No. 4.] NEW ENGLAND PASTURES. 15 



are no permanent pasture grasses to take their places, and 

 weeds of necessity come in. During the past season not less 

 than twenty pastures have been observed that have failed 

 from this one cause alone. Had the owners, with the work 

 that they put in, used a proper mixture, they would have 

 obtained excellent results. 



Where the land is too rough to permit of plowing some form 

 of a harrow can be used to excellent advantage. The harrow 

 will tend to break up the clods of manure and scatter them 

 over the ground better, thus making them more available. It 

 will also cover whatever seed may have matured. Again, it 

 will have a tendency to tear up the sod where the grass has 

 become root-bound, and will help to form a dust mulch with 

 which to prevent too gi-eat an evaporation. 



In many instances reseeding will greatly hasten the process 

 of restoration. During the past two or three years many of 

 the New England pastures, owing to periods of drought, have 

 been badly burned out. A great many of these could be im- 

 proved by broadcasting seed, and wherever possible, working 

 it in with some form of a harrow. In reseeding such an 

 area, timothy should be used in order to get quick results. In 

 addition, a little redtop, some bluegrass, and red, white and 

 alsike clovers should also be tried. A small amount of orchard 

 grass and meadow fescue would be of great advantage in this 

 mixture. At the present time seed of orchard grass and 

 meadow fescue is rather expensive, and consequently a very 

 large amount of tliem cannot be recommended. These two 

 grasses have the advantage, in such a pasture mixture, of 

 starting earlier in the year, thus furnishing grazing before 

 the blue grass and white clover, which are the predomi- 

 nating pasture grasses, get started. 



Another point in the improvement of pastures is that of 

 the eradication of weeds. No general method can be given for 

 this. Where the pasture is badly infested about the only 

 practicable method is that of jjlowing. If this cannot be 

 done, it is possible to get rid of the weeds by mowing just 

 before they go to seed. The managers of the most successful 

 pastures in this country all nuike a practice of mowing their 



