The Red Cloud chief., 1884-04-25
Flowing and Re.Seeding Pastures.

That q pastures generally are i'm.
| pOverished and need renOvating is adj
mitted by all. As to what is the best
method of attaining the desired i'm
provement is not SO evident. Flowing
and re-seeding is the method often
recommended and is frequently prac-
ticed. The result, however. is not a.
ways salts actory. 1t is found that the
sod of re-seeded pastures does not bear
the tramping of cattle nor hold out to
produce a good growth of grass so well
rs an old sod kept in good condition. II
q pasture is covered with a good sod. it
would no be wise to pillow it. A good
pasture sod usually contains a great
variety of nutritious gras es. Usually
the more kinds of grasses there are the
| more plants there will be to the square
foot and the more feed will be produced.
Some interesting Investigations have
been made in this direction. A square
foot OF sod, taken from a rich natural
| pasture which vas capable of fatten ng
one large OK and three sheep to the
| acre, was found to contain LOO plants,
consisting of $40 natural grasses and 60
clover and other plants, embracing 20
dist net species. An old pasture of a
damp. moist and messy surface, cOn-
tanned in 4 square foot OF sod GA plants
of s distinct species. A good pasture
laid down two years to rye-grass and
white clover contained, to the square
foot, 40 plants consisting of two spe-
cies. 1t will be seen that where only
two kinds of seed were used in seeding
there were only 40 plants to the square
foot, while the rich old pasture land on
which were found 20 distinct species
contained 1000 plants. The fact that
the more kinds of grass there are grow
ing in the soil the more plants there
will be to the square foot, and cOnse-
quently the more and better feed, en-
forces the importance of us ne a large
variety of seed in seeding land for
pasture.
In seeding for a pasture it is import
ant to have such a mixture of grasses
a will afford a succe sion OF good
grasses maturing at different periods
Some grasses start early in the spring,
and are of little value later on. Others
are ut their best late in the season. BY
combining the different kinds, good
p~asturage can be secured throughout
the season. For this purpose MIR.
Charles l.. Flint, in his Grasses and
Forage Plants" recommends the fol-
lowing combination for seeding perma-
nent pasture:
Meadow Foxtail, Towering May and June. 2 lbs
Orchard Grass, 6lbs
Sweet-scenIed ternOl, " April AMI May, Id
Meadow FeScue, " May and june, = los
Redtcp. 1" June and July, . lbs
Kentucky Blue Grass. May and June. 4 lbs
Italian Eyn Grass, " June, lbs
Perennial Rye Grass, " June. o lbs
Timothy. d" June and July, 3 lbs
Rough -stalked Mead'w'' June aud July. 9 lbs
Perennial Clover, " June and July. 3 lbs
White Glover. Z" May to Sept lbs
This mixture. making 4 total of forty
pounds to the acre, would afford about
LOO seeds TO the square foot, or enough
20 seed the soil as well as the rich old
pasture land referred to above.
A pasture, after it has been plOwed
and re-seeded. must be treated more
carefully than an old pasture. The
cattle should not be turned upon it in
the sprIn. until the ground has become
well dried oil. so that the seed will not
be injured by tramping. nor until the
grass has 10t a got 4 good start. 1t
must not be fed closely during the dry
wealth r OF summer. lest the grass roots
be killed by the hot a of the sun, and
il mus not re fed late in the autumn.
lest the roots be left too much exposed
to the frO>tS Of winter
As o IA the grass begins to fail,
top-dressing should lie applied to keep
up its prOductiveneSs. 1t is found,
also. that when newly cleared land is
seeded to grass without blowing. the
grasS-roOts seem to cling ~tenacioLsly to
the scurf. and live for many years.
Top dressing n~ewly-seeded pastures
will assist in forming n natural scurf,
and promote tie formation of a deSir-
able sod
Flowing pastures should not be prac-
ticed unless it is imperatively called for.
If the grass had died out. or the SOL is
infested with brakes and weeds to such
an extent that blowing is necessary to
cXterminate them, then it is advisable.
But it should be regarded rs 4 necessary
evil. or the best of two evils. Land
which has eve been plOwed. provided
it is well covered with 4 good sod,
makes the best and richest pasturage.
Many pastures which afford only a
limited quantity of feed. by better treat
ihVue ihiSht oc Situti IhuptoNcu. by
feeding them less during the dry. hot
weather. the roots would be projected
so that in a few years the growth would
be greatly increased. BY tOp-dressing
with %barnyard manure, lone fertilizers,
ashes or other substances. many of the
pasture lands might be improved so as
to produce two or three times as much
feed as at present. A pasture restored
by top-dressing and by avoiding graz
ing too closely will be in much better
condition than if it had been plowed
and re-seeded. Old pastures in
good condition produce a better
quality of mix than those that
have been re seeded. and animals
will fatten on them better. Some
American farmers seem to entertain the
idea that grass lands. in order to pro-
duce grass to the best advantage. re-
quire TO be plowed aud re-seeded e cry
few years. This is a great mistake.
There are excellent pasture lands in
Scotland and Wales which are known
to have been pastured without blowing
for more than a thousand years. The
best pastures in England are those
which have not been plowed for CEN
turtles, and their owners Will not allow
" IL.