Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-02-11
MEADOWS. oLp AND NEW.
Tho Value Of old Meadows rs Compare
with Those Newiy Seeded.

Tho Value Of old Meadows rs Compared
with Those Newly Seeded.
Farmers are often at loss TO dorido
whether an old meadow or pasture
should 10 broken up and rosoodea or
permitted to remain longer In It's pfc1snt
condition. Instances are known wsero
rich alluvial lands continuously pas
turod for a long series Of years seemed to
have improved rather than TO have do
generated. The yield Of grass, Of course,
will vary with tho season. Under favor.
able conditions Of moisture the growth
will DO early and rapid and tho crop Of
heritage large, Where caro- has been
tal,on to keep out noxious weeds from
the beginning, such pastures do not ap.
pear TO have suffered from want Of ro-
seeding.
To practically test the question If the
value Of old meadows as compared with
those newly seeded, experiments Tun-
ming through throo years woro mado by
Professor Beal, bo,anist, at tho Mich.
gan station on five and half acres Of
rather low, still. clay land. which had
been continuously pa5iurc1 for twenty
years or more. In 1898 q portion Of this
field was thoroughly tito drained and
plowod, and twelve plats OF thirty foot
square each were sown with several
sorts Of clovors and grasses, either pure
or mixed. for comparison. Twelve sop
nrato square rods OF tho permanent
meadow and the same hamhcr Of tho
ncwly seeded portions woro selected for
the test From time to timo as amy Of
these plats were IN condition for cutting
tho grass was moved, weighed at once,
then well dried aud weighed again.
Tho results arc given in tables too
lengthy 10 be reproduced here. Tho
grasses OF tho old posture consisted al
most entirely Of timothy, Juno grass
aud red top. A mixture of eight sorts
town consisted Of timothy. tail oat grass,
orchard grass, tall fesouo, fowl meadow
grnss, rcd clover, mammoth clover aud
wild grass from th0 wost. The FIRST year
Of tao trial tho yield Of the following
named grnssca among those recently
sown was very light Meadow foxtail,
juno grass, fowl meadow grass aud red
top, while tho old pasture was already
established aud ready 90 cut an average
yield tho first year of the trial.
Some Of tho gouoral conclusions found
In the Michigan bull0tin arc rs follows;
AlFko clover, some parts OF the orchard
grass, tall oat giaas and perennial ryo
grass have nearly run out. while rcd
clovor may BE- expected 10 die tho COM
INK winter. Tho average yield OF tho
natural sod wus light when compared
with most Tlats recently seeded. ono
Of tho striking points was the large yield
OF tho plata sown with u mixture Of
eight sorts. II these sorts are properly
selected such results ct mixtures will al
most invariably follow
Whether to keep arabic lands Of tho
fny1n In permanent pasture or meadow
Ia this state will depend on many CIR
cumstanccs, among which may be- men.
toned the following, VIA, The risk Of
having tho grasses of the old sod injured
/ by insects, by the cold OF winter or thu
droughtu Of summer. and tho cost Of seed
aud labor in breaking up and rcsecding
ovory two OF three years. As shown by
other oxperimcntors, permanent grass
lands accumulate n surplus Of nitrogen,
which Ia just what is needed for most
other crops Tho results would doubt
lees DO very different II repeated on Other
kinds otnoil.