PASTURE CULTURE IN MASSACHUSETTS 



By William G. Colby,* Research Professor of Agronomy 



CONTENTS 



Page Page 



Introduction 2 Present-day pastures 26 



The soils of Massachusetts 3 The soil 26 



The soil profile 3 Soil fertility and yields 27 



The influence of geology. 4 Soil fertility and feed quality 28 



Influence of climate 5 Soil fertility and resistance to disease 



Influence of cultivation 7 and winter injury 28 



Summary 10 Factors in soil fertility maintenance . 29 



Early pastures in Massachusetts 10 Fertility improvement and maintenance 



Pasture plants 11 In permanent pastures 35 



Pasturing in common 12 In semi-permanent pastures 37 



Agricultural expansion 1700-1750; The grazing system 38 



1750-1790 13 Historical 38 



Importance of the grass crop to nineteenth The principles of grazing management. 39 



century agriculture 15 The pasture plant 39 



Pasture deterioration and exhaustion. ... 16 Permanent pasture species 40 



Pasture exhaustion and land abandonment 18 Semi-permanent pasture species 40 



The causes of pasture deterioration 19 Pasture seeding mixture 41 



Early attempts at pasture renovation ... 20 The climate 41 



Why pasture improvement failed 25 Summaiy and Conclusions 42 



INTRODUCTION 



Grass, for many years the foundation of the agriculture of Massachusetts, is 

 still one of the State's most important agricultural crops. Interest in grass and 

 grasslands has increased greatly in recent years not only among livestock farmers 

 seeking a satisfactory solution to their feed problem but also among agricultural 

 leaders interested in the conservation of soil resources. Certain leaders have 

 enthusiastically spoken of developing what they have called "a grassland agri- 

 culture." 



However, in most of these discussions on the value of grass as a feed or as a 

 conserver of soil resources very little attention has been given to the requirements 

 of grass as a crop. Conditions have greatly changed since grass grew "spon- 

 taneously" in Massachusetts "even on the driest grounds." At the present time, 

 grass, as a crop, is no different from any other. To grow it successfully certain 

 cultural requirements must be met and certain rules of management must be 

 observed. The aim of this bulletin is to outline in general what these basic re- 

 quirements are and to advance insofar as is possible the fundamental reasoning 

 underlying these requirements. 



During the three hundred years that have elapsed since the Pilgrims imported 

 their first cattle in 1624, manj- observations, experiences, and experiments have 

 been recorded concerning the pastures of Massachusetts. In an effort to assemble 

 all available pertinent information on grass and grassland management in Massa- 

 chusetts, historical as well as current sources of information were extensive^ 

 reviewed. 



For the period of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such information 

 must be gleaned from the descriptive writings of early travelers and historians, 

 from various private records in the form of letters, diaries, and account books, 

 and from early colonial reports and town records. Beginning with the nine- 

 teenth century, the record is much more complete. Books and treatises on agri- 

 culture and agricultural practices were published; several agricultural periodicals 

 were founded; and newly organized agricultural societies in Massachusetts began 

 to publish their reports and proceedings. Since sheep and cattle grazing were 



*The writer acknowledges with sincere appreciation helpful criticism and advice from Professor 

 Wm. A. Albrecht, Chairman Department of Soils, University of Missouri; John B. Abbott, Director 

 of Agricultural Research, American Cyanamid Company; and Wilbur J. Locke, County Agri- 

 cultural Agent, Hampden County, Mass. 



