WEED. 



Black knap-weed is a common and abundant weed in fome 

 moift and cold meadows and paftures, where it is a very bad 

 plant, being coarfe, hard, and ftubborn, feldom touched by 

 cattle, either in the green or Arj ftate, and not extirpated 

 from the ground without much difficulty : it is a perennial 

 weed, which increafes much by the root, according to the 

 Flora Ruftica. It is fuppofed that it might probably be 

 much weakened and reduced, and be extirpated by degrees 

 by drawing up after rain. It is ftated too, that in Glou- 

 cefterfhire the common black knap or knob-weed, provin- 

 cially hard heads, is a vile and worthlefs weed, which cattle 

 of no kind will touch, in any ftate ; and yet it is fuffered, 

 on fome paftures, to grow and increafe to fuch a degree, as 

 to exclude the appearance of almoft every other plant, and, 

 though ufelefs, is mowed with the other heibage, and pre- 

 ferved for winter fodder. That it is a weed which indicates 

 poor land, though probably, by the ufe of foaper's a(hes, 

 it might be conquered, otherwife the ground (hould be 

 ploughed up and converted to a better purpofe. The writer 

 of this article lately faw it wholly covering a poor pafture 

 field in the north of Lancaftiire, to the exclufion of all ufe- 

 ful grafies. See Centaurea Nigra. 



Sedge-grajfes, various forts, are weeds that are moft com- 

 mon in cold, old, four, moift clayey lands of the meadow 

 and pafture kind, undrained and unimproved ; in which 

 they are faid, in fome places, to occupy the whole furface : 

 they are extremely hardy, and flourifti where fcarcely any 

 thing elfe will grow : feem produced by nature from this 

 principle in her economy, that a bad plant is better than 

 none, for thefe plants are not eaten by any fort of cattle 

 which can get any thing better ; yet, upon getting quit of 

 the fuperfluous moifture or wetnefs, and top-dreffing the 

 land, it will commonly give way to a finer and more valuable 

 herbage. See Carex. 



They have provincially the titles of hard-grafs, iron-grafs, 

 and carnation-grafs, fometimes applied to them. 



Common nettle is a weed lometimes growing in tufts on 

 pafture-land, where it ftiould always be rooted up, as it will 

 prevent the growth of good herbage, and render the grafs 

 rank near it : aftes are faid to be fond of it, and cows eat it 

 in the ftate of hay. See Urtica Dioica. 



Mojfes, various forts, are weeds that are fometimes faid 

 to fpread on pafture and other grafs lands, and, it is be- 

 lieved, indicate that the herbage is ftarving and torpid, 

 and ftands in need of a ftimulus to quicken its growth : 

 proper top-dreffing ftiould be ufed, and the wetnefs be re- 

 moved, if neceflary. Treading by ftieep, and fcratching the 

 furface by means of fine-teethed implements, have likewife 

 been found of great utihty. See Musci, and Moss. 



Such plants as the above muft be confidered as proper and 

 neceflary to be extirpated from grals-lands of moft kinds ; 

 but there are various others which are of lefs importance, 

 and the charafters of which are more doubtful, and their 

 ufes not fo well determined and decided upon. 



Of this latter fort or clafs, the following may be noticed 

 as being moftly improper in iuch fituations. 



