The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-04-28
Sun, u,er Home Of Cows.

The pasture is SOON to become the eX-
elusive home of the COW for six or seven
months, the field upon which she must
depend for sustenance and draw her ma
terial for milk production. In sizing up
the productive area of his farm for the
season, the dairyman will perhaps find no
part Of it more important to his moneyed
interests than his pasture lot.
AT the best it does not look us at
tractive as field Of grain, but it's close
cropped surface may mean a better in
come to the square rod than so much
golden wheat With all of the advance
that has been made in the raising of
soiling crops, which ut the best are but
supplemental, a dairy farm is made prof
liable by the character and extent of its
pasture.
Many dairymen look on good pastures
as fortunate natural circumstances, and
if they have Il poor one consider that
it is their i'll luck, because nature has
not dealt as kindly by them us with some
neighbor.
They might not believe it if told that
a pasture could be made or unmade by
mans Influence upon it, but such l firm
ly believe to be the case. have seen
old, sterile, stony fields converted lii Il
pastures simply by the exercise of BRAIN
working in unison with Drawn.
Then again, l know of thousands Of
acres Of pasture land naturally good and
productive, that are, as it We're, hide
bound" by Il close sod which has run out
or holds in subsection the most succulent
grasses. Pastures of this character can
be greatly improved by Il vigorous har-
rowing ,y with a sharp, STRAIGHTFORWARD
ri In f}rnsv in, IN,
early spring while the ground is full of
moisture, and never during u dry spell.
When properly done and under moist
conditions the rejuvenating effect is VOL
derful, a stimulus to the growth of grass
taking place that is remarkable to the
most careless observer.
1t works good i'll more ways than one
also, as to properly drag hide-bound
field means that the sticks, stones, logs
and bushes must he first removed to
make the improvement possible.
Many unproductive pasture lots are
made 50 because they are covered with
rubbish and brush. The foreign growth
of weeds and bushes draws the fertility
from the. ground that should go to nour-
ish the grasses and is thoroughly I'M
profitable.
Suppose now, that after planting a field
of corn YOU did not cultivate it, and al
lowed the weeds to grow up with the
grain; how much of crop of maize do
you think you would harvest2
If dairymen would only regurd the
grass that grows in their pastures in the
light of a crop, the harvesting of which
takes place in the milk phil, they would
pay as strict attention to this neglected.
part Of the farm w they now DO to their
corn and potato fields.
If your pasture has no shade, set out d,
few trees in it judiciously this spring
and protect them by posts and Stats from
the rubbings of the cattle. Probably in
no other way could you observe tArbor
day as practically and well.
Some years ago l noticed how all in
genious Eastern farmer had taken Il
unique way to reclaim a pasture through
which creek flowed. Like great deal
from the effects of Perlliciuus forest de-
struction at the head Of the stream that
biSected It.
When this farmer was boy the water
flowed steadily in this stream all through
the summer season, and its bed being
shallow the top strata of earth Oh either
side absorbed moisture therefrom, and
kept the field green. Later when the
woodland above was removed, and the
time, they gOuged out deep bed for the
creek, and overspread the rich bottom
land with gravel and silt. Then, when
the creek fell away in volume in mid
summer. it flowed feebly over the bot
tom Of a clay bed ten feet deep, with
the water so far removed from the upper
strata that there was no seepage of
moisture under the grass roots. So there
was no adequate pasturage except i'll
spring and fall, and thus it remained sew
eral years.
One day the farmer, reading how irri-
CATION was conducted in the West, went
up this stream half mile, and cutting
out a ditch. brought the water down to
overflow his drouth- stricken pasture
Whenever it needed it.
The result is that now the grass there
in midsummer is as green as rice field.
while the hill pastures are we're and
brown. From this and other instances.
L consider that irrigation in the East
as a reserve expetlieMt, has great Dossi-
bllitieS in it.-t1eorge E. Newell in Amer
lean Cultivator.
Poultry Notes.
At the recent Wisconsin Farmers in
stitnte, held in Sparta, G. Il. Matteson