60 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 262 



Fig. 5. Sods Taken from Plots III and IV, Respectively, in May, the 

 Second Year of the Experiment 



)ummary an 



d ConcI 



nclusions 



This system of grassland management has been carried on for two years at 

 the Massachusetts Agricultural College and in spite of two extreme seasons, 

 the first wet, the second dry, has shown excellent results. The second year, 

 in the face of a serious drouth, it has shown greater returns and marked im- 

 provement in every respect as compared with 1928. The results to date, how- 

 ever, seem to warrant the following conclusions. 



1. This system has been practicable even under extreme conditions of rain- 

 fall. 



2. The carrying capacity of the pastures was greatly increased by the ap- 

 plication of the principles involved. 



3. The use of concentrated fertilizers improved the quality and increased 

 the quantity of pasture grasses and produced a denser pasture turf. 



4. It is evident that nitrogen had an immediate and pronounced effect on 

 the yield of pasturage. 



5. It is evident, not only in the data obtained but also as a result of pasture 

 observations, that the beneficial cumulative effects of fertilizer are a factor 

 of outstanding importance. 



6. This two year trial has proven that the grazing season may be lengthened 

 and the carrying capacity of a pasture increased by the application of the 

 four principles of this intensive system of grassland management, thus lessen- 

 ing the amount of barn feeding necessary. 



7. Because of the difficulty of measuring the many variants involved, definite 

 conclusions regarding management are not possible until the study has been 

 in progress for a period of years. This demonstration is therefore being con- 

 tinued. 



Publication of this document approved by the 

 Commission on Administration and Finance 



5 m-3-'30. No. 8225 



