150 RURAL NEW YORK 



ston, where the average is ahout nine tons. In other 

 parts of the State it falls to six or seven tons. 



PASTURE 



Pastures occupy a large area, about one-fourth of 

 the total farm land. This does not include woodlot 

 pasture. Much land too rough and stony to cultivate 

 has been cleared and retained in permanent pasture. 

 In different parts of the State the proportion of 

 pasture land varies in inverse ratio to the general de- 

 velopment of the region. It is lowest in the counties 

 directly south of Lake Ontario, medium in the south- 

 ern tier of counties and high in eastern and northern 

 New York. Naturally the mountainous regions have 

 the most pasture as well as the most timber. It 

 embraces steep mountainous country, wet areas and 

 other rough stony land. It is not standardized as to 

 vegetation, condition, or yield of forage. Receiving 

 little care, it returns usually a small amount of crop. 

 The stony pasture is often the earliest land to 

 green up in spring because the soil is thin and easily 

 warmed. 



In the wet areas, red-top is probably the most com- 

 mon grass. Legumes do not thrive generally. The 

 small white or Dutch clover comes in naturally 

 on many sweet soils. It is closely associated with 

 Kentucky blue-grass. Wild swamp grasses play a 

 small part in the herbage. In all the regions of bet- 

 ter soils, where lime rock is prevalent and the soil 

 calcareous, Kentucky blue-grass prevails. All 

 through central and western New York this is the 



