90 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



Later in the season they were turned in again for a 

 few weeks not long enough to eat the young grass close. 

 In the fall cockleburs came thick with other weeds. We 

 put the mower over the field. Stock was kept off in the 

 winter and at wet times, as there was only the young 

 grass and no sod as yet. In the spring of 1902 we put 

 the manure spreader over the entire field. The grass 

 came on well and thickened up wonderfully. That old 

 scarred hillside became a mass of thick grass and white 

 clover. It pastured a great deal of stock sheep, cattle 

 and colts. I have no doubt that it yielded us at least $5 

 per acre. And each year since it has done better, for the 

 grass is now firmly rooted. The bluegrass is gradually 

 rooting cut most of the other grasses. White clover has 

 been luxuriant over all the land. That is because 

 of the acid phosphate which we applied. Clover has 

 also stored the soil with nitrogen, which the grasses take 

 up and use. Men seldom sow white clover because they 

 say it will come in of itself. That is true, but it does 

 not pay to wait ; better sow the seed and get immediately 

 what would take years to accomplish in nature's leisurely 

 process of seed-growing and distribution. It does not 

 pay to allow nature to do one's farming. 



I write now in July, 1910. The foregoing account 

 of the old field was written seven years ago. That field 

 has continued to give us great profit and has taught us 

 some lessons. For one thing, we now know better than 

 to mix brome grass with orchard grass. There is now 

 little indeed of the brome grass left ; it is mainly a field 

 of orchard grass and bluegrass. It is not well to mix 



