Mohave County miner., 1916-11-11
CARRYING CAPACITY OF
 IRRIGATED PASTURES
 IS SUBJECT OF REPORT

WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. IT, The following report of a test of the carrying capacity of irrigated pas lures on the Huntley (Montana) rec lamation project experiment farm is taken from the farm superintendent's report of work for 1915, recently pub ished by the United States depart ment of agriculture:
 The test in which two cows were pastured during the season of 1914 on three-quarter-acre plats of mixed grasses was continued during 1915. Two of these plats were seeded in 1913, one to mixture of awnless brome-grass, orchard grass, perennial rye-grass, meadow fescue, tall fescue, Italian rye-grass, Kentucky bluegrass and tall oat-grass, and the other to the same mixture of grasses with the ad- dition of alsike clover and white clover. The third plat in the test was seeded in 1911 to a mixture of awnless brome-grass, orchard grass, redtop and timothy. In this test the two pIats seeded in 1913 were placed in one inclosure and pastured alternately with the one plat seeded in 1911. The COWS were on the part of the pasture containing the two plats for periods of from 10 days to two weeks and on the single plat for periods of five to seven days. Irrigation was applied whenever necessary to each part of the pasture as soon as the COWS were removed. In 1915 each part was ir- rigated seven times. One-half of each part of the pasture was top-dressed with stable manure at the rate of 10 tons per acre in the fall of 1914. The beneficial effect of this treatment on the growth of the pasture was very apparent during the pasturing season.
 The pasture period extended from April 2S to October 8. During this time two grade Jersey COWS were used. They were kept off pasture during stormy weather for an aggregate of IA days, so that they were actually on the pasture 150 days. On the days that they were off pasture each COW was fed 25 pounds of alfalfa hay a day. The pasture furnished ample feed for the cows until September 1. From that date to the end of the pas turing period each COW was fed 15 pounds of alfalfa hay a day in addi- ton to the pasture.
 One of the COWS freshened in 0cto- Der, 1914, so she was milking at the beginning of the test. She became dry by September 15 and calved again on October 15. The other COW fresh ened on June 25, so she was dry dur ing the first part of the test. The COW that was giving milk at the beginning of the test was given a supplemental feed of six pounds of chopped corn a day from the beginning of the pasture period to June 15, and the other COW received no grain until July 1. From July 1 to October IA, during the first half of each month, each COW was fed daily six pounds of a grain mixture consisting of equal parts of chopped corn, wheat and oats. No grain was fed during the second half of each month. The increase in milk flow dur ing the period when grain was fed was in no case sufficient to pay for the grain.
 The COWS produced during the sea- son of 164 days a total of 5247 pounds of whole milk and 213.7 pounds of butter fat. At the local market prices the value of the butter fat pro- duced was $52,07. During the entire period total of 882 pounds of grain and 1880 pounds of hay was fed. If the hay be valued at S6 ton and the grain at SIPS per hundredweight, the total cost of the supplemental feed was S15.92. This amount, deducted from $52.O7, the value of the butter fat, leaves a return of S36,15 for the pasturage produced on three-fourths of an acre. This is at the rate of S48.2O per acre.