The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-09
Lessons of the Drought.
Nitrate ( IS p, C. soda rs lbs
Soda. 265.5 lbs. potash.


While comparatively dry weather is
more favorable to the nutritive qualities
of the pastures than the wet seasons, of
course the early rains are necessary to
produce the luxuriant crop which will hold
out to the finish of the summer Stock
often suffers in a way to incur great loss
to the farmers during the long periods of
drought which makes bare the pastures.
This should be guarded against in advance
by the various means which experience
has taught to be practical and available.
A writer in the Dairy World says: The
widespread and protracJed drought last
season serves, or-shOUld serve-as an OBJ
ject lesson to dairymen universally. We
have had experience with droughts before,
in fact, though often agreeably dlsap-
pointed, we are in the habit of looking
for and making preparation fOr-drought
annually There are but few years that
roll around but that the pastures are
parched up more or less, and for a longer
or shorter period of time by drought. 1t is
only when these periodical drOughts come
out of their ordinary season that they are
liable TO injure the prudent dairyman to
any great extent. For instance, we look
for a dry August and dryfall I'VE usually
succeed in getting it dry enough at those
periods being so accustomed to have a
six weeks drought at periods mentioned,
they do us no appreciate injury, as we
are enabled to supplement the pasture
with the various forage crops" as green
corn. sorghum, the nOn-sacchariue sOr-
ghums, pearl millet, teasinte, cow-pea
vines, and late in the fall peanut vines,
and sweet potato vines, etc, etc; each
and all of which will, when judiciously
fed, keep up the flow of milk to the nor
NAL, and even raise it above, as it is our
experience that "soiling" is really better
than pasture.
One thing is certain, that an ordinary
drOuhht has no terrOrs for the dairy man
who makes a regular business of planting
any or all of the above named forage crops
wherewith to supplement the pastures
in time of drought We use the term
pastures-in the plural, for the reason
that we have found a division of the
pastures into two or more fields, highly
beneficial preventing too close nipping
of the grass, too great an exposure of the
grass roots to the fierce rays of
Old Sol, as well as tending to re-
tain fertility by keeping the ground
shaded by a mulch of natures own
making. Bare, naked ground is con-
stantly losing fertility; while, on the
contrary, mulched or shaded land is con
stantly accommodating additional fertility
in the way of nitrates by that physiolOg
leo chemical process termed 'nitrifca-
ton" The more luXuriant the turf the
denser the shade, the speedier and more
complete will be the formation of mi
trates," and the pasture will be continu-
ally increasing in fertility.
While, conversely, a pasture that is
kept bare and naked by too close grazing,
will eventually become too poor to grow
any of the finer and more nutritious of the
grasses; as a perfectly legitimate and
logical consequence the cOarser grasses,
weeds and eventually moss" take their
place We wish to Counteract the errOne-
Gus impression that has somehow or other
obtained credence among many farmers
and dairymen, that paSturing rests
land " No greater mistake could be
made, there is no better plan to COM
pletely and entirely exhaust land of its
vast stores of fertility than close
pasturing: scrupulously saving all the
manure to be applied to the cultivated
fields. The subject of grass will ever
be an all-important sub. ect with the pro
gressive dairyman; and the question of
how to have it in abundance the whole
year through, will, in the future as in the
past, be the sine qua non of successful
dairying, the turning pivot between profit
and loss. "AIl flesh is grass is a fact
established by Holy Writ; and the fact
can not be too strongly nor too often i'm
pressed upon the farmer and especially
the dairymau. Any "gump' can have
grass in abundance in wet weather; but
it takes prudence, foresight and the eXer-
else of brains to have plenty OF 1t IN time
of a protracted season of drought; yet
every dairyman must come to this place
before he can make "a success of his call
ing. Let US have more grass.