JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 17, 1881. ] 
221 
sandy, and limestone soils. The best pastures should never be fed 
too barely, because the stems and blades of grass and Clover have 
both the power of drawing some nourishment from the atmosphere 
by the absorption of ammonia supplied by the rain and summer 
air. On the other hand if early highly succulent grasses are 
allowed to become too bulky they will be coarse, and will domi¬ 
nate the finer herbage, such as the white and yellow Clovers ; at 
the same time also much of the produce will be refused by the 
cattle, and left to prejudice the aftermath. The ordinary meadow 
land is best suited for the grazing of dairy cattle, and cannot 
well be fed too closely, but especially the irrigated meadows, as 
these throw up such a quick succession of grass that it requires 
a heavy stock to keep the food in condition. • <- 
To return to the feeding of rich pastures, it is a common practice 
to feed with sheep as well as bullocks, in the proportion of one or 
two sheep to one bullock. The long-woolled sheep should be 
selected as companions for the cattle, for they are of a quiet con¬ 
tented habit; but the downs and crossbreds are more of a roam¬ 
ing disposition, especially the two former breeds, and, treading the 
grass under foot they make it distasteful both for the bullocks 
and themselves. In the autumn, where grass has been fed oil 
either by cattle or sheep, if any tufts are left they should be 
mown down with the scythe, especially where dairy cows are 
grazing, for the seed heads of the grass frequently produce ergot, 
which causes abortion. If, however, it is determined to feed 
down the rejected tufts of grass it may be done by horses and 
colts in the absence of the dairy stock, as both horses and cows 
always benefit by change instead of feeding together. 
We now must approach the question of mowing grass land for 
hay, and before making our own practical remarks we will quote 
Mr. Lawes upon the subject. He states, “ If however, instead of 
accumulating a capital of fertility in the soil, a good crop of hay 
were the object to be attained, then the rapidly acting nitrates 
would be the best and cheapest application ; for to produce an 
immediate effect, whether it be to grow a crop of hay or to force 
on a crop of roots, artificial manures are to be preferred to all 
other substances ; but if the object be to increase the permanent 
stock of fertility in the land, then it would appear that feeding 
with cotton cake or the use of purchased dung would meet this 
requirement at a lower cost.” Strictly, in accordance with 
Mr. Lawes’ statement we had an instance on a home farm a few 
years ago which we had in hand, consisting of 300 acres, half 
arable and half pasture. The land was in as low a state as 
possible, and naturally poor. The pasture grass was nearly all 
destroyed by close feeding in summer and winter. In conse¬ 
quence we determined to use only the artificial manures on the 
arable land ; and the yard, stable, and purchased dung, with 
earthy compounds from roadsides and ditches, upon the pastures 
and parklands, sowing some renovating seeds. The result was 
that at the end of three years both arable and pasture land was 
so much improved that the letting value was greatly increased. 
Ho hay was cut from the pastures, the arable land being made to 
furnish all the hay and straw required for a stock, which was pro- 
portionably diminished in the winter months. 
Mr. Lawes writes as follows upon the value and effect of certain 
manures and feeding stuffs :—“1, The manure from a ton of de¬ 
corticated cotton cake consumed on the land would contain, I 
should estimate, the following quantities of the three most impor¬ 
tant ingredients of plant growth :—Nitrogen, 130 lbs. ; phosphate 
of lime, 149 lbs.; potash, 70 lbs. 2, Of the farmyard manures it 
would be necessary to apply about 11 tons in order to supply the 
above quantity of nitrogen, while the amount of phosphate of lime 
and potash taken together would not differ much from that con¬ 
tained in the cotton cake ; but in the dung the potash would be 
greatly in excess of the phosphate of lime, while in the manure 
from cotton cake the phosphate of lime would be in excess of the 
potash. 3, Of artificial manures it would take cwts. of nitrate 
of soda, 5 cwts. of superphosphate, and 5 cwts. of kainit salts to 
supply the amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash con¬ 
tained in the manure from a ton of cotton cake. I have used 
cotton cake since its first importation. I do not propose on this 
occasion to take the estimate founded on experiments carried out 
at Eothamstead ; I will merely assume that its value per pound 
cannot be less than that of the mixed dry food, consisting of hay, 
roots, and corn, of which it took from 12 to 13 lbs. to produce 1 lb. 
