FARM CROPS 109 



shallow-rooted plants like wet soils better than the deeper- 

 rooted plants do; some stand drought better than others; 

 some kinds require more lime in the soil than others. 



Bad Conditions in Pastures. Too often the permanent 

 pasture is a field of weeds with very little grass to be found 

 most of the summer. The conditions grow worse each year. 

 Little feed is supplied to the cows pasturing there; milk is 

 made bitter and given other bad flavors by garlic, wild 

 onions, and other weeds, eaten by the animals. The number 

 of acres used for the pasture often fools the dairyman into 

 the thought that the cows get plenty of feed from it if they 

 want it. Here is where the trouble begins. The cows do get 

 a fair amount of grass for a while in June. But the change 

 comes; the dry weather strikes it; the grasses are shallow 

 rooted; the result is dead grass. The blossom and seeding 

 time for early grasses comes; this also means death. 



How to Keep Good Pastures. The pasture should be 

 filled with good stands of mixed grasses. The farmer should 

 maintain the pasturage to the best of his ability. Certain 

 amendments or improvements are needed from time to time 

 such as fertilizing, liming, re-seeding, harrowing, mowing, 

 and using a few sheep in the pasture with the cows. 



Fertilizers and manures, particularly nitrate of soda, 

 may be spread a few weeks before the stock are turned on 

 to the pastures in the spring. 



Lime should be applied to low meadow land every year 

 or two. Clovers, blue grass, and timothy do much better 

 after the liming. 



Re=seeding is a good practice. More seed should be 

 sown wherever the grasses are not so thick as they should 

 be. A good time for this is very early in the spring. The 

 thicker we make the grass the less room there is for weeds. 



Harrowing is quite possible on many parts of most pas- 

 tures. A number of harrowings each spring will pay well. 



Mowing the pasture twice each year will help to check 



