AFRICAN MARIGOLD. 



AFTER-GRASS. 



AFRICAN MARIGOLD (Tagites erecta,] 

 Lin.). A favourite hardy annual, which does j 

 not come from Africa, as its name would indi- ! 

 cate, but from Mexico. See MARIGOLD. 



AFTER-GRASS, or AFTERMATH. The 

 second crop of grass, or that which springs ' 

 after mowing, or the grass cut after some 

 kinds of corn crops. 



The composition of the after-grass generally 

 varies considerably from that of the first or 

 spring crop. The nutriment of the latter, from 

 most of the grasses, is materially less than 

 that of the former. This was clearly ascer- 

 tained by the elaborate experiments of the late 

 Mr. G. Sinclair, the results of which are dis- 

 persed throughout his valuable work on the 

 Grasses. To" give a few instances only 



First Crop. Second Crop, 

 dr. gr. dr. gr. 



64 dr. of romid-panicled cock's-foot 



crass afforded of nutritive matter 21 12 



Meadow fox-tail grass - 3 .1 20 



Larger-leaved creeping bent-crested 



dog's-tail grass ... 41 



Hard fescue grass ... 

 Welch fescue grass 

 Yellow oat grass ... 33 11 



And the same remark applies to the rye-grass 

 (Lolium perenne), not only of upland pastures 

 but of meadows. Thus, Sinclair found (Hurt. 

 Gram. Wob. 384) that this grass when flower- 

 ing, taken from a water meadow that had been 

 fed off with sheep till the end of April, yielded 

 of nutritive matter 72 grs. 



But the same grass from the same meadow 

 which had not been fed off, yielded 100 grs. 



The same weight of this grass, from a rich 

 old pasture that had been shut up for hay at 

 the same time, yielded of nutritive rrratter 95 

 grs. But the grass from the same field, which 

 had not been depastured, yielded 120 grs. 



Some of them, however, contain exactly as 

 much nutritive matter in the aftermath as in 

 the first crop : thus, 64 drs. of the 



First Crop. Latter Crop. 



dr. gr. dr. gr. 



41 41 



13 13 



20 20 



21 21 

 12 12 



Sweet-scented soft grass yielded 

 Smooth-stalked meadow grass 

 Short blue meadow grass 

 Cow grass - - 



Creeping fescue 



and one or two were found to contain more 

 nutritive matter in the aftermath than in the 

 first crop : thus 64 drs. of the 



First Crop. Latter Crop- 

 dr. gr. dr. gr. 



Sweet-scented vernal grass yielded 1 3 



In the vicinity of London most of the after 

 grass, or second crop, was formerly made into 

 hay, and was considered of considerable value 

 for the ewes of suckling lambs, and milch 

 cows; but in harvesting this crop, so as to 

 make it sell well, great nicety is requisite, the 

 nature of after-grass being more soft, spongy, 

 and porous than the first growth, and conse 

 quently more liable to be hurt by rains. The 

 practice is therefore on the decline 



In the midland counties their management 

 of -She feeding off the after-grass is in general 

 juclfuous. It is commonly suffered to get up 

 to a full bite before it is broken, and not turned 

 in upon as soon as the hay is off, or suffered to 

 stand until much of it becomes improper for 

 the food of animals. Farmers, however, make 

 28 



a point of saving autumnal grass for spring 

 feed, and contend that it is the most certain, 

 and, on the whole, the best spring feed yet 

 known. This would seem to be a wasteful 

 practice, at least in respect to the more for- 

 ward after-grasses. These ought certainly to 

 be broken sufficiently early to be eaten, without 

 waste, before winter sets in; and the latest, 

 hat is to say, the shortest, may be shut in for 

 pring feed. If after-grass be too long and 

 gross, it is apt to lodge, and rot upon the 

 ground in winter ; therefore, on rich lands, it 

 ought always to be more or less off before Mi- 

 chaelmas, in order to prevent its being wasted 

 or lost in the winter. 



It is remarked by the author of " Practical 

 Agriculture," that, " In some districts much of 

 the 'after-grass is frequently cut and made into 

 a green soft sort of hay, as has been already 

 mentioned ; but in others it is fed off by live 

 stock in the autumn." And that " both modes 

 may be useful under different circumstances. 

 In situations where plenty of manure can be 

 procured, as near large towns, and where the 

 chief dependence is upon the sale of hay, or 

 where lamb-suckling prevails, it may fre- 

 quently be a beneficial practice to take a se- 

 cond crop of hay, as the first may by that 

 means be more fully spared for sale, the after- 

 crop supplying the cows or other cattle that 

 may be kept on the farm. But in cases where 

 manure cannot easily be obtained, and there is 

 no local practice carried on which requires 

 such sort of hay, it is better to let it be fed off 

 by stock than run the risk of exhausting and 

 injuring the ground by taking off repeated 

 crops. There is also another circumstance," 

 he says, "to be considered in thi? business, 

 which is, that of the state of the land in respect 

 to dryness, as where it is low, wet, and very 

 retentive of moisture, it may be often more 

 hurt by the poaching of the cattle in feeding 

 off the herbage than by a second crop of hay." 

 But that, " independent of these considerations, 

 it may, in general, be a more safe and usual 

 practice to eat off the after-grass by stock, and 

 only take one crop of hay, as by such means a 

 more abundant annual produce may be afford- 

 ed, and the land sustain less injury." 



It is, however, added, that " where a crop of 

 rowen is made into hay, the most profitable 

 application of it is probably in the foddering 

 of such cows as are in milk ; as it is well 

 suited, by its grassy quality, and its not heat- 

 ing so much, when well made, as other sorts 

 of hay in the stack, to afford a large flow of 

 milk. It is this reason that induces the cow 

 farmers to cut their grass so many times in the 

 summer. Another beneficial application of 

 this hay is, as has been seen, in the feeding of 

 such ewes as are employed in the suckling of 

 house-lambs during the winter season; the 

 intention in this case is the same as in that of 

 the preceding instance. There is another ad- 

 vantageous use to which this sort of produce 

 may be applied, which is that of supporting 

 young calves, and all sorts of young cattle that 

 are kept as store stock." And that, " where 

 sheep require the support of hay in the winter 

 season, it is also well adapted to that use." 

 In the manner of feeding after-grass, there is 



