The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-20
Pastures and MeadOws-What Shall
They BE.
FARM,


rate, until a country becomes as thick
ly populated as Belgium and some
other sections of Europe. So long as
land is reasonably abundant and can
be freely possessed by individual own
ership in bodies of 100 acres or more
pasturing must be the most extensive
ly used method of supplying green
food to animals, whether horses or
mules or goats or hogs. They must
either be required to get this green
food by grazing or it must be cut and
carried to them in their stalls or lots.
This is called "soiling," the only al
tentative of pasturing.
Selling. when practiced to any con-
siderable extent, implies cheap labor
and high-priced land; conditions exist
ing in the oldest sections of the world
usually. 1t is well known that the act
of pasturing is more or less injurious
to land and it always destroys, for the
time at least, more or less of the crop
that is trampled upon. Certain sandy
gravelly soil is injured very little by
the act of pasturing if it is done only
when the soil is fairly dry, still there
are other soils. that can be decidedly
injured by one seasons trampling, if
any of it is done while the soil is very
wet. Many farmers recklessly allow
stock, heavy and light, to trample a
good pasture just after heavy rains,
even while it is raining. According to
the clay that is in it the damage may
be considerable in one years time.
This damage is cumulative, and so the
very best pasture can be almost ruin
ed in eight or ten years, if not in a
less time. There is certain rational
treatment that must be extended even
to a pasture.
1t is of very easy demonstration that
one acre soiled is the equivalent of
two acres sometimes more) pastured
. That is, for illustration, cut the crop
from one acre and carry it from time
TO time to the animals in their stalls
or lots and it will go further in pro-
Viding food than two acres would
after allowing for what is destroyed
by trampling, and counting the injury
TO the land and its diminished power
of production resulting.
The intelligent stock grower should
combine the two practices, to a certain
extent, even where land is abundnt
as it is here in South Georgia. AS the
stock raiser becomes experienced he
will most likely do this. He will pro-
vide a few acres near the barns, made
very rich, wherein will be grown
certain forage plants that, especially
when cultivated, make a vigorous, up
right growth, which as occasion re-
quires, will be cut and given to the
stock in their stalls and thus obviate
the need of turning them out to pas
ture when it is raining or as long as
the soil continues at all soft and sus-
ceptible to injury from tramphng. For
this purpose, for summer and fall use,
he will find use for a few acres of
forage corn or sorghum or teosinte
or field peas, one or all. And then for
winter or early spring use so many
acres of lucern or bur clover or rye or
barley or oats. For some animals a
, certain area in artichokes and turnips
! will be found admirable for winter
use. Annual as it is, our Southern
pastoral farmer will not fail to make
, use of fodder corn. AS a soiling crop,
from June to November, it should be
of more general use than any other
perhaps, and for the reason that seeds
are always ready to hand, cost of
seeding small; easily made by a very
little cultivation. A rich acre or two
of 1t close to the barn will go a long
ways in supplying green food to stock
those days when they should be kept
on of the wet pastures, really for the
good of the stock as well as for the
pasture. By a wise arrangement of
the few necessary soiling crops the
farmer Will be able to so preserve a
good pasture that it will hold it's own
for good ten years instead of being
run down to almost nothing in half
that time.
There is just as much call for ex-
hibiting intelligence in economizing a
good pasture as there is for economic
ing crop of feed corn after it has
been housed.
A good pasture can be wasted Just
as anything else is. 1t is wise farm
er that learns how to preserve it.
Recognizing the pasture, with it's
adjunct of soiling as the real basis
of pastoral farming, the thing next to
1t. and of almost equal Importance
is the meadow-the source from which
is derived the dry fodder that must be
accumulated for winter sustenance
when nature ceases to provide the food
OF the pasture. For a greater or less
period, even in the mildest climate
(other than the tropics) it becomes nee
eSSary to support animal life with dry
food and the bulk of this should be
hay or fodder, long" forage as it has
been styled. Without this long for
age no kind of stock will thrive or
hold its own when deprived of grass
or grazing. You can winter COW or
steer very satisfactorily on hay ex-
clusively, but it could not be done with
corn or oats grains or cotton seed meal
or wheat bran-what are known as
concentrated foods.
1t is an old saying in Europe that
mo wise farmer will pasture his
meadow" The meadow must be a dis
tinct thing from the pasture. 1t should
be laid down with the distinct object
of providing the hay for winter use.
AS general thing, the meadow re-
quires different grasses from the pas
ture. There is great temptation to
turn stock on the aftermath of "a good
meadow, after its final cutting in the
fall, but it should never be yielded TO-
For the lasting good of the meadow
let it go into winter quarters with al
the growth it makes after being cut in
October.
A good meadow fortified as it should
be, after the first year. should yield
at least three mowings, aggregatina
three to five tons of choice hay pei
acre.
None of our cultivated, staple crops
will pay a better return for fertilizine
than the crop of the meadow. 1t is
well to bear in mind there is nothing
more salable in the world to-day thar
first-class hay. "All flesh is grass" OF
it comes from 1t, directly or indirectly
God speed the day when our pastures
and meadows are just half of wha
they ought to be through virtue o.
fril