284 FIELD CROPS 



the pasture, it may be necessary in August or September to 

 supplement it with feed from outside, or the stock may be 

 turned on the grain stubble or the meadows to pick whatever 

 growth may be there. In some instances this may be a wise 

 practice, but in general it does not seem to be, as the young 

 seeding or the meadow may be damaged more than the stock 

 will be benefited. It is desirable to have rather more pasture 

 than the stock will utilize in a favorable season, or to be able 

 to supplement the permanent pasture with annual plants 

 on which stock may be turned or which may be cut for feed- 

 ing green. Rotation grazing is sometimes recommended. 

 By this plan, two pastures are maintained on one of which 

 stock grazes for three or four weeks while the other is allowed 

 to grow; then, when the first pasture becomes rather short, 

 the stock is turned into the second and the first is allowed to 

 recuperate. Good pasturage is thus furnished with no more 

 land than would be required for a single pasture which 

 would give less satisfactory service. 



364. Renovating Old Pastures. The pastures of the 

 Northeastern and North Central states are usually in part 

 the low, wet lands of the farm which cannot profitably be 

 brought under cultivation. The grasses which grow on this 

 land are not usually so palatable or nutritious as those which 

 thrive on the higher, better-drained land which is usually 

 devoted to harvested crops. One of the first and best means 

 of renovating or improving pastures is to provide thorough 

 drainage. Underdrainage with tile is usually the most 

 satisfactory and permanent method of removing surplus 

 water from the land. When this extra supply of water is 

 removed, air can penetrate the soil, and better kinds of 

 grasses will grow on it. Clovers and grasses often thrive on 

 well-drained land which would not grow there before the 

 drainage was supphed. In many other districts beside those 

 mentioned, drainage is one of the prime factors in improv- 

 ingc pasture lands. 



