Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1875-09-06
Qfericirltlrral Department.
RENovATIoN OF OLD FIELDS.
The renovation Of old pasture lands

The renovation Of old pasture lands,
that produce but little grass, is mat
ter of interest to many farmers. We of
ten see such fields, that have remained
unploughed for a score or two of years,
which Is very bad management, as it is
folly for farmers to thus neglect land
which can be made to produce good pas
turage at small expense.
Suppose one has ten or twenty acre
field, high and dry, that has lain many
years uneultivated. and which affords
but very little pasturage, and that little
Of very poor quality, what is to be done
with IT'D Its owner is 1--WE will suppose)
a slovenly farmer, who learns nothing
but what is beaten into his head by
sheer necessity to avoid starving and
he Is told that such field may be made,
without any manure. to produce a ton
of coed hay to the acre for several years,
and then pasturage for his COWS the en-
tire season, at the rate Of two acres per
COW. He shakes his head, and begins
to talk Of the absurdity of "book farm
ing" and the nonsense in the pa
pers about agriculture. At last he is per-
suaded to fence off an acre on which to
make the experiment, but grumbling
good deal about "the expense" and the
"ruin" that would result if the whole
field we're created So"
Well, spring comes, and we get the
cold man. to harness up his horses, and
hitch on to his best pillow, and 20 to the
above acre lot. where we tell him to 20
ahead and plough it. He commences
by ploughing about three inches deep.
"Hold up !" we exclaim, that kind of
ploughing won't do at ALL" He stares at
US and says, "Do you think am going
to kill my horses? know what you
want. You want me to run the pillow
in up to the beam. and 1 shall do no
such thing"
We examine the subsoil, and find that
the land should be ploughed about ten
inches deep to produce the best crop of
grass so we argue the case with him,
and finally persuade him to run his
pillow that depth, provided that we pay
any damage that his team may sustain,
and also all the expenses of seeding
down the land, should it prove fail
ure.
The land being plOughed, we SOW it
heavily to clover, with no other crop or
grass seed, and the result is a good
catch, and q fair crop the first season,
and better one the next year, which
we pillow under when at its full growth,
hrst running q heavy roller over it and
the ploughing under of this crop, with
us numerous and deeply extended roots,
is equal to a heavy coat of stable ma
nure in fertilizing the land. Early the
next spring we direct the farmer to pro-
cure a half bushel Of orchard grass seed,
the same Of blue grass, and like guam
tity Of red top, with four pounds of clo-
yer seed and the whole is sown on the
aforesaid acre of land, after ploughing
1t ten inches deep and narrowing it to a
very smooth condition then the seed is
brushed in carefully, and the result is
splendid crop of grass, worth the first
season five times the expense of prOduc.
ing it. In like manner thousands Of
old fields can be made very productive,
when farmers shall have learned how to
manage their lands in the best manner.
IN Y. Observer.