Show CARING FOR PASTURES F. F S. S Harris Director Utah Agricultural Experiment Experiment ment Station During the period of the war all animal products are going to be scarce F r many months the newspaper newspaper news news- paper dispatches from the warring countries of f Europe have told shortage e of meat fat and all kinds of foods derived from live stock Some very shocking stories have been told of the means resorted to by Germany Germany Germany Ger Ger- many to secure the animal fat necessary necessary nee nee- essary ry to maintain the country and nd prose prosecute ute the war The lesson w we may get from this condition is that every kind of forage Corage must be used with the utmost economy and every possible means must be devised to increase the supply of stock feed Pastures offer one of the best means of Increasing animal tion The greater greater part of f the pasture pas pasture pas pas- ture land is Js planted and left to produce produce pro pro- duce what happens to grow This isa isa is isa a deplorable condition since a pasture pasture pas pas- ture will ill yield so 50 much more satisfactory satisfactory satisfactory tory results If gives given 1 just a little care A pasture left l ft entirely for soon develops a number of undesirable rable conditions which can can an readily bo be improved by a small amount of work A good pasture pasture will will be evenly covered with a sod that is not readily read readi- reaUl- reaUl ly Injured by the tramping of ani ani- mals mals The grasses will be palatable and nutritious and made up of a a. mixture that supplies fresh feed throughout the season Some grasses grow best during the early part of of the s summer others are more vigorous vigorous vigor vigor- ous later Those having different growing periods should be so mixed that there will be lie at all times fresh feed Some grasses ar are are naturally more more tender and palatable than oth oth- ers ern These will be cropped too close and gradually killed if It the pasture Is overstocked To avoid this condition I it Is a good thing to rotate the grazing grazing graz graz- ing which mal makes es it necessary t to drive into two or more fields If this Is done It Is also possible to remove the animals from the field while It is 1 being heing irrig irrigated ed Thistles and and other undesirable weeds gradually get g-et Into pastures reducing reducing reducing re re- re- re th the yield of gr grass glass ss and caus caus- These considerable annoyance ug ng an usually be controlled by mowing he the pasture one ono or two times during the thee season season The mowing also cuts cuta of coarse grass left by bunches any 1 4 animals 4 A number of pastures nave vave recently been observed where lot more than half the area was being be he- beIng ing grazed The rest was grown grOWl u uto up to coar coarse unpalatable grass grass and weeds Tho The grass that was being eaten was for its best growth too close would have corrected the V 1 mowing tad iad condition Bunches of or grass grass' ar are tainted by 1 from from the animals and an are lot of eaten This gives the pasture a In and results ragged ap a waste of f feed ed Running over the pasture once In a while I with a 8 brush drag or harrow over over- I Ilo ti this is difficulty By caring for co lo les es l tk Pasture the same as an any other ti cS the he farmer may greatly increase his live stock lIvestock livestock stock products and thereby help the nation in its fight fo for th Ure liberty of mankind 0 n |