274 



MOS 



MOS 



fowls and swine; for the latter it 

 should be ground into meal. Some 

 mix it with flour in bread ; but it is 

 better for puddings. There is also 

 a red sort of millet ; but this I have 

 never seen. 



MOLES. The Hon. Jacob Rush 

 of Philadelphia, from some experi- 

 ments was of opinion, that dri- 

 ed cod-fish, cut into small pieces, 

 and put into the earth, will drive 

 away moles from gardens. Take a 

 small round stick of about an inch 

 in diameter, sharpened at the point, 

 and perforate the ground in the 

 roads of the moles ; drop in a small 

 piece of tish, and cover the hole 

 with a lump of dirt, and your gar- 

 den will be rid of these mischievous 

 animals. 



MOSS, Lichen, a sort of plant 

 that is injurious to the growth of 

 other plants in general. It was for- 

 merly thought to be an excrescence ; 

 but even the minutest kinds are 

 now known to be propagated by 

 seeds. 



Low meadows are often infested 

 with moss, which prevents the flou- 

 rishing of the grass, and indicates 

 the coldness and sourness of the 

 soil. To cure meadows of moss 

 they should be top dressed with 

 lime, ashes, and other absorbent 

 manures ; as well as laid drier by 

 ditching or draining. After which 

 lire should be put to it at a time 

 when it will burn freely. 



Tillage lands,when they are laid 

 down to grass, often become mossy, 

 especially when they are too long 

 in ^*ras9. Cold loamy soils are most 

 subject to this evil. The moss on 

 such land is often so small, as to 

 appear only as a green mouldiness 



of the surface. But this mould 

 consists of distinct minute plants,as 

 well as all other mouldiness,as may 

 be seen by the help of microscopes. 

 It dressings of warm manures do 

 not prove sufficient to clear the 

 ground of this moss, it should be 

 scarified, or harrowed, or else bro- 

 ken up and tilled. For if it be per- 

 mitted to continue, it will rob the 

 grass of most of its food, 



A very long white or yellowish 

 moss grows in wet swamps. Drain- 

 ing the swamps, and setting fire to 

 the moss in a dry season, will 

 commonly be sufficient to subdue it. 



Moss on fruit trees is detrimen- 

 tal to their fruitfulness. " The re- 

 medy is scraping it off from the bo- 

 dy and large branches, with a kind 

 of wooden knife, that will not hurt 

 the branches; or with a rough hair 

 cloth, which does very well after a 

 soaking rain. But the most effec- 

 tual cure, is taking away the cause. 

 This is to be done by draining 

 off all superfluous moisture from 

 about the roots of the trees. And 

 it may be guarded against in plant- 

 ing the trees, by not setting them 

 too deep in the soil. 



" If trees stand too thick in 

 a cool ground, they will always 

 be covered with moss ; and the 

 best way to remedy the fault is 

 to thin them. When the young 

 branches of trees are covered 

 with a long and shaggy moss, it 

 will utterly ruin them ; and there 

 is no way to prevent it, but to cut 

 off the branches near the trunk,and 

 even to take off the head of the 

 tree, if necessary, for it will sprout 

 again. And if the cause be in the 

 mean time removed by thinning 



