94 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



For the New Ens'/and Farmer. 



GRASSE3S FOR PASTURE. 



Mr. Cole: — The remarks of your correspond- 

 ent ill the last No. of the "Farmer,'' on the "(Culti- 

 vation of Grasses," are illustrative of the neces- 

 sity which the practical firmer is under of bestow- 

 ing more attention to this important branch of ag- 

 riculture. The fact that four or five acres of pas- 

 ture is required for the support of one cow, very 

 strikingly proves that bad farming in respect to 

 pasture land is worse than no farming at all, 

 since an equal breadth of uncultivated meadow, 

 with its wild indigenous herbage, will afford as 

 much nutritive food for grazing animals as many 

 fields that have come under the so-called improve- 

 ments of modern culture. 



Ten acres of good nutritive pasture, is better 

 than twenty acres of bad; for while the animals 

 increase in weight on the one, they diminish in 

 weight on the other; and a pasture which is mere- 

 ly sufficient to keep animals alive, is insufficient to 

 sustain animals that are daily producing fatty sub- 

 stances, in the shape of milk and butter. In some 

 kinds of grass the quantity of nutritive matter is 

 small compared with others; and many plants 

 which abound in our pastures contain an excess of 

 saline matter which is highly injurious to cattle 

 and sheep, and when eaten by them in any consid- 

 erable quantity, render the animals subject to 

 disease. The following extract from an accu- 

 rate observer on this subject will serve to illus- 

 trate this fact, and many similar cases have no 

 doubt come under the observation of your readers. 

 They tend to point out the importance of a mix- 

 ture of such grasses as possess some difference in 

 the qualities of their nutritive matter, and also 

 show that the bitter extractive is efficacious in cor- 

 recting the over-succulency or laxative nature of 

 green food, without the aid of dry vegetable mat- 

 ter. 



"Two fields were sown down for pasture; one 

 with white clover only, and the other with white 

 clover and a variety of the natural grasses. The 

 two fields were depastured with sheep. In the 

 field of white clover, a considerable quantity of 

 the common cocksfoot grass grew on the edge of 

 the fence; from its very unfavorable situation, it 

 was of very hansh quality and consisted almost en- 

 tirely of culms. In a few days the sheep went to 

 thi:s grass and ate it down entirely, though there 

 was a profusion of the white clover. In course of 

 time the sheep became affected with the disease 

 termed red water, of which several died. But in 

 the adjoining field which contained the natural 

 grasses, cocksfoot grass, rough stalked meadov; 

 grass, rye grass, foxtail grass, and white clover, 

 the sheep were not affected with that, nor any oth- 

 er disease; and they even left untouched the stems 

 of the cocksfoot grass, which were here of a more 

 succulent nature than those on the edges of the 

 other field, which were so greedily devoured by 

 the clover sheep." 



It may here be observed, that if the hard stalks 

 of the cocksfoot in the clover field had been in suf- 

 ficient quantity, they would most probably have 

 prevented the disease from attacking the sheep; 

 but this could not have been by virtue of the dry 

 fibre in the culms only, because the adjoining 

 field where everything was contrary to disease, the 

 sheep rejected the culms altogether. The dry or 

 mechanical action of the culms was here wanting- 



— yet the animals continued healthy, and fattened, 

 because the bitter extractive was in greater pro- 

 portion to the leaves or herbage, than in the culms 

 or stalks of the grass, which they rejected, and 

 proved also beneficial, though combined with suc- 

 culent food, which could have nothing of the ac- 

 tion of the dry hay, or straw before mentioned. 



Almost every farmer has observed the various 

 feeding properties of different fields, and resulting 

 from some cause for which he finds it difficult to 

 accounts. I have known a pasture field, where cattle 

 and sheep could not graze for six days successively, 

 without becoming diseased, but when turned into 

 another field apparently similar, they quickly re- 

 covered. The only cause of this extraordinary 

 circumstance, was a probable deficiency of bitter ex- 

 tract and saline matter, which serves the purpose 

 of preventing, to a certain extent the fermenta- 

 tion of the other vegetable matters in the stomach, 

 or in modifying or assisting the functions of diges- 

 tion. 



Many facts might be cited to prove the propriety 

 and benefit of having a variety of the pasture grasses 

 both in hay meadows and pasture fields. The nu- 

 tritive powers of some are so very small as to be 

 unworthy of culture, or even existence in a pasture, 

 as the Aira CoBspitosa (Tufted hair grass, or Has- 

 sock grass of some localities,) the Hordeum 

 Murinium, (IMouse Barley grass,) and various oth- 

 ers, which are untouched even by the half-starved 

 animals that graze by the way-side. Some are de- 

 ficient in nutritive matters, and contain an excess 

 of bitter extractive matter, as some kinds of the 

 Tyme grass; some others may be regarded as noth- 

 ing better than troublesome weeds; and the onlv 

 question with the farmer should be, how to extermi- 

 nate them; for instance, the different kinds of 

 Holcus, or Couch grass, all of which are impov- 

 erishing and troublesome weeds in a pasture; and 

 on nearly all light arable land, should be thorough- 

 ly eradicated by cropping for a number of years, 

 otherwise the pasture will become worthless, and 

 the fertility of the land become exhausted. 



Another important consideration in regard to 

 pasture grasses, is the various periods of their pro- 

 ductiveness and maturity. Grasses, like all other 

 vegetables, have their regular periods of vegetation, 

 maturity and decay. Some species of grass are 

 annual, and arrive at perfection in one year, and 

 then die away. As different species of brome 

 grass, fi)xtail grass, rye grass, oat grass, &c. 

 Other species, in two or three years, attain to that 

 degree of perfection which they never exceed; as 

 perennial rye grass, rough meadow grass, meadow 

 cats tail grass, tall oat-like soft grass, round cocks- 

 foot grass, and others. And some few require 

 more than three yeais to bring them to perfection. 

 Among these may be mentioned the Meadow Fes- 

 cue — Meadow Foxtail — Meadow Barley grass — 

 Smooth Meadow^ grass, and Meadow Oat grass. 



The grasses which compose the finest natural 

 pastures are about twenty in number. Many of 

 our pasture meadows contain twice this number of 

 various species of plants; but many of them do not 

 constitute any available food for cattle and sheep, 

 and many more can only be considered as impov- 

 erishing weeds. If the best natural pastures be 

 examined at the various periods of the season with 

 care, they will be found to consist chiefly of the 

 following plants: — 



Alopecurus Pratensis, (Meadow Foxtail grass.) 



