that in arable land the grass soon takes possess-
ion. It is very difficult to eradicate, for harrows cannot
drag the knots to the surface in the same way as they do
ordinary long rhizomes. The only way is to continuously
cultivate the ground where it occurs, destroying the green

WEED GRASSES. 35

shoots as often as they appear, so as to finally exhaust the
plant food stored in the knots. In the circumstances in
which it occurs scattered among other grasses Avena bulbosa
seems quite palatable to sheep, for it never flowers in a
pasture, while in a cereal crop its feathery heads may be
seen as high as the those of wheat or oats.

(7) Paspalum dilatatum, usually called by its botanical
name, is a most decided twitch, and in the northern-most
parts of New Zealand is considered practically ineradicable.
It is described on page 24.

Beside the twitches, the following eleven grasses are
commonly found in pastures and are usually regarded as
weeds owing to their low palat ability : —

(1) Yorkshire Fog (Hokus lanatus). — Both blade and
sheath are clothed with velvety hairs, and distinct red and
white veins are to be seen at the bottom of the sheath. The
flower head is pinkish and feathery. This grass is one of
the best known, as it occurs in practically all situations.
It is, however, chiefly found in moist localities, and in wet
land or in damp climates it often becomes the dominant
grass in old pastures. Its seed is a common impurity in
that of Cocksfoot, and may occur with the husks on, when
it appears as a rather broad flat ' ' seed, ' ' or with the husks
threshed off, when it is a good deal smaller, light grey and shiny.

Yorkshire Fog is generally considered highly unpalatable
and it is certain that it is avoided where Rye Grass, Timothy,
or Cocksfoot are available. Still Fog is eaten to a certain
extent, and it probably provides more fodder than it is
usually credited with.

(2) Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanihum odoratum). —
A rather low-growing grass with a fairly close seed head
growing about a foot high. The leaves and sheath are
somewhat hairy, and there is a noticeable ring of hairs

36

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

?\

round the conspicuous ligule. The flower heads

are formed so early in spring that this is usually

the first grass to be noticed in flower, its only rival

in this respect being

Meadow Foxtail. The

whole plant when cut

smells strongly of cou-

marin, the essential oil

to which the smell of

new mown hay is due.

The hay like smell can

usually be observed by

chewing the grass, and

this often forms a

means of identification.
This worthless

weed is very widely

distributed in the

agricultural areas and

those near by. Owing

to its unpalatability,

its early seeding, and
its twisted awns it is easily spread
by sheep, and seems almost in-
eradicable without ploughing. It
is said that in England Sweet
Vernal is sometimes mixed with
hay to improve the aroma, but
the grass has no utility in New
Zealand.

(3) Goose Grass (Bromus kor-
daceus). — The name "Goose Grass"
appears to be purely Colonial. In England the common
name is Soft Brome, while the term "Goose Grass" is applied

Fig. 19.
Sweet Vernal
A : Flower

head.

B : Base of
blade.

Fig. 20.

Soft Brome or Goose Grass,
(after Percival).

WEED GRASSES. 37

to a straggling and climbing road-side weed. Bromus
hordaceus has a velvety leaf similar to that of Fog but
has no red and white veins at the base of the sheath. As
it is an annual the flower heads can usually be found either
exposed or hidden in the sheath. The flowers have their
husks or glumes fringed with white, and are provided with
awns that are shorter than the flowers. The grass is almost
never eaten by stock, and is universall r i egarded as a
worthless weed. Its seeds are a common impurity of
Italian Rye Grass, as the awns on both grasses are of
about equal length, but its seed is easily distinguished
from that of the Rye Grass by its greater breadth and
boat-like shape.

(4) Hair Grass (Festuca bromoides). - - This is again a
Colonial name and is applied to a different grass from that
bearing the same name in England. Colonial Hair Grass is
a fescue with very fine leaves like those of Sheep's or Chewings
Fescue. The flower heads stand about a foot high in ordin-
ary circumstances and have narrow seeds with long awns.
The excessively fine leaves give almost no feed so that the
grass is quite worthless. It is commonest on medium to light
soil, and is very widely distributed. When the land is not
well packed in the ploughing Hair Grass may actually beat
the cereal crops, and will then grow three or more feet high.
Its seed, too, is not uncommon as an impurity in that of
Italian Rye, and is to be distinguished by being much
narrower and longer.

(5) English Hair Grass (Aira caryophyllea). — This is
the grass called Hair Grass in England. Like Colonial Hair
Grass it has leaves so fine as to be almost unnoticeable.
The flower stalks are only three or four inches high and
the heads are pinkish and feathery. The grass usually
grows in a mass in old pasture on light land. It is quite
worthless.

38

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

(6) Barley Grass (Hordeum murinum). A very well-known
weed with hairy leaves distinguished by large clasping
ears at the base of the blade. The flower heads stand

about 8 inches high and have very long
straight awns like those of cultivated barley.
The grass is very widely spread and at
mid-summer can be seen to occupy many
thousands of acres in a block. It is not
troublesome on land under the plough, but
thrives in old thin neglected pastures. Its
seed possesses remarkable burrowing power,
and is used by boys to put up their fellows'
sleeves, when the seed or seed heads will
travel to the shoulder. In the same way
seed getting between the locks of sheep's
wool will penetrate the pelt and must
cause extreme irritation, while occasionally
they may get in between a dog's toes,
and piercing the skin, travel upwards
through the muscle until they emerge at
the elbow. Dogs on barley grass country
should therefore have their feet examined at frequent
intervals. That the grass is freely carried by sheep is
plainly seen from its prevalence on sheep camps, but it is
only very rarely nibbled by stock.

(7) Barren Brome (Bromus sterilis). — An annual, with
drooping heads and very long awns. The blades frequently,
and the expansions at the bottom of the blade always,
are coloured purple, and the leaves are covered with
long hairs. This is a worthless weed common on roadsides
or on sandy pastures.

(8) Floating Sweet Grass (Glyceria fluitans). — This
grass occurs only in slow running or standing water, where
it may often quite hide the water with its broad light

Fig. 20A.
Barley Grass.

WEED GRASSES.

39

green leaves. These have
almost the ' ' Poa ' ' shape
described on p. 22, and
are very palatable to
cattle, which will often
wade up to their girths
to reach them. The
heads bear a few
sausage-shaped spikelets.
Regarded as choking up
water- courses this grass
is a weed ; where the
free flow of the stream
is not important it is
a valuable volunteer
(v. p. 31.)

(9) Annual Poa (Poa
annua). — A small annual

grass growing 6 or 8 inches high. It has a distinct poa blade
with many of the leaves transversely crinkled. The heads are
sometimes feathery. This is perhaps the commonest weed
grass occurring in gateways and by roadsides, and also
occupying bare spaces in pasture land and lawns. It is
much liked by stock and is a valuable volunteer. It is
never sown owing to its very short life, which may, at the
height of summer, be over in six or eight weeks from the
germination of the seed. Its commonness is accounted for
by its prolific seeding practically all the year round. In
winter time it may often be found providing feed for sparrows
and goldfinches.

(10) Ratstail (Sporobolus indicus). — A perennial, growing
almost as a native from Marlborough northwards : sheath
slightly compressed ; ligule reduced to a ring of hairs ;
blade tough, finely ribbed, somewhat downwards rough,

Fig. 21.— Bromis sterilis
(after Fream).

40

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

hairless except for about half-an-inch at the base where silky
hairs occur on the edges ; leaves about 12 in. high; flower
heads 2 feet high, producing a very narrow and long spike like
a rat's tail 6 inches long ; the reddish seeds escaping freely

from the husks. This grass
is distinctly a weed : owing to
the harshness of its blades it
is not liked by stock, and when
forced to eat it sheep are found
to have their teeth rapidly
worn out. The grass is still
sown in some quantity on the
East Coast of the North Island,
but that is a practice that
should be rigorously dis-
couraged.

(11) Indian Doab (Cynodon
dactylon). — This weed is also
called Bermuda Grass. It is
common in the warmer parts
of the South Island and all
over the North occurring as a

Fig. 2lA — Indian Doab.

weed of pastures and roadsides, as well as being purposely
included in lawns. It is perennial, deep-rooting, drought
resisting, and has long rhizomes or stolons that root pro-
fusely. Leaves about 1 inch long but sometimes up to

NATIVE GRASSES. 41

3 inches ; flat with long taper from base to tip ; down-
wards rough ; ligule not seen, being replaced by a very
strong ring of hairs — the only hairs on the plant ; flower
stalks up to 18 inches high, ending in 4 or 5 stiff spikes one to
two inches long, on which the spikelets are closely arranged.
This grass is usually a weed, but its drought resistance
accounts for its occasional inclusion in lawn mixtures in
dry and warm districts.

SECTION 2. NATIVE GRASSES.

Some of the most important native grasses have been
mentioned in Chapter I., but a few others have a certain
feeding value and occupy vast areas of land, so that they
merit a brief description. The chief ones are as follows : —

(1) Danthonia spp., see page 25.

(2) Microloena stipoides, see p. 27.

(3) Tussock or Silver Tussock (Festuca novae zealandiac
and Poa caespitosa). — These tussocks are estimated to cover
six million acres of land, or one seventh of all the occupied
country in New Zealand. Their yellow bristly leaves are about
18 inches high, and as the name implies, they grow in tufts.
The two species are hardly ever separated by the grazier, but
the Festuca grows on higher country and the flowers have awns,
while the Poa belongs chiefly to the plains and the flowers
are broader and awnless. It seems to be agreed that sheep
never eat silver tussock except immediately after it is burnt.
Cattle, however, eat it freely, and pull much more than they
eat, so that if closely grazed by cattle the tussock is in time
exterminated. Rabbits, too, wih1 eat Tussock, but for sheep
country, the only suggested use of this grass when unburnt
is to shelter other and better grasses. The question of burn-
ing Tussock land is dealt with by Cockayne (see reference at
end of Chapter V.) and some suggestions for the improve-
ment of Tussock land will be found near the end of this work.

42 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

(4) Blue Tussock (Poa Colensoi). — This is a fine-leaved
grass growing either in Tussocks or as a turf among the Silver
Tussock. It has a bluish tinge, and its leaves grow about
8 inches high. It is usually considered good sheep feed,
but a close examination of the Blue Tussock on land fairly
heavily stocked shows that this grass is little liked by sheep.
It is nibbled here and there, or may be found closely grazed
in patches, but on the whole it is neglected in favour of what
one usually regarded as worthless weeds, e.g., Cat's Ear or
Cape Weed (Hypochaeris).

(5) Blue Wheat Grass (Agropyrum scabrum). — This
grass has broad bluish leaves that attain a height of 12 to
18 inches. The flower head is taller and is distinguished by
the spikelets being set broadwise on to the stem and by hav-
ing long, stiff, gently curved awns. It chiefly grows among
the Silver Tussocks and is a valuable sheep feed where it
occurs in any quantity.

(6) Snow Grass (Danthonia raoulii). — This is another
Tussock, growing 4 to 6 feet high. It has broad leaves shin-
ing below, and feathery oat -like heads. It is found only in
high country, though at the southern extremity of New
Zealand it may descend to near sea level. Its presence in
quantity frequently marks the limit above which it is not
safe to carry sheep in winter, and therefore it is almost
purely a summer country grass, as indeed its popular name
of Snow Grass would indicate. Considering its great size
it is freely browsed upon by sheep, and horses are
inordinately fond of the seed heads.

