M E A 
the feeds, which are fattened round the ftyle. This 
plant flowers the beginning of May, and the feeds 
ripen in July, foon after which the (talks and leaves 
decay, fo that the roots remain ina&ive till the fol- 
lowing fpring. 
This , plant is propagated by offsets, which the roots 
put out pretty freely when they are ina loofe moift foil 
and a (hady fituation •, the beft time to remove the 
roots, and take away the offsets, is in Auguil, after the 
leaves and ftalks are decayed, that they may be fixed 
well in their new fituation before the froft comes on. 
It may alfo be propagated by feeds, which the plants 
generally produce in plenty ; thefe (hould be fown in 
the autumn foon after they are ripe, either in a (hady 
moift border, or in pots, which (hould be placed in 
the (hade ", in the fpring the plants will come up, 
and mutt then be kept clean from weeds, and if the 
feafon proves dry, they mutt be frequently refreshed 
with water ; nor (hould they be expofed to the fun, 
for while the plants are young, they are very impa- 
tient of heat, fo that I have known great numbers 
of them deftroyed in two or three days, which were 
growing to the full fun. Thefe young plants (hould 
not be tranfplanted till their leaves are decayed, then 
they may be carefully taken up and planted in a 
(hady border, where the foil is loofe and moift, at 
about eight inches diftance from each other, which 
will be room enough for them to grow one year, by 
which time they will be ftrong enough to produce 
flowers, fo may then be tranfplanted into fome (ha- 
dy borders 'in the flower-garden, where they will 
appear very ornamental during the continuance of 
their flowers. 
At the firft many fuppofed this plant to be tender, fo 
planted it in warm (filiations and nurfed it too much, 
whereby the plants were often killed ; but by experi- 
ence it is found to be fo hardy, as not to be hurt by 
the fevered cold of this country; but it will not 
thrive in a very dry foil, or where it is greatly expofed 
to the fun. 
MEADOW. 
Under the general title of Meadow, is commonly 
comprehended all pafture land, or at lead all Grafs 
land, which is mown for hay ; but I chufe rather to 
diftinguilh fuch land only by this appellation, which 
is fo low, as to be too moift for cattle to graze upon 
them in winter, being generally too wet to admit hea- 
vy cattle, without poaching and fpoiling the fward ; 
and thofe Grafs lands which are drier, I (hall diftin- 
guifli by the title of pafture. 
There are two forts of Meadows in England, one of 
which is (filed Water Meadows, and the other are 
Amply called Meadows. 
Water Meadows are thofe which lie contiguous to 
rivers or brooks, from whence the water can be car- 
ried to overflow the Grafs at pleafure. Of thefe there 
are large trails in feveral parts of England, which, if 
fkilfully managed, would become much more profit- 
able to their owners than they are at prefent, as hath 
been already mentioned in another place ; for nothing 
can be more abfurd than the common prailice of 
flowing thefe low grounds all the winter, whereby the 
roots of all the fweeteft kinds of Grafs are deftroyed, 
and only fuch Graffes left as are natives of marfhes, 
which are coarle and four : and if people were curious 
to examine the herbage of thefe Water Meadows, 
they would find the bulk of them compofed of bad 
weeds, fuch as grow by the fides of rivers, brooks, 
and ditches, of which the feveral forts of Docks make 
no fmall (hare ; and although many of thefe Mea- 
dows produce a great burden of what the country peo- 
ple call hay, yet this is only fit for cows, cart-horfes, 
and other animals, which by hard labour and hunger, 
are driven to eat it ; for horfes which have been accuf- 
torned to feed on good hay, will ftarve before they 
will touch it : and after the Grafs is mown off thefe 
Meadows, and cattle turned in to graze upon them, 
how common is it to fee the land almoft covered with 
thefe rank weeds, which the cattle never will eat ! 
Which muft always be the condition of (uch Meadows, 
M E A 
where the water is let over thera-fn autumn and win- 
ter ; for, as the fides of rivers and brooks do every 
where abound with thefe rank weeds, whole feeds ri- 
pen in autumn, and falling into the water, they are 
carried by the dream, and depofited on the flowed 
land, where they grow and fill the ground in every 
part ; but fo incurious are the generality of farmers 
in this refpeft, that if the ground is but well covered, 
they care not what it is, few of them ever taking any 
pains to weed or clean their paftures. 
The method which I propofe for the management of 
thefe Meadows is, never to flow them till the middle 
or latter end of March, excepting once or twice in 
winter, when there may happen floods, which may 
bring down a great (hare of foil from the upper lands, 
at which tirries it will be of great fervice to let water 
upon the Meadows, that the foil may fettle there ; but 
the fooner the wet is drained off when this is lodged, 
the greater advantage the Meadow's will receive by it ; 
but from the end of March to the middle of May, in 
dry feafons, by frequently letting on the water, the 
growth of the Grafs will be greatly encouraged, and at 
this feafon there will be no danger of deftroying the 
roots of the Grafs ; and after the hay is carried off 
the ground, if the feafon (hould prove dry, it will be 
of great fervice to the Grafs, if the Meadows are 
flowed again ; but when this is praftifed, no cattle 
(hould be turned into the Meadows, till the ftirface 
of the ground is become firm enough to bear their 
weight without poaching the land, for otherwife the 
Grafs will fuffer more from the treading of the cat- 
tle, than it will receive benefit by the flowing ; but 
thefe are things which the country people feldom 
regard, fo that die Meadows are generally very un- 
fightly, and rendered lefs profitable. 
I would alfo recommend the weeding of thefe Mea- 
dows twice a year ; the firft time in April, and again 
in O&ober ; at which times if the roots of Docks 
and all bad weeds are cut up with a fpaddle, the Mea- 
dows will foon be cleared of this trumpery, and the 
herbage greatly improved. 
Another great improvement of thefe lands might be 
procured, by rolling them with a heavy roller in 
fpring and autumn. This will prefs the furface of 
the ground even, whereby it may be mown much 
clofer, and it will alfo fweeten the Grafs ; and this 
piece of hulbandry is of more fervice to paftures 
than mod people are aware of. 
As to thofe Meadows which cannot be flowed, there 
(hould be the fame care taken to weed and roll them, 
as hath been dire&ed for the Water Meadows ; as alfo 
never to let heavy cattle graze upon them in winter 
when they are wet ; for the cattle will then poach 
them, and greatly injure the Grafs ; therefore thefe 
(hould be fed down as clofe as poflible in the autumn, 
, before the heavy rains fall to render the ground foft ; 
and thofe paftures which are drier, may be kept to 
fupply the want of thefe in winter ; and where there 
are not cattle enough to eat down the Grafs in time, 
it will be much better to cut off what is left, than 
to fuffer it to rot upon the ground, for that will pre- 
vent the Grafs from (hooting early in the fpring ; but 
where people have not cattle enough of their own to 
eat down the Grafs in time, they had much better 
take in fome of their neighbours, than fuffer their fog 
(as it is called) to remain all the winter. When thefe 
Meadows are fed in the autumn, the greater variety 
of animals are turned in, the clofer they will eat th® 
Grafs; and I am fully convinced, the clofer it is 
eaten, the better the Grafs will come up the follow- 
ing fpring ; therefore, if during the time while the 
cattle are feeding, the Meadows are well rolled, the 
animals will eat the Grafs much cloler than they 
otherwife would. 
Thofe perfons who are beft (killed in this part of 
hufbandry, always drefs their Meadows every other, 
or at lead every third year, without which it is in vain 
to expeft any good crop of hay ; but the generality 
of the farmers are fo much diftreffed for dreffing to 
fupply their Corn land, as not to have any to (pare 
