MED 
a, iurvey of fome of thefe lands which have been fb 
cultivated three or four years, which I am fully per- 
fuaded will convince them of the bad hufbandry, for 
no perfon who has any regard to neatnefs and utility, 
will ever pradtife this method. 
The beft places to procure the feed from, are Swit- 
zerland, and the northern parts of France, for the 
feeds faved in thofe countries fticceed better with 
us than that which comes from a more fouthern cli- 
mate j but this feed may be faved full as well in Eng- 
land, and in as great plenty, were people curious 
enough to let the firft crop ftand for that purpofe ; 
in order to which, a fmall quantity of the plants 
fhould be fuffered to grow uncut till the feeds are 
ripe, which is commonly about the beginning of 
September, when it muft be cut, and laid to dry in 
an open barn, where the air may freely pafs through, 
but be defended from the wet j for if it be expofed 
thereto, it will fhoot while it remains in the pod, 
whereby it will be fpoiled. When it is quite dry, it 
muft be threfhed out, and cleanfed from the hufk, 
and prefeved in a dry place till the feafon for fowing 
it ; and this feed faved in England is much preferable 
to any brought from abroad, as I have feveral times 
experienced, the plants produced from it having been 
much ftronger than thofe produced from French, 
Helvetian, and Turkey feeds, which were fown at 
the fame time, and on the fame foil and fituation. 
I am inclinable to think, that the reafon of this plant 
not fucceeding, when it has been fown in England, 
has either been occaftoned by the fowing it with Corn, 
with which it will by no means thrive (for though 
the plant be very hardy when grown pretty large, yet 
at its firft coming up, if it be incommoded by any 
other plants or weeds, it feldom does well ; there- 
fore it fhould always be fown by itfelf, and care- 
fully cleared from weeds until it has ftrength, af- 
ter which it is noteafily deftroyed ;) or, perhaps, peo- 
ple have fown it at a wrong feafon, or in wet wea- 
ther, whereby the feeds have rotted, and never come 
up, which hath difcouraged their attempting it 
again : but however the fuccefs has been, I 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 fort of 
plant now cultivated in England, producing a much 
greater crop than any other fort of fodder, and will 
continue much longer ; for if the ground be duly 
ftirred after the cutting each crop, and the laft crop 
fed as hath been diredled, the plants will continue in 
vigour forty years or more, without renewing, pro- 
vided they are not permitted to feed, which will weak- 
en the roots more than four times cutting it would do. 
The hay of this plant fhould be kept in clofe barns, it 
being too tender to be kept in ricks open to the air 
as other hay ; but it will remain good, if well dried 
before it be carried in, three years. The people 
abroad reckon an acre of this fodder fufficient to keep 
three horfes all the year round. 
And I have been allured by perfons of undoubted 
credit, who have cultivated this plant in England, that 
three acres of it have fed ten cart-horfes from the 
end of April to the beginning of Qdober, without any 
other food, though they have been conftantly 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 daily praftifed, I have obferved that 
by the time the field has been cut over, that part 
which was the firft cut hath been ready to cut again ; 
fo that there has been a conftant fupply in the fame 
field, from the middle of April to the end of Octo- 
ber : when the feafon has continued long mild, and 
when the fummers have proved fhowery, I have 
known fix crops cut in one feafon, but in the drieft 
feafons there will be always three or four. When the 
plant begins to flower, it fhould then be cut •, for if 
it ftands longer, the ftalks will grow hard, and the 
under leaves will decay, fo that the cattle will not fo 
greedily devour it. Where there is a quantity of 
this cultivated, fome of it fhould be cut before the 
MED 
flowers appear, otherwife there will be too much to 
cut within a proper time. 
When this is made into hay, it will require a great 
deal of making, for as the ftalks are very fucculent, it 
muft be often turned, and expofed a fortnight or 
longer, before it will be fit to houfe for this re- 
quires a longer time to make than Saint Foin ; there- 
fore, when it is cut, it fhould be carried jo make 
upon fome Grafs ground, becaufe the earth in the 
intervals of the rows will wafh up, and mix with the 
hay in every fhower of rain, and by carrying it off as 
foon as it is cut, the plants will fhoot up again foon 
but it is not fo profitable for hay, as to cut green for 
all forts of cattle, but efpecially horfes, which are 
extremely fond of it and to them it will anfwer the 
purpofe both of hay and Corn, and they may be 
worked at the fame time juft as much as. when they 
are fed with Corn, or dry food. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in the fouth of France, 
in Spain, Italy, and alfo in fome more northern 
countries, and has been fuppofed only a variety of 
the firft, but I have frequentlycultivated this by feeds, 
and have never obferved it to alter. The ftalks of 
this are fmaller, and never rife fo high, generally prof- 
trating on the ground the leaves are not half fo 
broad, the flowers are produced in ihort roundifh 
fpikes, and are of a Saffron colour. This flowers 
about the fame time as the firft, and the feeds ripen the 
latter part of fummer. It may be eafily propagated 
by feeds, and hath a perennial root which will con- 
tinue many years, but is feldom cultivated any where. 
The third fort grows naturally in Italy ; this is an an- 
nual plant, having feveral flender branching ftalks a 
foot and a half long, which fpread on the ground, 
garnifhed with trifoliate leaves, whofe lobes are oval, 
fpear-fhaped, and entire. The flowers are produced 
fingly upon flender foot-ftalks, which proceed from 
the fide of the branches they are fmall, of a yellow 
colour, and fhaped like thofe of the former fort *, 
thefe are fucceeded by broad, flat, moon-fhaped 
pods, whofe borders are indented, and theie inden- 
tures are terminated by fine hairs •, in each of thefe 
pods is lodged four or five kidney-fhaped feeds. It 
flowers in June and July, and the feeds ripen in the 
autumn. 
The fourth fort grows naturally in Spain-, this is al- 
fo an annual plant, whofe ftalks grow a foot and a 
half long, trailing on the ground, and are garnifhed 
with winged leaves compofed of two pair of fmall 
lobes, terminated by one large, oval, fpear-fhaped 
lobe, which are a little hoary, and placed alter- 
nately at the joints. The flowers ftand upon long 
flender foot-ftalks, each fuftaining four or five goid~ 
coloured flowers at the top, which are fucceeded by 
compreffed moon-fhaped pods, not half fo large as 
thofe of the third fort, but have hairy indentures like 
thofe. This flowers and perfects its feeds about the 
fame time as the former. 
The fifth fort grows naturally on the borders of the 
fea in feveral parts of Italy it is alfo an annual plant, 
with proftrate herbaceous ftalks about a foot long,, 
garnifhed with trifoliate leaves, whofe lobes are 
wedge- fhaped and fawed toward the top. The flowers 
are produced upon flender foot-ftalks arifing from the 
joints of the ftalk they are about an inch long, each 
fuftaining five or fix pale yellow flowers, which are fuc- 
ceeded by fmall, thick, moon-fhaped pods, whofe 
borders are entire, containing three or four imall kid- 
ney-fhaped feeds in each. It flowers and feeds about 
the fame time with the two former. 
The fixth fort grows naturally in the Archipelago ; 
this is an annual plant, from whofe roots come out 
feveral oblong leaves about two inches and a half 
long, narrow at their bale, but broad toward the top, 
where they are rounded ; thefe fpread on the ground, 
and between them come out the ftalks which are flen- 
der, about a foot long, branching out into fmaller, 
garnifhed with winged hoary leaves : thofe on the' 
lower part of the ftafk are compofed of two pair of 
lobes terminated by an odd one 5 thefe are equal in 
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