St. Landry democrat., 1888-10-20
How to obtain and retain permanent

How to obtain and retain permanent
pastures and meadows is the question
of paramount importance to the stock
breeders ana asirymen OF to-day. On
ricn, alluvial lands. o ~. BEST grasses
W.. nourfsh naturally by simply leav-
ing them alone, and by sewing a little
seed in places occasionally; but on the
uplands it Is not natural for the grass
to be retained, and the difficulty of
keeping good pastures is much great
er. These lands must be sown with
lasting grasses, which will endure all
| the changes Of weather and climate,
and not be thinned out every winter,
1t is fact that every farmer should
find out for himself, that, while nearly
all kinds of grasses will grow On the
bottom lands OF his farm, only few OF
the NAE hardy kinds will take any
kind ~ hold on the uplands. Study
right h.RSle should be made in order
! that the best results may be obtained.
For upland meadows the red-top is
evidently the best to sow, for it will
outlive all of the other kinds. 1t will
usually yield nearly double the amount
| of pasture to the best timothy, and the
stock will relish it before and after it
is cut. Orchard grass is also con.
slant and rapid grower, and for sweet
pasture it can not be exceled; but it
furnishes poor material for hay. An.
other grass that starts early in the sea-
son and grows all through the warm
months, making thick and valuable
pasture, is our native blue grass. 1t
is indigenous to most farms in this Sec
ton of the country, and if not sown it
will soon make its appearance along
with the red-top. 1t makes q fine
aftermath, as it will continue to flourish
late in the fall when other grasses have
begun to fail.
In seeding pasture lands large sums
of money are often lost, the seeding
being careless, Or the method unwise.
The risk of seeding with oats is very
great, and the cost large enough to
make itself felt if the work is a failure.
Spring wheat Or barley is much bet
ter crop to SOW with the grass, and
then the grain should not be put in
nearly as thickly as the grass seed,
One can not expect to raise two crops
in one season off the same land. If the
season is a wet one clover and timothy
will do well If put in the ground with
the early spring grain; but the more
delicate grasses will not take hold if
put in with an oat crop early in the
year. In fact, those that are delicate
at the start do much better wren sown
alone, for the grain is liable to over
grow them, and either destroy them
entirely, or make them thin and weak.
But without doubt, the best way to
get; good grass pasture is to sow with
the winter grain, putting the seed in
as early in the spring as possible.
There will be no risk run then of loos-
ing both labor and seed. But l think
that some experimenters overdo the
matter in this work as in other kinds
of farm labor. Not few have sown
clover and timothy on the top of big
snow banks, and report that it did
finely. The seed worked its way down
through the snow and became inn
beded in the earth, where it started to
grow with the first warm weather of
spring. In some cases this plan may
have worked well, but it certainly is
not good method to adopt. When
the snow melts, the seed Is liable to
be washed off the field by the
small freshets and rivulets, and if
not deposited in some lowland
far away it will be thrown up in
punches in places, leaving other spots
entirely bare. 1t is a much surer and
better practice to wait until the snow
banks have gone, and then sow evenly
over the field, thus insuring good
regular crop.
1t is understood, however, that such
pastures are not permanent ones, for
clover will follow its biennial nature,
and die out in two years, excepting, 1t
may be, in a few rich spots, where it
will linger along for several years.
Timothy, likewise dies out in a few
years, and should not be sown for per-
manent sward. Yet, of all grasses,
timothy is probably the most common
ly sown, but this is owing to its cheap
ness, and the little care that 1t requires
in cultivation.-N. 7. Examiner.