GIFT OF
G K Kovey
THE
NEWENGLAND FARMER;
OR.
GEORGICAL DICTIONARY.-
CONTAINING
A COMPENDIOUS
WAYS AND METHODS
IN WHICH TH*
IMPORTANT ART OF HUSBANDRY,
IN ALL ITS VARIOUS BRANCHES/
IS, OR MAY BE,
PRACTISED, TO THE GREATEST ADVANTAGE,
IN THIS COUNTRY,
BY SAMUEL/DEANE, D. D.
VICEPRESIDENT or BOWDOIN COLLEGE, AND FELLOW or
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.
THE SECOND EDITION,
CORRECTED, IMPROVED, AND ENLARGED, BY THE AUTHOR.
" FRIGORIBUS PARTO AGRICOL^E PLERUMOUE FRUUNTUR
MUTUAQUE INTER SE L.BTI CONVIVIA CURANT
INVITAT GENIALIS HYEMS, CURASQUE RESOLVIT." VIRGIL.
PRINTED AT WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS,
AT THE PRESS OF
ISAIAH THOMAS,
By LIONARD WORCESTER, for ISAIAH THOMA?,
'797-
TO THE
FARMERS
NEWENGLAND ;
THIS EDITIO1S?
OB THX
GEORGICAL DlCflONART,
REVISED, CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED,
IS INSCRIBED,
V
WITH MUCH RESPECT,
BY THEIR MOST OBEDIENT,
AND
VERY HUMBLE SERVANT,
THE EDITOR,
WORCESTER, MARCH, 1797.
GGS561
CONTENTS.
A
Carrot
y t
Page
44 Divifions
80
"- JPage
AGRICULTURE 9
Cart
Caterpillar
47 Door Dung
47 Drain
82
Air 10
Cattle
48 Dray
85
Anticor 11
Change of Crops
50 Drefling
85
Ants 13
Change of Seeds
52 Drill
86
Apples *3
Charcoal
54 Drought
87
Apple Tree 14
Charlock
55 Dung
89
Arable Land 15
Cheefe
55 Dunghills
94
Artichoke,y72ra 15
Chick Wee4
56 Dung Meers
95
Artichokefleliant. 15
Churn
56 Dutch Hoe
95
Afh 15
Churning
57 Byfce
95
Ames 16
Cider
57 E
Afparagus 17
Ciderkin
>f J*-^
.60
Afpen 17
Gives
62 Earth
96
Autumn 17
Clay
62 Eddifh
97
Axe 17
Clay Soil
63 Effluvium
97
B'
Clearing Land
64 Elder
97
e
Climate
66 Elf Shot
97
Barley 18
Clog
66 Elm
98
Barn 21
Clover
66 Employment
9 s
Barn Yar4 21
Cole Seed
69 EncJofure
98
Bean 23
Beer 25
Compoft
Copfe
70 Ewes
71 Excrement
98
99
Bees 29
Corn
71 Experience
99
Beet 32
Coulter
72 Experiments
99
Bidens 33
Cow
7 2 F
Bird Grafs 33
Cow Houfe
72
Blight 34
Cradle
74 Faggot
101
Blood 34
Cream
74 Fall
101
Bog 34
Crop
74 Fallowing
101
Browfe 34
Cucumbers
75 Falfe Quarter
103
Buck Wheat 35
Cultivator
76 Fan
103
Bull 35
Currant
76 Farcy
103
Burn Baking 35
Cuftom
76 Farm
104
Burnet 36
Cuttings
77 Farmer
105
Burnt Clay 37
Cyon
77 Feri
Burnt Grain 37
D-
Fence
105
Bufhes 38
Fermentation
110
p
Dairy
77 Fern
111
Dairy Room
7# Fefcue
111
Cabbage oo
Darnel
79 Field
111
Calf 4?
Denlhiring
79 Fifh
11 1
Caaker 42
Dibble
79 Flail
112
Canker Worm 42
Ditch
79 Flanders Grafs
112
Carriage 44
Ditching
So Flax
112
Flax Brake
VI
CONTENTS.
Flax Brake
Tage
Hidebound
Tags
Flooding
115
Hoe
154
* Tut" 1
Flour
116
Hoeing
Malanders 195
Flower
116
Hoglty
157
Malt 195
Fly
117
Hop
iij8
Malt Duft 195
Foal
117
Horn Diftemper
160
Manure 196
Fodder
117
Horfe
16?
Maple 200
-Foddering
Horie Hoe
162
Mare 200
Fog
121
Hurdle
162
Marking of Cattle2oo
Folding
121
Hurts in the \
.-
Marie 201
Food of Plants
122
Withers j
163
Marih 205
Foreft
12,5
Hufbandry
163
Mattock 204
Foundering
126
Meadow 204
Freezing
127
Meafles 20$
Fruit Trees
129
Improvement
163
Melon 2O
Furrow
131
Inarching
166
Meflin 205
Furrowing
Inclofure
169
Metheglin 206
Increafe
169
Mice 2c6
.
Indian Corn
170
Mildew 207
Garden
131
Inoculating
176
Milk 210
Gardening
1 3 2
Infea
177
Millet 210
Garget
132
Interral
Mofs 211
Gigs
*33
Mould 212
Glanders
.
Mouldboard 213
Goats
*33
Kale
185
Mow 213
Goofe
Kalendar
IE
Mowing 213
Grafting
Grain
134
Kali
Kalmia
1*6
186
Mowing Ground 2 14
Muck 217
Granary
*35
Kid
186
Mud 217
Grafs
136
Killing
186
Mulberry 219
Grave!
*37
Kiln
187
Mulch 219
Greafe
138
Kine
Green Drefftng
jog
Kitchen Garden
187
.
Greens
*39
Nave 219
Green Scouring
139
,
Navel Gall 21$
Gripes
*39
Lambs
188
Neclarine 220
Ground
140
Lampas
189
New Hufbandry 220
Grove
140
Land
189
Nurfery 225
Grub
141
Larch
Ion
Nut Tree 226
T.
Layers
loQ
Nympha 227
.
Lay Land
190
Harrow
141
Leaves
190
e
Harrowing
M3
Lees
190
Oak 228
Harveft
145
Lice
191
Oats 231
Hatche!
146
Lime
191
Olive 232
Hay
3 47
Limeftone
192
Onions 233
Hayhook
1 47
Loam
193
Orchard 235
Haymaking
147
Locuft Tree
*93
Ore Weed
S~*\. 1" ***
Hemp
150
Lucern
194
Oder 239
Hentins Furrows
Herds Grafs
Lupines
Lye
-7TC
194
* 95
Overflowing "1
of the Gall) 2 39
/v
Out Hou{ee
C
O N T E N
T S.
vii
rae
Page
Fa E
Out Houfcs
240
Rails
278
Spade
312
Ox
240
Rain
2 7 8
Spavin
312
Oyfler
240
Rats
Red Worm
27O
Spaying
Spelt
3*4
P.
Reed
2 79
Spiky Roller
3*3
Pale
241
Ridgling
Ripling Cart
279
2SO
Spring
Springs
3*4
Pan
241
Rod
2&O
Spring Grain
3*5
Panax
Panic
242
2 43
Roller
Rolling
2 80
280
Springe
Spur in Rye
315
Parfnep
Pafture
243
24 C
Rood
Roots
281
281
Squafti
Stable
316
316
Pafture of Plants 247
Rot
283
Stack
317
Peach Trees
249
Rotation of Crops 2 83
Staggers
3*7
Pear Trees
Rowel
24
Stale
Peafe
250
Runnet
285
Stallion
3155
Peat
253
Rufh
286
Stercorary
318
Pen
2cc
Ruft
2H6
Stock
320
Perkin or Purre
J J
2cQ
Rye
286
Stones
321
Perry
J ~r
255
Rye Grafs
287
Stone Wall
ty
323
Perfpiration \
ot Plants J
255
s.
Stooking
Stover
Plant
'256
Salt
287
Strain
322
Plafter of Paris
257
Salting
288
Strangles
<j (j
Plat
258
Sand
289
Straw
325
Plough
2.S8
Sandy Soil
291
Strawberries
ts j>
325
Ploughing
260
Sap
291
String Halt
f-
326
Plum Trees
265
Scratches
292
Stubbie
326
Poll Evil
266
Sea Water
292
Stump
326
Pond
266
Seeds
2 93
Sty
Poplar
267
Seeding
2 94
Sucker
32 i
Potato
268
Seedling
2 9*i
Summer
328
Poultry
274
Semination
294
Sunflower
O
Prong Hoe
275
Shade
2 95
Surfeit
Q 2 .$
Provender
275
Shed
295
Swamp
3 "a
Pulfe
275
Sheep
2 9
Sward
S33
Shells
297
Swarm
331
Shrub
298
Swarth
Vi t
QuakingMeadow375
Siliquofe Plants
298
Swath Rake
33 l
Quick
275
Sithe
298
Swine
331
Quicks
275
Sled
298
Sycamore
tycJ
337
Quickfilver
275
Slips
298
Quince Tree
276
Slough
2 99
.
Quincunx Order 276
Sluice
299
Tail Sicknefs
QQ&
Quitch Grafs
276
Smut
300
Team
QQ8
Snead, or Snathe
35
Teaiel
339
Snow
Tether
340
Rabbit
276
Soil
306
Thatch
j t
04.
Rack
Radicle
277
277
Soiling
Soot
37
307
Thill Horfe
Thiflle
OT
- 34
RadHh
Rags
277
277
Sow
Sowing
308
308
Thra filing
Tike
341
34 l
Tillfge
CONTENTS.
Tillage
Tiller
34 2
34 2
Vinegar
Vineyard
Page
363
364
Winter
Winter Grain
39^
391
Tilth
342
Vives
3 6 4
Withe
Timber
342
Ulcer
364
Woad
39 2
Timothy Grafs
343
Urine
365
Wolf
392
Tobacco
343
Uftilago
366
Wood
39 2
Top Dreffing
34*
W;
Wood Land
39 2
Tranfplanting
34 6
Woody
392
Tree
347
Waggon
366
Wool
393
Trefoil
34 8
Wall
3 6 7
Worms
394
Trench
34 8
Wane
3 6 7
Wound
394
Trench Plough.
34*
Warbles
367
Trowel
34 8
Water
$67
Y.
Tumour
IP
WatcrFurrowing^6g ,
Turf
Watering
3 6 9
Yard a meafure
9&R
Turkey
35
Weather
f
3 6 9
Yard an enclofure 395
Turnip
35*
Wedge
371
Year
395
Turnip Cabbage
354
Weeding
371
Yellow Weed
395
Weeds
37 2
Yellows
395
.
Weevil
Yeoman:
tJJis
396
Valley
355
Wheat
377
Yeft
Van t or Fan.
355
Wheel -
Yew Tree
39 s
Udder
c
350
Wheezing
3 ^'3
Yoak
397
Veering
356
Whelp
3*3"
Vegetable
Whey
3^3
Z.
Vegetation
356
White Scout
3 8 3
Ventilator
357
White Weed
3 8 3
Zapetino
397
Verjuice
357
Willow
34
Zea
397
Vermine
35*
Wind Gall
Zebra
397
Vetch
Vine
358
Wine
Winnowing
386
Zephyr
Zeit
397
397
fNTRODUCTION,
INTRODUCTION.
IT is much to be regretted, that the mofc
complicated of all the arts, in which the brighteft genius
may find fufficient room to exert and difplay itfelf, fhould
be flighted and neglected, by a people not generally
wanting in ambition. And it is equally ftrange and unac
countable, that the moil ufeful and neceflary of all em
ployments fhould have been confidered, even by the en^
lightened people of Newengland, as below the atten
tion of any perfons, excepting thofe who are in the low-
eft walks of life ; or, that perfons of a liberal or polite
education fhould think it intolerably degrading to them,
to attend to practical agriculture for their fupport.
Perhaps, one occafion of the low efteem in which huf-
bandry has been held, in this country, may have been
the poor fuccefs which has mod commonly attended the
labours of thofe who have embraced the profeffion. Not
only have mod of them failed of rapidly increafing their
eftates by it, bu too many have had the mortification of
making but an indifferent figure in life, even when they
have ufed the flri cleft economy, and worn out their con-
dilutions by hard and inceffant labour. The misfortune
has been, that a great proportion of their toil has been
loft by its mifapplication. To prevent this evil in fu
ture is a leading deiign of the prefent publication. And
fnice many among us begin to be convinced of the ur-
t neceflity of having the attention of the publick turn
ed to agriculture, it is hoped that the following attempt to
promote the knowledge of its myfteries, and afpirited at-
A tentiou
V1U
CONTENTS.
Tillage
Tiller
Tags
34 2
34 2
Vinegar
Vineyard
Page
363
364
Winter
Winter Grain
39^
391
Tilth
342
Vives
364
Withe
39 *
Timber
342
Ulcer
364
Woad
39 2
Timothy Grafs
343
Urine
3 6 5
Wolf
392
Tobacco
343
Uftilago
366
Wood
39 2
Top Dreffing
34*
Wi
Wood Land
39 2
Tranfplanting
34 6
Woody
39 2
Tree
347
Waggon
366
Wool
393
Trefoil
34 8
Wall
3 6 7
Worms
394
Trench
34 8
Wane
3 6 7
Wound
394
Trench Plough.
34*
Warbles
367
Trowel
34 8 v
Water
367
Y.
Tumour
Water Furrowing
r
3^9
Turf
35
Watering
3 6 9
Yard a meafure
3Q
Turkey
35
Weather
f
3 6 9
Yard an enclofure 395
Turnip
35*
Wedge
371
Year
395
Turnip Cabbage
354
Weeding
371
Yellow Weed
395
Weeds
37 2
Yellows
395
.
Weevil
376
Yeoman:
*J.sU
396
Valley
3-55
Wheat
377
Yeft
39^
Van, or Fan
355
Wheel -
Yew Tree
Udder
w* y,
356
Wheezing
3>?g
Yoak
397
Veering
356
Whelp
3*3
Vegetable
Whey
3 8 3
Z.
Vegetatioa
35<5
White Scoiit
383
Ventilator
357
White Weed
3 8 3
Zapetino
397
Verjuice
357
Willow
34
Zea
397
Vermine
35*
Wind Gall
Zebra
397
Vetch
Vine
358
35*
Wine
Winnowing
386
Zephyr
Zeit
397
397
INTRODUCTION,
INTRODUCTION.
IT is much to be regretted, that the rnofc
complicated of all the arts, in which the brighteft genius
may find fufficient room to exert and difplay itfelf, fhould
be flighted and neglected, by a people not generally
wanting in ambition. And it is equally ftrange and unac
countable, that the moft ufeful and neceflary of all em
ployments fhould have been confidered, even by the en
lightened people of Newengland, as below the atten
tion of any perfons, excepting thofe who are in the low-*
eft walks of life ; or, that perfons of a liberal or polite
education fhould think it intolerably degrading to them,
to attend to practical agriculture for their fupport.
Perhaps, one occafion of the low efteem in which huf-
bandry has been held, in this country, may have been
the poor fuccefs which has moft commonly attended the
labours of thofe who have embraced the profeflion. Not
only have moft of them failed of rapidly increafing their
eftates by it, bu too many have had the mortification of
making but an indifferent figure in life, even when the;/
have ufed the ftri cleft economy, and worn out their con-
ftitutions by hard and mediant labour. The misfortune
has been, that a great proportion of their toil has been
loft by its mifapplication. To prevent this evil in fu
ture is a leading deiign of the prefent publication. And
fmce many among us begin to be convinced of the ur~
t neceffity of having the attention of the publick turn
ed to agriculture, it is hoped that the following attempt to
promote the knowledge of its myfteries^ and a fpirited at-
A tendon
2 IN T R O D U C T I ON".
tention to the operations of it, will meet with the greater
approbation and fuccefs. And as a very refpeftable So*
ciety in the Commonwealth of Malfachufetts have under
taken to propagate the knowledge of huibandry, the day
maybe at hand, when the employment of the farmer fhall
no more be treated with contempt ; when the rich, the po
lite, and the ambitious, fhall glory in paying a clofe at
tention to their farms ; when refpeclable, perfons fhall
confefs it is one of the nobled employments to aflift na-
u tfu'i ? e in neV*bc'Uht5ful productions ; when it fhall be our-
ahibitiori to folloV^the example of the fir ft man in tlie
n>uipst,^v3jQ dc^ not think an attention to huibandry
degrading"; and when, inftead of being afhamed of their
employment, our laborious farmers fhall, as a great writ
er fays, " tofs about their dung with an air of majefly."'
Amidll the laudable efforts that are now making to
promote fo excellent a defign as the revival of agricul
ture, the writer of the following (heets is humbly attempt
ing to throw in his mite. He has been more prompted
to engage in fo arduous an undertaking, by an opinion
he has long entertained of the need of a work of this kind,
adapted to the flate and circumflances of this country,
than by any idea of his being thoroughly qualified to
undertake it.
European books on agriculture are fufficiently plenty
in the world, fome of which are extremely well written ;
and this country is not wholly unfurniihed with them.
But they are not perfedly adapted to a region fo differ
ently circum (lanced; Though the productions of En-
glifh writers may be perufed by the judicious to great ad
vantage, it would be unadvifable, and perhaps ruinous,
for our farmers to adopt the methods of culture in grofs,
which they recommend to their countrymen. Local cir
cumflances fo widely differ in the two countries, that, in-
many cafes, the right management in the one mufl needs
be wrong in the other. Britain, being generally liable to
too much wetnefs, the Englifli methods of culture mud
in may refpe&s be different from thole of a region that is
moflly annoyed, as ours is, with the oppofite extremity
of drought. Difference of heat and cold mufl require a
correfpondent variation in thefuiublc crops and manage
ment.
I N TR O D U C T I O N. '$
^tn-ent. Difference of feafons and climates vary the fit
times for fowing the fame kinds of feed ; and the ma
nures that prove to be moft profitable in one country,
cannot always be rationally expefted to prove fo in an
other, although they were equally obtainable. And
though Americans fpeak the Englifh language, yet the
diHon peculiar to different farmers on the eaft and weft
of the Atlantick. and the manner of their communicat
ing their ideas on hufbandry are fo little alike, as to ren
der it highly expedient that we fhould be inftrucled in it
by our own countrymen, rather than by Grangers, if any
among us can be found ^capable ^of doing it in a. tolerable
degree.
The writer confeiTes he has -never had fufficient leifure
to attend very clofely to the ftudy of agriculture. But,
having always had a high relifh for natural philofophy,
and particularly for this moft profitable and important
branch of it, he has paid all poflible attention to it for a
number of years, employed many of his vacant hours in
perufmg what has been pubHfhed by thebeft writers, and
in making ufeful experiments in husbandry. He Matters
himfelf, therefore, that he ihall not have the unhappi-
nefs of grofsly mi (leading any of the moft ignorant of his
readers. Many things are written from his own experi
ence, and from that of others in this country, on
whofe veracity in their communications he can rely.
T'hings which are not certainly known. are mentioned on
ly as opinion or conjecture. Extracts are made from
fome of the beft authors, and marked as fuch. He has
not wilfully alferted any thing which he does not know
to be fa 61:. And though he has adopted the ideas of others,
he has not parTed any thing on the publick as his own,
which has been publifhed by others, unlefs it be through
inattention or mi ftake. Whether the reafonings be juft,
every intelligent reader muft judge and determine ; and
to the candour of fuch the whole is fubmitted.
Long and particular accounts of experiments, fuch as
abound in many European publications, are generally
omitted, left they fhould take up too much room, in a
book that is meant to becomprcheniive, and cheap to the
prchafer, at the fame time that it is dcfigned to contain
a
4 INTRODUCTION.
a whole fyflem of hufbandry. Neither would the inten
tion of comprehending much in a little room permit the
pages to be filled with lengthy bills of the coft of culture,
and computations of profit, which many writers have too
much run into ; and in which any writer in this country,
where the price of labour is variable, would be in dan
ger of deceiving both himfelf and kis readers. Our farm
ers have a fufficient knowledge of arithmetick to do thefe
things for themfelves ; and it would not be amifs for
them to amufe themfelves in this way, in fome of their
moments of leifure.
That the writer has been excited to treat on the pref-
ent fubjecl: by a tender concern for the welfare of his
country, more than by any felfifh and finjfter view, thofe
who are beft acquainted with him are fufficiently convinc
ed. At the fame time, he will not pretend to deny his
feeling of an ambition to be one of the firft of his nation,
who has thus endeavoured to lighten the labours, and pro
mote the happinefs of his countrymen. Yet he moft fin-
cerely wifhes, that other writers on- the fubjecl: may foon
carry the fyftem nearer to perfection, as they undoubtedly
will. But the difadvantages he is under by being fo ear-
3y, and having an unbeaten way to explore, will doubt-
3efs apologize for him with all who are candid andconfider-
ate. and partly atone for his errors and imperfections, from
which it would be flrange if he were wholly free.
Though agriculture, ftriclly confidered, has nothing to
do with the breeding and management of tame animals,
yet it is fo clofely connected with thofe employments, in
practice, that the farmer cannot be complete without a
confiderable knowledge thereof. It is by the am fiance
of labouring beads, fuch as horfes and oxen, that he
muft carry on his tillage, and fend the produce of his
lands to market. By the help of milch kine his grafs-,
hay. and other fodder, are to be converted into butter and
cheefe. Bullocks, poultry and fwine muft be fed and
fattened with the produce of his farm, that he and his
family may be fed with their flefh, and the markets fup-
plied with meat. And the fheep muft am ft him in
the tranfmutation of the fruits of his ground into mate
rials for clothing and food. Therefore the rearing, tend
ing
INTRODUCTION. 5
ing, and whole management, of all thefe forts of animals,
are attended to in the following work ; including the
methods of preventing and curing the moft common dif-
tempers to which, in this climate, they are liable.
Noxious animals, fuch as beads of prey, ravenous birds,
and devouring infects, have too much connexion with agri
culture, as the farmer knows by his forrowful experience,
lie ought therefore to be inftructed in the moft effectual
methods of defending his property againft them. This
arduous tafk, to which no one perhaps can pretend
to be fully equal, the reader will find attempted, and it is
hoped, in fome good degree performed, in the following
pages.
As fruit trees are of elTential importance to the farmer,
the rearing of them from feeds and otherwife, as alfo the
grafting, tranf planting and pruning them, are attended
to in this work.
And as agriculture cannot be carried on to the beft ad
vantage, without a variety of fuitable tools and machines ;
the moft important and ufeful of farming implements
are treated of. Much of the eafe and comfort of the la
bourer, as well as the profit of the farmer, depends upon
their being well conftructed. Their conftruction, there
fore, is minutely attended to. although the art of the me-
chanick is the branch to which it moft properly belongs.
The author attempted to arrange the parts of his lub-
ject analytically. But the variety of the materials he
had collected was fo great, and their heterogeneoufnefs fo
obvious, that he found it not eaiy to doit to his own fat-
isfaction ; which is one of the reafons why the book
makes its appearance in the lexicographical form. And
when he confiders that what he is doing is not principal
ly for the inftruction of critical fcholars, but for the di
rection of the common people, it appears that the want
of a fyftematical arrangement is a matter of no great con fe-
quence. On the prefent plan, he has faved himfelf the
trouble of writing a long index, which mult have added
feveral pages to the volume, and increafed its price to the
purchafers, which he willies may be as low as poiTible,
for their encouragement. Perhaps it need not be added,
that the fafhionablenefs of an alphabetical method is a
fV rther
15 INTRODUCTION.
"further apology for the form in which this book appears *
nor the advantage the moft illiterate reader will have of
readily turning to any particular part of the general fubjecl;.
It is hoped that an acquaintance with this volume, if
it mould be perufed by the generality of our farmers, will
enable them to communicate their ideas to each other, and
to learners in hufbandry, with the greater perfpicuity and
propriety, and lead them to ufe nearly the fame language
in doing it, in the various parts of the country. For the
writer has endeavoured that his diction mould not only
ibe concife, but plain and intelligible to ordinary readers ;
fuch as is moft fuitable to the fubject, and not adapted to
lead any into the ufe of abfurd and ungrammatical lan
guage. How far thefe defigns are accomplimed the learn
ed and judicious reader will be able to determine.
As a mumber of vulgar errors and prejudices are de
tected, and new methods of management propofed, it is ex
pected that what is written will be cenfured by many, who
have confirmed themfelves in wrong practices by invete
rate habits. But if perfons will only be fo fair as to allow,
that there is a poffibility of fome want of perfection in
their prefent eftablifhed practice ; which is at lead high
ly probable, as this is a country where hufbandry as an
art has not been taught, nor much attended to ; they will
then fee it is reafonable to give a candid hearing to any
new fcheme of improvement fnggefted, and to plaufible
arguments offered in fupport of its utility and allow
themfelves to be influenced by them. If'fhofe who are
in low circum fiances fhould fear they may fuffer lofs, by
trying any new practice in hufbandry, it is hoped the
richer fort will be inclined to do it by love of their coun
try. For others will undoubtedly inquire concerning
their fuccefs ; and when they are convinced by experi
ments made by their neighbours of the advantage of any
new practice, one would think they can need no other
motive to induce them to adopt it.
On the other hand, let not the book be reprobated for
containing fo many things as it does, which are already
well known to farmers. The farmer may find reafons for
his good practice which he has not before thought of, and
be induced to perfevere in it, And befides, all ufeful
knowledge
INTRODUCTION. 7
Imowledge ought to be recorded, that it may be retained^
and be in no danger of being loft, as a great deal has beea
in the world. It fhould alfo be remembered that things-
which are well known by ibme may be quite new to oth
ers ; efpecially to young perfons, and to all thofe who
Have newly turned their attention to hufbandry.
The writer has had more zeal and courage in attempt
ing to promote improvements in agriculture, fmce the
happy termination of the late ftruggle for independence
than before. Our holding the rank of a free and inde
pendent nation allows us to confider the country as in-
difputably our awn, and ourfelves as monarchs over our
farms. Nor does it appear probable, that we fhall foori
meet with any thing that will give us a material inter
ruption, in purfuing the arts, or enjoying the bleffings of
peace. If great improvements were now to be made, we
might have raafon to hope we mould enjoy the benefits of
them through life, and that pofterity would not be de
prived of them.
But the mod forcible reafon for our cultivating this arr ?
is the indifpenfable neceffity of it, to enable us to live as
becomes an independent people. The alarming effect of
the prefent low ftate of hufbandry is, that we are necefli-
tated to import much of our food, and clothing, while we
are incapable of making proportionable remittances in the
produce of the foil, or in any thing elfe. As a good fyftem
of national government is now eftablifhed, I fee no reafon.
to doubt but that a fpirited attention to hufbandry and
manufactures, accompanied with a more general practice of
frugality and economy, would put us on a refpe&able foot
ing; fo that fuch a foundation would be laid for ourincreaf-
ing wealth, that we fhould be able, in a fhort time, to can
cel our publick debts ; and might reafonably hope ere
long to become an opulent, refpeclable and very pow
erful nation.
As to the prefent edition, its appearing fo foon after the
fir ft is occafioned by the rapid fale of the book, arifing
from the general acceptance it has obtained ; and the in-
creating demand could not otherwife be fupplied.
The author has taken the opportunity to corrett a great
number of fmall errors. Some few things are fuppreflT-
ed
3 INTRODUCTION.
ed in.this publication. The diftion in many parts is mucli
improved. Many articles are more largely, and more accu
rately treated of than they were before ; and a number of
new and important ones are added, with a view to render the
work a more complete directory for hufbandmen. And
that the vegetables that are treajted on may be known to
perfons in other countries, as well as in remote parts of our
own, where they are probably called by different names from
thofe Englifh ones he had given them, he has now added
the botanical names, which are extenfively known by per
fons of erudition. On the whole, he thinks the book is far
more increafed in value than in fize. If, in its prefent im
proved ftate,itihallbefound to contribute towards reviv
ing and continuing the fpirit of hufbandry, and towards the
increafing advantage of thofe who are employed in it, he
will confider it as the moil happy reward he can have
for his labour.
THE
THE
NEWEN GLAND FARMER:
o
GEORGICAL DICTIONARY.
A,
A G R
GRICULTURE, In gener
al, nearly the fame as hufbandry;
but mare Ilri6lly tillage, or the
Culture of land.
The word is compounded of
tiger,^ a field, and culiura, tilling ;
and intends the art, or employ
ment, of rendering the earth Fruit
ful by tillage, extending to the
Care of all ufeful vegetables. Hor
ticulture, or gardening, is includ
ed in it ; and, therefore, will not
be wholly omitted in the follow
ing pages. Though, in a more re
frained fenfe,- agriculture is uied
for the culture of arable lands,
including ploughing, manuring,
feeding, &c. yet it is really con-
verfant with the care of paftures
and meadows, orchards and for-
efts ; and with the cultivation
of all the ufe ful fruits of the earth,
that in any way are produced by
the cave arid labour of man.
Agriculture is juftly thought to
be the molt ancient art ; and it is
certainly by far the moll ufeful,
neceflary and beneficial. The
fubfifieiice ami welfare" of man
kind elf oend more on it than on
A G R
any, or all others : And all other
arts would foon be iifelefs, were
the culture of the furface of the
earth neglefted. No art, there
fore, ought to be held in higher
eftimation. The ancients valued
it highly ; and no good reafon
can be given why the modems
mould lightly efteem it. The
Egyptians, Greeks and Romans,
afcribed the invention of this art
to their Gods ; but Jews and
Chriftians rather trace it up to'
Noali and Cain, the former of
whom planted a vineyard, and the
latter, long before him, was a till
er of the ground. Even Adam
in paradife praftifed one branch
of this art ; he was pat into the
garden of Eden to drefs it, and
to keep it.
The immortal poet Virgil did
not think agriculture a fubjecl: un
worthy of his genius ; and his
Georgicks are efteemed as forne
of the moil excellent of his works.
Agriculture has drawn the atten
tion of fome of the greateft men in
all nations, many of whom have
had their hands, as well as their
heads,
A G R
heads, employed in it. Cyrus the
younger planted and cultivated
liis garden partly with his own
hands : And it is well known that
the Romans took fome of their
greatefl generals from the plough.
Cincinnatus, whofe fame is great,
and whofe name is much honour
ed in America, was ploughing in
his field, when the Roman army
wasbefieged in its trenches by the
yEquiand Volfci. Being fent for,
he went to the army, routed the
er^emy, entered the city in tri
umph, and then returned to his
former employment. The mon
arch of the great empire of Chi
na, every fpring, attends to the
ceremony of opening the ground,
by holding, the plough. What
could more conduce to the en T
f ouragement of this occupation
among his numerous fubjefts ?
Agriculture has been fo great an
object in Britain, as to employ the
pens of a multitude of its geni-
ufes ; and the Englifh books that
have been written upon it are
furprifmgly numerous. In that
country, it I miflake not, huf
bandry has been brought as near
to perfection, as in any part of
the world. And it is owing to
this that the ifland fupports fo
great a number of inhabitants ;
and that the Englifh nation has
been fo opulent and powerful.
Though other employments
are oftentimes more lucrative to
individuals than hufbandry, none
can be fo advantageous to the
world. If it is a flower way of
gaining wealth than fome others,
it is perhaps the leaft hazard
ous of any. The farmer depends
not on winds and waves, like the
mariner ; nor on the good will
of his neighbours and the pub-
Vick, for employment and bread,
like the mechanick. The bufi-
nefs of hufbandry is highly adapt
ed to promote the health of the
A I R
body, and the cheerfulnefs sftid
content of the mind. And if it
were better underftopd in this
country, and more fpiritedly pur-
fued, both the pleafure and the
profit attending it would be vaft-
ly greater than we have yet expe
rienced. It is an employment,
which affords a variety of enter
taining fpeculatipns to art inquifi-
tive mind ; and is adapted to lead
us into a confiderable acquaint
ance with the works of nature^
and with nature's God.
" In a philofophick view," fays
one, " Agriculture is great and
extenfive. In a political view, it
is important, and perhaps the on
ly firm and ftable foundation of
greatnefs. As a profeflion, it
ftrengthens the mind, without e-
nervating the body. In morals, it
tends to increafe virtue, without
introducing vice. In religion, it
naturally infpires piety, devotion,
and a dependence on Providence,
without a tincture of infidelity.
It is a rational and agreeable a-
inufement to the man of leifure,
and a boundlefs fource of con
templation and activity to the
induftrious."
AIR, the matter of which the
atmofphere of the earth confifts,
or the fluid which furrounds the
terraqueous globe. The air is al
ways fo loaded with heterogene
ous particles, that it is" impoffible
entirely to extricate it from them.
It is therefore confidered by fome
as a kind of chaos. That it has
much water in it is eafily obferv-
able. The dew that nightly falls
out of it proves it. Ten thou-
fand different fleams from min
erals, vegetables and animals, are
continually afcending, and mix
ing with the air.
The air, therefore, contains
much of the food of plants ; for
it is well known, that all animal
and vegetable fubftances nourifh
plants-.
A I R
plants. Accordingly, the mod
barren turfs laid high in dikes, or
fuch as in fome countries are pil
ed up for fences, or the walls of
buildings, by being long expofed
to the air, become fo highly im
pregnated with the food of plants,
as to be a rich manure. And it
-is well known to farmers, in fome
.countries, that laying the furface
of the land in fteep ridges, only
during one 'syinter, conduces
much to its fertility. The fertil
izing particles in the air cafily
enter the foil, when it is loole
and open, and much expofed to
the penetration of air.
Seeds that are fecluded from the
air will not vegetate. Thofe which
are buried deep in the ground will
not fprout, till by fome means
they are brought fo near the fur-
face as to fupply them with air.
Numbers of new weeds will ap
pear on fallowed land, after eve
ry ploughing : The reafon of
which is, that each ploughing
Ibrings up fome feeds to the air,
which were before too low, or too
clofely confined, to receive its in
fluence.
Mr. Ray fowed Tome lettuce
feed in the glafs receiver of an air
pump, exhaufted of air, which
Jeed did not grow, nor fprout at
all, in eight days : Whereas fome
of the fame feed, fown at the fame
time in open air, was rifen to the
height of an inch and a half. But
the air being admitted into the
receiver, the fame feed, which
had not difcoyered the leafl: fign
of vegetation in fo many days be
fore, in a week grew to the height
of three inches.
A plant needs air in ev cry ftage
of its growth. Its outer coat needs
a free air to keep it in a dry flate
and give it folidity. It abforbs
air and perfpireS it. It is an ef-
fential part of the nourishment of
plants, which enters chiefly at
ANT it
their roots, but very plentifully
alfo through the pores of the
leaves. Air is known to exift ii
all plants ; they fenfibly fend forth
much of it when they are burn
ing in the fire.
A free circulation of air abaut
all parts of the furface of a plant
is neceffary to keep it in a healthy
ftate. It is the want of this, which
caufes thick grafs and grain to
lodge, before it is come to matu
rity. Therefore, care ihould "be
taken that grain be not fowed too
thick, nor the weeds fufFered to
grow among it, in fuch plenty as
to flop the free currents of a'r
through it. The items will be
foft and feeble, if they are not
hardened by a free current of air
among them.
ANTICOR, M a fwelling in
the gullet and throat of a horfe,
arid is the fame which in man is
called angina.. It proceeds from
the fame caufes that bring on ma
ny other difeafes on horfes, from
hard riding, expelling a horfe to
the cold, giving him cold water
4o drink when he is hot, full feed
ing, and whatever elfe may caufe
a ftagnation in the blood.
" The fignsof this diforder are
all thofe that accompany a fever ;
: for an anticor, while it is internal,,
; never wants a fever to attend it :
i But when it (hews itfelfexternal-
' ly the fever begins to abate, un-
lefs it continue to be both cxter-
! rial and internal.
" So long as the inflammation
continues in the gullet, the liorfc
; foriakes his food : And though
: he has frequent inclinations to
| drink, the firft gulp deters him
: from meddling with it again, un-
\ til he has forgot the pain and ag-
; ony it put him into. And the
! pain in the gul let is yet more man-
I ifeft from this, that whenever 3
': drench is given him he ftaggeiT,
1 and feems as if he would faU
12
ANT
down, and makes fliort interrupted
groans, and fometimes will have a
cold clammy fweat about his ears.
" The cure muil be begun by
bleeding, and that needs not be
very fparing : For this difeafe fel-
dom happens to horfes that are
poor and low. And here we al-
fo approve of flicking one or oth
er of the veins in the hind parts,
to make revulfion,
" After bleeding, the following
clyfter may be given :
"Take two handfuls of barley,
two ounces of fal polychreft, re
duced to fine powder : Boil them
in two quarts of water for a quar
ter of an hour : Add to the de
coction a pint of wine, four
ounces of frefh butter, and two
punces of oil of rue. Let this be
given bloodwarm, and repeated
twice a day, or oftener,
" If he takes to food, nothing
muft be given himbutmoiftened
hay, and fcalded bran ; or what
ever elfe mult be chiefly fuch
things as are proper to keep down
the heat and inflammation, anc}
abate the fevenfh fymptoms ; for
which purpofe we recommend,
after blooding, thofe things that
are proper to promote fweat.
Therefore, let the following
drench be prepared for him :
"Take treacle water and cardu-
us water, of each one pint ; dif-
folve in thefe two ounces of Ve
nice treacle : And after this has
been given, clothe him well r and
give him a little warm water to
drink. Inflead of the treacle and
carduus water, a pint of flale
beer, mixed with fmall beer, may
be ufed. Nothing is fo effectual
to remove inflammation, efpecial-
ly after bleeding, as fweating :
Therefore, if you find it difficult
to promote fweat, you may give
the following ball :
" Take old Venice treacle two
Ounces, volatile fait of hartmorn
A N T
fifteen grains, Mathews' pill one
dram, camphor in powder fix
grains, powder of liquorice, or
fafTafras in powder, as much as is
fufricient to make it into a pafte.
Let this be given after the ope
ration of the clyfter is over.
" If the fymptoms begin to a-
bate, you may venture to give
your horfe a gentle purge.
" If the fwelling appears out
wards, and if the other fymptoms
abate, you may leave offpurging :
For what is intended by that evac
uation, is chiefly to difperfe the
inward diforder. Nextly, you are
only to apply ripening cataplafms,
allowing him fal prunellas, nitre,
or the fal polychrcftum, diffolv-
ed in his drink.
" Cow's dung alone, applied
warm to the part, with lard, or
ointment of marlh mallows, may
be fufficient to bring the fwelling
to maturity,
" When the matter feems
ready for a difcharge, it may be*
opened in the dependent lower-
moft part, by the application of a
hot iron ; afterwards keeping a
clofiel in. the mouth of the wound
till the running abates ; and ap
plying comprcfTes, and conveni
ent bandage to keep the elevated
fkin clofe to the flelh, that it may
be the fboner united. Br:. it the
cavity of the impofthumation be
large, it will not he amifs to lay
it open an inch or more.
" The cure may be firiifiiccf
with applying only the nnguen-
tum bafijicum ;' or a digettive
jnade with turpentine, the yolks
of eggs, or honey, with a mode-
rate mixture oi brandy, or fpirit.
of wine. And if any fonlneisap-
pears, or if it heal too faih
fpungy fpftflefharife.pledgitsdipt
in copperas water, orafpfutrpn ot
blue vitriol, may be applied,
which will keep it fmooth and
eVen.
*' But
ANT
" But if tlie fwelling incrcafc
fail, with no tendency to digef-
tion, and if it rife up towards the
neck, affecting all the mufcles of
the part, the horfe will he in dan
ger of fuffocation, unlefs a courfe
different from the former be taken.
" Befides repeated bleeding, if
lie is not too much worn out, take
a hot fearing iron, and apply it
to five or fix places on the lower
part of the fwelling, cauterizing
thofe parts, that they may be
fpeedily brought to matter, which
may be drefTed with flax dipped
in tar and turpentine, mixed be
fore the fire, and applied warm,
For by 'giving pain in thofe de
pendent and inferiour parts, you
caufe the humours to flow down
wards from the fwelling ; and by
making vents you prevent excel -
five violence of pain. Nor need
you be afraid of the fwelling that
may happen in the fore-legs, &c.
by cauterizing ; for that cannot
be of fo ill confequence, as when
it is upon the neck and throat ;
nor will it be of any confequence,
if care be taken of the vents.
:< Solleyfell recommends the
making of fmall incifions with a
fleam or lancet, in eight or ten
places, on the fwelling ; and to
thruft into the holes, between the
fkin and the flefh, pieces of the
root of black helebore : And if
the tumour be very large, be rec
ommends the life* of white hele
bore ; at the fame time chaffing
the part with the ointments of a-
grippa and marfh mallows. The
roots, by their hot quality, draw
down and increafe the fwelling ;
and the ointments are to tipen
the inciofed matter, and fit it for
a difcharge.
" The fame author alfo recom
mends the ufe of Ruptories, for
drawing an immediate flux of
moifture from the difeafed part.
1 hefe are ointments of the fame na-
A P P 13
turc as thofe made to draw bliflers
on the human body , and compofed
oi the fame materials. The way
to apply them is, to fpread them
by little at a time on the part af-
fetted, holding a bar of hot iron
to make them fink in." Gibforis
Farriery.
ANTS, an infeft, which fome-
times annoys fields. " They will
dellroy barley, rye, hemp feed,
flax feed, and rape feed. Other
grain is either too large, double
ikinncd, or too bitto:' and ill taft-
ed for them. When you find
them in quantities near home,
pour hot water upon them. The
farmer, when he dungs his land,
if he ufes afhes, lime, or fait land,
he may be certain no ant will
ever flay upon the ground where
any of the three is fpread." Scot's
Farmer.
APPLES, a well known efcu-
lent fruit, of great, ufe for food,
and for making cyder. An ap
ple confifls of the rind, the pa
renchyma or pulp, the feed vef-
fels, and the feeds. The forts, or
varieties, are numerous almoft be
yond account : And it is faid a
feed will not produce fruit of the
fame kind with that from which
it is taken. Sometimes I think
I have found that it will ; but I
do not know that it will in all
cafes. The feed of grafted fruit
will not produce fuch fruit as the
graft produced ; but probably
fuch, if any, as the flock would
have produced, if it had not been
grafted.
