The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-02-22
PERMANENT PASTURES IN 1Ef4
SOUTH.

I olteng et letters from southern
farmers askin for methods Tor max
ing permanent pasture IN the SCUM
and what grasses to SOW. L uSudliS
advise starting with orchard grass n
redtop with Kentucky bluegrass on
the red clay upland. the bluegrass
10 form the fnal sod. OF course, in
most places the Bermuda Will finally
creep in, but the bluegrass can De
maintained, I am sure, II the pasture
has the proper attention. Simply lett
as a pasture and no further attention
given, it IS certain that the field Will
finally be covered with broomsedge.
You cannot maintain q good pasture
constantly grazed by young stock
that are taking the phosphate out Of
the land in the formation Of their
bony system. and expect the soil to
maintain its productiveness. Broom
sedge is natures a in the South
for curing mans waste, and we would
have had a bowling wilderness but for
the broomsedge and the pine tree. But
a pasture can be maintained in the
South and broomsedge kept out II
the pasture is treated properly.
When the A. and NJ. College was
started at Raleigh, y. c., We had one
building on a slight elevation sur
rounded by a waste Of brickbats and
small rocks on as poor a piece or
land as could be found in the neigh
borhood. The and was cleaned up
and deeply broken and cowpea soWn
and turned under the following fall
and the land prepared and sown to
bluegrass and rye grass for a lawn
and parade ground. Every n there
knows that a beautiful lawn was made.
One day a man from Ohio was visit
ing the college. In a trip looking for
land, and standing on the lawn, he
said TO me: 4 have always heard you
could not grow grass in the South,
but this looks like you could." And
we certainly can If We give il proper
attention. At the old experiment farm
at Raleigh, now h poultry depart
n1ent Of the station. there is on the
top Of a bare unshaded hill a sod
over twenty years old that is as strong
and springly as any in Kentucky; and
Just such a sod can be maintained on
any Of the red clay hills OF the South
if cared for.
Up in Maryland. not many miles
from the city Of Baltimore there is
a section of rough hills that were
n~otor1ously poor nan years ago. The
owners went into the grazing of cat
tie, getting thin cattle from the West
IN spring and putting them on the
grass and selling to the butchers III
the la1l. They only used tw0-vear
steers with their bony system we'll
formed, and these did not exhaust
the land as calves and cat
Tie Would The land carried few ar
first. but every spring the sod was
dressed over with 800 pounds OF raw
bone meal per acre, and every wear
the 500 grew denser. The land has
neen unbroken for more than 6f1y
years. and today feeds more cattle
oy several times over thar if did o.,
hrst, v such n mat Of grass
mat more IS trodden down than is
eaten.
Now, do not believe that there
= an old red. called hill in III
Soutn mat could not he maintained IN
sea ana improved in the same wav
ahd me hroonsedge kept out bv the
I'Iiher growth OF the better grasses
especially II once in six or seven
ears q dressing OF lime is hrnshed
~ Win a smoothing harrow. and
neeoS and rank tufts Of grass from,
the groupings are mown off occas
iohaiiS. You cannot eat vour caLa
and Keep it too, and this Is two -
= permanent pasture. You u,,St f.ad
the sod to keep il imprnyin~ ~
WIN bone dust annually and Hna1
once in six or seven ya,rs
maintain a sod on clsv Soil - -
south On the lighter. sandy eoi,s
81 the coast region Rarn,na, 80
leNas bluegrass can be mainrain.s -
The same way. the one for S,n,
ana the other for winter.
1900