150 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



weather. In general, however, this is not an economical practice, 

 because the amount of grass produced when allowed to grow with- 

 out being cropped during the summer is less than when grazed. 

 This is essentially an attempt to make hay out of blue grass, minus 

 the expense and labor of harvesting, curing and feeding it. More- 

 over in many seasons a large part of the summer growth is seri- 

 ously injured by rains and freezes, and only the lower stratum 

 which is well protected, remains unweathered and palatable. With 

 the present high price of land and the necessity for getting the 

 maximum crop from each acre each year, this practice will become 

 less and less common. It should not be understood, however, that 

 the pasture may not be so managed as to be strong at the close of 

 the growing season, but in general it will be found best to have it 

 eaten off reasonably close by the time real winter weather sets 

 in. This, therefore, involves the taking care of the cattle from the 

 early winter to the time grass comes again in the spring. 



The sowing of wheat or rye for winter pasture, especially for 

 calves, has something to commend it, but its value is in many cases 

 somewhat overestimated. Where wheat is grown for the grain 

 and is on strong enough land to stand pasturing without materially 

 injuring the crop, and will at the same time produce pasturage 

 enough to be of real worth to the cattle, it is worth considering. But 

 to sow rye or wheat specially for pasture on land that is not par- 

 ticularly adapted to either of these crops, and therefore, get sparse 

 growth and one which will give the cattle only a taste of green 

 succulent food, and therefore a distaste for dry and comparatively 

 unpalatable feed like field-cured corn stover, will be making winter 

 pasture harmful rather than helpful. 



It is a common notion that rye is a hardier and stronger grow- 

 ing and altogether more productive plant than wheat, and is most 

 generally recommended for this purpose. According to the writer's 

 experience, however, wheat for fall and winter grazing is quite the 

 equal of rye and has the advantage of keeping the farm free from 

 rye, which is a very important matter when wheat is to be grown 

 for the grain. Besides rye seed is usually difficult to get. It is true 

 that rye comes along somewhat faster in the spring after vegeta- 

 tion in general starts, but this is a time of year when there is less 

 pressing need for green feed than earlier. 



In general, cattle on wheat fields or winter rye pasture will 

 require closer watching than when handled in any other way, be- 

 cause they are likely to become very thin and exceedingly weak be- 

 fore the owner realizes it, and will require careful nursing and 



