Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-03-11
Permanent Pastures,

Permanent Pastures.
By Prof. W Brown, Ontario Agricultural Col
lege.
Near Brockville twenty acres were
seeded down four years ago, and so
profuse was the first years growth that
pasturing and haying had to be adopt
ed in order to prevent smothering.
The second year was pastured, when
fully two head ct cattle were kept per
acre; during the third year twenty
COWS were grazed up to July II, and
then ten tons OF first-class hay were
harvested from one-half the field, and
after the hay was removed seventeen
cattle were graZ9d for the remainder
of the season, leaving the pasture
with a much better bottom. The en-
terprising farmer in this example gave
particular attention to the effect of
the variety of grasses and clovers up
on dairy products He says, "The
milk produced was richer and of a
peculiar flavor, having directly after
milking greasy appearances like oil
on the top of water; the butter had
also peculiar flavor and richer vel
low color" the same effect was pro-
duced on the butter when COWS were
fed on the hay. Not far FROM the
same place a prominent public man
seeded some forty acres, and he ex.
pressed his satisfaction to the writer
In this way: "If the farmers take ad-
vantage of what the experimental
farna has shown can be done with per-
manent pasture alone, it has more
than paid it's cost to the country for
mgny years to come" / am not aware
how the calculation was made, but
probably some what in this man
ner: The present cultivated pasture
of Ontario maintains one cow on
every three acres Git is really three
and one quarter acres), and as the
average cow givas 3, 800 pounds of
milk per grass season, the product is
1,270 pounds per acre per annum. AS
the permanent pasture IN question
can hold more than one cow per acre,
and enables the same cow to give
one-fourth more milk, the acre pro-
duces 4.750 pounds of milk every
season. There being about Is, 900, 900
acres of arabic land in Ontario it
results that if ten acres of permanent
pasture were established to every 100
acres, the 1 500, GEO acres thus changed
from the present stamp of pasture
would actually give cash difference
of $25, 100000, or $3.50 a year to
every farmer of the province. The
cash cost to the province of the On
tario Horticultural College and Exper-
mental Farm is about 500, 900 year.
If this rough estimate is wide of the
position taken by the gentleman re-
ferred to, shall be glad to have it
corrected, as his congratulations were
hurriedly made in railway car two
wears ago. Another example is near
Stratford, where twenty-five acres
were laid down two years ago. For
the first year the farmer was obliged
to Craze as we'll as make hay, Tween
ty store cattle, yearlings and 2-year-
Odds, were kept on these acres, and
they would have held more, he said.
The land was newly cleared and had
never been cropped, Here was case
of cash receipt of SIS per acre of
beef per annum as against the aver
age of SIS IS from timothy and clover
pasture. On the experimental farm
the dairy testing last year was q
produce of $500 pounds of milk per
acre, where one acre maintained two
COWS all the year through-a result
apparently so remarkable in compari-
son with the present provincial aver
age Of 1,300 pounds that comment
stands still. The conduct of this class
of pasture has been very uniform and
characteristic On all hands the COM
and profuse the first year, necessitat-
ing a kind of management contrary
to the best practice in Europe. As an
example of this, take the case of the
four acres we seeded in May last in pre-
paration for the store steers in 1886.
A late spring made late seed bed of
good clay loam-in good trim, how
ever, in May. Growth became SO
rank that for the purpose of giving air
and better chance to roots we ran the
mower over in May and left the cut
ting as a mulch. In June another
cutting was considered necessary for
the like objects, as we'll as to check
some soft milk thistles that had come
with the grass seeds. Again the now
er was used for the third time, and
finally in September, fearing that
the continued profuse growth might
smother out some plants when win
ter came, we took off crop of hay
the fourth cutting-that averaged one
and one-half acres. Thus, the same
season the cutting was done we had to
cut four tim es, and could have pastus
ed afterward had it been consistent
with good management.