220- H O L 
In dry weather, it is long before it withers; and, when 
reduced to fuch a ftate as to l'eem totally destroyed, will 
revive wkh a flight fhower in a few hours; when rain 
falls, though fo lparingly as to be of little or no fervice 
to common paftures, it will occafion this to be fit for ufe 
in a few weeks; nay, in fome fituations not too much 
expofed to the fun, it will flourifh from occafional dews 
only. When ready to feed, it is from fix to eight feet 
high, but it is generally fed or cut when only three or 
four. It agrees with all kind of ftock ; and horfes, mules, 
and.kine, will fatten fo fait upon it, that the two former 
will be in good condition in a couple of months, or lefs ; 
and the latter will become fit for tire butcher in the courfe 
of three months. 
Guinea-grafs is faid to have been brought from Africa 
to America by the Englilh at the beginning of the pre- 
fent century; and the French introduced it thence into 
St. Domingo, &c. about the year 1768. It has made its 
way on the continent of North America, from Carolina 
to New England ; and attempts have been made to intro¬ 
duce it into Europe; but it feems too tender to be of any 
advantage as fodder in England. In Jamaica it is now 
generally cultivated to fupply both their llabled and work¬ 
ing cattle ; and fir Archibald Campbell, who was gover¬ 
nor of that ifiand, carried the feed to the Eaft Indies, 
where it was propagated with fuccefs, and was of great 
fervice to the cavalry; the liorfes having before that been 
fed on the roots of grafs. 
Propagation and Culture. Some fpecies of 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 lhould 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 fliould be three feet diftance ; the 
culture after this, is to keep the ground clean from weeds, 
and draw the earth rip with a hoe to the Hems of the 
plants ; if the feafon proves warm, their panicles will ap¬ 
pear in July, and the grain will ripen in September, but 
in bad feal'ons the grain will not ripen here. If the 
feeds however were procured from Germany or Swiffer- 
land, climates not very different from our own, it feems 
not improbable but that forghum might be made to grow 
to advantage on fome of the warmer foils of our ifiand. 
Guinea-grafs .—The manner of cultivating this grafs in 
the Weft Indies, is to make the land intended for it per¬ 
fectly bare by hoeing, and then to dig holes from three to 
five feet diftance, according to the quality of the foil. 
The holes fhould be large, and deep enough to bury a 
few roots of the grafs a good depth. The roots are taken 
from a neighbouring field or nurl'ery, and, the grafs being 
topped -within three or four inches, they are put into the 
holes well covered with earth, and prefied down by the 
foot. Care is taken to keep the plants free from weeds 
by repeated hoeings. The beft months for planting are 
April and May, for the grafs will then feed in September 
and October, at which time it feeds moll abundantly. 
The ground mult be quite clean when the feed is ready 
to drop; and if the l'paces between the roots are then 
ltirred with the hoe, it will be found very beneficial. 
When the feed is all fallen, ftock are turned in to tread 
it into the ground, and feed upon the grafs. In very rich 
and new land, the grafs at firft will grow fo rank as to 
produce very thick ftalks, which, by running up the nofes 
of the ftock, will prevent them from eating it fo dole as 
they other wife would. When however it is eaten as near 
the ground as poflible, the remaining grafs, with the roots 
which were planted, are dug out with the hoe and burnt 
off. After this, the grafs, if favourable rains come, will 
grow from the feed, and, by covering the ground in May 
following, will be perfectly eftablifhed for feveral years, 
according to the quality of the land, to be cut for hay, or 
to ttand for pafture. Whenever the graft grows thin, 
holes may be opened in fuch places, and roots again 
H O L 
planted to fupply it; and, by this attention, a field will 
fcarcely ever be fo totally worn out as to require the la¬ 
bour of being at any one .time replanted. With very lit¬ 
tle care in its infancy, this grafs will overcome all other 
grafs and weeds; and in ground full of ftones and rocks, 
though planted at great diftances at random, as the foil 
admits, it will fpread itlelf about them in a few months, 
and at laft cover them entirely. If the ftalks of guinea- 
grafs be buried a few inches deep, each joint of it will 
take root, and grow luxuriantly; or it may be propagated 
diredlly from lowing the feed, the ground being previ- 
oufly prepared for that purpofe ; but the feed will lie 
many months in the ground before it makes its appear¬ 
ance. Some planters do not ftock up the roots which are 
planted, when the grafs has feeded ; and others depend 
upon what they afford, by continually feeding or cutting 
the grafs when at a certain height, without ever allowing 
it to feed. 
HOLD, in the old gloiTaries, is mentioned in the fame 
fenfe with wold, i. e. a governor or chief officer; but in 
fome other places for love, as holdlic, lovely. Gibfon's Camd.. 
To HOLD, v. a. preter. held ; part, pafll held or ho/den t 
[haldan , Gothic; hal&an, Sax. henden, Dut.] To grai’p in. 
the hand ; to gripe ; to clutch.—Lift up the lad, hold him. 
in thy hand. Genefis. 
France, thou may’ft hold a ferpent by the tongue, 
A faffing tyger l'afer by the tooth, 
Then keep in peace that hand which thou do’ft hold. 
Shakefpeare. 
To conneft ; to keep from feparation.—The loops held 
one curtain to another. Exod. xxxvi. 12.—To keep ; to 
retain ; to gripe fall ; not to let go.—Prove all things : 
hold fafl that w'hich is good. 2 Thcf. v.—To maintain as 
an opinion.—Thou haft there them that hold the doctrine 
of Balaam. Rev. —To confider ; to regard ; 
I as a ft ranger to my heart and me 
Hold thee from this for ever. Shakefpcare. 
To think of; to judge with regard to praife or blame : 
This makes thee, blefled peace, fo light to hold. 
Like Summer’s flies that fear not Winter’s cold. Fairfax <. 
To receive, and keep in a veil'd : 
She tempers dulcet creams, nor thefe to hold 
Wants her fit veflels pure. Milton. 
To contain; to receive into its capacity: as, a hogfhead 
holds iixty-three gallons ; the lack is too little to hold the 
grain.—To keep ; not to fpill.—Broken cifterns that can 
hold no water. Jerem. —To keep ; to hinder from elcape ; 
For this infernal pit fhall never hold 
Celeftial fpirits in bondage. Milton. 
To keep from lpoil; to defend : 
With what arms 
We mean to hold what anciently we claim 
Of empire. Milton. 
To keep from lofs: 
Man fliould better hold his place 
By wifdom. Milton. 
To have any ftation : 
And now the ftrand, and now the plain, they held ; 
Their ardent eyes with bloody ftreaks were fill’d. Dry den. 
To poflefs; to have.—Affuredly it is more fliame for a 
man to lofe that which he holdetk, than to fail in getting 
that which he never had. Hayward. —To poflefs in lubor- 
dination.—He was willing to hold his feigniory for a yearly 
tribute. Knolles. —To fufpend ; to refrain ; 
Death \ what do’ft! O hold thy blow ! 
What thou do’ft, thou do’ft not know. Crajhaw. 
To flop; to reftrain.—We cannot hold mortality’s ftreng 
hand. Shakejpeare .—To fix to any condition ; 
His- 
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