RENOVATING OLD PASTURES 285 



The best pastures, those on which white clover and 

 Kentucky blue grass thrive, contain an abundance of lime. 

 All the legumes and many of the gi'asses grow best where 

 there is plenty of lime. Another step, then, in renovating 

 pastures, is to supply lime, particularly to those which have 

 recently been underdrained. The lime can best be added 

 by scattering finely ground limestone over the pasture early 

 in the spring at the rate of two tons to the acre. Lime may 

 also be applied in the ordinary commercial form, air-slaked, 

 at the rate of one ton to the acre, but this is usually more 

 expensive than the ground limestone. Soils on which blue 

 grass and the clovers grow freely do not need lime, as their 

 presence indicates an abundance of this element. 



Disking and harrowing old pastures will often aid in 

 inducing new growth by loosening the surface soil and break- 

 ing up a sodbound condition which may have resulted from 

 years of continuous trampling by stock. If seed of good 

 pasture grasses is sown at this time, the growth of the pas- 

 ture will be still further improved. While much of the 

 manure is returned to the land when it is pastured, the addi- 

 tion of more manure will cause a more luxuriant growth of 

 grass. The use of commercial fertilizers, particularly those 

 which are rich in phosphorus, such as ground bone, is some- 

 times advisable. 



Range pastures which have become scanty from over- 

 pasturing may be greatly improved by pasturing lightly for 

 a year or two, allowing the native grasses to mature and 

 reseed. There is no better or more efficient means of im- 

 proving range pastures than this. Location of the pastures 

 so as to allow the stock to graze on one for a time and 

 then on another, will result in the production of more 

 pasturage from the acreage than if the entire area is grazed 

 continuouslj^ This rotation allows the formation of some 

 seed from time to time and thus aids in the renewal of the 

 stand of useful grassas. It is seldom practical to sow grass 



