SHORT PASTURE 165 



fact that they choose location according to the condition of the 

 weather, seeking the sheltered places if chilly, while resting on 

 the hill-top in hot weather. A large pasture offers greater oppor- 

 tunity for the cows to make themselves thoroughly comfortable. 

 If, however, the pasture is on a dead flat prairie country it is 

 probable that the smaller pasture is preferable, while on rolling 

 or broken land, the larger is better. 



Acres Required Per Cow — This naturally varies greatly 

 with the fertility of the field and the rainfall, also in many 

 sections with the amount of timber or brush land included in 

 the pasture. Dense forest yields little pasturage. Likewise in 

 old clearings, largely gTOwn up to brush, grass is to be found 

 only in the open spaces, while within the clumps of bushes little 

 or nothing can be secured by cows. The open field, well seeded 

 to blue grass and white clover, will, on the average, yield grass 

 in such quantity that two to three acres will feed one mature 

 cow during the pasture season. The rotation pasture, however, 

 should produce more feed and thereby require only about one 

 and a half acres per cow per season. In many sections it is 

 calculated that the average young stock consumes one-half and 

 the dry cow two-thirds as much feed as the cow in milk. This 

 distinction is made for pasture rental purposes. 



Short Pasture. — It is highly probable that the great dropping 

 off in milk flow in July and August is due more to the short, dry 

 pasture than to the presence of flies. The writer once tested 

 this matter by means of two groups of cows similarly fed, one- 

 half turned to pasture and the other half kept in the yard. Both 

 were annoyed with flies about equally and both had all the feed 

 they would readily consume, yet those animals that went to 

 pasture went dry at the rate of 15 per cent per month, while 

 'those kept . in yard decreased at the rate of only 8 per cent 

 per monli. If to the quiet of the yard had been added the com- 

 fort of a half-darkened stable during the day the difference 

 between the two groups would unquestionably have been yet 

 more marked. 



If we will but remember that the average cow, giving the 

 average amount of milk, requires the feed nutrients contained 



