The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-01-03
THE MANAGEMENT OF PAS
TURES.

This is a matter that is giving con
siderable concern to many farmers, for
in the present state OF the markets and
OF values, they n apt TO over sock
the pastures and more than half de-
stroV them in an effort TO keep down
expenses and save the grain crop. This
kind of work is Of the . my wise order
and must eventuate IN serious, if not
permanent loss to those who practice
1t. The Manchester, n H, Union has
a few suggestive remarks Oh the sub
iect which we prasenT below:
Now stop and think the matter all
over. Those steers that you have
turned into fall feed, that is, the NOV
ing fields, are gro wing faster than they
have before this season, and the COwS
are doing better in proportion to other
conditions. Just think where you
would have been if they could have
had such feed all summer! Can you
afford to supply such feed Or IAN you
aft )rd to do without it? Watch the
cattle feed where they can g a mouth
full at every bite aud then go into the
pasture where they have been all sum-
mer and calculate as near as you can
how many motions they must make
and how much ground they must cover
to fill their s5OmaChs so they will be
ready to lie down and chew their cuds
About half of this difference is on you
and coming out Of your pocket. Pas
ture grass need not be more than two
inches high if it is fine and thick for
stock to do we'll and il it is kept down
to about that length il is better than
field grass which grows tall enough to
shade itself. But in our fifty acre pas
1900 -. -10S-- 80 III -
not more than five acres on an average
that would produce such feed if they
were not Overstocked, and as u pas
lures are too often stocked according to
the acres they contain rather than the
feed they produce the green spots are
gnawed close to the ground, and cattle
work hard all day and come Up lank
at night. There should be some change
IN the system and each man must de-
eide for himself how he will change it.
Every man who conducts what is
called mixed farming needs all the
manure he can make on his fields, and
as he needs to spend the most of Ills
labor there as we'll, the pastures are
left to take their chances.
There are several systems of rotation
which may be adopted to advantage
~@4NOA PANPN4 NSAANAuASLAC' Oily
considerable part of the pasture land
can be plOwed, blowing and re seeding
with a light manuring will make a
great change for a few years, and one
field may be pastured while another is
being cultivated. Another plan of ro-
tatlOn Is to make the pastUreinto three
parts and keep sheep in one Of them
two years and let the cattle have the
others n or two weeks alternately.
depending on how fast the grass grows.
Then take the sheep pasture for cattle
and give the sheep OF the others.
The object of this is to feed the pas
lures more closely with sheep than
could be done with profit by cattle.
Sheep want a greater variety of food
and when grass fails will eat other
plants and kill out many weeds that
cattle would not touch. For pasturing
IN this way six or eve sheep NAV
take the place of a common COW, and
more may be counted on if there are
more weeds and bushes than grass.
Horses are more particular what they
eat thar cattle or sheep. and a pasture
where colts have run until the golden
rod and blackberry vines have almost
taken possession, a be cleaned out
and brought into clean grass IN two
years by stocking it heavily with sheep.
Much may be done with pigs when
there r COWS enough ks pit to feed a
good herd of swine and it is not deslr-
able 0 convenient to keep sneep'
Figs will work In wet places n Gig
out every plant that has a succuienG
root. Their work will be more thor
ough and rapid than that of sheep, u
if they are fed with Stops from the
dairy it is not so convenient to nave
! them In distinct pastures.