All the kinds of apples are dif-
tinguifhed into fwect and four ;
though fome partake fo equally
of both qualities, that it is doubt
ful to which -clafs they belong.
They are alfo divided into natur
al fruit and grafted. The graft
ed and: the natural .fruit were
originally the lame. The graft
ed fort have been felefted for
propagation,
14 A P P
propagation, and are generally
more pleafant for eating ; the latter
are of equal value for other ufes.
Some apples ripen early ; thefe
are ufed to make into cyder :
Others ripen later, and are better
to preferve for ufe in the winter
and fpring. One fort is ripe in
June ; therefore called a jennet
ing or juneting apple. But nioft
forts are not ripe till autumn, and
fome not till winter.
The fecret of preferving them
through the -winter, in a found
ftate, is of no fmall importance.
Some fay, that {hutting them up
insight cafks is an effectual meth
od ; and it feems probable ; for
they foon rot in open air.
But an eafier method, and
which has recommended itfelf to
me by the experience of feveral
years, is as follows : I gather
them about noon, on the day of
the full of the moon, which hap
pens in the latter part of Septem
ber, or beginning of October.
Then fpread them in a chamber,
or garret, where they lie till
about the laft of November.
Then, at a time when the weath
er is dry, remove them into cafks,
or boxes, in the cellar, out of the
way of the froft ; but I prefer a
cool part of the cellar. With
this management, I find I can
keep them till the laft of May,
fo well that not one in fifty will
rot. In the autumn of 1793, ^
packed apples in the (havings of
pine, fo that they fcarcely touch
ed one another. They kept well
till fome time in May following ;
though they were a fort which
are mellow for eating in Decem
ber. Dry fawduft might per
haps anfwer the end as well.
Some barrel them up, and keep
them through the winter in up
per rooms, covering them with
blankets or mats, to prevent freez
ing. Dry places are beft for them.
A P P
I Some may think it whimfical
to gather them on the day above
1 mentioned. But, as we know
both animals and vegetables are
influenced by the moon in fome
cafes, why may we not fuppofe
a greater quantity of fpiritis fent
up into the fruit, when the attrac
tion of the heavenly bodies is
i greateft ? If fo, I gather my ap
ples at the time of their greateft
perfection, when they have moft
in them that tends to their pref
er vation. I fufpecl that the day
of the moon's conjunclion with
the fun may anfwer as well ; but
I have not had experience of it.
The fame caution, I doubt not,
mould be obferved in gathering
other fruits, and even apples for
cyder : But I have not proved it
by experiments.
APPLE TREE, pyrus, a well
known fruit tree, of great impor
tance to mankind. The way to
propagate them is, by fowing the
pomace from cvdermills, dig
ging, or hoeing it into the earth
in autumn. The young plants,
will be up in the following fpring,
And the next autumn, they fhould
be tranfpianted from the feed bed
into the nurfery, in rows from
two to three feet apart, and one
foot in the rows, where the ground
has been fitted to receive them.
The ground for a nurfery fhould
not be very rich, but mellow, and
well pulverized, and cleared of
the roots and feeds of weeds. It
is a good rule, That the young
trees, at their final transplanting
into orchards, mould not be put
into poorer, but rather into rich
er ground, than that to which
they have been accuftomed. For
by not finding their ufual fupply
of nourilhrnent, they will be Hint
ed in their growth, and never be
come good trees.
If apple trees happen to be full
o>f fruit, the firft year of their
bearing,
A R A
Bearing, they will be fo exhauft-
ed as to bear little or none the
following year : But by the third
year they will be fo recruited as
to bear another plentiful crop.
Having got into this alternate
bearing, they in ufl continue in it.
But trees which begin their bear
ing gradually become annual
bearers. Thefe obfervations do
not fo abvioufly hold with refpeft
to any other fruit trees that I
know of. The reafon may be,
that no other are fo plentiful
ly loaded with fruit at any time.
It is wifhed that naturalifts would
obferve whether accidents do or
do not fometimes difadjuft this
regular alternate bearing, as when
the fruit happens to be all killed
by froft at the time of bloflbming,
or when the roots of a tree are
highly manured in its barren year.
When a tree has part of its
limbs grafted, the alternation will
be the fame in the grafted and in
the natural part of the tree. For
the nourifriment abounds or is
deficient inboth at the fame time.
So that it is not to be expefted
that a fcion will follow the rule
of its parent tree in bearing.
It is faid, that when an apple-
tree has become barren, its fruit-
fulnefs may be renewed by ftrip-
pingofTall the bark from its body,
and from fome part of the largeft
limbs ; and that this operation
muft be performed at the time of
the fummer folftice. But con
cerning this I can fay nothing
from experience.
ARABLE land, that which is
fit for ploughing ; or which has
been ploughed from time to time.
The name comes from the Latin
arare, to plough. Any land is
naturally arable, which is not too
fleep, too rocky, too wet, or too
much filled with ftrong roots.
But moft, or all, thefe hindrances
oi tjie plough may be removed ;
ASH 15
and land may become actually'
arable, which is not naturally fo,
It is neceflary that each farm
mould have a fufficient quantity
of this fort of land : Otherwife
the farmer will not be able to raile
his own bread, roots, flax, &c.
Nor will he know how to beftow
his manure to fo good advantage.
But if fo much as a tenth part of
a farm be arable it may anfwer
well enough.
ARTICHOKE, called cynara
by botanifts, an efculent plant
highly efteemed. It is much cul
tivated on the other fide of flie
Atlantick.
ARTICHOKE, helianthustu-
bercfus, called Jerufalem Arti
choke, a plant of the funflower
kind, with an efculent root that
is perennial. It is faid to be a
native of America. It grows
luxuriantly ; and yields as plen
tifully as any kind of potatoes*
Many perfons are fond of eating,
them ; but they are faid to be a
flatulent food. Swine are excef-
fively fond of them, and will fat
ten upon them. It would be
worth while to cultivate them for
this purpofe : Efpecially thofe
fhould do it who have not warm
cellars, to fave potatoes from
freezing, as is often the cafe in
new plantations. As this root wil 1
bear a great degree of froft, they
may be left in the ground all win
ter. They are cultivated in the
fame manner as potatoes, and the
fame kind of foil fuits both. A
Mr. Crow in England obtained
at the rate of 480 bufhels-per acre,
of this root.
ASH, Fraxinus Americana, a
well known and ufeful tree natur
al to this climate ; of which we
reckon three forts, tin- black, the
white, and the yellow. The body
of the black am is eafily feparat-
ed into thin ftrips. by bruifing k
with a beetle : .
i6
A S II
much uied for brooms and baf- j
kets. The white aih is oi two i
forts, or varieties, one of which !
is a ftiff, light, and durable tim- I
ber. It is, therefore, highly ef- j
teemed by the farmer, and much
ufed for ploughs and carriages,
and marry of the tools ufed in j
agriculture. That is tougheft |
which grows upon high land, j
But implements made of this j
wood mould notbemuchexpofed
to the weather. For it foon rots,
if it be not kept dry.
The bark of the afli is ufed by
m$ny to make vefTels for floring
of grain, feeds, &c. They are
light to handle, fufficiently ftrong,
and extremely durable.
The feafon of felling am for
timber is from November to Feb
ruary. If it be cut in the wrong I
feafon, the fappy part of it will
be deftroyed by worms : And
turned to what is called powder-
poft.
. ASHES, a duft, confifting of
the terrene and faline parts of
wood, and other combuftibles,
which remains after burning.
It is not to be doubted, but
that all the fubftances which
plants contain are the food of
plants ; and as they have con
tributed to the growth of one
plant, they may be made to npur-
lih another. The fine particles ;
of earth, and the fixed falts, which i
were contained in a tree, remain '
in its aihes. The growth of veg
etables on burnt fpots was evi
dence enough to convince men,
long ago, of the advantage of this
kind of manure. Afhes were
found to be a good manure, as
long ago, at leali, as the time of
Virgil. He fays,
ne pudeat
Ejfoetos cinertm immunaum jac-
tart per ugros.
Afhes are commonly accounted
a manure molt fuitable for low
ASH
and moifl lands. A cold and four
fpot certainly needs them more
than any other. But I have found
them to be good in all forts of foil.
They are not only a valuable
manure, but an excellent antidote
to the rapacioufnefs of worms
and other infe&s. Therefore they
are a more proper manure for all
thofe plants, which are liable to
fuffer by worms and infefts ; fuch
as cabbages, turnips, cucumbers,
melons, peas, and other pulfe.
They mould be fpread evenly,
and not in too great quantity.
Wood ajlies is an excellent
nourifliment for the roots of trees.
They reftore to trees what has
been taken from trees ; and tend
at the fame time to drive away
certain infefts, which are hurtful
to trees.
Allies of all kinds are a good
ingredient in compofts, which
are kept under cover. But when
they are laid upon land unmixt,
they mould be fpread as evenly
as poflible. They are thought to
do better on the top of the fur-
face than buried in the foil ; for
there is nothing in them that will
evaporate. Their tendency is
only downwards ; and their falts
will foon fink too low, if they
be put under the furface. If they
be fpread upon ground, which
has tender plants, it mould be
do;ie juit before a rain, which
will diflblve and foften their ac
rimony : For tender plants, when
the weather is dry, will be apt to
be injured by them ; at leaft, it
they are in contact with the
Items or leaves.
Afhes in their full flrength are
certainly beft for manure ; and
they will not be in full firength,
imlefs they be kept dry ; nor will
it be eafy to fpread them proper
ly. And they mould not be laid'
on lands long before there are,
roots to be nourifhed by ihtrni,
left
ASP
left the rains rob them of their
falts, by warning them into the
hollows, or by linking them to
too great a depth in the foil. A
few bufhels on an acre are a good
dre fling for graft lands that are
low, and inclining to be mofTy.
But afhes from which lie has
been drawn have no fmall degree
of virtue in them. The earthy
particles are but little diminifh-
ed ; and fqme of the faline par
ticles remain in them.
A handful of allies, laid about
the roots of a hill of Indian corn,
is good to quicken its vegetation.
But it mould not much if any of
it be in contact with the ftalks.
The be ft time for giving corn
this dreffing;, is thought to be juft
before the iecond or third hoe
ing : But fome do itbefore the firft,
and even before the plants are up.
Like other top dreffings, it is ot
moft fervice when applied at the
time when plants need the great-
eft quantity of nourilhrnent.
This happens, in Indian corn, at
the time when the plants are juft
going to fend out ears and fpindles.
ASPARAGUS, a valuable
plant, the young {hoots of which
are a pleafant and wholefome
food ; of more account for the
table than any other greens which
the fpring produces. They come
up early, and are eonfequently
of the greater importance. In
latitude 44, the moots are fit for
ufe the firft week in May. The
fruit is a fpherical, red berry,
which ripens in autumn, contain
ing two black feeds.
The root of this plant is efteern-
ecl in medicine, as an opener and
diuretick.
To cultivate afparagus in the
bed manner, open a trench
three feet wide, and twelve inches
deep. If it be clofe to the fouth
fide of a garden wall, it will be
yp the earlier in the fpring. Fill
A X if
the trench half full of good dung j
make it level, and fprinkie a lit
tle rich earth over it, and lay
on the roots, in their natural po-
fition, eight or nine inches apart.
Or, if you cannot get roots, place
the feeds at half the diftance from
each other. Cover them by fill
ing up the trench with the black-
eft of the earth which was taken
out. If you plant roots, the
{hoots may be cut the fecond
year after ; if feeds, they will not
be fit to cut till the third year.
All the ihoots which come up
before the middle of June, may
be cut off without injuring the
roots : After which time, the late
moots ihould be left to run up,
and feed ; otherwife the roots
will be weakened. The feeds may
be well preferved on the branches
through the winter, hung up in
a dry fituation.
This plant grows well in ground
that is {haded. The fprouts will
be very large and tender ; but
they will not be fo early. It is
not ainifs to have one bed in a
mndy place, to fupply the table,
after the feafon is over for cut
ting the firft. In autumn, after
the tops are turned white by the
froft, they fhpuld be cleared ofr~
and a layer of dung, or rich foilj
an inch thick, laid over the bed.
This ihould be done yearly, and
the bed kept clear of weeds. If
the bed mould get too high by this
management, the furface may be
taken off with a fpade early in
the fpring to the depth or two
inches, before the young moots
are in the way. But when this
is done, a thin dreffing of rotten
dung or cornpoft ihould be laid on.
ASPEN. See Poplar,
AUTUMN, the third feafon
of the year. See Fall.
AXE, a iieceflary tool for farm
ers. A narrow axe is meant ; for
i broad a*c is a carpenter 's tool*
A.
*8 B A R
A narrow axe mould have a
thick poll, as in that part it com
monly fails fooneft. It fhould be
madeof the beft of iron and fteel,
bequite free from cracks and flaws,
and nicely tempered ;: not fo foft
as to bend, nor fo hard as to break.
Take care that you do not
grind your axes thin at firft, till
you learn by ufing them what
their temper is, and whether
they will bear it. Aroundingedge
is beft for chopping large logs, a
ftraighter one for f mailer wood.
Let the helve of an axe be made
of the tougheft of wood, either
walnut or white oak. Let it be
fet in the centre of the eye, and
at right angles with the outer fide
of the axe ; let it be fmall near
the eye, that the hands may not
be too much jarred by the ftrokes
in chopping, and gradually larger
towards the other end. Three
feet is the greateft length that al-
moft ever will be needful : Short
er for chopping flicks not un
commonly large. It fhould nev
er be lefs than 32 inches.
A good deal of rubbing with 'a
whetftone, (after an axe is ground
on a coarfe grindftone,) is beft ;
not only to bring it to a good
edge that will not crumble, but
chiefly to make the blade very
fmooth, that it may enter the
wood eafily, and not ftick too
iaft when, entered.
B.
BARLEY, Hbrdcum, a-- well
known grain of which malt is
made. In fome countries, it is
alfo much ufed for bread. If it
be kept long before grinding, it
will be the better for this ufe, as a
certain bitter tafte, which it has
when new, is abated by age.
Barley is accounted cooling and
deterfive ; a broth of it is there
fore given to perfons in fevers ;
B A R
But it xnuft be hulled before it is
fit for this ufe.
It is a fort of corn very fuitable
for cultivation in this region, as it
feems liable to no diftemper,in our
northerly part of Maffachufetts
efpecially ; bears the drought
well, and never fails of yielding
a crop. I- have commonly gained
40 btilhels per acre, without any
, extraordinary tillage, and without
much manuring. It will grow ma
ny foil : Even a foil fo clayey that
itisfit forfcarcely any other grain,
will anfwer well for this, as I have
found by long experience. But
it does better on fome other foils.
It fhould be fowed as early as
the feafon and foil will admit.
About the beginning of May is
a fuitable time. The quantity of
feed for an acre is two bufhels,
if the grain be fmall ; if larger,
more in proportion. A corref-
pondent of the Bath Agricultur
al Society writes : " The lafl
fpring (1783) being remarkably
dry, I foaked my feed barley in
the black water, taken from are fer-
voir, which conftantly receives
the draining of my dung heap and
ftables. As the light corn float
ed on the top, I fkimmed it off",
and let the reft ftand 24 hours.,
On taking it from the water, I
mixed the grain with a fufficient
quantity of fifted wood afhes, to
make it fpread regularly, and
fowed three fields with it. The
produce was 60 bufhels per acre.
I fowed fome other fields with
the fame feed dry ; but the crop,
like thofe of my neighbours, was
very poor, not more than 20
bufhels per acre, and much mix
ed with green corn and weeds,
when harvefted. I alfo fowed
fome of my feed dry on one
ridge in each of my former fields,
but the produce was very poor
in comparifon of the other parts
of the field." The ground fhould
have
^ A R
'have two ploughings at leaft. It
fhould be well harrowed after
fowing ; and then a roller pafTed
over it to clofe the foil about the
corns, that they may not fail oi
vegetating. And rolling prepares
the furface for mowing the crop,
and raking it up clean, which is a
matter of great importance. For
it is impoflible to rake it up clean,
when the ground has been laid
rough at fowing.
In Scotland, after the grain is
up, the farmers, near the fea coaft,
give it a top drefling of fea weeds,
which has an excellent e'ffeft.
This practice I would recom
mend to thofe of my country
men who farm near the lea.
I mould have obferved, that
barley muft be fowed foon after
ploughing, left the moiflure of
the foil be two much evaporated.
It being a dry hufky grain, a con-
iiderable degree of moiflure is req-
uifite to make it vegetate. If the
ground mould be very dry at fow
ing time, and the feafon late, fteep-
ing the feed in lie would not be a-
mifs. Steeping it in the wafh of a
barn yard has an excellent effeft.
Some have got an opinion, that
barley mould be harveiled before
it is quite ripe. Though the flour
may be a little whiter, the grain
Ihrinks fo much, that the crop
feems to be greatly diminimed and
wafted by early cutting. Nograift,
I think, requires more ripening
than this ; and it is not apt to ihat-
ter out when it is very ripe. It
mould be threfhed foon after har-
yefting : And much beating, after
it is cleared from the ftraw, is needr
ful to get off the beards. Let it lie
a night or two in the dew, after it
is cut, and the beards will come
off the more eafily.
I had gained the idea of the
neceffity of barley's being well
ripened before cutting, from my
#wn experience, I have been more
B A R
19
confirmed in the opinion, by the
following paflage in an Englim
writer, who appears to have been
well acquainted with the culture
of this corn. " This grain," fay s he,
"may be greatly damaged^ r fpoil-
ed,bybeingmown too foon.; which
may afterwards be discovered by
its Ihri veiled and lean body, that
never will make good malt."
The fame writer fays, " This
grain I annually fow in my fields
on different foils, whereby I have
brought to my knowledge, fever-
al differences arifing therefrom...
On our red clays, this grain gen
erally comes off reddilh at both
ends, and fometimes all o>"er,
with a thick fkin and tough na
ture, fomewhat like the foil it
grows in ; and, therefore, is not
fo valuable as that of contrary
qualities. Nor are the black,
bluiih, marly clays of the vale
much better : But loams and
gravels are better. On thefe two
laft foils the barley acquires a
whitiih body, a thin fkin, a ihort
plump kernel, and a fweet flour."
It has often been wiffred that
thepraftice of hulling barley and
other grain, were introduced in
to this country. The time k at
length arrived ; and it is only to
be wiihed that every part of the
country were furniihed with
mills, and with perfons who are
fkilful in the bufmels. A Rev
erend gentleman,to whom I am in
debted for many ufeful inltruc-
tions and communications, writes
me as follows :
" Barley is a hardy and profit
able grain. When hulled, it is
preferable to rice, in every branch
of cookery for which rice is
fed. Meffrs. S. and Co. of
Wells, have lately creeled a hull-
'ng mill. It hulls and fplits peas ;
tnd hulls, not only barley, but
ail other kinds of corn and pulfe
with the greateft expedition."
He
20 BAR
He has fent me a fample of
the hulled barley ; which appears
to be equal to any that is import
ed. And further fays, " Thefe
hulling mills, when common,
jnuft give a fpring to the culture
of barley. When hulled, it may
be ground and bolted. The raw,
bad tafte of barley, lies wholly
in the hull."
I am informed that the toll they
take for hullingbarley at the mill a- I
bovementioned,is two fixteenths, |
or four quarts out of a bulhel. This
appears to be but a moderate toll.
Barley that has been hulled,
is faid to be made into an excel
lent flour by grinding and bolt
ing, but little, if at all inferiour,
to that which is made of wheat ;
and of equal, or greater whitenefs.
Barley is a corn that is very apt to
degenerate, ualefs prevented by a
frequent changing of feed. But it
will not become oats, as fome ig
norant perfons have believed. I
have indeed known a fpot where
barley was fowed to produce an
entire crop of oats. The fecret
was, that a confiderable quantity
of oats was mixed with the barky
when it was fown, which was not
attended to, When the corn was
in its blade, a flock of iheep broke
in, and ate it down, which was fatal
to all the barley. But the oats, be
ing not fo forward in their growth,
cfcaped ; and were the more pro
ductive for the deftrurrion of the
barley, which allowed the oats
more room and nourifhment.
If ever fo few oats are fown
among barley, the crop, in a few
years, will come to be moftly
oats ; becaufe oats increafe more
than barley. Swimming the bar
ley before it is fowed, will in
great meafure prevent this in
convenience. Almoft every oat,
and a few of the worft of the bar
ley corns, will be on the furface
pf the water, and may be taken off".
EAR
But the fpeedy degeneration of
barley is a good reafon for chang
ing the feed very frequently. In
fome parts of the country, the
barley, for want of changing, has
come to produce little or nothing.
Not only changing feed, but
forts of barley, mould be attend
ed to. Some forts are at leaft
more productive than others, if
not of a better quality. The two
rowed barley has feldom more
than 32 corns on an ear : The
fix rowed has fometimes 72, that
is 12 in a row. Of the latter
fort one pint produced me three
pecks in a fmgle drill row. It
was at the rate of about three
pecks of feed, and forty bufhels
crop to the acre, on a poor grav
elly foil. This fort is called bear,
bere, or barley big. It is a win
ter grain in England and Ireland.
But I muft mention one inconve
nience attending the fix rowed
barley, which is, that the feeds are
apt to break off and fall, if the
corn (lands till it is fully npe. I
now cultivate a four rowed barley,
which has not this inconvenience
attending it : And it yields as
plentifully as any other.
I would recommend the drill
and horfe hoeing method of raif-
ing barley, when it is defigned
for hulling, as the corns will be
the more full and plump, and
have a lefs quantity of hull in
proportion to the flour.
The farmers in Pennfylvania
have a four rowed barley, which
is the fort that they principally
cultivate. This alfo has the name
of bear in Europe. Bear is much
cultivated in Ireland and Scot
land ; but, in England, they chief
ly cultivate other forts, which
they think better for malting.
I have received a naked bar
ley, fo called, with no more hull
on the corns, than wheat. How
profitable this will be, time and
experience
BAR
experience mull difcover. But
this is undoubtedly what is call
ed German barley, tritico fpd-
tum, or, in Englifh, fpelt.
BARN, a fort of houfe ufed
for ftoring unthrefhed grain, bay
and draw, and all kinds of fod
der. But the other ufes of barns
in this country are, to lodge and
feed beafls in, to threfh grain,
drefs flax, &c. A barn mould be
large enough to ferve the farmer
for all thefe purpofes : For there
is always more loft by flacking
of hay and grain, than enough to
balance the expenfe of barn room.
Regard muft be had to the fit-
uation of a barn. It fhould be
at a convenient diftance from the
dwelling houfe, and other build
ings ; but as near as may be with
out danger of fire, if the fhape of
the ground permits. Too low a
fpot will be miry in fpring and
fall. Too high an eminence will
be bad for drawing in loads, and
on account of faving and making
manures. If other circumftances
permit, it may be beft to place a
barn in fuch a manner as to
defend the dwelling houfe from
the force of the coldeft winds.
The moft confiderable parts of
a barn are, the floor, the bay, the
cow houfe, the fcaffolds, the fta-
ble. See Cow Houfe y and Stable,
The threfliing floor Ihould be laid
on ftrong and fteady fleepers,
well fupported beneath ; other-
wife carting in loads upon it will
loon loofen it, and render it un
fit for the operation of threfliing.
It mould be made of planks, well
feafoned, and nicely jointed ; and
care mould be taken to keep it
very tight. If it fhould be fo o-
pen as to let grain, or any feeds,
pafs through, the grain will be
worfe than loft, as it will ferve to
ieed and increafe vermin. A
floor of boards fhould therefore
be laid under the planks,
BAR 21
The fills of a barn fliould be
made of the moft durable kind of
timber, as they are more liable
to rot than thofe of other build
ings, on account of the dung ly
ing about, them. White oak is
very fit for this life. The fills
muft be laid rather low, not only
for the convenient entrance of
cattle and carts, but becaufe the
ground will be lowered round
barns, by the yearly taking away
of fome of the furface with the
dung. They fhould be well un
derpinned with ftones laid a lit
tle below the furface of the
ground ; and well pointed with
lime, to prevent lofs of manure.
And dung fhould not lie ferment
ing againft the fides of a barn ;
but be fpeedily removed when
warm weather comes on.
BARN YARD, a fmall piece
of inclofed ground, contiguous to
a barn, in which cattle are ufual-
ly kept. It ihould have a high,
clofe, and ftrong fence, both to
dicker the beafts from the force
of driving ftorms, and to keep
the moft unruly ones from break
ing out. By the help of this yard,
a farmer may prodigioufly in
creafe his quantity of manure, if
he will be careful to take the right
methods.
The ground of a yard for this
purpofe fhould be of fuch a fhape
as to retain all the manure, or
prevent its being wafhed away by
rains. It fhould be loweft in the
middle ; or at leaft fo high on all
the fides, that even the greateft
rains lhali not carry away any of
the manure. This is a matter of
fo much importance, that it may
be well worth while to form the
ground to the right fliape where
nature has not done it. But a
balm fhould not be dug fo deep
as to go through the hard under
ftratum, that the manure may not
efcape into the earth.
A
2 BAR
A yard mould be larger or
fmailer in proportion to the ftock
that is kept in it. A fmall one
is bad, as the cattle will be more
apt to pufh and hurt one another.
A large one is more favourable
to the defign of making abun
dance of manure. Not only
ihould the yard be contiguous to
the barn, but as many of the oth
er out houfes as conveniently
may be mould be placed on the
fides of the yard, efpecially thofe
of them which afford manure or
rubbim, as the hogfty, &c.
Many, who have good farm
yards, are not fo careful as they
ihould be to make the greateft
advantage by them, by confining
the cattle continually in them,
during the foddering fealon. The
pra&ice of driving cattle to wa
ter, at a diftance, is attended with
great lofs of manure. Inftead of
continuing in thisabfurd practice,
the well that ferves the houfe, or
one dug for the purpofe, fliould
be fo near the yard, that a water
ing trough may reach from it in
to the yard. Some have a well
in the yard ; but this is not fo ad-
vifable, as the water may become
impregnated with the excrements
of the cattle, and rendered lefs
palatable. He that has a large
flock, may fave enough in ma
nure in this way, in one year, to
pay him for making a well of a
moderate depth : Befides fecur-
ing the advantage of having his
cattle under his eye ; and of pre
venting their ftraggling away, as
they fometimes do. Innumera
ble are the accidents to which a
itock are expofed, by going to wa
tering places, in winter, without
a driver, as they commonly do.
And oftentimes, by means of
fnow and ice, the difficulty is fo
great, as to difcourage them from
going to the water ; the confe-
quence is, that they fuffer for
BAR
want of drink, and the owner is
ignorant of it. All thefe things
plead ftrongly in favour of the
mode of watering I have here
recommended. They fhould not
be let out, even when the ground
is bare : For what they get will
caufe them to winter the worfe ;
and they will damage the fields.
There mould be more yards
than one to a barn, where divers
forts of cattle are kept. The
fheep mould have a yard by them-
felves, at leaft ; arid the young
ftock another, that they may be
wholly confined to fuch fodder
as the farmer can afford them.
But the principal yard may be
for the cows, oxen, calves and
horfes. And the water from the
well may be led into each of
thefe yards by wooden gutters.
If the foil of the yard be clay,
or a pan of very hard earth, it
will be the more fit for the pur
pofe of making manure, as the ex.
crements of the cattle will not be
fo apt to foak deep into it, Other-
wife a layer of clay or marie may
be laid on to retain the ftale, and
the warn of the dung, which other-
wife would be almoft entirely loft.
Some farmers feem well pleaf-
ed to have a warn run away from
their barns upon the contiguous
Hoping lands. But they are not
aware how much they lofe by it.
A fmall quantity of land, by
means of it, may be made too
rich. But the quantity of manure
that is expended in doing it, if oth-
erwife employed, might be vaftly
more advantageous; efpecially if it
were fo confined as to be incorpo
rated with a variety of abforbent
and diflblvable fubftances ; and
afterwards laid on thofe parts of
the farm where it is moft wanted.
It is beft, in this climate, that a
barn yard fhoujd be on the fouth
fide of a barn. It being lefs (had
ed, the manure will make the raft
er,
BAR
er, as it will be free from froft a
greater part of the year, and confe-
quently have a longer time to fer
ment in. The feet of the cattle will
alfo mix the materials the more,
which are thrown into the yard,
and wear them to pieces, fo that
they will become fhort and fine.
After the yard is cleaned in
the fpring, the farmer mould em
brace the firft leifure he has, to
ftore it with a variety of materi
als for making manure. For this
purpofe, he may cart into it
fwamp mud, clay, brick duft,
ftraw, thatch, fern, weeds, leaves
of trees, turfs, marih mud, eel
grafs, flats, or even fand and loam.
If he cannot get all thefe kinds
of rubbifh, he may take fuch of
them as are the mo ft eafily ob
tained. Any of thefe fubftances,
being mixed with the dung and
ftale of cattle, will become good
manure. But fome regard may
be had to the nature of the foil on
which the manure is to be laid. If it
be clay, the lefs clay and the more
brick duft and fand will be prop
er: If a fandy foil, clay, pond mud,
and flats will be better ingredients.
All the materials above men
tioned, and many more that
might be named, will in one year
become good manure, by being
mixed with the excrements of
the cattle, and prevent the wafte
of them. And this is thought,
by the beft writers on hufbandry,
to be the cheape ft method a fann
er can tdke to manure his lands,
confidering the final 1 cell of the
materials made into manure.
If water ihould ftand long in
any part of the yard, the manure
muft be raked out of the water,
and heaped round the borders of
the puddle, that it may be dry.
For there will be no fermenta
tion where there is too much wet-
nefs : The materials will not dif-
folve, but turn four. As thefe
B E A 23
heaps grow dry, the water mould
be fcooped up, and thrown upon
them from time to time. This
will increafe the fermentation in
the heaps, and they will grow
mellow the fafter. It will be of
fervice to fhovel the whole of
the manure into heaps, a few
days before it is carted out, as it
will bring on a brifk fermenta
tion, and make it fitter to be laid
upon the land. Or if (hovelling
be thought too laborious, turning
it up with a plough will be ad
vantageous. Or if there be not
a deep layer, tearing it with a
harrow may be fufficient.
BEAN, Vicia, a kind of pulfe
much ufed as food, both for man
and beaft. The forts and varie
ties of beans are numerous almoft
beyond account. Butthofe which-
are moft cultivated in .this part
of the world are, the Engiifh bean,
to which the name Windfor is ap
plied ; kidney beans of various
kinds ; fuch as the cafe knife
bean, the Canada bean, the cran
berry bean, the fhort bean, the
white bean cultivated in fields,
and the fcarlet bean. Sivy,orSaba
beans,are alfo cultivated in this cli
mate of late to advantage. They
are known in fome places by the
name of thoufand for one beans.
Engiifh beans require a moifl
and ftrong foil. Nothing that, I
know of will flourifh better in a
ihff'clay. They mould be plant
ed as early as poflible in the
fpring.. In Europe they ibw them
in February. There is no dan
ger of their being hurt by a final!
degree of froft, if they mould
happen to come up early. In
Europe fome fow them in the
broad caft way : But the drill
method is better, on account of
hoeing between the rows, as they
will need hoeing. When they
are about a yard high, li they in-
dine to be too fail, the tops
ffiould
24 B E A
mould be broken off, in the fame
manner as tobacco. When the
firft crop is all gathered, the
iblks fliould be cut off clofe to
the ground, excepting thofc on
which feed is left to grow more
perfectly ripe. The fuckers will
rife from the roots^ and give an
other green crop late in the fall. I
have had a plentiful fecond crop
fit for the table in November :
But they will not be ripe, nor fo
good for eating as the firft crop.
A fmaller Engliih bean, called
the horfe bean, and ufed to feed
horfes, I have attempted to cul
tivate. I planted them on a rich
clayey loam, made mellow. The
plants grew finely, and bloffom-
ed ; but bore no fruit at all,
though the plants appeared in a
healthy ftate through the fum-
mer. But I made only one ex
periment : PofTibly, others might
have better fuccefs.
The cafeknife bean, is fo call
ed, becaufe the pod is ihaped like
that inftrument, and of nearly
the fame fize. The green pods,
half grown, are excellent food.
This bean, as all other of the run
ning kind, are produced in
great plenty by the help of hog
dung, with a little mixture of
alhes. They ripen rather late ;
but a fufficient quantity of them
for feed are ufually ripened.
They are a tender plant, and
fhould not be put into the ground
till after the middle of May. The
poles for them to climb upon
may be fet at the time when the
feed is put in, or afterwards, as
may be mpft convenient. They
are amazingly productive. A
bufhel of pods may be had from
one or two poles. But it is time
that new feed be obtained from
fome dillant country, as of late
they do not well run up the poles.
Canada beans have no running
vines. Tl\ey ripen early and are
B E A
fruitful. They are oblong fhap^
ed, and of various colours, fpeck-
led, while with black eye's, cream
coloured, &c. The pods are not
fo tender as to be good fof eating,
unlefs when they are very young*
Thefe, and all other of the bufh
kind, grow beft in the drill way.
The cranberry bean is fo call
ed from the refemblance it bears,
when ripe, to that fruit. The
vines grow luxuriantly, and a-
bound with leaves, fo that ftrong
poles are required to fupport
them. They do not ripen quite
fo well as might be wilhed in the
mo ft northern parts of Newen-
gland ; but they are more fruit
ful than almoft any other that I
have met with. The green pods
are fweet, tender, and a very luf-
cious kind of food. But they
are beft to eat fhelled.
The fhort bean is fo called front
its fhape. It is of a brown colour.
Many grow in one fhort pod,
and each looks as if it were cut off
fquare at one or both ends. The
excellency of this kind of bean
is, that the pod is fit for eating
when the bean has got its full
growth. But the pods are liable
to be hurt by a black ruft, if they
are expofed much to the fun ;
though they will be frefh and
fair when they grow in a ihady
place. Planted with Indian corn,
they grow extremely well, and are
fit to eat green till fome time af
ter the firft autumnal frofts begin.
The field white beans com
monly grow beft on a dry and
warm foil, but moderately richw
The way to harveft them is, to
pull them up by the roots, a (hort
time before the firft froft is ex-
pcfted, and let them lie on the
field. The green ones will foon
ripen, and efcape injury from
the froft. They muft be gather
ed in and fecured, before they
begin to ihatter out of the pods.
BEE
The haum, or vines of beans,
fliould not be wafted, but care
fully preferved : They are a fort
of fodder which fheep and goats
are very fand of, though no oth
er creature will eat them.
Of beans called fear let the
white are the befl and moil pro-
du6live.
As dried beans are of late be
come a confiderable article of ex
portation, farmers mould be in
formed that the white beans are
moil prized by far in foreign
markets, and bear a higher price
than any other.
Callivance are a bean of great
value, and yield great crops in
lome of the warmer parts of New-
england.
BEER, a pleafant drink made
with malt and hops. It is dif-
tinguifhed from ale by having a
greater quantity of hops ; whence
it is more bitter, and will keep
longer. And beer that is made
of the higheft dried malt has the
name of porter.
Much has been publifhed for
the direction of thofe who under
take large breweries. It is much
to be wifhed that many fuch were
carried on in this country, where
barley for making malt can be
fo eafily raifed. The ufe of ar
dent fpirits, which are more coft-
ly, and lefs wholeibme than beer,
might thus be leffened. They
who are difpofed to undertake
brewing, may fupply themfelves
with volumes on the fubject.
1 mall only undertake to direft
farmers, who may be difpofed to
brew beer for their own con-
iumption. . -i
Almoft any houfehokler may
brew, without putting himfelf to
much if any charge for an appa
ratus. Inftead of a large copper,
which, is neceffary in a brew
houfe, a large kettle or two may
anfwer the purpofes of heating
BEE 25
the water, and boiling the wort.
Hogfhead and barrel tubs, and
other veflels, may ferve for mam-
ing tubs, backs, coolers, and tuns.
The water ufed for making
beer, or ale, mould be foft, and
fuch as is fit for wafhing. For
this will better penetrate the
malt, and caufe it to difcharge its
fpirituous virtue. Some recom
mend throwing a: fpoonful of fait
into a kettle full, which will
caufe any foulnefs contained in
'the water to rife to the furface
when it boils, which may be
fkimmed off. When the water
is very good this will be needlefs.
B*ut let the water be ever fo pure,
a little bran, or matt, mould be
thrown upon the top, while it is
heating ; to be taken off when
the water begins to boil. If malt
be ufed, throw it into the mafh
tub. The defign of thus cover
ing the \vater is, to prevent the
belt, moll fubtil and volatile par
ticles of the water from evapo
rating, or going off in fteam.
The water, for the fame reafon,
mould but juft boil ; after which
it mould not be left to cool grad
ually, as the evaporation would
be too great : But as much cold
water ihould be thrown in, and
mixed with it in the mafh tubv
as will bring it to the right tem
per, perhaps about three gal
lons to half a barrel. For the
malt mould not be fcaided, but
fieeped in water, as warm as* it
can be without fcalding ; becaufe
the fcalding of the malt' would
rather clofe up its pores, and pre
vent its impregnating the Water
with its virtue, fo much as it will
in a tepid menftruum. It will
alfo render it glutinous and ad-
hefive, fo that the water will not
have a free paffage through it.
The cold water ihould be put
firft into the rrrafh, and the hot
after it.
The
$6 BEE
The nrafh tub fhquld have a
cock, or a tap and iaucet, fixed
into its bottom, and the hole cov
ered within with a little flat
fhaped inverted bafket, faftened
v/ith nails, that it may not
get out of place by the mafhing,
and a clofe {training cloth may
be put over it, and faftened in
the fame manner.
The water being in the ffiaih
tub, one perfon fhould put in the
malt by little and little, and an
other ihould ftir it about with a
flick or paddle, that it may not
remain in lumps, or fail of being
thoroughly wetted. This is all
the ftirring that is needful. For
too much ftirring would caufe
the malt to thicken, fo as not to
give a free pafTage to the water
that is to pals through it.
Some of the laft of the malt,
inftead of being ftirred into the
water, fhould be f trowed loofely
over the furface, to ferve as a
coat for the reft, and prevent
the copious patting away at the
fpirit in fleams. Befides, the tub
fhould be clofely covered with
Jacks, or other cloths, that none
of the fleam may efcape. In this
fituatioa it ihould ftand for two
or three hours. Then with a
{'mall ilream draw off the wort,
upon a handful or .two of hops,
into the back, which is placed
under the mafh tub. Fill with
water again, and maih ; m half
an hour run it off ; in the mean
while be pouring hot water into
the mafh as it is running. It
fhould be poured in on that fide
of the tub which is moft diftant
from the cock, or fo that all the
malt may be wafhed with it as
equally as poflibie. This water
may be almoft or quite boiling '
hot, as mixing it with that in the
tub will fo cool it as to prevent
fcalding. Continue thus to pour
in water and run it off, till you
BEE
have the quantity in the back
which you defign for your ftrong"
ale or beer. Then flop the c6ck,
and fill the grains with a fuffi-
cient quantity of cold water, for
fmalt beer, or it may be hot if
the weather is cold, fo that there
be no danger of fouring. Let it
ftand, covered as before, and boii
your firft run. When it has
boiled fmartly for half an hour,
put in your hops, and boil it an
other half hour, or till it breaks
or curdles, as it will when it is
fufficiently boiled. Or you may
put your hops into a thin coarfe
linen bag, leaving room for them
to fwell, and boil them the firft
half hour in the wort, which I
take to be a better method.
When your wort is boiled e-
nough, ftrain it into your coolers,
in which the thinner it lies the
better, as it will cool the rafter.
The next thing is to put the
wort into the tun, an open veflel,
to ferment. If very fine and
clear drink is defired, the fedi-
ments in the coolers fhould be
left behind, and ftrained through
a flannel bag : For the lefs of the
grounds go into the tun, the purer
the beer may be expefted to be
in the cafk, and the more eafily
fined.
That which is intended for long
keeping fhould be almoft or quite
cold before it is put into the tun,
becaufe a flow fermentation will
be moft proper for it. But ale,
or fmall beer, for fpeedy ufe,
may be put up a little warm.
Then ftir in your barm, or yeft,
a pint of which is enough for a
barrel. If the fermentation be
too flow, beat in the yeft once or
twice, but not oftener, left the
drink fliould be injured by it.
In two or three days the beer
will purify itfelf by throwing up
the lighter parts to the top in a
white curled foam, and precipi
tating
BEE
tating *the heavier and fouler
parts to the bottom. It fiiould
then be tapped juft above the
lees, and, having taken off the
yeft, the beer mufl be drawn off
into the cafks in whichit is to be
kept : Which fhould iland with
the bungs open, till the fermen
tation ceafes, and be kept con-
ftantly full, not by pouring inthat
which runs over with the yeft at
the bung hole ; but with fome of
die fame beer kept in a Veffel by
itfelf. Thus it will throw off the
yeft, and depofit a dreggy part
fufficient for the beer to feed up
on in the calk. Keferving the
yeft for ufe, bung the cafks clofe
as foon as the working ceafes.
If the brewing be done in O61o-
ber, the bungs ihoiild not be tak
en out till fpring. Then open
the vent holes : For the coming
of warm weather will caufe anew
fermentation. This being over,
.keep the cafks well flopped till
September following : Then fine
it with ifinglafs, firft racking it
off, if it be not pretty fine.
But for ales and fmall beers, it
may anfwer well enough, to omk
the tunning, and remove the wart
from the coolers directly into the
cafks ; observing to keep them
full, that they may purge tbem-
felves of the yeft.
Butt beer of the ftrongeft kind,
takes eight bufhels of malt for a
barrel. But a fmaller quantity
will make apleafanter and whole-
fomer drink. The fame quanti
ty will make a barrel and a half
of good ftrong ale ; or fix barrels
of fmall beer.
R EC EIPT for brewing for a pri
vate family.
