The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-03-05
Management of Meadows and Pastures.


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Management of Meadows and Pastures.
Mr.. John Stanton Gould, lecturer Oh
The Philosophy of Agricultural Mechan
les" at Cornell University, delivered
practical lecture on the above topics befor,
the late Maine Farmers Convention.
The value of the grass crop of our coun
try, he said, amounting to more than five
hundred millions of dollars annually, wa:
first considered its magnitude, its impor
lance, and the results that would follow i
every farmer of our country should make
two spires of grass to grow where one
grew before. In New York State thu
average production of hay is 90 ton,
per hundred acres, although in some
sections it is much higher. In Kings
county it is $50 tons to 100 acres II
Onondaga, liz tons to 100 acres, The
latter county has as good soil and as good
climate for grass as the former, but the
farmers do not give that attention to the
study of the grasses and to the soils as they
do III the former. The pecuiarities of the
grasses, and the different soils in which
different grasses succeed best was next con-
sidered. The .judicious selections of the
best kinds of grasses for soils on which
they will do best is q matter of great i'm
portance, and upon it depends the sue
cessful culture of this crop. In this matter
the soil and situation should be carefully
studied by the farmer, and notice should be
made of the locations where certain kinds
do best, and advantage of this knowledge
taken by the farmer in the seeding of bis
lands.
Moist land-not too wet or too dry-is
the best soil for grasses. Careful trials
show that on wet meadows, a square yard
of land produced four useful plants and
twenty-siX useless ones !; in very dry
meadows the same space gave eight useful
plants and thirty useless ones in moist
soils the same space gave seventeen useful
plants and twenty-five useless ones. 9th
er trials show the relative value of grasses
on different soils to be as follows: a poor
clay soil gave 80 per cent. of grass rich
loan, 100 per cent; flooded meadows, 200
per cent, and irrigated meadows 400 per
cent. A strong, deep, calcareous soil.
resting on a sub-soil of clay, was therefore
the best soil for grass.
In seeding SOW q great variety of seed.
An examination of even the best fields will
show that large portionsof the soil is not
occupied by plants and as given space
Will support given amount of grasses, it
Is necessary that a variety of seeds be
sown that the ground may be all occupied.
A mixture OF the grasses furnishes better
food for cattle than a single variety. The
animal tissues require numerous elements
for their support, and these elements are
furnished in greater abundance and better
adapted for assimilation by q mixture of
distinct grasses than by any single one.
An instance was given where, on a rich old
pasture, from actual count 1000 plants
stood on one square foot of ground, of 949
were natural grasses, and GO were creeping
rooted clover and other plants. There
were 20 distinct species of plants on the
square foot. On a well-managed water
meadow Irrigated by liquid manure)
there were ON a square foot 1898
plants, embracing 1902 natural grasses and
96 clover and other plants. Now compare
this wonderful luxuIiance with the product
of an equal space of land with a single
species OF grass, viz, of narrow leayed
meadow grass 1872 plants; of meadow
ioxtail, 81 of rye grass, 70 plants. Com
pare 1898 with rs plants 10 the square
foot, and one sees at once how desirable
and profitable. is the sowing of great
variety OF seeds. Again in seeding down
TO grass care should be taken to only SOW
seeds of those grasses which come into
flower at the same period. Chemical
anal ysis and practical trials alike concur in
showing that hay is most nutritive and most
palatable when cut at the period of flower
ing; at this time it contains more sugar,
starch, gum and albumen than at any other;
if suffered to stand after this, these substan-
ces are converted into woody fiber and
other compounds which can not be acted
on by the digestive organs and are therefore
yalueless. Hence the Importance of OBJ
serving the above rule. The seeds sown
should be carefully adapted to the soil and
climate in which the farmer is situated !;
and in the ''good time coming," every
farmer will find this out. Our meadows
Emowing lands) should be stocked with the
most nutritious grasses; among these are
She red-top, blue grass, bastard foul mea-
dow, and foul meadow. The different mea-
dows or fields upon farm should be SO
seeded and arranged that they. will come
successfully to maturity where this is not
the case loss and inconvenience is sure to
result.
The arrangement and classification of the
grasses with reference to the soils best
suited 10 them is as follows: For light
sandy soil and moving in June, orchard
grass, red clover, annual spear grass, Ken
lucky blue grass and meadow foxtail I; for
clayey land, and moving in July, timothy,
red-top, crested dogs tail, tall fescue,
italianrye grass, perennial rye grass; for
clayey lands and moving in August, wire
grass and foul meadow; for dry grayelly
soils, tall oat grass for blowing sands
deposit at regular and short intervals short
pieces of turf, and sow between them
seeds Of knot grass, and for permanent
pasture the early and late Towering kinds
should be sown together that continuous
succession of rich food may be furnished
throughout the season. The order desired
is something after this manner :-Kentucky
blue grass, orchard grass, meadow foxtail,
meadow tescue, timothy red-top-conse
quently mixture Of these should be sown
on nernoanent nAStureg