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This is what I am now beginning to try in the field, 

 where I have not as yet had experience of its culture j 

 but what I have here advifed, is founded upon expe- 

 riments which I have for fix years made upon fmall 

 patches of it fown in gardens, in different fituations. 

 In all thefe patches I have found the plants continue 

 in great verdure, when moft of the perennial plants in 

 the fame fituation have fuffered greatly by the froft ; 

 and from eight of thefe plants I could have cut as 

 much feed, as would have been equivalent to half a 

 trufs of green Clover. 



The fifth fort is the common Vetch or Tare, which 

 is much cultivated in the fields for fodder -, of this 

 there are two varieties, if not diftinft fpecies. The 

 firft, which is the moft common, has a black feed ; 

 the other has feeds as white, if not whiter than the 

 whiteft Peas j and this difference is permanent, for I 

 have fown both forts many years, and have' never 

 found either of them vary. Thefe plants are annual, 

 and perifh foon after they have peiredted their feeds. 

 The ftalks are angular, ftreaked, and hairy ; they are 

 weak and waqt fupport. To generally decline where 

 they have nothing near to faften themfelves to. The 

 leaves are corapofed of feveral pair of blunt fobes, 

 and are tcirminated by tendrils. The powers come 

 out from the wings of the ftalk, fitting very clofe to 

 the bafe of the foot-ftalks of the leaves ; two of thefe 

 , generally fpring from the fame joint ; they are pretty 

 large, and of the butterfly fhape ; they are purple : 

 thefe appear in June and July, arid are fucceeded by 

 creft pods, containing three or four round feeds in 

 each, which ripen in Auguft and September. -- ^r?*: 

 :TKe fort with white feeds is rather the more /ucculent 

 plant of the two, fo is better for fodder ; but many 

 people refufe to cultivate them, becaufe they fay the 

 fceds being white, arc 'much fooner found out by the 

 rooks, thanthbfc which are nearer .the colour of the 

 ground, lb fliRr often devoured foon after they are 

 fown, efpibcially where any of the feeds are not buried; 

 but if the feeds are fown in drills, they may be fo 

 carefully covered, as that the birds will not eafily find 

 them. 





..There is another kind of Vetch which is cultivated in 

 the fieids, with a fmaller black feed ^ this is called in 

 fome counties Rath ripe Vetch, and in others Pebble, 

 or Summer Vetch ; but this being much tenderer than 

 the common Vetch is feldom cultivated, for this muft 

 always be fown in the fpring, ancj will ripen its feeds 

 the fame fummer, but it will not afford near ib good 

 fodder as the other. 





Vetches are generally fown at two feafons, one is in 

 autumn, and the other early in the fpring ; but the 

 beft time is in Auguft, for the feeds which are fown 

 then will come up foon, and the plants will have time 



. to get ftrength before winter, fo will be in lefs danger 

 of fuffering by froft than thofe which are fown later, 

 and will be fit to cut for feed much earlier in the 

 fpring, for it Is then green feed is moft wanted ; and 

 if they are defigned for feed and not to be cut for fod- 

 der, thofe early-fown Vetches will come early into 



^ flower, and the feeds will be ripe early, fo they may 

 be cut and ftacked in good weather; which is a great 

 advantage, for thofe which ripen late are often ftacked 

 orhoufedwet, and then the feeds frequently fprout 



in the mow and are fpoiled. 



The ufual method of fowing Vetches is in broad-caft, 



. ploughing them lightly in ; in this way the common 



■ allowance of feeds for one acre of land is two bpftiels, 

 but there are fome who fow two buftiels and a half; 



. this praftice may do well enough for thofe Vetches 

 which are defigned to be cut for fodder in the fpring, 

 tut thofe which are fown with an intent to ftand for 

 feeds, will do much better if they are fown in drills in 

 the fame way as is pradlifed for Peas, and then lels 

 than half the quantity of feei^s will be fufficient; for 



. the drills ftiould not be nearer to each other than three 

 feet, that the hoe plough may have room to go be- 

 tween them, to deftroy the weeds, and earth up the 

 plants i for by this management they will produce a 

 much greater crop, and ripen earlier in the feafon. 



