3 



too, when lack of uioistiire is perhaps the i)rinc;ii>al reason for the failure of the 

 pasturage. The old grass roots become (-rowded and die out or are weakened 

 through lack of available food and suitable soil in which to develop. 



It is very readily seen then why the treatment which was given to the pasture 

 at the Kansas Station produced such excellent results. The tearing n\t of the 

 soil gave ready access to air and moisture, i)utting new life into the roots of the 

 gi'a.sses whi(-h were cut up and separated by the disk han*ow, so that thousands 

 of new shoots sprang up immediately. The rest for one season gave these new 

 plants time to get well estal)lished and form a new sod. 



If this treatment is given before the pasture is too badly damaged, there is 

 usually no need of sowing so much tame grass seed. There is little doubt that 

 an occasional tearing up of this kind and a little care given to the time and man- 

 ner of pasturing will get as much pasturage from the native gi'asses as can be 

 obtained from tame varieties under the same conditicms. 



MANURING NATIVE PASTURES. 



There is cpiite a diversity of opinion among farmers and stock raisers on the 

 cpiestion of manuring native pasture lands Some have obtained excellent re- 

 sults by manuring, while others seem to have had quite the opposite experience. 



The soil of the western prairies is very rich, and under 

 ordinary circumstances will give fair returns without the 

 application of fertilizers of any kind. Nevertheless, it is 

 certain that better returns may be had if more available 

 food is placed wdthin reach of the grasses. Anyone who 

 has observed a i)iece of grass land so situated as to receive 

 the wash trom a barnyard, will have found that near the 

 yard where the supply of fertilizer has been great the 

 gi-asses have become thinned out to a few species, while 

 where the supply has been moderate the grasses are much 

 more evenly developed and the yield decidedly better 

 than upon the unfertilized prairie. The lesson is plain. 

 A too plenteous application of fertilizer will thin out the 

 grasses and reduce the yield of forage at least for the first 

 season or two, since many species will not stand such 

 treatment. On the other hand, a proper amount of fer- 

 tilizer will increase the yield. It is quite possible to use 

 too much fertilizer for any crop, and the native grasses 

 seem to be more sensitive in this respect than the ordinary 

 cultivated species. 



Any pasture which has been grazed closely for some 

 time will be benefited by an application of a thin top- 

 dressing of well rotted stable manure, followed by a 

 thorough harrowing. It is doubtful if much is gained 

 by putting coarse imrotted manure on the pasture ; it can 

 be used to better advantage on the cultivated land. Ashes 

 usually have a beneficial effect upon grasses on soils not 

 too plentifully sux)plied with alkali. 



SOWING TAME (BRASSES ON NATIVE PASTURE LANDS. 



While it is hardly possible, and not always desirable, to 

 make a native pasture over into a tame one, yet, as stated 

 before, the pasturage may be materially increased by the 

 addition of some of the cultivated species. A pasture 

 which has had the thin places seeded to hardy tame 

 grasses is certainly more valuable than it would be were 

 these same places grown up to weeds. 



In dry upland pastures such grasses as Kentucky blue-grass, sheep's fescue, red 

 fescue, and Canadian l)lue-grass may be used to advantage. The fescues are 

 especially valual)le if tlie soil is very sandy. It is likely that smooth brome- 

 grass will prove useful on pastures that are to be kept for long periods of time. 



Lowland pastures, particularly those in which the grass has been killed out by 

 overflowing, may be reseeded with timothy, fowl meadow grass, red top, meadow 

 fescue, and alsike. Kentucky blue-grass will do well if the soil is not too wet. 



The practice of collecting the seeds of such native species as westeni wheat- 

 grass, slender wheat-grass, wild-rye, prairie June-grass, and the blue-stems and 



Fig. 3.— Big blue-stem 



{Anrlr(>))im(»i, jjro- 



viiici(tlis). 



