The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-09-20
SHOULD
Be Permanent
ALL the YEAR GRAZING SHOULD
OBTAIN ON THE
FARM.

| no uGbGkbI VI MIC p1 1S'th
| viii reduce the hay crop and farmers
| are thinking about the advantages OF Il
/ permanent pasture, Commissioner OF
/ Agriculture koiner is discussing the
subject said
/ II more live stock were kept In VIZ
! ginia, il would be better for the state.
by this method OF farming. very
large per cent OF the fertility Of the
. land Is left on the farm. but before
much more I've stock can be prohtabiy
kept, more attention must he given 10
/ the question OF making sods ana main
! tanning them. In some sections or the
/ State little grass seed Is ever sown,
consequently there Is but little pasture.
+ 1t has been proven that In most Sec
lions OF the State nearly all the grasses
I and all the clovers can be grown. II
| lis also well-known that corn can be
produced In every section of the state,
/ but nobody expects To grow II without
( planting the seed, neither should any
/ farmer expect TO get a cod without
! sowing grass seed. The essentials 10
the growing OF grass are drainage.
organic matter In the soil. available
plant food and plenty Of good seedg
in some instances. lime may toe need
ed.
The first requisite 10 an important
! one. No crops viii do well IN wet
! soils and the grass crop Is no exeep-
ton. Where tiles can be secured
they are the best and In the long run.
the cheapest. Temporary underdrain-
age may be had by the use OF poles
laid with the ditch. Open bitches are
| better than none. but they cause Il
great deal of plant food TO be lost
while they do not aerate the soil. Soil
aeration Is an important matter and
secret ditches aid very much In se-
curing II
Organic Matter.
The great need OF Virginia soils
( Is organic matter and IL good sods
are desired this need must be sup
piled. The blowing down OF any kind
of green matter will assist in this
direction. In fact. the blowing OF any
crop whether green or dry is a bene-
fit Decayed organic matter In the
soil. called humus. liz essential be-
cause without II moisture cannot DO
held. 1t is also essential in order
that plant food may be made available
in the land. our pastures run out"
as much on account Of the lack of
moisture as any other thing and there
fore. in order 10 prevent this. the soil
must be filled with organic matter
/ Methods Of Seeding.
The common practice OF sowing
grass with the grain crops has led
many to believe that a patch of grass
cannot be had in any other way.
Might as we'll say that a good crop
OF wheat cannot be obtained unless
timothy Is sown with It. Where one
can do without the grain and cares
for nothing but to secure a good sod.
there is no better way than to seed
the ground to grass alone. When
the seeding Is done in the fall, the
use of nurse crop Is a mistake. There
may be some excuse for it's use IN the
spring for 1t does help to keep down
the weeds. In securing a good sod it
Is important to secure a variety Of
seeds. not only because different soils
produce some plants better than
others. but because the needs OF the
animal TO be grazed on the field are
better supplied II It has variety Of
I feed. A good mixture Is the Blue
Grass, pounds. 4 pounds each Of
Red Top. Timothy and Orchard grass
and 2 pounds each of Red, Alsike and
! White clover per acre. This Will make
! a thick seeding but such is neces-
sary IL a good sod is wanted If the
! farmer does not cover the soil with
a useful plant, nature comes to the
! relief OF the soil and covers II with
! weed. A thick seeding OF any kind
OF a crop requires corresponding
amount OF available plant food, That
Is, II taxes twice as much 1000 TO
grow two plants as 1t takes to grow
one, and therefore where thick seed
| ing Is done. plenty of fertilizers should
be used. If this can be farm MANFRED.
all the better for they carry with them
organic matter. but II they cannot be
had then a free use Of commercial
I fertilizers should be made. The kind
of fertilizers to use depends upon the
character OF the soil and the far
mer's treatment OF same. II the soil
is a heavy clay and contains plenty
OF organic matter, no potash Will be
( needed. On the other hand II legumi-
| nous crops have been turned In, then
| 1t has plenty of organic Nitrogen ana
| in this event some carrier OF phos-
| phorus only should be used. 1t Is
sometimes profitable to apply. how
ever, from fifty to a hundred pounds
OF Nitrate OF Soda on top OF the grass
after 1t has come UP we'll II this Is
to be permanent pasture 1t will
need to be fed occasionally with COM
mercial fertilizers or manures. II
ia to be used in rotation OF crops
then it should be plowed before the
sod runs out.
If the pastures were to receive as
much attention as the cultivated fields
the net profits from them would be
almost or quite as great and the fer
fifty OF the soil very much better
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