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

The pasture is soon to become the eX-
elusive home of tho 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 4 field Of grain, but its close
cropped surface may mean Il better i'll
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 at the best are but
supplemental, II dairy farm is made prof
liable by the character and extent of its
pasture.
Many dairymen look Oh good pastures
as fortunate natural circumstances, and
it is their i'll luck, because nature has
not dealt as kindly by them as with some
neighbor.
They might not believe it if told that
a pasture could be made or mmade by
mans influence upon it, but such l firm
ly believe to be the case. | have seen
old, sterile, stony fields converted iii
few years time into green, productive
pastures simply 10y 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 succulpnt
grasses. Pastures of this character can
be greatly improved by vigorous har-
rowing with a sharp, straight toothed
l>x> l. Ill
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 won
derful, stimulus to the growth of grass
taking place that is remarkable to the
most careless observer.
1t works good in more ways than one
also, as to properly drag hide-bound
field means that the sticks, stones, logs
and bushes must be first removed to
make the improvement possible.
Many unproductive pasture lots are
made so 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 UNI
profitable.
Suppose now, that after planting field
of corn you did not cultivate it, and al
lowed the weeds to grow up with the
grain; how much Of Il crop of maize do
you think you would harvest?
If dairymen would only regurd the
grass that grows in their pastures in the
light of crop, the harvesting of which
takes place in the milk phil, they would
pay as strict Alteration to this neglected
part Of the farm w they now do to their
corn and potato fields.
If your pasture has no shade, get Uut d
fo,1- IN il i,,r1ifir,.Sry fhiS >hripr
and protect them by posts and Stats from
the rubbings Of the cattle. Probably. in
no other way could you observe ArbOr
day as practically and we'll.
Some years ago | noticed how all III
genious Eastern farmer had taken Il
UNIQUE way to reclaim a pasture through
which a creek flowed. Like great deal
of our farm land, this was suffering
from the effects of perMicious 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 it's bed being
shallow the top strata of earth on either
side absorbed moisture therefrom, and
kept the field green. Later, when the
woodland above was removed, and the
savage floods came down in the SPRING
time, they gouged out deep bed for the
cieeh, anu ONerSpread the rlcn 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 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 in
spring and fall, and thus it remained sew
eral years.
One day the farmer, reading how irri-
CATION was conducted i'll the West, went
up this stream half mile, and cutting
out 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 d rice field,
while the hill pastures are sere and
brown. From this and other Instances.
l consider that irrigation in the Eust'
as a reserve expedient, has great Dossi-
bilities in it.-George E. Newell in 4mpr-
lean Cultivator.
Poultry Notes.
At the rtapt,nt Wisconsin Forr,or., -,