Take four bufhels of malt, and
from ten ounces to a pound of
hops, as you wifh your beer to be
-more or lefs bitter. Brew accord
ing to the above method, You
t* T i]l have one barrel of good ale }
BEE 27
and another of fmall beer. Fci*
the fmall beer half a pound of
hops will be enough. Some ufe
the hops that have been boiled
before : But frefh hops will be
far better and wholefomer.
SPRUCE BEER.
Take a fufHcient quantity oi
fpruce boughs ; boil them i n water
about half an hour, or till the out -
ward fkin, or rind, peels off: Strain
the liquor, andir in at the rate of
two quarts ol molaffes to half a bar
rel. Work it with beer grounds,
or emptyings ; or rather with .yeft,
Inftead oi fpruce .fome ufe ju
niper, and prefer it It is the low
fpecies, commonly called favin. A
little wheat bran mould he boiled
in this beer to give it a brifknefs.
MOLASSES BEER ;
according to a method faid to be
pra6lifed in Philadelphia.
" Take five pounds of molaffes,
half a pint of yeft, and a fpoon-
f ul of powdered race ginger : Put
thefe ingredients into your vcf-
fel, and pour on them two gal
lons of fcalding hot, foft and
clear water : Shake them well
till it ferments ; and add thirteen
gallons of the fame water cold,
to fill up the cafk : Let the. liquor
ferment about twelve hours, then
bottle it off, with a raifin or two
in each 'bottle,/'
A good H o u S'F/H OLD BEE R.
Take .a heaped half peck of
wheat -bran,, and three or "four
ounces of hops : Boil them a
quarter of an hour in fifteen gal
lons of clear water : Strain it
through a clofe fieve, and fweet-
en it with two quarts of molaf
fes : Cool it quick till it is no
warmer, than new milk, and fill
your half barrel. Warm water
may be tiled to fill up the cafk if
needful. Leave the bung out
for 24 hours, that the drink may
work, and throw off' the yeft, and
it will be fit for ufe. About the
fourth
a8 BEE
fourth or fifth day, bottle off what
remains in the veflel, efpecially
if the weather be hot, that it may
not turn four or ftale. If the caik
be new, or not before ufed for
beer, apply yeft or beer grounds
to ferment it : Otherwife it will
not be neceflary.
The practice, which is common
in this country, of fermenting our
fmall drinks, with the fediments,
or dregs of the fame, ought to be
laid afide. For this is undoubt
edly the fouleft, and moft un-
wholefome excrement of liquor.
Praftice is ^pt to reconcile the
minds of people to the moft ab-
furd and unwholefome things.
Would not a man be confidered
as infane, who fhould take the
emptyings ef cyder, and put it
into has new cyder to ferment
it? But how much better a prac
tice is it, to ferment our fmall
beers in this manner, with the
fediments of fmall beer ? It is
true, that yeft is alfo an excre-
mentitious part ; but that which
is white, is evidently far lighter,
and freer from filth, and contains
much of the volatile and fpiritu-
ous parts. As I had rather re
ceive the breath or peripiration
of cattle into my body, than their
flung, or ftale, fo I prefer the
white fcum in 'my $rink to the
ponderous dregs of liquors. Thefe
obfervations will as well apply
to the fomenting of dough.
To mend disorders in beer,
and improve it, the London and
country brewer gives the follow
ing directions.
To cure a butt of ropy beer.
Mix two handfuls of bean flour
with one handful of fait, and ftir
it in.
To feed a bull of beer. Bake a
rye loaf well nutmeged, put it in
pieces into a narrow bag of hops
with fome wheat, and put the bag
into the cafk at the bung hole.
B E E
To cure mujly drink. Jtiin it
through fome hops that have
been boiling in ftrong wort, and
afterwards work it with two parts
of new beer, to one of the mufty
old. This is called vamping,
and is a cure for mufty, or Sink
ing beer.
To feed and give a fine flavour
to a barrel of beer. Put fix fea
bifcuits into a bag of hops, and
put all into the caik.
To fine or clarify beer in twen
ty four hours. Put in a piece of
loft chalk burnt, about the big-
nefs of two hen's eggs, which
will difturb the liquor, and caufe
it afterwards to be fine, and draw
off brifk to the laft, though it
were flat before. This will do
for a kilderkin, or half barrel.
To fine and feed butt beer. Cut
ifingiafs into fmall pieces, and
foak it in fome ftale beer ; then
boil fugar in fmall beer or ale to
a thin fyrup, arid mix it with
fome of the ifingiafs beer, which
put into a butt of beer, ftiriing
it bfifkly together. It will fine
and prelerve the drink well.
To recover a kilderkin of \flale
fmall beer. Put two ounces of
good hops, and one pound of
mellow fat chalk, broke into a
dozen pieces, m at the bung hole,
and flop it up clofc. It will prove
found and pleafant to the laft.
To fine a kilderkin of ale or
be.er, and prefirve ike. fa we found
and {ikajant for a long time.
Take a large handful of bops,
boiled in a'firil wort only halt
an hour, and dried ; half a pound
of loaf fugar dillolved in fome.
of the ale or beer ; one pound
of chalk broke in fix pieces ; fhr.
white part of oyllerfhells. calcined
in a clear charcoal fire to a v.'hite-
nefs, and the items of tobacco
pipes, that have been ufed and
are burnt again, of each in pow
der four ounces. Put in your.
hops
BEE
hops firft, with the pieces of
chalk ; and then mix your two
powders and loaf fugar in fome
of the ale or beer, and pour all
in immediately after the hops
and chalk, ftirring them well
about with a ftaff, and bang down.
Some put thefe into ale quick
ly after it has done working ;
others will rack off their Octo
ber or March beer into another
calk, and then put in thefe in-
tredients, and flir it well with a
aff: Or give the veflel a roll
x)r two, that the bottom may be
turned up. You may tap it at a
week's end : You will have a
clear wholefome ale or beer.
BEES, an induftriousand prof
itable fpecies of infects. Rural
economy is incomplete where
bees are wanting. The coil: ot
keeping them is nothing, after the
houfe and boxes are made ; arid
the care that is required about
them is but trifling, affording an
agreeable amufement.
There are three forts of been
in a hive : i. The queen bee,
which is larger, and of a brighter
red, than the reft. Her buiinefs
is to conduct the new fwarm, and
Jay eggs in the cells for a new
brood : And her fertility is lo
great that me brings forth many
thoufands of young ones in a
year. 2. The drones, which have
no ftings, are of a darker colour
than the reft, and are fuppofcd
to be the males. 3. The honey
bees, or working bees, which
are by far more numerous than
the other two kinds.
A bee houfe mould be fituated
at a good diftance from places
where cattle are kept, efpecially
from hogHies, hen and dove
houfes, and remote from 'filth
and dunghills. It mould be de
fended from high winds on all
fides, fo far as may be, confift-
ently with admitting the heat of
BEE
29'
the fun. The houfe mould be
open to the ibnth, or fouthwell,
and
backfide mould be verv
tight ; with a tight roof project
ing, that driving rains may not
injure the bees. If friow lodges
upon or about the hives, it Ihould
be brufhed off without delay.
The bench on which the hives
(land, Ihould be a little canting
outwards, that if wet fhould fall
on it, it may run off without en
tering the hives. Mr. Bromwich
propofes, " that a bee houfe b<?
boarded in front : And that the
backfide fhould coniifl of three
doors, which, opened, give a full
view of the hives, and give op
portunity to affift or lift them.
All feams are to be flopped,
which would admit infects, trom
which the houfe is often to be
brufhed.
" If the houfe mould be in
danger of being too hot, when
thus inclofed, it may be occafton-
ally (haded with boughs of trees.
As winter approaches, all the
feams of the houfe are plaiftered
with clay. In very cold climates,
the houfe fhould be filled with
ilraw, to keep the bees warm,
watching again ft mice, and re
moving the ilraw in the fpring.
" Cut a hole through the front,
of the fame fize as the mouth ot
the lower hive, and directly a-
gainft it. Under this paflage,
on a level with the floor, is a
lighting board, at the mouth of
each hive, of about five inches
long, and three wide. It is a
little fhelf for the bees to land
upon after their excurfions.
Thefe being feparate, not in one
piece of the length of the houfe,
is to prevent intercourfe between
colony nnd colony. But more
effential to prevent mice, fnails,
and other intruders. Thefe a-
lighting boards are fornetimes
painted of different colours, to
30 3 E E
direft each bee to his home more
readily. A long {helving board
fhould be placed over the alight
ing boards, to ihelter the bees in
a rainy time. It mould be
twelve inches wide, arid placed
nine inches above the mouths
of the hives."
Broom, clover, and muflard,^
are faid to afford bees an excel-"
Jent paflure ; and they appear
very fond of the flowers of pop
pies. Gardens, and any places
where {lowers abound, and ef-
peciaily where there is a fuc-
cefhon of flowers through the
greater part of the year, are moil
favourable to them : For they
undoubtedly draw the principal
part of their honey from the nec-
ta'ria of flowers. Fields of buck
wheat are good, as they continue
in bloom for a long time. In
Germany they move their bee
hives in boats to the neighbour
ing fields of buck wheat.
Bees are wont to fend out new
fwarms in May and June. Much
has been written concerning the
management of them on thefe
occafions. But the new mode
of managing them renders all
this unnecefTary. It is this: Let
the bee houfe be made ib tall as
to admit' three tier of hives, or
boxes, one above another. The
hives fnould not be tall lhaped,
but rather broad and ihort, that
they may take up lefs room.
A hive of fuch dimenfions as to
be equal to a cube of 13 inches,
will be fufficiently capacious.
Mr. Thorley directs that they
fhould be 10 inches deep, and
from 12 to 14 inches broad in
the iniide. If hives be made
larger, the fwarms will not mul
tiply fo faft. An under hi'/e is
made with a round hole through
the top of three inches diameter,
covered with a Hiding Ihutter.
Each hive or box mould have a
BEE
pafTage at the bottom for the !>ees
to pafs in and out, four or five
inches long, and about one third
of an inch deep. One of thefe
hives mould be placed directly
under an inhabited hive, before
they are difpofed to fend out a
new fwarm. This will prevent
the going out of a {warm, and
| fave trouble and watching : For
inftead of fwarming, when the
upper hive is full, they will build
and depoht their honey in the
one that is below ; And when
that is full, let them find another
beneath it ; they will take poi-
feffion of the lowermoft. It is
their manner always to begin at
the top, and build, downwards.
For another method ot manage
ment, fee White's collateral Bee.
Boxes.
When the top hive is well fill
ed with honey, it may be dif r
covered by lifting it, or more ac
curately by weighing it gently
with a fleclyard, in a cool morn
ing, when the bees Are fliff, and
not apt to come out.
When a hive is taken up, there
is no need of murdering the
poor infe6ts with fire and brim-
ilone, as has been the ufual prac
tice. - Only drive in the mutter,
and run a thin long knife round,
to part it from that which is be
low it ; flip the hive off upon a
fraooth piece of board, or flide
the board under, and carry the
hive into, your dwelling houfe,
which you may dp in a cool
morning without any danger
from their flings. Lay the hive
upon its fide, and have a window
of the room open. As the fun
gets up, and the air grows warm
er, they will quit the hive, and
go into the hive next to the
place whence they were taken.
When you take out the honey,
which fhould be done fpeedily,
the bees that are found among
the
BEE
tiife honey, ftiff'and unable to fly,
fliould be thrown into a tub of
water. They will foon recover
their activity, and go after their
companions.
Some pfaftife feeding bees.
But, fays one, " There is but
little life in it, becaufe thofe
which have not a good ftock of
honey to ferve them through the
winter, are not fit to keep." He
adds, " There are fome {locks of
bees in the fpring <;ime, that may
feem worthy of our care to pre- I
ferve ; fuch as have but little '
honey, and a good number of
bees, by means of a cold and dry
fpring, yet in all probability may
prove an excellent ftock, and
may be worth confideration."
" The beft method of fujipiy-
ing bees with food, is by fmall
canes, or troughs conveyed into
their hives ; and beginning in
March, when they begin to breed
and fit on their young, it muft
be daily continued, till the fea-
fbn affords them eafe and provi-
fion abroad.
" Honey is not only the beft,
but the moft natural of all food,
and will go much further mix
ed well with a moderate quanti
ty of good fiveet wort. Soine
prefcribe toafts ot bread fopped
in flrong ale, and put into the
hive, whereof they will not leave
one crumb remaining."
Mr. Thorley advifes when
{locks of bees are weak, to double
them, which he thinks the moft
effectual way of preferving them
in common hives. He does it
by the help of a fume, or opiate,
which will fo ftupify them for a
time that they may be handled
at pleafure. Having done this,
the queen mnft be Searched for
and killed. And examine wheth
er the ftock to which you intend
to join the bees of another, have
honey enough to maintain the
BEE ,31
bees of both : It fhculd weigh
20 pounds.
" The narcotick, or ftupifying
fume, is made with the large
mulhroom, commonly known
by the name bunt, puckfift, or
frog cheefe. It is of a brown
colour, turns to powder, and is
exceeding light. Put one of
thefe pucks into a large paper ;
prefs it therein to two thirds, or
half its former bulk, and tie it
up very clofe : Then put it into
an oven, after the bread has been
drawn, and let it. remain there all
night : When it is dry enough to
hold fire, it is fit for life. The
manner of ufmg it is thus :
" Cut off a piece of the puck,
as large as a hen's egg, and fix it
in the end of a fmall flick flit
for that purpofe, and fharpened
at the other end, which place fo
.that the puck may hang near the
middle of an empty hive. This
hive muft be fet with the mouth
upwards, near the ftock you in
tend to take. This being done,
fet fire to the puck, and imme
diately place the ftock of bees
over it, tying a cloth around the
hives, that no fmoke may come
forth. In a minute's time, you
will hear the bees fall like 'drops
of hail, into the empty hive.
You may then beat the top of
the hive gently with your hand,
to get as many of them as you
can : After this, loofing the cloth,
lift the hive off to a table, knock
it feveral times againft the table,
feveral more bees will tumble
out, and perhaps the queen among
them. She often is one of the
laft that falls. If fhe is not there,
fearch for her among the main
body in the empty hive, fpread-
ing them for this purpofe on a.
table.
" You muft proceed in the
fame manner with the other \\l\ r c,
with the bees of which thefe arc
S 2 BEE
to be united. , One of the queens
being fecured, you muft put the
bees of both hives together, min
gle them thoroughly, and drop
them among the combs of the
hive which they are intended to
inhabit. When they are al! in,
cover it with a packing or coarfe
cloth, which will admit air, and
let them remain fhut up all that
night, and the next day. You
will foon be fenfible they are
awaked from their flee p.
" The fecond night after their
union, in the dufk of the even
ing, gently remove the cloth
from off the mouth of the hive,
and the bees will immediately
fally forth with a great noife :
But being too late they will foon
return. Then keep them con
fined for three or four days ; af
ter which the door may be left
open."
It is convenient to have a pane
of glafs in each hive, in order to
watch the motions of the bees,
and to know by infpeftion when
is the right time to take up a
hive. The Reverend Mr. White
fays, " In the back part you muft
cut a hole with a rabbet in it, in
which you are to fix a pane of
the cleared and beft crown glafs,
about five inches in length, and
three in breadth, and faften it
with putty. Let the top of the
glafs be placed as high as the
roof within iide, that you may
fee the upper part of the combs,
where the bees with their riches
are moftly placed. You will,
by this means, be better able to
judge of their ftate and ftrength,
than if your glafs was fixed in the
middle. The glafs muft be cov
ered with a thin piece of board,
by way of fh utter, which may be
made to hang by a firing, or turn
upon a. nail, or flide fideways be
tween two mouldings, Such as
are defirous of feeing more of
BEE
the bees' works, may make the
glafs as large as the box will ad
mit, without weakening it too
much. Or they may add a pane
cf glafs on the top, which muft
likewife be covered with a (but
ter, fattened down with pegs to
prevent accidents.
" Be careful to faften the mut
ter fo clofe to the glafs, that no
light may enter ; for the bees
feem to look upon fuch light as ,
a hole, or breach in their houfe,
and on that account may not fo
well like their habitation."
BEET, Beta, a well known ef-
eulent root.
There is a fea beet which grows
in fait marfhes ; and a white beet
cultivated in gardens for the fake
of its leaves, which are fome-
times ufed in foups. The root
is fmall, and commonly hard and
tough.
But the fort which is moft val
uable is the red beet, with a large,
pyramidal, flefhy root ; the
leaves of which are large, thick
and juicy. The larger thefe roots
grow, the more tender they are ;
And the deeper their colour, the
better. The beft of red beets
have reddifh leaves. In fome oi
the varieties the leaves are all
over red.
Beets require a mellow and
warm foil, moderately rich, and
well pulverized to a good depth.
For as they naturally run deep, in
mallow groftnd they will be fhort^
ftringy, and irregular fhaped.
Beets mould be fown early.
A good method is, to fet the
feeds in fquares of about eight
or nine inches in poor ground ;
in rich ground they fhould be at
leaft a foot afunder. If a fourth
part of the feeds fhould fail, the
crop will not be leffened.
When the feeds are ftrong and
good, they are apt to come up
I double. In this cafe they fhould
by
BEE
i>y all means be fmgled while
they are young. Otherwife it
may be expefted that the roots
will be fmall, and fometimes
twifted about each other. Thofe
which are taken out may be
tranfplanted ; but they are not
fo apt to make good roots.
Though they may be thick, they
will be apt to be wanting in lengh,
The ground mould be hoed
two or three times, after which the
leaves will fo cover the ground,
as to flop the further growth of
weeds.
The under leaves may be brok
en off towards fall, and thrown
to the fwine, which are very fond
of them. This will not injure
the roots at all ; for if they are
left on, they will foon decay.
Taking away part of the leaves
will' let in the fun and air, which
will be of advantage to the roots.
The roots mould be taken up
before any fevere froft comes ;
none of the fibrous roots mould
be taken away ; nor the heads
cut very clofe. In this ftate, al-
fo, they mould be boiled, that
none of their rich juice may ef-
cape.
They may be ufed in autumn,
and kept good all winter. But
if any froft touches them, though
they will not prefently rot, they
will become tough, and unfit for
the table. And, in the fpring,
their early fprotiting depreciates
them.
A new fpecies of beet has late
ly made its appearance in this
country. The German name of
it is mangel zuurtzel : It is com
monly called fcarcity root, from
an idea of its being a good pre
ventive of fcarcity, or fucceda-
neiun' for grafs. Like other tap
rooted plants, it bears drought
well, and produces abundance of
leaves, which the cattle are fond
f . Thefc pi ants have every ap-
B I R 33
pearance of beets, excepting that
the feeds are fmaller, the roots
much larger, and grow chiefly
above the furface of the ground.
Ten pounds is the weight of fome
that I have feen ; but in a rich
foil, fome have grown to two
feet in circumference. ( The leaves
may be frequently fhripped off,
to feed cattle and fwine, which
does not appear to injure the
roots at all, but rather to increafe
their growth. They are lefs fit
for the table than the common
red beets. Thofe which I have
feen were fcarcely eatable.
BIDENS, a tool recommend
ed by Mr. Tull, with an eye and
helve like a hand hoe. Inftead
of a blade, it has two prongs,
two inches, or two and a half
afunder, and fix inches long,
fteeled at the ends. The ufes of
it are, to take up weeds ftrongly
rooted, and to loofen the foil
among plants, without wound
ing the roots. It was invented
and ufed by the Romans.
BIRD GRASS, Poa ava~
fia, fpicalis fabbifloris. Ufually
known in this country by the
name Fowl Meadow Grafs. It
acquired this name by being fup-
poled to be brought to a piece ofc"
meadow in Dedham, by ducks,
and other wild water fowl. Mr.
Roque, an ingenious Frenchman,
tells us, " He has,found by ex
periment, that this grafs thrives
beft on the drieft land." But if
it did fo in England, where he
has cultivated it, I doubt wheth
er it will do fo in this country,
where the heat of the fun in
fummer, is fo much greater. The
fowl meadow, where its growth
is moft natural, is a low wet foil,
and fo miry that carts cannot
well go on it : And from thence
it has been propagated in many
fwampy placesv But Mr. Roque
tells us, " It grew two feet and a
hall'
34'
B L O
lialf the firft year in a dry foil ;
four feet the fecond year : That
at every joint it lends out branch
es, which will ftrike root where -
evcr they touch the ground :
That on taking a full grown
plant of this grafs out of the
ground, it was found capable of
being divided into twenty fmall : -
cr roots, or off fets ; that thefe off
fets, though taken thus from the
root even in the beginning of Ju
ly, will bear feed the fame year."
Mr. Eliot thinks drained
fwamps are a very proper foil for
the cultivation of this grafs ; he
allows that it makes a good hay,
little inferiour to Englifh hay ;
and obferves, that it keeps green
for a long time, fo that it may be
mov T ed at any time from July
to October ; and that it is fo
fruitful as to produce three tons
of hay on an acre.
BLIGHT. See Mildew:-
BLOOD, the liquor whicH
circulates through the arteries
and veins of animals. It eonfifts
of water, oil, fait, earth and air,
all which fubftances are ingredi
ents of the food for plants. It
abounds with oil and fait more
than moft bodies ; therefore it
may be allowed to be one of the
rieheft manures ; and experi
ments have proved it to be fo.
It is heft to mix it with other
fubftances before it is ufed. If
a farmer could get the blood of
animals in fuffkient quantity, he
might bring his lands to any de
gree of richnefs. lie may af
ford to give a good price for the
filth at {laughter houfes, as a large
proportion of it is blood. It is
owing, in great meafure, to the
blood of fowls, and other animals,
which is fpilt in back yards, that
what is called door dung is fo
valuable a manure. The fanner
fhould take care to have all his
killing done in places where the
B R O
blood will be faved for manure.
A little of it mixed with a large
quantity of dirt, the fcrapings of
a yard, &c. will make the whole
a rich compoft.
BOG, a piece of land with a
wet miry foil, or a fwamp. Some
bogs, when they have a fward of
grafs roots, will make and trem
ble under the foot. Such land
is unprofitable, or even a nuifance,
until it be drained. But after
draining, it becomes the beft of
foil, producing the greateft of
crops, without any manure. The
way to drain a fwamp effectually,
is to j?afs a ditch through the mid
dle of it ; and another ditch round
the border, to cut off the fprings
which come from the upland.
In order to judge whether a
bog will pay the expenfe of
draining, the depth of the draia
which will be neceffary at the
outlet, and its length, muft be
confidered, and alfo the depth of
the foil in the bog. If the foil
be very thin, it will not be of fo
much value when drained. It
will be thinner after drying than
before ; but it mould have depth
enough for the deepeft plough
ing, after it is dried and fettled.
Otherwife the operation of drain
ing may as well be omitted.
See Eliot on Field Hufbandry.
BROWSE, young fprouts
from wood, twigs of trees, and
bulhes. In. a new country,,
browfmg is a confiderable part
of the food of cattle. They will
eat browfe all parts of the year,
unlefs when the fnow is fo deep
that they cannot wander in pur-
fuit of it. Late in autumn, and
early in fpring, much hay may
be faved by turning out cattle to
browfe. In the former part of
fummer, when die young moots
are in the moft tender ftate, fome
cattle will even grow fat upon
browfe. Salt hay is found to
give
B U L
give cattle an extraordinary ap
petite for this kind of food.
BUCK WHEAT, Polygo-
num, a dark coloured grain, (liap-
ed like the feed of onions, but
much larger, and of a dark brown
colour. It yields plentifully,
and is faid to be better than bar
ley for fattening .of hogs and
poultry. It mould not be fown
in this climate, till after the mid
dle of May. One bufhel is e-
nough to feed an acre, if fown
broad caft ; lefs than half that
quantity, if drilled.
In the Hate of Newyork, farm
ers fow it with their winter wheat
about Auguft. It affords them. a
ripe crop in the fall, and is no
damage to the crop of wheat
nvhich grows with it, and fuc-
ceeds it. When the plants are
green, they are large, fappy and
ioft. European writers, there
fore, greatly recommend fowing
it fora green dreffing, and plough
ing it into the ground, in its inoft
green and juicy (late.
BULL, the male of the ox kind.
The marks of a good -one for
propagation, according to Mor
timer, are thefe. He mould have
a quick countenance, his fore
head large and curled, his eyes
black and large, his horns large,
itraight and black, his neck
flefhy, his belly long and large,
his hair fmooth like velvet, his
breaft big, his back ftraight and
flat, his buttocks fquare, his thighs
round, his legs ftraight, and his
joints .{hort.
One good bull will anfwer for
a large number of cows. But to
mend our bv-eesl of cattle, more
attention fliould be paid to the
properties of bulls. Thoie calves
which are not large, or not well
fhaped, mould be caftrated while
-they are young, that a mean race
of cattle may not be propagated,
fhoulrl the praclice of
BUR
35
fuffering bulls that are too young,
to go to the cows, be continued.
For either the cows, through the
infufficiency of the bull, will go
farrow, which is a great lofs to
the farmer, and a breach upon
the dairy ; or at beft, the calves
will be imall, and fcarcely worth
rearing ; as fome of our beft
farmers are now fully convinced.
A bull mould be three years old,
before he is ufed for propagation.
Crofting the breed is account
ed a matter of confiderable im
portance. A bull procured from
fome place at a confidence dif~
tance, is, believed to anfwer bet
ter than one that is home bred.
'^Gentlemen in Ireland will fome-
times give an enormous price for
a young bull from fome parts of
England.
BURN BAKING, or burn
beating, often called denftiiring,
or devonfhiring, from its being
long praHfed in Devonfhirc.
The turfs of fwarded land are cut
up with a kind of hoc, called a
beating axe, which, after drying,
are piled and "burnt. The afhes
.and burnt foil are fpread over the
furface, from whence the turfs
were taken, by way of manure ;
then ploughed in, and mixed with
the foil ; firft with a (hoal fur
row, and .deeper at the fecond
ploughing.
The Marquis of Tourbilly fays,
" The .paring mattock, or beat
ing axe, ihould have an edge
like an adze, of >well tempered
fteel, and about nine inches wide ;
that the iron part fnould be fix
inches in length, growing nar
rower towards the handle ; that
the hole to receive the handle
fhouid be two inches hi diame
ter ; that the handle fhouid be
of wood, about three feet long ;
that the inftrument without the
handle ihould weigh rrom ten to
twelve pounds : that the turfs
/' j
.railed
g6 BUR
raifed will be about 18 inches
long, a foot broad, and four inches
thick ; that they muft be fet up
to dry, leaning againft each oth
er ; that when the feafon is not
very wet, they will be dry e-
nough to burn in about three
weeks ; that when dry, they
muft be piled up in the form of
ovens, the mouths to the moft
windward fide ; that a hole
fhould be left in the top for the
fmoke to go out ; that as foon as
they are piled, they muft be fet
on fire with fome ftraw or heath ;
that if they burn too faft, earth
muft be thrown on to deaden the
flames ; and that they will con
tinue burning fome days. When
the burning is ended, he advifes,
that the afhes be piled up in
round heaps ; that when it is
time to fow winter grain, the
aihes ihould be fpread, and the
corn fown on them, and then the
ground ploughed with a flioal
iurrow, and harrowed."
He fays, " half the ufual quan
tity of feed will be fufficient ;
and that it ought to be fowed two
weeks later than other ground."
The reafon is, becaufe the grain
will grow rapidly, and be un
commonly large.
I conceive this muft be a ggod
method of culture for our cold
lands, inclining to mofs, which
can no other way be made to
produce well the firft year after
breaking up. But this method
will not readily be adopted in a
country where labour is dear.
The work, however, might be
greatly diminifhed, by paring the
furface with a very iharp ironed
plough ; though in order to do
this, the ground muft have an
extremely even furface, and be
free from ftones. I have faid fo
much of this culture, in hopes pf
exciting fome, who are curious,
19 make trial of it.
BUR
BURNET, Pimpindla^ a vai,
liable perennial plant, which has
lately been brought into ufe as a
grafs for feeding cattle, by Mr.
Roque, in the neighbourhood of
London. Several Englifh fann
ers have teftified, from, their ex
perience concerning it, that it
grows and flourifhes well, even
on the pooreft and drieft of fandy
and gravelly foils ; that an acre
will yield three loads of hay, by
cutting it twice in a year, or
more than forty bufhels of feed ;
that the feed is better for horfes
than oats, and the ftraw, after it
is thrafhed, equal to the beft of
common hay ; that it continues
in perfe6l verdure, and even
growing during the winter ; that
it affords excellent winter paf-
ture for cattle and horfes ; and
that it makes cows give an ex
traordinary quantity of the very
beft tailed milk.
I have had a bed of this grafs
for two years paft on a hungry
fand. It has grown luxuriantly,
the ftems rifing to the height of
three feet ; and the feeds ripen
ed the year it was fpwed, though
it was not fowed till the end of
May. The fecond year the feed&
ripened, I think, in June. The
feverity of our winter froft nei
ther killed any of it, nor fo much
as altered the verdure of the
items or leaves. Some of it was
cut up and given to cattle,
as foon as the fnow was off,
which they ate very greedily.
I think this plant bids fair
to be a profitable grafs in this
country, where froft occafions
the confining our ftocks to dry
fodder for fix or feven months.
For, on a pafture pf this grafs,
cattle, horfes and fheep, may
feed till the ground is covered
with fnow ; and again in the
fpring, as fopn as the ground is
bare.
\\
BUR
It is alfo excellent for foiling,
or to give green to cattle in racks ;
and when it is made into hay, the
leaves are not apt to crumble, or
anv part of the hay to be waited.
They who wifh to propagate
this grafs, may be amired, that
there is not the leaft difficulty in
doing it : For it is not only a
moft hardy plant, but I have not
found it to be at all liable to be
hurt by any kind of infecls. The
Englim farmers recommend keep
ing it clear of weeds during the
firft fummer, or till it is fo large
as to' cover the ground. This
may be done partly by harrow
ing : For as it is a ftrong tap root
ed plant, the teeth of the harrow
will not injure the roots at all.
BURNT CLAY, a manure
very proper for all clofe and com
pact foils, efpecially for a foil
that is clayey, which it opens,
warms, and invigorates ; and fo
difpofes fucli lands to part with
their vegetative virtues, of which
they are not wanting.
" I made," fays one, " a num
ber of clay walls nine inches
high, the fame in thicknefs, and
placed at the fame diftance from
each other, in the fame parallel
direction, forming a fquare ot a-
bout three yards. Thefe vacan
cies I filled with brufh wood, and
on that threw fome cinders, or
fmall coal : After which I cover
ed the whole fquare with clay a-
bout three inches thick, leaving
the ends of the tunnels open,
which I then lighted on the wind
ward fide. As foon as the fire
had got fufficient head, I flopped
die mouths of them ; and when
I perceived the covering was al-
moft burnt through, I had a fmall
fprinkling of fmall coal thrown on
the heap, and then another cover
ing of clay as thick as the former :
And thus I went on till my heap
was feven or eight feet high. When
BUR
37
I found my fire was well kindled
(which was commonly about the
time I put my fecond coat on) I
ufed to enlarge the bafe of the
fire, by continuing the tunnels,
and adding new ones to the (ides,
which were filled and covered as
the others, and then lighted, till
I made my fire about feven yards
fquare : For I found it never
burnt well in the middle, if it was
too large at firft."
" I put about ten cart loac^s on
an acre, and found it an admira
ble manure, for either meadow,
pa ft ure, or corn. For the latter
it will not laft longer than three
crops, though longer for the two
former. And with this manure
I have made prodigious improve
ments. But I do not believe it
will anfwer for a faridy foil, as it
will render it flill lighter." I
have myfelf tried it upon a fandy
foil without any advantage.
Mr, Eliot propofes a method
of burning clay fomewhat differ
ent from this and more fimple.
See his Fie. Id Hujbandry.
BURNT GRAIN. Wheat is
faid to be burnt, when the mealy
part of its kernels is converted to
a black powder, of the confift-
ence of lampblack. M. Duham-
el calls this diftemper uJUlago,
the burnt ear. Grain which is
fo affefted, mould not be ufed
for food without warning, being
very imwholefome. Grain dif-
tempered in this manner, is call
ed by our farmers, finutty ; but
the heft modern European writ
ers choofe to call it burnt grain ;
and they affix the name fmut to
another diftemper. I greatly fuf-
pe6i that the original caufe of
fmutty ears and burnt grain is the
fame : And that all the difference
in the diftempers is, that in fome
ears it begins fooner from fome
latent caufe, in others later by
contagion. See Smut.
It
as BUS
It has been recommended, in or
der to prevent the diflemper, that
the feed be fleeped in hot lie of
wood afhes, with the mixture of
a little lime. This I have tried
year after year, without the de-
fired effec~l. Steeping in brine,
and fitting on the grain powder
ed quicklime, are better pre
ventives, but are not always ef-
M. Tillet, after diligent re-
fearches concerning this diftem-
fer, recommends warning the
?eed in water to clear wheat of
the black powder, fleeping it in
'brine of fea fait, or of nitre ; or
Sleeping in flrong alkaline lies,,
made of the afhes of fea weeds,
-of potafh or aihes jo'f tartar ; or
in lies of common aihes, much
impregnated with fy.lt and human
urine, or cow's urine, alkalized
vby putrefaftion. Of thefe vari
ous articles thofe may be ufed
'which are mofl eafily obtained.
If the feed be tinged with the
black powder, it mould be wafh-
ed and violently agitated in fev-
<eral clear waters, till the black is
quite off, and then fleeped. If
it is not fpotred, it mould be
plunged in a bafket into flrong
lie of wood afhes and lime, as
hot as a man can bear his hand
in it ; ftirring it well, let the lie
drain o-ut. The feed thus pre
pared, muft be fpread upon a
iloor, till it is dry enough to fow.
BUSHES, fhrubs. Thefe are
apt to fpring up and increafe in
paflure lands, which have never
been tilled, if timely care be not
taken to deflroy them. Eradi
cating them requires fo much la
bour, that farmers are moft com
monly content with cutting them
once in a few years. But the
more cuttings they furvive, the
longer lived they are apt to be ;
and the harder to kill, as the roots
continually gain flrength.
B U S
Keeping cattle fhort in paftures
will caufe them to browfe the
! more ; and this will have a ten-
I dency to fubdue many kinds of
bu flies. Thofe which grow on
high ground are oftener fubdued
this way than thofe which grow
in fwampy low lands, the latter
being lefs palatable to the cattle.
It has often been afferted, that
when the fign is in the heart, and
the moon in her wane, in June,
July or Auguft, if bufhes a-re cut
they will certainly die. But, by
a fufFicient trial, I have found
this to be a great miftake. In
Auguft, 1782, on the day recom
mended, I cut feveral acres of al
der bufhes. And on the follow
ing day, when the moon was in
the next fign, I cut a large quan
tity more of the fame kind, and
in the fame fwamp. The former
are fprung up again ^very gener
ally, and are become tall now in
the year 1789 ; .and fo are the
latter. T.he cutting was as inef
fectual on tfce one day .as on the
other.
But it is undoubtedly true, that
cutting bufhes in the iumnier
will do more towards deitroying
them, than doing it in any other
feafon ; and the former part of
fummer is a better time than the
latter. Other circum fiances be
ing etjual, the wetteft weather is
bell for deflroy ing ihrubs by cut
ting ; becaufe the lap veffels of
the Humps will continue open
the longer ; there will be the
greater difcharge of fap through
them, and the roots will be the
more weakened.
Bufhes which grow in clufters,
as alder, and fom.e other forts,
may be expeclitiotifly pulled up
by oxen ; and this is an effeftu-
al way to fubdue them. The ex-
penfe of it I fuppofe will not be
more than that of cutting thein
twice would amount to.
CAB
Elder is a kind of bufii which
Spreads faft in fome foils, and has
been accounted harder to fubdue
than almoit any other. Mr. El
iot fays, " He knows by experi
ence, that mowing them five times
in a year will kill them." This
has been proved by the experi
ence of other farmers. The roots-
of the flirub oak will not be kill
ed, but by digging them out, or
by pasturing goats on them.
The bumes in fwanips are in
general more hard to conquer,
than thofe which grow upon
upland. Flooding a fwamp,
where it is practicable, or can be
done without too much coft, is
perhaps the mod approved meth
od which can be taken. Flood
ing for two or three fummers-
will totally deftroy them, root ]
and branch.
But if a fwamp cannot conve
niently be flooded, the next thing
is, to confider whether it cannot
be drained to advantage. Drain
ing will fo alter the nature of
the foil, that the fhrubs which
it naturally produced before,
will not be any longer nour-
ifhed by it. Therefore they will
moftly die without cutting, or it
may be expecled that once cut
ting will be fufficient. But if
draining were not ferviceable on
any other account, perhaps it
would not anfwer to go to the
expenfe of it merely for the fake
of clearing a fwamp of the b limes.
C.
CABBAGE, Braffica, an ef-
culent plant in high, eltimation,
which, when well fodden, is a
very wholefome food. Many
forts of cabbages are cultivated.
The common white ,md red cab- (
bages, the favoy, the cauliflower, !
and the low dutch cabbages are i
Common in this country. The '
CAB
39
favor, for keeping in the winter,
feems to be equal ,o any. Be-
fides thefe, other forts are culti
vated in Europe, as the borecole,
the broccoli, the batterfea, c.
Cabbages require a rich foil,,
rather moift than dry. A clay
foil well mixed with other mat
ters, is very proper for them.
They are faid to grow well in
drained fwamps without manure,
Hog dung well rotted, door
dung and afhes, are fuitable ma
nures for them. Each plant
mould have at leaft four feet of
ground : In other words, the
plants mould be two feet afunder.
In gardens and final 1 yards this
is agooddiftance. But in fields,,
where they are to be cultivated
by the plough, a greater diftance
is neceffary. The rows may be
three feet apart, and the plants
two feet in the rows ; or perhaps
a foot and a half may anfwer,. un-
lefs it be for the largeft fort.
Some think cabbages will not
anfwer more than one year on
the fame fpot. But this is an er
roneous opinion. I have raifed
them for eighteen years in the
fame part of my garden, being an
unfavourable foil, dry and grav
elly : And the crops are better
than they were at firft, though
the ground has been but little
manured. Though cabbages feem
to require much nourifhment,
they do not impoverifh the foil.
This is fo well known to Euro
peans, that they call cabbages a
fal low crop,meaninga crop which
arifwers inftead of fallowing.
They form fo clofe a covering
for the furiace of the ground, as
to caufe a putrefaction of the foil,
which increafes its fertility.
Some fet the feeds where the
cabbages are to grow. By this
they efcape being flinted by
tranfplanting. For winter cab
bages, the latter part of May is.
early
40 CAB
early enough to put the feed in
to the ground, whether the plants
are to be removed or not. I have
tried both ways, and on the whole,
1 prefer tranfplanting. They are
otherwife apt to be too tall, and
to have crooked ftems. Wet
weather is favourable for tranf
planting them ; and the holes
ihould be filled with water before
the plants are fet, unlefs the
ground be naturally very moifL
Then the roots fhould be infert-
ed immediately into the water,
held with one hand in the right
pofition, and fine foil fcattered
in with the other. This has a
better effecl than pouring a much
greater quantity of water on them
afterwards. Suds would be bet
ter than clear water for wetting
the plants. Covering of plants
with leaves is not -a good prac
tice. They will be much heated
through fome forts of leaves, the
free circulation of air about them
will be prevented, and their per-
fpiration partly obftrucled. If a
hot fun caufe them to droop, a
fhingle ftuck into the ground
will be a fufficient fhelter, if it
be on the fouth fide of the plants.
I commonly allow each plant
two fhingles, one on the foutheafl
fide, and one on the fouthweft,
meeting at the fouth corner.
The principal things which
prevent the growth of cabbages,
are, the fumble foot, fo call
ed, grubs, maggots and lice.
Manuring with afhes and lime
tends to prevent the firft, as the
roots become misfhapenby means
of being wounded by infefts, to
which the hot qualities of afhes
and lime are antidotes.
The grub, or black worm,
travels in the night from plant
to plant, eats off the ftalks juft a-
bove the ground, and buries it>
felf in the foil when the fun is
up. To guard againft this worm,
CAB
a little circle of lime, or rock-
weed round the plant is of fervice.
To deftroy lice on cabbages,
they mould be waihed with ftrong
brine, or fea water, or fmokes
mould be made among them with
ftraw, fulphur, tobacco, c. But
the hard frofts in autumn do not
fail to fubdue them. A moderate
frofl will very much thin them*
If cabbages grow near to a barn
yard, or other yard where cattle
are lodged, the under leaves,
when they begin to decay, may
be taken off, and thrown to them.
The plants will not be at -all in
jured, and they are an excellent
food for cattle, and will increafe
the milk of cows. But the leaft
decayed of them fhould go to the
cows, left they give the milk an
ill tafle. Much account is made
of cabbages in England for feed
ing cattle in the winter. But
the difficulty of preferving them
alters the cafe with regard to us.
They can gather them there as
they have occafion to ufe them,,
through the winter, and in the
fpring.
Preferving cabbages through
the winter for the table, is a mat
ter of fome difficulty in this
country. My method is, to pull
them up in windy, dry weather,
and let them lie, a few hours, with
the roots upwards, to drain ; or
hang them up on trees or fences
for this purpofe. The later they
are taken up, the better, while
the ground continues open. I
let as much foil remain on the'
roots as I can, and fet them up
right together in a celkr, which-
is fo cold as to admit of fome de
gree of froft ; and I feldom fail
of making them keep till April.
In very warm cellars they will foon
decay ; and in rotting the fmell
becomes extremely difcigreeable,
and undoubtedly very unwhole-
fome,
But
C A L
But that I may have a few yet
later in the fpring, I make a
trench in the drieft fandy ground,
nine inches wide, and of equal
depth ; in which I place a row
of cabbages, with the roots up
wards, contiguous to each other ;
fill the cavities about them with
fome dry ftraw ; and then fhovel
the earth up to the ftalks on each
fide, almoft as high as the roots,
maping it like the roof of a houfe.
