THE FARM DEMONSTRATION WORK 



was professor of Agriculture in Iowa, shows that the founder 

 of the Demonstration Work was thinking about pastures long 

 before he saw the need of reform in this line in the Piedmont 

 section of the Southern States. The same general observation 

 might be made about any other of the subjects discussed in his 

 800 per cent estimates. In 1884 he wrote : 



"The dry fall and the cold spring did not promise well for the 

 pasture, and the middle of May has seldom found poorer on the 

 College farm, but recent warm rains have changed the prospect; 

 both pastures and meadows are looking exceedingly well. If short 

 of hay in the winter, straw or corn fodder can be used, but a defi- 

 ciency of grass in the pasture is such a sin against good sense 

 that nature refuses a substitute. 



During the warm days of July and August the fresh, moist 

 grass appeals to an animal's appetite, like a dish of ice cream and 

 strawberries. They must have such abundance of it, — no five cent 

 dishes — that the cow can eat her fill in an hour and go to the shade. 

 This will give regular meals and not compel the animal to lunch 

 all day, because a satisfactory mouthful can not be had at one 

 time. 



It is easy to understand what kind of pasture the farmer has, 

 who objects to shade, and claims his stock does better without it. 

 The poor animal must travel from blade to blade all day in the hot 

 sun and never know the satisfaction of a full stomach. But upon 

 a luxuriant pasture, set with a variety of grasses, the cow fairly 

 stretches her mouth to see how many tender leaves she can take 

 in at once; she eats and eats till she fairly groans, then she sees 

 another tempting bunch and says, 'I must have a little of that 

 dessert. These clover salads and sweet scented vernal jams are too 

 delicious to leave.' Then she goes to the shade and works her im- 

 mense stomach full of material into milk which has no fever in it. 

 By and by she looks out on the pasture and says, *I must take 

 another turn at those viands. They are too tempting for resistance,' 

 and she fills her stomach again and stretches, and eats a little more 

 and, finally, when driven home at night, she occasionally turns her 

 head to one side of the path and takes a mouthful half clandes- 



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