GRASS. 



the lanJ, and Uiprefore fowcd t'ais pieee for a trial: the 

 veHilt has fatisficd him that all apprehenfion of the hind 

 was ill-foimded, and he intends lubilituting it for ray-grafs." 

 The author luis alio " cultivated this grafs on a large fc?Je 

 for many years, and has found it of great ufe. It is a moll 

 valuable plant when kept clofe fed.'' S;e Dactvlis Glo- 

 mcrata. 



" Tall oat-grafs ( avena ehl'ior ) . This is another coarfe 

 grafs, profitable when kept clofe fed : the feed might be 

 had in any quantity from France, or gathered by hand in 

 England. ' In the Rev. Mr. Swayne's experiment, it 

 yielded a greater weight than any other grafs." See AvENA 

 Elatior. 



" Timothy grafs (phlcumpraknfe). Tiiis grafs is reprc- 

 fented by all travcll.-rs in America, he obferves, as the 

 great fupport of cattle, &c. wherever meadows are foimd ; 

 and it is a(ferted to have confiderable merit. He has feveral 

 times made the trial of keeping it clofe fed by ihecp on a 

 moiil loam, upon a clay marie bottom. The fucccfs was 

 very encouraging ; enough, he thinks, to prove that it is 

 an objciil, in this line of luifhandry, which merits confi- 

 derable attention ; and the more, as the feeds are to be had, 

 very clean dreffed, in any quantity from America, at about 

 a guinea a budiel ; which is fufficient, with other plants, 

 for four or five acres of land. He believes it is bell adapted 

 to clav, moill loams, and efpecially peat." See PilLEUif 

 Pratciife. 



" Yarrow (achULtn mill, folium }. This, he affcrts, is one 

 of the moll common and moil valuable plants that is to be 

 met with in England. On lii* farm the cultivation of it 

 has been carried on with fuccefs as a Iheep-patlure for fome 

 years. It is found on moill loams almoll equally with dry 

 burning fands, gravels, and chalks. It has a fingular qua- 

 lity of refifling drought on the moll arid foiis ; fo that, if 

 you fee at a dillance a green fpot on a burMt-up, clofe-fed 

 pafture, twenty to one Init it is clothed with this plant. 

 It is fouHd in the richell meadows and bullock-palhires. 

 Jive fliillings per bufliel are given for gathering the feed 

 in Oclober : it is a plant deferving great attention. Sheep 

 are very fond of it. It is faid to form a fourth-part of the 

 herbage of fome of the fine meadows of Lombardy.'' 



" Burnet (poterium fangniforha). It is remarked that 

 there are large tracls of the fined parts of the South Downs 

 upon which tliis plant forms half the indigenous pafturage. 

 It abounds much alio on all other chalk downs ; but it will 

 flourilh on anv foil, on fand, clay, peat, &c. Some writers 

 fpeak of it for cows : it has been cultivated on his farm 

 thcfe five and twenty years for Iheep, for which animal it is 

 very ufeful. The feed is to be bought almoll every where.'' 

 See BuKNET. 



And it is obferved in the Agricultural Survey of Nor- 

 folk, that this plant was " introduced at Stoke jj years 

 ago, as the writer then regillered, with great fuccels ; 

 but it never made any progrefs, though it j-ielded luxu. 

 riant food for many horfes in February." However, " the 

 reputation of this plant attradled the notice of iVfr. Coke, 

 who formed an experiment at Holkham, to examine care- 

 fully its merits, and, with the fplrit that characterizes his 

 hulhandry, fowed 40 acres, mixing a fmall quantity of v/hilc 

 clover and rib-grafs with it. The refuit v.as as decifive as 

 can be imagined ; the field has been fully and inceffantly 

 flocked with-lheep, and was conftantly pared as clofe to the 

 ground, as a favourite fpot in a pa. lure is by horles.'' And 

 in other refpecls it is alfo valuable, as " Mr. Bevau has 

 found it to be the moll wlvolefome food for (lieep in a wet 

 fprin*, and a tertai:i remedy f c r the flux." Atid he "is 



5> 



pever without twenty acres of it," 



" White clover flrifolium reper.s). It is alTerted that this 

 plant lias hitherto been the main dependence of thofe wlio 

 have laid down land to grafs ; and though, for flieep, it has 

 not the iweetnefs of fome other plants, or of red clover, yet 

 upon the whole, it is one of the bell that can be relied on 

 for all rich or dry loams, fands, 5cc. and alfo for rich and 

 drained clays and peats ; but on poor wet loams and clayi it 

 will not abide, but gives way to the water-grafs (agrojt'is Jlo- 

 hnijera) and noxious plants, or other indigenous grall'es. 

