34« OFTHE CULTURE Part III. 



** tfie ground betv/ecn the rows with a hoe, to kill the weeds, and 

 •' loofen the furface, which will caufe the plants to fhoot out again 

 •• in a (hort time, lb that by the beginning of September there will 

 *■* be iTioots four or five inches high, when you may turn in fheep 

 ^< upon it to feed it ddwn- : nor Ihould ' the fhoots be fuffered to 

 i' remain upon the plants, which w"ould decay v/hen the frofly wea- 

 '* ther comes on, and fall down upon the crown of the roots, and 

 *' prevent their Ihooting early the fucceeding fpring. 



" The beR way therefore is to feed it until November, when 

 *' it will have done footing for that feafon : but it (hould not be 

 •' fed by large cattle the firlf year, becaufe the roots, being young,. 

 •* would be in danger of being dellroyed, either by their trampling 

 " upon them, or their pulling them out of the ground : but flieep 

 " will be of fervice to the roots by dunging the ground, provided 

 " they do not eat it too clofe, fo as to endanger the crown of the 

 " roots. 



" In the begin^iing of February, the ground between the rows 

 ** fliould be again ftirred with the hoe, to encourage them to fhoot 

 " again r but in doing of this you fhould be careful not to injure 

 ** tlie crown of the roots, upon which the buds are at that time 

 ** very turgid, and ready to pulh. With this management, if the 

 ** foil be warm, by the middle of March the fhoots will be five or 

 ♦' fix inches high, when, if you are in want of fodder, you may 

 " feed it down till a week in April ; after which it fhould be fuf- 

 *' fered to grov/ for a crop,, which will be fit to cut in the beginning: 

 *' of June, when you fhould obferve to get it off the ground as. 

 '* £bon as pofhble, and fi:ir the ground again with the Dutch hoe,. 

 ** which wall forward the plants fliooting again, fo that by the mid- 

 " die, or latter end of July, there will be another crop fit to cut,. 

 " which mufl be managed as before ; after which it fhould be fed 

 *' down again in autumn : and as the roots by this time will have 

 *' taken deep hold in the ground, there will be little danger of hurt- 

 " ing them, if you fhould turn in larger cattle ; but you mull al- 

 ** ways obferve not to fuller them to remain after the roots have 

 ** done {hooting, left they fhould eat down the crown of the roots 

 •' below the buds, which would eonfiderably damage, if not de*- 

 *< ftroy them. 



.^, /' In this manner you may continue conftantly to have two crops 

 ** to cut, and two feedings upon this plant, and in good feafons 

 " there may be three crops cut, and two feedings, which will be a 



** great 



