H O L 
liocd, except within twenty*br thirty miles of London, I 
where the gardeners who had been bred in the kitchen- 
gardens near London, every feafon went out in parti- 
cular gangs to the different parts of the neighbouring 
country, and each party engaged to hoe the Turneps 
in fuch a particular district, at a certain price per 
acre ^ and from the fuccefs of the farmers who firft 
employed them, their neighbours were at length 
tempted to follow their example, fo that it became ne- 
ceffary for feme of their labourers to underfeand this 
work ; and from that time it has prevailed fo much, 
as that many of the diftant counties have now engaged 
in this pradtice : and if the Horfe-hoeing hufoandry 
was but well eftablifhed among the farmers near Lon- 
don, there would be little doubt of its fpreading into 
the diftant counties j but there are great prejudices 
againft it at prefent, moft of them arifing from the 
ignorance of the farmers in general, and others from 
the over-fondnefs of the author to his own fchemes, 
which has in many particulars carried him into many 
known a'ofurdities ; and thefe being well known to 
every pradtical farmer and gardener, are fufficient ar- 
guments with them againft making trial of the ufeful 
part of his fcheme. 
The utility of this method of hufbandry, is firft, in pro- 
portioning the number of plants to the pafture, which 
the ground is fuppofed capable of nourifhing pro- 
perly. The fecond is, by frequent ftirring of the 
furface of the land, all weeds which rob the crop 
of its nourifnrnent is deftroyed, and the clods of earth 
are hereby divided and pulverized, fo that the roots of 
the plants can more eafily penetrate them, and fearch 
their proper food •, befides, the dews and moifture are 
eafily imbibed in the loofe ground, whereby the plants 
receive a greater fhare of nourifhment. 
There are few perfons who properly confider of what 
confequence the ftirring and breaking of the furface 
of the ground is to all crops growing therein. I have 
frequently made trial of this, when the crop has been 
fo bad as to be thought not worth ftanding, which has 
been occaftoned by the great quantity of rain which 
has fallen, whereby the furface of the ground has been 
fo clofely bound, as that the plants could find no nou- 
rifhment, but have changed their ufual verdure to a 
purple colour, and have made no progrefs *, but 
upon Hoeing the ground and breaking the clods, the 
plants have put out new roots, and have flourifhed 
exceedingly. From many repeated trials of this kind 
I can affirm, that if the Wheat in general was fowed 
in rows, fo as that the plough may be brought be- 
tween them in the fpring, to loofen the ground, which 
by the winter’s rains may have been too clofely bound, 
the crop would more than double what is the com- 
mon produce. 
But the author of this fcheme was too fanguine in 
his propofals, firft, by afford ng, that in this method 
of hufbandry, the land would conftantly produce the 
fame fort of crops without diminution and fecondly, 
it might be done without dreffing or manuring the 
ground ; and his fondnefs for his own fcheme carried 
him fo far in the profecution of it, as at laft to have 
much worfe crops than any of his neighbours *, how- 
ever, this fhould not difeourage others from the prac- 
tice of it, though upon different principles : for al- 
though the land thus cultivated, will not nourifh the 
fame plant without manuring feveral years, yet by this 
method of hufbandry I can affirm, that all crops will 
be fo much improved, as to doubly anfwer the diffe- 
rence of expence, and lefs than a iixth part of the feed 
will be enough for the fame fpace of ground. The 
common fwing plough will anfwer all intents of Florfe- 
hoeing. 
HOLCUS. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1015. Milium. Tourn. 
Inft. R. H. 514. tab. 298. Sorgum. Mich. Indian 
Millet, or Corn. 
