Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-08-27
Plaster and Pasture.

Upon one Of the hot days Of July, we Wis
tied the farm of William H. Belden, Dover
Plains, Duchess county. We should have
said farms instead of farm, since the CTS
acres owned by him are made up by the
union Of several farms with the original
homestead of one of the three Belden broth
ers, who settled at an early day along the
foot of the hills that bound the rich tract of
land that gives name tc the locality. 1t is
hardly necessary to say that the original
empowers" Of the land only improved the
forest off, while the land remained unim-
proved in value or productiveness. In fact
1t was called s'run down" when Mr.. Belden
bought it. The portion that lies on the hills
Is natural pasture, and is more profitable for
grazing than for cultivation under the pillow.
Under the old system, however, it had been
plowed and hoed, and plowed and planted
again, and sowed to oats and rye, and seed
ed to grass, and moved and pastured alter
nately and altogether not 50 profitably pro-
ductiyc as to induce the owners to keep on
the same round of farming. The system of
small enclosures added greatly to the ex-
pense, and small pastures, overstocked, be-
came dry and almost worthless, while the
grain crops, without manure, were not prof
table. We found upon some of these farms,
where mixed husbandry had been the rule,
all the interior fences broken 80 as to give
free range to herd Of fat bullocks that
were feeding where they pleased upon pas
ture that would afford in many places good
swath to the mower, actually better thar
some of the moving fields upon adjoining
farms, and the whole affording the owner ,
greater profit, without much labor, than tht
same land ever did to the man who toilei
with the pillow and hoe among the stones
or at inclosing his little fields with rail fenc,
or stone walls The truth is, that tract af
ter tract has been converted into fat pastures
and such land anywhere within hundred
miles of New York is and will be Away
profitable either for milk diaries, or grain,
western bullocks, or making mutton. Nov
the only question we will at present discus
Is, how to convert these unproductive hill
sides into fat pastures, such as Mr.. Belde
can show as proof positive that the thin
can be done with profit. If you doubt i
go and see what he has done, and ask hiI
how he did it. He has but one answer, an
it is very short:
Plaster"
"What! nothing else?"
Nothing but plaster"
'sYou do not stock your land very heav
Tyr"
Give it plaster and grass will grow. Ii
fair portion of that remain on the grount
and more will grow. Give it more plaster
and so on-I don't know how long; at an
rate you see what it has done for me.
couldn't do without plaster"
"How much to the acre 2"
"Well, put it on little stronger tina
most folks dol say about ton to fiftee
acres"
"What time of year2"
swell, there differ again from Others
Everybody said, SOW plaster in the spring
but found that could haul it better-for
is pretty heavy stuff to get up to my upp
farm when the roads are bad-in the fal
and don't see as it makes any differenc
The land, too, is firm, and don't cut up wit
the wagon wheels 10 the fall as it does
the spring, so l had rather SOW plaster
the fall. guess II don't make much odd
the main thing is to get it on at any rate. "
Now, all we have got to say is, that
this Mr.. Belden and his brother, David L
who have an equal quantity of land, treatt
in the same way, can afford to buy worn-o,
farms and treat them in this way the owne
cannot afford to sell them they had bett
buy plaster and make pasture for themselve
-Net0 York Tribune.