The cabbages will come out in
May as found as when they were
put in, and the outer green leaves
will be turned quite white. As
they are not apt to keep \Vell af
ter they are taken out, two or
three at a time may be taken, as
they are wanted for ufe, and the
breach immediately clofed up
with ftraw and earth as before.
CALF, the young of a cow,
whether male or female. The
method of managing calves to ad
vantage is of no final 1 importance
fo a farmer ; for on the raifmg
of young flock, his living and
wealth in great meafure depend.
XVhen calves are defigned tor
veal, they mould be taken trom
the cow the next day after they
are calved. Let them fuck only
two teats during the firfl week ;
three during the fecond ; and
let them have the whole of the
hiilk during the third and fourth
weeks ; and then kill them. If
they have all the milk at firft,
they will grow fo {aft that they
will foon need more than all :
The natural confequence is, that,
they will grow lean, and not be
fit for veal. Many kill them at
three weeks old ; but the veal is
not commonly fo good, and the
fkins of calves fo young, are of
but little value.
When calves are to be reared,
fome let them go with their dams
till fall. Though this makes the
beft cattle, it is not beit for the
e A L 4t
owner : It is too expend ve. They
may go with the cows the firft
three or four days. They mould
have milk, more or lefs, for about
twelve weeks. They may be
fed \vith fkimmed milk, or water
porridge, after the firft fortnight ;
dr hay tea may be mixed with
their milk; or their milk maybe
mixed with meal and water. Af
ter a alf has fucked, or drunk
milk, for the fpace of a month,
take fome of the f re (heft and
fweetefl hay, and put little wifps
of it into fome cleft flicks, ftuck
tip in fuch a mariner that he can
eafily come at them, and: he will
foon learn to eat.
As foon as the grafs is grown,
calves mould be turned to grafs,
hounng them a few nights at firft,
and giving them milk and water,
till they a>e able to feed them-
felves fufficiently with grafs.
Thofe calves are generally beft,
which are weaned on grafs : For
if they are weaned in the houfe,
on hay and water, they are apt
to grow big bellied.
Mortimer fays, " The beft
calves for bringing up, are thofe
calved in April, May, and June :
Becaufe it is feldorn that thole
which come later acquire fuffi-
cient vigour to fupport them
during the inclemency of the fol
lowing winter ; and the cold
caufes them to droop, and many
of them to die." Much oftener
may this be expected to be the
cafe in this country , where the cold
in winter is fo much moreintenfe.
Thofe which come earlier are
preferred in this country, being
more hardy, and better able to
endure the rigour of the firfl win
ter. But tlie coft of rearing them ,
is greater. All things Confidtfred,
April may be as iu'i table a time
as any.
" When calves are weaned,
they ftiould not be fufFered t<j be
vnth
4*- C' A N'
with their dams any more till
fall : Neither fhould they be paf-
tured within fight or hearing of
them. It will caufe them to neg-
left their feeding ; and they will
not forget their fucking.
" At the fetting in of cold
nights in autumn, calves muflbe
.nightly houfcd : And not be out
early in the morning, nor late in
the evening. And as the pinch
ing cold of winter will 1 be ex
tremely detrimental to them,
they fhould be kept very warm
in their houfe, well fupplied with
water, and let out only in the
warmeft days. A great deal of care
is neceffary to bring them through
the firfl: winter, which is the moft
dangerous period of their lives.
They will acquire fp 1 much
ilrength during the following
fummer, that they will have noth
ing to tear from the cold of a
fecond winter." Bvffon's, Hijloire*
Naturelle.
CANKER, " a difeafe inci
dent to trees, proceeding chiefly
from the nature of the fpiL It
makes the bark rot and fall off.
If the canker be in a bough, cut
it off: A large bough fliould be
cut off at fome diflance from the
body of the tree, and a final! one
clofe to it. But for over hot,
ilrpng ground, the mould is to be
cooled about the roots with pond |
mud and cow durig." Did. of
Arts.
CANKER WORM, an infeft,
fo called, I fuppofe, from its hav
ing much the fame effe6l upon
apple trees as canker. This
worm is produced from the eggs
of an earth coloured bug, which |
having continued under ground |
during winter, paries up on the j
bodies of apple trees early in the
fpring. They are hatched as
early as the end of May, and are
fo voracious, that in a few weeks
tkey deftroy all the leaves of a
CAN
tree, prevent its bearing for that
year, and the next, and give it
the appearance of its haying been
burnt. As the perfpiration of
trees is flopped by the lofs of
their leaves, they ficken and die,
in a few years.
The worms let themfelves
down by threads in quefl of prey,
like fpiders ; by means of which,
the wind blows them from tree
to tree ; fo that in a clofe orch
ard, not one tree will cfcape
them. But trees which ftand
ftngly are feldomer infefted with
theie infects. As they are the moft
pernicious kind of infects with
which Newengland is now in-
felted, if any perfon could invent
fome eafy, cheap, and effecluaf
method of fubduing them, he
would merit the thanks of the'
publick, and more efpecially of
every owner of an orchard.
Several methods have been
tried, with fome degree of fuc-
cefs : i. Tarring. A ftrip of
canvas, or linen, is put round the
body of a tree, before the ground
is open in the fpring, and well
fmeared with tar. The females,
in attempting to pafs over it,
flick fait and perifh. But unlefs
the tarring be renewed every day,
it will become hard, and permit.
the infefts to pafs fafely over it.
And renewing the tar in feafon
is too apt to be negle6ied, through
hurry of bufmefs and forgetful-
iiefs. If birdlime were to be
had, it might anfwer the purpofe
better, as its tenacity will contin
ue for fome time. 2. Some tie
ftraw round the bodies of the
trees. This ferves to entangle
and retard the infects, and pre
vents the afcent of many of them.
But they ar~ fo amazingly pro-
lifiek, that if ever fo few of them
get up, a tree is greatly damag
ed, at leaft for an enfuing feafon
or two,
The
CAN
The pafturing of fwine in an
orchard, where it can convenient
ly be done, I fuppofe to be an
excellent method. With their
fnouts and their feet, they will
deftroy many of the infefts, be
fore they come out of the ground,
or while they are coming out.
And I have never known any
orchard, conftantly ufed as a hog
palture, wholly destroyed, or e-
ven made wholly unfruitful by
thefe worms. But this method
cannot always be taken ; and if
it could, I do not i'uppofe it would i
be quite effectual. When the i
trees are young, the fwine will be
apt to injure them by tearing the
bark.
There are feveral experiments
I could wilh to have tried, for
fubduing thefe infe6ts : Such as
burning brimftone under the
trees in a calm time ; or piling
dry ames, or dry loofe fand,
round the roots of trees in the
fpring ; or throwing ..pow
dered quicklime, or foot, over
the trees when they are wet ;
or fprinkling them, about the be
ginning of June, with fea water,
or water in which wormwood,,
er walnut leaves, have been boil
ed ; or with an infufion of el
der, from which I ihould enter
tain fome hope of fuccefs. The
liquid may be eafily applied to
all the parts of a tree by a large
v/ooden fyringc, or fquirt.
I mould fuppofe that the bed
time for making trial of thefe
methods would be foon after the
worms are hatched : For. at that
ftage of their exiltence they are
tender, and the more eafily kill
ed. Sometimes a fro ft happen
ing at this feafon has deiiroyqd
them. This I am told was the
cafe in fome places in the year
*794-
But as tarring the trees is the
U>eft .antidote that we yet know
CAN 43
of, and as many pcrfons of expe
rience believe it is poflible that
the infects may be thus quite pre
vented palling up the trees, I ihall
here give directions how to per-
format in the moil effectual man
ner.
In the firft place, it is necefla-
ry to begin the operation very
early in the year. Not obferv-
ing this caution, has occafioned
the want of fuccefs, which many
have complained of : For it is
certain that the bugs will begin
to pafs up a-s foon as the ground
is fo much thawed, that they can
extricate themfelves from the
foil ; which is, in fome- years, as
early as February. Therefore, ^o
make fure work, it is belt to be
gin as foon as the ground is bare
of fnow in that month, that the
firft thawing of the ground may
not happen before the trees are
prepared ; for, beginning after
ever fo few of the infects are
gone up, the labour will all be
loft.
Another thing to be obferved
is, to fill the crevices oi the bark
with clay morter, before the ftrip
of. linen or canvas is put on, that
the infefls may .not find any paf-
fkges for them under it.
Having put on the ftrip, which
mould be at leaft three inches
wide, drawn it clofe, and ftrong-
ly fattened the-cnds together, a
thumb rope oi tow ihould be tied
round the tree, clofe to the low
er edge of the ftrip. The defiga
of doing this is, that the tar may
not drip, nor run down on the
bark of .the tree, which would
injure it.
When all the trees of an orch
ard are thus prepared, let the
itrips be plentifully fmeared with
cold tar, put on with a brufh.
Perhaps tar mixed with a fmall
proportion of fi.fh oil would be
nil] better. It would not hard
en
44
CAN
en fo foon as tar alone. And
oil is known to repel moft kinds
of infefts. The fmearing fhould
be renewed once a day without
fail. The heft time is foon after
funfet ; becaufe the infefts are
wont to pafs up in the evening,
and the tar will not harden io
much in the night as in the day,
becaufe of the dampnefs of the
air. The daily tafk muft be re
newed, and performed with the
greateft care, till the latter end
of May, or till the time when
the hatching of the worms is
commonly over, which will be
earlier or later, according to the
difference of climate.
.Another mode of tarring, and
xvhich bids fair to be preferred
to the foregoing, is as follows.
Take two pretty wide pieces of
board, plain them, make feruicir-
cular notches in each, fitting
them to the item, or body of the
tree, and fallen them fecurely
together at the ends, fo that the
moft violent winds and irorms
may not difplace nor itir them.
The crevices betwixt the boards
and the tree may be eaiily flop
ped with rags, or tow. Then
fmear the under fides ot the
boards with tar. The tar, being
defended from the direct rays of
the fun, will hold its tenacity the
longer; and, therefore, will not
need to be fo frequently renew
ed. And the trees may be more
fecured in this way from the
dripping of the tar, as a margin
of two or three inches, next to
the tree, may be left unfmeared.
If the trees are final 1, the ilerns
may be encircled with cartridge
paper, in the fhape of an invert
ed funnel. The outfide of the
paper mould be well , fmeared
with fifh oil. The infects will
proceed to the brim of the paper,
but will not be able to pafs it ;
as the oil will hang on that part.
CAR
Another expedient, much re<?- :
ommended, is, to put a ftrip of
raw fheep or lamb fkin round the
body of each tree, the wool out
wards. It is afferted, that, though
the infecls can pafs over hair and
ilraw, they cannot pafs over the
wool. But, to render this the
more effeclual, it will be proper
to open the fibres of the wool
now and then, with a coarfecomb.
When it fo happens that the
worms are permitted to prevail
in an orchard for two or three,
years, the limbs will be fo corrupt
ed, that the trees are not apt to
recover f;heir fruitkilnefs, al
though the afcent of the worms
ihould be afterwards prevented.
In fuch a cafe, it is advifable to
cut offall the limbs from the trees,
near to the ftock where they are
produced, that fo the tops may
be wholly renewed by freih
fhpots, as they will be in a few
years.
It is not lefs than about fifty
years, fmce this infecl began its
depredations in Newengland, in
the parts which had been longeft
cultivated. But perhaps there is
fome reafon to hope that Provi
dence is about to extirpate them :
For a kind of little birds has late
ly made its appearance in fome
parts of the country, which feeds
upon the canker worms. Should
thefe birds have a rapid increafe,
the infects will be thinned, fo as
to be lefs formidable, if not
wholly rteflroyed.
CARRIAGE, a general name
of caits, waggons, fleds, and oth
er vehicles, employed in carry
ing loads. Thofe which are de^
ligned for riding, are called
pleafure carriages.
CARROT, Daucus, a well
known and ufeful root for food.
The feeds are carminative and
diuretick, and the root is ufeful
t$ abate the malignity of cancers.
A fandy
CAR
A fandy foil is very proper for
carrots ; but they do very well
in gravelly, and even in loamy
foils, when made rich and lopf-
ened to a fufficient depth. The
large It 1 have ever railed has
been in gravel. The ground
fhould be ploughed, or dug, more
than twelve inches deep, and
well pulverized.
I have found by long experi
ence that carrots fhould be low
ed early. The laft week in A-
pril is late enough, when intend
ed for feeding of cattle ; and
they may be fowed earlier, if the
ground be in good order, and fo
dry as to be made light arid loofe.
The earl ie ft fown will be the
largeft, and, in the northern parts
of this country, nearly as tender
and good ta&ed as if fown later.
A fmall quantity of drefling
will be fufficient for them. But
whatever manure is ufed, it mould
be well rotted, and made fine,
or putrefy very foon in the
ground ; otherwife the little ob-
ftacles in it, will caufe the roots
to divide, and become forked.
I have known carrots, manured
with old hog dung, grow to a
furprifmg bigriefs. But if a large
quantity of this ftrong manure
be ufed, they will grow fo faft
as to burft open. It is a crop
that bears drought well, as it
draws its principal nouriihrnent
from a confiderable depth. Nor
is the ground apt to be exhauite.d
by continued crops.
Carrots may be fown pretty
thick, as they are remarkable for
growing better in a crowded fit-
uation than almoft any other
kind of roots. And it is eafy to
thin them at any time when it is
thought proper, as they are fo
fhaped as to corne up eafily, in a
light foil.
In the garden I fow them in
drills, or little furrows, made an
CAR 4-
inch deep with the head of a rake,
from 9 to 12 inches apart, acrof*
beds four feet wide. This pre
vents treading the ground
too near to the roots ; greatly
facilitates clearing them of weeds
with a hoe, and keeping the earth
loofe to a fufficient depth. I do
not thin them much, till I b<
to pull them for ufe, about, the
beginning of July ; from \.
time I pull them, not only for
the table, but to feed fwine, as
that fort of animals are fo fond
of them, that they will greedily
devour both roots and tops.
The fpaces between the beds may
be kept clear of weeds, by turn
ing over the foil with a narrow
fpade, once or twice in May and
June. It will not only fu
the weeds, but increafe the paf-
ture of the neareft plants.
But the field culture of this
root begins to prevail in die coun
try : As carrots are found to be
valuable, for feeding not only
fwine, but horfes and cattle, and
for fattening* them. But to fat
ten fwine on them, they fhould
be boiled, or parboiled. They
are fo eafily cultivated, and fo
hardy, that they may be raifed in
fields to great advantage. They
will grow well in a foil that is
but moderately rich, if it be
ploughed deep, and made mel
low. And there is no difficulty
in keeping them through the
winter, in good order for feeding
cattle. The ground fhould be
ploughed in the fall preceding,
and ploughed very deep. If the
plough do riot go deep enough
at once, it mould be trench plough
ed ; that is, the plough fhould
pafs twice in the furrow. And
if fome of the earth, which was
never before ftirred, mould be
thrown up to the furface, it will
be no damage, provided it be
fuch earth as crumbles eafily,
and
46 CAR
and does not remain in lumps,
after the winter frofts have acted
-upon it.
If the land incline to much
wetnefs, it fhould be water fur
rowed, after the autumnal plough
ing, that fo it may be dry, and fit
to be ploughed again very early
in the fpring. It muft be well
harrowed before fowing, firft
-with a heavy harrow, and after
wards with a lighter one, with
ihorter teeth placed near togeth
er. After the feed is fown, the
ground fhould be raked. When
fown in the broad caft method,
they fhould ftand fo far apart af
ter thinning, as to have each half
a foot of foil. There will be no
danger in thinning them early,
as they are a plant which is fel-
dom diminiihed by infech.
After the firft hoeing, -the Eu-
jopean farmers harrow them. It
is faid not one in fifty will be
rleftroyed by the operation. It
will loofen the foil, and greatly
forward their growth. But it
will be advifable to go among
them after harrowing, and un
cover thofe which are buried un
der heaps of mould. A Mfv Bil-
jiing, in England, one -y ear, low
ed thirty acres of carrots, and
had an extraordinary crop. Some
of the beft of the land yielded
him twenty four cart loads per
acre. If his cart contained 40
bufhels, which is a common fixe
in this country, he had 960 bufh-
eis from an acre. And this is
not a greater crop, -than a gentle
man at Newbury had laft year,
unlefs I am mi fin formed. And
lately at or near Philadelphia a
diouland bufhels have been raif-
ed on an acre.
Mr. Billing had 510 loads of
rarrots on 30 acres, which he
thinks equal in ufe and effect to
near 1000 loads of turnips, or
.three .hundred loads of hay. If
C A R
fo, he had as good a crop as tea
loads of hay per acre would have
been. But the half of this quan
tity is feldom if ev r er obtained in
| hay ; or if it were, it rnuft be ve
ry coarfe, and not near fo valua
ble as hay in general.
This farmer found, that his
carrots anfwered extremely well,
not only for fattening fwine, but
bullocks ; and for feeding milch
cows, fheep and horfes ; and that
the land was -left in a better con
dition for a fucceeding crop,
than land after a crop of turnips.
It is Y/ith pleafure that I find
the attention of feme of my
countrymen turned to the field
culture of this excellent root.
They who have but little land
may probably enable themfelves
to keep considerable Hocks by
means cf.it.
This root -has greatly the ad
vantage of turnips, not only in
its being a richer and more nour-
iihing food, and .in yielding a
larger produce, but alfo in its
being never, or very feldom, an
noyed or hurt by infefts. This
crop, rightly managed, I have
never known to fail, as it is well
known the other often does.
The drill method, fowing on
narrow ridges, raifed-by the cul
tivator, is preferred. by feme, and
is that which I ufe. But the la
bour will perhaps be increafed a
little. The feeds will do beft
fown by hand, as their fhape will
not well admit of their being
drilled. To prepare them for
fowing at all, they fhould be well
rubbed, arid paffed through a fieve.
The .firft hoeing oi carrots in
rows muft be alfo by hand ; at
which .hoeing they mould be
thinned to one or .two inches
afunder, if large ones are defired.
The after hoeings may be expe-
ditioufly done by the horfe hoe
and cultivator alternately. It is
C A R
uot amifs, if they grow large
and rank, when they are chief
ly defigned as food for cattle,
though fmall fized ones are pre
ferred for the table. For this ufe
they need not be thinned to more
than half an inch aiunder in the
rows : And perhaps not fo much
in good ground. The way to
keep carrots good for eating
through the winter, is to bury
them in a dry fand of the yel
low kind from pits. Or, if they
are put into calks, covering them
with freih turfs may be fumcient.
I will conclude this article
with an extracY from a writer in
the Scots Farmer. " Let the
fpirited farmer," lays he, " ap
ply much of his land to the cul
ture of carrots ; for he. will find
no article half fo profitable in his
whole farm, as this, well conduct
ed. Few men will bellow atten
tion or expenfe enough to culti
vate this plant on a large fcale,
notwithftanding the undoubted
profit attending it. A fpirited
farmer, that has money in his
pocket, will introduce carrots in-
ftead of turnips. He mould,
when his foil is proper, totally
fubflitute them in the room of
turnips ; for it is no exaggera
tion to fay, that one f'uht crop o
carrots will pay better than ten
of turnip's." Whether this' writer
is not rather too {anguine I will-
not undertake to fay. But from
long experience I much prefer
them to turnips on the whole.
CART, a wheel carriage, of
effential importance to the farm
er, to carry his manures, remove
{tuff fer fences, g-et in his crops,
&c. Horfe carts are fometimes
ufed ; but ox carts generally. Of
the latter fome are fhort, ibme
long. The Ihort cart is eight
feet long, four feet wide, and
two feet high. The long cart is
ufed for carting, hay, ftraw, and
CAT 47
other bulky matters ; therefore
it is made from ten to twelve feet,
or more, in length, four feet iir
breadth ; and in Head of fides it
has only long, fharp pointed
ftakes. In fome parts of the
country they lengthen out a ihort
j cart, with What are called ladders,
when they cart hay. But this is?
not a good practice. The load
lies higher than in a long cart r
and is more liable to be overfet.
The greatell excellencies of at
cart, are lightnefs, fhength, and
durablenefs. Therefore, it is ve
ry proper to conftrut c^rts of
aih timber. But as white oak i&
not fo apt to decay, the princi
pal parts are commonly made of
that. A cart fhould be kept -un
der fhelter when it is net in ufe.
It will laft the longer.
The axle, and wheels, mould
be of the tougheft of oak.
Wheels to be ufed on a farm on-
| ly, need not be mod with iron,
A wooden rim, well; made, wilt
lait federal years, and is eafily
renewed, and it will do kis in
jury to the grafs grounds in paff-
| ing over them,. The {"otter the
| foil ig, the- wid'er the rim of a
| wheel fiiould be. Some have
; the rims a foot wide, to cart up
on -'marines ..
CATERPILLAR, a worm
that feeds on leaves and fruits.
Thefe infects differ in colour and
fize according to their ntuation,.
and according to the different
matters en which they feed..
The principal inconvenience the
farmer meets with from cater
pillars, is the damage they do to
his orchard. A hairy kind of
caterpillars build their neffs on
apple trees in May, and are gone
entirely in June, about the lum
pier folfiice. But they feed it*
induftrioufly on the leaves, as to-
deltroy a great part or them, it
they be not timely prevented;
4$ C A t
As they are far lefs mifchievous
than the canker worm, fo they are
more eafily fubdued. Some de-
ftroy them by firing gunpowder
at their nefts. The fame may be
effected with a match of brim-
flone on the end of a pole. Some
fay thefe and all other in feels on
trees may be ealily deilroyed
with quickfilver. Se the Arti
cle Qjuckfilver .
I have an orchard, which has
been always much annoyed by
caterpillars. But in the fpring
of the prefent year, I hung rock
weed in the crotches of the trees,
and not one neft that I can find
has fince been formed upon them.
1 have made only this one ex
periment with rock weed ; but I
am apt to believe it will always
be attended with fticcefs. They
whofe fituation is remote from
the fea, muft have other methods
of dcftroying thefe infefts, or of
preventing their multiplication.
Woollen rags fteeped in old urine
may be equally efficacious.
Since I wrote the above, I
have once more fuccefsfully de
fended the trees in my orchard
from the ravages of the caterpil
lar, by the application of rock
weed. The rock weed fhould
be applied pretty early in the
fpring ; the beginning of April
is a proper feaibn. The drip
ping from this fait plant is un
doubtedly ferviceable alfo to the
roots of the trees ; and prevents
the afcent oi" the black iice and
ieveral other fpecies o-t infecls.
.Neils which have been neglecl-
ed till the infecls have foriaken
them fhould be deftroyed ; be-
caule they contain the feeds of
{warms in the coming year. A
neil will be found to contain
feveral of their chryfales.
CATTLE, a name applied to
all quadrupeds, which are ufed
ior tilling of ground, and for the
CAT
, food of man. The name com-
1 prehends,atleaft,alltheboskind s
! befides fheep and goats. Euro-
! peans fometimes diftinguifh cat-
| tie into large and fmall ; and
I black cattle is a name they very
frequently give to the ox kind.
I fhall fpeak here only of black
cattle, including bulls, oxen,
{leers, cows, and heifers.
As foon as a calf is weaned, it
fhould run in the beft of pafture
till autumn, and be carefully
tended, kept warm, and live up
on the beft of fodder, through
the firft winter. Afterwards it
will become fo hardy as to re
quire lefs care. But cattle mould
be frequently looked to and ex^
amined ; that fo, if they be over
taken with any ficknefs, hurt, or
larnenefs, fuitable remedies may
be feafonably applied. And in
order to do this, they mould be
accuflomed to come home, and be
fhut up in the yard every night.
By this method, a farmer will
fave a much larger quantity of
dung. And, in cafe of an un
commonly cold ftqrm, the cattle
may be houfed with very little
trouble, as the yard is contigu
ous to their houfe.
Cattle, from one year old to
three, will ufually get a living in
fummer, and even thrive, upon
the commons, or in the meaneft,
and rnoft buihy paftures. And
in winter the pooreil fodder will
keep them alive. And, as our
farmers know thefe things, they
are very apt to treat their young
cattle in this manner. Thofe
which are fo treated, may often
times become as hardy cattle as
any ; but they will be fmall, and
therefore not fo profitable. Farm
ers in general are too ambitious
to keep a large ilock of cattle :
A necefiary corifequence of which
is, that they are pinched in their
food, and never come to their
full
CAT
kill growth. Another ill cgnfe-
quence is, their growing unruly
and mifchievous through hunger,
learning to leap over fences, or
break through them.
It would certainly be more
conducive to the intcrefl of farm
ers, to keep fmaller (locks of cat-
tie than mofl ot them do : For
then they would be able to feed
diem to the full. Their oxen
would be much larger and Wrong
er than they are, and their cows
would give plenty o( milk, and
bring larger calves : Not to fay
how much they would lave in
taxes, by. reducing their number
of rateable cattle.
Farmers mould allow their
young flock a pretty good paf-
tiire. This would keep them out
of mifchiet, prevent their learn
ing bad tricks, and prevent ma
ny ill accidents which befal them.
And it would be no fmall advan
tage always to know where to
find them. But, in the common
method of treating them, it is too
common a cafe ior them to flrag-
gle fo far from home, that the
owner entirely lofes them ; or
ell*, fpends as much time as they
are worth in feeking after them.
If a young flock were well fed
at all feafons, the heifers would
Commonly have calves at two
years ok!, which is no (mall ad
vantage, and fleers would be fit
for labour earlier in proportion.
And when they come to. be
killed off, the quantity of beef
would make amends for their be
ing fo led as to be well grown.
It the farmer's view in increaiihg
his flock, be to make as much
<iu;ig as poihble, he fhould be
reminded ot what he ought to
know already, that the dung of
a final 1 flock will be equal to
that of a large one, it it confume
ihe fame quantity of fodder. It
? tanner make this obje&ion to
G
C A 1' 4^
pafturing his young flock, that
his farm is not large enough to
admit of it ; he may find an an-
fwer, by turning to the article,
Mowing Grounds, where diniin-
ifhing their number of acres, and
increafmg that of paflure ground,
is recommended, and i'ufficient
reafons afligned.
In the winter, cattle fhould be
houfed, to defend them from the
inclemencies of the weather.
For though nature furniflies them
with a thicker covering of hair
in winter than in fummer, the
difference is not near fo great as
that of the weather in this climate-
Working oxen, and milch cows,,
will fuffer more than the reft by
lying abroad. li the farmer can
not conveniently houfe all his
cattlej thofe fhould be left' out
which are between the age of one
and three years. And thofe that:
lie out fhould have a filed, open
only to the fbuth and well; to
f belter themf elves under in
ilormy weather.
The injuries which cattle re
ceive from one another, when,
they are lodged together in a
yard, is an additional reafon tot
tying them up in the barn. To
which it may be added, that a
great part ot the fodder given
them is wafted, even when it is
given them in racks ; muck
more, when it is thrdwri upon
the ground. They trample it
into the dung with their feet,
which is iio inconfiderable lofs.
Cattle will bear to be cold
much better than to be wet. If
they be Ictt out in cold florins of
rain, it pinches them exceeding
ly ; fo that they will not look fo
well again for ievcral days after
it. The fides ot the houfe where
they are lodged, need not be ve
ry tight. It might be apt to
make them too tender. It will
certain Iv abate tkc iVefhnef's ot
5 Q CAT
the air they breathe in, and hurt
the agreeable flavour of their fod
der. But the covering of their
houfe fhould be perfectly tight.
No window mould be open,
tb. rough which fnow or rain may
drive in upon them. The floor
they lie on fliould have a gentle
defcent backward, that they may
be wetted as little as poffible by
their ftale ; and they fhould al
ways have ftraw or litter under
them, not only to foften their
lodging, but to lay them the
more warm and dry, and abforb
the wetnefs. The better they
are littered, the more manure
will the owner make for his farm.
This is an object of high im
portance.
It would be a good method for
cattle that are tied up, to fodder
them in racks. They would not
be fo apt to rob one another ;
nor to get their fodder under
their feet ; nor to render it un
palatable by their breathing up
on it.
Where fait hay can be had,
cattle mould now and then be
treated with a little of it. It will
fo incrcafe their appetite, that
they will eat poor meadow hay,
and ftraw with it, or after it.
But farmers, who are far from the j
fea, and not furnifhed with fait |
hay, fhould now and then fprinkle
fome of th^ir meaneft fodder
with faltdiffolved in water, which
will anfwer the fame valuable
purpofe. And at no feafon of
the year mould cattle be kept,
for any long time, without fait.
They are greedy after it, and it
conduces to keep them in health.
As to fumrner feeding, it is not
fit that a whole ftock go promif-
cuoufly in the fame pafture.
Some would be overmuch fed,
and fome not enough. A farm
er's pafture grounds mould be
made into a number of feparate
C H A
inclofures ; the greater the num
ber the better. Milch kine and cat
tle fattening for (laughter Ihould
have the firft of the feed in each
inclofure ; then working oxen ;
afterwards, young ilock, horfes
and fheep. When each kind
have had their turn, for two or
three days, or perhaps a week,
the apartment may be {hut up,
till it be fufficiently grown for the
milch cows. By fuch a rotation
much may be faved ; but little
of the grafs will be wafted by
trampling ; and what one fort
leaves another will eat fo that
none of the grafs will be loft.
Oxen mould not live to be
more than eight years old, nor
cows more than ten or eleven.
When they are kept longer, they
do not fatten fo eafily ; and the
beef is not fo good. Cattle to
be fattened mould have the beft
of pafture during the whole grafs
feafon, or they will not be fat fo
early as December ; and they
mould lofe a little blood, when
they are firft turned to grafs. In
autumn, when grafs grows fhort,
or is corrupted by frofts, their
fattening mould be promoted by
feeding them morning and even
ing with the ftalks of Indian corn,
pumpions, potatoes, or carrots ;
and efpecially with ears of corn,
if the owner can afford it. In
dian meal is fuppofed to be ftill
better to complete their fattening.
Oil cakes from the linfeed mills
are much recommended in En-
glim books, as conducing to the
fpeedy fattening of cattle.
CHANGE of CROPS, a
method of cultivating different
forts of vegetables in fucceflion,
on the fame piece of ground,
with a view to make tillage lands
more profitable in the long run ;
and, at the fame time, to pre
vent exhaufting them of their
ftrength,
Thofc
C H A
Thofe who believe that the
food of different plants is differ
ent, cannot but look on the
changing of crops as a matter
of effential importance. For, on
their hypothefis, land which is
worn out with one fort of vege
tables, may be in good order to
produce a large crop of another
fort. But there are other reafons
for the changing of crops, which
are more fubftantial, being found
ed in undoubted faft, and prov
ed by experience.
Some plants are known to im-'
poverifh land much fafter than
others : Such as Indian corn,
flax, hemp, &c. And it would
not be a prudent method to
fcourge a piece of land with fuch
crops, year after year, till its
ftrength were all exhaufled. For
it has been juftly obferved, that
it is eafier and cheaper to keep
land in heart, than to reftore it
after it is worn out. It is advif-
able, therefore, in general, to take
but one crop of flax from a piece
of land ; and not more than two
of Indian corn, in fucceflion ;
nor indeed more than one, un
lefs abundance of manure be ap
plied.
Again, fome plants take the
principal part of their nourifh-
ment near the furface of the foil,
and others draw it from a great
er depth : And a regard mud be
had to this in choofing a rotation
of crops. For it will be found
that after land lias been much
worn by plants, the roots of |
which chiefly confift of either |
long or fhort lateral fibres, it will
be in good order to produce i
plants which are tap rooted. I
Clover, for inftance, will grow
rank and good, on a fpot which
will not anfwer for wheat, barley,
or oats. The clover will draw
its principal nourimment from
thofe parts of the foil., to which the
C H A 5t
roots of preceding crops have
not reached. And if grounds
have been dunged for feveral
years, the nutritive particles of
the dung may have penetrated
deeper into the foil than any
roots have reached. In a loofe
fandy foil, ufed for grain, this
will often be the cafe : So that
part of the manure laid on it will
be entirely loft, unlefs a crop of
tap rooted plants mould over
take it in its defcent.
Preventing the prevalence of"
weeds is another good reafon for
the changing of crops* Weeds
will fo increafe, efpecially in old
farms, as almoft to fpoil a crop,
unlefs a hoed crop intervene to
check them once in two or three
years. And. a green hoed crop
helps to prepare land for produc
ing other crops, by enriching it.
The weeds, which are feveral
times cut to pieces, and hoed in
to the foil, during a fumnier, an
fwer much the fame end as green
dreffings : And by keeping the
foil loofe, the enriching particles
floating in the atmofphere, are
plentifully imbibed. See Rota
tion of Crops.
Alio, a change of crops, judi-
ciouily managed, fuperfedes the
neceflity of fa I lowing, which is
no finall advantage. Inftead of
an expenfive refting of the foil,
during a year of fallow, land
may yield an unintermitting
profit to the owner. Wheat
land, for inftance, may be re
cruited, and cleared cf its weeds,
by a crop of beans, or potatoes,
as effectually as by fallowing.
If fuch a crop fhould only pay
the coil of culture, it may be
confidered as gain.
What particular routine of crops
is beft, is not eafy to determine.
Green and white crops, alter
nately, are in general recommend
ed. I fuppofe one courfe may
br
52 C H A
be beft in one county, and an
other in another. In the coun
ty of Briftol, Maffachufetts, it is
called good hufbandry, to plant
Indian corn the firfl year after
ground is broken up'; to fow
rye, wheat, oats, or barley, the
fecond year ; arid lay it down
with clover. After two or three
crops of clover are taken off, the
land is broken up again, and
managed as before.
But in the counties of Cum
berland and Lincoln, in the fame
nonwealth,this courfc would
not an Twer fo well. Indian corn
is not found to be the mof t benefi
cial crop for the firft year, in this
climate. It will be backward,
in danger of not ripening
well, unlefs it be on a fandy fpot,
\vith a fouthern expofure. " And
when lafid is broken up, it will
not be fubdued enough to lay
do^fi for grafs fo foon as the
third year, on account of the
toughnefs of the fvvard. But
when laid down, it may lie fix
or fe^en years, before it will ne^ed
breaking up again ; for the lands
are fo natural to grafs, that the
crops will continue to be good.
An eligible courfe of crops in
theie northern counties may be,
peafe, oats, 'or potatoes, the firft
year ; Indian corn, much dung
ed, the fecond ; barley or rye,
the third ; and the fourth, herdf-
grafs and clover mixed, and fo
on to the tenth. As the clover
diminiihes, the herdigrafs will
increafe, which is a more valua
ble grafs for fodder. But every
judicious farmer muft judge for
himielf in tliefe matters. vSoils
differ fo greatly, 'even in fields
which lie contiguous, that the
eourfe of crops which is f nit-
able for one, would be nnfuit-
able for another. Change of
crops is no new doctrine x?no:*g
farmers.
C H A
" Repeated obfervations con
vinced the Romans, that befides
the alternate refting of the land,
wheat may, as Pliny obferves, be
fown after lupines, vetches, beans,
or any other plant which has the
quality of fertilizing and enrich-
ing the foil. A judicious change
ot crops is of great importance
in the common tillage hufband-
ry, as it enables the farmers to
fave the expenfe and lofs of a crop,
in the fallow year ; and to con-
querhisgreat enemies, the weeds,
by attacking them at different
feafons of the year, and in dif
ferent periods of their growth ;
efpecially when the intermedi
ate crops are hoed, as thofe of
peafe and bean's ; for the repeat
ed hoeings, not only deflroy the
weeds, but alfo very much en
rich the land. The benefit of
changing crops appears to ariie
from thcfc circum fiances, rather
than from any different food that
the feveral crops are liippofed
to extract from the foil." Com-
pletc Farmer.
CHANGE of SEEDS, taking
feeds to fow, from different coun
tries, climates, fields, or foils.
1 his is a matter ot great import
ance in agriculture, which has
been too little attended to by
farmers in this country. AH
feeds, which are not natural to
the foil and climate, will degen
erate, grow gradually worfe and
worfe. till they are naturalized ;
and then remain at a ftand, as
Mr. Dixfon has jultly obferved.
But thofc plants, which are the
natural growth of the country,
are not liable to grow worfe. "it
fo, all forts of plants ere now
would have been reduced to
nothing. The beft countries
and foils to procure feeds from
for fowing, are thofe to. which
they are natural. For if we ta&e
tfeem from any other place, they
will
C H A
will be fuch as have already be
gun to degenerate ; fo that we
fhall not have them in perfection.
We cannot avoid fowing fiiore
or lefs of the feeds of weeds with
all kinds of grain, unlefs we fpend
too much time in cleaning them.
Therefore, when we fow grain
railed on the fpot, we lhall una
voidably fow the feeds of weeds
which are natural to the fpot,
and they will mightily increafe.
But when we fow grain, which is
not raifed in the Tame country,
or in the fame kind of foil, the
feeds of weeds which are fown
with it, will not be fo likely to
thrive faft, and become trouble-
fome. This may be allowed to
be one advantage in changing
feeds ; and a good reafon for
changing them yearly.
As animals, particularly fhecp,
and fome other kinds, are known
to be improved by removing
them from one country to anoth
er, fo feeds brought from diflant
countries have often been found
to produce plants more healthy,
and of a larger fize, than feeds of
our own growth. The Siberian
wheat, which was fent into this
country about the beginning of
the late war, was a proof of the
truth of this obfervation. For five
or fix years, it produced fo much
better crops than our own feed
wheat,that every farmer was eager
to obtain fome of it; and fome gave
double price for it. It was at firfl
perfe6fly free from fmut, and
from blight, and commonly pro
duced thirty fold, in land which
was fuitable for it. And the true
reafon of its degenerating here
fo fopn as it did, I imagine might
be, its having been fowed in Kn-
gland fa climate not. natural to
itj for fome years before it came
to us : So that it had begun to
degenerate before we receiv
ed it.
C H A
53
Some feeds will anfwer well,
when carried from a fouthern to
a northern climate. Perhaps all
thofe forts will, which are fa
quick in their growth, that their
plants come to maturity very ear
ly ; fuch as flax, turnips, and
many other forts.
- By feveral experiments, I have
convinced myfelf that the feed
of flax, carried as much as a hun
dred miles to the northward, will
anfwer a very good purpofe.
The crops have fometimes beea
almoft double in value. I fup-
pofe the people of Ireland have
long been convinced of the util
ity of this changing of flax feed ;
which has made them fo fond of
procuring it from America, and
other places. American feed
anfwers extremely well on their
high, dry lands.
As to turnips, the beft and
largeft that I ever raifed, were
from feeds brought from Phila
delphia, But the feeds of plants,
which fcarcely come to maturi
ty before the onfet of autumnal
frofts, mould never be removed
from fouth to north. The laft
year, I procured feeds of fquaih-
es from the weitern iflands ; and
they brought np fruit to matu
rity.
Wheat ami rye mould be ripe r
not only before the approach of
froily nights, but even before the
chilly nights which happen about
the end of July. For the cold-
nefs will be apt to retard the af-
cent of the lap in thefe plants,
and prevent the filling of the
grain. "Winter rye from the
county of Barnftable, was once
fowed in the county ot Cumber-
beriand, Maffachufetts. It ripen
ed later, on account of the fmall
difference of latitude, and was fo
blighted as not to prc-.iuce half
a crop. But bringing gram from
the ROHUY,- ;>;.]., will ahvays be a
good
54 C H A
good change. It will ripen ear-
iier, in proportion to thediftance,
and efcape the chilly nights I
have mentioned. But I ihould '
not be fond of bringing wheat
or rye from a place very far dil-
tant, unlefs I could have it
yearly ; becaufe I imagine that
the greater the change of climate
is, which feeds undergo, the more
rapidly they will degenerate.
Seeds may -be removed, as I
have found, from a northern fit-
iiation too far to the fouthward.
I have known feed of Indian corn
carried as much as two whole
degrees fouth from its native
place, which was fo much fcorch-
ed by the greater heat of the fun
as to produce little or nothing.
So that care muft be taken to
make changes within reafonable
bounds.
If a farmer have not opportu
nity to procure feeds from dif-
tant places, let him at leait pro
cure them from neighbouring
iields, rather than from his own.
For if confiderable changes are
as highly advantageous, as they
are generally allowed to be, it
follows that fmall changes will
be expe6led to have fome degree
of advantage.
Any one, whole farm has vari
ous kinds of foil in the different
parts of it, may eafily make
changes of feed which will 'be
ufeful. The Englifli farmers
think k beft to take feed wheat
from a ftrong clay land, whatev
er kind of foil they are going to
fow it upon. They choofe alfo
to take from a field which has
been changed the preceding year.
And they will never take for
feed, wheat that grew on a iandy
foil. It is a proverb with them,
that fa nd is a change for no land.
The reafonablenefs of thefe opin
ions I know not how to invefti-
gate : but if they have founded
C H A
them upon a long courfe of ex
periments, they are not to be
flighted.
CHARCOAL, wood charred,
or burnt with a flow, fmothered
fire. The making of charcoal is
a bufmefs moftly performed by
fanners. And in clearing new
lands, making their wood into
coals is better than burning it to
wafte, unlefs the diftance of a
market for coals be too great,
One cord of wood will make for
ty bulhels of coals ; And thole
farmers who are not diftant from
populous towns, or who are near
iron works, may turn their coals
to confiderable profit.
I have long obferved, that
where coal kilns have been burnt,
the ground has di (covered a re
markable fertility for many years
after ; and more efpecially when
it has been naturally a cold and
wet foil. The duft of the coals
and that of the burnt turf, have
confpired to produce this effect.
Hence I have concluded that
fmall coals, or the duft from coal
kilns, fpread over four meadow
lands, would anfwer the end of a
good manure. Being extremely
porous, the pieces of coal imbibe
much of the fuperfluous water,
as well as increafe the heat on
the furface, as all black fubitances
do. And when the weather be
comes dry, they difcharge the
moifture, partly into the foil when
it grows dry enough to attrat it,
and partly into the air, by the
action of the fun upon it. Au
tumn is, on feveral accounts, the
beft feafon for laying on coal
duft ; and I would recommend
it to all who have bottoms of
kilns, to make this ufe of the duft.
