CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF HERBAGE FROM 

 MASSACHUSETTS PASTURES 



By J. C. Archibald, Assistant Research Professor, and E. Bennett, 

 Research Assistant, in Chemistry 



Introduction 



III connection with a series of studies on the composition ot grasses it was 

 cunsiciererl advisable to nialce a survey of pasture conditions throughout the state. 



The senior author has observed for years that young cattle often return from 

 pasture in the autumn in poor condition : not only thin, but stunted in appearance 

 and with harsh coats Farmers usually dismiss this by saying that the feed has 

 been "short", but that no permanent harm has been done to the animals; that by 

 the time they are full grown they will be as good individuals as they would have 

 been if their growth had not been subject to these seasonal checks. 



This situation has been a matter for speculation on two counts, 



( 1 ) !s the poor condition of the stock due necessarily to scanty grazing? May 

 it not be du.> in some cases to a deficiency of certain elements essential to the well- 

 being of the animals? 



(2) Po the animals make as good individuals at maturity as they would have if 

 they had always had access to grazing unrestricted in any sense of the term? 

 May not some of the productive and repro luctive failures of mature cows be trace- 

 able to these nutritional "low spots" of their youth? 



With these considerations in mind it was decided to ascertain whether there 

 are any deficiencies in the composition of the natural herbage of our pastures, and 

 what differences uiay exist between different localities in this resi)ect. 



Methods 



The survey was conducted during the seasons of 1930 and 1932 in collaboratioi 

 with the Department of Agrononn of the Massachusetts State College and thj 

 county agricultural agents of the four western counties of the state. Approxi- 

 mately a hundred samples of herbage were taken from representative pastures in 

 Worcester, franklin, Hampshire. Hampden, and Berkshire Counties. From a 

 maioritv of the pastures, samples of the surface soil were also taken. So far as 

 possible pastures were chosen which were located on the dominant soil type of the 

 particular region. Care was used to take samples only from areas which, accord- 

 ing to the best information available, had never been rop-dressed at all or at least 

 not for many year? 



The constituents determined were: crude protein, crude fiber, calcium, and 

 [jhosphorus. 2 The relatixe amounts of these substances present serve as a 



^Grateful acknowledgment is made of the services of Dr. M. II. Cubbon, who identified the 

 various soil types -n the field, and of Messrs. J. H. Putnam, A. S. Leland, VV. T. Locke, and H. J. 

 Talmage, county agents in Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, and Berkshire Counties, respectively, 

 who accompanied the writer in his tour of their respective counties and aided materially in locating 

 typical pasture areas and in securing samples of herbage. The courtesy of Dr. A. B. Beaumont and 

 Professor R. W. Donaldson in permitting the taking of samples from areas in Worcester County 

 located earlier by them in connection with other studies is greatly appreciated, as is also the interest 

 and cooperation of the farmers from whose farms the samples of grass were taken. 



'Methods used for the determination of protein and fiber were those of the Association of 

 Official Agricultural Chemists. Calcium was determined volumetrically by McCrudden's method 

 and phosphorus colorimetrically by the method of Fiske anil Subbarrow. 



