Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-06-10
PRAIRIE SOILS.

PRAIRIE SOILS.
How HAey Can He Improved by TIM. eua.
d"afien Of Grasses and Ciover.
The native grass that covers. theprsi-
ries' in these portions of the Wesswhere
there. is considerable rainfall affords
excellent TODD for stock during several
months Of the year. 1t does not how
ever, spring up sufficiently early in the
season to afford good feed when ami
mails are first turned out to Craze. Il
is also likely to become thin. after it has
been eaten off close for several years
Many farmers who desire better pastur.
age than that afforded by native prairie
grass break the sod, and after raising
flax. corn and small grain on the land
few years, seed it down to mixed
grasses and clover. These are cut and
cured for hay till most of the clover
and timothy disappear, when the land
is devoted to grazing purposes 1t
takes several years to obtain good past
ure in this way and calls. for q large
expenditure of time and money. If the
land is nearly level and the soil of the
same quality, an excellent pasture may
be obtained by subduing the native sod
and introducing a mixture of improved
grasses and clovers> and By giving it
an occasional top-dressing it may be
kept productive tor many years.
Amore economical method of obtain
ing a good pasture, however. is to in
trOduce the improved grasses and
clovers on the native sod. The labor
required to effect this change is small
and the outlay of money is confined 10
the amount required to obtain seed.
The ground continues to produce food
for stock till the new fodder plants have
obtained start. 1t can BIZ prepared
for the seed by burning it over during
the latter part of summer, 4 calm day
being selected for the purpose. The
heat will destroy the roots Of the native
grasses that are near the surface of the
ground, and thereby leave a piece in
which the seed can germinate. A scar
itier or harrow can be employed to good
advantage to break the sod suffic emily
to afford the seed to rest on mellow
soil. But small amount of earth is
necessary to cover the seed. and il
should not be buried deeply. The seed
can be sown on the scratched surface
of the ground and the first rain will
wash sufficient amount of soil over it
to afford the best conditions to secure
termination. A very loose soil is un-
favorable to the termination of small
seeds.
The grasses and clovers to be intro
duced on y native prairie sod should be
selected with reference to the character
of the soil and the elevation of the sur.
face. If the soil is of nearly uniform
quality and the surface nearly Hat, \
mixture OF timothy, red-tOp. orchard
and blue grass. with common red and
Alsike clover, will insure a most elegant
assortment of forage plants. If there
is variety of soils, however, and part
of the land is much higher and drier
than others, it is best to try and intro
duce the kind Of grass and clover that
Red-top and meadow grass do exceed
ingly well on somewhat moist soils,
but they are entirely unsuited to soils
that are high and dry. Red-top will
grow in dry soils and on elevated posi-
tons, but it will have scanty foliage,
while the stalks will be hard and wiry.
Alsike or Swedish clover is most suit
able for tolerably moist land, and it is
a very valuable plant to raise in past
urcs. 1t will remain In the soil much
longer than common red clover and
will afford better food for stock.
Blue grass has no superior for land
Astounding in lime, and which is mod
erately dry. 1t requires several years,
however. for the plants to become of a
size to occupy the land even when con-
siderable seed is sown. Once intro
duced, however, it will remain in the
ground for an unlimited time, and will
afford more food every year. Orchard
grass is very valuable for pasture. 1t
starts very early in the spring, will
stand constant feeding without injury,
will produce more food than any other
fodder plant that requires no cultiva-
ton. and is preferred by all kinds of
stock. 1t will flourish in a partial shade,
but is not adapted TO land that is very
moist or very dry. 1t is not a good
grass to introduce on land that is likely
to be required for cultivation, as its
nature is to form hassocks and to make
an uneven sod that is very hard to
break. When inverted by the pillow it
does not decompose like the sod formed
by the roots of most grasses. Timothy,
especially when mixed with other
grasses. makes an excellent fodder
plant. which springs up early in the
season. As the seed is much cheaper
than that of orchard or blue grass, it
can be introduced at comparatively
small expense.
White clover is very valuable plant
for a pasture, especially one in which