Show USE OF BLUEGRASS methods Met hodr for keeping grazing areas in condition LOCATION FOR SHADE TREES no system of agriculture maintains maintain fertility of soil boll better than grazing prepare seedbed for permanent sod prepared by tho the states department of agriculture tile the shade trees or brush lu in a pasture should hould be left only on the high ground 8 and not as Is the usual custom along the banks of streams in the lowest part of the grazing tracts the location of the shade has a direct bearing on the fertility of the pasture land it has been found by studies by specialists of the united states department of f agriculture reported in a recently published published bulletin the grazing industry of tile tho bluegrass Ulu egrass region eglon Il tills this Is because pastured cattle spend much 0 of f their time under shade and a considerable sid erable portion of tho the manure Is dropped at such times it if tile tho shade Is on high ground the fertility Is pread by being washed downhill 8 when the trees are along streams tinis how over ever most of tile the fertility contributed by the manure deposited in tho the shado shade Is lost where animals are kept continually orf on tho the pastures there Is no system of agriculture investigations disclosed that maintains the fertility of tho the soil better than grazing where beef cattle or sheep are grazed till nil of tile the resulting manure Is left on tile the pastures and the land Is 18 further enriched it if tile the animals are given additional feed during winter this Is usually not the case on dairy forms farms where the cattle spend pend much of the time in yards or stables ables 1 this return of the ilia manure directly 1 to the soil Is particularly important in the grazing regions where the profits are not sufficiently largo to justify the liberal uso use of commercial fertilizers on pasture land the effect fector of manure on bluegrass Is shown by y the hadac fact that feeding tiny hay or corn fodder on tile the poorest spots of a pasture Is a very effective means of improving the stand of grass at the same lame time the increasing use of silage and in some parts dry feeding methods during tho the winter may make it necessary for the grazer to tako take special measures for maintaining his pasture getting a sod abilo the ordinary practice Is to clear additions to tile pasture fields and nd allow tho the bluegrass to come in itself this Is a slow process this method takes from three to four years to get a good stand where the land Is level enough to plow and prepare a Beed seedbed bed it Is possible to permit much more grazing the first two or three years and to got get a permanent sod bod more quickly by seeding a mixture of grasses such as orchard grass red top red or alalee clover tall oat grass or timothy along with the blue grass bluegrass and white clover will eventually crowd out most of the other grasses although orchard grass will persist for or many years thereby adding to tho the party early spring and late fall grazing tho the virginia agricultural experiment station has demonstrated that fairly close grazing will keep ft a bluegrass sod in better condition than light grazing as tho the latter practice allows the grass and weeds tin an opportunity to seed denning cleaning up a field tit at tho the close of the grazing period seems to have a similar effect the trampling of tho the field bold by stock unless the land Is so wet that it cuts up badly Is also beneficial fiel til it must be remembered that tho the soil oil of an old turf tends to become too loose in one casein england it was found that rolling the old pasture fields was the most effective method of eradicating moss A field that Is neither mown nor grazed will never form a n desirable turf but on tho the other hand overgrazing may destroy the plants there Is however very little overgrazing in the bluegrass region and there la Is greater danger of not keeping lelent stock on the pasture overgrazed Over grazed fields have the appearance of neglected lawna closely clipped bluegrass on a fertile soil makes such a dense turf that most weeds have difficulty in invading it gross la s allowed to ca boito goito to seed the turf Is weakened and more open places occur in it it it Is pointed out also that while there Is a gre greater grellier flier bulk of forage produced when the grass Is allowed to mature tile the young grass has a much higher nutritive value which offsets the deficiency in yield in fattening cattle the nutritive value of the bluegrass especially the protein content which may vary considerably Is a highly important an factor cure care of pastures Pa ture very little labor Is necessary to cep a good pasture in first class condition all loose stories stones and rubbish that are removed give that much more space for grass plants to prow all brush or trees not needed for shade or other purposes should bo be cut or deadened by girdling in ili addition to the above suggestions till all tall growing weeds should be mown at least once