I have been confirmed in my
opinion, by reading in the Com
plete. Farmer as follows : " The
duft of charcoal has been found,
by repeated experience, to be of
great
CHE
great benefit to land, efpecially
to fuch as is ftiffand four. It is
to be ufed in the fame manner as
foot and wood afhes."
CHARLOCK, Sinapi, a well
known and troublefome weed.
It is known alfo by the names
chadlock, catlock, carlock, and
white rape. It is fimilar to rad-
ifh. The young plants fo near
ly refemble turnips, that they are
fcarcely diftinguifhable, unlefs it
be by the tafte. Mortimer men
tions a field of barley, mowed
when the charlock was in bloffom,
which took off only the tops ot
the blades of barley ; and which
gave the barley an opportunity
to get above the weeds, and fo
it produced a good crop. He
fuppefes cow dung increafes it
more than any other manure :
And recommends feeding fal
lows with fheep when they are
infefted with this weed. It is
well known that fheep will eat
this weed rather than turnips.
The feeds will live in the earth
many years, and afterwards veg
etate by means of tillage.
Grain mould be fown thick,
where there is danger of its be
ing injured by charlock, fo that
the crop may overtop the weeds.
Barley fown thick will certainly
profper in fuch a fituation.
CHEESE, a fort of food made
of milk, purged of the ferum, or
whey, and dried for ufe.
Some cheefes are wholly made
of unfkimmed milk, which are
called new rnilk cheefes, although
part of the milk be kept over
night, or longer. Thefe cheefes,
as any one would expel, are the
fatteft, and moft valuable.
Another fort are called two
meal cheefes,' being made of the
morning's milk unfkimmed, to
gether with the evening's milk
fkimmed. Thefe, when well
made, without the mixture of
CHE 55
any four milk, are not much in-
fcriour in quality to new milk
cheefes.
The third fort of cheefes are
wholly made of milk deprived ot
its cream. This kind is, tough,
and hard to cligeft ; and contain
ing only the glutinous part of
the milk, it affords little nouriih-
ment, and is fcarcely worth mak
ing/ 1
i he method of making cheefe,
in Yorklhire in England, is as foK
lows." If your milk be not juffc
come from the cows, make it blood
warm, turn it into a clean veflel
for the purpofe, and put in the
rennet ; be ihre to give it no
more than what will make it
come lightly. After it comes,
ftir it with your hand, till it be
gathered, and parted from the
whey. Then take the curd up
in a ftrainer, and work it with
your hands, till you get as much
of the whey from it as poflible ;
Then lay it in a clean linen
cloth, and put it into the hoop :
After it is \lightly covered with
the cloth, put it into the prefs :
Let it {fand in the prefs two
hours ; take it out, and the cloth
from it, and rub it over withfine-
falt : Put it in a dry cloth, and
prefs it eight hours : Then put
it in another cloth, arid let it re
main in the preis till your next,
cheefe be ready. When you
take it out, rub it well with fait,
and wrap the round ring of the
cheefe with a garter made of lin
en yarn, and pin it at the end,
which keeps the cheefe in a good
fhape : Then let it lie in brine
twenty four hours. Add a Httle
fait to your brine every time you
put in a new cheefe. When
you find the brine turning unfa-
voury, make new brine ; and
turn the cheefe in the brine vat
twice in twenty four hours, al
ways rubbing a lirtle fait, on the
top
56 CHE
top of it when it is turned. When
you take it out of the brine, dry
it with a cloth ;~ and turn it eve
ry day on the melt' for two
month*. The melt fhould be a
little wider than the cheefes, and
the garters fhould continue round
them five or fix days."
A dairy woman in my neigh
bourhood, whofe cheefe is mofl
excellent, is nearly in the York-
fhire praftice. Biit left the fait
fhould not penetrate the whole
of the cheefe equally in every
part, fhe fprinkles a little fine
fait on the curd, when fhe breaks
it, perhaps as much as an ounce
to a cheefe of fifteen pounds
weight ; and her cheefes never
appear to be too much falted*
This may be partly owing to
another improvement in her
method. To the brine, in which
fhe lays a cheefe after it is prefT-
ed, flie allows as much nitre as
will lie on a milling. She has
found, by long experience, that
the nitre not only gives a reddifh
caft to the rind of the cheefe, but
makes it more tender alter it is
thoroughly dried. It alfo pre
vents the cracking of the rind^
which is a matter of much conle-
querice. At the fame time it
prevents the diflention of the
cheefe by wind, makes it mellow
and foft throughout, and improves
the tafie.
But it is in vain to attempt the
making of good cheefe, unlefs
the rennet be uncorrupted, and
perfectly fwect. See the Article
Rennet.
In this country, where the
fummers arc hot, and flies a-
bound, cheefes aje often delhoy-
eJ, or greatly damaged, by mag
gots. To prevent this, every
precaution ought to be taken to
prevent fly blows getting into a
cheefe while it is making. For
it is certam that eheel es \vrl 1
C H U
i
times prove maggotty, whiclr
could not have been fly blown
after they were made. To
prevent this evil, the milking
pails, the cheefe tub, &c. mould
be kept in dark places till the
moment they are ufcd, after be
ing dried before a hot fire. And
if the milk ftand any time, or
more than during one night, the
room it ftaiids in mould be dark :
Becaufe flies are riot apt to lay
their eggs in dark places.
After cheefes are made, they
will ibmetimes have little flaws
irt them, or cracks in drying,
which the. flies will be fond of
depofiting their eggs in. To
prevent this, the cheefes fhould
be fmeared with a little tar mix
ed with fait butter : Or the cracks
may be filled with a foft pafte of
flour as often as they appear.
But all this precaution will be
apt to prove infufficient, unlefs
the cheefes be dried in a dark
room. As flies do not frequent
dark places, cheefes dried in a
dark room may be full of cracks,
and yet efcape maggots.
Some perfons choofe to medi
cate their cheefes with the juice
of: fome wholefome plant, as fage,
baum, mint, tanfy, pennyroyal,
&c; which they put into the
curd. But I think this is no re
al improvement. To give cheefe
the hue of that which is made
in Gloceiicrfhire in England, a
little of the annotto may be put
into the milk.
CHICK WEED, the fame as
alfine, a tender creeping weed,
olten troublcfome in old gardens,
and which grows luxuriantly in
ihady places. Swine will feed
upon .it when they are hungry.
CHUR.N, a wooden ve-fTel, in
which butter is produced by
churning. It is broad at the bot
tom, and narrow at the top, to
prevent the contents from com
ing
C H U
ing out at the top during the ag
itation. But the fhape does not
perfe&ly anfwer this defign.
Churns are commonly made of
pine. But when they are new,
they give the butter a tang of
the wood ; fo that oak is gener
ally preferred. The hoops are
of afh, arid mould be made very
fmooth and regular, that the vef-
fel may be eafily cleaned and
kept fweet.
But on great farms, and where
the dairies are large, the barrel
churn is to be preferred. Its
name gives the idea of its fhape ;
and when it ecjuals a barrel iri
fize it can be eafily managed.
On each head of it is an iron
fptndle, and on each fpindle a
winch, by which the veflel is
turned on a horfe made for the
purpofe. A much greater quan
tity of Cream, or milk, may be
churned in this than in the com
mon churn ; and the labour is
eafier. There are two boards with
in this churn on each fide ot the
centre, like (helves, which ferve
to agitate the cream.
The aperture in the barrel
churn ought to be five or fix
inches fquare, to which a Hopper
muft be exactly fitted, which
muft be kept in its place by a
bar of iron acrof s it, held fail by
llaples.
CHURNING, the mo'tion
which is given to cream or milk,
in a churn, in order to fepafate
the butter. In common churns,
this work is very laborious, though
it falls to the lot of the weaker fex
moft commonly to perform it,
But the labour may be lightened
by a fpringy pole placed over
head, in the fame manner as that
of a turner's lathe, to the loofe
end of which the ftaff of the
churn is tied. This pole will
pull up the dafh after every
ilroke ; which, when dons bv
'H
I D
57
hand, is the heavieft part of the
work.
CIDER,apalatableand whole-
fome drink, confifting of the
juice of apples. The juice of
fweet apples contains more fpirit
than that of four ones, and there-
fore is of more vfclue.
The more palatable the apples
are, other things being equal, the
more pleafant will the cider be,
when new, which is made qf
them. But it is believed by
fome, that a mixture of different
forts makes the bell cider ; info-
much that a number qf poor
forts together will do better than
one good fort by itfelf. But dif
ferent forts, which are made to
gether into cider, mould by all
means be nearly of equal ripe-
nefs ; otherwiie the juice will
not agree in fermenting. Ap
ples mould be forted according
to their different degrees of mel-
lownefs and ripenefs. The ap
ples which are firft ripe may be
ground in September, the next
iri October, and the laft i'a No
vember. The firft fort fnuft be
for immediate ufe, Unlefs it be
preferved longer ty means of
boiling : The Taft will be proper
to keep the longeft. The molt
crabbed apples make the moft
durable cider.
It feems to be the general o-
piniori of writers on this fubjeft,
that apples mould lie and fweat
in a heap, fome days, or weeks,
before they are ground : The
chief advantage oi which I fup-
pofe to be their becoming fofter,
and more eafy to be reduced to>
fiich a finenefs, by grinding, that
all the juice may be exprefTed,
But if apples when gathered are
fo ripe as to be jiifl beginning; to
rot, the fhorter time of iweatirig
they have the better : For in a
htrge heap the rotting will fooii
begin and rapidly increafe ; and
5 s GIB
the cider made of apples partly
rotten will be weak, and have a
difagreeable tafte.
The 'management' of cider, af
ter it is made, is of the greateft
importance. It mould be ftrain-
ed through a {Ieve,-to- feparate
the liquor as much as poflible
from the pulp of the apples, and
from all the rubbifh mixed with
i t. Some ftrain it through fand ;
but this robs the cider of its rich-
eft particles. And the fooner it
is put into a cool cellar, the bet
ter, as it will tend to prevent a too
hafly fermentation, which mould*
always be guarded againft.
If a hole-be dug in the ground,
fo near to a cider prefs that the
cider may run into a ftrong cafk
placed in it ;, this is no bad meth
od of preferving cider in a fweet
flate ; the caik may be bunged
up tightly, and the hole covered i
with boards, and earth over them.
The fermentation will be fo (mall
that the liquor will be very fweet j
in the fpnng following, as has |
been proved by experiments.
But I am fufpicious of its fer
menting too rapidly, after it is
taken out, unlefs it be fined, and |
then racked off without delay, |
and afterwards kept in a very cooi j
cellar.
" An experiment, fays a valu
able correfpondent, in the coun
ty of Suffolk, was made in thd
year 1^64. Some iron bound
calks of cider were placed in a
cellar which was always fo full
of cold fpring water, as to keep
the cafks conftantlycovered, with
the water running upon them !
continually. As the water was i
at all times equally cold, it kept
the cider not only from the in
fluence of the air, but alfo from
all thofe changes which can raife j
frets and fermentations in liquor. }
In which place it continued from i
October fb May following. It i
C I D
was then drawn off into barrels?
and was pronounced to be the
beft of cider, by very good
judges."
He adds, " In this manner the
famous Falernian wine, fo often
mentioned by the Latin poet
Horace, was kept, being funk in
the river Tybeiy which wafhed'
the walls of Rome."
If cider werefirft purged of its
fasces by fermentation, racking,
and fining, putting it thus under
water, I think, would render it st-
very durable liquor, if not un
changeable till its removal. And?
it need not be removed long be
fore it is ufed.
Much cider is fpoiled by its
being put into bad cafks. New
ones are generally the beft. But
even thele mould not be trufted,
without fcalding them with water
in which fome fait has been
boiled.
When a cafk has got a putrid
taint it mould be unheaded, eve
ry part of the infide well fcraped,
and a fire made in it.
To prevent cafks becoming,
foul and unfit for ufe, they mould
as foca as they are empty be'
warned clean, fcalded, and a lit
tle brimftone burnt in them, and
then flopped very tight, that no
air may enter them.
Some fay the lees may be left
in a cafk, without any danger of
giving it an ill fcent, and that
for a long time, if it be tightly
nopped. But I prefer the above
method.
The cafks in which cider is
kept mould be well hooped.
Old wooden hoops mould not be
trufted, unlefs they will bear a
fmart driving. They may look
found, when they are fo decayed
as to be eafily burft afunder. It
a cafk be mufty, by means of re
maining too long empty and foul
in the cellar, it may be cleared
I D
;df its muftinefs by burning a Tew
matches of brimftone within the
bung hole. But cafks, which
have had pricked cider, or
vinegar, in them, ihould not be
ufed any more for cider. A
jjnall degree of muftmefs may
be cured buy a decoclion of fweet
fern. It fhould be poured hot
into the cafk, and well agitated,
that it may equally affect every
part of the inner furface.
They who wifh to preferve
their cider in a very fweet and
mild Itate, mould manage it in
the following manner : " After
draining, let it ftand a day or
J two in an open tun, covered on
ly with a cloth or boards, to keep
-out the duft, that the more grofs
parts may fubfide. Then draw
it off into veifels, wherein it is
intended to be kept, obfervingto
leave an eighth part of them emp
ty. Set thefe veffels in your
coldeit cellars, with the bung
open, or covered only with a
loofe cover, both that the vola
tile fleams may have free vent,
and that the muft may be kept
cool : Otherwife it is apt- to. fer
ment too much. Having fet-
mented in this manner for fif
teen or twenty days, the veffel
may be flopped up clofe ; and in
two or three months time, the
cider will be fit for drinking.
But if you expect cider in per
fection, fo as to flower in the '
glafs, it muft be glued, as they
call it, and drawn off into bottles, .
after it has been a fliort time in
the cafk. Glueing is xione by
pouring into each veflel a pint
of the infufion of fixty or feveri-
ty grains of the moft tranfparent
ifinglafs, or fifh glue, imported
from Archangel, in a little white
wine and river or rain water,
:ilirred well together, after being
.ilrained through a linen cloth.
When tkis viicous Itibftance is
C I D 59
f put into-the cafk, it fpreads itfel'f
I over the furface like a net, and
j carries all the dregs to the bot
tom with jt." Did. of Arts.
Cider fnould not be too often
drawn from. the lee& ; for each
time it will lofe fome of it*
ftrength. The firft racking, in
.December, may often be fuffi-
cient : If not, it mould be rack-
,ed again in March. And to pre
vent its iretting or fermenting
at other times, care mould be
taken at every racking to ft tun
the cafk well with matches of
brimftone. This is found to
conduce more to keeping liquors
in a good itate, than aiiy thing
elfe.
To make matches for this pur-
pofe, take ilrips of old canvas or
linen, fix or feven inches long,
and nearly as wide as the bung
hole ; and dip them half their
length in melted brim-ftone.
Burn one of thefe matches in the
barrel to be filled, put in two or
three pailfuls of the cider, then
burn another, op up the cafk.
and roll or make it well for 'a
few minutes ; fill up the cafk,
and bung it tightly ; for there
will be no danger of any fermen
tation that will injure the cafk.
If new cider be treated in this
manner when it comes from- the
prefs, it will .not need racking
till February or March.
The above method is d.oubtlefs
goocL JButl have found it ari-
fwer well, to do nothing to cider
till March, or the beginning of
April, except .giving a cafk a
fmall vent hole, and keeping i::
open till the firit fermentation is
over; then draw it off into good
cafks ; and then fine it with
fkimmed milk, eggs broke uj
with the fhells, or molafTes.
quart of molaflcs will give a fine
colour to a barrel of cider, as
well as carry all the lees to the
bottom.
6o
G I D
bottom. But left it fliould in
cline the liquor to prick, I put
in, at the fame time, a quart of
rum or brandy ; and it feldom
fails of keeping well to the end
of fummer. But cellars mould
have neither doors nor windows
kept open in fummer, where ci
der is kept. And the cafks
fhould ftand fteady, and never
be fhaken, fo as to difturb the
fediment.
Thofe who choofe to boil their
cider, muft do it as foon as it runs
from the prefs. Some boil it,
till it is reduced to one half.
But much of the fineft fpirit e-
vaporates ; and though it will be
made a good deal ftronger by
boiling, it becomes a harfli, beady
and unpleafant liquor.
The beft method of reducing
the quantity without wafte, if
ilrong cider be thought deferable,
is by freezing. A ftrong cafk,
two thirds filled, may be expofed
to the greateft cold of December
and January ; and t]ien the fluid
part drawn but from the fur-
rounding ice. The liquor will
be ftrcng, pleafant and whole-
fbme, after mellowing by age ;
and be free from that tang of
the kettle, which renders boiled
cider unpleafant, and unwhole-
, fome,
The beft. way is, to give cider
no more boiling than is neceifa-
ry to purity it ; that is, to boil it
no longer than the fcum contin
ues rifing upon it. And the
fcumming muft be continued fo
long as 4 continues boiling.
Boiling in brafs kettles, even
for a fhort time, gives cider a
difagreeable tafte, and renders
it unwholefome. I mould pre
fer ironltettles for this ufe rather
than any other, in full confidence
that if particles of iron mould be
plentifully mixed with the liquor,
they would have a falutaity effect,
C I D
rather than the contrary. But
this w T ill make it a black liquor-
When cider is in danger of
pricking, almoft any alkalious
fubilance will prevent it. But
fucli fub fiances fhould be ufed
cautioufly, either in a fmall
quantity, or juft before the liquor
is ufed.
Tvvo or three fpoonfuls of
ginger in a cafk of cider will cor-
reft its windinefs, and make it
more palatable. Honey and fpices
will mend cider that is two vap
id and flat. But medicating it
with raifins and currents, often
occafions cider to turn four, un-
lefs prevented by the addition of
fpirit.
CIDERKIN, the Englifh
name of what we call water ci
der. The fprementioned cor-
refpondent very judicioufly rec
ommends the Englifh method
of making it, which he reprefents
as follows : " When the cider
cheefe has been preffed till it
will run no longer, remove the
pomace into the trough at even
ing, and throw a fufficient quan
tity of hot water upon it ; let it
lie all night, and in the morning
make a new cheefe of it, and
prefs out the liquor." If the
pomace was ground over again,
the ciderkin would be ftronger.
But there is danger of its becom
ing pricked during this opera
tion, unlefe the weather is very
cool. 7f the attempt is made in
a warm feafori, cold water ihould
be ufed. And in any feafon,
though hot water will make the
ciderkin the ftronger, it will
have a bittcrifh tafte, which will
not be agreeable to every palate,
This, he fays, will be fit for
drinking in June or July, as free
from change as cider commonly
is in February or March. But
I fhould think it more fate
to ufe it earlier, left it ihould be
fpoiled
C I D
fpqiled for want of ftrength fuf-
ficient to preferve it ; but the
beft method of keeping it is to
bottle it.
But the beft way of managing
ciderkin is, to take it direftly
from the prefs, give it a heating,
or a gentje boil, and take off the
fcum. This greatly prevents
fermentation, and prepares it for
long keeping. From my own
experience I can teftify the ex
cellent quality of boiled water
cider, when it has been made in
the common way ; efpecially
when it has been bottled in the
latter part of winter, or begin
ning of fpring. So that I can
give full credence to his ailer-
tion, " That in the hotteft part
of the following fummer, it will
be one ot the pleafanteft of
liquors, that can be procured
from any country : And that it
might make a very good export
to the Weft Indies ; there being
no danger of the burfting of the
botttes, as there is when cider
has a ftronger body."
When apples are not plenty it
is good economy to increafe the
quantity of good drink, fey the
making of ciderkin. A cheefe of
middling fize will yield at leaft
one barrel of ciderkin.
When cider needs fermenting,
Mr. Chapman direcls, " To one
hogfhead of cider, take three
pints of folid yeft, the mildejl
you can get : If rough-, warn it
in warm water, and let it ftand
till it is cold. Pour the water
from it, and put it in a pail or
can ; put to it as much jalap as
will lie on a fix pence, beat them
well together with a whilk, then
apply fome of the cider to it by
degrees, till your can is full.
Put it all into th,e cider, and ftir
it well together. When the fer
ment comes on, clean the bung
hole every morning, and keep
C I D
6t
filling the veffel up. The fer
ment, for the firft five or fix clays,
will be black and itiff; let'- it.
ftand till it ferments white, as it-
will in fourteen or fifteen days ;
at which time flop the ferment ;
otherwife it will impair, its
ftrength.
" To flop this ferment he di-
refts to rack it into a clean cafk,
and when near full to put in three
pounds of coarfe red fcouring
land, and ftir it well together, and.
fill it within a gallon. Let it
ftand five or fix hours, then pour
on it foftly a gallon of Englifli
fpirit, bung it up clofe, but leave
out the vent peg a day or two.
Then juil put it in the hole and
clofe it by qegrees. If the cider
be ftrong, the longer you keep
it the better will be the body.
It may lie in this ftate a year.
It it be not then bright and
clean, force it."
The forcing he recommends
is this : " Take a gallon of per
ry or ftale beer : Put to it an
ounce of ifinglafs, and let it fteep
three or four days. Keep whifk-
ing it. When it comes to a ftiff
jelly, beat it well in your can
with a whifk, and mix cider with
it till you have made the gallon
lour : Then put two pounds of
brick rubbings to it, ftir it with
two gallons more of the cider
added, and apply it to the hogf-
head. Stir it wel^ and flop it
clofe, The next day give it
vent, and it will be fine and bright.
" To cure acid cider he direcrs
to the ufe of weak alkalies, chalk,
oyfter and fcollop fhells, egg
(hells and alabafter, calcined.
But when a hogfhead is foon to
be drunk, fait of tartar, or fait of
worrnwood with milk and ifin-
glafs.
' To cure oily cider one
ounce fait of tartar, and two and
a half oi fweet fpirit of nitre in
a
6 2 C I D
a gallon of milk for a hogf-
Jhead.
" To cure ropy cider fix
.pounds powdered alum, ftirred
in well ; then rack the cider,
*and force it.
" To cure ill flavoured cider
ferment it with yeft and jalap
iiop it after four days and ap
ply a pound of fweet fpirit qf
jiitre to a hogfhead.
" To colour cider two pounds
of fugar burnt black, diffolved in
two quarts of boiling water.
Half a pint of this will colour a
hoglhead ; add a quarter of an
ounce of alum to fet the colour."
To meliorate common cider,
and render it as ftrong and p leaf-
ant as wine, the addition of hon
ey, or clarified fugar, with the
diftilled fpirit of cider, will do
xvonders ; making it equal to
French wines. This is the more
worthy tobeattended to, /as the lees
of cider and pomace from which
cider has been made, by cliftilla-
4ion may be made to yield a fui-
iicient quantity of cider brandy,
to make all our cider as ftrong
as fome wines. But if thefe
v/e're not fufficient, cider that is
too four for drinking, provided
it be not vinegar, will make a
good brandy, and yield more fpir
it than that which is pleafanter.
The reader may find particu
lar directions concerning this
matter, in TraBs on pradical Ag
riculture, by B. Wejlon, Efq.
The method of a gentleman in
the county of JSiTex, whofe cider
is become famous for^its extraor
dinary quality, is as follows :
" Gather the apples dry :
Jioufe them in an airy apart-
jnent : Spread them not r more
than two feet thick : If the weath
er prove warm, turn them once
or twice : If they begin to rot,
grind them in a cool day. But
lie longer apples are kept in a
C L A
found ftate before grinding, the
greater certainty of having good
cider. Put the liquor from the
prefs into vats containing at leait
three or four barrels, with a tap
fixed near the bottom. Cover it
clofe, and let it remain till the
firlt fermentation is over, which
is known by a white froth coming
up through the dark fcum on the
top. Then draw off the liquor
into cafks perfectly fweet, and
Hummed with matches of brim-
ftone: And put two gills of brandy
in each barrel. Stop the barrels
fo tightly that no air can -get in.
In March draw off the cider a~
gain into Hummed cafks, with
brandy as. before.
;t To refine, and give a deep
amber colour, take the whites of
fix eggs, with a handful of fine
beach land walhed clean : Stir
them well together. Take one
quart of molailes, boiled down
to a candy : Cool it by pouring
in cider, and put this, together
with the eggs and fand, into a
barrel of cider. When cider is
thus managed, it .will keep good
for years."
.GIVES,. or CHIVES, a p e .
rennial fpecies of onion, of a ve
ry fmall fize, feldom growing a
foot high. The roots are but
little bulbous, and they grow in
tufts. The way to make them
increafe faft is, to divide the tufts
into fmall parcels.
Another kind are called French
cives. Their increafe is more
rapid. Both kinds are up early
in fpring, and are much ufed in
fallads.
.CLAY, a ponderous kind of
earth, confifting of fine particles,
firmly cohering when dry ; and
when wet vifcid and tenacious.
It is of various colours in differ
ent countries. But i this coun
try it is moftly either a dull blue,
or of the colour of afhes. In
C L A
jtfovafcotia, the clay is of the
colour of a well burnt brick.
CLAY SOIL, land which con-
Ms almoft wholly of clay, with
perhaps a thin furface of dark
mould over it, made by fubftances
which have confumed upon it.
This kind of foil abounds in the
northeaftern territories of Maffa-
chufetts..
Clayey lands are apt to be ve
ry barren in their natural Hate,
unlefs when a fummer is fo di
vided betwixt rain and funlhine,
that they are kept on a medium
continually betwixt drought and
wetnefs, which feldom or never
happens. In a wet feafon, plants
growing on fuch a foil are drown
ed, as the clofenefs of the clay
will not fuffer the water to foak
into the ground : And in a dry
feafon, the ground becomes fo
{olid that the roots of plants can
not penetrate it, fome few ftrong
feeders excepted.
This kind of earth, however,
is thought to contain more of the
food oi plants than almoft any
other. But fomething needs to
be done to bring it into aftion.
The European farmers think
l-heir clay foils the richeft, and
moft valuable of their land. But
many of our farmers defpife
them, for want of knowing what
methods to take to render them
profitable ; or through fear of the
labour, or expenfe, of doing it.
Some of thefc foils, without
much alteration, will bear good
crops of grafs, if care only be
taken not to feed them clofe in
autumn, nor to let cattle in upon-
them in the fpring. But the
former, who wiines to keep them
in tillage, mult alter them by
the admixture of fuch fubftances
as may ferve to open the foil,
and break the cohefion of its par
ticles. When this is once ac-
complifhed, the land will become
C L A %
highly valuable ; holding the
manure to admiration, and never
returning to its priftine ftate.
Dung is helpful towards open
ing a clayey foil, by the ferment
ation it raifes, as well as by the
mixture of its earthy, faline and
oily particles. But dung of it-
fell" will not be fufficient, unlefs
it were laid on more plentifully
than farmers can well afford. A
mixture of dung and fand is
found to be a much better drefT-
ing for this fort of land, tharc
dung alone. And if fand be not
too far diftant, it would be advif-
able to put on a layer of it two
or three inches thick. Beach
fand is preferable to any other,
as the faltnefs of it will help ta
make the ground fruitful. But
pit fand will do very well ; or
rather, that which has been wafli-
ed down to low places in the
roads.
In places where fand is not tc*
be had, the ground may be loof-
ened with other fubftances. Grav
el, or light loam, from neighbour
ing foots, may be carted upon it
duft from faw pits, chips and rub-
bifh from the back yards of houfes r
ftraw and ftubble, fwamp mud,
the bark of trees and rotten woody
or burnt clay. I have known a
clayey fpot made very fruitful,
merely by the remains of a rot
ten log fence, when mixed with
the foil.
When 3 clay foil is fanded, or
;vny other thing laid on to open
it, it will take feveral ploughing*;
and harrowings to mix it, fo as
to bring the land to a good con-
fiftence. As the expenfe of
mixing it at once would be too
great, it is beUer to life it for two
or three years after, for the grow
ing of fuch tillage crops as are
moft flii table to a clayey foil, fuch
as barley, flax, &c. The foil
will grow better vear auer vcar.
' till
64 t L A
till the fand, &c. is thoroughly
mixed with the foil ; after which
it will be fruitful forever without
large dreffings. Hoed crops will
mix it fooner than any other
method, and without any expenfe.
A fmall quantity of dung, each
year that it bears a hoed, or a
green crop, will be proper : And
the moft fuitable dungs are thofe
of horfes and Iheep, pigeons and
other fowls, which by their heat
will correct the natural coldnefs
of the foil. Folding with fheep
has an excellent effe6t on this
kind of land.
Such a ffiff foil is alfo mend
ed by frequent ploughings. The
Europeans allow three plough-
ings previous to feeding, to be
enough for a free foil ; but to a
clayey foil they give four or five.
The oftener it is ftirred with the
.plough, the more the cohefion
of the particles is broken, and
the more eafily the roots of plants
can penetrate it in fearch for
their food. But it never mould
be ploughed when it is fo wet as
to potch with the feet of the cat
tle, or to run like mortar. In
this condition, the more it is
worked the ftiffer it will become.
On the other hand, when it is
very dry, it cannot well be
ploughed, by reafon of its hard-
nefs. Suitable feafons mould
be embraced, for ploug-hing it,
when it is neither too wet nor
too dry. At the firfl ploughing
it comes up in large clods ; but
the oftener it is ploughed in fit
times, the fmaller the clods will
be, and the more fine mould will
be among them.
Expofmg the clods to the fun
and air has fome tendency to
mellow the foil : But a winter
furrow is of very great advantage.
The froft does much towards
breaking the cohefion, as I have
found by experience.
C L
Clay foils, after all the melio*
ration that can be given them?
will be more fuitable for fome
plants than for others. Thofe
plants in general which require
a great degree of heat, or a long
fumrner, are not fo well adapted
to be cultivated in a clayey foil,
fuch as Indian corn, tobacco,
&c. But it may be made ttf
produce good crops of wheat,
grafs, barley, oats, flax, cabbage,
&c. No good eating potatoes or
carrots are ever produced in fuch'
a foil.
Fruit trees, in general, and I
think all . forts, excepting pear
trees, anfwer but poorly in a clay
ey foil, how much loeyer the
furface may have been mixt with'
other fubftances. The roots of
trees will need to draw fome of
their nourifhment from a part of
the foil below that which has
been meliorated by mixing ; but
the compaftnefs of it will fcarce-
ly fuffer them to penetrate it.
Fallowing and green dreffing
may help to pulverize a clay foil ;
and fowing it frequently with
peafe is recommended. Any
crop that forms a clofe cover for
the furface caufes the foil to pu
trefy, breaks the cohefion of its
particles, and prevents the ground
from hardening by the influence
of the fun.
If a clay foil lie fo flat that
water Hands on it fome part of
the year, it cannot be brought to a
good confidence without plough
ing in ridges, and water furrow
ing. The ridges may be wider
or narrower, according to the
degree of wetnefs to which it is
fubjecl. Sometimes deep drains
will be neceffary to give it the
needful degree of drynefs.
CLEARING of LAND, an
operation often neceffary to be
performed in this new country,
efpecially in the moil inland
parts.
OLE
parts. Lands which were before
in a Itate of nature, are faid to be
cleared, when they are fo freed
from their natural growth, as to
become fit for tillage, mowing,
or pafture.
In thofe parts of the country
where wood is of little or no val
ue, the method of clearing up
land is as follows : The trees
are felled in one of the fummer
months ; the earlier in fummer
the better, as they will have a
longer time to dry, and as the
ftumps will be lefs apt to fprout.
The trees lie till the following
fpring ; when the limbs which
clo not lie very near to the ground
mould be chopped off, that they
may burn the better. Fire mult
be put to them in the drieft part
of the month of May ; or if the
whole of May prove wet, it may
be done to advantage in the be
ginning of June. Only the
bodies of the trees will remain
after burning, and fome of them
will be burnt to pieces. Then
they are to be cut into pieces near
ly of one length, drawn togeth
er by oxen, piled in clofe heaps,
and burnt ; only referving fuit-
able trees, which will be needed !
for the fencing. The heating of j
the foil fo defliroys the green
roots ; and the afties, made by
burning, are fo beneficial a ma- !
nure to the land, that it will pro-
ducc a good crop of Indian corn, j
or wheat, the fame year, without !
ploughing, hoeing, or manuring. |
Indian, corn is rnofl commonly '
the firfi crop ; and it will^bear a !
good crop of winter rye the fec-
orid year, if the feed be only
hacked in with hoes in Se'ptem- \
ber, before the Indian corn is '
narveuecL After which, if grafs
feeds be thrown in with the rye,
the land will be fit for paiturage,
it not for mowing. The few
iprouts which fpring up from the
L E 65
flumps in the.firft fummer, mould
be pulled off, and the ground is
quite fubdued. But if wheat or
rye be the firft crop, the ground
mult be well harrowed ; once
before fowing, and once after.
And it often happens that the
firlt arid fecond crops , pay the.
farmer well for .all the labour of
clearing and fencing. It is cer
tain that fometimes the firlt crop
will do it.
The invention of this kind of
culture has been of elfential ad
vantage to the poorer fort of
people : And it has been condu
cive to bringing forward rapid
fettlements in our new towns
and plantations. A farm may
be thus begun in the wilderness
with little or no flock.
But thole perforis who are a-
ble to do it had better plough
and harrow their ground after
burning, before they feed it.
The alhes will thus be well mix
ed with the foil ; and the land
has always been found to retain
its fertility the longer, when fo
managed.
If new land lie in fucli a fitu-
atiori, that the natural growth
may turn to better account,
Whether for timber or fire wood,
fencing or charcoal, it will be an
unpardonable wafte to burn the
wood on the ground. But if the
trees be taken off, the land mult
be ploughed after clearing, or
it will not produce a crop of any
kind. And fome warm kind of
manure will be needful, if Indian
corn is planted on it. This is
the cafe at leaft in the molt north
erly parts of Newengland. But
rye will anfwer extremely well!
without manure.
When new lands are deftitute
of trees, ancl covered with oak
fhrubs, the clearing is more ex-
penfive, and the firlt crops not
fo profitable, But fuch lands
fcouli
66
C L I
fhould not remain unfubdtied, as,
in their prefent itate, they are
quite unprofitable, and a nui-
fance. The bullies ihould be
cut \vith ftub fithes or axes, pil
ed in heaps, and burnt. After
which the roots may be fubdued
by goats; or ploughed up with
a ftrong team, the plough being
proportionably ftrong. Some. of.
thole {pots will require a team
.of 50 oxen to plough them. Af-
tLT ploughing, the roots muft be
taken out with a ftrong narrow
hoe, with a good (harp edge.
Other methods mull be taken
for fubduing low fwampy lands.
Sec the articles Bog, Bujhes^
Draining-.
CLIMATE/a word ufed by
Geographers, to denote a fpace
on the earth contained between
two parallels of latitude, fo far
diftant from the next climate,
that the length of the longeft day
in one, differs half an hour from
that in the other. But the word
is often ufed lefs accurately, to
fignify a region, or large tract of
land, or a diftincl country.
A farmer muft pay due atten
tion to the climate, in which he
is fituated, or he will not carry
on agriculture to advantage. He
muft govern all his fchemes of
management by the peculiarities
of the climate : Becaufe that
which proves fuccefsful in one,
will not do fo in another.
" The climate, "fays Mr. Dick-
" determines the times of
ploughing and fowtng ; it di-
I'ecb our choice in the kind of
plants to be cultivated ; it regu- !
fates the whole economy of the \
farm, and informs the hufband-
man how to appoint the order of
the different kinds of labour nec-
elfary, fo as he may be always
lifefully employed. Nothing has
jnore effectually retarded die.
rogrefs ci agriculture, than the
fon,
C L O
attempts that have been made ta
introduce general fchemes, with
out any regard to the climate.
A lover of agriculture, captivat
ed with a fcheme of husbandry,
which he has obfen'ed in Flan
ders, or in fpme of the fouthern
counties of England, without
any proper preparation, attempts
to put this fcheme in praftice in
one cf the {hires of Scotland, not-
withstanding the great difference
of climate, This attempt proves
unfuccefsful, as it is natural to
expect, where circumftances are
fo different. No perfon is fo
fool i Hi as to fuppofe, that all
kinds of plants can be cultivated
with equal fuccefs in all climates :
It is even vain to imagine that
they can be cultivated with e-
cjual fuccefs in all parts of thir
iiland, or in all places in the-
fame latitude. A- very fmall dif-
tance fometimes makes a very
great difference in climate, in
the degrees of heat and cold s
and in the quantity of rain that
falls."
CLOG, a wooden inftrument,
faftened to the neck or leg of a
beaft, to prevent his leaping over,
or breaking fences. The beft
clog for the fetlock of a horfe, is
made of one piece of tough wood
bent over at one end. Into a
notch, near this end, a leathern
firap, nailed to the long part of
the clog, is Hipped over the end.
It may be put on, or taken off,
in an inifant.
CLOVER', Trijolium pra-
tenfe, a fpecies of trefoil, efteem-
ed as an excellent grafs for the
feeding of cattle, both green and
dried. The hay made of clover
is more fuitable for horfes than
any other that this country af
fords. Horfes kept on it will
fatten, even in the moll unfa
vourable feafon of the year. It
anfwers well when ufed as foil-/
ing,
C L O
ing, or eaten out of racks with
out drying.
Green clover is known to be
good feeding for fwine. Keep
ing them inpaftures, where there
is plenty of this grafs, will make
them grow faft, and ratten fo as
to almoft become fit for the knife.
But when they go in paflures
they mould have rings in their
nofes. Otherwife they will root
out the clover.
Red and white clover are the
only forts known and efleemed
in this country ; as to the wild
fort, or variety, with a rpugh
leaf, it is of no confequence. It is
the red clover that is of moft im
portance for mowing. The .white
is generally too finall and iliort,
unlefs wfcen it is drawn to a
greater height by being mixed
with other graiTes,
Many farmers, inftead of fow
ing clean feed of clover, content
themfelves with fowing chaff and
duft from the floors of their barns.
This is a flovenly and uncertain
method, oftentimes attended with
great lofs. Fowls are ufually ad
mitted into barns ; and when
this is the cafe, none can tell
how much, on how little of the
hay feed remains among the dull. :
So that the farmer who fows it,
may cither over feed his land.;
.or, which is a more common
cafe, not feed it half enough. A
confequence of which lail will
be, that he will have no gooci crop
of hay from his fowing. He
muft either plough up his land
again, for the mere purpofc of
feeding it with grjfs, or let it lie
ufelefs till the grafs gradually
gets in ; either of which expe
dients will be attended with in
convenience and lofs. I am a-
ware mat farmers, efpecially
thofe in the northern parts oF
Newenglancl,vill object, that if
grafs .do not get in the firft year.
C L O 67
it will the iTcond. But they
fhould conlider that the lofs of
the firft year's crop is confident
ble. 'Not only fo, but it is lof-
ing the befl crop that is to be
expected from -a clover lay ; and
the land will become bound and
weedy, before it is filled with
grafs roots ; fo that no large crop
will be had from it after \vanL,
nor any clean or unmixed crop,
from which it .will anfwer to
take clean 'feed.
The ; quantity of clover feed
^proper . for an acre is about ten
'pounds, or fome fay lei's. The
price of a. pound is from eight
pence to one (hilling. The cod:
of the feed need not terrify a
farmer ; becaufe he will be mo re
than paid double for the feed, by
the advantage the firft year's
crop will receive from a good
feeding of the ground.
It is no finall recommendation
of this grafs, that it is adapted to
a foil, that is fiiitable for fcarcc-
ly any other -grafTes, which are
cultivated in this country ; to a
foil that is dry, light and fandy.
It does well aifo on gravel and
loam. A wet fail is not good
tor this grafs, efpecially if water
and ice appear on it in the win-
-ter, or fpring. Jn cafe of drought,
it is lucky for fanners to have
fome ot their mowing lands in
this grafs : It- bears drought bet
ter than moft other grafies, as
might be expefted for two rea-
fons became it-is fo early as to
be grown up to maturity, before
the hottefLpart of fu miner, when
the fevereff droughts rnoft com
monly happen ; and becaufe the
plants, being tap rooted, draw
great part of their nourifhment
from a depth, where the foil is
not much affected with an early
drought.
European farmers recommend
fowing it in the fpring, after the
grain
68
C L O
grain is up, and harrowing it in ; f
and they tell us the harrowing j
will not damage the corn, but j
gather be a fervice to it, when it is
either fpring or winter grain. That
it mould be fowed in the fpring
is granted, unlefs it be in coun
tries where there are no fevere
winter frofts. The young plants,
which come up in the fall, can
not bear the froft fo well as thofe
which have had a whole fummer
to bring them on towards matu
rity. Their reafon for not fow-
ing it at the fame time as the
grain it grows with, is an appre
hended danger of its growing fo
faft as to qbftruft the growth of
the grain. But I have never
found this to be the cafe in fact.
Mr. Eliot recommends a dif
ferent method, which is plough
ing in the feed ; which, he thinks,
and not without reafon, will
caufe it to bear drought the bet
ter, and become the more ftrong-
ly rooted. I believe I may add,
that it \vill be more likely to ef-
cape in the frofts of winter, which
are fo intenfe in this country, as
often to kill almoft whole fields
of clover.
Peat afhes are faid to be a ve
ry proper drefling for clover
grounds. But this grafs anfwers
Jo well in this country without
manure, that the farmers choofe
to fet apart the whole of the ma
nure that they can get for other
purpofes.
Some think clover is fo far
from needing any manure, that
it will recruit lands which are
worn out. That it will do it
more than other graffes I cannot
yet fee any reafon to believe. It
will bear no crop worth mowing,
on lands which are quite exhauft-
ed. But it is probable it may
produce good crops, on lands
which are much impoverifhed
near the furface, by bearing
C L O
plants with fhort, fibrous, or hor
izontal roots ; becaufe clover
fends its main roots to a great
depth. And while a field lies
feyerai years in clover, the foil
near the furface may be confider-
ably recruited. But whether
the land on the whole will be in
better heart, after feveral heavy
crops of clover are taken from
it, and no manure laid on, feems
rather doubtful.
