The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-01-04
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.
Cultivation of the Grasses.

Il Cultivation OF the GraSSeS.
b system Of good farming can be adopted
Hitch the cultivation OF the grasses does
form most important part; and in no
er crop has the farmer more interest than
that of the grasses. And yet, judging
jim the fact that that the great number of
lem throughout the country who have Ito
meadows would seem to indicate that the ab-
fsolute importance of it has not been consid-
cred Alright. 1t is acknowledged to be an
utter folly to continue 4 crop that brings ii
farmer into debt, and yet how often is this
the case with many farmers who, having no
means to purchase the fertilizers to produce
apaying crop, are year by year witnessing
the deterioration of tl.eir land land thus break
ing down the spirit and wearing away of hui
man life in protitless toll. Not thus las re
marks an intelligent observer does man have
to toll with the grasses--he prepares his land,
sows his seed, and reap his hay by IONS,
or grazes his herds by hundreds, and his soil
is not injured but enriched by his meadows
and his stock. Look at the vast amohnt of
labor saved by having all your suitable lands
well set in grasses. 1t is this continued and
never Guiding working of the soil that wears
out man and land. Grass is the native grow
til; and many OF your worst wornout fields il
put in good order and set in clover and 9TH
err grasses would soon be restored to their
native fertility, and prove to pc rich legacy
to those coming after you. Every consider
ation-your own interest, that OF your chill
,lren, the good OF your neighborhood, coun-
ty and whole country-all urge you to do all
YOU can to have fine meadows, reclaimed
lands, improved stock and profitpaying farm
ing.
Royal Smith, an old and very reliable far
mer of Massachusetts, gives TO the Neac Eng
laud Farmer his mode of treatment of a
rough pasture, from which some Of our farm
ers, having similar classes Of lands. may take
some hints. He says:
| have few rough acres in the central
part OF nay COW pasture, that, when it came
into my possession, about fifty years ago, had
been occupied as pasture previous to that
time, but had been neglected, and mostly
gone back again to brush and small wood;
this / cut off for fire wood, and carefully pill
ed the brush in those places where there was
the least grass, and burned them off when
they became dry enough for that purpose,
and sowed the burnt places with grass seed
and Immediately occupied it as 4 pasture,
and have continued to now for about fifty
consecutive years. 10 clear it Of sprouts
and small brush and other foul stuff that
sprung up on the removal of the wood, beat
off the sprouts, moved off the brush and 9th.
er foul Vegetation in early spring, raked and
piled them on the surfce as before, where
the least grrss grew, and let the heaps stand
till the following September, then carefully
moved the brushes again and raked them
all nicely on to the piles that had stood dur.
rs the summrr Except some of the finest o.
them that carted to the barn for bedding
purposes) and burned them also on the
ground, and sowed the bottoms to grass seed
This opera ton nearly subdued the bushes
for the time being, and there is no section il
that twenty-acrcs pasture, take one year will
another, during the last fifty years that il
has been occupied for that purpose that ha!
produced more feed than this rough section
alluded to above, that has never been appli
= ed or received any dressing but tie dropping
OF the cattle. The bushes have been KEEP
down and subdued from time to time by the
Use of the bush scythe. The best kept pas
lures, when neglected too long. have q ten
dency to run up to brush, and if still neg
lected the bushes crowd out the grasses, and
:Le consequence is the pastures run down,
and cattle that occupy them cease to thrive
or fatten, and if still neglected, in few
years tn ey have to be abandoned to grow
wood and timber.
- Undoubtedly this last is the best use that
very many OF our rough, neglected pastures
can at the present time he put to, either to
recuperate, to BE- again cleared ant, used for
pastures, or kept 10 grow wood and timber.
But many of these old bush pastures should
be reclaimed, and can be, in the way l re-
claimed mine, without great expense, as des-
cribed above. find it not very hard or
costly Job to keep the bushes under in the
pasture, if they are attended to often.
make it my rule to go round and NOW all
the patches, an d rake and burn the bushes as
often as once in about every TWO or three
years. One acre of clean pasture, where the
bushes are Kept down, will produce more
and sweeter feed than three acres of foul
busly land. have found the better way tn
treat these rough pasture lands is to feed
them close, and keep out the bushes, and
supply the cattle at the barn, spring and fall,
with extra feed for what the pasture lacks OF
keeping them in thriving condition. I'M
de rthis treatment my pasture has retained
is productiyeness. When the land is light
and easy to work, :. little new seed sown on
it and heavy, sharp harrow drawn over its
surface will improve it, but never pillow an
old pasture thinking to improve it, unless
you have a dressing of some kind of manure
to apply at the time.