a year preferably just before they form seed it la 18 a common practice in central kentucky and in some other sections of the bluegrass region to mow taft th weeds this la Is done with a mowing machine if the fields are sufficiently smooth other wise by a man with it scythe the difference in the appearance of in localities where weed mowing Is and where it la is not Is very strato ing mowing will usually hold field lo in check most of the common weeds suet as ragweed oxeye dalsy daisy thistles whistles es and briars A few sheep on cattle pastures have been found very efficient to in keeping down many trouble troublesome somi weeds danger of hawkweed there recently has fins been introduced into southwestern virginia a weed that gives promise of being moro more damaging to pastures than anything that thai has heretofore appeared it Is the field bold hawkweed Illera clum protease pr otense a low growing plant somewhat resembling narrow leaved plantain but the stems and leaves ore are hairy it spreads by underground stems and forms a dense mat which crowds out most other plants the flowers are bright yellow borne on naked upright stalks 8 to 20 inches high this weed along with other closely related species line has already damaged the pastures of new york and new england greatly it could now be eradicated from the bluegrass region it if the farmers would attack it before it Is distributed further may be destroyed by chopping it out with a hoe or mattock if this method Is used care should be exercised to get all the rootstocks root stocks in the upper inch or two of the soil and destroy them another method which seems to bo be about the best that can bo be suggested tit nt the present time Is to spray the ilia plants on a clear day with A solution of ordinary suit salt three pounds of salt to ono one gallon of water Is the proportion that has given the best results every patch treated should bo be inspected occasionally its as it may require two or three sprayings spray ings to kill the hawkweed it if the weed Is to in small patches which to Is the way it usually starts a man equipped with a knapsack sprayer can cover a large area in a day the spraying may be lone done at tiny any time but it Is much easier to find bud the plant when it Is la in bloom tile tho showy yellow flowers tire ore very conspicuous and may be seen and recognized 0 for a considerable distance profits from bluegrass grazing tile tho investigators studied carefully the industry in a number of localities to determine if possible the value oi of blue grass pasture when grazed to cattle cattie in 22 pastures studied they found that the yearly returns per acre ranged from to 2408 from these figures however had to be deducted the cost of winter feeding in which was included roughage produced ou on the farm figured nt at a fair price the net returns for the pasture varied from to 1408 nn an aero acre with an over aver ago of this return per agra acre of pasture must pay the taxes insurance fencing and labor of caring for the pastures and stock find and not much Is left as interest on the investment at the prevailing prices of land the average bluegrass farmer recording according to tho the data obtained from these farmers does not make over 8 3 or 4 per cent on his investment tho the average rental price per aero acre for pasture land lo in this region to Is 3 tin an acre for fairly good land to 5 for tho the best besl this Is said to bo be a sate safe and attractive business to men with considerable capital where sheep are grazed the returns range from to 1200 1266 per acre in six pastures studied and the total outlay lanfor for win wintering teria seldom exceeds 1 a head and usually usually averages 76 cents it Is pointed out however that the chief drawbacks of the sheep industry of the bluegrass region are dogs internal parasites parn sItes such as stomach worms nodular disease etc the sheep tire are less subject to stomach worms in the high mountain regions whereas these klicsu parasites cause such losses in other sections that it Is not practicable to raise any breeding ewes the article in connection with tho the grazing industry points out the difficulty of getting stockers and states that there should be a fairly profitable bu business on the cheaper lands of the blu ond and in tho the Pl piedmont edmont section in raising beef bred calves tor for tile the bluegrass braziers gra graz lers this will necessitate however the keeping of a much better grade of beet beef cattle than Is usual A good beef bred calf will sell readily when six months old for 25 to 30 it tho the dam Is of a milking strain considerable sid erable additional revenue may bo be obtained from the sale of dairy products after tho the calf Is sold this suggestion is made not that this type of bf farming to Is more profitable than dalry dairy ing for it to la not but because it requires far less efficient labor than dairying ind and offers a means of utilizing I 1 in it vast acreage of gullied hills which xich at present la Is waste land |