The San Saba weekly news. (San Saba, Tex.) 18??-1???, 1891-10-30
THE FARM AND HOME.
A GENERAL NEED OF BETTER
GRAsS-LANDS.
No Better Fertilizer than Grass-Banish
BATS from BuiIdin = and Collars
Sheep No es and Poultry
TlcknGs.


There is need of better grass lands
II nearly every section. The demand
for good hay is never lessened wi -
ii IS property cured from good grass.
But the basis OF all good hay Is super
Tor grass. Our grass lands are gen
er liz neglected more than any other
crop. and yet they are as profitable as
thiee-fourths OF The farm crops. Moth
ing responds 10 good care 50 readily
as grass, and nothing increases the
fertility of the soil so thoroughly as
clover and orchard grass.
It Is not sufficient to say that clover
is the sure sign that the soil IS being
renovated. Tor MANY lands cannot well
secure q good clover catch. but it is
more 10 the point 10 say that the farm
which has fine rich luXuriaut grass
growing on it is in good condition,
and that its fertility Is increasing every
year Most Of our soils are suffering
from lack of vegetable material IN
them. Commercial fertilizers have
ruined many by keeping from them
the particular plant food which nature
supplies. Mack. composted barnyard
manure and even leai-mold. may to a
certain extent supply the soil with tho
lacking ingredients; but no artificial
application OF this nature can wholly
make up for the loss Of the annual
crops OF vegetables which nature turns
in 10 the soil to enrich it
Grass is about the only crop, that
gives more TO the soil than it takes
from it. Good timothy leaves enough
stubble and second growth TO greatly
enrich the soil and make a good foun-
datiou for other crops. Orchard
grass after the first crop is cut fur
nishes a second crop rich enough to
equal many loads of manure if turned
under at the right time. Blue grass
Is no less important. The roots OF
these grasses are often as valuable as
the stalk above the ground.
But grass is important as paying
crop BESIDES fertilizmg the soil When
ever hay can be easily sent to market
i can command prices sufficient to pay
a good pro ii TO the acre. Transpor-
ta,ion rates alone makes this crop a
long one. But grades in hay are
rapidly making good stands of grass
an important question. 1t is no longer
simply necessary to trust to luck in
growing the grass. The cultivation
the soil before sowing, and the
seed ng should all be attended to as
carefully as if preparing for wheat
Not a little of the poor hay crops are
due to the tact that little or no atten-
ton has been paid to the seeding Of
the grass
One of the greatest injuries to our
grass lands is the practice of turning
cattle on the second growth of grass
during hot weather. The plants are
partly killed b. the cutting, and if
hot weather follows it is hard work
for the Young pants to spring up. If
these are t,ampied down mercilessly
by the hoofs OF cattle the roots are
killed and the whole field destroyed.
Cod weather comes on and the roots
are effectively killed Care should be
taken to let the grass get a good start
in the fall before cold weather is
here, and II it is necessary to turn
cattle on do not let them crop it close
" in places 1t is better to keep them
off in dry weather and also late in
the faIL-A B. Barrett in the Amer
lean Cuitivator