28 Notes, and Sketches. 



affair," say they, " are young nolt, because they cut 

 cleverly, without disturbing the root, whereas old or 

 ill-toothed beasts very often pull up the brier by the 

 roots. Horses and sheep are not so fit to be put upon 

 this expedition, unless they be carefully kept or 

 tethered upon the field ; for, although their teeth be 

 sharp, yet we evidently observe them to eat the corn 

 and leave the grass untouched, which is directly con- 

 trary to the design ; and this their aversion is probably 

 raised from the roughness of grass in respect of the 

 smooth and sweet blade of corn." " This experiment," 

 it is added, " will no doubt much offend the timorous 

 and unthinking part of mankind ; however, it hath 

 often proven very beneficial both for keeping back 

 the weeds and preventing the lying of corns before 

 they be full." 



But even after the awal crop had, by the friendly 

 aid of the harrow and the young nolt's teeth, battled 

 through the initiatory stages, and come off victorious 

 over " yarrs," " skellachs," " sorrel," and all their 

 aiders and abettors, it had yet another enemy to con- 

 tend with viz., the wild oats, which, while they did 

 comparatively little harm among the two former crops, 

 in the awal, we are told, " do very notable mischief to 

 their neighbour corn ; for the wild grows up much 

 faster, and ripens much sooner than the tame, and 

 thereby exhausts the nutriment thereof. This never 

 misses to render it both weak and thin, and therefore 

 'tis well worth the owner's pains to endeavour by all 

 means to prevent this imminent danger of his corns, 

 which will in a great measure be done by cropping 

 the wild oats how soon they come out of the hose, 

 who appear always about eight days before the tame. 

 Thus is Providence so kind as to tack that to their 

 nature which is the mean of their own destruction. 

 Any one that is careful may perform this work, with 

 the hook in one hand, and grasp the crops with the 

 other, which will be good entertainment for cows ; or, 



