June, 1940] Studies of Pasture Management 15 



No complete experimental evidence indicates the cost or proper 

 methods of removal of the various kinds of brush and the efifects of 

 various treatments on later pasture herbage. Connecticut (Storrs) 

 Experiment station demonstrated what could be done on an old pas- 

 ture almost completely overgrown with gray birch, by removing the 

 lirush and trees, and fertilizing. Kansas Experiment station has de- 

 termined the best season for removal of brush characteristic of that 

 area. West Virginia has studied herbage change under certain pas- 

 ture conditions. 



To study these factors under New Hampshire conditions w^as de- 

 sirable. From the analysis of the pasture survey data three methods 

 of brush removal were followed. The first was pulling. As much 

 of the brush as possible was pulled b}' hand. Conditions were such 

 that not much brush was pulled Avith power. On most of the plots 

 the larger brush was cut. the smaller pulled by hand. 



The second method employed was cutting. A few large pines 

 were felled with a saw. The rest were cut with axes, while the larg- 

 er brush and sapling trees were cut with pruning shears. The bush 

 scythe was used on small thick brush and hedge shears on small 

 scattered shrubs. 



The third method was burning. A fire gun was used for several 

 reasons. Burning would always be under control, removing the dan- 

 ger of forest fire and avoiding as much as possible the loss of sur- 

 face organic matter that would result from running burning. Since 

 the principle of burning was to kill the brush by destroying the 

 growing tissue sustained heat was desirable. Not much of the 

 woody part of the brush, however, A\as destroyed even by this meth- 

 od. On all except burned plots the brush was piled and burned. On 

 a few of the burned plots it was found desirable to cut and burn 

 the brush left standing. 



Most of the removal of brush in the past has been done by cut- 

 ting. Next in importance was burning. Pulling has been so expen- 

 sive and laborious that only where plowing and reseeding were con- 

 templated has this method been used. 



Brush Removal and Control 



To obtain the necessary data on brush removal and further pas- 

 ture improvement a series of plots was laid out; nine in the spring 

 of 1937, including seven of .6 of an acre in area, and two of 1.5 acres 

 in area, and 10 plots in the spring of 1938, all of an acre and a half 

 in area. (Fig. 1.) Plots were laid out on pastures that were too 

 steep or too rocky to be improved b}^ plowing and reseeding, and 

 from which brush would have to be removed before fertilization 

 v.'ould be advisable. The nineteen plots were located in nine of the 

 ten counties of the state on a variety of soils, with a great variety 

 of rock and brush conditions. The three methods of brush removal 

 were employed on each of the plots. On the .6 acre plots two dif- 

 ferent fertilizer treatments were used. On the acre and a half plots 5 

 different treatments were used so that each method of brush remov- 

 al would have all the fertilizer treatments. If there was any differ- 