 There is no better tell of good land, than its running fpon- • 

 taneuudy to this plant ; from the fine loams on rock, upon 

 the Tamar, to the deep friable ones of Leicellerdiire, red- 

 clover, left unploughed, gives way to a thick covering of 

 this plant. Whatever feeds be fown, this clover fliould \ 

 form a part of the dependence for fuccefs. Mr. Bakewell, 

 Mr. Wright of Norfolk, and feveral other practical far- 

 mers, made this obfervation, that Hock has been known to 

 do badly, though there was much food on the ground ; per- 

 haps that is precifely the reafon ; and that this plant, hke fo 

 many others, demands very clofe feeding to difcover its 1 

 merit." See Clover. I 



" Trefod (medicago lupulina). It is obferved that, though 

 only a biennial, it is fure to Ihed fo nuich feed that it rarely ' 

 wears out of land. It is a good plant, not at all nice in foil, 

 and the feed cheap." See Trefoil. 



" Cow-grafs flrifolium medium). An excellent plant for 

 clays and ilrong loams. It is faid, in the Lincoln Report, 

 that Mr. Ancel got good crops on a rabbit fand ; the hint ■ 

 is worth purfuing, but he has not feen it cultivated on fuch 

 foils. It is much more abiding tlian common clover. The . 

 feed is always to be had: it is known alfo under the name of , 

 marie grafs. Mr. Bakewell's method of laying down was, ■ 

 by common red clover and ray grafs, being fure of plenty of i 

 white clover and good grades coming : but he prepared by 

 two crops of turnips in fucceffion, and fowed with the barley 

 following. On fuch land as his, the praftice is not to be 

 condemned, but on other foils it would fail entirely.'' 



" Rib-grafs (plautngo lanceolata). It is afferted that upon 

 rich fands and luams this plant gives a confiderable herbage, 

 and on poorer and drier foils it does well for iheep ; but that '. 

 it is inferior to fome others. Mr. Marlhall obferves, 

 that it has ilood the ted; of years' ei'ablidied praClice in : 

 Yorkfliire, and is in good eilimation ; though not wellaffeCl- ■ 

 ed by horfes, and bad for hay, from retaining its fap. The i 

 eminent Haller informs us, that the allonilhing riciniefs of 

 the famous dairies of the Alps, defcribed by Scheuchzer, is I 

 attributed entirely to the plenty of this plant, and the alche- \ 

 milla vulgaris. The feed is always plentiful." See Plan- 



TAGO. 



" Luccrn ( medicago faliva ) . This is more confined than 

 any of the other plants. A landlord diould, he thinks, only" 

 ilipulate for it on very rich, deep, friable, dry, found, mellow 

 loams, and fertile fands, worth 30/. an acre. Upon fuch ' 

 lands, he cannot do better than to encourage it among the 

 tenantry, to be fown broad-call, zolbs, an acre, and to re- 

 main wliile produftive, wliich will be from twelve to fifteen 

 vears. On fuch foils it will, he lays, fupport more cattle 

 than any other plant.'' See LucEiiX. 



But more full accounts of tliele gralFes will be found under 

 the diff'erent heads which are referred to. 



With refpeCl to hay-feeds, it is flated that tlie only cafe in 

 which thefe are admiillble is, when a perfon has a very clean 

 and valuable meadow or pailure which he faves with a view 

 for feed ; drawing out the bad plants whiifl the crop is on 

 the fwath, and tiu-elhing the produce on a clotli, after ftand- 

 iiig till the feeds be ripe. Thus managed, excellent feed 



may 



