The Husbandry of the Period. 251 



clover or ray grass in the world will equal, and it is tlie peculiar 

 use of burnet to which it should ever be applied." 



It was sown in April, a bushel to the acre, with either barley, 

 oats, or buckwheat, and then covered with three harrowings. 

 It was not like sainfoin, which was said to prefer the poorest 

 soils ; but it was supposed to be capable of withstanding the 

 severest frosts, and if left a good height in the autumn never 

 failed to fulfil its purpose, viz., that of providing plenty of 

 sheep feed in March and April. It was mown for seed in 

 July, or for a second crop of hay in August, and then left free 

 from disturbance till the ensuing March. The writer adds 

 that it was a common error for cultivators of burnet to allow 

 their cattle to graze it down in November, whereby the chief 

 end for which it was sown was defeated.^ 



Burnet was said to grow naturally in several districts on 

 the borders of Wales, where the wool of the sheep was pecu- 

 liarly fine and their mutton well relished. It was supposed to 

 afford plenty of milk when cows or ewes were fed upon it. 



A general complaint against burnet was, however, that it 

 did not produce a sufficiently plentiful crop when sown 

 broadcast, and that therefore grass and weeds came up with 

 it. But its advocates met this objection by pointing out that 

 all perennial plants which have tap roots should be raised 

 in nurseries and transplanted in rows. During the first two 

 years it had to be kept clear of grass and weeds ; afterwards it 

 became so bushy and strong as to be able to take care of itself. 

 Rocque seems to have first called attention to it, and next the 

 Society for the Encouragement of Arts, etc., ojBfered a pre- 

 mium for its most successful culture. One of the candidates 

 reported that many of his sheep in Lincolnshire were ailing 

 during the autumn, and that he put the worst on to burnet up 

 to Christmas with such beneficial results that they entirely 

 recovered their health and became as fat as the rest of his 

 flock. Another individual planted a spot within his park and 

 hurdled it in. The sheep were observed to lie down upon it 



* I have asked Norfolk farmers why they have given up burnet, and 

 they tell me that, contrary to the views of Young, it is less hardy than 

 either clover or lucerne. 