REFERENCES,

For Weed Grasses consult Percival and Ward, as mentioned at
end of Chapter I.

For Native grasses Buchanan is still the best authority available,

17

Fig. 22.— Seeds of various grasses and clovers :— 1 Perennial Rye ; 2 Italian Rye :
3 Meadow Foxtail ; 4 Meadow Fescue ; 5 Creeping Bent ; 6 Timothy ; 7 Cocksfoot
8 Sheep's Fescue ; 9 Crested Dogstail ; 10 Sweet Vernal ; 11 Poa trivialis ; 12Alsike:
13 White Clover; 14 Lucerne ; 15 Another Lucerne ; 16 Red Clover ; 17 Sainfoin.
Diagram No. 17 is four times natural size, and all the others ten times
(after Percival).

CHAPTER III.

KEY FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON GRASSES.

Grasses are scientifically distinguished chiefly by their
flowers. However, since the flowers are present for only
a month or so in each year, the following key has been
constructed to assist in the identification of the common
grasses by their roots, stems, and leaves alone, and the
recognition of grasses by their flowers has been left to the
figures scattered through the preceding pages. In the case
of annual grasses, however, the flower characters are used
for identification, since the flower can nearly always be
found either exposed or wrapped in the sheath. To use the
following key it is necessary first to have complete specimens,
including a good portion of the root, and next it is necessary
to make careful observations, not on a single leaf but on
several, before deciding that any particular structure is
absent.

Under each of the figures on the left hand of the page
in the following scheme will be found two alternatives.
Within one or other of these alternatives every grass must
fall. When close examination has determined within which
of the alternatives the specimen under study is included,
follow that line out to the right hand side of the page,
where there will be found either the name of the grass, or
the figure under which (when appearing on the left of the
page) the investigation must be pursued. For instance
take Cocksfoot. It has no hairs, no rhizome, no colouration
at the base, but it has a strongly compressed sheath. Now
turn to the key. Under figure 1 on the left Cocksfoot
falls within the second alternative, hairless — and so we
run out to figure 14 on the right of the page. Now find 14

KEY TO COMMON GRASSES. 45

on the left of the page and consider the two alternatives.
No rhizomes takes us to 19. Here no colouration takes us
to 22. At 22 no yellow colouring takes us to 23. Here no
swellings at the base leads us to 25. Leaf sheath is com-
pressed so go to 26. Not a "Poa" blade so go to 27, where the
total absence of hairs finally identifies the grass as Cocksfoot.

1 . Hairy on leaf, or sheath, or both, or only round ligule 2
Hairless 14

2. Hairs at least as conspicuous on leaf as on sheath,

or chiefly near ligule 3

Hairs long and numerous on sheath ; much less con-
spicuous on blade Prairie Grass

3. Hairs long and silky round ligule, shorter or absent

elsewhere 4

Hairs not chiefly round ligule 7

4. Ligule very small if present at all (see note) 5
Ligule quite obvious, with hairs in front of or behind it . 6

5. Thick ring or tuft of hairs round mouth of blade.

Blade rather narrow, sometimes hairy. No
clasping ears Danthonia

Thin ring of hairs ; blade broad and light green ;
distinct though not large clasping ears Mieroloena
(see note)

6. Very large ligule ; hairs long and silky behind it ;

strong rhizomes ; often a few scattered silky hairs
on edges of sheathing parts of leaves Paspalum
Moderate ligule ; hairs round mouth of blade ;
often hairy elsewhere ; no rhizomes ; taste
suggesting smell of hay. Sweet Vernal

7. Distinct red and white veins at base of sheath, best

seen when sheath stripped backwards 8

NOTE. — Ratstail and Indian Doab both fall here, as well as
Microloena and Danthonia. See detailed descriptions on pp. 39-40.

46 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

No distinct red and white veins 9

8. No rhizomes Yorkshire Fog
Strong rhizomes — a serious twitch Creeping Fog

9. With distinct clasping ears 10
With no sign of clasping ears, though there may be

present unmistakable rounded shoulder-like
projections (v. fig. 9 p. 17) 11

10. With strong rhizomes — a serious twitch

Agropyrum repens

Without rhizomes (an annual, with a barley-like
head, usually visible or enwrapped in the
leaves) Barley Grass

11. Hairs on the blade short and in distinct lines

(usually only to be seen by method described
on p. 27) 12

Hairs long, often velvety, and always quite obvious 13

12. With a string of 3-8 onion-like swellings about the

size of peas at the base of the plant Onion Twitch
With no string of onion-like swellings Tall Oat Grass

13. With purple colouring over blade, or at least on the

ear-like expansions at base of blade ; an annual ;
waste land only. Spikelets with awns about one
inch in length Barren Brome

With no purple colouring at ears ; an annual on
waste land or in old pastures ; awns about
quarter of an inch long Goose Grass

14. With distinct rhizomes or sometimes stolons 15
No rhizomes or stolons 19

15. With clasping ears Agropyrum repens
Without clasping ears 16

16. Growing almost exclusively in slow running water ;

broad soft blade ; compressed sheath

Floating Sweet Grass
Growing on dry land 17

KEY TO COMMON GRASSES. 47

17. Very fine bristle-like blade ; rounded shoulder-like

ears (v. fig. 9 p. 17) Chewings Fescue

Blades of ordinary width 18

18. With Poa blade (v. p. 22) Poa Pratensis
Blade with distinct ribs and tapering from base to

tip Creeping Bent

19. Distinct red colour on underground part of sheath ;

colour brighter when dead sheaths stripped off 20
No red colouration 22

20. Sheath distinctly compressed just below base of

leaves Perennial Rye

Sheath just below base of leaves virtually round 21

21. Upper surface edges of leaves when rubbed down-

ward on lip distinctly cutting

Tall Fescue or Meadow Fescue
Leaf only rough, not cutting* Italian Rye

22. Underground part of sheath with faint but un-

mistakable yellow colour, both on withered
sheaths and on the fresh ones underneath
(many specimens may need examination to see
this) Crested Dogstail

Sheaths not yellow at the base 23

23. With one or at most two distinct swellings about

the size of a pea, at base of sheath 24

With no swellings at the base 25

24. With one or at most two swellings ; length of ligule

less than half the width of the blade Timothy

With one swelling ; ligule almost as long as the

blade is wide Phalaris bulbosa

25. With leaf sheath compressed 26
With leaf sheath round 31

26. With Poa blade (v. p. 22) 28
Without Poa blade 27

48 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

27. Quite hairless ; leaf sheath so strongly compressed

as to have almost cutting edges ; no rhizome

Cocksfoot

A few spiky, silky hairs behind ligule ; strong
rhizomes Paspalum

28. With Rhizomes 30
Without rhizomes 29

29. An annual, usually only on waste land ; usually

flowers all the year round ; about 50 per cent, of
the leaves transversely crinkled Poa annua

A perennial in pastures ; flowers only in summer ;
few or none of the leaves tranversely crinkled

Poa trivialis

30. Growing on dry land, blades rather narrow Poa pratensis
Found only near slow running water ; broad soft

blades Floating Sweet Grass

31. Blades very narrow, often bristle-like 32
Blades broad 34

32. An annual, often growing in tufts or waste ground

or among crops ; awned spikelets nearly always
exposed or enwrapped in sheaths Hair Grass

Perennials forming a turf in pastures 33

33. With rhizomes which are often weak, but forming a

very dense mat Chewings Fescue

Without rhizomes Sheep's Fescue or Hard Fescue

34. Ridges high and sharp ; no sign of medial groove

on upper side of blade ; stolons or rhizomes
present Creeping Bent

Medial groove, if present, very shallow ; no stolons
or rhizomes 35

35. Dead sheaths at base of plant dark purplish brown ;

ribs flat ; a broad, shallow medial groove on
upper side of leaf always present but often indis-
tinct ; on damp heavy land Foxtail

KEY TO COMMON GRASSES. 49

Base of sheaths white or light grey ; thin papery
leaf ; medial groove frequently absent ; almost
ribless ; examination of numerous leaves usually
discloses short hairs in lines on upper side of leaf

Tall Oat Grass

The common cereals may be identified by the following
simple key : —

1. With ears 2
Without ears Oats

2. With moderate-sized ears, bearing scattered long

silky hairs Wheat

Large ears bearing no hairs Barley

CHAPTER IV.
CLOVERS AND OTHER PASTURE PLANTS.

SECTION I. — CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS.

Besides the grasses treated of in the preceding chapters,
there are several other important pasture plants, chiefly
various members of the order Leguminosae or the clover
family. Most of these plants have flowers similar in structure
to that of the Sweet Pea, although the individual flowers

A B c

Fig. 23.— Stipules in different varieties of Clovers, (after Percival),
A : Bed Clover ; B : Alsike ; C : Crimson Clover.

may be small and crowded together in a head, as in Red and
White Clover. The fruit is a pod which may contain many
seeds, as in Lucerne, or only one, as in Red Clover, etc.
The leaves are divided into leaflets, each leaflet with its

CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS.

51

own little stalk. If there are only three leaflets the
leaf is said to be trifoliate, and this character is so
general among the clovers that their botanical name is
Trifolium. In other plants of the order there may be five
or a dozen leaflets. At the base of the leaf stalk, where it
joins the main stem are a pair of structures hiterto un-
mentioned in this work. They are membranous or leaf-like
expansions, always paired, and are called stipules. Differences
among the stipules are the easiest way of distinguishing
between certain clovers when only their leaves are present.
One of the chief characters of plants of the order
Leguminosae is the possession of nodules on their roots.
These nodules are usually about
the size of Turnip seeds, and
may occur singly or in groups
up to the size of a hazel nut or
larger. The nodules are the
result of the action of certain
bacteria living in the roots of
the plants. These bacteria have
the power of causing the free
nitrogen gas of the air to com-
bine with other substances to
form proteids, which are stored
up during the life of the bac-
terium and remain in the
nodules when the bacterium
goes into its resting stage.
These compounds now form
the very kind of food that the
clover needs in large quantities,
and so they are seized on by the clover, which thus indirectly
uses the nitrogen of the air. As an accompaniment of the
plentiful and direct supply of available nitrogen, the

Fig. 24.— Nodules on root of bean,
(after Percival)

52 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N Z.

Leguminosae have acquired the peculiarity of containing
in their stems and leaves a much higher proportion of
nitrogen compounds than the grasses or the other
pasture plants contain. Thus when a clover plant is
ploughed into the soil, it actually enriches the soil in
nitrogen compounds, seeing that it puts into the soil
nitrogen which was originally drawn from the air, and of
course the same is true if only the stubble of the clover
is ploughed in, or if the clover is returned to the soil as
the excrement of animals. Since nitrogen in compounds
suitable for food for all other kinds of plants is one of the
substances in which soil is very frequently lacking, and since
it is most easily supplied by growing clovers and other
leguminosae, this order of plants is of the highest importance.
A mixture, or an alternation, of clovers and grasses will
allow more grasses to be grown than if the clovers were
omitted, and we have at the same time the added feed from
the clovers as well. Further the clovers with their higher
nitrogen content form a particularly nutritious food for
stock, and for ah1 these reasons the plants of this order deserve
detailed study in order, if possible, to extend their culture.

