266 Dr. Garnet's Arrangement i 
and neélarines) to ripen late, and with little flavour. 
So that our climate ftill preferves the character givers 
it by Tacitus, in his life of Agricola: Calum crebris 
imbribus ac nebulis foedum. 
The fame circumftances operate to the difadvan- 
tage both of our hay and corn harvefts ; whith laft 
frequently receives effential damage before it ean be 
houfed. It has been an old obfervation in this coyn- 
trv, that thofe who get their hay early, generally get 
it well ; and we fee a very good reafon, becaufe upon 
an average, nearly one third more rain falls in July 
tha in June: ‘This feems to fhew that an attention 
to the cultivation of the early graffes, might be pro- 
ductive of confiderable advantages, not only by en- 
furing a larger crop of after grafs, but by having a 
greater ehance of fine weather for getting in the prin- 
cipal crop of hay. Mr. Curtis, in his obfervations on 
Britifh graffes; enumerates and recommends fix kinds 
of early graffes. ‘The firft four of them feem beft 
fuited to our purpofe, viz. the Anthoxzanthum odoratum, 
Alopecurus Pratenfis, Poa Pratenfis, and Poa Trivialis. 
His fifth grafs, the Feftuea Pratenfis, is the principal 
grafs in our beft mowing grounds ; this he puts down 
as producing its flowering {tems near London about the 
middle of June, but it is feldom in that ftate here be- 
fore the firft week in July, whilft the others are ripe 
a fortnight or three weeks fooner. 
This excefs of rain, however, which operates to the 
difadvantage of the ripening of corn and fruit, occa- 
fions a more cunftant verdure.in our pafture fields; in 
the 
~ 
