MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



435 



Permanent and temporary grass-land. 



Land may usually be kept permanently in grass 

 on 



(1) Hillsides subject to washing. 



(2) Upland at a distance from market) and where 

 labor is scarce or high. 



(3) Lowland subject to flooding. 

 r4") Rocky or stony land. , 



(5) Swamp land. 



(6) Heavy clay soils that can be tilled only at 

 considerable expense. 



Sometimes it is profitable on high-priced land 

 which could readily be tilled if desired. 



Temporary grass-land is especially suited to 

 sandy or light soils where grass and clovers will 

 not hold for more than one or two years, and is of 

 especial value in almost any rotation. Some of the 

 advantages accruing from its use are : 



(1) Usually a larger yield of produce is secured 

 per acre ; and when leguminous crops are grown 

 the crop-producing power of the soil is increased. 



(2) The introduction of grass crops into a rota- 

 tion reduces the labor bill. 



(3) It furnishes an opportunity for improving 

 the texture of the soil when the humus has been 

 exhausted by several years of tillage, by adding 

 humus from the mat of roots and stubble. 



Whether temporary or permanent grass-land 

 should or should not be adopted on any particular 

 farm depends entirely on the conditions, and must 

 be decided by the farmer himself. 



If temporary grass-land is adopted, it may be 

 accepted as a general rule for the grass-growing 

 region of the New England and northern central 

 states, that the clay and heavy soils may be left 

 longer in grass, with profit, than the lighter soils. 

 Whenever permanent grass-land, especially pasture, 

 is the aim, it is well to remember the English 

 adage, "To make a pasture will break a man, but 

 to break a pasture will make a man." Making per- 

 manent pasture is slow work. Once the land is 



Fig. 660. Hay-fleld of Geo. M. Clark, Higganum, Conn. The result of 

 intensive methods. 



seeded it should never be plowed, and wherever 

 there is great difiiculty in retaining a sod, intelli- 

 gent care being given, it may be accepted as evi- 

 dence that conditions, climatic or otherwise, are 



such that it is better to adopt a system of tempo- 

 rary grass-land. 



A poor pasture is unprofitable, and yet a large 

 proportion of the pastures of the eastern part of 

 the United States are poor. This is due, largely, to 

 lack of knowl- 

 edge and gen- 

 eral indiffer- 

 ence. To grow 

 good grass is the 

 fine art of agri- 

 culture, and no 

 farm crop is 

 grown on high- 

 er-valued land. 

 In Italy the best 

 irrigated grass- 

 land is valued as 

 high as $3,000 

 per acre ; and 

 those parts of 

 England most 

 famous for their 

 pastures and 

 meadows are the 

 most highly 

 prized. The Eu- 

 ropean farmer 

 has given much 

 more attention ^'s- «"• The old way. 



than the American to growing good grass. The 

 present article reflects the English point of view 

 as adapted to American conditions, for the writer's 

 first experience was gained in England. 



Valuing grass-land. 



The general method of estimating value is to 

 consider the yield per acre, without any special 

 reference to the feeding-value of the crop. In the 

 case of hay grown for sale, this method may be the 

 correct one, but it is not necessarily so in the case 

 of a pasture. The true value of a pasture is based 

 on the amount of " net available nu- 

 trients" which it produces per acre; 

 or, in other words, the influence of 

 the herbage on the animal that con- 

 sumes it. By this method of valuing, 

 the pasture which produces the most 

 beef, mutton or milk, would be 

 ranked as of the most value. 



The following are some of the 

 factors that have a direct influence 

 on the value : 



(1) The character and condition 

 of the soil. Certain soils, owing to 

 their peculiar properties, are emi- 

 nently fitted for the production of 

 good quality grass. One of the most 

 important of these properties is the 

 ability to hold sufficient moisture. 



(2) The method of management. 

 Manures and fertilizers influence the total yield and 

 quality of the herbage and the time of growth. 

 They may prolong the period of growth of a short- 

 lived pasture. They tend to reduce the variation 



