MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



133 



Such as blue grass and white clover. The latter are more substantial, both 

 J n quality of grazing and in the character and durability of turf which they 

 form. 



Advantages of Meadows and Pastures. — Where land is moderate to 

 low in price and labor is costly, no feed will produce results with cattle and 

 sheep as economically as good pasture. While a given area in meadow will 

 produce three times as much weight in hay as it will in pasture, yet there 

 is about three times as much protein in a given weight of dry material in 

 pasture grass as there is in the same material in hay. The increased energy 

 value of the hay over that of an equal area of pasture will generally be 

 offset by the increased labor required in harvesting and feeding the hay. 

 Meadows require on an average one unit of man and horse labor per acre 

 annually. This consists of ten hours work per year. The cultivated crops 



1 



Live Stock on Pastuke. 



require from two to as high as fifteen or sometimes twenty units of labor 

 per acre. 



Pastures, on the other hand, require no labor unless it be for the pur- 

 pose of applying manure or fertilizers, or for improvement by re-seeding or 

 cultivating. It is from the standpoint of labor that meadows and pastures 

 are especially economical. When land values become exceptionally high, 

 farmers may be justified in reducing the acreage of pasture and resorting 

 to cultivated crops as a source of feed for livestock. This is an economical 

 problem that must be determined by local conditions. 



Meadows and pastures make use of land which cannot be economically 

 used for cultivated crops. This is especially true in the case of woodland 

 pastures or pastures along streams that are irregular and subject to over- 

 flow. Stony portions of farms are often utilized as meadows or pastures. 

 Irregular corners, cut off by roads or streams, are more economically 

 devoted to hay than to a cultivated crop requiring tillage. 



Soil and Climatic Requirements. — Most of the grasses and clovers 

 succeed best in moist, cool climates and on soils that range from medium 

 to heavy in texture. On the other hand, there are a few grasses and clovers 



