The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-11-11
Pasture.

III Is amazing how SLOWLY better meth
DDS of farming are carried into effect.
After all the discussion upon the value
of the pasture and the best methods of
management, during the past ten years,
one may ride upon the cars for hun
dred miles and scarcely see pasture
with tull feed. In nearly every field
the cattle are wandering about to pick
up the crumbs, are looking up wishluly
towards the corn fields, and in places
are commencing to eat into the hay and
the straw stacks. Under proper man.
agement stock should do better in Oc-
tober and November than in July and
August The flies are gone, cool
weather has sharpened the appetite, and
the tendency of the animal is to store
for winter Every consideration of
thrift demands that the best of atten-
ton be given the stock at this time.
What is meant by a good fall pasture?
Possibly some farmers never saw one.
1t means pasture that has, on the first
day OF October, at least one ton of blue
grass. clover and timothy per acre, and
can be secured on rich land by remov-
ing all stock after July 10, and, on
poorer land, alter June Is.
Generally. it is better to remove the
stock by the middle OF June. Farmers
may say: 1--WE cannot afford to let our
land lie idle through the summer"
There is no loss by so doing. but q
great gain. Land treated in this way
produces much more grass during the
season than when denuded during the
heat OF summer A well-kDown farmer,
in recent conversation, claimed that
it was good plan to allow pasture to
remain ungrazed during the entire sea-
son once in four or five years. and gave
an instance in his experience to prove
1t. In case separate pastures cannot be
provided, the next best thing is to Craze
only about two-thirds the customary
stock.
Allow the grass in the fore part of the
season to grow faster than the stock can
eat it. In such cases a portion of the
field will be kept short and the other
allowed to grow. If August and Sep
TENDER be dry, as in the present year
the abundance of grass will protect the
roots and maintain continuous growth,
securing thrift to the herd. Of course
this is not quite equal to separate
pastures, for portion of the fed will
be eaten closely. to its detriment. Under
this more careful treatment pastures
continue to produce more every year.
Another important considerat on. As
now grazed the surface of the soil be-
comes dry and hard, the variety of
grasses is greatly diminished and the
quality OF such rs remain is inferior.
They become stinted and hard and by
no means the same luscious grass the
cattle formerly devoured so ereedilv.
Take field of cultivated grasses,
well set aud in good thrift, in live or six
years, under the present system of short
cropping, all that is lett is short, dry
blade of blue grass in patches. One
half the soil is nude, and the sorrel has
squatted where the luxuriant clover
once stood. OF such pasture it requires
about four acres to give subsistence to
steer one season, and he will gain
from one to two hundred pounds, the
farmer depending mainly upon corn.
Near the barns top dressing with
manure will restore fertility and bring
back the old time grasses. This, how
ever, is necessarily limited. and the
main dependence must te placed upon
more skillful management. Upon these
better pastures lots of two-vear-old
steers gain from three TO five hundred
pounds during grazing season. IS. A.
Knapp. IN IoUG State Register.