The Characters are, 
It hath male and hermaphrodite flowers fometimes on the 
fame plant, at others on different plants. ‘The male 
flowers are [mail, and have a bivalve chaff-, thefe 
valves are oval , fpear-Jhaped , and twified , ending with 
3 
H O R 
an acute beard they have a j mall hairy corolla with 
three hairy ftamina , terminated by oblong fummits. The 
hermaphrodite flowers are jingle , in a Jiff bivalve chaff ; 
the inner of thefe IS fender , hairy , and lefs than the em- 
bedment , the outer valve terminates in a rigid beard, 
and is larger than the empalement they have three hairy 
ftamina , terminated by oblong fummits , with a round - 
ijh germen , fupporting two hairy ftyles , crowned with 
plumofe fummits. The germen afterward becomes an oval 
Jingle feed wrapped up in the chaff. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft faction of 
Linnaeus’s twenty- third dais, intitled Polygamla 
Moncecia which includes thofe plants which have 
male and hermaphrodite flowers in different parts of 
the fame plant, whofe flowers have feveral ftamina. 
The Species are, 
1. Holcus ( Sorgum ) glumis villofis, feminibus ariftatis. 
Hort. Upfal. 301. Holcus with hairy chaff and bearded 
feeds. Milium arundinaceum, fubrotundo femine. 
Sorgo nominatum. C. B. P. 26. Reed-like Millet, with 
a roundijh feed , called Sorgum. 
2. Holcus [Sac char at us) glumis glabris, feminibus mu- 
ticis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1047. Holcus with fmooth hufks, 
and feeds without awns. Milium Indicum, arundina- 
ceo caule, granis flavefeentibus. H. L. 425. Indian 
Millet with a reedy ftalk, and yellowijh grains. 
There are feveral other of the graffy tribe which be- 
long to this genus, but as they are not cultivated for 
ufe, fo I ihall not enumerate them here. 
The tym forts here mentioned, grow naturally in In- 
dia, where their grain is often ufed to feed poultry, 
and the feeds of thefe are frequently font to Europe 
for the fame purpofe ; but the fummers are feldom 
warm enough to ripen the feeds in the open air in 
England, but in Italy they are both cultivated. The 
ftalks of thefe plants rife five or fix feet high, which 
are ftrong reedy, and like thofe of the Maiz, or 
Turkey Wheat, but fmaller. The leaves are long and 
broad, having a deep furrow through the center, 
where the midrib is deprdfod on the upper furface, 
and is very prominent below. The leaves are two 
feet and 2. half long, and two inches broad in the 
middle, embracing the ftalks with their bafo. The 
flowers come out in large panicles at the* top of the 
ftalks, refombling, at firft appearance, the male fpikes 
of the Turkey Wheat ; thefe are fucceeded by large 
roundifh feeds, which arewrapped round with thechaff. 
Thefe plants are propagated in a few gardens for 
the fake of variety, but as they are late in ripening 
their grain here, fo they are not worth cultivating 
for ufe. The feeds fhould be fown on a warm border, 
or upon a gentle hot-bed in March ; and when the 
plants come up, they fhould be thinned and planted 
at the diftance of a foot afunder in the rows, and the 
rows fhould be three feet diftance ; the culture after 
this, is to keep the ground clean from weeds, and 
draw the earth up with a hoe to the Items of the 
plants ; if the feafon proves warm, their panicles will 
appear in July, and the grain will ripen in September, 
but in bad feafons their grain will not ripen here. 
H O L L O W R O O T. See Eumaria. 
HOLLY. See Ilex. 
HOLLYHOCKS. See Alcea. 
HOMOGENEAL or HOMOGENEOUS 
plants, are fuch plants as are of the fame kind, or na- 
ture, with others. 
HONEYSUCKLE. See Periclymenum. 
HOPS. See Lupulus. 
HORDEUM. Lin. Gen. Plant. 94. Tourn. Inft. R. 
H. 513. tab. 293. Barley in French, Orge. 
The Characters are, 
It hath a partial involucrum of fix narrow-pointed leaves , 
which contain three flowers. The petal of the flower opens 
with two valves ; the under valve is angular, [welling, 
oval, and pointed, being longer than the empalement , 
ending in a long beard the inner is j mall and fpear-Jbaped. 
The flower hath three hairy ftamina fhorter than the pe- 
tal, terminated by oblong fummits. It hath an oval tur ned 
germen, fupporting two hairy reflexed ftyles, crowned by the 
like ftigmas. The germen afterward becomes an oblong bellied 
