by James Alexander-Sinclair
Sheep. It is not often enough that the role of sheep in our landscape is fully acknowledged.
I have to admit that, from a practical point of view, this blog post will not have a lot to offer to anybody who gardens in towns and cities. But, rather than turning away in disgust, I would like you to come along with me purely out of interest. One of the great things about knowledge is that not all of it has to be useful. Although there may be a lull in the conversation one day into which you can drop a small pearl of, not exactly wisdom, but faint interest.
Sheep. It is not often enough that the role of sheep in our landscape is fully acknowledged. I was thinking about it when I was in Cumbria the other day and again in Dumfries and Galloway. (Close neighbours but different visits. It’s like buses - I don't visit the North West for years and years and then I go twice in five days.) The fields there are very green and very well cropped. This is due to the hundreds of sheep.
Cows make quite a mess of fields because, firstly and most obviously, they are heavier than sheep. Secondly they tend to wrap their long tongues around clumps of grass and pull. Thirdly (please look away if you are of delicate sensitivity) cowpats are larger and wetter than neatly packaged sheep droppings. Also hill pastures (being hilly) drain better.
But if you were trying to maintain a well ordered and good-looking field then it is good to use both types of animal as the cattle do a sort of scarifying, while the sheep nibble it all down to a close crop. Sheep are much more selective and fussy feeders than cattle but are happy to graze quite close to cowpats. Cattle, unsurprisingly, are keen to avoid cowpats but are less discerning and will eat any grass.
However, for many wild flower meadows cattle are not required - too much fertility. For example the meadow at Coton Manor is managed by cutting it for hay in summer and then it is grazed by sheep through the autumn. The haymaking scatters seed from all the flowers. The sheep then tread the seed into the ground without allowing the grass to get long enough to interfere with germination. The result is a spectacular (and useful) meadow in summer.
So now you know more than you really wanted to know about sheep. If your thirst for knowledge requires further sating then you could read this.
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