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Show FORAGE CROPS FOR WESTERBFARMERS By L. A. MERRILL, Director Enten-ion Enten-ion Division Utah Agricultural College. Oregon Short Line Railroad Demonstration Dem-onstration Train Lecture. In discussing the subject of forage crops, I propose doing U In the w idest senile, Including any food suitable for horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The subject will Include particularly pasture pas-ture grasses, soiling and fodder crops, and it U my purpose to particularly emphaKljfe the importance of some of the crop with which our western farmers are not familiar. We shall necessarily have to limit ourselves to a discussion of thoe crops that have been tested ftt our experiment ta-ttons ta-ttons and by successful farmers and found to be of practical value, since la the grass family alone there are tmre than 3.500 H'eeles. A I read the history of agricultur of, this and other nations, I am im preaaed with the fact that the ponna cent prosperity f any country is de pendent very largely upon the em phasls placed upon pastures and ha) : crops. Pastures feed mankind; thej i are the led reck fi clvlU?aUB. Then Is always something alluring In at 1 agriculture baR(4 ppeelally on perma nent things like nieadovf and paa tures, that do not let fields wash and 1 erode; that maintain And build fer i tiiity; that make pofslble the hlghei types of agriculture based on keeping animals, or making milk for babes wool for soft garments or horses foi , the uae of man. , Although we live in a comparative ly new section of country, our agrl ' culture in these mountain valleys Ii already advanced far enough to glv ' a number of examples showing tin difference between a system of fnrmlni 1 that includes pastures and grannea and a system that involves tin production of sugar beets, potn i tees, srain or fruit crops only. Ii ' the growing of these cropa we an , continually laking from the soil thorn I elements of fertility that are abno , lutely essential for the growth o plants, and without which the soil 1 worthless. In the growing of prasse for f'lK'tm'K0 or for bay when f 1 upon the farm, we return to the so! those element of fertility and th supply is at least maintained, and b a wise system of husbandry, even In . creased year by year. I In this western country where ou ( farmers have turne4 their attentlo to the production of grasses and fi age crops, they have been scarcel ' able to place a limit on the number c ' live stock they are able to inalntali 4d amount ijuJJve, stock product M they are able to produce. ' I Our Irrigated lands are particular! - adapted to graes for forage crop pn i ductlon, because of tbe abundance , those plant foods necessary for thel growth, particularly lime, potash an . phosphates, and because of the assu ance of supplying moisture Just at th time needed. It 1s encouraging to th ' western farmer to realize that wit ' the adoption of a proper system f cropping, one acre here can be mad to do the work of three or four acre i In tbe middle west, or even fifteen o ( twenty acres in the southwest. t have seen three cows pasture on , single acre of upland paeture In Uta , from May until November, and In tb eaet have observed that it Is necei 1 sary to have from three to four acre to pasture one cow for the earn 1 length of time. Our pastures nee never become dry or parched, but ui der a proper system can be kept coi . atantly green and eucculent j Land for the Pasture. It l a mistaken notion to euppo i, that the poorest part of the fan I should be given over to pnniure i Often times the rocky nlll side I t used for this purpose, and we too fr quently fall to take into account Ui fact that the pasture can be made tl 1 most Important part of the farm. V this reason the bet and most co venlent part of the farm will in good farm practice, be selected f i. this purpose. The land should 1 i well drained. If not, we must u that !t is tiled, or open ditches pr I Tided, so that stagnant water may I drawn away. We should app-ecla the fact that in preparing tbe lat ' for the pant ure grasvs we are pr paring It for a number of yeai r It is Important, therefore, th considerable attention b paid ' proper leveling so that there mi be no difficulties in the way Irrigation. Then, too. the land Rhou be prepared wome time before we e pect to do the seeding. The soil mu j. settle together so that the prop functions of We soil can be carrh on. The seed bed muit be extreme fine. When one examines the seed any of our grasses or clovers. It mu be readily understood that there L very little nourishment stored awa p and the young and tender tdarit rnn Boon begin to draw upon the soil f a Us nourishment, r. Time of Seeding-, d In tb east long experience h bown that the fall is the best tit 4 for seeding. Repeated experimet here, however, have demonstrat that on Irrigated land wn secure best results by spring needing If the land is prepared the previous fall the seed can b wwn