Crowfoots, butter-flower, butter-cup, king-cup, or gold- 

 eup, are plants almoft every where lound in meadow and 

 pafture lands. The pile-wort is common in fome places, 

 and the bulbous-rooted fort, it is obfervcd, has knotty roote, 

 rifes little above the ground, bloftbms early in the fpring, 

 and is chiefly found in meadows that are rather moift, being 

 eaten only by ftieep. The other forts are common in the 

 meadows and paftures everywhere, being very abundant in 

 the hay-grounds near the metropolis. Their good qualities 

 in fuch lands have been much queftioned and difputed by 

 many ; but the writer of the paper already noticed is inclined 



to think favourably of them, efpecially as promoting the di- 

 geftion of the live-ftock that feed in fuch paftures ; and as 

 not having been difcovered to be injurious in fuch fituations 

 by farmers in their long experience. The writer of the 

 Glouceiter report, however, ftates, that the feveral forts of 

 crowfoot, provincially termed crazys, which in the fpring 

 throw a yellow veil over the meadows, are to be reckoned 

 among the ufelefs weeds, having little to recommend them 

 to notice but their gaudy appearance. That the three latter 

 forts are acrid and biting to the tafte, and are therefore re- 

 jefted by cattle nearly alike. It is indeed faid, that the 

 creeping crazy is more mild and palatable to fome cattle, 

 though it is to be fufpefted that cattle eat it rather from 

 neceffity than liking ; as from its fpreading along the furface, 

 it becomes fo matted with the herbage, that it muft be 

 taken up, in fome degree, with it. The ftalks of the two 

 others are left Handing when the ground is quite bare about 

 them ; yet, when made with the hay, they are faid to lofe 

 the pungent quality ; and the brightnefs of the bloflbm in 

 the rick, is always a fign of the whole having been well 

 harvefted. 



All the forts of this tribe of plants, though pleafant to 

 the eye in meadows and paftures, in confequence of their 

 difplay of yellov/ flowers, are, it is faid in the Berkftiire re- 

 port, injurious to the herbage, and little reliftied by animals 

 of any kind. Although difficult to be eradicated, fome of 

 the larger forts of them may be reduced greatly by proper 

 care and attention. See Ranunculus Ficaria, Bulbofus, 

 Repens, and Acris. 



IVild mint is a plant found in moift paftures, and which 

 prevents the coagulation of milk ; fo that when cows have 

 eaten it, as they are apt to do largely at the end of fummer 

 when the paftures get bare, their milk can hardly be made 

 to yield cheefe ; a circumftance which occafionally puzzles 

 the dairy -maids. It is a plant that ftiould be removed from 

 paftures, and which, it is fuppofed, may be weakened by 

 effeftually removing the wetnefs of the land. See Mentha 

 Arvenjis. 



Marjh marigold is a plant that occupies much fpace, and 

 which IS dangerous to cows. It (hould confequently be re- 

 moved from paftures and other grafs-lands. See Caltha 

 Palujlris. 



Water hemlock is a plant fuppofed poifonous to horfes, 

 and ftiould therefore be eradicated from pafture-lands. See 

 Thellandkium Aquaticum. 



Water coivbane, meadow-fafFron, and treacle-muftard, are 

 plants in pafture and grafs lands, that are faid to communi- 

 cate an unpleafant odour to the milk of cows, and to be 

 fometimes fatal to them. When abundant they ought to 

 be removed from fuch lands. See Cicuta Vircfa, CoLCHl- 

 CUM Autumnale, and Theapsi Arvenfis. 



Moufe-ear fcorpion-grafs is a plant that often proves fatal 

 to ftieep, it is faid, and ftiould of courfe be extirpated from 

 ftieep-walks. See Myosotis Scorpoides. 



Rag-iuort is a plant in grafs-land which cows and horfes 

 refufe, and which fheep will only eat when very young : it is 

 a plant that is ftated, in the Chelhire Report on Agriculture, 

 to be regarded as worfe than ufelefs both in meadows and 

 paftures. That it frequents rich foils only ; and that the 

 farmer there often exhibits the keddle-dock, as it is provin- 

 cially termed, as a proof of the goodnefs of his land. That 

 while his vanity is flattered by its prefence, he not only 

 neglefts to extirpate it, but frequently fuffers it to fpread 

 over one of his beft pieces of land, to the injury of himfelf 

 and the annoyance of his neighbour. It is faid that by 

 mowing it is prevented from propagating its feeds ; but 

 that the roots are not deftroyed. That this is beft effefted 



either 