Writers on agriculture feem t
however, to be agreed, that a clo-
er lay is proper for the culture
of wheat. The rotting of its
large roots and ftalks may an-
fwer as a good manure, no ways
adapted to diftemper the wheat,
as fome other manures are thought
to be.
Some fkilful farmers infift
much on the propriety of fow-
ing clover feed with barley. I
iuppofe it will anfwer well with
almofl any grain that we call En-
glifh. But with a crop of peafe,
or with any other crop that forms
a clofe Ihade to the foil, it will
not anfwer. The young plants
muft have fome advantage of the
fun and air, or they will not live.
And if it be fowh with flax, at
leaft in fome loofe foils, the pull
ing of the flax will be apt to e-
radicate much of the clover.
Crops which lodge are alfo de-
itruciive to the young clover, by
forming fo clofe a cover as ta
ftifle it. Therefore, when clo
ver feed is (own, either with
barley or flax, the ground mould
be rather under than over feedcd,
to prevent lodging.
Clover being an early grafs, it
is commonly fit to cut in June.
When half the heads are turned
from red to brown, and j en the
decay, it is the right time to
mow it. But if the feed is to be
favcd for life, it muft ftand till it
is all dead ripe, both heads and
(talks.
C L O
ftalks. It requires more care to
make clover into hay than moll
other grades. That which is
mowed in a morning fliould be
fpread, turned, and raked up be
fore night. The next day, if the
weather be fair, it mult be open
ed, ftirred once or twice, and
cocked up again. Then, after
fweating a day or two, it may be
put into the barn. Rank clover
requires much more drying than
that which is of a moderate
growth. And the hay is not fo
good.
In the moft foutherly parts of
Newengland, land in good heart
will bear two crops ot clover in
a year. Mr. Eliot, therefore, rec
ommends faving the fecond crop
for feed, the firft crop having
been mowed early. But two
crops are not to be obtained in
the northern parts of this coun
try. And, if they were, fo fre
quent a cutting would be apt to
make the roots fhorter lived. It
is advifable to pafture it in May,
and then let it grow for feed. It
is beft to cut clover for feed
on land that is foon to be broken
up : Becaufe a crop of feed
weakens the roots much more
than a crop of hay ; and it is
doubtful whether it will bear
any considerable crop afterwards.
Indeed, no crop of clover is of
any great importance for hay,
after the fecond year. For it is
a biennial plant.
The white clover, vulgarly
called hpneyfuckle, is an excel
lent grafs, and feems very natur
al to this country : But when
fown by itfelf, it does not grow
tall enough for mowing. It is
good ior feeding in paftures,
during the fore part of fummer,
at which time it often appears in
great plenty.
The hop clover is new in this
country, but feems to appear not
COL
6 }
very promifing. It is faid to
flourifh on the moft barren fands,
and continue long in any foil.
It is of two kinds, large and
fmall, and the heads are yellow.
I once fowed a fmall bed of it.
It did not profper, being almoft
wholly deftroyed by the follow*
ing winter.
The European farmers are
cautious of turning neat cattle in
to feed in a field of luxuriant
green clover, for fear of their be
ing hovtn with it, as it is called,
or fo fwelled by eating it greedi
ly, as to be killed by it. But
this is an inconvenience, which I
have never known to take place
in this country. The way to
fave the life of hoven beafts, is,
to ftab them between the hip and
the mortribs, where the {'welling
rifes higheil. It is performed
with a narrow, fharp pointed
knife, which makes an orifice in
the maw, and lets out the air that
oppreffes. The wound foon "heals
or itfelf.
COLE SEED, Braffica Rapa.
? This plant, which is generally
known by the title of rape, or
cole feed, is much cultivated in
the ifle of Ely, and fome other
parts of England, for its feed,
from which the rape oil is drawn ;
and it hath been alfo cultivated
of late years, in other places, for
feeding of cattle, to great advan
tage.
'The cole feed, when cultivat
ed for feeding of cattle, mould be
fown about the middle of June.
The ground Jhould be prepared
for it in the fame manner as for
turnips. The quantity of feeds
for an acre of land is from fix to
eight pounds, and as the price of
feed is not great, it is better to
allow eight pounds ; for if he
plants are too clofe in any part,
they may be eafily thinned, when
the ground is hoed ; which muft
be
7
C O L
be performed in the iame maa-
ner as is pra&ifed for turnips,
with this difference only, of
leaving thefe much nearer to
gether ; for as they have fibrous
joots and {lender ftalks, fo they
-do hot require near fo much
room. Thefe plants mould have
a fecond hoeing, about five or
fix weeks after the firft, which,
if well performed in dry weath
er, will entirely deftroy the
weeds, fo that they will require
210 farther culture.
" Where there is not an im
mediate want of food, thefe
plants had better be kept as a
xeferve for hard weather, or
fpring feed, when there may be
a fcarcity of other green food.
If the heads are cut off, and the
ilalks left in the ground, they
%vill moot again early in the
fpring, and produce a good fec
ond crop in April, which may
foe either fed off, or permitted to
run to feeds, as is the pra6lice
ivhcre this is cultivated for the
feeds : But if the firft is fed
-dawn, there fiiould be care taken
that the cattle do not deilroy the
items, or pull them out of the
ground. As this plant is fo hardy
as not to be deflroyed by froft,
fb it is of great fervice in hard
winters for feeding of ewes ; for
-when the ground is fo hard fro
zen as that turnips cannot be
taken up, thefe plants may be
cut off for a conftant fupply.
This will afford late food after
the turnips are run to feed ; and
if it is afterwards permitted to
fland for feed, one acre will pro
duce as much as, at a moderate
computation, will fell for five
pounds clear of charges." Gar-
dencr s Dictionary.
The Rev. Mr. Eliot, who
jnade iome trial of this plant, is
doubtful whether it will anfwer
for winter feeding in this conn-
COM
try, becanfe of the fe verity oi
our trolls. But the above author
adds " The curled colewort, or
Siberian borecole, is now more
generally eileemed than the for
mer, being extreme hafdy, fo it is
never injured by cold, but is al
ways fweeter in fevere winters,
than in mild feafons." A gen
tleman informs me, that, in Bof-
ton, Newengland, he has made
trial of this plant, and found that
the winter did not injure it. It
is fit for the table from Decem
ber to April.
I myfelf made trial of three
kinds of borecole the laft year,
in the latitude of 44. It grew
very well till winter ; but not
one plant in fifty had any life in
it in the following fpring. The
forts were the green, the white,
and the red. But it is probable
that in fome parts of Newen
gland, and in warm fituations,
this plant may be cultivated with
advantage ; though not in fields,
I think it may in gardens.
COMPOST, a mixture of "va
rious manures arid foils, to be
laid on land to promote vegeta
tion.
Compofis ought to be differ
ent, according to the different
foils on which they are to be
laid. A foil that is light and
loole requires a comport that is
heavy, or one which has a large
proportion of the mud of deep
ditches, fwamps, or ponds, and
cow dung. But clayey and
heavy lands require a compoft,
in which lomething that is light
and warm predominates, as lime,
the dung of horfes and fheep,
&c.
Compofts may be made o^
common earth, turfs, the dirt of
ftreets, Ilraw, mud ; together
with dung, lime, marie, afhes,
wee^s, fait, or oily Jubilances,
and any kind of animal or vege
table
COP
table matters. They mould be
well mixed, and lie one year,
one fummer at leaft, in heaps,
and be feveral times (hoveled o-
ver, to promote fermentation and
putrefaftion, and to deftroy all
the feeds of weeds.
They fhould be kept, if practi
cable, in a temperate degree of
moifture. If they lie too wet,
they will turn four, and not pu
trefy : If too dry, there will be
no fermentation at all.
Compofts are efteemed better
than dung, for the dreffing of
land for wheat, as there is not fo
much danger of dillempering the
grain, nor of increafing the
growth of weeds, nor of propa
gating infefts.
A compoft of clay, turf, ditch
earth, with lime, foot, or afhcs,
is an excellent dreffing for grafs
lands. The time to lay it on is
in autumn. Neither would it be
amifs to do it in the fpring ; on
ly as carting it on would be apt
to injure the furface when it is
wet and foft. See Dunghill. \
COPSE, or COPPICE, aj
piece of underwood. " When j
a copfe is intended to be railed j
from maft or fegd, the ground is |
ploughed in the fame manner as
for corn ; and, either in autumn
or in fpring, good ftore of fuch i
mails, nuts, feeds, berries, &c.
are to be fown with the grafs,
which crop is to be cut, and then
the land laid for wood. They
may alfp be planted about au
tumn with young fets, or plants,
in rows about ten or fifteen feet
diftance. If thu copies happen
to grovv thin, the heft way of
thickening them is, to lay fbme
of the branches or layers of the !
trees, that lie nearelt to the bare
places, on the ground, or a little
in the ground. Thefe, detained
with hooks, and covered with
freih mould, at a competent
COR 7
depth, will produce a world c"'
fuckers, and thicken a copfe
fpeedily," Did. of Arts.
CORN, the farinaceous feeds
of certain vegetables, of which
bread is made. But the name is-
ufually applied, not only to the
feeds, but to plants which pro
duce them.
As thefe feeds are various, the
idea commonly affixed to the
word corn, differs in different
countries, according as one or
another ort is molt cultivated*
In this country it is chiefly ap
plied to maize, or Indian corn.
But in Europe it is a general
name of grain, including wheat,
rye, barley, oats, rice, buck
wheat, &c.
It is greatly to be wiihed that
feveral kinds of corn were raifed
in greater plenty, in the norther
ly parts of Newengland ; that
we might no longer depend up
on importation forthofe neceiia
ry articles, while we are fo poor
ly able to make remittances for
them in our own produce. I
am perfuaded, the fame quantity
of labour, which is ufed for this
purpofe, and on a lefs quantity
of foil, if wifely applied, would
produce the happy effecf. No
fort of corn mould be fown on
a foil- which is naturally unfuit-
able for it. Maize, for inftance,
not on clay, nor wheat upon
fand, or gravel. Neither fhould
attempts be made to raife grain
without fufficient tillage ; that
fo what is done may not be la
bour thrown away. It is ridicu
lous, in ordinary cafes, to hope
for a large crop of grain from
one ploughing ; or to imagine
that the grain will be.plump and
good, when it is fuffered to be
choked with weeds. l:i the old
er countries, farmers tin riot fow
\vheat, nor fcarcely any other
grain, till after two or (breo
pic.
r-
c o w
plougbings : And they make as
much account of weeding their
grain, in fome places, as we do
of weeding our gardens.
The more tillage is given to
land, the lefs manure is needed :
And the increafe of crops would
richly pay for the extra tillage.
The coil of fecond and third
ploughings is but little, as it may
be performed with one horfe, or
a fmall yoke of oxen.
The only grain, to which we
afford near, enough tillage is In
dian corn : But even to this
more might be profitably appli
ed. They who hand hoe it
without ploughing are no fmall
lofers by that management. See
more concerning corn, under
Wheat, Rye, Barley, &c.
COULTER, an important
part of a plough. See Plough.
COW, " the female of the ox
kind. The marks of a good
cow, according to fome, are
thefe : The forehead broad, the
eyes black, the horns large and
clean, the neck long and ftraight,
the belly large and deep, the
thighs thick, the legs round with
mort joints, and the feet broad
and thick. Red cows are faid
to give the bell milk, and black
ones to bring the beft calves.
But the cow that gives milk
longell is the moll beneficial for
breeding and profit, efpecially
where one only is kept. Tuft
before calving, cows mould be
very well fed ; and if they calve
in winter, their drink fhould be
a little warmed, a day and a
night after their calving." DiEl.
of Arts.
I may add here, if the cleaning
of a cow after calving be delay
ed, it may be promoted by giv
ing her a pail of warm water
with fome afhes in it.
Cows mould be milked regu
larly, morning and evening, and
COW
always at the fame hours, as
nearly as may be. At fix in the
morning, and fix at night, is a
good general rule, as the times
of milking will be equidiftant
from each other. But if they
are milked three times a day, as
a modern writer on husbandry
recommends, it may be done at
five, one and eight. ' He believes
that if they are full fed, they will
give half as much again milk, if
milked thrice as if only twice.
At the fame time, it would pre
vent a too great diftention of.
their bags, to which our bcft cows
are liable. If the milking be
once omitted, they will give
much more at the next milking ;
but it will caufe them to give
lefs mik on the whole, and tend
to dry them up.
No animals that we keep are
more profitable than cows. Sup-
pofing a eow to yield one gallon
of milk per day, one day with
another, for forty weeks, (and it
is a poor cow that will not do
more than this in a year) at only
two pence per quart* the milk
will come to 9!. 6s. 8d. which
will pay^for her body, and for
her year's keeping. The clear
profit ot a cow, therefore, in two
years, may be allowed to be a-
bout lol. fuppofing her to be
worth 5!. and her keeping to coft
4!. 6s. 8d. per annum. But in
fome places their keeping is low
er than this ; and oftentimes a
cow may be purchafed for ten
or twelve dollars.
COW HOUSE, that apart-
ment in a barn, in which cows
and other neat cattle, are tied
up and fed, during the winter
and part of autumn and fprmg.
Fanners may think they need
but little teaching concerning
thefe apartments, as they have
been fo long acquainted with
them. But I ihall take the lib
erty
cow
ifty to give them the following
directions, which they may re
ceive or reje6t, as they think fit.
In the firft place, it is of no
fmall importance that the floor
under a cow houfe be very tight,
fo that none of the ftale may be
loft, which is of great value as a
manure, when mixed with other
lubftances. A farmer would
be no more blameworthy for
throwing away the dung than
the urine of beafts, which con
tains abundance of fertilizing
falts and oils. But if it be fuf-
fered to run through the floor, it
is entirely loft.
The defcending pofition of the
floor has been mentioned under
the article Cattle. This defcent
will convey the ftale through the
chinks in the fide of the barn,
unlefs fome caution be ufed to
prevent it. One edge of a plank
may be fitted to the fill, nailed
to the pofts of the building, and
the joint between that and the
fill caulked. Or a quantity of
dry earth may be laid along on
the fill. Green fods will anfwer
as well. It will take feveral
cart loads for a long apartment.
This earth will be gradually tak
en up and mixed with the dung,
as it is fhovelect out during the
winter. Or if fods are ufed they
will be well impregnated with
the excrements or the cattl-e, and
partly diiTolved, by lying from
fall to fpring in fuch a fituation.
If the clung be defigned for a
fandy foil, clay will be the beft
earth for this purpofe ; if tor a
clayey foil, fand will be moft
proper. Any kind of earth, how
ever, will ferv'e to.abforb and
preferve .the itale. But if a farm
er choofe to lay ftraw, weeds,
or barn dull, for this purpofe, I
will not contend ; though I think
earth is better, as it will be freer
from weeds, and fconer fit to ufe
K
COW
73
as a manure, than thofe vegeta
ble fubftances. After this earth
is throw r n out and mixed with
the dung in the heaps, it will be
of fervicein preventing the evap
oration, and foaking away of the
beft part of the manure.
When a farmer thinks himfelE
not well able to be at the ex-
penfe of a floor of good planks,
let him get a quantity of good
clay, make mortar, and lay a bed
of it a foot thick or more, fora
floor'; giving it a proper defcent
backwards, that the cattle may
lie dry, and raifmg it at the hind
er border, to prevent the efcape
of the urine. The floor will
grow thinner by being gradually
fhoveled up with the dung ; but
it is eafy to repair it ; and the
fafter it wears away, the more
the quantity of manure is in-
creafed.
Alfo, the floors over a cow
houfe fhould be more tight
than they commonly are. It
would prevent the defcent of
duft and chaff. It would caufe
the hay above it to be lefs injur
ed by the air ; as well as lefs
contaminated by the breath of
the cattle, and the fteam of their
excrements.
There are different ways of
tying up cattle. Some prefer
one way, and forne another. I
prefer ftanchions to bows : Not
only becaufe the cattle take up
.lefs room in this way, but are
lefs apt to wafte their fodder.
They are alfo more fecure irt
this way ; fo that they do not fa
often break loofc, and worry
and wound each other.
A cow houfe Ihoukl be in the
foutfoerly part of a barn, when it
can well be ro ordered. The
cattte will be lefs pinched with
the cold northerly winds. An
other advantage is, that the heap*
of dung thrown out on that tide,
being
7 4 C R E
being in a funny place, will be
thawed earlier in the fpring, fo
as to be fit to be carted out in
feafoa. On the north fide, ice
will fbmetimes remain in the
heaps, or under them, till the laft
of May, or beginning of June.
In this climate, cattle muft be
houfed near half the year ; fror/i
the middle of November to the
laft of April, and oecafionally at
other times. Though they muft
have fodder for two or three
weeks before and after thefe pe
riods, I think it advifable to let
them lie in the barn yard, and
eat out of a rack, unlefs the
weather be ftormy or the air un
commonly cold. For if they be
kept too warm in- the fall, they
will become tender, and not win
ter fo well ; or if lodged too
warm iri the fpring, they are
more apt to be loufy.
CRADLE, a frame joined to
a fithe, ufeful in harvefting, by
the help of which, three time?
the quantity of grain may be cut
dowu in a given time that can
be with a fickle, and laid tolera-
bly even and regular, for bind
ing in bundles. It is oftener
ufed for cutting oats and rye
than for wheat. There is dan
ger, however, of too much wafte
in cradling, when the corn is
thick and heavy, or does not
ftand upright ; the labour alfo
would be too painful and tire-
Ibme.
CREAM, the fat part of milk
which rifes to the furface.
To produce the greateft quan
tity of cream, the pans in which
the milk is fet mould be flat Ihap-
cd, fo that the milk may not be
more than three inches deep.
Thofe in common ufe are not
much amifs. ' They mould be
well fcalded with hot water, as
often as milk, is fet in them, and
ke thoroughly cooled. If the
C R O
place where milk is fet be tod
warm, it will be apt to turn four,,
before the cream has had fuffi-
cient time to afcend ; and none
will rife after the milk begins to
coagulate. If the place be too
dry, the cream will become
tough and hard before it is taken
off. If the place be fo cold as
to freeze the milk, every one
knows that but little cream will
be gotten from it. The time of
fkimming muft be regulated by
the weather, and other circum-
fiances : But nearly the whole
will rife to the top in twenty
four hours. In large dairies it
may be troublefome to let it ftand
longer.;
In the Scots* Farmer^ the fol
lowing method of fkimming is
recommended. "The maid gent
ly raifes the dim, laying the lip
of it on a large pan, and with
her fingers ends fhe divides the
cream near the lip of the dim,
in fuch a manner that the milk
which is underneath may be
poured into the great pan through
this divifion, leaving the cream
by itfelf in the dim."
Some fet their milk in trays
lined with lead. This mould
never be done. For the leaft a-
cidity in the milk will diflqlve
the lead, and poifon the milk.
Tin pans are good, being light
and handy, and wooden trays
anfwer very well, if kept fweet..
CROP, a year's produce of
corn, hay, &c. which a piece of
land yields.
The variablenefs of crops is fo
great, that none can judge from
a fingle one, whether the fame
fort would be profitable in the
long run. A feafon that does
not happen to be fuitable to the
foil and plants may either pre
vent a crop, or render it unequal
to the labour laid out to produce
it. We mould not, therefore,
judge
cue
judge of the comparative advan
tage of any kind of crop from
one in fiance ; nor be difcourag-
ed, but by the failure of a crop
in a feafon which is fuitable to
the foil on which it is railed*
The continual cropping ot
land with wheat, without inter
vals of fallowing, will foon ex-
hauil all its ftrength, unlefs much
be expended in manuring it.
For this reafon, the horfe hoeing
husbandry is much recommend
ed by forne writers, by which
land is not fo eafily impoverifla-
.ed, as the intervals are always
fallowed. So that there is an al
ternation of cropping, the inter
vals this year being where the
rows were laft year. But this
culture can hardly be expefted
to be advantageous in a new
country ; nor in any foil which
is not quite free from obftacles.
The trouble and coft of it would
be intolerable, to Newengland
farmers, in generaL
Small crops are often more
profitable on the whole than
larger ones. That is the beft
crop which amounts to a given
quantity, with the lea.it expenie
of labour, feed and tillage ; pro
vided it leave the foil in equal
condition for future crops. Yet,
in general, land will pay far bet
ter for generous manuring and
tilling, than for a partial and
ilovenly cultivation : For, in the
former cafe, a large crop is al-
moft certain ; in the latter no
crop worth the culture, fuch as
it is, can be rationally expected.
And, in the former cafe, tlieland
is left after the crop in a far bet
ter condition.
CUCUMBERS, Cutumis, a
cold fruit, which is pleafant to
thetafte ofmoft people, and much
ufed by thpfewho find themfelves
able to digeft them. They are
renderedv/holefomerbypickling.
cue
75
The method of growing them
is fimple and eafy. They ihould
not be planted till after Indian
corn : For the Icaft degree of
froft entirely deftroys Uiem. Th
flung oi fwine mould be put un
der them, which makes them
grow more rapidly than any oth
er manure which I have ever
tried.
Some fteep the feeds,, and
cajife them to fprout, before they
are planted : But I have never
found any advantage in it. It i
not amifs, however, to wet them
a little, and coat them wiih po\v<-
dered foot,
Mr. Miller thinks the feeds
ihould not be fown till they are
three or four years old. JVjjLtr
plants are enough to {land in a
hole together ; therefore, when
they get into rough leaf, they
mould be thinned to this num
ber. The vines fhonld be fo
conducted as to interfere as lit
tle as porTiblc with each other.
They who v/ifh to raife them at.
all ieafons of the year, may con-
fult the Gardener s Ditlionary.
I have known furprifing quan
tities of cucumbers raifed from
tubs. The method is this: Take
a very tight barrel tub ; fill it up
to the bung with ftones, then a
little ftraw, and earth over the
ftraw, enough to fill the barrel.
Fill the lower halt with water.
Inftead of letting it fleep through
the earth, it (hould be palled
through a tube, placed in the
earth for that purpofe, as often
as more water is wanted. The
bung mould be left out, and the
water kept as high as the hole,
by repeated waterings. The
plants lying fo high will be- out
of the way of infetis, which is a
great advantage ; and they will
not be hurt by drought. The
lants mould be a little fpriuk-
led, however, with water, once
7 6
G U R
in a while, if the feafon prove
very drv.
CULTIVATOR, a plough,
with a double {hare and two
rnouldboards, ufeful in railing
ridges, and in hoeing plants that
grow in rows, as in the new huf-
bandry. See that Article.
CURRANT, Ribes, a fpecies
of fruit tree. There are three
kinds of currants produced in
this country, red, white and
black. The red and the white
are a wholefome cooling iruit,
and flouriih well in this part of
the country. They are eafily
propagated by cuttings, fetting
the young twigs in the ground ?
which will furniih themfelves
with roots ; and will bear fruit
the fecond year. Some plant
them fingly, others in clumps.
The latter method is difapprov-
ed by the beft gardeners. If
they be fet (ingle round the bor
ders of a garden, clofe to the
fence, and fattened to the fence,
to prevent their being bowed -to
the ground when loaded with
fruit, they will take up little or
no room, and make an agreeable
appearance. And it will be ea-
iy to keep them free from weeds.
When they are planted on the
fouth, or iouth call: fide of a wall,
the iruit will be ripe in June ;
but on the north fide, they may
be kept till October on the bufh-
es, in a found ftatc.
A wine that is not unpleafant
is made of the red kind ; but
that which is made of the white
is preferable ; and this ought
to be more attended to. This
v/inc meliorates exceedingly by
a<*e, becoming equal to the beit
of Malaga wine, after being bot
tled a year or two.
Thq way to make currant wine
is as iollows : Take ripe cur
rants, wafh them, clear them from
he ilems, add a gallon of water
i
c u s
to a gallon of currants, and bruife
them well in the, water. Strain
it through a cloth. Then to one
gallon of the mixed juice and
water, put two pounds and three
quarters of good brown fugar.
Stir it well. When the fugar is
diffolved, put the wine into a
caik not Hopped. When the firft
fermentation is over, bung it up
tightly, and in fix months it will
be fit for bottling.
CUSTOM, an habitual man
ner of doing any thing. Meth
ods of agriculture, as well as
methods of doing other things,
are not feldom founded merely
on cuftom. Farmers do rnany
things, for which they can affign
no other reaion than cuftom.
They ufually give themfelvcs
little or no trouble in thinking, or
in examining their methods of
culture, which have been handed
down from father to fon, from
time immemorial.
In fome countries, this prac^
ticc anfwers tolerably well. It
does beil in old countries, where
methods, which have not been
found to anfwer well, have
been gradually laid af;de in a
long courfe of years. But this
cuftqmary culture has a very
pernicious effeft, when ignorant
farmers remove to a different cli
mate. They naturally continue
in the ways to which they have
been accuftomed. Their crops
often prove to be unsuitable to
the region they inhabit. They
plant, fow and harveft, at the
wrong leafons. They* fow feeds
in unsuitable foils. The confe-
quences arc, that their labour is
mifapplied, their time is loft,
they grow poor and difhearten-
ed. Perhaps they remove them-
feives to other places, hoping to
mend their circumftances ; and
when they come thither, their
habitual methods will arifwer
ftiU
C Y O
ftill worfe, rather than better, nn-
lefs they go back to their firft lit-
uation, or towards it.
. CUTTINGS, or SLIPS, "in
gardening, the branches or fprigs
of trees, or plants, cut or flipped
off, to fet again, which is done
in any moift fine earth. The
heft time for this operation, is
from the middle of Auguft to
the middle of April ; but when
it is done, the fap ought not to
be too much in the top ; .neither
mull it be very dry or fcanty,
for the fap in the branches affifts
it to ftrike roots. If done in the
fpring, let them not fail of hav
ing water in the fummer. In
providing them, fuch branches
as have burs, knobs or joints, are
to be cut off, &c. and the leaves
are to be ftripped off fo far as
they are placed in the earth,
leaving no fide branch. Small
top fprigs, of two or three years
growth, are the beft for this op
eration." Did. of Arts.
Cuttings of the grape vine,
goofeberry, willow and currants,
are eafily made to flrike root ; thoie
taken from the quince will com
monly, and the apple tree will
iometimes do fo, if the earth be
kept very moift. It is belt to
fet them a good depth in the
earth, not lefs than twelve or fif
teen inches, or the greater part
of their whole length. In this
country, the beft time that I
have found to fet them is in. A-
pnl. It mould be done as foori
as the froft is quite out of the
ground.
CYON, or CION, a young
fprig or fprout of a tree. Cyons,
for grafting, mould always be
taken from the mofl thrifty trees,
not from thofe efpecially which
are old and decaying. The time
to cut them is in February or
March, juft before the buds be
gin to. fwellj and. appear frefh,
D A I
77
which will be earlier or later,
according to the feafon and cli
mate. They mould be taken
from the ends of limbs of the
former year's growth, not from
young fuckers of an over quick
growth ; and kept moift in a
cellar, with the lower ends in-
ferted in moift clay, or mud, till
the proper time for grafting. In
fuch a pofition they will keep
'well for two months or more, be
fore grafting. I have had good
fuccefs in fetting them, this pref-
ent year, 1786, though it was al-
moft three months after they
were cut : But I afcribe my fue-
cefs partly to the uriufual wet-
nefs of the feafon, which is al
ways favourable to grafting.
D.
DAIRY, the occupation of
making butter, cheefe, &c. from
milk.
" This is the moft ticklifh part
of the farmer's bufmefs. Unlefs
he has a very diligent and induf-
trious wife, who fees minutely
to her dairy, or a moft honeft,
diligent, and careful houfekeep-
er, to do it for him, he will aflur-
edly lofe money by his dairy.
Trufted to common fervants, it
will never pay charges. The
dairy maid muft be up every
morning by four o'clock, or ihe
will be backward in her bufinefs.
At fix the cows muft be milked,
and there muft be milkers e-
nough to finiih by feven. The
fame rule muft be obferved in
the evening. Cleanlinefs is the
great point in a dairy. The u-
tenfils fhould all be fcalded eve
ry day ; the pails, and whatever
elfe are final! enough, boiled in
the copper daily." Farmer's
Kalcndar.
-Dairies arc often managed fo
poorly, that it would be as well,
Pf
7 S DAT
-or better, to feed fwirie with the
milk as faft as it comes from the
cows. This method has been
tried, as I am informed, by a
fingle man, fomewhere about
Newbury, who was convinced it
was a better method than to hire
help to carry on the dairy.
If milk turn four before the
cream be well rifen ; or, if mag
gots get into the cheefes, the
profit of a dairy will not be
much. -See Chesje.
Butter is oitener well manag
ed than cheefe. But there are
few who fait early made butter
fo that it will keep good and
iwect. An ounce and a half, or
more, of the ftrongeft and heft
fait, very finely powdered, fhould
be worked into a pound of but
ter, and fo thoroughly mixed
that every part may be equally
fait. For if ever fo fmall a part
imifes of being falted, it will turn
rank, and communicate its ill
tafte to the remainder. It mould
then be put into tubs that are
quite fweet, and fo clofely pack
ed and crowded, that no air can
be in contact with the butter ;
which mould be carefully cover
ed with a piece of fine cloth, af
ter dipping it in melted fweet
butter. When more is to be
put into the tub, take up the
cloth ; and after that is well
crowd-ed in, and levelled, put on
the cloth again fo nicely as to
{hut out, if poffible, every parti
cle of air. The fame mould
be done as often as any is taken
out for ufe. The tubs, during
fummer and fall, fhould ftand on
the bottom of the coldeft part of
the cellar. When there is occa-
jfionto carry butter to any diftance
for fale, in hot weather, let not
the tubs, or boxes, be expofed to
the heat of a traveling horfe, by
lying againft his fides. For by
this praftice it is known that a
D A I
great deal of butter is greatly
damaged.
DAIRY, or DAIRY ROOM,
a houfe or apartment where milk
is kept, &c.
Our farmers and their wives
feem to think it necefiary, or
highly convenient, to have a
dairy room annexed to their
dwelling houfe, partly above and
partly below ground, that they
may dry their cheefes in the up
per part, and fet milk and cream
in the lower. This, in wooden
hcufes, is certainly not the beft
practice, and occafions much
lofs. For fuch an apartment will
be top hot in fummer, nd too
cold in winter, to keep milk in
it ; neither will it be poflible to
keep it fo fweet as it ought to
be kept.
An apartment in a cellar is
better on every account to keep
milk in. As to drying of cheefes,
they mould never be kept to dry
in the fame room where milk is
fet ; for they will undoubted
ly communicate an acidity to the
furrounding air, which will tend
to turn all the milk four that
Hands within the fame enclofure.
And a drier room would be bet
ter for the cheefes ; only let it
be kept dark, that the flies may
not come at them. So that, in-
fiead of a place called a dairy,
there fhould be a milk room, and
a cheefe room, in a farm houfe.
A room in a cellar may be
kept fo nearly of an equal cool-
neis, by means of burning a few
coals in it ; when the weather is
cold, that the milk will neither
grow four in fummer, nor freeze
in winter : So that nothing will
obftrucl; the rifing ot all the
cream f It is fuppofed that the
warmth of the air in a milk room
ought to be from 50 to 55 de
grees on Farenheit's thermome
ter. But a few degrees over or
under
D A I
tmder will produce no very dif-
sgreeable effefts. The cellar
ihould have fuch windows as will
afford a fufficient quantity of
light, and be on the molt north
ern fide ; and they mould be o-
pened now and then to lei in
frefli air, particularly in the cool-
eft of the mornings in fummer.
The room mould be ceiled with
plaifter, t& prevent the defcent
of dirt ; and the top and fides
white wafhed, to increafe the
light, and fill up chinks that har
bour infefts. Every part fhould
be kept extremely clean and
fweet, and nothing fhould enter
into it which can corrupt the air.
The floor mould be made of
ftones, bricks or tiles,, and be
frequently warned in fummer
with the coldeft water, to cool
and fweeten the air in the room j
and milk fhould not be fuffered
to ftand in it till it becomes four,
left the fournefs be communica't-
to that which is fweet. For the
fame reafon, cream which is put
by for churning, ought not to be
kept in that apartment which
contains the milk. B-ecaufe acid
ity in cream is expe&ed, and
neceffary before butter will come.
Thofe who have large' dairies,
in hot climates, having a fpring
or brook near the dwelling houfe,
might find it worth while to
build a milk room over it, with
a ftone floor, and a channel in
the floor to pafs the water all
round, near -the infides of the
walls. The pans may be fet in
the channels, and water let in at
pFeafupe, to cool the milk in the
hotteft feafon. An arch of brick
mould be turned over the build
ing. The windows, to let in
light and air, mould be on the
northerly fide, or end. To fhel-
ter the arch from the weather, a
flory of wood m^y be ere61ed
over it. for a cheele room. The
Bit 79
arch will be the cooler in fum
mer and warmer in winter, as
well as more durable, as it will
be defended from rain, &c.
It rats and mice cannot enter
the milk room, there will be no
need of having fhelves in it.
The floor is the beft place to fet the
veffels of milk on, it being cool-
eftin fummer, and perhaps warm-
eft when the weather is froflv.
DARNEL, Lfflium,z trouble-
fome weed, which fometimes ap
pears among grain, and is often
fo fruitful as to f'poil a crop,,
The feeds of it referable corns
of blafted i ye, but are more light
and chaffy. Thefe weeds mould
be pulled up before they go to
feed. But grain for fowingmay
be moftly cleared of the feeds
by fwimming it in water.
DENSHIRING, fee the arti
cle Burn Baking.
DIBBLE, among gardeners^
the name of a tool, or forked
ftick, with which they let plaats*
DiEi. of Arts.
DITCH, a narrow channel,
or trench, of great ufe in agri
culture. Ditches ferve two pur-
pofes, to enclofe grounds and
to carry off fuperfluous water.
When they are ufed for fences,
they fhould be four feet wide, at
leaft, at the furface. In England
they make them wider. But
four feet is enough, when the
raifed eanh is laid all on one
fide. When they ferve only as
drains, they mould be wider or
narrower, in proportion to the
quantity of water which is to
pafs through them. And the
earth may be laid in heaps, in-,
ftead of laying it in a continued
bank. Thus the water will the
better iind its way into the ditch.
A ditch fhould be three times
wider at the top than at die bot
tom, to prevent the killing in of
th-* fides. Where there is a cur
rent
8o
D I T
rent of water, the fides will foine-
times be undermined by it. But
in this country, the fides of ditch
es are often hove in by the fe-
vere frofls in winter. Nothing
will fo much prevent the filling
up of ditches as flrong rooted
graffes, or other plants, growing
plentifully on their margins.
DITCHING, the making of
ditches. This work is moft
commonly performed in fum-
mer, or early in autumn. When
this work is to be done in very
low and wet land, a hot and dry
feafon is beft ; that the water
may not prove troublefome, nei
ther by its quantity, nor by its
coldnefs. When it is to be per
formed in a fait marfh, not only
a dry and warm time mould be
chofen for the bufmefs, but it
ihould be done alfo at a time
when the tides are loweft. On
high lands, ditches may be made
at almoft any feafon, when the
ground is not frozen. But in
the fpring the digging will be
eafieft, the ground being foften-
ed by the preceding frofls. But
as the ground is drieft in autumn,
then is the beft time for ditching
in moft of our low lands. At
leaft, the month of September is
a good feafon. But farmers muft
be governed, as to the time, in
fome meafure, by their own con-
veniency. It muft be done when
no other bufmefs of greater im
portance demands the whole of
their attention and exertion.
When bufhy ground, full of
ftrong roots, is to be ditched, the
Rev. Mr. Eliot wifely recom
mends beginning the ditch in
the winter, when the ground is
frozen two or three inches deep.
The furface may be chopped into
pieces by a broad axe with a long
helve, and the fods pulled out
with an inftrument made like a
dung croom. The farmer may
D I V
probably hit upon a good time
for this work in December, whew
there happens to be no mow,
and when it will not interfere
with other farming bufmefs. The
lower part of the ditch may be
done in the following fummerj
or autumn. In a free and firm
foil, a ditch may be begun with
a plough, drawn by an orderly
team that will keep to the line*;
This faves labour.
To make a ditch ftraight, and
equal in all its parts, it is recom
mended that the work be regu
lated by a frame of flit deal, nail
ed together, to the exacl fize of
the intended ditch. It may be
a rod or more in length, and a3
wide as the intended ditch.
DIVISIONS, of a Farm Jots
enclofed for the convenience of
tillage, pafturing, mowing, &c.
The judicious dividing of a
farm into lots, may fave much
labour, efpecially much travel
ing from one part to another.
The more fquare lots are made,
the more is faved in fencing.
Crooked fences fhould if pofli-
ble be avoided, not only to fave
expenfe, but to add beauty to a
field, or plantation. All tillage
lots, and efpecially fmall ones,
fhould be nearly of equal dimen-
fions on all fides ; for if a lot be
out of fquare, the labour of
ploughing will be increased, as
there mult be a number of fhort
furrows. If a lot be long and
narrow, crofs ploughing will be
either prevented, or the labour
of it much increafed.
When it can conveniently be
fo ordered, the lots defigned
chiefly for tillage fhould be near-
eft to the houife and barn, to fave
labour in carting manure, and
to prevent lofs in getting in the
crops. The nearer grain is,- the
lefs it will fhatter out in carting.
The mowing lots fhould be next
to
D 1 V
io the tillage, if the foil permits ;
as thefe mnft be dunged, and their
crops carted : The lots for paftur-
age fhould be contrived to be next,
and the wood lots fartheft of all
the lots from the houfe, that fo the
view of the other lots may not
be obftrufted too much by trees.
Suppofe a farm of one hundred
acres, lying all on one fide of the
road, 100 rods wide ori the road,
and i6p rods deep ; it may be
well divided according to the
following fcheme :
D o o
8t
c
d
d
e
f
c
a ji.
>
c.
d
d
c
Where a is the farm houfe, b
the barn ; c c c c the tillage lots,
of which one of the corner ones
may contain the orchard, that it
may not obftrucl; the view of the
other parts of the farm. Thefe
lots are fometimes to be relied,
by laying them to grafs \dddd
mowing lots, once in a while to
be ufed as tillage ; e pafture
lots ; ff wood lots, to be ufed
alfo as paftures. The front lots
aire five acres each, the reft ten,
excepting what the Fane takes
lip, which fhould not be very
harrow, left it be blocked up too
much with friow in winter. The
land it contains will be ufeful
for pafturing ; fo that its wide-
nefs will be no tofs.
On this plan, the labour of
driving cattle out and in, morn
ing and evening, will be fave'd,
as the lane may be always in
common with the pafture which
is in prefent ufe, the gates of all
the reft being flwt.
If the lane pafs through funk-
en land, the owner had better be
at the expenfe of a little caufey-
ing, than fpoil the regularity of his
lots by making it crooked. Or,
fometimes a bog or a fteep hill
may be avoided, by making the
lane a little on one fide of the
centre of the farm, but ftill par
allel to the fides. If the lots def-
tined for tillage be too low, or
wet, it mould be confidered
whether they may not be made
fufficiently dry by draining. If
fo, there will be no need of can-
feying.
When a farm is more oblong
fhaped than I have here fuppof-
ed, the lots may be lengthened
the other way, or made fmaller,
as mall be found convenient.
Small lots are generally the moft
profitable, in proportion to their
quantity of land r efpecially when
they are ufed as paftures.
If a farm be out of fquare, a
lane, perhaps, may be had paral
lel to one of its fides ; fo that
fome fquare lots may be obtained
for tillage. The lhape of lots
ufed only for other purpofes, is
not of 10 much conlequence.
Leaft of all thofe which are for-
efts.
There are doubtlefsmany farms
fo broken and irregular as to be
quite incapable of the above reg
ulation. But all I would con
tend for is, that when it is prac
ticable, without too much ex
penfe, a farm fhould be fo order
ed. It will be ot great advan
tage to the farmer, in faving
time and labour.
DOOR DUNG, a manure
taken from the back yards and
doors of dwelling houfes.
Though it may feem to be
made up of chips, faw duft, and
feveral other matters" that appear
unpromifing, yetthereare various
fub fiances intermixed with them,
$2 D R A
and foaked into them, which
contain food for plants in abun
dance. A large proportion of
the dung of fwine and of fowls,
which are excellent manures, are
contained in the eompoft. It
has, belides, the fweepings- of the
houfe, blood,.. fnaalL bonesj fhells,
and other animal f ub fiances ; alfo
fuds, alhes, foot, urine, together
with fait particles, which are
fome of the beft of manures.
It is, therefore, no wonder if
this filth is found to be very con
ducive to the growth of plants,,
as it really is.
Some think it beft to let it lie
year after year in the yard, that*
it may grow fine and mellow.
But it is wafted by this practice,,
the fun, air, and rain, depriving
it of its volatile, fine, and moft
trustifying particles. I choofe
to be rid of its putrid ftearns,
and place it where it may do-
good and not hurt. I, therefore,
have it fcraped up clean- every
fpring, clearing it of the largeft
and brighteft chips ; and after it
has lain in a heap for a few days
to ferment, apply it to the foil in
the field, though it be not. fine
enough for the garden ;: or elfe
add it to the compoft dunghill.
I find it to be a very proper ma
nure for land that is ftiff and clay
ey ; and it will do great fervice
in any foil.
Thofe farmers are certainly
guilty oi bad hufbandry, who
take no care to avail thernfelves
of this excellent manure, of
which they all have more or lefs ;
and that is commonly beft, where
the greateft number of fwine are
permitted to run.
DRAIN, a channel made in
the foil to carry off fuperfluous
water, or divert its courfe.
Drains are of the higheft im
portance in agriculture : For, by
means of them, lands that are fo
I> R A
wet and fenny as to be entirety
ufelefs, may oftentimes become
by far the moft valuable part of
a farm. It would be happy for
this country, if the hufbandmen
were fully convinced of the vaft
utility of them. The real value
of fome eftates might be doubled,
by a fmall expenfe in draining.
