Connecticut western news., 1910-04-14
POOR PASTURAGE
 IN NEW ENGLAND
so SAYS GOVERNMENT CIRCULAR

Agriculture -ReasonS tor the Same
 and Suggestions for the Improve
 ment of Conditions.
 The Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agricul. ture has just issued Circular No. 49, by J. S. Cotton, on "Improvement of Pas lures in Eastern New York and the New Enc'Hnd Stat0a."
 Attel u,,l4i.t.. attention to othe dtteriora tion of pasture lands i'll the section spo. ken of, and comparing methods used in the grazing country of the West, the writer makes the following suggestions for the improvement of conditions:
 "There are numerous areas on steep sidehills, where the soil is naturally thin and poor and where there is much dan ger of damage through erosion, that should never have been cleared of timber, If these places have not already reverted to timber they should be reforested as soon as possible.
 "rhe increased price of western grain will probably require the eastern farmer to go back to the old plan of raising considerable part, if not all, of his con. centrates. Under such conditions the pasture will play very important part, as it does in Europe, in farming opera tious. This can be done by better sys rems of handling stock, in order to pre- vent coo early grazing and overstocking; also by fertilization, cultivation, reseed. ing, and the eradication of weeds.
 As this deterioration has been going on for a long time the restoration cah not be accomplished in one year. EasCG on rrsuitS obtained in similar work else where II Is very probable that the i'm provemert can ordinarily be aoconi. plishod in from three to five years with comparatively small outlay of money.
 "A very essential point in the improve. meut of worn out pastures is the preven- tion of overgrazing. If pasture is to be improved it is absolutely necessary that the grass be given chance to make good healthy growth and that some of the plants be allowed to produce seed. This can be done by reducing the mum. Der of stock or by giving the cattle ad- ditional forage to supplement the pas ture.
 "One of the most harmful practices ill New York and the New England States Is that of turning the cattle to pasture too early ill tho season. In a great many instances if the cattle were kept off for an additional week or ten days the pas. ture would produce far more feed during the entire season and would carry more stock. The grass should be given 8 suf- ficient staIt to allow enough green.leaf surface for the manufacture of the nee. essary substances utilized in it's growth. If the grass is not given this chance its growth will of necessity be very slow and limited.
 "The turning of stock on a pasture while the ground is wet and inclined to be 'punchy' is also very bad practice. especially on clay soil. The continu- ous trampling rasults ill packing the soil so hard that it is difficult for the plant roots to penetrate between the soil parti. cles and get the' necessity plant food. This packing also prevents the absorption of air and water by the soil.
 investigations carried on during the summer of 1909 show that one of the most essential points in pasture improve ment is fertilizing. A close inspection of eastern pastures shows them to be lacking in humus. The best remedy for this trouble is barnyard manure. An excellent way of building up a pasture is 10 haul on the field whatever supple mentary feed is gwen the cattle, placing it on the highest points. This method is used with great success in the corn belt, and also ill many parts of the Southern States. If the distance from the pasture to the dairy barns or to the fields where the supplementary feed is grown is too great to make this method practicable. the land can be top dressed with manure. Much better results will be obtained if light top.dressing is used y 1aANSNfi'A@Aat longer, than if large quantity of ma nure is put on the land in one season. Experiments have proved definitely that relatively is much greater value is re- ceived from the manure when it is used often and in small quantities than when a large amount is used at one time.
 "On those areas where 1t is impossible to take a wagon, commercial fertilizers can be used to excellent advantage. Fertilizers containing prin n,ipally phos- phorlo acid and potash would probably give the best results. It is also probable that small quantity of such fertilizers could be used advantageously in connect tion with manu1e.