Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1877-07-23
A9ritntinral department.
NEGLECT of PASTURES.

the Chicago Times says, where any pre-
tentlOns are made to good farming that
no attention is given to improving past
ures. In taking up new farm, the
poorest portion is invariably set apart
for the pasture. After the best portions
are planted and sown to annual crops,
so long as they will pay the cost of cul-
tivation, the land is seeded down to
grass. This is cut and cured for hay,
till the farmer is ashamed of himself of
the small amount he gets from an acre,
when he concludes that he will convert
the field into pasture. He seldom
seems to think that his pasture is his
great source Of wealth; that his COWS
get from it the materials which furnish
milk ; that the grass it produces makes
most of the wool, beef. and mutton he
has to sell and that all his young cat
tie obtain their living from the pasture
about seven months in every year. He
seems to forget that he and his teams
work all summer chiefly to obtain food
which the stock consumes during the
winter, while his pastures furnish
supply for a longer period, without any
labor being expended upon them.
Land once turned out to pasture is
doomed to neglect SO long as it is devot-
ed to that purpose. Weeds and bushes
are permitted to spring up and spread
at will. AS the grass in places becomes
killed out, the spots are allowed to re-
main barren. A large proportion of the
stock kept in the pasture are yarded at
night, and most of their droppings are
left, when they are taken to cultivate
fields. Even those that fall on the
pastures are not broken up and scattered,
as they should be. The rank grasses
which spring up, but which are not eat
en- by the stock, are allowed to go to
seed, and in this way gradually extend
over large portion of the ground. No
Western farmer thinks to apply farm
yard, mineral, or commercial fertilizers
to his pasture. If portion of it hap
pens to become rich by the cattle, sheep,
or colts remaining on it during the night,
the chances are that he will pillow it up
and put it in cultivated crops: and turn
out another piece of land that is in too
poor condition to produce corn, grain,
or hay.
In England pastures receive constant
attention and increase in productiveness
year by year. They are generally in
so high state of fertility that a good
crop of hay may be harvested from them,
if the stock is taken off, as is done occa.
sionally. They are MANFRED like land;
which produce annual crops, the fertilizers
being applied late in the fall or very
early in the spring. They are ordinari
ly mown at least once every season, 81
: as te keep down the weeds and coars,
D grasses. By cutting them off, shOr
S grasses spring up, while the weeds ant
: rank grasses that are cut down help t
o enrich the soil. The turf, once well es
4 tablished, may not be turned during ;
!, century; but it is occasionally scari6e,
by utensil made especially for the pun
: pose, so as to lay bare some fresh sol
{ on which the seed of more valuabl
S grasses may be sown. A great variet
s of grasses is produced on English pas
e lures and attention is given to seedini
= peculiar soils and locations with grasse
/ that are adapted to them. In this cour
try little or no attention is given I
e this matter, but the grasses are left
d establish themselves as best they vii
n In some localities white clover, redtO]
10 and blue grass, all good pasture gras
IT es, will, by a process of self-seeding (
d extension of their roots, establish then
selves over considerable amount
st ground. Under unfavorable clrcur
W stances, however, sorrel, burdock, thi
ne ties, and coarse grasses will take pc
as session of the land.-N. Y. Indepeeden