The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-04-23
plowlng and Ike: seealns Pastures.

That our pastures generally are Inn
poverished and need renovating is ad.
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 al
ways satisfactory. 1t Is found that the
sod of re-seeded pastures does not beaI
the tramping Of cattle nor hold out e
produce good growth Of grass so well
as an old sod kept in good condition. II
q pasture is covered with good sod, II
would not be wise to plow it A good
pasture sod usually contains q great
variety OF nutritious grasses. Usually
the more kinds of grasses there are the
more plants there will be to the square
foot and the more feed will reproduced
Some Interesting investigations have
been made in this direction. A square
foot OF sod, taken from rich natural
pasture which was capable Of fattening
one large OK and three sheep TO the
acre, was found to contain 1000 plants,
consisting of $40 natural grasses and &C
clover and other plants, embracing u
distinct species. An old pasture OF
damp, moist and mosSy surface, con
Ia ned in a square foot OF sod 634 plant,
of distinct species. A good pasture
laid down two years to rye-grass and
white clover contained, TO the square
loot, 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
loot, while the rich old pasture land on
which we're found 20 distinct species
contained 900 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-
fore the importance of using large
variety OF seed in seeding land for
pasture.
In seeding for pasture it is import
ant to have such mixture of grasses
as will afford a succession of good
grasses maturing at different periods.
Some grasses start early in the spring,
and are of little value later on. Others
are at their best late in the season. BY
combining the different kinds, good
pasturage can be secured throughout
the season. For this purpose Mr..
Charles l.. Flint, in his Grasses and
Forage Plants" recommends the fol-
lowing combination for seeding perms-
nent pasture:
Meadow Foxtail, towering May and June. lbs
Orchard Grass, IDS
sweet-scented vernol, " April and May, ID
Meadow Fescue, May and June, lbs
Redtop, June and July, lbs
Kentucky Blue Grass, May and June lbs
Italian Rye Grass, June, lbs
Perennial Rye Grass, June, lbs
Timothy, June and July, o lbs
Rough-stalked Mead'w" June and July, lbs
Perennial Clover, " June and July, lbs
White Clover. " May 10 Sept. lbs
This mixture, making total OF forty
pounds to the acre, would afford about
100 seeds to the square foot, or enough
to seed the soil as well as the rich old
pasture land referred TO above.
A pasture, after il 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 spring until the ground has become
well dried of, so that the seed will not
be injured by tramping, nor until the
grass has got got good start. 1t
must not be fed closely during the dry
wealth r OF summer. lest the grass roots
be- killed by the hot rays of the sun, and
il must not be fed late in the autumn,
lest the roots be left too much exposed
10 the frosts OF winter.
As soon as the grass begins TO fail.
top-dressing should be applied to keep
up its productiveness. It is found.
also. that when newly cleared land is
seeded to grass without plowing. the
grass-roots seem TO cling tenaciously TO
the scuri, and live for many Years.
Top DIR, ssing newly-seeded pastures
will assist in forming natural scurf,
and promote the formation Of n desir-
able sod.
Flowing pastures should not be prac-
ticed unless it is imperatively called for.
II the grass had died out, or the SOL is
infested with brakes and weeds to such
an extent that plowing is necessary TO
exterminate them, then it is advisable.
But 1t should be regarded asa necessary
evil, or the best OF two evils. Land
which has never been plowed. provided
it is well covered with a good sod,
makes the best and richest pasturage.
Many pastures which Afford only "A
limited quantity Of feed, by better treat
ment might be greatly improved. BY
ieediug them less during the dry. hot
weather. the roots would be protected
so that in a few years the growth would
be greatly increased. BY top-dressing
with barnyard manure, bone fertilizers,
ashes or other substances, many of the
pasture lands might be improved so rs
10 pro luce two or three times as much
feed as'at present A pasture restored
by top-dressing and by avoiding graz
ing toe closely will be in much better
condition than If it had been plowed
and Ie-seeded. Old pastures in
good condition produce better
quality of milk than those that
have cen re eseeded, and animals
will fatten on them better. Some
American farmers seem 10 entertain the
idea thai grass lands, in order TO pro-
duce graHs to the best advantage, re-
quire 10 lie plowed aud re-seeded every
few years. This is q great mistake.
There are excellent pasture lands in
Scotland and Wales which are known
to have been pastured without plowing
for more than a thousand years. The
best pastures in England are those
which have not been plowed for CEN
tuttes. and their owners will not allow