Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-07-01
MANAGEMENT of Pastures.

an important subject to American farmers
one which We have before urged upon thei
attention, and notwithstanding difference /
climate, &c, the experience Of this Scotc
farmer cannot be studied and tested uithou
profit.
When land under cultivation is in a biu
state of fertility, and is carefully sown with
full ard well selected mixture Of grass seed;
II Will often produce good grass for sewers
years without any additional manure. Tbi
l. so Tar fortunate for the oultiyator of tn
land; Tor II the wide extent of arabic land il
pastures pad 10 be regularly top.dressed il
rotation the system would be very Iaboriou
and costly. do not wish it to be Understood
however, that manure will not pay on this de
scrietion Of lana; on the contrary, when sol
and climate aEd other circumstances ara favor
able, L have found a good dressing of ligh
manures to the first and second years gfss
prove very Temunerativs. After varied and
numerous trials for many years, of n presl
variety Of artificial manures, / have come IA
the conclusion that guano, sulphate of ammo.
nis, nitrate OF coda, and SCOT, are the best
light dressings for new grass that can be az
Phed- Inc large proportion Of nitrogen which
these contain In state easily assimiIated by
plants, oy lu great power in developing the
oi9de, makes sush manures peculiarly suit
ape LOT tne gnwth Of young grass. To render
these manures fully efficient. however. It is
very desirable hat they be sown in rainy
weather. Ii Is leedless to add that if the
manures are not qlite genuine, q pkrtisI fail
IRE must be the reult.
On light land, with a gray Nvsoil, 1
conSSlder IL a mTstsSSe 10 use res as
! = top-dressiDg TO grass, for when O. lied to
such have seldom seen them do muh good;
and in an unusually dry season. / think they
can by no means be beneficial. Foriuch soils
/ would prefer well-made compost of bones,
urine, vegetable mold, and salt. When near
the sea, / have used a compost o sea-weed
and FISH refuse, DO, in the following proper
tions:-Say II loads Of mold Dads of sea-
weed, load Of fish refuse, and 2 bns Of cattle
urine. This makes an excellent and substan-
tisl dressing for one acre Of ligh. land. When
1t Is laid on during the winur months, its
good effects on the grass in spring are all but
certain; and within short distance of the
sea-coast it may be supplied for about 2Ss an
acre
so much for the manuring 1 shall now
state q few facts which believe to be impor-
tant regarding the management Of these pas
lures Heavy rolling in autumn and spring,
vixen the land is moderately damp, does much
good; for besides making smOsth surface, it
packs tho soil about the plants, and tends to
make them spread laterslly, and form a closer
sWard. Frequently changing or shifting the
stock on the grass, and having it well eaten
down at proper periods. but not too bare, are
the best means Of keeping the pasture in a
good and growing state. 1t is always bad
management to allow the grass to run to seed,
seeing that II weakens tbs Tigor of the roots
and tends much TO exhaut the soil Ii is. in
particular, absolutely necessary that all weeds
be cut early in the sesOn. Whenever, in
deed, they show their tos above the ground,
they should be cut a little under the surface
Of the grass with a shan tool, by which pro-
cess the sap vessels Of tie plant are left open,
so as to bleed profuselr, and also admit the
rains, which all tend considerably to destroy
the roots. 1t IL, at the same time, desirable
90 keep the surface smOth by spreading the
mole-heaps and droppngs of the cattle; Cor
by attention to these imPle operations, the
lu1uriance Of grass lnds is always much in
creased"
For the distinctions moss and the general
improvement of permanent pastures, a serie.
OF experiments were tried on land that had
been laid down, and that had become almost
worthless Lime, fsrm-yard dung, Peruvian
gusnO, nitrate of sois, sulphste of ammonia
tFcrphosphate of line, sulphate of potash
were tried, each aoe receiving dressing Of
manure Of the valu, Of about SO. The Peru
Wan gsano an4 thesulphate Of ammonia were
the only manures that caused an increase OF
crop the first year sufficient to pay cost The
extreme dry season was unfavorable TO the
experiment. Mr.. ?. says:
ION some Of thu plots the extra produce Of
hay will do littl, more than pay the cost
while in others tie price of the manure is
nearly altogether lost. 1t must also be borne
In mind that the soil is good, and we'll shell
tered from the dputb; Otherwise the results
might have be, still worse than they are
The saline manures. it is to be expected, will
do little, II any good next year. The second
crop Of grass looks little more fresh after
them, but they have done little indeed in ex-
trpsting the moss. The dung and the CON-
m he thn
latter, In particular, appears to have already
done good deal in destroying the moss. The
lime was against, rather than in favor of the
hay crop; but at present Goth October) its
good effects upon the pasture are becoming
quite appsrent-the moss is considerably de.
czyed, and the surface already feels much
frmer to u foot; the white clover is begin
ming to sptout up thickly, and the whole sur
face appean greener and feels frmer than
that of any Of the other plots The effects
IT is to be expected, will gradually become
more visible as the lime sinks into the soil;
and I have little doubt that, in the course OF
yslr or two, its beneficial effects will be Tar
more apparent. For this description of pas
ture land, particularly where the soil is rich
IN vegetable matter, and inclined 10 clay,
powders lime has the most powerful effect in
renovatng the grass, Of any substance / have
ever trid- II at once cleans the surface, kills
insects decompOses decaying y sgetable mat
Ter, G1 raises a close sWarQ OF sweet, nutrl-
tive FHsses, including considerable quantities
Of wife clover, and cattle will prefer the
gras growing on the lined land. Light dress
ings and repeated when necessary, is, per-
haPs me best way to apply lime. 1 found
two Ons to an acre to be perfectly sufficient;
and the autumn or winter months will, no
doUt, be the best time fer applying it to the
Ian. Where the land Is much infested with
mos. iCEill not, perhaps, extirpate it entire
lybut il destroys IL more than any other ma
nue. have tried, and thereby prevents its
>chking the grasses-at least for a good many
yers sitter. 1t is quite clear that messy pas
tues SHOULD be well torn on the surface be-
fee spreading on manures Of any descrip-
tin, which would allow them to be better
cverei from the action Of the weather, and
Gye them q much better chance Of destroying
he moss"
The plots experimental with were narrowed
betdrlbe application Of the manures, but q
better msobf than the common harrow, fol
scrsping or, land, 10 much needed, and the
attention "Reminiscences Of agricultural i'm
plem.nt, icalled to this want The results
Of the exriments are thus summed up:
|. On cong soils on lands under cultiys