The following are those most commonly used : —
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense). — A strong growing
clover ; leaves with three leaflets ; stems ascending, not
creeping ; leaves and sterns hairy ; stipules terminating in
two long points that are usually hairy.

This is one of the most useful clovers. The amount of
feed it produces is very large, even its first season, and it is
in the highest degree palatable and nutritious. It is largely
used for hay, and makes an article of the highest quality.
It has deep penetrating tap-roots which work their way
down into the stiffest sub-soils, and so have a largely in-
creased space from which to draw food stuffs, especially

CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS. 53

water. Red Clover starts into growth fairly early in the
season, though it does not grow at all during winter. Its
chief weak point is that it usually lasts only about two
years and then quite dies out. It is stated, however,
that when stocked exclusively with cattle, its life is
longer, and that there is distinct evidence that if
it were sown pure and grazed judiciously it would last
for several years even when grazed by sheep.

Seed is harvested in all the agricultural districts, but
the supply is not equal to the New Zealand demand.
Much seed comes from Europe, and this is very frequently
of a somewhat low grade. The price in normal seasons
averages lid. per pound.

Cow Grass (Tn folium pratense perenne). — Cowgrass differs
from ordinary Red Clover only in that it flowers later in
the season, produces its bulk of feed later, and so affords,
when mown, only one cut in the season, and in that it will
last for six years instead of two. The two varieties cannot
be distinguished by the hollowness of the stem or by the
number of hairs, as these characters are very variable. True
Cow Grass is not obtainable from colonial seed, nor indeed
from any one except professional seed growers, because
under farming conditions bees cross-fertilize Red Clover and
Cow Grass and the result is a hybrid. It follows then that
it is not advisable to spend extra money on a sample of seed
merely because it is called Cow Grass by the vendor. If, on
the other hand, seed were guaranteed to come from a pasture
that had been sown say six years that had never been allowed
to flower until the season of harvesting, the seed submitted
for sale then would be worth much more money than
usual, because it would be practically certain to pro-
duce a long-lived plant. Such conditions as these are,
however, practically never realized.

54

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

White Clover (Trifolium repens). — White Clover has
hairless leaves and stems, and the stems are stolons —
that is they creep along the ground and root at each

node. The leaflets are
heart-shaped.

White Clover is
one of the most valu-
able pasture plants we
have. Its palatability
is of the highest order,
though the amount of
feed produced is only
moderate. White
Clover is not strictly
perennial, as the orig-
inal plant dies out in
a year or two, but the
new plants formed by
the stolons carry on its
life, and besides this
the numerous seeds
produced from new plants wherever there is a vacant space.
The seeds have extraordinary vitality, and will pass through
cattle uninjured and germinate freely in the dung. Fields
that have not borne white clover for many years will produce
an abundance of plants if they happen to be under a fallow
crop or a late sown cereal crop in a moist spring. In fields,
on light or medium lands, where White Clover has once
thriven it is quite unnecessary to sow it again, at least for a
great number of years, and the custom of sowing a pound or
two of White Clover every time a field is laid down to tem-
porary pasture doubtless leads to much waste. For per-
manent pasture one or two pounds are usually sown. In
districts where White Clover thrives very well so that an

Fig. 25. — White Clover, showing stolon
and root (r). (after Percival).

CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS.

55

occasional crop of seed can be obtained, it pays to sow four or
five pounds of seed with practically all mixtures in the hope
of getting so thick a strike as to produce a seed crop. Few
crops pay so well as White Clover seed if a yield of anything
like a sack to the acre can be secured.

Seed is harvested in all the agricultural districts, but
much is still imported. An average price charged to farmers
is Is. 2d. per pound.

Alsike (Trifolium hybridum). — Leaves and stem hair-
less, stems ascending, not creeping like those of White Clover,
flowers pink.

Alsike produces an amount of feed midway between the
product of Red and White Clovers. In the heaviest and
dampest soils ploughed for pasture it is practically permanent
or at least seeds itself, and so may always be found in the
herbage. Its palatability is high, and in all respects Alsike
ranks as one of the most valuable of our clovers. It is,
however, quite impatient of medium or dry soils, and does not
last more than two years in such
situations. Thus it lasts no longer
than Red Clover, and does not
give so much feed. But in heavy
damp land it flourishes, and
should always be included in
mixtures for such soils. Where
Timothy and Foxtail thrive
Alsike thrives too.

The seed is mostly imported,
large quantities coming from
Canada. It very frequently con-
tains Californian Thistle as an
impurity. The cost of seed to farmers averages Is. per pound.

Little Trefoil or Suckling Clover (Trifolium minus.) —
An annual, with slender trailing stems, not stolons ; leaflets

Fig. 26.— Little Trefoil and pod.
(after Fream).

56 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

small, heart-shaped ; the midrib not produced into a spike
sticking from the niche of the heart ; flowers in small heads,
yellow.

Although rarely sown this is a very valuable Clover,
often forming the bottom of thin pastures on dry land, and
affording one of our best examples of a " volunteer." It
seeds itself with great freedom and the seed will pass through
sheep uninjured, so that once in a field this plant will recur
whenever the weather conditions are favourable. It gives
a fair bite in Spring and Autumn, dying down in Winter
and in the heat of Summer. It is almost universally dis-
tributed where grasses and clovers have been sown, because
its seed occurs as a common impurity in that of White Clover.
Wherever Little Trefoil is found to be absent from permanent
pastures on poor and light land, such as that of the sheep
runs of the South Island, it should be surface sown. Two
to four ounces per acre would be enough. The seed is on
the market, and in normal times sells at about 4d. per pound.

Strawberry Clover (Trifolium fragiferum). — Much like
White Clover in leaves and habit of growth, but the
leaflets are a true oval instead of being heart-shaped or
narrower at the base. It has the same kind of stolons as
White Clover has. When in seed the heads become swollen
and compact, then looking much like a strawberry.

Strawberry Clover is quite as valuable as White Clover,
and indeed may be depended upon to retain its position in a
pasture much more constantly than White Clover will. It
has, however, the great disadvantage that its seed is very
difficult to harvest and thresh, and is therefore seldom on
the market. When it can be obtained by purchase or by
hand picking it should be used for permanent pasture on
medium lands.

Subterranean Clover (Trifolium subterraneum). — A rather
small prostrate annual, clothed with long spreading hairs ;

CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS.

57

stipules broad ; the flowers white or pale pink ; after
flowering the flower stalks turn down and press against
or into the soil where the seeds germinate.

This clover is one of the class of volunteers. It produces
a certain amount of palatable food and grows even on dry
gravelly soils. Its habit of burying its seed secures its per-
manence in any land it occurs in, and it often becomes a
valuable constituent of thin dry pastures. In some places
in the Auckland Province it is said to take possession of
pastures. The seed is not usually on the market owing to
the difficulty of gathering it, but a little of it could be with
advantage sown on poor land in permanent pasture.

Crimson Clover (Trifolium incar-
natum). — An erect hairy annual,
with broad stipules, red or green
veined and not ending in a long point
(see fig. 23, p. 50). Flowers bright
scarlet on a long rather thin head.

This Clover, while commonly
used in Europe and America, is
very little sown here. It grows
quickly, and in warm climates can
be drilled directly on the stubbles
of cereal crops to give Autumn
feed, or to be ploughed in. In
Canterbury where it might be
of much use it can hardly be
grown because of the uncertainty
of Autumn rains. It should
never be sown in pastures of even
temporary character because its place could be more profit-
ably taken by Red Clover in almost all circumstances.

Lucerne is sometimes used as a pasture plant, but is usually
employed for forage. Its use in pasture is outlined on p. 78.

Fig. 27. — Crimson Clover,
(after Fream).

58

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

Black Medick, Non-Such Glover or English Trefoil

(Medicago lupulina). — An annual with trailing stems, more or
less clothed with short, soft hairs. Leaflets heart-shaped and

Fig. 28.— Lucerne (Note twisted pods),
(after Fream).

Fig.29.

Black Medick (Note spike from end
of leaflet, (after Fream).

with the midrib produced into a little spike protruding
from the niche of the heart. The flowers are bright
yellow, and the little one-seeded pods are quite black
when ripe.

Black Medick is occasionally sown as a pasture plant
in temporary leys. The amount of feed it produces is, how-
ever, small, and its self-seeding is not very prolific. Money
spent on it would be much better devoted to Red Clover
in most cases. On limestone soils, however, Black Medick
flourishes, and is one of the best indicators of soils lying on
limestone. On permanent pasture in such country Black
Medick could be broadcast very profitably if it does not
occur already.

CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS.

59

Burr Clover (Medicago denticulate). — An annual with
spreading stems, usually 'quite hairless. Stipules bordered
with fine teeth.
The pod is spir-
ally twisted, and
is edged with two
rows of hooked or
curved prickles—
the whole form-
ing a burr.

This is a vol-
unteer, occurr-
ing in scattered
localities. The
burrs cause little
or no inconveni-
ence in New Zea-
land, while the
foliage gives good
feed in Spring
and Autumn, It
is never sown.

Spotted Burr
Clover (Medicago
maculata) . — Very
much like the
preceding species
except that the pod is more compact and globular in shape,
and that there is usually a dark spot in the middle of each
leaflet. It also is a volunteer.

Sainfoin (Ondbrychis vicicefolia). — A perennial of a few
years' duration with stems 1 to 2 feet high ; stipules brown,
thin, finely pointed ; leaflets a dozen or more ; flowers
bright pink.

Fig. 30.— Burr Clover.

(From N.Z. Department of Agriculture, Leaflet 6).

60

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

This plant has been largely used in England and the
Continent of Europe both as a pasture and a forage plant. It

succeeds only on limestone
country. Many trials of it
in New Zealand have con-
vinced growers that it is not
worth bothering about.

Birds-foot Trefoil (Lotus
corniculatus, L. major, L. an-
gusti&simus, and L. hispidus).
—These four species may
be dealt with together as
they have but one common
name. They are slender
branching plants with bright
green leaves of three leaflets.
The stipules, however, are
broad and like the leaflets,
so that at first glance the

leaves appear to have fine leaflets and no stipules. The
flowers are large and bright yellow, and the slender pods
spread out like the toes of a bird's foot.

Lotus corniculatus is a perennial, and establishes very
deep and firm roots, which penetrate deep into the sub-
soil. The feed produced is plentiful, practically equal to
that provided by Red Clover. It is fairly palatable and
nutritious. The plant will stand dry conditions excellently,
and there is little doubt that it should be given a thorough
trial in permanent pastures in medium to very dry soils.

Lotus major is also a perennial, but it grows well only
in damp, shady situations. It again is fairly palatable, and
produces a large amount of feed. Its importance, however,
is not so great as that of L. corniculatus, because there are
many plants that will do well in the only positions suitable

Fig. 31.— Sainfoin, (after Frearn).

CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS.

61

to L. major. It might, however, be broadcasted in small
quantities in creek beds and gullies, and is somewhat in-
tensively used for bush burns.

Lotus an-
gustissimus and
L. hispidus are
annuals with
flowers about
half the size of
those of the per-
ennial species.
They have also
only about two
to four flowers
to the head,
instead of from
five to ten or
more. It would
seem that these
two plants being
annuals would
not be suitable
for permanent
pastures, yet
they are said
to be increas-
ingly popular in
the North Island.

Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria) is sometimes re-
ommended for pastures on account of its deep root system.
jut is, however, practically valueless from either a fodder
producing or a sub-soiling point of view.

\

Fig. 32. — Lotus corniculatus.
Common Birds-foot Trefoil, (after Fream.)

For figures of certain Clover Seeds see p. 43.

€2

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

SECTION II. — OTHER PASTURE PLANTS.

Besides the Leguminosae there are a few other plants
used in conjunction with the grasses to form pastures. It
must be remembered that all the Leguminosae are more
important than they look, in that they feed the soil, as
well as feeding the stock. This added importance does not
belong to the plants about to be mentioned.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). — A well-known perennial
plant, with a creeping underground stem, so that it is usually
regarded as a troublesome twitch. The leaves are large and
are divided into very fine segments, so that they are almost

fern-like. When crushed the
leaves have a distinctive aroma
usually considered pleasant. The
flower stalks are two or three
feet high, and the clustered
flowers are white, pink, or scarlet.
As mentioned above Yarrow
is, when it occurs on arable
land, considered a twitch. In
permanent pasture on second-
class land, however, it becomes
a somewhat valuable constituent
of the herbage. It produces a
moderate amount of feed, is quite
permanent, tends to fill up vacant
spaces, and is highly palatable to
sheep. This last fact often leads
to its importance being over-
looked. On certain lands then which are unploughable and
tend to become bare in dry seasons, so as to be occupied

Fig. 33. — Yarrow, (after Fream).

OTHER PASTURE PLANTS.

63

by worthless weeds, Yarrow can be sown to advantage.
The seed is very small, and so a little goes a long way. Its
cost is about 3s. 6d. per pound.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus). — The root is thick, white
and somewhat like a parsnip, except that it has no transverse
crinkles. The leaf is large, tender, green, and slightly like
the leaf of dock. The flower stalks when ungrazed are about
three feet or three feet six inches high, and the flower the
size of a florin, with a light blue colour.

Chicory is a perennial, chiefly grown for its roots,
which are dug and ground to mix with coffee. For this
purpose the plant is sown in drills and inter-cultivated, but

two or three hundred acres is all
that the Dominion grows each
year. As a pasture plant Chicory
produces a rather small amount
of feed, which is, however, dis-
tinctly palatable. The great
virtue of the plant lies in the
penetrating power of its tap-root.
This grows to a depth of two
feet six inches or more, and will
burst its way straight through
the stiffest clays, so that it opens
up the subsoil, making its food
stuffs and water available to
the grasses and other weaker
rooted plants. The seed costs
about 2s. per pound.

Sheep's Burnet (Poterium
sanguisorba). — A perennial with strong tap-root. The
leaves are long and consist of many leaflets, 9 to 19
to each leaf. The leaflets are oval and coarsely toothed.
When crushed they smell strongly of cucumber. The

Pig. 34.-— Sheep's Burnet.
(after Fream).

64 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

flowers are small, green, and crowded together in a
rounded head a good deal like that of the native Piri
Piri or bidi-bid.

Sheep's Burnet has been recommended for inclusion in
pastures, because it provides a certain amount of palatable
feed, and because it has a deep penetrating tap-root that
will break up the sub-soil. The penetrating power of its
root is, hovewer, not great, and stiff clay pans will turn the
root so that it runs along the surface of the pan instead of
going through it. In this case Burnet has nothing left to
recommend it.

The seed is large and four winged ; each so called ' ' seed "
contains several seeds, so that its germination exceeds 100
per cent. Its cost is about Is. 3d. per pound.

KEY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF CLOVER-LIKE
PLANTS.

[An identification should never be made on a single leaf
or stem, but these should be examined from several parts
of the same plant, or if possible from different plants. For
instructions for using this kind of key see p. 44.]

1. Plants practically hairless 2
Plants — stems and leaves hairy 11

2. Creeping stems rooting at the joints 3
Stems upright or spreading, but not rooting 4

3. Leaflets round or heart-shaped White Clover
Leaflets long, oval in shape Strawberry Clover

4. Leaflets 5, or 3 and the stipules shaped exactly like

the leaflets 5

Leaflets 3, and the stipules quite unlike the leaflets 6

KEY TO CLOVER-LIKE PLANTS. 65

5. Spreading stems — growing in dry situations

Lotus Corniculatus

Almost upright stems — growing in damp and shady
places L. Major

6. Stipules transparent and membranous, veined with

green, or at most green over less than half their area 7
Stipules membranous only at tip ; more than half
their area leafy green 8

7. Stalks of the 3 leaflets almost or quite equal in

length ; leaflets large, growing in damp places ;
stems ascending ; flowers pink Alsike

Stalk of terminal leaflet three times as long as stalks
of basal leaflets ; leaflets small ; stems ascending ;
flowers small and yellow Little Trefoil

8. With dark spot in middle of each leaflet

Spotted Burr Clover
With no dark spot in middle of each leaflet 9

9. Leaflets large and long, oval in shape ; toothed on

edge in upper half, midrib carried on one-tenth
inch to one-quarter inch past bases of lower
leaflets Lucerne

Leaflets heart-shaped or round. Projections of
midrib past basal leaflets not nearly so marked 10

10. Pods dense black — as big as a wheat grain

Black Medick

Pods yellowish — as big as a hazel nut and spirally
twisted Burr Clover

11. Leaflets 5, or 3 with the stipules shaped exactly

like the leaflets

Lotus angustissimus and Lotus hispidus
Leaflet 3, with stipules quite unlike leaflets 12

12. Small spike protruding from niche at end of

leaflets Black Medick

No spike protruding from end of leaflet 13

66 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

13. Stalk of terminal leaflet three times as long as the

stalks of the basal pair ; hairs usually few ; a
spreading yellow-flowered annual Little Trefoil

Stalks of all leaflets nearly equal in length 14

14. Stipules ending in distinct long points 15
Stipules hairy, but with no long points ; a downy

annual with upright stems Crimson Clover

15. Plant downy ; annual ; prostrate stems ; flowers

turning into the ground Subterranean Clover

Stems upright ; perennial ; flowers purplish red

Red Clover

Some of the Clover-like plants are difficult to identify
by the leaves alone, and these may vary in a single species
in different conditions, or may be practically similar in
different species. Thus at 10 in the above key, identification
by leaves breaks down, and the characters of the pods have
been resorted to. This matters little in the particular
case of the annuals described under 10, as in these cases pods
are to be found at almost all times that the plants are above
ground.

The following points may assist in some identifications :

Trifolium — Stipules usually membranous and trans-
parent over most of their area ; veined or tipped with red,
green or purple.

Leaflets with stalks practically all of the same length,
except in T. minus, where the terminal leaflet has the longest
stalk, and so is distant from the basal pair.

Medic ago. — Stipules usually green and leaf -like over
most or the whole of their area.

Leaflets with the terminal one distinct from the basal
pair. This is due, not to the extra length of the stalk of

KEY TO CLOVER-LIKE PLANTS. 67

the terminal leaflet, but to the fact that the main midrib
of the leaf is carried on past the basal leaflets, and to its end
the terminal leaflet is joined by a short leaf stalk.

Lotus. — The stipules are like leaflets, so that the leaf
appears to have five leaflets, the basal pair being slightly
separated from the upper pair.

REFERENCES.

Stebler and Schrceter, mentioned at the end of Chapter I., deal as
fully with Clovers as with Grasses. Percival's " Agricultural Botany "
is again useful, and for botanical descriptions Hooker's " British
Flora," or Kirk's Students' " Flora of New Zealand " are convenient
for beginners.

CHAPTER V.

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES.

Animal products are as a rule more highly concentrated
and therefore more valuable than vegetable products, so
that while meat may cost sixpence per pound and butter
a shilling, wheat costs less than a penny per pound. In an
agricultural country, then, far from its markets, so that the
cost of carriage is considerable, animal products are likely
to be the chief form of agricultural produce. Grass is the
cheapest form of animal food, so that we might have ex-
pected that in New Zealand with its generally abundant
rainfall and mild winters, pastures would occupy a very im-
portant place. This expectation is borne out to a striking
degree in the following figures : —

TABLE I.

Acreage in grasses and other crops (1910-11):

North
Island

South
Island

Total

Natural Grasses
Grasses Surface Sown
Grasses Sown after Ploughing

Total Grasses
Total Crops othei than Grasses

Total Land in Occupation ...

7,159,558
7,444,191
1,728,356

16,812,678
1,774,324
3,271,860

23,972,236
9,218,515
5,000,216

16,332,105
441,055

21,858,862
1,606 104

38,190,967
2,047,159

16,773,160

23,464,966

40,238126

The largely preponderating area under grass, and the
further consideration that a grass crop is intended to
occupy the ground for at least three or four years, makes

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 69

it clear that care in choosing the seed and in sowing
the crop is of much more importance than in the case
of cereals, or of annual forage crops. In many cases,
however, as after bush burns, grass is sown down once
for all, and, owing to the unploughable nature of the
land no further opportunity will ever occur of renew-
ing the pasture ; in this case a right choice of grasses
becomes by far the most important problem that the land-
holder is confronted with. The difficulty of making a right
choice of grasses is very great ; of two mixtures one may
give much more feed than another, but |owing to the lack of
keeping accurate records of the stock carried, definite in-
formation for the guidance of other farmers is not available.
Even where accurate records are kept the length of time over
which the crop remains in the ground makes the information
very slowly available. In the cases of cereals, root crops,
or ordinary manures, the trials are very simple. The experi-
ments are in most cases concluded in a single season, and
the product of variety or manurial trials can be accurately
weighed. Yet in these cases we have often arrived at no
definite conclusion as to what is the best variety of wheat,
or oats, or turnips, or what is the best manure to use with
these crops, in any particular district. What wonder is it,
then, that definite information in the matter of choice of
seed and treatment of the land in the case of grasses, is
almost entirely lacking. Each district follows some estab-
lished custom, and there is little doubt that in many cases
the most profitable grass is not used. One of the most
valuable lines of experiment that could be embarked upon
would be the sowing down of fields in different districts
in different mixtures of grasses, and keeping a record of the
stock carried by each plot. The plots, of course, would have
to be duplicated to avoid experimental error ; each would
have to be separately fenced so as to prevent stock from

70 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

injuring the grasses by over feeding, and the trial would
have to be continued for many years. This kind of thing
has been done at Ruakura Farm of Instruction in the case
of top-dressing pastures, and the results have given informa-
tion of the greatest value.

