Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-10-10


, had never been broken at all Many others
make similar statements. Generally on the
soils Of Herkimer, the old dairy pastures need
little il any organic matter the decay OF roots
and the droppDgs Of stock supply that matter
in abundance. and hence the application of
mineral manures is all that is needed. These,
Of course, can be supplied cheaply, but if we
are to pillow up and take off grain crops, barn
yard manures must be used, which are more e1'
persiye.
Now it is very Improbable for the dairyman
to break up pastures that are yielding, or that
can be made to yield really good crops Of grass.
Our most successful dairymen believe that grain
can be purchased from abroad cheaper than
they can raise it, Grain raising, therefore, with
many, is considered matter OF necessity rather
than choice bat grass fails and the lands are
powed and re-seeded. This may be well enough
for mowings, but 1t is not so conveniently man
aged IN pastures. If part Of your pasture
lands begin to fall, and it is designed to pillow
and re-seed, the land must b. fenced, which is
expensive, and often very inconvenient.
When grass utterly fails, blowing and re-seed-
ing doubtless should be resorted to but gen
orally pasture lands may be kept permanently
in grass by giving Them little extra care and
attention.
Usually on the black slate lands of llerkimer,
plaster at the rate OF 100 to 200 pounds to the
acre, every alternate year, will keep pasture
lands in good condition. have found great
benefit from the use Of ashes in connection
with plaster, at the ratio of two or three barrels
per acre. Well decomposed horse manure,
hauled out in the fall and broken up fine, and
applied when cows are in the afterieed, has pro-
duced good results. My old pasture contains
about lorty.fye acres, and carries one year with
another thirty head Of cattle and span OF horses.
have no doubt but that all pasture lands IN
the dairy region would be greatly benefited by
the application Of bones as this material is
largely taken from the soil. Ashes are valuable
IN eradcating moses and in furnishing food for
grasses, and are worth at least twenty-five cents
a bushel for most Of our grass lands, Lime is
of great service to some soils. Six years ago
llmed an old sldehill meadow, messed over and
not producing 1t was applied at the rate Of
forty bushels per acre, and the annual crop Of
grass ever since has been good.
am inclined to think that good old pastures
produce a better quality oil milk than those re-
Gently re-seeded, and that it would be cheaper
and better to renovate by top-dressing than to
plow and re-seed The trouble with recently
re-seeded pastures 49, the grass early in the sea-
son is apt to DO rank, watery, and more Aashy
than the thick, fine herbage OF old pastures.
The feed ia old pastures springs up earlier and
lasts longer than on grounds recently re-seeded.
White clover and June or bue-grassare valuable
for producing milk they are indigenous on our
dairy soils, and are generally abundant in old
pastures, where they seem to thrive best. The
character Of food which COW cats has great
or influence on the quality of milk she yields
than many imagine. You may, perhaps, get
more bulk Of grass by blowing and reseeding,
and yet obtain poorer results in milk, than from
the old thick sward that has been broken up.
One great source Of failure and decline of grass
in old pastures is overstocking. Again weeds
are allowed to 90 to seed and get possession Of
the soil, and where they thus overrun the ground
and destroy the grasses, doubtless the best course
to be- adopted s 10 pillow and re-seed but the
true course is 10 pay attention to pasture lands
in seasJp, giving them an occasional toprdress-
ing, scariiying the surface in spring, and SOW
ing here and there upon patches that are begin
ming to fail. As u topdressing, sawdust in
which the liquid mAnures have been absorbed
applied in fail or spring, gives great vlgor and
growth to grasses. 1t can be spread over the
surface in finely divided state and is in con
diaion to be available 10 plants.
Road seraplngs and compOsts of muck, earth
and manures, applied IN the fall and pulverized
over the surface with-a brush harrow, will be
found of service 10 keeping up permanent
pasture And it is believed by taking few
acres annually and treating them with manures,
better results will be obtained at less cost than
in plowing and reseeding. | may remark that
in the use of barnyard manures, fresh cow dung
ought not to be used on pastures for the dairy,
as it produces grass distaSeful to dairy stock,
and some claim it to be the cause of abortlons.