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Show THE PASTURE. ; i a. V Prof. H. R. Smith. i There is a great deal of current talk among farmers to the effect thai when land reaches a certain valuation, valua-tion, sny $100 per acre, one can not afford to keep it in grass for pasture purposes. With pastures such as we often find on some farms, I am frank to say that the returns in beef would hardly pay a fair rate of interest on the investment. We know, how-trtr, how-trtr, that it is possible to have on good rich land a growth of grais during an average season that will return net profit quite as great as the same land in grain crops. English Eng-lish farmers have a large part of their HHsVsHHHHsHHHHHHHsl land in grass, and land there commands com-mands .a figure fully two or three limes as high as the best land in this country. If such a pasture as they have, which is the very best, docs not return a fair income on the investment, invest-ment, they certainly would not have so much grass. We have a pasture now on the university farm .which will easily produce 250 pounds of beef per acre without grain each season. Two hundred pounds per acre would be a very conservative estimate of what might be produced on any farm if a good stand of the right kind of grasses grass-es is secured. At 4 cents a pound thij would mean $8 per acre, which wouW pay interest and taxes on a valuation above $100 per acre. With a mixture of alfalfa and bromc grass much more beef than this could be made each year from one acre of ground. The trouble with many of our pastures in the state is that the right kind of grasses arc often not used, manure is seldom put upon them, and in many instances the fields aro ovcrpasturcd. Wc know very well that beef can be produced cheaper with grain on good grass than any other way. There is nothing that would furnish as much good feed to the acre as alfalfa, al-falfa, but the danger from bloat is so great that there is almost too much risk in pasturing it. It is claimed, however, by a large number who have made the experiment that a mixture of bromc grass and alfalfa is a perfectly per-fectly safe pasture, especially when .some discretion is used in turning on cattle. In fact, I find a large number of farmers make a practice of turning turn-ing cattle on pure alfalfa. In several instances, however, they report sooner soon-er or later losses from bloat. I would recommend giving it a trial, as I am sure the returns would please. |