Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-01-04
Old Pastures. or New,

There are two opinions about pastures One
Is mat Is more profitable to iced only newly
seeded land, using 1T not more than two wears
before plowiDg il up for a reseeding; and the
other to let 1t remain tor many years, allowing
the surface to become fully occupied by the ma
tive grasses, these being supposed to be best
adapted TO develop its power of production.
Ii we consider this question according to the
general practice OF farming communities in this
country. we can not hesitate to decide that the
greatest profit will follow the first-named
method, for there is no disputing the PROPOSE
ton that timothy, red-top, orchard grass and
red clover, newly sown on well-prepared and
well manfred SOIL, will produce much m )re
forage land Of a highly nutritious kind) than
will close turf OF bluegrass white clover etc ,
which has for many years had full possession of
the ground, and has had no artificial stimula-
ton. The difference IN amount will he much
more than enough to repay the cost of break
ing up, manuripg, and seeding.
it Is not DOW question whether the COWS
WIN 90 better on one kind Of pasture than on
the other, only which will produce the largest
money profit. III single COW were allowed to
roam over ten acres of short old pa. ture, pick
tender sprouts OF blue grass, there is no deny
ing that she would give more milk, more butter,
and more cheese than she would If feeding
however abundantly, on the coarser grasses Of
sn artificial pasture. But our purpose in farm
ing is not to get the largest possible yield from
our cows, but to get the largest possible Weld
nom our land. The cows are only implements
for converting the products Of the field into the
salable products of the DAIRY.
An average hrst.class COW coming in In MAY
will make go lbs OF butter in the season on good
natural pasture, but she will REQUIRE at least
three acres-of land for her exclusive use. At
3oc. per h., the seasons produce will be SG0-or
go per acre. On good artificial pasture she
may give only $50 lbs, worth 1854, but she will
be fully supported by the produce of single
acre. SuprosiDg that one-third of the produce
Is consumed by the interest on the extra num-
Der Of cows, and by the cost or keeping up the
pastures-which is surely a very liberal allow
ance-we shall have $40 insteadOf $50 as the re-
turn per acre. In addition to this we shall
make ourselves much more independent of va.
riations Of the seasons, for q weil-worked rich
meadow is far less injured by excessive drouth
than any natural pasture on the same soil
could be. This, OF itself, will often equal the
draw back we have allowed for extra cost.
To put the proposition in another form, we
may expect, from the foregoing calculation, as
large cash profit from ten acres of artificial as
from eighteen acres Of natural pasture, and
there would be tar less risk OF loss from unusual
drouth. 1t Is not proposed, of course, that
rough or waste lands should be used for arti-
fetal pastures lthey would not repay the cost J
only that such fields as are susceptible of prott-
able subsection should not be left wild.
How nearly natural pastures NAV be made
equal to artificial ones by the use of the harrow
and liberal top dressings in q proposition not
considered above. The cost would generally be
less than that of reseediDg, and the result
equally good. In any case, no pasture-old or
new-shou.a ecer be Observation-Disclosures
A6ricultur1sk,