Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1885-06-25
FARM MANAGEMENT.


~ iiN0N BNl 70 vi WV hbIlu lIlt DUSI-
ure is the main reliance of persons
who keep cattle and sheep, as well as
young horses. With many these ami
mails only pay their way when they are
turned out TO grass. They do not
gain sufficiently during tho winter to
pay the cost Of the food they eat and
the care they require. Few farmers
produce milk during the winter at
profit. Few dairy farmers expect TO
make money except during the season
when the feed in the pastures is good.
The pasture is the sanitarium for all
kinds of farm animals that are out of
condition. A horse that has been
losing flesh all winter is expected "to
pick up" as soon as it is turned into
the pasture. The expectations are
generally realized. Animals that have
recently dropped young will recover
their strength after they have been to
n good pasture few weeks. In this
climate lambs are very likely TO die if
they come before the grass starts in
the spring. 1t seems to be necessary
for making milk, which is their first
food. Lambs born in April and May
generally live and do well. The past.
ure, if 1t is a good one, combines
everything that is essential for sccur-
ing health and a steady gain in weight.
1T is the main source of wealth TO the
average farmer
Still the average farmer ncglects
his pasture more than he does any
other portion of his place. lie dcvotcs
the poorest land to the production of
grass that is to be eaten in its green
state. He takes little or no pains to
improve it. lie allows the best grasses
to disappear, and sows no sect with
view of replacing them. He allows
weeds and bushes to spring up and
multiply. lie gives no attention to
anything about it except the fence.
lie often expresses surprise that his
pasture does not carry as much stock
as it, did when he first inclosed it.
That its feeding capacity has declined
should be no marvel TO him. lie has
not eXcrtcd himself to keep up the
fertility Of the soil, to Introduce new
forage plants, and to prevent the dis.
appearance OF old ones. The dung
dropped by cattle during the day has
remained to enrich the land, but it has
generally accumulated in the places
where the animals congregatc when
they are not feeding, and has never
been scattered rs ii should have been.
The drppings of the cattle at night,
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barn, have been hauled into the culti-
waited fields. A decline in product
iyencSs might reasonably be expected
under such circumstances.
A large growth OF grass and clover
can not be expected from land that is
in a poor mechanical condition or
which is lacking in the elements OF
fertility. This is not expected in q
meadow, and should not be in past
ure. Land that will not produce a
! good swath Of mOwn grass the lst of
July, il stock is kept of from it, will
not afford good pasture during any
month of the year. A pasture should
produce as much grass as field that
is mown for the purpose of securing
the winter food for cattle. The plants
should be as vigorous and in much
greater variety. A tolcrablc extensive
pasture should contain red, white,
and Swedish clover. 1t should also
contain the grasses usually grown in
meadows and several others that are
not profitable 10 raise for hay chiefly
on account of the difficulty in cutting
and curing them, A good grass for
hay is one like timothy, which natures
at Il definite time. Timothy is II good
pasture grass, but it cannot be depend
ed on during the entire season. Some
grasses are wanted that afford food
carrier than timothy, and some that
will afford food much later. The
! greater the variety of graSs and clover
the more constant will be the supply
of food.
Animals in pasture need to drink
as well as to eat. They do not re-
qure a variety of beverages as they
do of foods, but they require an album
dance of water, and il is essential that
it bo pure and fresh. Mineral sub
stances, like lime, are not objection
able in drinking water for stock, but
vegetable and animal impurities are
highly injurious. 1t is certainly adj
visablo to have water accessible to
stock in more than one place ii the
pasture is largo one Many animals
will suffer from thirst on very warm
day in summer before they will tray
el half mile to obtain water. To
insure comfort, shade should be pro.
videdi in every pasture. Trees should
be planted in clusters in several places
so that animals of different kinds and
ages can have retreats by themselves,
There are several varieties of trees
that make very rapid growth on
prairie soils, and they should be plant
cd in clusters in every new pasture:
1t is easy to protect them while they
are young by the use OF barbed wire.
In afiording protection from the sun
while the trees are growing temporary
sheds can be erected at trilng cost.
Strong posts can be placed at the
corners. Supports for the frame of
the roof can be made Of sapliugs and
the covering made of straw or wild
grass ChicagO Times
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