Temporary and Permanent Pastures. — Grass seed is sown
with the object of producing either a temporary pasture
to last from two to six years, or a permanent pasture to
last ten years or longer. In the grazing districts, of course,
permanent pastures are always aimed at, but in the agri-
cultural areas, it is often considered more profitable to sow
mixtures that will last only a few years, but which will give
a large bulk of rapidly growing palatable feed ; then when
the pasture weakens, it is ploughed up, roots or cereals are
taken from the land, and a new crop of grass sown. There
is little doubt that where mixed farming is possible, this
system of short grass leys is the most profitable, though,
of course, even here it is advisable to have a certain number
of paddocks in permanent pasture, if only because the fields
laid down permanently are off one's hands, so that more care
and time can be given to securing the best returns from the
rest of the farm. The temporary pasture does, if the
varieties are wisely selected, give feed that is greater in
quantity and higher in nutritive value than would be
produced by a permanent pasture during the same season.
But a proper selection of grasses to be sown needs consider-
able knowledge and experience. The peculiar advantage
of a temporary pasture is lost if any slow maturing grasses
are sown in the mixture, and the chances of securing a
successful permanent pasture are much reduced by the
inclusion of any considerable proportion of short-lived
grasses. To secure the best results it is necessary to make
a sharp distinction between the two types of grass land.
This is contrary to the prevailing practice in our agricultural

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 71

areas where it may be stated, with a rough approximation
to the truth, that fields are usually laid down in pasture to
stay in this condition as long as they will do so, and then
they are put in root crops and cereals largely as a preparation
for a new grass crop. Therefore the mixtures usually sown
are such as will give a high yield of fodder in the first two
seasons, and other grasses are included in less amount on
the chance that they may establish themselves and so persist
for five or six years. It is contended here that this is un-
sound practice, that in the first year or two the slow matur-
ing grasses are occupying the land unprofitably, and that in
the later years, the bare spaces left by the short-lived grasses
are pure waste. A field laid down in : —

Italian Rye 6 pounds

Perennial Rye 8 „

Cocksfoot 2

Timothy 6

Meadow Fescue 4 ,,

Red Clover 2

White Clover 1

and thus containing long and short -lived grasses in about
equal proportions, was found three years from the date of
sowing to contain 39 per cent, of bare land, all the Italian
Rye and Red Clover, and much of the Perennial Rye having
died out. In this field 39 per cent, of the rent and taxes,
cost of maintenance, and initial cultivation were all being
lost. If no Cocksfoot, Timothy, or Fescue had been sown
the pasture would certainly have been ploughed after its
second year and a new sole of grass provided for. In the
adjacent half of the same field 14 pounds of Cocksfoot were
sown and both Rye Grasses were left out, and in this part of
the field there were only 16 per cent, of bare spaces. A seed
mixture designed to produce the advantages of both tempor-
ary and permanent pasture rarely gives economical results.

72 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

The chief weakness of temporary pastures has been
pointed out in the preceding paragraph, namely that they
tend to become thin and unprofitable before they are
ploughed up. This weakness is particularly serious where
cows are kept, for the stock loses condition during the Winter
so that they are unable to take advantage of the flush of feed
provided in the Spring and Summer. If the system of
sowing short-lived grasses is to realize its full profit one must
keep the plough going hard, as is done specially in some parts
of the Waikato, where Italian Rye or Westernwolths is sown
definitely for a single season, and then the land reploughed.

Sowing Pure or in Mixtures. — The question of sowing
grasses pure or in mixtures is one of the greatest im-
portance. In Europe and New Zealand the sowing of
mixtures more or less elaborate has been the almost
universal custom. For instance, in England, for permanent
pastures at least a dozen species are sown together, and
in many cases in sowing New Zealand bush burn, as many
as eight or nine grasses and clovers are mixed. In the
United States, on the other hand, grasses are sown practically
pure. Both customs have strong and weak points. In
mixtures there can be included plants that mature in their
first year, and then die out, giving place to the more vigorous
growth of the perennial species. There can be included
grasses providing a large amount of food early in Spring,
and others that come on later in Summer. There can be
included strong growing tufted grasses, and others with
turf-forming habits to fill the spaces between the tufts.
Thus in ideal conditions the pasture will provide feed in all
the years of its existence, at all seasons of the year, and the
ground will be completely covered. Further, the mixture
of grasses and clovers allows for more vigorous growth for
each, and at the same time provides more palatable feed for
stock. On the other hand pastures laid down on these lines

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 73

require much more careful treatment than our customs
favour. If sheep are put on the field in its first year, our
almost universal custom, the slower growing grasses are
trampled out, and the more palatable ones are eaten out.
If on the other hand cattle are put on, the ground being soft
becomes poached. Such pastures should be shut up for hay
until the ground is firm, then grazed by cattle so that only
the rankest grasses are eaten off, and not until the slowest
grasses are well established should sheep be put on the land.
This treatment is almost impossible under our system of
farming, and as a result we lose from our mixtures the grasses
slowest to mature, and especially those that are most
palatable. The grasses slowest to establish themselves are
usually those of permanent habit, and thus the best grasses
are lost from the mixture, and after the short-lived grasses
are gone, we get a field more or less occupied by bare patches,
or inferior grasses, or sundry weeds. This is largely the
explanation of the failure of Cocksfoot to establish itself
when there is sown say three pounds of Cocksfoot with
twenty pounds of Perennial Rye, and of the failure of Prairie
Grass to stand stocking. It may be taken as certain that
it is waste of money to include a small quantity of a highly
palatable grass with a large quantity of one less palatable.
Such a field will appear to have plenty of feed, because of the
quantity of the less liked grass present, and so the stock will
be left on it, while in reality the more palatable grass is being
eaten so bare that it will never recover. It is often the case
that the less of a grass there is obvious in a field sown down
in a mixture, the better that grass is. Instances of this are
common. In a mixture of Chewings Fescue and Cocksfoot
the Cocksfoot will be eaten right out and the Chewings
Fescue left to occupy the land, or in a mixture of Timothy
and Ryegrass the Timothy will be hardly apparent except
upon the closest investigation. In fields sown in mixtures

74 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

it is often a wise plan to enclose a patch of land in a triangle
of wire netting, say two or three yards on the side, so that
the grasses that are growing best may be observed. Where
grasses are sown pure none of these difficulties is encountered.
Grasses that mature in their first year may be put in one
field and those that mature later on in another field ; winter
grasses in one field and summer grasses in another, and so on.
In fact the mixture of grasses is on the farm, and not in each
paddock. The total product of grass will be greater, and
the management of each field much easier. It is not meant to
suggest by this that one variety should be sown strictly by
itself, but that grasses of only one habit should be sown to-
gether. For instance Italian Rye and Red Clover might be
mixed, but to mix a little Foxtail with a large quantity of
Italian Rye would in many cases be to waste the Foxtail.
The plan here suggested is of course suitable only to those
farms that are divided into suitable paddocks.

Whatever may be thought of the relative merits of
sowing seeds pure and in mixtures, it cannot be denied that
to sow the same mixtures in all classes of ground in any
district is unwise. And yet that is an exceedingly common
practice. Where land runs from light shingle to heavy
swamp in the same district one finds the same mixtures used
on both soils. And in surface sowing bush burns the same
mixture is often sown on the dry sunny faces and in the dark
damp gullies. Much study of the behaviour of the different
grasses under different conditions is still needed, and the
information we require cannot be obtained until careful
experiments are made on the lines suggested earlier in this
Chapter. In the meantime it is well to note that the grass
that does best on any land is the best grass for that land.
This may seem a truism, but it is one whose teaching is often
neglected. If the headlands and roadsides run to Cocksfoot
or Rye Grass, or Danthonia or Timothy, then that is the grass
that will succeed best if sown down for permanent pasture.

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 75

Cost of Seed. — The cost of grass seed for various mixtures
is very often given a place of too much importance in decid-
ing upon the mixtures to be used. If one mixture cost 10s.
per acre and another cost 20s. per acre, the resultant feed
does not need to be double as good in the latter case to pay
for the extra expenditure. The cost of clearing or cultivat-
ing, the cost of fencing and maintenance, the rents or interest
and the rates and taxes remain the same whether a good sole
of grass or a bad one is secured. Let us take an instance
from agricultural land valued at £30 per acre. There the cost
of a crop of grass to last four years is roughly as follows : —

s. d.

ERRATUM.
« 8 Us£6 10S' re

Ol tne Crop Will DC £y *s-

cent. Thus, though the increased cost of seed is 100 per
cent, the increased cost of the crop is only 6 per cent., and
it must be a poor selection of grasses that will not, for double
the money, yield 6 per cent, more feed. It is from this point
of view that one should not hesitate to use good varieties,
good seed, and sufficient of it, when laying land down to
grass even for a short ley. For permanent pasture the
argument is infinitely more cogent.

Weight of Seed. — Grass seeds vary greatly in the
number of seeds that go to a pound as well as in their
average germination capacity. Thus the amount of seed
required to sow an acre varies greatly also.

* Most of the cost of cultivation will be debited against the
crop (oats, rape, etc.) with which the grass is sown.

74 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

it is often a wise plan to enclose a patch of land in a triangle
of wire netting, say two or three yards on the side, so that
the grasses that are growing best may be observed. Where
grasses are sown pure none of these difficulties is encountered.
Grasses that mature in their first year may be put in one
field and those that mature later on in another field ; winter
grasses in one field and summer grasses in another, and so on.
In fact the mixture of grasses is on the farm, and not in each
paddock. The total product of grass will be greater, and
the management of each field much easier. It is not meant to
suggest by this that one variety should be sown strictly by
itself, but that grasses of only one, habit should be sown to-

:n_ruiivj. HI

district is unwise. And yet that is an exceedingly common
practice. Where land runs from light shingle to heavy
swamp in the same district one finds the same mixtures used
on both soils. And in surface sowing bush burns the same
mixture is often sown on the dry sunny faces and in the dark
damp gullies. Much study of the behaviour of the different
grasses under different conditions is still needed, and the
information we require cannot be obtained until careful
experiments are made on the lines suggested earlier in this
Chapter. In the meantime it is well to note that the grass
that does best on any land is the best grass for that land.
This may seem a truism, but it is one whose teaching is often
neglected. If the headlands and roadsides run to Cocksfoot
or Rye Grass, or Danthonia or Timothy, then that is the grass
that will succeed best if sown down for permanent pasture.

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 75

Cost of Seed. — The cost of grass seed for various mixtures
is very often given a place of too much importance in decid-
ing upon the mixtures to be used. If one mixture cost 10s.
per acre and another cost 20s. per acre, the resultant feed
does not need to be double as good in the latter case to pay
for the extra expenditure. The cost of clearing or cultivat-
ing, the cost of fencing and maintenance, the rents or interest
and the rates and taxes remain the same whether a good sole
of grass or a bad one is secured. Let us take an instance
from agricultural land valued at £30 per acre. There the cost
of a crop of grass to last four years is roughly as follows : —

{, s. d.

Rent or interest, 4 years, at 30s. per acre 6 10 0
Taxes, rates, etc., 4 years, at 6s. 140

Maintenance — hedges and ditches, etc. at Is. 040
Cultivation and sowing, say* 060

Seed 0 10 0

Total £8 14 0

Now suppose the seed cost 20s. instead of 10s. the cost
of the crop will be £9 4s., that is an increase under 6 per
cent. Thus, though the increased cost of seed is 100 per
cent, the increased cost of the crop is only 6 per cent., and
it must be a poor selection of grasses that will not, for double
the money, yield 6 per cent, more feed. It is from this point
of view that one should not hesitate to use good varieties,
good seed, and sufficient of it, when laying land down to
grass even for a short ley. For permanent pasture the
argument is infinitely more cogent.

Weight of Seed. — Grass seeds vary greatly in the
number of seeds that go to a pound as well as in their
average germination capacity. Thus the amount of seed
required to sow an acre varies greatly also.

* Most of the cost of cultivation will be debited against the
crop (oats, rape, etc.) with which the grass is sown.

