838 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK ix. 



been largely converted into alcohol and carbonic acid, by which a 

 certain amount of waste has occurred." 



Before we dismiss this subject, we would call the attention of the 

 farmer to some details of management that might otherwise possibly 

 escape him, amid the multiplicity of his engagements. His store- 

 cattle should be turned into the meadow for a few days immediately 

 after the hay is cleared out of it, in order " to pick about the hedges," 

 as it is termed in West Devon, for the herbage which, though 

 then succulent and edible to the store cattle, would, before the after- 

 grass was ready to be pastured off, become unpalatable, and be 

 altogether rejected by young cows or fatting stock, with fresh succulent 

 herbage before them. Such cattle must not, however, be continued 

 on the newly-mown land after they have effected the object for which 

 they were placed there. 



Various modes are practised in order to make the most of the AFTER- 

 GRASS or aftermath, rowen, fog, or eddish for by all these names is 

 the second crop designated which is in much request for cows. In 

 the vicinity of large towns, or where lambs are suckled to any great 

 extent, it may be advantageous to take a second crop of hay, in the 

 mowing of which, however, more attention is necessary than in the 

 previous case, owing to the greater difficulty of cutting the grass crops 

 on account of their lightness. Hence, unless the mowers are very 

 skilful, the scythe is apt to pass over the grass without fairly cutting 

 it. The proper time for taking this second crop is as soon as there is 

 a sufficient length of rowen to cut ; and the operation of mowing 

 should be performed early in the morning, before the sun can have 

 evaporated the dew. 



The subsequent procedure varies in no respect from that followed in 

 preparing the first crop of hay. Less time, however, will suffice : but 

 rowen hay should be well made and preserved, otherwise it will become 

 mildewed or mouldy, and be rejected by the cattle. 



The hay from the eddish or after-grass of water meadows is inferior 

 to that of upland meadows ; and the grass not having had sufficient 

 sun or time to harden it, is soft and woolly, and has no proof in it. 

 Cattle, though fond of it, do not thrive upon it ; still, it is used chiefly 

 for cows. On this account, therefore, it will be advisable to turn the 

 neat cattle into the eddish of water meadows, and to retain the after- 

 math of other grass lands for the trying season of spring ; for when 

 other kinds of fodder are scarce, the rowen will prove not only a most 

 seasonable supply for ewes and lambs, but is said to be far preferable 

 for them to turnips, cabbage, &c. The rowen is never so good as the 

 first crop, either in quantity or quality ; in addition to which, the late 

 period of the season renders the preparation of it precarious and 

 difficult. It is, therefore, good husbandry, except under the particular 

 circumstances to which reference has been made, to pasture the after- 

 math, and not to make it into hay. Low says, " Wherever the system 

 of cultivated grasses is perfectly understood, they will never be mown 

 for hay more than once, and then the after-math used for herbage 



