Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1910-08-12
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PASTURE AND THE MEADOW
Careful Study of Subject Will Show
Variety of Grasses Better Than
Only One Kind.
(By s. NJ. MILLER.l

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1t sometimes seems as if one-half
Of the farmers were doing everything
possible to fight nature and when we
make a study Of the various grasses
and their peculiar needs we wonder
that we have been succeeding as well
as we have in growing good crops of
hay. A careful study of the English
system Of maintaining permanent
meadow and pasture would essentially
aid us in the management of our
grass lands. There we may find from
ten to twenty kinds of grass growing
on one sod and all thriving and pro-
ducing hay and forage.
We go on our meadows when the
proper times come, cut the grass,
cure it into hay and haul it to the
stack or barns and think no more
about the whole matter until the
next year comes and then we go out
and go through the same motions
only get a smaller crop and keep
this up until the yield is so small
that we feel it is necessary to plow
up the field and reseed it to clover
and timothy again. We don't go to
the trouble Of top dressing or fertil-
izing the meadow or tile drain to
prevent the water from drowning it
out during the wet season nor do we
plan to leave stubble to protect
it from the hot summer sun.
Animals will often walk from one
end of large pasture to another
to get a nibble of some variety of
grass that is different from that in
the other end of the pasture.
Pastures that contain the greatest
number of varieties of grass are in
variably the ones that will support the
most stock.
1t is one of the greatest evils Of
our system of farming to pillow up
a good pasture for it requires a num-
Der Of years to get a good turf es-
tablished.
In selecting grass seed for perma-
nent pasture select kinds that will
bloom in succession from early sum-
mer until late in the fall so that
when one kind is not growing there
will be another to occupy the soil
and prevent weeds from growing in
where the soil is not occupied.
In selecting grasses for the meadow
select varieties that flower about the
same time so that they may be cured
for hay at one cutting.
Select those that furnish the most
leaves and thus diminish the amount
of woody indigestible matter in the
hay.
It is folly to try to skim off a sec
ond crop from the meadows. If the
growth is too rank in the fall pas
ture it off with young stock but do
not pasture it close enough to in
jure it's chances of living through the
winter.
Nature provides for winter by pro-
noting a rapid fall growth. The old
ideas Of getting something for moth
ing have been exploded for a long
time and if we cut three tons Of hay
from our meadows we must feed
them accordingly and keep the bare
spots covered with grass instead of
weeds.
If we supply better forage rations
for our live stock they will come
through the winter in better condi-
ton and will require less grain to
keep them in a thrifty condition.
We, as rule, are feeding too
much grain to our animals and unless
we devote more attention to providing
nutritious forage rations we must ex-
pect less hardy and vigorous animals.