76

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

The following table mostly taken from Cockayne
(see reference at end of Chapter) gives the approximate
number of seeds per pound in the different varieties.
This table will be found strikingly different from the
tables given in European works, but it is, of course, a
record of the character of the seeds that are on the New
Zealand market. The figures are only averages, various
samples departing greatly from the means here recorded.

TABLE II.

No. of Seeds per
pound.

Average
germina-
tion %

No. of living
Seeds per pound.

No. of
pounds
average
seed to
completely
sow 1 acre.

Perennial Rye ...

240,000

80

192,000

28

Italian Rye

270,000

80

216,000

25

Cocksfoot ;.,. '

540,500

70

378,000

16

Dogstail

900000

75

675,000

10

Timothy

1,100,000

90

990,000

8

Foxtail

650000

55

357,000

17

Meadow Fescue

220,000

80

176,000

31

Chewings Fescue

540,000

75

405,000

14

Poa pratensis ...

2,000,000

40

800,000

12

Poa trivialis ...

2,400,000

60

1,440,000

7

Creeping Bent...

3,000,000

70

1,750,000

6

Danthonia pilosa

550,000

60

330,000

18

D. semiannularis

950,000

60

570,000

12

Prairie Grass ...

40,000

90

36,000

40*

Paspalum -.»• •

440,000

25

110,000

54

Red Clover

220,000

90

198,000

27

White Clover ...

650,000

85

552,000

11

Alsike

600,000

90

540,000

12

Birdsfoot Trefoil

800,000

70

560,000

12

*Drilled as oats are : 20 Ibs. sown first and 20 Ibs. cross drilled.

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES.

77

In the last column are given the number of pounds
necessary to completely sow an acre with average commercial
seed. The figures are based on the quantities of seeds
sown in the mixtures commonly used in the country, from
which it is found that from five millions to ten millions living
seeds are sown per acre. For instance the following are
typical mixtures, one of Canterbury fields and one of Auck-
land bush burns.

TABLE III.

Mixture.

No. of Seeds.

Mixture.

No. of Seeds.

Perennial Rye 16 Ibs.

3,072,000

Perennial Rye 10 Ibs.

1,920,000

Italian Rye 5 Ibs.

1,080,000

Italian Rye 4 Ibs.

864,000

Red Clover 3 Ibs.

594,000

Cocksfoot 8 Ibs.

3,024,060

White Clover 1 Ib.

552,000

Dogstail 1 Ib.

675,000

Timothy 1 Ib.

990,000

Poa pratensis £lb.

400,000

Poa trivialis Jib.

720,000

Red Clover 1 Ib.

198,000

White Clover lib.

552,000

Total 25 Ibs.

5,298,000

Total 27 Ibs.

9,343,000

In the last column of Table II. then, the calculations
are based on the assumption that five millions of the large
seeds up to 12 millions of the smallest are necessary to sow
an acre. The smaller seeds are more easily buried, or their
tiny plants more easily destroyed, and thus in practice greater
quantities of these seeds are sown than their number to the
pound would necessitate. Since these seeds are never sown
pure, and since conditions vary immensely, the figures in
the last column are to be taken merely as an indication that
in general the quantities of different seeds required for an
acre vary greatly, and that certain seeds are much more
economical in use than others are.

78 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

The Clifton Park System. — This system of laying land
down to temporary pasture was devised by Elliot, for the
purpose of renovating or improving dry upland pastures
with thin soil and hard clay subsoil, the soil being either
naturally poor in organic matter, or impoverished by over
much cropping.

In New Zealand there are large areas of land with thin
soil, poor in humus and underlaid by stiff clays, and it is
probable that the application of Elliot's principles may
bring these lands within the limits of cultivation and largely
increase their productivity. If a soil is poor in humus this
may most quickly and cheaply be supplied by growing grasses
that produce a thick and bulky turf, which, while they
support stock well during their growth, enrich the land in
organic matter when the turf is ploughed under. For this
purpose the Rye Grasses, with their shallow root systems
on poor land, are quite unsuited, but Cocksfoot is eminently
adapted for the purpose. The habits of Phalaris bulbosa
suggest that it too would give satisfactory results, but so
far as we know it has not yet been used for the purpose here
discussed. The supply of organic matter may be further
augmented, and the stiff subsoil broken up at the same time,
by the use of plants with deep penetrating tap-roots. These
not only enrich the surface soil by conveying water and food
supplies from the subsoil upwards, but by their bursting
action tend to increase the depths to which the tender roots
of the grasses may go. Of such plants Chicory is one of the
most profitable. It provides a moderate amount of very
palatable feed, and its roots, which are bulky, will burst
through some of the hardest clays. Lucerne too might well
be employed. The extraordinary penetrating power of its
roots is well known, and while it is impossible to secure a
close crop of lucerne under heavy grazing, yet a few scattered
plants will always persist in a pasture, where their strong

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 79

growth is attested by the thickness of the roots seen at the
next ploughing. Success nearly always follows the use of
these plants on poor soils underlain by clays. When broken
out of their present grass they might be put in rape, or
turnips followed by rape, and then sown in Cocksfoot,
about 15 pounds, Chicory say 5 pounds, and Lucerne 3
pounds, or if it is preferred, the Cocksfoot may be sown quite
pure. On a small area it would be worth trying Phalaris
bulbosa at say 8 pounds per acre to replace one-third of the
Cocksfoot, but this should be tried on a purely experimental
scale at present.

Two objections are levelled against this plan of grassing,
one by those who have tried it and one by those who have
not. Some who have tried the plan find that several plants
recommended by Elliot are not suitable for New Zealand
conditions. This is quite true, since Meadow Fescue does
not succeed on light dry soils, Tall Oat Grass is not palatable,
and Sheep's Burnet and Kidney Vetch are not capable of
penetrating our stiff clay subsoils. While all this is true
the method as modified by colonial experience remains of
great value, and Cocksfoot, Chicory and Lucerne have proved
themselves. The objection made by some who have not
tried the system is that the Cocksfoot will not carry sufficient
stock to be payable during its first few years. This, as
pointed out before, is a pure fallacy, based on observations
made on the growth of Cocksfoot when sown in mixtures
with Rye Grass. One can say with assurance that Cocksfoot
sown pure will carry, even in its first year, though
not so early in its first year, as much stock or
more than the ordinary Rye Grass mixtures, and its superi-
ority increases with time. In South Taranaki a field of
Cocksfoot sown pure, 15 pounds to the acre, was 18 inches
high, and ready to be cut for hay seven months from sowing.
At Lincoln a field was laid down in seven plots of about

80 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

two acres each. One plot was almost pure Cocksfoot, 14
pounds per acre, and in its first season both cattle and sheep
crowded on to it, so that it carried more than any other
plot. It has still, after three years, much the best sole of
grass. In another field a bag of Cocksfoot was sown pure
by mistake, while most of the paddock was sown in an
ordinary mixture. It was never noticed that the Cocksfoot
side of the paddock carried less sheep than the other part,
and the Cocksfoot side is now, after three years, much the
best. In South Canterbury, on light land, 10 acres in a 50
acre field were sown in Cocksfoot pure, with the idea of saving
it for seed. From its first to its third year it was estimated
that the 10 acres of Cocksfoot carried more sheep than the
remaining 40 acres of the paddock, which were sown in a
Rye Grass mixture. The ploughing up of the part not in
Cocksfoot terminated the experiment.

It appears likely that the adoption of Cocksfoot and
deep rooting plants may materially increase the stock
carrying capacity of much of our poorer lands, and at the
same time the soil may be permanently enriched in humus
by the ploughing in of a thick turf, and deepened by the
opening up of the subsoil. A system promising so great a
reward is well worth a trial.

Grass Mixtures. — The characters of the various grasses
and clovers have been sufficiently described in Chapters
I. and IV. From this information may be deduced suitable
mixtures for different leys on different classes of land, and
it would be much the most satisfactory plan to leave the
matter at that, so that each farmer might work out the grass
mixture most suitable for his own conditions. For the sake
of definiteness, however, there are appended hereto tables
showing the mixtures Usually employed, and some mixtures
suggested for trial. The main differences between these
suggested mixtures and those in common use are (1) the

GRASS MIXTURES. 81

greater distinction between mixtures intended for temporary
and those intended for permanent pastures ; (2) the
greater distinction between mixtures intended for different
classes of land ; (3) the omission of small quantities of
many grasses ; (4) the much greater use of Cocksfoot and
the lessened use of Perennial Rye.

It cannot be too strongly emphasised that these sugges-
tions are merely for generalised conditions, and that in every
particular circumstance some modification will almost cer-
tainly be necessary.

TABLE IV.

GRASS MIXTURES USUALLY EMPLOYED.
For 3 to 6 years :—

Perennial Rye . . 16 pounds per acre

Italian Rye . . 5
Cocksfoot 3 „

Red Clover 3 „

White Clover 2

For Permanent Pasture : —

ON LIGHT TO MEDIUM LAND.

Perennial Rye . . 12 pounds per acre
Italian Rye 4 ,, „

Cocksfoot 8

Dogstail .. 1

Red Clover .. 3
White Clover 2

82 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

ON HEAVY LAND.
Perennial Rye . . 10 pounds per acre

Italian Rye

4

Cocksfoot

.. 8

Dogstail

1

Timothy

1

Poa pratensis

.. J

Poa trivialis

J

Red Clover

1

White Clover

1

TABLE V.

MIXTURES SUGGESTED FOR TRIAL.

NOTES. — 1. Medium soils with rainfall of over 40 inches
would best be treated as heavy soils.

2. Where a fine tilth has not been obtainable the
quantities of seed must be increased proportionately.
Climates or seasons unfavourable for working the land may
demand an increase of up to 50 per cent, in the quantities
indicated below.

For 1 year :—

LIGHT TO MEDIUM SOILS.
Italian Rye . . 20 pounds per acre

Red Clover 5 ,,

HEAVY SOILS.

Italian Rye . . 20 pounds per acre

Red Clover 5 „

For two or three years : —

LIGHT TO MEDIUM SOILS.

i Italian Rye . . 7 pounds per acre

Perennial Rye ..13
Red Clover .. 3

* See foot-note on page 84.

J

GRASS MIXTURES. 83

HEAVY SOILS.

Italian Rye . . 3 pounds per acre

Perennial Rye ..10
Timothy 4

Red Clover 3 „

For three to six years : —

LIGHT AND MEDIUM SOILS.

( Italian Rye . . 3 pounds per acre
^ J Perennial Rye 4 „

* 1 Cocksfoot . . 12
(Red Clover 4

HEAVY SOILS.

Italian Rye . . 4 pounds per acre
Perennial Rye 4

Timothy >. 6
Red Clover 3

Alsike .. 2 „

For permanent pastures : —

LIGHT SOILS.

( Cocksfoot . . 14 pounds per acre

J Red Clover 5

1 Lotus Corniculatus 3
(Dogstail .. 1 „

MEDIUM SOILS.

( Cocksfoot . . 14 pounds per acre

* 4 Red Clover 5 „
[ Dogstail .. 2 „

* See foot-note on page 84.

84

PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

HEAVY SOILS.

Foxtail . .

Cocksfoot

Timothy

Alsike ..

Perennial Rye . .

Italian Rye .V

7 pounds per

3

3

5

3

3

acre

HEAVY AND WET SOILS.
•f Timothy . . 3 pounds per

Foxtail ., 10 „

Creeping Bent .. 3
Alsike ..5 ,,

Perennial Rye .. 3

acre

BUSH BURNS.

