14 BULLETIN 397, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTURE. 



Grazing is not sufficiently remunerative to justify the liberal use of 

 commercial fertilizers, and very little is ever used in the bluegrass 

 region on the pasture lands. In England it is not uncommon to 

 apply basic slag at the rate of 1,000 pounds per acre to permanent 

 grassland. Some farmers in the bluegrass region of Virginia are 

 beginning to use lime and some form of phosphate on their pastiu-es. 

 This improves the stand of grass, but there are no data available to 

 show whether the increase will cover the expense. In the absence of 

 any experimental data, every farmer should experiment on his own 

 fields in a small way. An application of 500 pounds of acid phosphate 

 or bone meal to a half acre in an old pasture wiU soon show whether it 

 is advisable to use fertiUzers. If this quantity makes a marked im- 

 provement in the stand of grass, less would probably be beneficial. 



Fig. 12.— a bluegrass pasture closely grazed. 

 THE PROPER RATE TO GRAZE. 



Next in importance to maintaining the fertility of the soil in keep- 

 ing a stand of grass is to stock a pasture properly. A field that is 

 neither mown nor grazed will never form a desirable turf. On the 

 other hand, overgrazing may destroy the plants. There is, however, 

 very little overgrazing in the bluegrass region. If the fields are 

 stocked too heavily, the animals make such poor gains that they are 

 unsalable in the faU. There is greater danger of not keeping suffi- 

 cient stock. Many of the fields have an appearance similar to neg- 

 lected lawns. Closely clipped bluegrass on a fertile soil makes such 

 a dense turf that most weeds have difficulty in invading it, but when 

 it is allowed to go to seed the turf is weakened and more open places 

 occur in it. It is impossible to lay down an absolute rule as to the 

 number of animals to aUow to the acre. What would be light grazing 

 on one pasture may be overgrazing on another. The fields should be 



