CHAP. II.] RUTA BAGA CULTURE. 99 



" most critical season, that is, the latter end of 

 " March and the month of April. At this time 

 " the ground being bare, the sheep will refuse 

 " to eat their hay, while the scanty picking of 

 " grass, and its purgative quality, will disable 

 " them from taking the nourishment that is 

 " necessary to keep them up. If they fall away 

 " their wool will be injured, and the growth of 

 " their lambs will be stopped, and even many 

 " of the old sheep will be carried off by the 

 " dysentery. To provide food for this season is 

 " very difficult. Turnips and Cabbages will 

 " rot, and bran they will not eat, after having 

 " been fed on it all the winter. Potatoes, how- 

 " ever, and the Swedish turnip, called Ruta 

 " Saga, may be usefully applied at this time, 

 " and so, I think, might Parsnips and Carrots. 

 " But, as few of us are in the habit of cultiva- 

 " ting these plants to the extent which is neces- 

 " sary for the support of a large flock, we 

 " must seek resources more within our reach" 

 And then the Chancellor proceeds to recom 

 mend the leaving the second growth of clover 

 uncut, in order to produce early shoots from 

 sheltered buds for the sheep to eat until the 

 coming of the natural grass and the general 

 pasturage. 



26. I was much surprised at reading this 

 passage; having observed, when I lived in Penn- 



H2 



