202 SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOIL BY PASTURE. 



Pasture may be either temporary or permanent Tempo- 

 rary pasture consists in laying down a field to pasture for one, 

 two or three years, or more. The soil is benefitted by pasture 

 in several different ways. The roots of the grass which remain 

 furnish a large amount of organic matter, which, to a soil poor 

 in this constituent, is of great benefit. Land which lies several 

 years will be more benefitted than when it lies but a single 

 year; but the first year enriches it more than any succeeding 

 one. The result to the land will be nearly the same, whether 

 the grass be mown or eaten off by the stock, " That farming 

 is the most economical, where the land will admit of it, which 

 permits the clover or grass to occupy the land for a single 

 year only." 



Permanent pasture consists in the suspension of grain crops, 

 and the occupation of the land by grass or clover, for an indefi- 

 nite period of time. Besides the benefit which the soil derives 

 from the organic matters left in it, some of its mineral con- 

 stituents are, by the action of air, moisture, and the roots of 

 the grass, brought into a more soluble state to be used by 

 succeeding crops. Another advantage of pasture, especially 

 on stiff clay soil, is that it renders it more loose and friable. 

 On dry, sandy soils, pasture is beneficial, by retaining the 

 moisture longer, and also the dry organic matters and fine 

 sand upon the surface, which would otherwise be blown away 

 by the winds. Insects perform a part in improving pasture 

 lands, which is by no means insignificant. 



They subsist upon the organic matters of the soil, which, 

 they bring into a minute state of division and deposit on the 

 surface as they ascend by night through their holes. They 

 furnish also, considerable organic matter, which is rich in 

 nitrogen, by the death and decay of their own bodies. Thus 

 these earth worms and insects, in the lapse of a few years, 

 furnish a vast amount of the richest manure without the 