increase of live weight; this would be equal to an increase of 
187 lbs. per ton, and valuing live weight at 5 d. per pound we have 
£3 18«. to deduct from the price of the cotton cake, and leaving the 
cost of the manure as £3 12s. Cotton cake therefore, even at the 
ow meat-producing standard here assigned, would thus supply the 
cheapest manure, and artificial manure the dearest.” In the fore¬ 
going statement we have the cost and value of manures and residue 
of feeding stuffs compared in a plain and practical manner, and our 
own experience will not enable us to take exception to it. Pastures, 
when continually mown for hay, require very different manuring 
to those which are constantly fed by stock ; and it must here be 
noticed that a disregard of these distinctions has in numerous 
cases been the cause of great disappointment in the result arising 
from the use of bones for pasture land. Mr. Lawes says, “Now 
the amount of potash taken up in the animal body by grazing is 
exceedingly small, while the phosphate of lime so taken up is com¬ 
paratively large. The effect of mowing a pasture, therefore, is to 
reduce the potash faster than the phosphate, while the effect of 
feeding a pasture is exactly the reverse ; and this being the case it 
is evident that bones, which contain a large proportion of phos¬ 
phates and but little or no potash, cannot be an efficacious manure 
for grass land which is mown for hay.” This statement at once 
explains in the clearest manner why the application of bones has 
been so successful in Cheshire, because the far greatest portion of 
the strong land pastures in that county are fed by dairy cows, and 
therefore reducing the phosphate of lime in the soil; on the other 
hand the manuring with manures containing potash are of little 
avail, because the strong clay soils contain so much of it in their 
actual composition. 
It has often been recommended that grassland should be mown 
and fed by stock alternately. As a rule, however, mowing for hay 
encourages the coarser grasses to the detriment and exclusion of 
the finer herbage, particularly that of white Clover and yellow 
Suckling. There ought to be a distinction between valuable 
grazing land on the richest alluvial soils and the cold damp 
meadows of ordinary value. In the latter case mowing may be 
called a necessity, because a good crop of hay is the most profit¬ 
able produce. On the other hand, we must consider the advan¬ 
tage of grazing the most fertile pastures, which often feed and 
fatten an ox and one or two sheep per acre ; whereas mowing for 
a crop of hay on such land, irrespective of risk in making, has a 
direct tendency to injure the best and choicest herbage. Again, 
in newly-formed grass land it is much better grazed if we wish to 
form an early and permanent turf ; for, although we may manure 
with liberality, yet cutting the grass for hay is sure to weaken if 
not destroy the bottom grass so essential in forming a good pas¬ 
ture. To conclude, we must return to artificial manure for top¬ 
dressing grass land and Clovers, and we cannot omit to notice the 
value of gypsum, which is composed of a combination of lime, 
sulphuric acid, and water as follows :—32 - 56 per cent, of lime, 
46 51 per cent, of dry sulphuric acid, 2093 of water, total 100 - 00; 
so that in every 100 lbs. of gypsum there exists 46j lbs. of dry 
sulphuric acid—equal to 56 lbs. of the strongest liquid acid that 
can be purchased, and putting this at the low rate of 4<7. per 
pound it is an astounding fact that the same quantity of sulphuric 
acid that you have in 1 ton of gypsum would cost to purchase no 
less a sum than £21. It is considered that gypsum has but little 
effect when applied to crops growing on wet clays and chalky 
soils. It is, however, contended that to obtain the full effect at 
any time it should be used in the finest powdered state, and sown 
upon vegetation after rain, when it will adhere to the leaves and 
stems of plants. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—The true economy of this is not only obtained by 
good feeding and judicious management in the field, but also by the 
use of animals of not less than 16 or 16g hands in height, with sub¬ 
stance in proportion. Two such animals, if in full condition will 
be capable of turning a single furrow in nearly all fallow plough¬ 
ing, except the heaviest clays, and also of drawing with ease the 
double furrow plough in all the summer ploughings where the land 
has been once moved either by the plough or scarifier, and when 
thus used no driver will be required at any time, which certainly 
constitutes economy worth the attention of the home farmer. The 
next matter of economy is the use of the steam cultivator on all 
lands which have been winter-ploughed, not only for the purpose of 
saving time, but also in order to ease the horses of some of the 
severest labour on the farm. We must next refer to the feeding of 
horses, for we advocate the use of a moderate quantity of roots with 
the corn and dry fodder, whether of hay or straw, and as the Turnips 
are for the most part decayed by the fropt, it will be well to. com¬ 
mence feeding with Mangolds. The roots may be given whole in the 
manger, but should be spread out on a barn floor or mow for ten or 
twelve days before use ; this will make them more wholesome at this 
early period, as they would otherwise be to some extent unripe and 
watery. The quantity may be about 10 or 12 tbs. of roots per horse 
per day ; and our reason for giving the roots whole, and just as they 
come from the store without cleaning, is because the horses will not 
eat them so fast as when cut or pulped. If, however, the roots are 
given pulped it should be in admixture with hay or straw chaff. 
The horse labour now to be done will be Barley and Oat sowing, and 
if malting Barley is required the earlier in March the seed is sown 
the better. After roots are fed off by sheep we prefer to sow drege, as 
we obtain good horse corn from this mixture, and grow more in 
weight and measure than can be grown from Oats alone. 
