M E 



M E 



to which, ft Cm all Quantity of the 

 Plants mould be fuffered to grew 

 uncut till the Seeds are r pe ; when 

 it mult be cut, and laid to dry in an 

 open Barn where the Air may freely 

 pafs through: but the Seed mult be 

 defended from the Wet ; for if it be 

 expos d thereto, it will (hoot while 

 it remains in the Pcd, whereby it 

 will be Cpoil'd. When it is quite dry, 

 it muft be thrclhed out, and cleanfed 

 from the Hulk, and preferved in a 

 dry Place till the Seafon for fowing 

 it : and this Seed faved in England is 

 much preferable to any brought 

 from abroad, as I have feveral 

 times experienced; the Plants pro- 

 duced from it having been much 

 Wronger than thole produced from 

 Trench , HJvetian, and Turky Seeds, 

 which were fpwn at the fame time, 

 and on the fame Soil and Situation. 



I am inclinable to think, that the 

 Reifon of this Plant not fucceeed- 

 ing, when it has been fown in Eng- 

 land, has either been occafioned by 

 the fowing it with Corn, with 

 which it will by no means thrive 

 (for tho' the Plant be very hardy 

 when grown pretty large, yet at its 

 firfl coming up, if it be incommo- 

 ded by any other Plants or Weeds, it 

 feldom does well ; therefore it mould 

 always be fown by itfelf, and care- 

 fully cleared from Weeds until it 

 h2s Strength, after which it is not 

 eafdy deftroyed) ; or perhaps Peo- 

 ple have fown it at a wrong Seafon, 

 or in wet Weather, whereby the 

 Seeds have rotted, and never come 

 up, which hath difcouraged their 

 attempting it again c but however 

 the Succefs has been, T dare aver, 

 that if the Method of fowing and 

 managing of this Plant, which is 

 here laid down, be duly followed, it 

 will be found to thrive as well as any 

 other Sort of Fodder now cultivated 

 ?r» England, and will continue much 



longer; for if the Ground be duly 



ltirrcd between each Crop, and the 

 lad Crop fed, as hath been directed, 

 the Plants will continue in Vigour 

 twenty Years or more without re- 

 newing, provided they are not per- 

 mitted to feed, which will weaken 

 the Roots more than four times 

 cutting it would do. 



The Hay of this Plant mould be 

 kept in clofe Barn , it being too 

 tender to be kept in Ricks open to 

 the Air as other Play ; but it will re- 

 main good, if well dried before it be 

 carried in, three Years. The Peo- 

 ple abroad reckon an Acre of this 

 Fodder fufficient to keep three 

 Horfes all the Year round. 



And I have been allured by Per- 

 fons of undoubted Credit, who have 

 cultivated this Plant, that three 

 Acres of it have fed ten Cart-horfes 

 from the End of April to the Begin- 

 ning of October, without any other 

 Food, tho' they have been conftant- 

 ly worked. Indeed the beft Ufe 

 which can be made of this Grafs is, 

 to cut it, and give it green to the 

 Cattle : where this hath been done 

 daily, I have obferved, that by the 

 time the Field has been cut over, 

 that Part which was the firfl cut, hath 

 been ready to cut again ; fo that 

 there has been a conftant Supply in 

 the fame Field, from the M:ddie of 

 April to the End of Oclober : when 

 the Seafon has continued long mild, 

 and when the Summers have proved 

 fhowery, I have known fix Crops 

 cut in one Seafon : but in the drieft 

 Seafons there will be always three. 

 When the Plant begins to flower, it 

 mould then be cut; for if it flands 

 longer, the Stalks will grow hard, 

 and the Under-leaves will decay ; 

 fo that the Cattle will not greedily 

 devour it. Where there is a Quan- 

 tity of this Grafs cultivated, fome of 

 it fhould be cut before the Flowers 

 appears 



