54 Fog for Winter Use. 



herbage shelters the young grass shoots in spring, and 

 thus promotes their growth. Rouen was also adopted 

 in Herefordshire. A Mr. Knight is quoted as observing 

 that, if leaves are eaten off shortly after mowing, the 

 roots are deprived of their nourishment, and the plants 

 consequently vegetate weakly in the ensuing spring. 

 Aftermath left to rot on the ground is a good prepara- 

 tion for the next crop of hay. 



But in one part of the country the practice of saving 

 growing grass for future use was much further extended, 

 and Arthur Young, under the heading of "fog," observes 

 that it is a term given in South Wales to the growth 

 of the whole year kept till the ensuing winter and 

 spring, a practice commonly found nowhere else. On 

 dry sound land that will not poach, the whole crop of 

 grass is kept in Cardigan without being mown or fed ; 

 stock of all sorts fed in depth of winter without any 

 other food, and always in excellent order. It kills moss, 

 and much improves the pastures ; nor will an acre of 

 the best hay support so much cattle as one acre of fog. 

 The grass is much improved by the quantity of seeds 

 that fall. 



I now turn to Young's experience as to lajdng down 

 land to grass. There is much said in favour of sowing 

 gr^ss with rape, to be fed off by sheep. In Yorkshire 

 Colonel Vavasour laid down with buckwheat sown.in the 

 end of June, and harvested end of September, and this 

 plan turned out to be very successful. At Felthorpe, in 

 Norfolk, buckwheat was considered superior to any 

 other crop in which to sow grass seeds. It affords good 

 shelter, and, being late sown, gives a good opportunity 

 for destroying weeds. Young laid down a field to grass 

 (chiefly bumet) in 1769, which did very well, though 

 the buckwheat was a very great crop — 49 bushels an 

 acre. Buckwheat he considered the best crop with 

 which to lay down, because it was not exhaustive sown 

 thinly, and yet from branching, and size of leaf, joins 

 so close at the top that the young grasses have plenty of 



