PRACTICAL PAPERS—DAIRY FARMING. 
177 
of greatest reward; arid also lands that are too wet for other 
purposes may supply to some extent, the demands of the dairy. 
The Pasture should be formed from grasses blooming in 
succession, from May to September; different varieties in close 
proximity, forming a seamless turf, where weeds should have 
no place to grow. Such a condition is not secured in one year; 
it requires several. Weeds will appear during two or three 
years after seeding, and should be cut down with the scythe or 
mower before the ripening of their seeds. While to all weeds 
the scythe is destruction, nature has provided that the grasses 
shall not suffer by its use. 
A well established turf furnishes more nutritious herbage 
than one in process of formation ; the herd will neglect the lat¬ 
ter for the former where the opportunity is given. 
Those farms where dairying has proved most successful 
have pastures that have never been disturbed with the plow. 
Twenty years is short enough time to fully establish a first- 
class pasture. England boasts of those that are rich with two 
hundred years of cropping, and show no sign of distress for 
want of scarifving. 
<j o 
Mulching Pastures.— We have found that the best method 
of mulching is to withdraw the herd in August, and let the 
growth fall down in autumn to protect the grass roots in winter; 
but as this is not always practicable, the use of straw secures 
a great improvement. To those who have never tried this cheap 
manure we can say from actual experiment that its beneficial 
results will be found marked and permanent. It may be ap¬ 
plied at any time of the year ; it is never in the way ; it decays 
slowly ; keeps the earth moist—an important item for abundant 
feed; furnishes nourishment to the plants without adding a 
rank flavor to be communicated to the milk; it will cover a 
far greater area when spread dry than when left to decay in 
the stack or rot in the yard to be then applied, and requires 
far less labor. Beyond what is necessary to make the stock 
comfortable in the winter season, straw should be spread to 
12—Ag. Tr. 