Drains ufed in farming are of
two kinds, open, and hollow, or
covered. The open drains are
moftly ufed, becaufe more eafily
made. But if the firft cofl be
lefs, the expenfe, in the long run f
may not be lefs, but greater than
that of covered drains. For they
will be continually filling up ;
and, therefore, will often need to
be mended'.
Open" drains are to be fhaped
like other ditches, wider at the
furface than at the bottom. And,
for a general rule, they mould
be carried through the loweft
and wetteft parts of the foil,
though it ihould caufe them to
be crooked and unfightly. The
water will be carried off more
effectually ; and fome labour in
digging will be faved - T for if
they pafs through the higher
parts, the ditch muft be deeper,
at leaft in fome places. But
where a plain is incommoded
with too much water defcending
from an adjacent height, the wa
ter muft be cut off by an open
drain drawn along at the foot of
the high ground, and the earth
which is taken out mould be
laid on the fide towards the plain.
Open drains ferve well enough
in fwamps, if the foil be not too
loofe, fo as to fill them up foon,
In this cafe the covered drains are
certainly beft, efpecially where
materials for making them are
eafily obtained.
The earth that is thrown out
of open drains in fwamps fhould
not lie in banks by the fide o
them,.-
D R A
them. This will tend to prevent
the water from paffing freely in
to them, and conduce to their fill
ing up the fooner. It mould be
fpread over the furface of the
drained land, which will make
it drier, and fometimes anfwer
as a good manure. And, in this
operation, there will be often a
mixing of foils, attended with
confiderable advantage.
To judge rightly, whether it
will be worth while to attempt
the draining of a fwamp, it is
firft to be confidered what will
be the coft of digging at the out
let, where it will, in feme cafes,
be neceflary to go very deep.
If large rocks mould be found in
the way, they may be blown to
pieces with ,gun powder. But
doing this is fomewhat -expen-
five. Alfo, the depth of the
black foil in the fwamp muft be
examined, and the ftratum next
under it. If the under ftratum
be clay, the fwamp may be weH
worth draining, though -no more
than fix inches of till or mud be
above it ; for the mud and clay
mixed, will make an excellent
foil. But if the under ftratum
be gravel, or white fand, it will
not be beft to undertake drain
ing, unlefe the depth of black
mud be as much as from -fifteen
to eighteen inches. For it is to
be remembered that the foil will
fettle after draining, and be not
fo deep as it was before. If, af
ter draining and hardening, there
mould be a fufficient depth for
tillage, the foil will be moft ex
cellent ; and will pay well for
an expenfive draining.
Tha manner of draining a
fwamp is as follows : Beginning
at the outlet, pafs a large ditch
through it, fo as moftly to cut
the loweft parts. Then make
another ditch quite round it, near
;to the border, to cut off the
D R A 83
fprings which come from the up
land, and to receive the water
that runs down from the hills
upon the furface, in great rains.
Thefe ditches are to be larger or
fmaller in fome proportion to
the bignefs of the fwamp, having
a regular defcent for the water,
that , not much of it may Hand in
them. "If the fwamp be large, it
may be neceffary that fome fmall
er crofs drains mould be cut in
feveral of -the loweft parts. The
bottom of the main ditches,
when the -foil is not of an exira-
ordinary depth, muft be lower
than the bottom of the loofe foil ;
otherwife the foil will n over be
come .fufficiently dry .and firm.
When the fwarnp ccmes to be
fufficiently dry for tillage, fucii
of the drains may be converted
into hollow ones, as cannot profit
ably be 'kept open for fences.
Thtis the quantity of impiovea-
ble land will be increafed.
If a bridge aver any of the
drains mould be wanted, the beft
way to make one will be by fill
ing up a Ihort piece of the drain
with ftones, or wood, that is, by
making it hollow in that part.
This will be lefs expenfive than
a common bridge, and anfwer
the parpofe better.
Tho-fe who are willing to be
convinced of the amazing fruit-
fulnefs of drained fwamps, mould
read Mr. Eliot on the iubject.
He reprefents them as prodocing
turnips, clover, oats, &c. to great
advantage ; Jing'lifh bay, four
tons per acre, and Indian corn
at the rate of more than ninety
bufbels per acre, without ma
nuring.
Such lands are highly advan
tageous, as they require no dung ;
and cannot be eaiily, if at all,
worn out by cropping : Alfo, as
they bear drought remarkably
well. As this country very oft-.
erji
84 D R A
en has its crops greatly dimin-
jfhed by dry feafons, it would be
well if every farmer had contin
ually fome of this kind of foil in
tillage, or mowing, or in both.
Covered or hollow drains are
more ufed for the drying of
fpringy, wet and fpungy uplands.
They may be ufed with advan
tage 'on gentle declivities, where
the foil appears fpewy and cold,
by means of fprings. They will
caufe the foil above and below
them, to be more dry and fruit
ful. But if the defcent be very
fteep, or if the wetnefs of de
clivities be owing only to water
running down on the furface, the
open drains are to be preferred :
For if they were covered, the
water would pafs over them, and
the drain would be of little ad
vantage.
To make a hollow drain, dig
a channel between thirty and
thirty fix inches wide atop, and
iix inches, or the breadth of a
fpade, at the bottom, and three
feet deep, giving it juft defcent
enough to make the water run
brifkly. Fill it half full, or more,
with fmall flones, thrown in at
random, and cover them with a
layer of firaw, leaves, or the
fmall branches of trees with the
leaves on them ; then fill it up
to a level with the furface, with
the earth that was thrown out.
Such a drain, as it will not choke
or fill up, will never need repair
ing. It the defcent fhould be
but jiift fo much as to make the
water run flowly, there may be
fome danger of its choking up,
and ceafing to run at all. But
this danger will be greater or lefs
according to the difference of
foils. There will be no danger
of it, in a foil that does not eafi
ly diffolve in water.
If Itones be fcarce, long fag
gots, or fafcines,, laid in the
D R A
trench, will anfwer as well, fo
long as they lait ; which being
fecluded from the air, will not
rot foon. Some fay they have
known them to anfwer well for
forty years.
.If a plain piece of ground be
too wet to be made fit for tillage
by ridge ploughing, it ihould be
made drier by hollow drains. It
no lower place be adjoining,
where the drains may have an
outlet, holes Ihould be dug in
forne of the loweft parts of the
plain, to examine what ftrata are
under the foil. It is likely that
a ftratum of clay, or of fome oth
er earth not eafily penetrated by
water, is the real caufe of the
wetnefs of the foil. If you find
it fo, then dig through the ftra
tum, and below it, till you come
to loofe gravel, fand, or fome-
thing that will eafiiy imbibe wa
ter : Fill up the hole with Hones,
and diretl your hollow drains to
it. It will ferve for a perpetual
outlet ; and cpnduce much to
the drying of the foil.
The peculiar advantages of
hollow drains are, that they will
not need repairing, as they do
not fill up ; that no foil is wait
ed, or rendered ufelefs by them ;
that a plpugh may pafs over
therft to as great a depth as is
rieceflary in. any kind of tillage ;
and carts and other carriages are
not obftructed or incommoded
by them. So that thefe drains
may pafs acrofs roads without
detriment, when the defcent re
quires it. It is often necellary
to hollow drain roads to lay;
them dry, and found to be of
great advantage.
The draining of a marim, or
fhaking meadow, which feems to
be a foil floating on the water, is
jfometiines practicable. I fha.ll
give the reader the method oi
doing it in th$ words of the in
genious
D R A
genious Mr, Dickfon. ' To
drain a mariih," fays he, " it is
neceflary, in the firft place, to
convey away all the ftagnating
water : And this water can be
conveyed away in no other man
ner, than by a large open drain,
with a fufficient fall. This fall
muft be fuch, as to carry oft the
xvater from the bottom of the
mariih ; otherwife little advan
tage is to be expected from it.
By conveying away all the ftag-
nating water, fome land on each
iide will he gained : For the wa
ter being removed, the earth by
degrees will fubfide, and become
firm and folid. By this, likewife,
the bottom will become firm ;
which will allow the drain, by
degrees, to be carried forward
through the middle of the marifh.
If the fprings, by which the mariih
is fupplied, arife near the middle,
this principal drain, with fome
branches cut from each fide,
where the fprings are largeft, or
moft numerous, will be fufficient.
But if there are fprings in all
places, as is frequently the cafe,
it will be neceflary to make
drains at the fides, as nearly par
allel to the principal drain, as
the fituation of the marim will
allow, to intercept the water that
comes from the heights, and
fupplies the fprings. It will be
neceffary, likewife, to make com
munications, by crofs drains, be
twixt the parallel drains at the
fides, and the principal drain i n the
middle." It is no wonder if the
coft of draining a ihaking mead
ow mould be confiderable, as it
feems like a foil floating upon
water. But there is no reafon to
doubt its becoming fome of the
belt foil, when fo drained as to
give firmnefs to it.
DRAY, or car, a flight kind
of carriage drawn by one horfe.
It confiits of a pair of thills, con-
D R E
8
j nefled by two or three crofs bars.
The hinder ends of the thills
I Hide along on the ground. It
| draws heavily on bare roads, but
j on grafs land much more eafily.
j The horfe muft carry much of
I the load on his back. In cafe of
neceffity, it is better than no car
riage.
DRESSING, the application
of dung, or other manures, to foils,
to increafe their fruitfnlnefs.
Dreffing differs from manuring
in general, only as it is chiefly
intended for the increafing of
one fingle crop. Not only are
drefFmgs neceffary for poor and
weak foils ; but they are profit
ably applied to thofe which are
rich and flrong; efpecially when
! feeds are foWn which need much
I nourifhment, or will make good
return for it.
There are four things chiefly
to be regarded in dre fling ; the
fuitablenefs of the drefling to the
foil, and to the crop ; and the
manner and the feafon of apply-
ing^it,
To light, warm, or fandy foils,
the coldeft manure mould be ap
plied ; fuch as the dung of hogs,
cows, oxen, &c. Dung that is
much mixed with ftraw does heft
in fuch a foil, as the ftraw foon
rots and becomes food for plants.
Cold and ftiff foils mould be
dreffed with the hotteft and dri-
eft manures, as the dung of
horfes, Iheep and fowls. Wet
foils mould have manures that
have the grcateft power of-ab-
forbing moiilure. Lime, where
it is cheap and plenty, may be
ufed with great advantage ; alli
es, coals, and faw duft, are alfo
very proper.
Some kinds of dreffing fhould
be well mixed with the foil, by
the plough and harrow ; efpe
cially fuch as are apt to lofe their
itrcn^t.h 3 by being expofed to
the
S6 D R E
the air. Of this fort are dungs
in general, and fome other ma
nures. Dung is to be ploughed
in with a light furrow. Com
pofts, which confift of dung,
earth, and other fubftances, need
only to be harrowed. If drefT-
ings are laid too deep, as under
deep furrows, they will be in a
manner loft ; the roots of moft
kinds of annual plants will
icarcely reach them ; and, be
fore the next ploughing, the
lirength of them will be funk
flill deeper into the earth.
There are other manures which
Ihould be ufed only as top dreff-
ings. Their expofure to the air
takes away little or none of their
virtue, being of an alkalious na
ture, fuch as aihes, lime, and the
like. They are fpeedily fettled
into the foil by rains, and melt
ing fnows ; and afford a more
kindly nouriihment to the roots
of grafs and grain, than if they
were buried in the foil. Being
laid lower than the furface, their
Ilrength would be more apt to
be carried lower than the roots
of plants commonly reach.
Some dreflings are thought to
be more fuccefsfully applied
fome time before fowing. Such
a one lime is faid to .be, as being
apt to burn, or too much heat
the feed. But this, I think, can
be only when it is laid on un-
llacked, and in large quantities.
Other dreflings anfwer belt at
the time of fowing. This is the
cafe .as to moft kinds of dung
that a-re ufed, and of feveral oth
er manures.
But thofe manures which ex
ert all their ftr.engLh fuddenly,
are allowed to be beft, ufed only
as top dreflings, after the plants
are up, fuch as foot, afhes, .cer
tain warm compofts, and malt
duft. If they are laid on winter
$rain in autumn, there will be
D R I
danger of their caufing too rapid
a growth : In confequence ot
which, the grain will be after
wards ftinted, and languifh, un-
lefs another and larger drefling
be given it in the following
fpring, or fummer. It is proba
bly beft to apply thefe dreflings
juit before the time when the
plants will need the greateft fup-
ply of vegetable nourifhment,
which is when their growth is
moft rapid, or near the time
when the ears are (hooting out.
The adapting of dreflings to
the nature of plants will be found,
in thofe parts of this work, where
the moil .ufeful pla-nts are treat-
ed of.
DRILL, *' a name given to
an inftrument for fowing feeds
in the new method of horfe hoe
ing hufbandry. It plants the
corn in rows, makes the chan
nels, fows the feeds in them,
and covers them with earth when
fown ; and all this at the fame
time with great expedition. The
principal parts of a drill are the
feed box, the hopper, the plough
and its harrow, of all which the
feed box is the chief. It meaf-
ures or rather numbers out the
feeds, which it receives from the
hopper, and is for this purpofe
as an artificial hand ; but it de
livers out the feed much more
equally than can be done by a
natural hand.
" Whoever is defirous of
knowing more intimately the
whole apparatus for this method
of fowing, may fee it fully de-
fcri-bed, and illuft rated with fig
ures, by Mr. Tull, in his Horfe
Hodng Hvjbandry" Dil. of
Arts.
Th drills whick are defcrib-
ed by European writers are very
complicated and coftly machines.
But I have had barley, carrot,
.and fojtne other feeds, evenly and
expeditioufly
D R I
drilled by a hand-
drill, being only alight tinmeaf-
wre, with a hole through the bot
tom, arnl a broad headed fpike
in the hole. When this is ufed,
channels on the ridges muft be
previously made with the head
of a rake. But a drill, which I
would rather recommend for ufe,
on account of its ligh'tnefs, and
fimple conftruftion, is a drill
upon fmall wheels, to be drawn
by a man, or by one or two boys.
To the hinder part of the axis is
fattened a long ihaped, tapering
veflel, ferving at once as a hop
per, drill box, and hofe. Below
the middle is a partition, through
which is a hole for the feeds to
pafs into the hofe. The hole
has a Hiding cover, which flops
and opens it two or three times
in a fecond, by being failened to
a fpring that is moved by one of
the wheels. A coulter to open
the channel may be made f-aft to
the fore part of the axis, as much
longer than the fpokes of the
wheels as the depth at which the
feeds are to be buried : And this,
as well as the box,- may be fixed
higher or lower on the axis at
pleafure, according as the {ow
ing is to be performed, on ridg
es or on a level ; or according
to the depths at which different
feeds are to be fown. A fmall
harrow, or rake,, to cover the
feeds, may as well follow this, as
a drill of any other con-ftruclion.
I have feen a drill nearly of this
eonftru&ion in pofleffion of the
Rev. Mr. Little of Wells. And
I cannot but prefer fuch a hand
drill to a heavy complex one,
drawn by a horfe : For the tread
of a horfe makes fuch holes in
the foil, as muft needs render the
operation of drilling lefs accu
rate, or more imperfect. Two
boxes with coulters may as well
& fixed on the machine I rec-
D R O 87
ommend as orre ; but it will in-
creafe the labour of drawing it
DllOUGHT, fuch a contin
uance of dry weather, that plants
cannot draw a fufficiency of
npurifhment from the earth, to
give them their full growth and
perfection.
Some countries are much more
liable to this inconvenience than-
others. Newengland, for in-
ftance, is oftener troubled with
it than Greatbritain ; one oeca-
fion of which is, the greater heat
of our fummers, by which lands
grow dry falter here than there.
Another caufe may be our hav
ing a greater quantity of fair
weather. And our being more
liable to drought, makes it nec-
effary that our methods of cul
ture Ihould be different from
thofe practifed in that country.
Heating manures are generally
more needful there than here ;
and ridge ploughing is a more
proper kind of tillage for the
Englifh than for us though it>
might be of great fervice in ma
ny of our fields. I have found
eonfiderable advantage from it
in land that is flat and wet.
To plough our drieft lands in
ridges,, would undoubtedly be
loft labour, unlefs for certain?
particular crops, as it would caufe
a drought to be more hurtful tci
the crops, and there is no dan
ger of too much wetnefs* And
yet it may be, that when an o^er
drynefs of foil on the fide of a'
hill, is owing to the rain's run
ning off before it has time to
foak into the foil, ploughing the;'
land into ridges, and making the
gutters nearly parallel with the
horizon, may caufe the foil to re
tain- rnoifture the better. But as
this would be difficult plough
ing, perhaps ribbing the iurface
with furrows half a rod aparf^
might as well retard the efcape
3
83 D R O
of the rain water. This latter
method would be proper for paf-
ture grounds, which lie in fuch
a iituation.
It is in the power of the farm
er in good meafure to guard a-
gainii the ill effecls of drought.
It is a matter that certainly
ought to be attended to in this
country, in which almoft halt ot
our fummers are complamed of
by many, as being very dry. The
beft method is, to have more of
our loWeft lands under the beft
improvement in tillage. If this
were the cafe, we ihould not fo
often hear of a fcarcity cauf-
ed by drought. If it were be
come cuftomary to plant and
fow on drained lands, and in
thofe which are fo low and wet
as to need laying in ridges, pof-
fibly our dry fummers would be
as fruitful on the whole as our
wet ones. But, as we manage
our lands at prefent, the cafe is
far otherwife. A great number
of people are always reduced to
a diftrefled condition by a "dry
fummer. And they are too ready
to confider the ihortnefs of their
crops in a dry year as a divine
judgment, though they might
have prevented it by a more pru
dent management.
Another way to guard againft
having our crops pinched by
drought is, to have a variety of
different crops on a farm each
year, fome that are leaft injured
by a drought, and fome that re
quire the moil rain. Thus, let a
ieafon happen as it will, we may
hope to gain in one crop, what
we lofe in another ; or at leaft
that fome of our crops will be
very good, if others ihould fail.
Sometimes land is fo fhaped
by nature, that the water of a
rivulet, or of a plentiful fpring,
may be led by gutters, or narrow
channels, to moiften-places which
D R O
would otherwife fuffer by drought-
When it can be be performed^
without too much expenfe, it
>,vill be found to be an excellent
piece of hulbandry. In fome
cafes it may be a double advan
tage, making a wet place drier,
by diverting the water to places
that need it. Deep tillage is al-
fo of very great importance to
prevent the ill effects of a dry
feafon. For the drynefs of three
or four inches in depth would
fcarcely alter the condition of
the plants. But if the plough
has gone only to this depth, a
fevere drought will be fatal to
the crop.
It would greatly advantage the
farmer, if he could foretel wheth
er a feafon will be dry or wet.
But as he knows this is impofli-
ble, he fhould fo conduct his
crops, and other matters, that he
may be prepared for either ex*
treme.
The earlier a drought begins^
the more diftrefling it generally
proves in this country. For, af
ter the grafs crops and Englifh
grain have nearly got their
growth, a drought is lefs detri
mental than before, becaufe the
Indian corn, by means of the til-
lage given while the plants are
growing, bears it fo well as to be
feldom cut fhort by it : And In
dian corn is the principal of our
late crops.
Failure grounds are often fo"
dried up, that both the meat and
drink of the cattle are cut off at
once. This fhews the propriety
and neceiTity of having fome low
lands in paiture, when it is prac
ticable. And a few trees, grow
ing at proper diftances in a paf-
ture, will partially made the foil,
and prevent its drying fo rapid
ly. The more grafs will be pro
duced ; and the cattle will be re-
frethcd by the fliade ; befides'
the
DUN
the advantage the farmer will
gain in fewel and timber. In
thbfe parts of the country where
trees have become fcarce, the o-
minion of planting quick grow
ing trees in our pa/hire grounds
is unpardonable. When a paf-
ture is deftitute of water, Mn
Eliot advifes to dig a well on
the fide of fome hill in the paf-
ture, and having come to water,
to dig a trench below, level with
the bottom of the well, and
bring the water through a hoU
low drain out to the fur face,
where it may be kept in a little
bafin, made in the foil, for a wa-^
tering place.
DUNG, the excrement of an^
imals, iifed to increafe the fertil
ity of land. Dung may be faid
to be almoft of the fame im
portance to the farmer, as ilock
in trade is to the merchant
There are but few lots, or pieces
of lots, in this country, which
can be tilled to any great profit,
in the common way of culture,
without manure ; and dung is
of all manures the mod ufefuL
The very heft of (oils, when
dunged, will more than pay tor
it, by the increafe of their crops,
and the poorelt will produce
next to nothing without manure,
Some think it more profitable to
apply dung to their beft foils
than to their pootfeft, as they
think the increafe from it to be
greater in the former cafe than
in the latter, This opinion is
probably founded in truth.
The forts of dung which are,
or may be ufed, are that of black
cattle, iheep, horfcs, fwine, goats,
hens, pigeons, -ducks, geefe and
rabbits, befides human ordure.
The dung of animals conlins
of oils, fixed and volatile falts,
together with nitrous and earthy
particles. But in different forts
f dung thefe principles are dif-
M
DUN 89
ferently compounded ; fo that
the dung of one animal is a
proper manure for one kind of
foil, and that of another for an
other. And yet there is no kind
ot foil that may not be enriched,
in fome degree, by any kind of
dung;
Mr. "bickfon fays, " Dung
promotes vegetation, by increaf-
ing the vegetable food ; it being
compounded of the fame princi
ples of which the vegetable food
itfelf is compounded* It pro
motes Vegetation, by enlarging
the pa (lure of plants : It attracts
acids from the air and foil ; and
by raifing a fermentation with
them, feparates the particles of
the foil with which it is mixed.
It promotes it, by Communicat
ing to the foil a power of attrat-
ing the vegetable- food from the
air ; for the earth it contains, is
of the abforberit kind, and- at-
tracls all the other principles o
the vegetable food* And it like-
wife promotes vegetation, by
preparing the vegetable food for
the nouriihment of plants ; for,
by the falts which it contains,
and produces, it not only attracts
oils, which is probably one of
the principal ingredients of eve
ry plant we cultivate in the field,,
but diffolves them, and thereby
makes them fit to mix with wa
ter, and to enter the roots of
plants. But though it operates
in all thefe ways, it is more than
probable that it principally ope
rates by increafing the food of
plants : And this feems to be
confirmed by experience ; for
when the virtues of dung are ex-
ha u fled, the foil is no poorer
than before it was laid on."
The dung of oxen and cows
is a cool, mild and ,oily fub-
ilance ; and is, therefore, moil
i u i table for warm, fandy, and
gravelly foils. It tends to pre
vent
9 o DUN
vent the foil's becoming too dry,
and keeps the plants on it from
being pinched for \v-ant of moif-
ture.
Thedungof fheep is more hot
and fiery than that of black cat
tle ; it ferments quicker ; it is
fitter, therefore, for cold, heavy
lands. Perhaps the beft way of
applying the dung of fheep to
land is by folding, in "countries
efpecially which are not greatly
infefled by wolves. For in this
method their urine is all faved, as
well as their dung. But it ought
to be turned in with the plough
as foon as poflible, that the fun
and air may not deprive the land'
of it. 4
In Flanders, it is the practice to
ho ufe their fheep at light, under
flight iheds, the ground being
fpread with dry fand, about four
or five inches thick, laying on a
little more frefh every night.
This is cleared out once a week,
and carried to a dunghill, or ap
plied to the foil. This mixture
of fand and hot dung, makes a
very excellent drefTmg for cold
and ftiff land. For there is
fcarcely a richer manure than
the dung and urine of fheep.
M. Quintinie thinks it the great-
ell promoter of fruitfulnefs, in
all forts of ground. This meth
od of folding fheep in' a covered
fold, and of mixing their dung
with fliff earth or fand, according
to the nature of the foil it is in
tended for, is, alfo, with much
reafon, recommended by Mr.
Mortimer ; who alfo fays, " that
lie has known vaft crops of rye
upon barren lands, that have been
old warrens, well dunged by
rabbits, and large oak and afh
trees upon the' fame, though the
foil was very lhallow."
Some have recommended the
reducing of fheep dung to pow
der, by pounding it with mallets,
DUN
and ufing it as a top drefling for
grain, perhaps half a dozen bum-
els on an acre. But this is a te
dious piece of work, and of no
Jafling advantage : Whereas too
much can hardly be faid in praife
of the Flanders method of ufing
it. A prodigious quantity of
good manure may be thus ob
tained from a flock of fheep, by
houfmg them regularly every
night.
If a light foil is intended to be
manured with this compofl ; in*
fiead of fand, clay, pond mud,
or the mud of flats, may be ufed,
thefe fub fiances having been firft
mellowed by the frofls of winter.
The dung of goats is fuppofed
to be nearly of the nature of
fheep ? s dung,
Horfe dung is a flill hotter
manure, as appears by its quick
fermentation in heaps, even in
cool weather. It is confequent-
1;V fittefl for hot beds, when iris
new, and for nourifhing thofe
plants which require the greateft
degrees of heat. The dung of
horfes that are fed on grain, is a
richer manure than that of thofe
fed only on grafs and hay.
Great care mould be taken
that horfe dung be not fpoiled,
by being overheated, or burnt
in the heaps, before it is ufed.
For, in this country, it is very
commonly the cafe. When it
has been fo heated as to give it
a white and mouldy appearance,
the virtue of it is gone. It is
difficult to give-it age, v/ithout
mixing it with other fubftances.
A mixture of horfe and cow
dung is very proper for land that
is neither too light nor too fliff.
Horfe dung is a much ilronger
manure than it is fuppofed to be
by thofe whofe conflant practice
is to fuffer it. to be fpoilt by over
heating in the heaps. This ma
nure, when ufed as an ingredient
io-
DUN
in compofts, has an excellent et-
fecl:, as, by its quick and ftrong
fermentation, it fpeedily diflblves
other fubftances that are mixed
with it.
Mr. Miller fays he has fre
quently feen new horfe dung
.buried as it came from the liable
in very cold, moift land ; and
always obferved that the crops
have fucceeded better than where
the ground was dreffed with very
rotten dung.
The dung of fwine is a very
rich and tat manure, and fo cool
,as to ferment very flowly. It is
fo rich and oily, as to be double
in value to neats' dung. It will
render the moil dry and hungry
foils exceedingly fruitful in a
wettifh feafon, as I have found
by experience. It refifts the ill
effecls of drought, and does mod
fervice in a hot country. By
its ileady and gradual fupply of
a rich nourilhinent, it is peculi
arly adapted tor the growing of
hops, pumpions, running beans,
and every plant which has long
vines. Nothing can equal it for
the growing of potatoes. It has
produced me more than a peck
in a hill on the pooreft hui^gry
fands. Or rather I might -fay,
ilraw only a little impregnated
with the dung of hogs has done
it. This is io ftrong a manure,
that it anfwers well, when mixed
with a large proportion of earth,
weeds, flraw, or other bibulous
fubftances. It is almoft incredi
ble how great a quantity of good
manure may be obtained, by fup-
plying a hogily w ith jubbilh to
mix with the dung, I have
heard of 40 loads of manure be
ing made in a year by means ot
one liogily. And I have no
doubt of its being pra6licable.
The dung of ducks and geeie,
is deemed too hot and burning!,
But it the farmer would
D U N 91
it in a heap, and mix it with the
dung of cattle, he would bring
it to a temperate heat, and draw
from it Inch advantage as would
indemnify him for the pains he
Ihould take. The virtue of this
method is known by experience.
A farmer having abandoned a.
piece of ground to his geefe for
twelve years, afterwards turned
them out to let the grafs grow,
and it rofe fo thick and itrono-
that a fithe would fcarcely pafs
through it. Hen dung is recom
mended to be f cattered in irnall
quantities upon land intended to
be fown, and on account ot its
heat it is never ufed, unlefs when
rain is {orefeen. It is an excel
lent manure for meadows. Pig
eon's dung is much the fam'e
with that -of poultry, the only
difference being its fuperiour
heat." Scots Farmer.
I Ihould* think it better to mix
the dung of poultry and pigeons
with otfeor fubftances, to allay
their heat, before they are appli
ed to the foil. .And thus quali
fied, they would be -an excellent
top drefling for corn, efpecially
in cold and wet lands. On old
mowing grounds, I have found
the grafs abundantly increafed,
by a fpririkl-ing of earth taken
out of an apartment ufed as d
hen hoLife, though there was lit
tle or none of their dung vifible
amongft it*
" Human ordure is a very fat
and hot manure, full of fertiliz
ing falts and oils ; and, therefore,
extremely proper for all cold,
four foils ; efpecially if it be
mixed with other dung, flraw, or
earth, to give it a fermentation,
and render it convenient for car
nage. .Some do not like the ufe
of it, on account of its bad frnell ;
and others imagine, that it gives
a fetid taile to plants. But in
this they feem to cany their del
icacy
9 2
D U N
icacy too far. Mr. Bradley fays,
it is kept in pits made on pur-
pofe, in foreign countries, till it
be one, two, three or four years
old : That of four years old
is accounted the beft, that of
three years tolerable. Perhaps
it may owe great part of its rich-
nefs to the urine with which it
is mixed; for though the human
urine be deftructive to vegeta
bles, whilft it is new, by rea-
fon of its burning fal ammonia-
cal Cpirit, as Glauber terms it,
yet time will digeft the urine,
and render it an extraordinary
fertilizer of every kind of foil."
Complete Farmer.
This kind of manure mould
be compounded with a large
quantity of earth, and lie one or
two Cummers at leaft, that it may
be thoroughly mixed. The con
tents of an old vault would thus
make a furprifing quantity of ex
cellent manure.
As dung in general is fo im
portant a manure, every pofTible
method mould be taken to pre
vent its being wailed, as indeed
a great proportion oi it is, by
the common management oi
our farmers. In no way is it
more wailed, than by its being
too much expofed to the fun, air,
and rains. Mixing of dry earth,
or other abCorbent fubfhinccs,
with heaps ot dung, will do
much towards preventing this
iofs. Or fli ghl y fhcds may be
made over them to prevent their
ftrength being too much wailed
by heavy rains ; and at the fame
time, to prevent a too great ex
halation from them. Some cov
er them with turfs, when they
choofe to keep dung till it.be old.
This is not a bad practice ; for
the turfs in that fituation will
become good manuie. I would
hope farmers need not be told,
that thegrafiy fide mould .be laid
DUN
on the dung. Otherwifc, infleai
of conCuming, it will produce a
crop of grafs.
It would be a good method^
if barns were built with the root
hanging over about ten feet, on
the fide or fides, where the dung
is to be thrown out. This
would greatly prevent its being
robbed of its richnefs. But if
this be neglected, and the heaps
are at the ends, it is beft to build
fheds or leantoos over them. If
the heaps lie at the fides of barns
or under the eaves, the leail that
mould, be done to prevent the
wafting of the dung, is to put up
gutters, that the heaps may not
be waihed with the ftrcanis from
the eaves. And befides, fome
loofe board* ihouldbe let againft
the ficles of th n barn, in f'uch a
manner as to. prevent the great-
eft part of the rain from falling
on the heaps of dung.
Or, if tliefe things are negleft-
ed, through indolence or an unrea-
fonable paifimony ; at leafl let
the farmer lay a ridge of earth
along in the back fide of his cow
and ox houfes, and {tables, that
th'r dung may be mixed with the
earth by degrees, and the Hale
ab (orbed. If the dung is to be
laid on a light foil, clay and turfs
ihould be ufed, if on a heavy
one, land is better. Avcrycon-
fiderable Caving may be made in
this way, cfpecially where the
houCe is not too narrow. I have
practiCed this method with ad
vantage for Ceveral years pail.
Some build cellars under their
barns, and throw the dung
through Ccuitles down into them,
to ls.eep it from the weather,
.This is a far more expenfive
method .than what I have above
recommended, ror it is necef-
Cary, in order to lave the ma-
I mire, that, the cellar wall be well
i pointed ; and allb thut a bard
under
DUN
under ftratuin form the floor, or
that a tight artificial floor he
made. The dung in this fitua-
tion will mellow the faftcr, hy
its not heing expofed to any fe-
vere fro ft. And a cellar may
be fo contrived, that a cart may
be driven in at one end, and out
at the other, which may render
the removing it eafy. I wifh
not to difcourage any who are
willing to put themfelves to the
expenfe that attends this method.
For I am fully convinced that
the expenfe will be more than
repaid in a courfe of years.
Some caution fhould be ob-
ferved, that the ftrength of dung
may not he diminimed by fhov-
eling and carting it in weather
that is hot, dry, or windy. If it
be performed when the weather
is calm and cloudy, its volatile
parts will not evaporate, in any
confiderable degree.
When it needs fermenting in
the field before fpreading, or put-
ing into holes, which is often
the cafe of new dung carted from
large heaps, and fometirnes con
taining ice and fnow ; the ihiall
heaps in the field mould be thin
ly covered with a little earth.
It will not hinder the fermenta
tion, but will prevent evapora
tion.
When the farmer has carted
his dung heaps away from the
fides of his barn, he mould take
up an inch or two of the furface
of the ground beneath ; becaufe
much of the ftrength ot the dung
and ftale has pa (Ted into it, and
made it a good manure.
When dung is applied to til
lage land by folding, it fhould
be mixed with the foil, by the
plough or the harrow, every two
or three days, if the weather be
dry. Or it may be done Math
the hoe or {hovel. In cloudy, or
rainy weather, it will not need
DUN
93
mixing fo often. If this method
be obfervecl, much will be fav-
ed : And half the time that yards
are commonly folded, will, if I
miihike not, be fufficient to fit
them to produce a good crop.
See the article Folding.
Our farmers, in general, feem
to think it a matter of great im
portance to put dung in holes
under the feed, efpecially to
produce a crop of Indian corn.
Nothing makes this tedious and
laborious method needful, unlefs
it be a fcarcity of manure, as lei's
of it will anfwer for one (ingle
crop, than is required in the oth
er way. The corn does not
commonly come up fo well, and
it is more in danger of being de-
ftroyed by worms. If fix or
eight loads of dung will caufe
an acre to produce more corn
when put in holes, than if it were
ploughed in, as it undoubtedly
will ; yet it fhould be remember
ed, the land will not be in fo
good heart the year following,
will not produce fo good a crop
of grain, nor be in 16 good or
der to lay down to grafs. So
that, perhaps, in a courfe of
crops, it may be found that the
labour of dunging in the holes
may be fpared ; excepting, per
haps, in green fward ground. If
fo, the farmer mignt redeem
time by it, and at a feafon when
his hurry of bufinefs is greateft.
I may add, that new dung is
not fo fiii table to put in holes,
as that which has lain a year in
heaps. But it has more virtue,
and will add more ftrength to
the foil ; for it is next to impof-
fible to keep dung till it is old
without fotne wattage. And this
may afford another good reafon
for laying a fide the practice of
dunging in holes. For the newctt
dung will anfwer well for fpread
ing, and ploughing into the foil.
DUNGHILLS.
9 4 DUN
DUNGHILLS, heaps of ma-
pure laid up to ferment, confift-
ing of dung and earth, together
with lime, or marie, and any an
imal or vegetable fubftances,
which eafily putrefy and con-
fume.
It would be well if every farm
er had fome of them preparing,
to be carted out in autumn, or
to lie two fummers, when it is
found convenient. He would
avail himfelf of much manure
that might be collected between
Jfpring and fall ; for, in the fum-
mer, the crops on the ground
niuft prevent carting it ; fo that
it mould be preferved in the beft
manner to prevent wafte. And
this can in no way be fo well
prevented, as by mixing it with
other fubftances.
Farmers mould have fuch
dunghills, fome at their barns,
or cow yards, one at a hogfty,
when fwine are {hut up, and an
other not too far from the back
door of a ( houfe. They may be
tended, and augmented at odd
times, when no other bufmefs
ftands in the way. That at the
back door, efpecially, may be
very eafily made up, of a varie
ty of rich and fertilizing ingre
dients, befides dung ; fuch as
the fcrapings of the yard after
rain ; foot and afhes ; .{hells,
lime and bones ; the fweepings
of the kitchen ; oil dregs, and
any fat things ; woollen rags ;
bloody water, in which meat or
fiih has been waihed ; greafy wa
ter ; fuds ; afhes, although the
{ie has been drawn from them ;
old ufelefs brine ; urine ; and, in
ihort, any animal or even vege
table fubftance, that has not too
much acid. Or, even acids, if
they be overbalanced by plenty
of alkaline fubftances.
To prevent the heaps being
too much torn and fpread about
DUN
by fwine, or by the fcratching
of dunghill fowls, the heaps
may be included in pens made
with wide boards ; or fome rocks
may be laid round them. Turfs
may be laid over them, to pre
vent their evaporating ; as well
as under them, to prevent their
foaking into the earth.
The heaps mould have fuch a
degree of moifture as beft pro
motes fermentation and corrup
tion. A cavity may be made
clofe to the lower fide of the
heap, to receive the fuperfluous
moifture as it runs from it after
jain ; and this liquid, highly
impregnated with the itrength
of the manure, Jhould be thrown,
from time to time, on the top
ot the heaps, with a fcooping
{hovel. In a wet feafon, the
heaps will need fome flight fheds
over them. Indeed it would be
beft to cover them in all feafons,
and to apply v/ater to them when
they need it.
Heaps about the barn or cow
yard, may be augmented with
fome ot the neareft .earth, fwamp
mud, ftraw, weeds, &c. thofe at
the hogfty with the fame, to
gether with the dung of fowls.,
or other hot manures, as the
dung of fwine is naturally cold.
But the farmer mould acquaint
himfelf with the nature of differ
ent manures ; and always let
that ingredient in his heaps be
predominant, which is beft adapt
ed to correct and meliorate th
foil on which it is to be laid. It
it be deftined for a fandv foil,
clay will be an excellent ingre
dient in the compofition of the
heaps. If it be defigned to lay
on a .clayey foil, fand is proper.
The heaps will not ferment fo
faft as they ought, unlefs they be
moveled over once or twice in a
fummer. By fuch operations
they will be more thoroughly
mixei
D U N
aiixed and mellowed, and the
fooner be fit for ufe. The feeds
of weeds in them will vegetate,
and be deftroyed, which is no
inconfiderable advantage ; ef-
pecially if the manure is to be
applied to unhoed tillage crops.
DUNG MEERS, " places
where foils and dungs are mixed
and digefted together. For this
purpofe, it is ufual to dig a pit
fufficient to hold the flock of
foil the huibandman is capable
of making ; and to prepare it
at the bottom with itone and
clay, that it may hold water, or
the moifture of the dung ; and
befides, it mould be fo fituated
that the iinks and drips of the
houfes and barns may run into
it. Into this pit they caft refufe
fodder, litter, dung, weeds, &c.
where they lie and rot together,
till the farmer have occafion for
it." Dia.ofArts.
Thefe pits anfwer nearly the
fame end as dunghills. But
they are attended with more ex-
penfe and labour ; and are more
apt to fuifer with wetnefs in a
rainy feafon, unlefs a fried be
built over them. If this be done,
and the right proportion of wa
ter applied, there can be no bet
ter method of making compofl.
I know a gentleman in- the coun
ty of Briflol, who has a fmall
cellar under cover, adjoining to
his ftable, in which he lodges
only one horfe ; and who makes
in it 20 loads yearly of compoil,
far fuperiour in flrength to any
unmixed barn dung. In fum-
mer he has it filled with weeds
and various vegetable matters:
In autumn two or three fwine
are fattened in the apartment.
In winter a very fmall flock of
fheep lodge there : The. dung of
one horfe is gradually thrown in
as fail as it is made ; and a few
fowls roof! over it, The whole
D Y K
95
is watered occafionally by a fpouf
turned inwards. The crops he
raifes from this manure are fur*
prifingly large and good.
DUTCH HOE, fometimes-
called a Scuffle ; an iron initru-
rnent, with a {harp fleeled edge,
nearly in the fhape of the letter
D. with a fhank from the round*-
ing part, five or fix inches long,
which paifes info a handle of a-
bout fix feet in length. It is of
ufe to clean walks and avenues in
gardens. No gardener ihould be
without one of thefe inflruments.
DYKE, or DIKE, a fort of
dam, conflrucled of earth, timber,
fafcines, &c. to oppofe the en
trance of water from rivers and
from the fea.
Dykes made to exclude the fea
from marfhes, are built with fods
cut out of the marfb, fo as to
make a ditch near the dyke, or
clfe a ditch on each fide. The
fods are laid as a wall doping
on both fides ; they ihould be
laid very clofe, that the water
may not enter ; and fome flen-
der bufhes mould be laid between
them, that the work may hold
together the better. Some of
the buihes ihould have roots to
them, that they may grow, and
more flrongly bind the fods to
gether. Shrubs without roots
will not live placed in the dykes
at midfurnmer, the time when
dykes ihould be built. But they
may be inferted afterwards, at a
proper feafon.
A dyke, feven or eight feet
wide at bottom, and three atop,
and made a little higher than the
higheft fpring tides rife, will be
fuiricient on high inarm. When
a dyke paifes through a low
place, or through a creek, it muft
be wider at bottom in proportioa
to the depth of the hollow, or
creek, fo that the fides of the
dyke may be perfeft inclined
planes.
96 EAR
planes. Though this will make
it very thick at bottom, it is nec-
effary, that it may refill the great
er preffure of water againft that
part.
When we build on an oozy,
foft fpot, it is beft to fill the mud
with piles, driven as deep as
they will eafily go, and then cut
off even with the furface or a
little above it. This will give
inability to the foundation, and
prevent the water's undermining
the dyke. On a fideling place,
itakes fhould be driven through
the dyke into the marfh, to
hold the fods in their places.
There fhould be many of them,
and they fhould be ftrong.
In the creek, or creeks, there
muft be fluices, larger or final ler
in proportion to the quantity of
frefh water that will need to pafs
out. See Sluice.
E.
EARTH, the foil, or land, in
which the roots of plants find
nourifhment. There are fever-
al fimple kinds of earth, confid-
ered only with refpe6t to huf
bandry ; as clay, marie, loam,
gravel, fand, peat, and black
mould. Perhaps thefe are near
ly all the fimple foils that are
found on or near the furface of
the earth, in this country ; though
others, diftintt from them all,
are found by digging deep.
