Chap. IX. LUCERNE. ^SS 



inches in diameter ; and as many of them have grown fo as to touch 

 one another, their crowns are become of an oval form, having ex- 

 tended themfeh'es on the fides where they met with no refiftance. 



CROPS. 



*' T Have an arpent of hicerne in beds, divided into two parts. This 



■^ is the third crop of lucerne off one of them. The beds are 

 250 feet long. In 1753, I cut this lucerne iix times, "vtz. in May, 

 June, July, Auguft, September, and the beginning of November. 

 This lafl cutting was not near fo plentiful as the others, and I 

 dried it within doors. 



** Thefe iix cuttings off one bed, on which there was but oni; 

 row of lucerne, yielded 140 pounds of well dried hay. • "'■^ . 



** In 1754* the lucerne was late before it began to flioot, and the 

 earth was drier than the year before. I had but five crops : the firft 

 was cut on the 27th of May j the fecond, on the iffc of July ; the 

 third, on the 27th of July ; the fourth, on the 26th of Auguft; 

 and the fifth, on the 23d of Odlober. Thefe five cuttings yielded 

 in all 225 pounds of well dried hay off each bed. 



" A field 250 feet long, which was the length of my beds, and 

 210 feet wide, contains an arpent. This arpent divided into 68 

 beds, each three feet wide, producing after the rate of 225 pounds 

 of hay off each bed, would yield in all 15300 pounds*; which is 

 infiriitely more than is ever obtained in the common way. 



" The beds with three rows yielded much lefs. The third year, 

 their crops amounted to no more than 169 pounds off each bed, 

 which is a fourth lefs than the others : and as thefe beds are wider, 

 inflead of having 68, as in the former difpofition of the arpent, there 

 will be only 47, each four feet three inches wide, the total produce of 

 which will be but 7943 pounds : confequently this arpent will yield 

 little more than half as much as an arpent laid out in beds three 

 feet wide, planted with only fingle rows. 



Revtafks, by M. de Chateau-vieux. 



*' ^T~*>HE plants of lucerne had the f\te of all kinds of plantations : 



■*- that is to fay, fome of them were more vigorous than others. 



The greateft number of thefe plants produced each of them a pound 



of dry hay, and fome of them yielded two pounds. I look upon 



Z z 2 thefe 



* Upwards of feven and a half loads of hay, at 1 8 hundjed weight to the Joad, 

 equal to above fix loads on an Englifti acre. 