IN 



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Thefe drills ftiould be about the frr)^ depth as thofe 

 ufually made for Peas, and the feeds ihould be fcat- 

 tered about the fame diftance in the drills. Thefe 

 feeds fliould be carefully covered as foon as they are 

 fown, for if they are left open the rooks will difco- 

 ver them ; and when they once find the rows, if they 

 are not carefully watched, they will entirely devour 

 them. Indeed, thefe being fown early in autumn, will 

 be in lefs danger than thofe which are fown late, or in 

 the fpring, becaufe there is more food for rooks and pi- 

 geons in the open fields at this feafon, and the plants 

 will appear much fooner above ground. The beft time 

 to fow them is about the beginning of Auguft, for the 

 rains which ufually fall about that feafon, will bring 

 them up in a ftiqrt time;*- Toward the latter end of 



Odlober the plants will have obtained confiderable 

 ftrength, therefore they ftiould be earthed up with 

 the. hoeing plough. '-'This work fliould be performed 

 in dry weather, and in doing it care muft be had to 

 lay the earth up as high to the ftems of the plants as 

 poflible, fo as not to cover their tops, becaufe this 

 will fecure them againft froft* The whole fpace of 

 ground between the rows ftiould alfo beftirred, in or-~ 

 der t;o deftroy the weeds, which, if carefully performed 

 in dry weather, vvill lay the land clean till March ; at 

 which time the crop ftiould be earthed a fecond time, 

 and the ground cleaned again between the rows, which 

 will caufe the plants to grow vigorous, and in a little 

 time they will fpread fo as to meet^ and cover the 

 fpaces i whereas thofe fown in the fpring will not grow 

 to half this fize, and will be very late in flowering. 

 Some people fow thefe Vetches, and when they are 

 fully grown, plough them into the ground to manure 

 -it. Where this is defigned, there will be no occafion 

 to fow them in' drills at this diftance, nor to hui()t)and 

 them in the manner before directed; but in this cafe 

 k will be the beft method to {bw them in autumn, 

 becaufe they will be fit to plough in rnuch fooner the 



following year^ fo that the land may be better pre- 

 pared to receive the crops for which it is intended. In 

 fome parts of France, and in Italy, thefe Vetches are 

 fown for feeding of cattle while green^ and are ac- 

 ^ counted very profitable ; and in many parts of Eng- 

 land they are cultivated to feed cart-horfes, &c. 

 -though upon fuch land where Lucern will thrive, it 

 will be much better huft^andry to cultivate that for 



this purpofe. 



Where thefe plants are cultivated for their feeds, they 



-fliould.be cut foon after the pods change brpv/n ; and 



when they are dry, they muft be immediately ftack- 



red, for if they are fuflfered to |i,e>ut in the field to 



' receive wet, and there comes one hot day after it, 

 the pods will moft of theni"burft,"'and caft out the 

 feeds. When the feeds arc threftied out, the haulm 

 is efteemed very good food for cattle, and fome Have 

 recommended the feeds for horfes, and affirm they are 

 ' as* proper for thofe animals as Beans ; which, if true, 

 will render them more valuable, becaufe thefe will 

 grow on the lighteft fandy land where Beans will not 

 thrive,^ fd may be a good improvement to fome coun- 

 ties in England, where they do not attempt to culti- 

 vate Beans. ' " ' 



VINCA. Lin. Gen. Plant. 261. Pervinca. Tourm^ 

 Inft. R. H. 1 19. tab. 45. Periwincle 5 in French,?^-" 

 venche. ' ■ . . ■- 



The Characters £ire, 

 The empahnent of the flower is permanent, and cut intd 

 five acute farts at the top. The flo^Joer has one faher- 

 Jhaped pet ah "-^hofe tube is longer than the empalement. 

 the brim is broad, fpreading open, and fiightly cut into 

 five okufe fegments ; it has five very fljort inflcxedftami- 

 na, terminated by ere^y obtufe, fnembranacecus ftcmmits, 

 and two roundijh germcn, which have two roundijh cor- 

 pufcles on their fide, fupporting one common fly le the length 

 cfthefiamina, crowned by twofligmas-, the under is or- 

 bicular and plain, the upper i$ concave and headed. The 

 mermen afterward turns to a fruit ccmpofed of two taper 



hujk 

 and filled with oblong 'cylindrical feeds 



Thii 



