Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1884-04-03
Improving Pastures.

the condition of pastures 1t is gen
orally employed in injuring them, As
a rule all the stock on the farm are
turned into the pastures aS soon rs
any Of the grasses begin TO spring up.
There is not enough grass TO supply
the animals with food, and rs conse-
quCnce wander about in search of
something to eat. In so doing, they
break the sod and render the surface
of the ground very uneven. The roots
Of the grass and clover are exposed
and the soil is washed from them by
the first rain. The alternate frccZings
and thawings that occur during the
winter kills many the roots of Grass
and clover and thereby renders the
turf very tender. An ordinary pas
turc sod will sustain much greater
weight in the fall than in the spring,
even if the turf and the soil beneath it
are in the same condition in regard to
moisture. But they are not in the
same condition in this respect. In the
fall they are dry and somewhat COM
pact, as no frost has acted ON them for
some time. In the spring they are
moist and loose, rs the frost has very
recently thrown them ont of their uSll-
al condition. In so doing it has
broken many Of the roots of the grass
and clover. 1t would be better to rem
der the soil more compact than
still more loose in the early spring. 4
roller can he employed to excellent
advantages in the early spring to rem
der the surface of the ground smooth
and to pres the roots of the grass and
clover into position. The life of many
plants may be saved by pressing their
roots into the soil. The roller will
serve u useful purpose in pressing into
the soil grass and clover seed that
have been thrown on the surface of the
sod. If Sown while the ground is
moist they will gcrminatc readily.
Grass and clover plants require rest
in early spring. The first leaves that
appear are required to establish a
healthy growth in the plants and to
repair the damage done to the roots
by frost during winter The plants
should be in Il strong, healthy, and
vigorous condition before their leaves
are cropped If allowed TO attain this
condition before they are molcStcd by
feeding animals they will furnish
much more feed during the grow
ing season. II they are cropped
as soon rs they furnish any
thing that can be dcyourcd
they will be in Il poor condition to
produce food during the season of pro-
tracted drought that generally pre-
walls during the month of August in
this latitude. Farmers are generally
glad to get their stock into the pasture
quite early in spring. They have be-
come somewhat tired of taking care
of them The animals themselves
have become weary of confinement in
close quarters and are anxious to he
out of the stables and NOck-vardS.
They also want change of food.
They know that they can find this in
the pastures. Sheep are among the
first to discover that the grass has he
gun to start. 1t often happens in con
sequence Of poor crops of hay and
grain and Il protractcd and severe win
ter that farmers are out Of fodder in
early spring aud are obliged to turn
their animals into the pasture rs soon
aS'thcy can afford any considerable
amount Of food. Especially is this the
case when "wintcr fingers in the lap of
spring" The causes that often inllu-
cncc farmers TO turn their stock into
pastures very early do not exist this
season. The hay crop was very abun-
dant in all parts Of the country last
season and spring finds farmers with Il
large amount on hand. Warm wealth
cr has commenced early and farmers
are less weary of the care Of stock
than they usually are. The animals
have not been confined rs long rs uSu-
al, and are therefore less impatient
with confinement.
The present excellent opportunity
for sowing grass and clover seed on
pastures should be embraced by many
farmers who complain of Il scarcity of
feed, Many kinds of grass and clover
run OUT on land constantly cm-
ploycd for pasture purposes. ESpc-
cially is this the ease with tim
othy and red clover. They require to
be frequently renewed by sowing new
seed. In sowing grass and clover
seed on pasture sod regard must be
had to the kind Of soil and the clcva-
tion of the places to be seeded. Red
top is an excellent pasture grass on
somewhat moist land, but when grown
on dry and gravcly soils it has scanty
foliage and tough stalks that are rare
ly eaten by cattle. White clover is
well adapted to such localities and is
an excellent forage plant. Red clover
does well on soils that are moderately
moist, while alsikc or Swedish clover
will thrive on soils too moist to produce
| the other varieties. II is not neCcSSa-
ry to SOW grass and clover seed on
portions of the pasture that now pro-
ducc n large amount of feed. They
should be sOwn, however, where there
is little foliage and where there is dan
ger that the soil will he occupied by
moss and weeds. If the soil is very
poor in these places some wcll-rottcd
manure should be scattered on them
and worked into the soil with harrow
or rake. The condition of pastures may
be much improved by breaking up and
scattering the manure dropped by
cattle during last season, If it lies in
compact mass it interfcrcs with the
growth of grass behind it, and causes
very rank growth in its immediate
vicinity. The early spring is an ex-
cellent time to scatter wood and coal
ashes, salt, air-slacked lime, land plas-
ter, and bone meal over the surface of
pasture. They all improve the quail
ity and increase the quantity of the
plants that are eaten by animals. 1t
$ comparatively easy to bring up the
productiveness of pasture by jul
dicious management without breaking
the sod Chicago Times.
MurderOus Assault Upon Conductor
A desperate encounter between Con-
ductor II, +. Dunsmore, of the Chicago
and Alton, and passenger named
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