PASTURES (Let. prise°, to feed) are fields or tracts of land devoted to the feeding of oxen, sheep, and other herbivorous animals, which eat the grass and other herbage as it grows. Grass is grown sometimes in the rotation with grain and other crops, when it remains on the ground for one or more years, is frequently mown during the first sum mer, and grazed afterward, buds again plowed up to be succeeded usually by oats or wheat. For such purposes, rye-grass, red, white, yellow, and alsike covers, are used either alone or mixed in varying proportions. On the uplands of Great Britain, wher ever from any cause grain crops cannot profitably be grown, and throughout many o the richest plains and valleys, especially of England and Ireland, there are thousands o acres of land which have been under grass from time hnmemorial. Such permanent pas tures are estimated to occupy fully 14,000,000 acres in England, nearly 8,000,000 in Scotland, and about 9,000,000 in Ireland. Sometimes they have been self-sown, occa sionally they have been laid down with care, seldom are they as highly cultivated and liberally managed as they should be. The best of them are used for feeding heavy bul locks; those of somewhat poorer description are often grazed by dairy stock; while the down or upland pastures are especially profitable for sheep. It has now become a com mon practice, and is every year becol'hing more and more general, to give additional food of various kinds to animals fed on pastures. Even cattle grazing on the richest pastures are supplied with linseed cake, etc., to hasten the process of fattening, and to improve their quality; roots are given to sheep when fattening for the market, and hay to those which are to be kept as stock; whilst when oats'or beans are cheap, inany sheep farmers find it advantageous to give them even to the hardy stock of exposed hill-pas tures. All pastures are much improved by thorough drainage. The application of farmyard dung, soil, lime. and ahnost .everysort of top-d•essing is beneficial. Irrigation is sometimes profitable, and in some other countries is far more common and far more requisite than in Britain. Rich pastures on which oxen are fed are injured by sheep, which reject the coarsest grass, and pick out the finest; but a few horses turned into them dur ing the autumn or winter help to consume the coarser tufts. The coarsest and rankest grass may once or twice a year be cut over by the scythe; and either made into rough hay, or if left on the ground, the cattle, when it has partially dried, will readily cat it op. A. dressing of lime and salt scattered over the rougher parts of the fields its
autumn will sweeten the herbage, and induce the stock to cat it down regularly. Moss, Willa is a great pest- in many pastures, may be got rid of by penning sheep, well fed with swedes, cake, or corn, regularly over the field; or by harrowing the surface in several different directions during January or February, applying then a top-dressing of soil or dung, and in March or April sowing some clover or other seeds, which will be finned down by the bush harrow, clod-erusher, or heavy roller. The droppings of the cattle ought to be broken up and scattered over the ground. Rich pastures intended for the fattening of cattle ought not to be used during winter, but allowed to become lux uriant before the cattle are turned upon them in spring. Very lean animals, whether oxen or sheep, cannot with advantage be at once placed on very rich pasture, but must be gradually fitted for it. In some of the hill districts in Scotland, devoted to sheep farming, increased productiveness has resulted from breaking up portions of the pas ture, and after two or three crops have been taken, laying them down as pastures again. All good pastures produce a very mixed herbage, not consisting merely of one kind of grass, but of several or many, with clovers and other plants. Different Species of meadow-grass (pea), fescue (festuca), foxtail (alopecurvs), oat-grass (arena), cock's-foot (dactylis ylomerata), rye-grass (loliuet), hair-grass (aira), vernal-grass (antkoxantlium), and timothy or cat's-tail (phleum), are among the most common grasses of British pastures. Yarrow (achillcea millefolium) is very abundant in some pastures, and is sometimes sown with grass, clover, etc., in land meant for permanent pasture. Different kinds of clover are adapted to different soils and situations. The presence of rushes is very indicative of the want of drainage. Thistles and clocks are injurious, and are to be extirpated as muCh as possible. Some of the plants naturally abundant on high hill-pastures, as nardus strata and ju7,cus bufonius, are very unnutritious; and the substitution of others in their stead, is one of the benefits derived from the breaking up of such lands.