11118.] FUTURE OF THE NEW ENGLAND LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY. 59 



not built this way. If. in planninLi^ a cr()])pinij;- system, we 

 will lui'gct al)i)Ut t)ur i)a^turc.s, and lOrgct about uur steep 

 liill sides, and c< inline ourselves tu land which can and should 

 be machine worked, proo-rcss will l)e made. 



Lands belonging to the third gr(ju[) should be left per- 

 manently in grass. This, however, does not mean that these 

 lands should become less efficient in the i)ro(lucti<jn of ani- 

 mal crops. On the grounds of the Massachusetts Experiment 

 Station in Amherst, 1 have seen lands which were seeded 

 down i)revious to 1881, and yet two years ago gave a won- 

 derful crop of clover. Dr. Brooks states that each two years 

 nut of three, for more than twenty years, clover has been 

 present on some of these meadows. It was the liberal use of 

 fertilizers which made this possible. The same can be done, 

 and I believe profitably, on many of the steep hill sides of 

 Xew England. Putting the case differently, a large part of 

 the roughage for increased animal crops must be grown on 

 these hill sides. ]\Ianure used as a top dressing, or larger 

 usage of fertilizer, will not only mamtain yield indefinitely, 

 but will also obviate for years without number, the necessity 

 of re-plowing and re-seeding the land in question. 



Perhaps our permanent pastures present us with our hard- 

 est problem. If I were to try to describe the typical pasture 

 jn Xew England, I would simply mention "Bayberry" to 

 those farmers \vho live near the salt w^ater ; I would suggest 

 "Sweet Fern'" to all farm.ers who ha\-e gravelly land, talk 

 about '"Running Juniper'' to those wdio are farming the 

 northern half of X'ew England, and Avould wind up by sug- 

 gesting the great beauty of the weeds sometimes known as 

 the "Devil's Paint Brush." Perhaps betwdxt and between, I 

 might mention the occasional bite which our farm animals 

 are able to get on these weed infested pastures. 



^^'hen our sheep pastures come back — and I believe that if 

 they are rightly managed, and if attempt be made to grow 

 all of the feeds which sheep consume, they will come back — 

 the weed problem will be partially solved. If. after the war, 

 fertilizers are cheaper than ever before, and I feel that this 

 Avill be the case, then the time will surely come wdien our pas- 

 tures will be fertilized the same as other parts of our farm 

 lands. Certainly, any treatment wdiich will replace the 



