Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-08-25
Management of Meadows.

The Rural New Yorker has the following
good suggestions on the care Of meadows:
Dairymen not uufrequently complain that
their meadow lands do not yield satisfactorily
for a succession Of years-that the grass is
inclined to "run out" after being down three
or four years, and hence plowing and re-seed.
ing has to be resorted to. Ii is true there
is great difference in soils, some being of q
character that will not hold grass porma-
nently or for any considerable length of
time under ordinary treatment but the
complaint to which we refer applies particu-
larly to lands in good dairy sections which
are well adapted to grass. We may, there
fore, refer to some of the causes that oper-
ate against the productiveness Of meadows,
and more especially as some faults in man.
agemont apply to the season close at hand.
In the first place We may remark that many
meadows are badly injured in their produc-
tiveness and permanence by allowing the
grass 10 mature too far and ripen' its seed
before cutting, it makes heavy drafts upon
the soil and rapidly impoverishes it if not
kept up by frequent applications Of manure.
The effect upon the land is somewhat similar
to successive crops of grain, not quite s.
rapid, perhaps, in its exhaustive effects, but
still sure and constant. When grass is cut
early and before it has matured, there is less
woody fiber, it is more rich in the elements
Of nutrition, while at the same time it draws
less upon the soil. Here is often the first
great mistake in the management Of meadow
Iop1o AnoNbar nr,volnnk faV,lt and
enc following closely upon the heels of the
hay harvest, is the pasturing of meadows.
ln many instances the COWS are turned upon
meadows before the grass has acquired sufii-
cient growth to shade the roots OF the plants
and by allowing the herd to eat down the
grass and expose the roots to the hot SUN
not unfrequently, too, during drouths-the
roots of the plants are burned out and des-
troyed, more or less, and hence the succeed
ing crop is lessened. We have seen mead
ows Of timothy, in very dry seasons, nearly
destroyed from this treatment, the hungry
animals pulling the bulbous roots out Of
the ground in large quantities. Then, again
meadows are often pastured to excess, and
as cold weather comes on, with no growth Of
leaves to protect the roots, the winter frosts
complete the work Of destruction, and hence,
plowing and re-seeding must then be resorted
to.
Many persons neglect to top.dress and
manure meadows under the mistaken notion
that grass land can do very well without it.
We are opposed to feeding off the aftermath
of meadows. 1t should be left to protect
the roots of the plants during the hot days
of August and September, as well as a COW
eriDg blanket for winter. 1t is much better
for the farmer to grow corn fodder for the
supply Of fall feed than to depend upon the
afterfeed of meadows, and in the long run it
will be found to be much cheaper. The re
is many farmer that would consider the
aftermath at ten dollars an acre excessively
dear and more than he could afford, and yet
we have often seen more than that loss
made by feeding off the meadow in fall, and
thus reducing the yield Of grass the follow.
ing year. In some instances where the after
math is very heavy it may be advisable to
allow the cows to bite of the tops of the
grass aud to trampls it down late in the sea-
son, but it never ought to be eaten down
close if a permanent meadow and large
yields be expected.
Again some farmers are accustomed to
pasture meadows in spring. This is very
bad practice and no meadows under treat.
ment can be expected to yield full crops.
There is another fruitful source Of poor
meadows lying back of all the faults We
have named, and which may be mentioned in
this connection. We refer to the poverty oil
the soil at the time of putting down to grass
and the imperfect manner Of preparing the
ground and seeding it. If lands by long
cropping and fre quent p!owing become worn
turned to grass, and then if the grass fail:
to be enduring, the result is attributed to
some inexphcable cause. Many meadows
that are yielding less than ton to the acre
and which are said to hold grass poorly and
to be "running out" it will be found, owe
their trouble TO the cause We have named
The land originally was devoted to grass
but, worn and starved of fertilizing elements
it refused to yield beyond its capacity
Lands designed for permanent meadow
should bo put in good heart at the tint
of seeding, and attention should be paid to Q
thorough and complete working of the soil
80 that it be in fine tilth for the seed bed
If the land has been worn and manures can
not be plentifully supplied at first, frequeu
top-dressing during the first few years atte
seeding should be resorted to, and in thi
way the soil will be recuperated aud thu
grass abundant and enduring. Great losse
are annually sustained on account Of neglect
and improper treatment Of meadow lands
and we call the attention of dairymen to tn
points we have enumerated because they ar
common faults which demand correction.