The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-09-06
Renovation of Pastures.

From the manner in which SOM
farmers-and they are not few-trea
their pasture grounds, one might sup
pose they considered such land endowed
with peculiar properties-with recuper
attire, or sel-renOrating power, whicl
enabled it to sustain itself. and produc,
its yearly yield without diminutioa
But oven when these fields begin tt
show by seemingly unmistakable signs
that they need renovation, the owner
not unfrequently seems to deem it in
expedient to give them any assistanc,
to recover their lost strength, and keeps
them pastures still; though his stock
which they are required to support, il
great measure, in summer, have tt
keep in diligent and active exercise
their locomotive and grazing faculties
to get daily supply of food from them
and come short after all.
The judicious and energetic farmer
pursucs different course, and find:
his interest promoted by it. When he
sees his pastures are failing, he imme'
diately plows them up, dresses the land
as lie can afford, plants, and then seeds
down again, or seeds Immediately after
preparing the land in August or Sep
tember. 1t can hot be disputed that
this is wise and profitable husbandry.
The objection sometimes urged by
farmers, to breaking up their pasture
grounds, that they have not material to
dress them with, may, in some cases, be
well founded, but more often, we think
it is not. 1t is as generally true in ma
nure-getting as in other enterprises,
that where there is q ,riH there is q
Way" If, however, the alternative were
left to us, either to permit pasture to
vemain Ill poor condition, yielding q
poor product, or to break it up and new
seed it, rithOm harimg any manure 10 ap.
ply to ii, we should not hesitate to adopt
the latter measure; for, by plowing in
the fall, and turning the ta,rows fiat, we
should expect some degree of advantage
in improving the ground from the in
huences of snow and frost, and the de-
caying sod would be of some benefit to
tho next crop. But few farmers, we
imagine, can be so poorly off for ma
nure, or tie means of making manure,
as to be forced to adopt such u course as
this.
"It is one thing to give good advice
to others, but very different thing to
put that advice in practice, if you were
circumstanced as they are" may be the
observation of some one. Well, we re-
ply, that is very true-and it is equally
true that ri try often accomplishes
wonders. 1t may be presumed-Obser-
vation justities the presumptiOn-that
if farmer avails himself of all the
means within his reach, and devotes his
entire energies to make them subservi-
ent to his profit, he rarely fails to effect
any improvement on his farm that he
desires. But farmers who suffer their
liquid manure to run to waste-who
throw their dung into the yard uncov-
cred, to manure the atmosphere" rath-
er than their suffering tields-whO
waste or sell their ashes, and have
Swamps, woodlands and muck deposit Is
which are never drawn upon for manure
such farmers have not the shadow of
excuse for making the want of manure
"a lion in the way" of renovating their
pasture grounds. We hope and believe
the number of such is on the decrease,
and that improved farming will prove
so contagious that every Western farm
or will catch it.