Perennial Rye . .

Italian Rye ...

Cocksfoot ..

Dogstail ..

Poa trivialis . .
Timothy

Red Clover ,..

White Clover "-..'

5 pounds per
3

10
1

1 ,,
1 ,,
2
1

acre

WITH HARD DRY SUBSOILS.

Locksloot

. . 14 po

unds per acre

Red Clover

3

* -

Chicory

3

, ,,

Lucerne

- 3

> »>

( Dogstail

1

* To all mixtures marked thus add one pound White Clover if
this has not already been found growing on the land under con-
sideration.

f The mixtures marked thus may be increased till they are nearly
doubled when local conditions demand it.

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 85

Testing of Seeds. — When the grass mixture has been
decided on, the seed has to be bought. J[t will be observed
that the quantities given in the mixtures are based upon
average germination capacity as given in the third column
of Table II., p. 76. It is clear from this that the quantities
of seed used must be increased or diminished as the germina-
tion of the sample falls below or exceeds that stated in the
Table. Thus if one determines to use 20 pounds of average
Perennial Rye in a mixture and the germination of the
sample proves to be 90 per cent., then instead of 20
pounds only 18 pounds of seed are needed, while if the
germination of the sample proves to be 70 per cent, then
22 pounds of seed must be used. It is therefore necessary
to know the germination percentage of a sample before
determining the amount of seed to be sown, and of course the
same knowledge is necessary before determining on the
sample to be chosen when several samples of different prices
are submitted for purchase. This is quite obvious, and yet the
testing of seeds for germination capacity is very seldom done.
It is not that the trouble is too great, for few farmers would
grudge the small amount of time requisite to make so simple
a test, but because the buying of seed is usually put off
till the field is ready for sowing, and then there is no time
to test samples before placing the order. Certain of the
higher class of seed merchants in the Dominion, however,
are willing to certify to the germination capacity of the seeds
they sell, and this matter is obviously worth inquiring into.
If a merchant will not state the germination percentage
of the seed, it is probably not because the seed is extra-
ordinarily good. Ten per cent, difference in the germina-
tion of a seed means a difference of about one penny per
pound in the price of the clovers, and about 6d. per bushel
in the price of Rye Grass — a difference that no buyer is
willing to ignore. When it is stated that samples of certain

86 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

seeds commonly vary by as much as 50 per cent, in the ger-
mination capacity, it is clear that this is often the ruling
factor in the value of the seed, and appearances count for
but little. It cannot be too often emphasised that in sowing
grasses to remain down for six to twenty years everything
should be done to secure a good start, and a small extra
initial outlay is justified a hundred times over if bare patches
and an indifferent herbage are thereby avoided. A farmer
will studiously avoid sowing shrivelled wheat, or turnip
seed reputed to be old — it is very much more important that
he should avoid graSs seed with a low germination.

To test seeds is the simplest of matters. Take a square
of cloth or of blotting paper, damp it thoroughly, and lay it
on a plate. On this place about 100 seeds, spreading them
out slightly. On these place another piece of damp blotting
paper or flannel, and cover the whole with an inverted plate
to keep the moisture in. The temperature of an ordinary
living room — about 60 degrees F. — is best for germination,
and during the trial the upper plate should be removed
for a second or two each day to allow free admission of
air, and the escape of foul gases generated when the plates
fit too closely. Certain grasses germinate better in the
light than in the dark, for example Poa pratensis, and for
these the following plan is perhaps the easiest : Take a
piece of porous roofing tile, lay it on the flat, and immerse it
for half its depth in a dish of water. On the tile spread
out the seeds which will then need no further attention than
to keep the water in the dish replenished as it evaporates.
This plan is really easier than that of the blotting paper,
if only a piece of porous earthenware is available.

The above methods of seed testing are quite good enough
for common use. The best results, however, are obtained
when blotting paper is used between glass dishes, and this
method must be adopted for accurate determinations. The

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 87

time required for complete germination of various farm seeds
is shown in the following table, though of course the greater
proportion of good seed will have germinated in about half
the time noted below : —

TABLE VI.

MAXIMUM PERIOD REQUIRED FOR GERMINATION
OF FARM SEEDS.

Cereals, Clovers, Turnips, Rape, etc. . . 10 days
Mangels, Rye Grass, Timothy, Cocksfoot,

Agrostis, and Meadow Fescue . . 14 „

For Grasses not mentioned above or below . . 21 ,,

Poa trivialis and Poa pratensis . . 28 „

In many samples of Clovers certain seeds will be found
failing to germinate though they have remained perfectly
firm and hard. These seeds will germinate in the soil, and
in estimating the germination capacity of such samples,
the number of hard seeds is usually divided by three, and
the number thus obtained added to the seeds that have
actually germinated.

Methods of Sowing. — For surface sowing of bush burns,
etc., a broadcasting machine carried strapped to the
shoulders is usually employed. The "fiddle" a special
broadcasting machine, is also often used, and either of these
devices gives a more even distribution of the seed than does
broadcasting by hand ; when the hand method is adopted the
seed is usually carried in the bottom half of a sack, the top
half of one side of which has been cut away. A slit is made
in the remaining top half, and through this slit the head is
thrust, so that the bag hangs on the shoulders and leaves
both hands free for sowing.

88 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

In arable areas grass seed is usually sown from special
grass seed sowers. The box containing the seed is frequently
mounted on a special machine in which case the seed falls
between boards that hang to within a few inches of the
ground. Between the boards are numberless little pegs so
that the seed becomes thoroughly distributed in its passage
downward, and leaves the boards so close to the surface of
the land that it has little chance of being scattered irregularly
by the wind. These machines are drawn by one horse and
sow a width of about 15 feet at a stroke. Perhaps more
frequently the grass seed box is made to fit on to a grain drill
or even a roller, and then the seed has to fall some distance
through the air before it reaches the land and is often blown
about by the wind. A grain drill itself with the tubes lead-
ing to the coulters detached, and the coulters hooked up,
can be used with fairly satisfactory results. Of course in all
these methods the width sown at a stroke is governed by
the width of the implement to which the seed box is attached.

The question of the kind of surface to have on the land
before and after the sowing of the seed is one that leads to
much argument. Whether the soil should be loose or rolled
before the seed is sown, or loose or rolled after the seed is sown
are both matters that are open to question. Certain facts are
clear. (1) Grass seed sown by the plants themselves are not
covered at all, but merely lie on the surface, or are covered at
most by a few fallen leaves. Grass seeds then are suited for
germination with the slightest covering, and that they will do
this is proved by the success of surface sowing. (2) As a
corollary to this it may be taken for granted that grass seed
sown deep will not germinate, or at least will not produce
plants. In a trial in this matter Timothy seed was sown
on the surface, and at depths of quarter of an inch, one
inch, and two inches. The rows on the surface and at
quarter of an inch grew perfectly, while the rows sown

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 89

at depths of one inch and two inches did not produce a
single plant that reached the surface. (3) When grass
seed is sown by falling from the plants themselves and
germinates thus, it is lying on a firm surface in which
the moisture from the soil below rises to the surface. If
it lies on a loose surface it will not be moistened from
below, will dry up after every shower, and so will perish.
A good example of this is often seen when the seed sown on
a harrowed field strikes much best in the horses' hoof marks.
(4) When grass seed is sown on a loose or harrowed surface
and then harrowed in, a large number of seeds must fall and
be shaken through the crevices in the soil to the depths of
one inch or more. This is specially true with the smaller
and more compact seeds such as Timothy, and the quantity
of seed thus lost must be very great. It is for this reason
that in computing the numbers for the last column in Table
II., double as many seeds per acre were allowed for the
grasses with small seeds easily buried, as for those with large
seeds that are unlikely to fall below germinating depth.

It would thus seem that an ideal condition for sowing
grass seed would be to finish the cultivation of the field by
rolling, then sow the seed, and then cover it as lightly as
possible. If the land were finished with the Cambridge
roller the seed would tend to fall into the little ridges formed
by the roller, and if then a brush harrow consisting of a
few boughs were dragged over the land the ridges would
be rubbed down to fill the hollows. No seed would be lost
through burying, it would receive moisture from below and
so would germinate. It would be covered from birds, and
the light powdering of soil above it would tend to reduce to
some extent loss of water by evaporation.

In certain districts, however, where heavy rains usually
follow seeding time, and where the land cakes badly, this plan
of sowing after the roller is inadvisable. In such a case the

90 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

heavy rolling might be succeeded by a light harrowing, then
the seed, then the brush harrows. By these means we shall
approach most nearly Nature's method of sowing her seeds.

Time of Sowing. — As a general rule Autumn is the best
time for sowing grasses. Surface sowing after burns must,
of course, be done in Autumn, and on arable land also, the
following considerations point to Autumn as being the best
time. (1) If the sowing is postponed till Spring it is often
so late before one can get on to the land with horses, owing to
the Winter rains, that sowing has to be put off till unduly
late. (2) If the young grass is wanted in Spring as is usually
the case, it must be sown in Autumn. (3) In Autumn the
nitrates so essential to vigorous growth of grass are in their
maximum quantity in the soil, having being formed by the
soil bacteria during the Summer warmth. In Spring the
soil nitrates are at their minimum, production having ceased
during the Winter cold, and all those formed during the
preceding Summer having been washed out by the Winter
rains. Where grass is sown alone as a special crop it is
usually sown in Autumn, and the earlier the better, the
determining factor in most districts being the presence of
sufficient moisture in the soil to secure germination. If
sown at the end of February or early in March it may often
be fed off before Winter. On arable land most of the grass
is sown down with oats in Autumn, broadcasting the grass
after drilling the oats, and this usually gives a fair strike,
though of course it is less likely to succeed than if the grass
were sown alone. Occasionally the grass starts well, and
then if a dry Summer supervenes, dies away because all the
available moisture is seized on by the oats. Occasionally
grass is sown with wheat in Autumn, but this is rare.

For Spring sowing several methods are used. (1) The
grass may be sown alone in September, or as soon as the land
is dry enough. (2) It may be sown with barley. (3) It

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 91

may be sown on top of wheat that has just been fed off, and
then the seed harrowed in. Neither of methods (2) and (3)
has much to recommend it. (4) It is very often sown at
the same time as rape is drilled. There is one very distinct
advantage in this method in districts that are affected with
grass grub. For the cultivation in October kills all the
brittle pupae that are in the soil, and the sheep are on
the rape in December, so that the beetles will not lay
their eggs in the new sown grass. Thus at least one season
of grass free from grub is assured. Of course the frequent
lack of moisture in October, and the excessive trampling
of the young grass while the sheep are on the rape are dis-
advantages of this time of sowing, but these are in certain
districts quite overbalanced by the probability of immunity
from attack by grub. (5) Grass is also occasionally sown
with turnips — chiefly in those districts where white turnips
are grown on the flat. Where there is a sufficient rainfall in
Midsummer and Autumn, and where cereals are not grown,
sowing with turnips often gives the best results.

