On Stall Feeding and Clover Cultivation in Switzerland

Autumn, and specifically the somewhat late autumn, therefore seems to be the only time of year when one could graze at times without obvious danger and tangible damage, with the single exception I make: when the extraordinary richness of a meadow produces too many coarse types of grass, such as, for example, Bear's Breeches Branca ursina Acanthus mollis, and the like, in abundance. Such plants, when they are fully grown, are suitable for neither green nor dry fodder; and to eradicate them, there is no method as certain—perhaps aside from plowing—as letting such lush meadows be grazed down sharply early in the spring. Nevertheless, even autumn has its great inconveniences and great concerns regarding grazing. If the pasture is lean, little is to be gained; if it is rich, the livestock runs the risk of dying on the spot from bloating due to wet grass if it is not helped almost instantly. No year passes in which we do not have frequent examples of this in my homeland, be it on fields or in valleys. One should also consider how heavily rich meadows are trampled during this humid season by the heavy tread of oxen and cows and filled with holes. In these holes, excess moisture remains in the following spring, which creates sour, hard grass that, even if it were better, still cannot be cut to the ground with the...