414 



SOW 



SPA 



vourable opportunity, 1 will leave 

 to the judgment of the experienc- 

 ed farmer. 



Also, a spot that has been newly 

 cleared by burning, may be sown 

 later in autumn than other land. 

 It ought to be sown later, if the 

 growth before winter be wished 

 to be only equally forward ; for the 

 ashes will so quicken the vegeta- 

 tion, that if it be seeded early, it 

 will attain to too large a growth be- 

 fore winter, and be the more in 

 danger of being killed by frost. 



It is doubtless much better to 

 sow winter grain rather early than 

 very late ; because that which is 

 sown late, will not be furnished 

 with strong roots before winter, 

 and therefore will not generally 

 so well bear the frost. Though 

 grain sown in December has some- 

 times prospered well, it ought not 

 to encourage the farmer in sowing 

 so late ; because the instances in 

 which it has succeeded have been 

 but few. On the other hand, it 

 should not be sown so early as to 

 give time for the stalks to shoot up 

 before winter. But perhaps it will 

 be found to be a good rule, to sow 

 grain the earlier in proportion as 

 the winters are longer and colder. 

 And yet, confining the true time 

 to certain days or weeks, would be 

 ridiculous. 



M. de. Chateauvieux, from many 

 experiments, and long practice, 

 concludes, " that the best time for 

 sowing in such a climate as Geneva, 

 is from the 20th of August, to the 

 end of September, And he thinks 

 the first fortnight in October may 

 answer, if the sowing cannot be 

 done sooner. 



But as the experience of persons 

 in other countries may mislead us, 

 it is greatly to be wished that a set 

 of the most accurate experiment* 

 were made by some judicious per- 

 son in this country, in order to as- 

 certain the best time for autumnal 

 sowing. 



SPADE, an instrument used in 

 digging. Spades differ in their 

 shape and construction, according 

 to the different operations in which 

 they are to be used. 



SPAVIN, a disease of horses, 

 being a tumefaction about the joints, 

 causing lameness. 



" There are two kinds of spavin, 

 a blood spavin, and a bog spavin. 



" A blood spavin is a swelling 

 and dilatation of the vein that runs 

 along the inside of the hock, form- 

 ing a little soft swelling in the hol- 

 low part, and is often attended with 

 a weakness and lameness of the 

 hock. 



" The cure should be first at- 

 tempted with restringents, and 

 bandage, which will contribute 

 greatly to strengthen all weaknesses 

 of the joints, and frequently will re- 

 move this disorder, if early appli- 

 ed. But if, by these means, the 

 vein is not reduced to its usual di- 

 mensions, the skin should be open- 

 ed, and the vein tied with a crook- 

 ed needle and wax thread passed 

 underneath it, both above and be- 

 low the swelling, and the turgid 

 part suffered to digest away with 

 the ligatures. For this purpose, 

 the wound may be daily dressed 

 with turpentine, honey, and spirit 

 of wine incorporated together. 



" A bog spavin is an encysted 

 tumour on the inside of the hough, 



