The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-05-09

| luOElC SdCkS Will llc LuCT0 dS sale 1TOm
rain as heap of powders. Thatgrain
will never know its owner has q barns.
Disappearance Of Native Grasses and
the Cattle Trade. sIilifTs uI
In the early history of the States ad-
| jacent to the great lakes, the land, both
prair and woodland, produced an
| abundance of wild, nutritious heritage.
With the settlement of the country these
grasses gradually failed, the result of
close cropping, and finally disappeared
entirely. The same thing is noticed
now in the States west of US. From
Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, where the
land is rapidly being taken mp the wild
grasses are giving out Like the bison
and the Indian, the indigenous heritage
of the plains and prairies does not take
kindly to civilization; it dwarfs and
dwindles under the pressure of close con-
tact with man and his methods of farm
ing. Even where the land is not dis
turbed by the pillow, but is grazed
through few seasons, the places that
knew the native grasses know them no
more. .1..s4.8g.. s-
The habits and characteristics Of
these grasses are such that they are not
adapted to permanent pasturage, hence
the seattle men" seek newer districts
and ranges for their herds, But this
policy can not always prevail, for the
time will come when the SO ranges of
newer States. and Territories will have
become circumscribed, and there
will 3 be; no new fields to,
occupy. That =, time, is doubtless
somewhat remote, but il, may come
sooner than most of us imagine. A let
ter in "a recent number of the Mark Lane.
cypress, written BY Mr.. W. II. Sotham,
indicates how rapidly the ssranges'' in
Kansas are being abandoned for spars-
er-settled regions. The great cattle men
there and elsewhere are moving ON with
their herds to greener fields and pas, J
lures new. Our own correspondence
from various sections indicates the same
state of things. As long as cattle are,
subsisted alone on prairie grass s'rang-
es,n large tracts of land, are, of course,
necessity of the business, and these
can be found in Colorado, Wyoming,
etc., for some time to come. But this ]
vast interest must, perforce, in time un-
dergo transition, and in the particular
class of cattle which at present consti- 4
tutes SO large factor of the live stock.
trade will be no longer raised in such
vast numbers as now characterizes the
business, and the seattle kings who
rear these immense herds on vast ranges
to supply feeders and farmers will find
their business Improbable. The change
may not be rapid but it is inevitable,
and will necessarily be accelerated as
time rolls on, ssa5 ,4.s4is ,.ias
The problem is presented, how to
make up the deficiency which will thus
be produced. 1t is not difficult TO solve,
provided the farmers and stock-growers
take time by the forelock and, by begin
ming in time, provide pasturage which |
will be permanent. It is not claimed
that this method will produce cattle as /
cheaply MS they are raised, under the
present system; but if that system IS
doomed by the operations OF al inexa \
orable law to pass, away, tits but the
part of prudence to make virtue Of
necessity and prepare for the change.
It is gratifying to know that, to some
extent, this is now being done, in one
direction, to-wit: the improvelnene OF
native cattle of which the Western herds
are made up, by infusions of the blood |
OF improved breeds. But this is not the
greatest factor in the problem, although
very important one, as the demand
for meat must go on, and a better quail /
ity required than has hitherto .suHiced.
The farmers of the country, especially
in the newer portions, must alternate
grass with grain-growing, and. stock Il
raising enter more generally into |
their business than it now does.
Grass and grain will maintain the
fertility of the soil, while constant till |
age will impoverish it. The trite adage,
"no grass, no cattle; no cat
tie, no manure; no manure, no crops, ;, |
is q nugget Of agricultural wisdom CON
tributed long ago by the experience of !
the Belgians, and ccrroborated by that I
of every country where man tilfs the |
soil. Grass furnishes the key to the /
problem, and there is none better, if as /,
good, for this purpose as Kentucky
bluegrass. Its superior quality as a !
pasture grass is universally admitted,
and although it is sometimes difficult to 4
obtain good :" catch,n repeated SOW i
ings under suitable conditions will re-
ward the persistent farmer with success. /
When once well set its value can hardly /
be over estimated. Starting early in the
spring and growing luxuriantly when
pastured, with a thick, mat like burden /
of radical leaves or. blades, it makes a
second growth in September which con-
continues until the ground freezes, often
growing in favorable climate all VIM