very early in the spring, and the plant will become well established estab-lished before the hot dry wvather begins. be-gins. It should be remembered that one can hardly sow gras seed too early In the spring. The Mlature to Select. Many of tbe gra mixtures given out by he seed bouses are silly conglomerations, con-glomerations, some of which are made up of a few good varieties and then poor onus thrown in simply to throw chaff Into the eye of tbe customer. cus-tomer. However, there aro many advantages ad-vantages In mixtures rather than blugle seed. Some grasses start very early in the epring, while others do not begin until late In the summer, and there aro ecarcely two granseg that have the same time of growth. Hy combining them we have, therefore, there-fore, a constant succession of fresh suoeulent grnssoa. The evil In a mixture mix-ture Is that eometlmea there I In It a grass of inferior quality, and that one will be neglected and the other grazed, so that after a time the Inferior In-ferior grass is left in the ascendancy. I have, tented a number of different mixtures on varlou soils and have found the following mixtures grasses an excellent one for the ln i termountaln. sections; Kentucky Illuo Grass sown at tha rate of 6 pounds ner acre. Perennial Itya Graas eown at tha . rate of 7 pounds per aero. Meadow Fescue eown at the rat of 3 pounds per acre. ' Red Clover sown at the rate of 9 pounds per acre. ' Hep Top sown at the rate of ( pounds per acre. i Orchard Grass aown at the rate ol - 3 pounds per ae-re. White Clover eown at the rate of 2 I pounds per acre. Alfalfa sown at the rate of 2 poundi per acre. This mixture Js adapted to wel drained noils, and bus been tested uj ' a great many farmers In these sec lions with excellent results. Foi light sandy soils the following mix ture Is recommended: ' Kentucky nine Grass eown at th ! rate of 8 pounds per acre. ' Meadow Fescue sown at the rate o , 6 Hiinds p'r acre. , Tall Meadow (tats sown at tho rati ! of 5 pounds per acre. llromo Grass sown at the rate of I pounds per ai re. I White Clover sown at the rate of S 5 pounds per acre. ? Where lands aro low and moist ) and where drainage is not possible f the following mixture of grass-shai 8 given good results: Perennial Rye Graa sown at tbi ; rate of 8 pounds per acre. 1 Red Top sown at the rate of II pounds per acre. y Rhode Island Rent eown at the rati ' of 4 pounds per acre. Meadow Fescue sown at the rate o r 2 pounds per aore. n Timothy sown at the rate of r" pounds per acre. 1 Alsike Clov sown at the rate of ' pounds per acre. V White Clover aown at the rate of - pounds per acre. It may be thought that we hav used here a very large amount c J seed. In practice, however. It I nearly Impossible to get a perfect dli I trlbutlon or eeeda, and equally Impoi " sible to get them covered uniform! so that one can count only on a vor " small percentage of germination. I ? seeding grasses it Is extremely Ire , portant to get the seed event ' distributed. Ordinarily one gets th 8 best reeults with the use o those r with wing discs tha , throw the machine on either side, th ' men walking and turning the seed b f hand. The wheelbarrow seder als gives good results. Drills, of eoura are most efficient, but care must b taken to prevent getting the seed to deep. Blue grass especially, require j tbe very lighted covering. I knov , too, many farmers who advise seedln theee grasses always with a nun crop. If be will sow one bushel t the acr of spring barley, selecting short strawed strong variety that wi ' not lodge and then cot early, he wi be providing shade for tbe youn grasses and can almost absolutely d' pend upon success. '- it will be observed after a year r 10 two that some of the grasses are ii creating and some arc becoming e r tinct. It will be found, therefore, n- WHA practice early In the spring i 8 the snow Is disappearing, to plant tl r of those grasses that are disa n pearing and then to loosen the grai sod by the use of a sharp tooth ha o- row it ig a mistake to feel that tl ' pasture de not. need fertlllxatlo ' lasture should be covered at lea id ,y,,rr other year with a coating of w lotted barnyard manure, and this thi '" ougbly harrowed so as to give ev al distribution, early In th spring. A to a ru We have a f-w days In Febr iV ary whn this work can b done I of advantage. Another mistake in han Id 1!R(C pastures is to give tbe anlma ' the free use of the entire pastur " The best practice demands that thei r Bha! h, at l4t two r three fieb d to avoid closfl grazing. The catt ,,r should be kept out. of on field whl of t B hHng Irrigated, and the grai allowed to obtain a go.wl start. I u rhanrlng cattle around In diffi-re ir. fields tbere is less waste with tl it RTasea and there Is a decided a or f,ntage gained by way of 1-ermlttli the grasses to get a good sUrt. I am very etrongly of the oplnh m that pastures seeded along the lin ne unirgested here will be tbe most pn its ttable part of the farm. Pd CooHuilei sit w ) |