He must form his
own opinions as to what will be most marketable, and therefore
profitable, if he succeeds in getting a good article for sale. A wise
man at the East once said: "You can advise a man to do almost anything.
You can even select a wife for him, but never commit the indiscretion of
advising him what to grow to make money. That is a matter he has to
determine for himself."
Pasturing Young Grain.
Would it be advisable to herd milch cows for a few hours each day on a
field of black oats which is to be grown for hay? The oats are now about
four inches high and rank, as the land was pastured last year. The land
is sandy, rolling soil and will soon be dry enough so that the cows
would not injure the plants. The idea is that the leaves which are green
now will all dry up and are really not the growth which is cut for hay;
therefore, I should think it would do no harm to feed it down a bit.
Over-rank grain with abundant moisture will make a more stocky growth
and stand against lodging if pastured or mowed. The leaves which you
speak of as being lost in the later growth of the plant serve an
important purpose in making that growth, and removing them is a
repressive process which is not desirable when rain is short. We should
allow the plants to push along into as good a growth of hay as a dry
year's moisture will give.
Dry Plowing for Grain.
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