Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-10-31
Redeeming Old Grass Lands.

Some New England farmers nave Oeen
cropping their fields to death. Much
land has been down in grass for 10 years
Fields on some farms have gradually
gravitated from meadow to pasture, from
pasture to brush. from brush to wood.
land. The cause of this decline Is that
farmers have tried to keep all the land
all the time in single crop. The history
of all agriculture shows that this cannot
be done. Diseases come In, insect
troubles increase, the plant food OF the
soil becomes inert and inactive. The
ancient Hebrew law required that land
be rested once in seven years. The Chi
nese, Japanese and Korean farmers, with
knowledge handed down from the accu'
mulated experience of 40 centuries, make
no attempt at continuous cropping. Eu
ropean farmers, who raise two or three
times as much per acre as do American
farmers, have long appreciated the neces
sitv and the value of crop rotation, yet
Connecticut valley tobacco growers have
burned out the humus of their soils by
keeping tobacco on them for 20, 80, and
30 years. New England grass farmers
are following the same course.
Now, permanent grass is not at al
bad. 1t is sometimes desirable In pre-
venting the soil from washing, and alse
in keeping stones buried, for every time
rocky land Is plowed new crop OIL
stones is brought to the surface. Gras,
also is humus-making crop and In
oreases the fiber of the soil. Many ol
the so-called run.out fields are unpro
ductive, not because of lack of plan
food, but because of lack of tillsge anc
lack of working.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEsT
Old grass lands illustrate admirably
the law of the survival of the f1ttest
Everywh here in nature there Is combat, .
struggle for existence, fierce and releut
less. Those plants and those animals
that survive are the ones best suited tt
their environment. Thus, It happenl
that the grasses on old mowings are moi
the ones sown there years ago, but th,
ones which have gradually come 10, II
response to natural forces. They arr
the ones which can Withstand acidity
and which are able to make use of dor
mant plant food, but they are not th'
ones which give the largest yields, no
food, nor yet those which produce hay
of the highest feeding value. On
grasses, as we'll as other crops, are srti
fetal, and require help II they are to b.
grown successfully. It has been sale
that II man should disappear from th,
face OF the earth. all the cereal grain
would follow In space of three years
The potato cannot. survive under tn
hard conditions Of the Peruvian Andes
| although the wild strawberry may. main
tain itself for years under equally unfa
yorable conditions. Similarly, the Guilt
waited grasses require human help In th'
battle for existence or they will be dis
placed by plants Of lesser worth. /,
1 Our hay crop will become smaller ant
smaller unless this human help 10 ,given
Some farmers top.dress their permanen
| thowiugs with manure. It Ii POSSIBLE
that this material 'cou'd be used NOR
efficiently on hoed crops, but 1t oertainl,
gives magnificent bay, and prolongs In
definitely the life Of the moving. Som
farmers use commercial fertilizer q
/ top-dressing. The Massachusetts, station
has kept fields In good heart for . quar-
i ter of q century BY this method.
Other farmers can do the same, bu
for the majority of farmers, the highes
yield, the highest profit and the mos
efficient use both OF the soil resource
and Of manures and fertilizers applied
will come from the bresking up Of th
old mowings, working the soil suff1cient
| ~ to overcome the old grasses, usin
lime II the soil Ii sour, and then seedin
down With manure, with fertilizer O
/ with both.-Prof. Sidney B. Haskell.