Improvement of Native Pastures.— The improvement of
native pastures in the North Island is chiefly a matter of
manuring and so does not come within the scope of this little
book. The native pastures that occur so widely in the South
Island are almost entirely unimproved. Their carrying
capacity is about one sheep to three acres, and has not
materially changed in the last 45 years.The reasons for this
state of things are threefold. (1) The native pasture is held in
large blocks running from 10,000 acres to 100,000 acres. (2) The
tenure of the land is almost entirely that of short leaseholds
with revaluations at the end of the period, so that a run-holder
hesitates to effect improvements for which he is likely to be
fined in the shape of increased rentals. (3) The attempts
at improving the pastures that have been made in the past
have often failed and have still more often appeared to fail.

92 PASTURE PLANTS AND PASTURES OF N.Z.

The land that has been occupied but unimproved for 50 or
60 years is of course not of the best quality, and the best sole
of grass cannot be expected to grow upon it. Profitable
results are obtained if the carrying capacity is increased
by an amount that more than pays for the cost of labour
and material. Yet one often sees back country ploughing
condemned because the resultant pasture is poor, or thin,
or obscured by sorrel. It, however, cannot be doubted that
the poorest of improved pastures is often superior in carry-
ing capacity to unimproved tussock. On the tussock^ there
appears to be ample feed, where in reality there is very
little, owing to the unpalatability of the tussock and the
associated plants.

Where attempts at improving tussock really do fail,
is where weed grasses, such as Sweet Vernal, take possession
of the ploughed land. This result probably follows the
sowing of short-lived grasses such as the Rye Grasses for
permanent pasture. Cocksfoot in liberal proportions — 12 to
14 pounds per acre, with one pound each of Crested Dogstail
and Poa pratensis is the type of mixture required, so that a
close and permanent turf may be formed. Of course ploughing,
working and seeding on such a scale does not look profitable
for the poor land we are considering, but it has many more
chances of being profitable than has the plan of ploughing,
and then saving a small expense by sowing unsuitable grasses
that soon die out, that admit the ingress of worthless weeds
and that need ploughing again in a few years' time.

There is much of the tussock land of the South Island,
however, that is stony, or too steep or poor to pay for
ploughing, and which yet can be improved. The introduc-
tion of Danthonia pilosa by the means suggested on p. 27.
is well worth considering, but should not be resorted to until
the following plan has been tried. Broadcast Cocksfoot
over the tussocks in as great quantities as convenient, say

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. 93

6 to 8 pounds per acre. Then grub with a heavy, spring-tined
cultivator so as to shake down the seed and loosen the sur-
face soil, but not destroy the tussocks. Then, if possible,
drive large mobs of sheep over the land thus treated so as
to press in the seed, and when the Cocksfoot has germinated
give it a good chance to become firmly rooted before turning
sheep on to graze it. If Cocksfoot does not succeed, Poa
pratensis or Creeping Bent almost surely will, but Cocksfoot
should be tried first.

No runholder can have noted the heavily grazed weed
grasses by roadsides or sheep camps without being convinced
that the carrying capacity of the flatter parts of his run could
be doubled if an economical way of establishing such grasses
could be found. Burning and surface sowing fail because
of the thin covering of ashes, and because of the exposure
to drought while the young plants are establishing them-
selves. The light cultivation and the preservation of the
sheltering tussock here suggested are very hopeful means
of avoiding these difficulties.

REFERENCES.

Grass mixtures for New Zealand have been dealt with in recent
years chiefly by Cockayne and the Author. Cockayne's articles are in
the " Journal, N.Z. Department of Agriculture " in various places.
Among others are Bush burns, Vol. viii., No. 3 ; Surface sown grasses,
Vol. xiv., No. 3 ; Paspalum, Vol. xv. No. 6 and special reference is
due to "Transactions N.Z. Institute," Vol. 48, for an article on
Tussock lands. The Author's papers are mostly in the Magazine of
the Canterbury Agricultural College, and Cocksfoot especially is dealt
with in the Journal, Canterbury A. and P. Association for 1916 and
1917-

[Since this work has been in the Press Cockayne has published a
series of articles on "The Grass Lands of New Zealand " in "The
Journal of Agriculture," N.Z. Department of Agriculture, March and
following numbers, 1918].

INDEX

Achillea millefolium, 62-63.
Acreage in grasses, etc., 68.
Agropyrum repens, 30, 32-34, 46.

„ scabrum, 42.
Agrostis alba, 20-22, 34.
Aira caryophyllea, 37.
Alopecurus pratensis, 19-20.
Alsike, 55, 65.
Annual Poa, 39-40.
Anthoxanthum odoratum, 35-36.
Arrhenatherum avenaceum, 27-28.
Auckland Province —

Microloena in, 27.

Paspalum dilatatum in, 24.

Subterranean clover in, 57.
Avena bulbosa, 34-35.

Banks Peninsula, 8.

Barley, 49.

Barley grass, 38, 46.

Barren Brome, 38, 46.

Bermuda grass, 40.

Birds-foot Trefoil, 60-61.

Black Medick, 58, 65.

Blue Tussock, 42.

Blue Wheat Grass, 42.

Bromus hordaceus, 37.

sterilis, 38.
,, unioloides, 18-19.
Brown Top, 20-22.
Bucnanan, 30, 42.
Burr Clover, 59, 65.
Bush Burns, sowing of, 69, 72,
77, 93.

Californian Thistle, 55.

Canada, supplies Alsike seed, 55.

Canary Grass, 28-29.

Canterbury Foot Hills, 22.

Cape Weed, 42.

Cat's Ear, 42.

Chewing, Mr., 17.

Chewing s Fescue, 16-18, 26, 31,

*7, 48.
Chicory, 63.
Cichorium intybus, 63.
Clovers, etc., 50-61.
Clover Seeds illustrated, 43.
Clifton Park system, 9, 78-80.
Cockayne, A. H., 29, 41, 76, 93.
Cockayne, Dr. L., 33.
Cocksfoot, 5, 6-8, 14, 24, 29, 48,

71, 73, 79.

Colonial Hair Grass, 37.
Cost of seed, 75.
Couch Grass, 31.
Coumarin, 36.
Cow Grass, 53.
Creeping Bent, 6, 20-22, 31, 47,

48.

Creeping Fog, 34, 46.
Crested Dogstail, 13-14, 47.
Crimson Clover, 57, 66.
Cynodon dactylon, 40-41.
Cynosurus cristatus, 13-14.

Dactylis glomerata, 6.
Danthonia, 17, 31, 41, 45.

„ pilosa, 25, 27.

,, raoulii, 42.

„ semiannularis, 25-27.
Devonshire Evergreen, 10.
Dogstail, 8, 13-14, 24.

English Hair Grass, 37.
English Trefoil, 58.
Ergot, 33.

Festuca bromoides, 37.

„ elatior, 16.

„ novae zealandiae, 41.

,, pratensis, 14-15.

„ saburicola, 16-18, 34.
Fiorin, 20-22.

Floating Sweet Grass, 38-39, 46,
48.

Foxtail, 9, 24, 48, 55, 74.
French Bye Grass, 28.

Germination of Seeds, 76, 87.
Giant Italian Rye, 11.
Glyceria fluitans, 38, 39.
Goose Grass, 36-37, 46.
Grass Mixtures, 72, 80-84.

Hair grass, 37, 48.
Hard Fescue, 48.
Hill, W. S., 19.
Holcus lanatus, 35.
„ mollis, 34.
Hordeum murinum, 38.
Hypochaeris, 42.

Indian Doab, 40-41.
Italian Rye, 9, 10-11, 37, 47, 71,
72.

Kentucky Blue Grass, 22-24.

Key to the identification ef
Common Grasses, 44-49.

Key to the identification of Clover-
like plants, 64-67.

Kidney Vetch, 61.

Lawn Grass, 17.
Leguminosee, 51, 62.
Limestone Soils, 58.
Lincoln, 79.

Little Trefoil, 55-56, 65, 66.
Lolium italicum, 10-11.

,, perenne, 8-10.
Liatus, 67.

,, angustissimus, 60-61, 65.

„ corniculatus, 60-61, 65.
hispidus, 60-61, 65.

„ major, 60-61, 65.
Lucerne, 50, 57, 65.

Marlborough, 39.
Meadow Fescue, 14-15, 47.
Meadow Foxtail, 19-20, 36.
Medicago, 66.

,, denticulata, 59.

,, maculata, 59.
Methods of sowing, 87-90.
Microlcena, 26, 27, 45.

„ gtipoides, 27, 41.
Mixtures of grasses, 72, 80-84.
Moumahaki Experimental Farm, 19.

"Native grasses, 41, 42.

„ Pastures, Improvement of,

91-93.
Non-Such Clover, 58.

Oats, 49.

Onion Twitch, 34, 46.

Onobrychis viciaefolia, 59-60.

Pastures, Management of, 68-93.
Pasture Grasses, 5-29.
Pacey's Rye grass, 10.
Palmerston North, 14.
Paspalum dilatatum, 24-25, 35,

45, 48.

Perennialized Italian Rye, 11.
Perennial Rye, 7, 8-10, 32, 47, 73.
Permanent Pastures, 70, 81-82,

83-84.
Phalaris bulbosa, 28-29, 47, 78,

79.

Phleum pratense, 12-13.
Poa annua, 31, 39, 48.

,, caespitosa, 41.

,, Colensoi, 42.

,, pratensis, 22-24, 31, 34, 47,
48.

,, trivialis, 24.
Poterium sanguisorba, 63-64.
Poverty Bay Rye Seed, 10.
Prairie Grass, 5, 18-19, 45, 73.

Ratstail, 39-40.

Red Clover, 10, 52-53, 57, 66.

Rice Grass, 27.

Rough- stalked Meadow Grass, 24.

Ruakura Farm of Instruction, 70.

Rust in Perennial Rye, 9.

Rye Grasses, 6, 8, 35, 71.

Sainfoin, 59-60.

Seeds illustrated, 43.

Sheep's Burnet, 63-64.

Sheep's Fescue, 16, 48.

Silver Tussock, 41.

Smut, 19.

Snow Grass, 42.

Soft Brome, 36.

Southland, 17.

Sporobolus indicus, 39-40.

Spotted Burr Clover, 59, 65.

Strawberry Clover, 56, 64.

96

INDEX

Subterranean Clover, 56-57, 66.

Suckling Clover, 55-56.

Sweet Vernal Grass, 35-36, 45.

Tall Fescue, 16, 47.

Tall Oat Grass, 27-28, 34, 46, 49.

Taranaki, Cocksfoot in, 79.

„ Poa trivialis in, 24.
Temporary Pastures, 70, 72, 82.
Testing of Seeds, 85-87.
Time of Sowing, 90-91.
Timothy, 9, 12-13, 35, 47, 55, 71.
Top-dressing Pastures, 70.
Trifolium, 66.

,, fragiferum, 56.

,, hybridum, 55.

„ incarnatum, 57.

„ minus, 31, 55-56, 66.

„ pratense, 52-53.

Trifolium pratense perenne, 53.

,, repens, 54-55.

„ subterraneum, 56-57.
Tuss-ck, 41, 42.
Twitches, 6, 21, 22-24, 31, 32, 62.

Victoria, supplies Paspalum dila-

tatum seed, 25.
Volunteer grasses, 31, 56, 59.

Waikato, Italian Rye in, 72.
Waipu Brown Top, 21.
Weed Grasses, 31-41.
Weight of Seed, 75-77.
Westernwolth's Rye, 11, 72.
Wheat, 49.
White Clover, 54-55, 64.

Yarrow, 62-63.

Yorkshire Fog, 34, 35, 46.

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