There is not one of thefe earths,
in its unmixed ftate, that is fo
friendly to the growth of plants,
as when mixed with fome other
forts ; and it is happy for us that
nature in moft places has blend
ed them. Though the original
foils are fo few, they are fo va-
rioufly compounded in different
places, as to prefent us with an
endlefs variety of foils, fome or
other of which are moft fuitable
EAR
to nourifli every different plant*
But for mod of the purpofes of
hufbandry a fandy loam is as
good as any.
Good earth for the general
purpofes of hufbandry, is moft
commonly of a dark colour, or
quite black, unctuous to the
touch, eafily ploughed, on a due
medium betwixt dry and wet,
not compact, nor too loofe and
open, and eafily made to ferment.
To find whether land be good,
fome recommend the following
experiment : Dig a hole, and
return the earth into the hole.
If there be more than enough to
fill the hole, fay they, the land
is good ; if j uft enough to fill it,
indifferent ; but if there be not
enough, the land is bad. Doubt-
lefs, in warm weather, good earth
expofed to the fun will immedi
ately fwell by fermenting ; fo
that fuch earth will more than
fill the hole it is taken out
of, unlefs it be forcibly ram
med.
Mortimer obferves, " That
mixed foils are beft ; efpecially
where the mixtures happen to
be of the right kind, as thofe of
the hot and dry foils, blended
with the cold and the moift. All
fands are hot, and all clays are
cold, and, therefore, laying fand
on clayey lands, or clay upon
fandy lands, is the beft of all ma
nure for both. This alters and
changes for the better, the very
nature of the land itfelf, whereas
dung only improves it for a
time, and after that leaves it
nearly as bad as it was before.
It is not only the nature of the
foil we are to confider, but the
! depth of it, and what kind of
earth is underneath ; for the
j richeft foil, if it be only eight or
ten inches deep, and lies upon a
cold clay, or upon a quarry of
ftone, will not be fo fruitful, or
advantageous
ELD
Advantageous to the farmer, as
the leaner foil that lies upon bet
ter under ftrata."
But an under firatum of clay,
not too near to the furf'ace, and
where the ground has not tco
much wetnefs, is found to be
good, as the flrength of manures
does not efcape through it. A
liratum of clayey gravel, or mere
clay, or almoft any that is not
too eafily penetrated, is good :
But one of loofe land or gravel
mtift necefTarily be bad, as the
foil above it will not hold its
manure.
EDDISH, or EADISH, " the
latter pafture or grafs that comes
after mowing or reaping ; oth :
erwife called eagrafs, earfh, and
etch." Dicl. of Arts.
EFFLuVIUM, an irivifible
vapour, confiding of minute par
ticles, which exhales from bodies
of almoft every kind." A copi
ous effluvium a'rifes from all
plants while they are growing ;
but more while drying after they
are cut down, as. appears from
the ftrong and agreeable fcent
of mown grafs. The exhalation
of fome plants while growing, is
very fenfible to the fmell ; and
the flowers of moft of them fend
forth a perceptible odour. That
of clover fields, and of orchards
in full bloom, is grateful and re-
f re filing. See rerfpir alien of
Plants.
The effluvia of rotten fun ftances
are fuppofed to breed difeafes :
The farmer, therefore; fhould be
cautious that he do not breathe
in the fleams of his old dunghills
more than is neceffary, efpecial-
Iy when they have a very difa-
greeable ftench,
ELDER, SambucuS nigfa, an
ill imelling ihrub, which grows
plentifully in moil parts ot this
co'untry, produces a black berry,
and is too well known to need
i - N
E L F 97
defcribing. I mention it, be-
caufe it is believed to be an excel
lent antidote againft deftrulive
infe6ts. But as I have not yet fuf-
ciently proved it by experiments,
not ma king any trial till rather late
in laft fummer ; I mail give the
reader a brief account of fome
experiments which were com-'
municated to the Royal Society,
by Chriftopher Gullet, Eiquire.
He whipt cabbages gently
with green boughs ot elder, juil
at the time when the butterflies
appeared, after which, though
they hovered over them, they
were never obferved to touch
them.. He whipt the limbs of a,
plumb tree as high as he could
reach. That part remained green
and flouriihing ; but all above
fhriveled up, and. was full of
worms. He concluded that, if a
tree were Iprinkled with an infu-
fion of elder, once a week or fort
night, it would effectually pre-
ferve it, without injuring the tree,
or the fruit. He prevented the
yellows in wheat,'which is caufed.
by an infeci;, by bruming the
wheat with elder ; and preferved
a bed of young colliflowers.
He prefers the dwarf elder, as it
emits a more ofTenfive _ effluvium.
Perhaps it may be. found, as
this writer fu'ggefls, to prelerve
tiirrips from the fly, and thefe
and other plants from grafshop-
pcrs, and all other infe6ts. Noth
ing is eaflcr than' to make a thor
ough trial of iu
ELFSHOT, or ELFSHOT-
TEN, a difeafe in horned cattle,
the fymptoms or concomitants
of. which are lluggifhnefs and
lofs of appetite. The original
of the name feems to h:dve beeri
a fuperffitious opinion, that cattle
were ihotten and wounded by
elves, or fairies. The difeafe*
however, is not imaginary. It
is believed to be an opening irt
the
9 8 E M P
the peritonaeum, or film of the
belly, caufed by relaxation: It
refembles a hole made by a bul
let, and may be felt through the
{kin which remains unhurt.
Thefe openings are clofed,
and the animals cured, by
rubbing the part with fait and
water. It fhould be repeated
two or three times in the courfe
of a day.
ELM, Ulmns* Americana, a
tree that is commonly found in
our forefts. It is tall<and beau
tiful, longlived, and grows to a
large fize. The wood is not apt
to fplit, or crack ; and is very fit
for the naves of wheels for car
riages. Of this tree there are
faid to be two varieties, the white
and the red. The Elm is a prop
er tree to plant in groves. It is
iightly and durable ; and not apt
to be broken by high winds.
. EMPLOYMENT,, buimeft
which takes time, and is an exer
cife of abilities. No one that
confiders the condition of a
farmer, can doubt of his having
iufficient employment. He has
fo many obje6is to attend to, that
his life muft be filled up with
carefulnefs or exercife. If lie
grow reinifs, he will foon find
that he has loft fomething through
negleft, or failed of availing him-
felf of fome advantage.
In our climate, befides care,
the fanners are neceffarily hurri
ed with their bufinefs during
much the greater part of the
year, that is, from April to No
vember inclufive. But in the
winter, they may be in fome
clanger of fpending fome of their
time idly, it they do not take
fome care to prevent it. Feed
ing and tending their cattle, it'
they do it faithfully, will take
fome confiderable part of each
day, if the flock be large. The
dreifmg of hemp and flax re-
E W E
quires fome time, and ought to
be done in winter. Getting
home fewel for maintaining fires
through the year, and hauling
fluff and fitting it for the building
and repairing of fences ; threfh-
ing and cleaning of corn and
grain, and preparing farming
implements, may all be done at
this feafon. And thefe things
ought to be done at this time of
the year, to prevent hurry at a
more bufy feafon. So that,
though our farmers cannot
plough, or do any thing to the
foil in winter, unlefs it be fome-
times in part of December, they
need not be idle. In maritime
E laces they may employ them-
jlves and their teams in getting
manure from flats and creeks.,
and drawing it to their hungry
high lands. This will turn to
very good account, and pay them
well for their labour. Holes
may be dug in the ice over flats,
from whence rich mud maybe
taken, and drawn upon fleds to
the high parts of a farm* And
this will be found to be a profit
able employment.
ENCLOSURE, a piece of
ground fenced by itfelf, to pre
vent the entrance of cattle, Sec.
In fome places men farm in com
mon fields. But this method,
pafluring excepted, is not eligi*
ble. Some lofe more by it than
enough to pay for enclofing.
And it is too often the occafion
of quarrels, and endlefs uneafi-
nefs among neighbours.
EWES, the females of fheep.
That they may be profitably
managed, we mould keep none
for breeders that have not long
and fine fleeces. The reft mould
be killed off during the firft year.
Otherwife the flock will degen
erate ; and a large proportion of;
their wool will be coarfe, or too*
fliort r and of little value.
Iron*
EWE
From the firft of Oftober, to
-the twentieth of November, the
rams mould be kept from them ;
that fa their lambs may not come
till the twentieth of April, when
the ground is mod commonly
bare, and the grafs begins to
fpring in many places.
For a few days, or weeks, be
fore yeaning time, they Ihould be
more generoufly fed. Some
juicy food, which they are fond
of, fhould be given them, fuch
as turnips, potatoes, &c. that
they may have plenty of milk
for their lambs : For it is the o-
pinion of careful obfervers, that
want of milk is the caufe of the
dying of fo many Iambs in the
firft ftage of their exigence.
From their firft going to paf-
ture to the laft of June, or the
middle of July, the ewes fhould
have plenty of feed, by means
of which the lambs will come
forward rapidly in their growth,
fo as to be fit for weaning., Nor
will the ewes become ib'Iean,
but that they may be fattened in
autumn ; which would be other-
:wife, were the lambs to fuck
them as long as they are permit
ted to do in this country.
As to the advantage of the
milking of ewes, after the lambs
-are weaned ; as it has not yet
.been much praftifed among us,
I can only teftify, that the beft
cheefes I ever tafted, made in
this country, had a mixture of
this milk in them. But a writer
in the Scots Farmer declares,
.from his own experience, it is
of great advantage to the owner.
He thinks they mould not be
milked more than eight weeks
at the fartheft ; fays they ought
to have good pafture ; and that
-the lambs they bring the year
following will not be the
.worfe for the if having been
milked.
E X P
99
EXCREMENT, that which
is thrown out of the body as tife-
lefs after digeftion. See Bung,
Urine, &c.
EXPERIENCE, praftice, or
continued ufe. Perhaps no man
ever attained to a thorough
knowledge of hulbandry merely
by books, or by oral informa
tion. Experience is needful to
fix the knowledge of the multi
farious branches of it in our
minds. It is needful, alfo, to
teach us the eafieit methods of
performing a tlioufand things,
-which depend on circumftances
fo minute, that they were never
committed to paper, and fcarce-
ly -are, thought; to be jvorth men
tioning.
?3&ut experience, however nee-
eflary, is not all that is needful
to make an accompliihed fanner.
Qbfervation is equally necellary.
And without argumentation,
none will; be fit for any thing
.greater than going on in the
moft beaten tracks. None ought
to , conclude from their having
had the longeft experience, that
they have the .greatest degree of
knowledge : For fome will learn
more by experience in one year,
than others will in forty. The-
ory and practice mould certainly
concur, to render perfoiis fkilful
in huibandry, or in any other
profeffion An early apprentice-
mip is as neceffary to the attain
ment, of this art, as any other.;
as fome have been convinced,
who have entered on farming
when they were paft the merid
ian ofrlife.
EXPERIMENTS, trials of
practice in huibandry. It is
greatly to be wiihecl, that more;
of thefe were made in this young
country, where the knowledge
of agriculture is yet in its in
fancy. Experiments made in
.other countries are not to be re-
.lied
E X P
lied on, as proofs of the utility
of one mode of culture in pref
erence to another, in this coun
try. Therefore, we fhould not
truft to the experiments of Eu
ropeans, but make experiments
for ourfelves. Till this is done,
we are not to look for great im
provements in husbandry.
It may be true, that 'he who
makes a new experiment is in
fome hazzard of lofing more or
lefs by it. Therefore, I would
not prefs it upon farmers in in
digent or low circum fiances, to
venture upon any thing of the
kind, unlefs it be in very fmall
matters, or on a fmall fcale ; for
the failure of one year's crop
would almbfb reduce them to
beggary. They would do well,
however, to compare the profit
of one crop with another, reck
oning the coft laid out upon
each ; and of one courfe of crops
with another ; and the fuccefs of
different manures on the fame,
or on different foils. Thus they
may find which of the old meth
ods is to be preferred, by a fmali
degree of attention, without any
rifk, which is a matter of forn.e
confequence. For we need to
learn what methods to drop, or
dif continue, as well as what to
adopt "cr bring into Life.
Gentlemen of large eflafces,
who can bear fome conf'derable
Jofs without feeling it, in cafe
they fail of fuccefs, are the per-
fons that fhould try new crops,
or new ways of railing old ones.
Love of their country mould
prompt them to it ; for there is
no reafon to doupt but that our
hufbandry may admit of a varie
ty of important improvements.
It is wifhed that an enterprifmg
fpirit were more excited, that j
we might have reafon to hope for j
great improvements in hufband-
iry. There is an extenfive field
E X P
for experiments ; and making
them might be a good and lauda
ble amufement to perfons who
have leifure. Trench ploughing,
which has never yet been at
tempted in this country, ought
to be tried, at leafl by thofe who
have dpep foils, clear of rocks
and other obflacles. Trials
mould be made of the advantage
of ploughing flat land in ridges ;
and whether ridge ploughing
will not fecure grain from de-
Itruclion by winter frofts. At
tempts fhould be more exten-
Jively made to raife winter wheat,
which is the moil valuable of all
grain. We fhould endeavour to
find out the bell: fleeps for grain
and other feeds, to quicken their
vegetation, and to fecure them
againfl infefts and fmut ; -what
are the befl quantities of fee4
for (owing in different grounds ;
whether fowing feeds with a
drill be not the beft method when
hbrfe hoeing is not applied ;
when is the beft time for fowing
bt winter grain ; whether good
peat and marie be not to be found
in plenty in various parts of the
country, and the advantage of
marling, and fowing peataihes ;
whether drained fwamps are not
the rnoil profitable of all our
Jands ; whether new dung or
old will produce the beft crop,
anci whether compoft will not
do better than either ; how lime
will anfwer as a manure in our
hot fummers on what kind of
foil it is moft ferviceable, &c. &c.
But, in making experiments,
great care mould betaken that
we do not draw a conclufion too
hafhly ; certainly we inuit not
do it from one fingle trial. For
a thing may anfwer well at one
time, owing to the peculiarity of
a feafon, or to fome indifcerni-
ble circumilances, which will not
at another. If men allow thern-
felves
F A L
felves to be too fanguine and
fudden in their conclusions from
fingle experiments, they will
rather ernbarrafs and miflead,
than increafe agricultural knowl
edge.
But if improvements be wifli-
ed for, experiments ihould be
carefully recorded. If this be
negle6led, hufbandry muft be ex-
pelted to remain in it3 prefent
low ftate. For want of fuch
records, a great deal of ufeful
knowledge has been already loft.
Though many have made exper
iments, by which they have fatis-
fied themfelves, but few have re
corded them. The experiment-
rs themfelves have forgotten
them, to fucn a degree, that they
are apt' to mifreprefent them,
when they attempt to relate
them. And too many fufter ufe
ful difcoveries to die with them.
To prevent thefe evils, the form
ing of focieties in various parts of
3the country might be of great ufe.
F.
FAGGOT, a bunch of bum-
es, or limbs of trees, bound to
gether by a withe. Faggots for
fewel are cut to the length of a-
bout two feet. In many parts
of this country, the fcarcity of
lire wood makes it expedient
that iarmers mould no longer go
on in the practice of burning
fuch materials on the ground.
They mould preierve them in
faggots for fewel in their houfes.
They will ferve to heat ftoyes j
and for heating ovens there is no
better wood.
FALL, autumn, that quarter
of the year which includes Sep
tember, O&ober, and November.
Jt is fo called, becaufe the leaves
of deciduous trees fall off in that
feafon. In this quarter of the
year, the farmer fmifhes his har-
F A L lot
vefting, and lays in his flores for
winter.
In a country where the fpringj
are backward, as in the northern
parts of Newengland, farmers
ihould do all they can in autumn,
to diminiih or lighten the la
bours of the following fpririg,
when they will have much work
to perform in a (hort time. Sum-
mer dung and ccmpoits Ihould
be carted out ; at TthiV feafon.
Fences mould be built or repair
ed, not only! to 'prdvefti'fylvhlg
them to do in "trie Spring, fcut w fb
keep cattle from injuring the
lands with their feet. All the
ground fhould be ploughed in
the fall, that is to be ieeci^d
the following fpring. That
which is intended for fpring
wheat fhould be ploughed
twice. Though all that is
ploughed in the fall, for fpring
tillage, muft be ploughed again
before feeding, the fall plough
ing laves labour, as one plough
ing may anfwer in the fprmg
where two would be otherwile
needful. It is faving labour at a
time when teams are moft apt to
be faint and feeble, and when
there is too often a fcarcity of
food for them. But ploughing
in autumn is of great importance
in a clay foil, as, by expofing it
to the fro ft, the coheiion of its
parts is much broken.
The tranfpianting of trees out
of nurferies may, to redeem
time, be performed in the fall ;
though, on other accounts, I
ihould prefer doing it in the
fpring.
FALLOWING of land, let
ting it reft from one crop, or
more, being ploughed without
feeding.
When land has two plough-
ings, in the fallow year, it is
faid, in the language of Eng-
lilh farmers, to be twyfallowed.
When
102
F A L
"When it has three, as indeed it
always mould have, it is faid to
>e trifallowed. The firft plough
ing is mallow ; the fecond a little
deeper than the firft ; and the third
a little deeper than the fecond.
But i f the land be cold and ftiff, and
need much warming by the fun,
they go to the full depth at the
rft ploughing.
Nothing can : be better than
" allow ing, 3p* recruit land that is
'too 'much' exliaufted by crop-
:pi&gV;The bftenerfa is plough
ed", J the i uirare" it " is enriched.
Some have ploughed their fal
low land no lefs than a dozen
times ; and, if I am not mifm-
formed, have, by doing .fo,
changed fome ot the pooreft
fpots, fo as to make them too
orich for a crop of wheat.
If new dung be laid on fallows
to recruit the foil, it mould be
done early in the -year ; that the
ploughings may more thorough
ly mix it with the earth ; and
that the feed of weeds contained
in the dung may be killed. But
when old dung, or compoft, is
laid on to help the next crop, the
right time to do it is juft before
the laft ploughing. It fhould;be
turned in with the plough with
out delay, to prevent evaporation.
But it dung cannot be had,
the want of it may be fupplied
by more frequent ploughings.
By fallowing, the weeds are moil
effeclually killed, and converted
to manure. The land is finely
pulverized, fo that the pafture of
plants is greatly increafed : And
a new furface oy each ploughing
is expofed to the influences of
the atmofphere ; fo that the foil
is deeply penetrated, or even
faturated with fertilizing parti
cles, which are wafted by the air.
" The farmer cannot wifh,"
fays one, " for any thing more
to his hufbandry, than
F A L
moderate (bowers after each fal
low, to bring the feeds of every
weed to vegetate, in order that,
being turned down by feveral
ploughing?, they may be the
more effectually deftroyed." I
may add, that the more the land
is ploughed when the dew is on
it, the more it will be enriched.
Too much of this work, there
fore, cannot be done early in the
morning, efpecially if the ground
be dry : And when it is fo wet
as not to crumble, but turn up
in clods or potch like mortar, it
mould ;not be ploughed, or med
dled with at all.
Summer fallowing, however,
is not fb -much in ufe among
European -farmers at prefent, as
it has been. For they .have found
that there .are certain crops
which do not impoverifh the
foil, but rather improve it. Such
crops, for inftarice, as peafe, and
other things which form a clefe
fhade over the ground, which
kill weeds, and increafe the pu-
trefaftion in theJbil. Therefore,
many choofe to avail themfelves
of the advantage of improving
crops, as they are, called, rather
than lofe a year in fallowing.
But winter fallowing is always
allowed to be profitable ; and I
have found it ttrbe fo by expe
rience. The advantage of it is
moll vifible in iliff foils ; for the
froil and winds in winter will
do much towards making them
mellow and fine. One plough
ing in the fall, and another in
the fpring, will .put the land in
to better order for feeding, than
two ploughings in the fpring.
Land that is apt to be wet may
be ploughed the earlier in the
fpring, for having been winter
fallowed. The feed may be got
in the fooner, as the land will be
drier, which, in fome crops, is a
great advantage.
F A L
Green fward land mould al
ways be broken up in the fall, if
it be only for peafe or potatoes,
and the earlier in fall the better.
For either of thefe crops, noth
ing more will be needful in the
fpring, than a harrowing with a
keavy drag. On half an acre of
poor ground thus managed, and
without any manure, I once
railed a hundred bufhels of po
tatoes.
FALSE QUARTER, a rift or
chink in the quarter of the hoof
of a horfe, from top to bottom.
It happens generally on the in-
fide, that being the weakeft and
thinneft ; and proceeds from the
drynefs of the hoof, but efpecial-
ly when a horfe is ridden in dry,
fandy, or ftony ground, in hot
weather, or in fro fly weather,
when the ways are flinty and
hard. It is, likewife, caufed by
bad fhoeing, and all other acci
dents whereby a horfe becomes
hoof bound : For the narrownefs
of the heels, and brittlenefs of
the quarters, continually expofe
a horfe to all the faid accidents.
" This accident is both dan
gerous and painful ; for as often
as a horfe fets his foot to the
ground, the chink widens ; and
when he lifts it up, the (harp
edges of the divided hoof wound
the tender flefh that covers the
coffin bone,, which is for the
Hioft part followed with blood ;
and it muft of courfe be apt to
render a horfe lame, as it is very
difficult to form a reunion. To
remedy this imperfection, Firft,
draw the whole length of the
cleft with your drawing iron,
then anoint the hoof with tar,
honey, and fuet, molten togeth
er ; for nothing can be more
proper for the hoof ; and lay a
thin pledgit dipt in the fame a-
long the cleft. After this,, take
jope yarn, fuch as the failors
FAR
103
ufe, which is no other than hemj*
moiftened in melted tar, and f pun-
look : Apply the yarn all down
the hoof, beginning at the coro
net and defcending downwards,
one lay after another, as clofe as
the binding of the hoops of wine
cafks, laying a fmooth pledgit of
flax behind, to keep it from fret
ting the heel. This mould be
opened once in three or four
days, that the cleft may be drefh
And to prevent any inconve-
niency that may happen by the
opening,. a thrn ftaple may be al-
fo contrived with points like
horfe fhoe nails, caft off oblique
ly, to take a flender hold, the
plate of it croffing the cleft,
where part of the fhoe is cut of?
(as it muft be under the cleft)
and the nails coming out on each
fide of the cleft, on the upper
part, to be clinched as the other
nails. By this method a cleft in
any part of the hoof may be ea-
fily cured, if the horfe be not
very old, or difeafed." Gibfons
Farriery.
FAN,, an inftrument ufed in
feparating corn from its chafE
Of late^the fan is almoft out of
ufe. See Riddle, Winnowing
Mill.
FARCY, a difeafe in horfes,
fimilar to the fcurvy in men,
and arifing from a fimilar caufe,
The farcy is caufed in. horfes
from their being for a long time
confined to dry meal. And as
the fcurvy in men is cured 1 by a
diet of green vegetables ; fo the
farcy in horfes may be cured
by turning them into a good
frefh pafture. But it is only in
the beginning of the difeafe that
it can be fo eafily cured. Gib*
fon prefcribes bleeding, and
moderate purging ; and after
wards dofes of antimony. See
his Farriery. Mr. Mills calls
it a cording of the veins, arid th.t
appearance
F All
appearance of fmall tumours in
feveral parts of the body. Mr.
Bartlet deems this diftemper eafy
of cure, when it appears on the
head only. Mr. Bourgelat fays,
a decoftion of the woods, anti
mony, powder of vipers, with
fome mercurial preparations, are
looked upon as fo many fpecif-
icks in this difeafe and that
hemlock will cure it.
FARM, a traft, or piece of
land, under improvement, fit
for a farmer to live on, or one
that is adapted to ferve the
general purpofes of a hufband-
man.
That a farm may be conve
nient, it mould be compa6t and
regularly fhaped ; well watered
with rivulets or iprings ; and
contain a variety of foils, fit for
the growing of all forts of plants
that are needful to thofe who
live a country life. It mould
contain high and low lands, dry
and moift ; lands that are fit for
tillage, orchard, mowing, paftur-
ing and wood land. And a farm,
with fome rocky land in it, is
not the worfe. Thofe farms will^
in the long run, be the moft
profitable, which contain ftones
enough to make a wall round
them ; if not to enclofe them in
lots. Farms that have a fouth-
ern expofure are generally pre
ferred ; but a northern expofure
is beft in a dry feafon, in partic
ular for grafs, and fome other
vegetables, which require no
great degree of heat. Flat land
is not fo good as land lying in
gentle declivities. Flat land is
commonly too much incommod
ed with water.
In fome countries men choofe
to hold large farms. But in
places where labour is dear, as
in this country, fmall farms are
to be preferred. One hundred
acres of good land may be enough
FAR
for a man, whofe work is moftly
done by himielf and family,.
Near to a. market town, a much
lefs quantity may be fufficient j
and, all things considered, equal
ly profitable.
They who hire farms mould
confider, and be well fatisfied
what they will produce, before
they bind themfelves to be tenants.
Otherwife they may repent when
it is too late. It is a kind of rule
in England, that a farm Ihould
produce the value of three rents ;
one for the landlord ; one for
the charges of cultivating, &e.
and the third for the farmer and
his family to live on. So that a
farm will not rent for ioo unlefs
its produce, co??imumbus annis, be
worth 300 pounds; But farming
rnufl be better underftood and
practifed, before farms with us
will pay for three times the la
bour done on them, or labour
muft grow cheaper ; or both thefe
caufes muft concur.
Perhaps ioo acres produces 40
tons of hay, which,
commumbus annis, /. s. d
may be worth, 60 o o
loobuihels of Indian corn, 20 o o
ioo weight of flax, 4 o o
50 bulhels of rye, 10 o o
30 buihels of wheat, 900
ioo bufhels of potatoes, 6 o o
pafture for io cows, one
horie, and 2 oxen, 11 o c
Total, 120 o o
The third part of this fum is
40!. But I know of ho farm of
this fize which brings fo high a
rent. I fuppofe it^muft be part
ly owing to the dearnefs of la
bour, and partly to the want of
better management of farms.
The higher the price of labour
is, the tower rents ought to be.
Forty pounds, will by no means
purchafe the labour that muft be
done on fuch a farm.
FARMER,
FEN
, FARMER, one who culti
vates a farm. His addition is
tiujbandman. In England, the
word gives the idea of one who
hires a farm to cultivate, as in a
mariner all -the 'farmers are ten
ants. But, thanks to good Prov
idence, the farmers with us are
moftly landlords. One would
think this rnuft conduce to the
better cultivation of our lands in
general. A tenant does not in-
tereft himfelT in the improve
ment of the farm : He aims to
do what will be moft profitable
to himfelf. If he can anfwer his
own ends, he cares little how
much the lands are exhaufted
when he leaves the farm.
FEN, land which abounds with
water, as fwamps, or is full of
bogs, or miry places. The only
way to make feany lands good,
either for tillage or grafs, is by
draining. See Bog and Drain-
FENCE, a hedge, wall, ditch,
or other inclofmg made about
farms, or parts of farms, to ex
clude cattle, or include them.
Fencing is a matter of great con-
fequence with farmers ; and, as it
is managed in molt parts of this
country, is a great drawback up
on their profits. But however
tollly fencing may be, it is
good economy to make fences
flrong and fully fufficient to an
fwer their purpofe. It would be
folly to fave a trifle by making
a fence too (lightly, and be liable
to lofe a whole crop, by the
breaking of cattle through it.
The kinds of fence, and man
ner of fencing, mould vary ac
cording to the difference of foils ;
and according as one kind of ma
terials for fencing is more plen
ty and cheap than another.
In the new plantations of this
country, log fences are moft
ufed ; as they certainly ought to
FEN 105
be ; becaufe the wood is of little
or no value. To build thefe
fences with, the beft wood that
I am acquainted with is white
pine. A fence built with logs
of this kind will ftand twenty
years, with little or no repairing.
But if this kind of wood be
not at hand, and other forts be
plenty and near, it may be as well
to make ufe of Tome other kinds :
Such, for instance, as pitch pine,
norway pine, hemlock, am/oak,
and white maple. Several, or
almoftany of thefe kinds, if they
do not lie too near to the ground,
will laft for a confiderable time.
If a fence be made partly of
white pine, and partly of other
wood, the former mould be laid
neareft to the ground. ,
But let farmers beware of build
ing their log fences of bafs wood,
poplar, birch, beach, or rock ma
ple, unlefs in cafes of neceflity ;
for as they will be foon rotten, the
labour of building them is in a
manner loft. If logs are peeled
they will laft the longer in fences.
The largeft logs mould lie low-
eft in a fence, both for ftrength
and durablenefs. The loweilare
fooneft rotten, when all are of
the fame fize ; and the largeft
logs will laft longeft.
Log fences thould always be
braced with ftrong (takes acrofs ;
and heavy riders add ftrength to
a fence.
When ground is wholly fub-
dued, and the fturnps of its orig
inal growth of trees quite rotted
out, if ftones can be had without
carrying too far, ftone walls are
the fences that ought to be made.
Though the coil may be greater,
at firft than that of fome other
fences, they will prove to be the
cheapeft in the end. Building
ftone walls is not only the way
to clear ground of a bad incum-
brancc ; but when the fence is
made,
ic6
F E N
made, it is certainly thebeftofall
fences. On a hard, fandy, or
gravelly bottom, if built with
good {tones, a wall will ftand ma
ny years without any repairing.
And it will (land well on any
foil, clay and mire only except-
ed. On a clay foil it will ftand,
if the foundation be laid in a
trench, near as low as the earth
commonly freezes in winter. But
a wall of flat or fquare fhaped
ilones, will ftand tolerably well on
any foil, laid only on the furface.
It is true that walls will grad
ually fettle into the ground,
xvhere the foil is at all mellow, and
heaves with the fro 11 ; fo that it
may be necelTary, in a century
or two, to dig them up and re
build them. I find fome of this
work has already been done in
lorne of our oldeft towns. But
this is a {light objection again ft
the utility of this kind of fence.
For future generations will- blefs
themfelves, if they have materi
als on the fpot to build fences
with, when wooden materials
ma ft unavoidably be fcarce in
inoft places-, and very coiily.
I am aware it will be objecled,
that ftone walls are not Sufficient
fences a gain ft. ft ee p. But it is
eafy to make them fo, A row
of flat, ftones laid on the top, and
jutting over, will make a wall
fufh'cient for this purpofe : Or
fome of the flighted riders will
do it. Riders with fome of the
limbs on them are bell for this
purpofe.
Fanners need not fear that they
fh-all impoverifh their land by
clearing it of ftones. For, after
all they can do to a foil that is nat
urally ftony, there will be ftones
enough remaining, a little way
beluw the furface, to render the
ground rnoift arid war-m.-
In thofe parts of the country
where boards are plenty and
F E N
cheap, many think it worth while 1
to build fences to their fields and
paftures with boards. Such
fences abound in the counties oi
York and Cumberland, in the
ftate of Maffachufetts. Refufe
boards, which are moft common
ly ufed for this purpofe, may be
had at the mills for two dollars
per thoufand ; and a thoufand
will ferve for about fixteen rods
of fence, So that I fuppofe fuch
fence may be made, at leaft in
the neighbourhood of mills, and
in a flight manner, for about one
milling per rod. If the boards
i muft be carted to any confidera-
! ble diftance, the coft of the fence
I is much increafed. Such fence,
j however, may be accounted
cheap, confidering the durable-
nefs of the boards. I have board
fen-ces now, which have ftood
twenty years, which will laft per
haps ten years more, with the ad
dition of here and there a board.
When the boards are of com
mon width, they may be fo fort-
ed together, that three boards one
above another, will make a fence
of convenient height.
Board fences are of two-
kinds : They are built either with
pofts and fpikes, or with {lender
flakes and withes. In making
the former fort, fome lap the ends
of the boards one on another a-
gainft the pofts. This makes the
ftrongeft work, and is beft for
open fence. For field fence the
edges of the boards may be put
three or four inches apart. The
ftrong winds will not be fa apt to
injure it, as if it were made clofe.
To make handfomer fences, a-
bout gardens, yards, and fmall
inclofures f the ends of the boards,
being cut fquarc, fhould meet a-
gainft the centre of the poft.
There muft be a poft at the mid
dle, as well as at each end of a
board, fuppofmg the boards to be
not
FEN
not much over nor under twenty
feet in length. The port mould
go into the ground at leaft thirty
inches. Three feet will not be
too much in clayey ground : For
in fuch foil the pofts are apt to
beraifed by fevere irofts.
The other kind of board fence
is more ealily built. The ends
of the lowermoft boards ihould
be a little raifed from the ground
with flat ftones or pieces of wood.
The boards will laft the longer,
and it is no hurt to the fence.
But the withes will not laft more
than two years at longeft. So
that the fence mufl be rebuilt or*ce
in two years. It mould not be
neglefted longer, left the boards
fall and get broken before the
fence is rebuilt. I will add one
thing, which is not generally at
tended to, in making board fences
of either kind. When the fence
does not Hand due north and
fcuth, or on a meridional line,
care muft be taken to place that
fide of a board which is neareft
the heart, towards the fouth, or
on the foutherly fHe of the fence.
This will ferve to keep a board
from warping ; and the fence
will laft the longer ; for they
ibmetimes warp fo much as tw
make them fplit.
Rail fence is perhaps s much
ufed as any. The timber for pofts
and rails Ihould be felled in the
winter. To fharpen rails before
they are dried-faves labour : And
pofts mould be mortifed while
they are green. Rails are cut
twelve feet long. Pofts ihould
be fix feet and a half, or f'even
feet. The beft timber for raiks
is cedar : It is-eafy tofpilt, light
to carry and to handle, fufhcient-
ly ftrong, arid the rnoft durable
of any. A rail of cedar will laft
an age. Next to cedar, rails of
chefnut, white pine and a(h are
;bcft. But, for want of better,
FEN 107
fome ufe rails of oak. Cedar is
alfo beft for the poft, in this and
! in board fence. The locuft tree
I is faid to -be excellent. But pofts
of white oak, which in moil.
; places are more eaiily got, will
laft about fifteen or twenty years.
If the lower ends of polls be
I fcorched in a hot flame, before
i they are put into the ground,
! they will lait the longer. Alio
j foaking them in lea water will
j tend to keep them from rotting,
i Juniper, the larch, is much ufei
! for pofts in thks part of the conn-
' try. They will laft about eight
| or ten years.
In fome places it is beft to
j make hedge fences. There are
two kinds of fence that go by
: this name, tlead hedge and quick-
' fet hedge.
To make 2. good dead hedge,
take ftakes about fix feet long,
and fet them faft in the ground,
upon the line of your fence,
about four feet apart, or a lefs
diftanoe if your bufhes be Ihort.
Then interweave bulhc;?, young
trees, or fmall {lender limbs of
trees. This fence will anlwer
-with a yearly repairing until the
ftakes fail. '
But quic'kfet hedge is much
better, as it is a perpetual, fence.
It muft be made with different
fets in different, grounds. En-
gliih willows will anfwer well in
low and moift 1-md. They grow
very rapidly, though fet without
roots. On high land, hawthorn,
prim, pear tree, or crab tree
hedges will do better. Some
times a hedge is made in the
bank of a ditch, and fpmetimes
without a ditch. The latter fort
may be -planted clofe to another
fence, which mould (land until
the hedge is grown up. When
a fence is made without a ditch
it ought to be fenced on both
iicies.
Mortimer
FEN
Mortimer direfts, " Thatif the
hedge have a ditcti, it fhould be
three feet wide atop, one at bot
tom, and two feet deep : That if
it be without a bank, or ditch,
the fets be in two rows, almofl
perpendicular, and at a foot dif-
tance ; and, that at every thirty
foot diftance, a young oak, elm,
crab, or the like, be placed :
That when a hedge is grown tall,
it may be plained, by giving the
ihoots a cut half through, and
weaving them between the flakes,
trimming off the fuperfluous
branches."
Mr. Miller fays, " It will be
proper, before planting a hedge,
to coniider the nature of the foil,
and what fort of plants will
thrive befl in it ; and alfo what
the foil is from whence the plants
are to be taken. : That when the
bank at the fide of a ditch is to
be planted with quicks, the fets
ought to be about the fize of a
goofequill, and their tops fhould
be cut off within four or five
inches of the ground : That they
fhould be frefh taken up, flraight,
fmooth, and well rooted. Part
of the turf taken off the furface
of the ground, where the ditch is
to ]DC dug, fhould be laid with
the graffy fide downward, on the
fide of the ditch where the bank
is intended to be made, and fome
of the beft mould ihould be laid
upon it to bed the quick. The
fets of quick are then to be laid
upon that mould, a foot afunder,
with their cut ends fome what
{loping i p wards. When the
firfl row ot q[uick is thus laid, it
mull be covered with mould :
Some of the remaining turf mufl.
be laid upon that mould, with
the grafs fide downwards, as be
fore ; and more mould mufl be
laid upon the turf. When the
frank has been thus raifed about
a foot high, a fecond row of fets
FEN
fhould be laid in the fpaces b$-
tween the lower quick, and with
their ends turned the oppofite way,
in order to thicken the bottom
of the hedge. Thefe are then to
be covered in the fame mannei
as the former. The bank is to
be topped with the bottom of the
ditch ; and a dry or dead hedge
muft be made on the other fide,
to defend the young plantation
from cattle. The quick mufl be
conflantly w ceded ; and in Feb
ruary it fhould be cut to within
an inch of the ground ; for this
will make it moot flrong, and
greatly help its growth. When
a hedge of this kind is about
eight or nine years old, it will be
proper to plain it. The beil
time is in Oclober or February.
After it has flood twenty or thir-
years, and there is in it old
flubs, as well as new moots,
t-hofe flubs ihould be cut floping
off, within two or three inches of
the ground."
It takes time to make thefe
hedges. Put, on the whole, they
are cheap fences, as they require
but little repairing, befides trim
ming and pruning, to prevent
their growing fo high as to cafl
too great a fhadow. It is greatly
to be wifhed that farmers in many
parts of this country, where ma
terials for other fences arefcarce
and dear, would go into this
method of fencing. The coft of
making the ditch and bank,
would be no more than two mil
lings a rod, exclufive of the
quicks. And when fuch a fence
is intended, the farmer mould
have a nurfery of quicks prepar
ed. For though flips and cut-
| tings may live, quicks with roots
are more certain. And it is bet
ter to make a good hedge at firfl
than to have it to mend after
wards. The befl times to place
i thefe quicks in the fence in
this
FEN
this country are April or May,
and October.
There is a Virginia fence, fo
called from its being much ufed
in Virginia. It is made by lap
ping" the ends of rails or poles on
each other, turning alternately
to the right and left. There muft
be ftakes acrofs under the upper-
moft rails, to make the fence
fteady, and prevent its falling.
As it is eafily made, and foon
taken up, it may do be ft where
a fence is wanted only for a fhort
time : But it takes up too much
room, and has not an agreeable
appearance.
Another kind of fence is made
with rails, or poles, with ev
ery but end on the ground,
and every rail fupported by a
pair of ftakes eroded. It may
be built exaftly on a line, and
be put up with great expedition.
Cattle feem afraid to attempt to
leap over it, nor can they puih
it down, nor remove any of the
parts of it with their horns. It
is not to be coveted for the beau
ty of its appearance. At a frnall
diftance it might be miftaken for
a Chevaux de Frife,
Bufh fences are fometimes
made by piling bullies, or imall
trees with the limbs on them ;
finifhed with crofs ftakes and rid
ers. It will be continually fet
tling ; and therefore muft be
inade hgher each year. It poor
ly pays for the labour of making
it, and mould never be made,
but where fuitable materials for
better fences are not eafily to be
had.
Some make a compound fence,
with two or three rails above,
and ftones beneath. Pofts that
have flood in a rail fence till the
bottoms are rotted off, will an-
fwer to hold the rails in this
kind of fence, if care be taken to
fupport them with heavy ftones
F E N
1O 9
againft their fides. But if the
wall be not made with ftones tha-t
are fomewhat large, fwine AVI 11
be apt to difplace them, and make
breaches to pafs through.
Fences for fpme inclofures
may be made with two rails or
three, and open below. For di-
vifion fences on a form, fuch
fences will be fully fuffi-
cient, where neither Iheep nor
hogs are to be oppofed. They
are convenient alfo, and prefer
able to alnioft any other, on ac
count of the facility of fhifting
them from place to place, as a
farmer may often find occafion
to do. For the pofts being point
ed in the manner of ftakes, the
holes may be made with an iron
bar, and the pofts driven into the
ground with a beetle, fo as to
ftandfufficiently ftrong. Infome
parts of the country, where nei
ther fheep nor fwine are permitted
to go at large, thefe open fences
are ufed againM roads. And it
is not amifs to adopt the cheap-
eft ways of fencing that will an-
fwer the purpofe.
A fort of tence is made of {.he
ftumps and roots of white pine
trees. In a (oft foil the roots
run deep : But the ftumps on a
foil of clay may be taken up
without much labour. The meth
od of doing it is, to cut off the
rcots all round, about two feet
from the body of the ftumps :
Or nearer the fide of the itump
which is to lie on the ground*
and farther on the other : Then
heave at them with a long lever^
till they are fo loofened that they
may be pulled up by oxen. Lay
them in a range where you want
your fence, mending the gap*
with the final ler roots; they will
be a good fence for two or three
generations. Beiides durable-
nefs, the fence has thefe things
to recommend it : It clears the
lancl
no F E R
land of a bad incumbrance, and
will fland well on a clay foil,
which is bad for other fences in
general.
For ditch fences, fee Ditch.
FERMENTATION, an in
ternal motion excited in fubflan-
ces, by which the eohefion of
their parts is deftroyed, and their
nature changed. But, that a fer
mentation may take place, it is
neceifary that fome particles in
the fermenting body be fluid ;
or that the body be moiil. Bod
ies perfectly dry can have no de
gree of fermentation in them.
Fermentation does much to
wards the production and growth
of plants. It is therefore a thing
of muchconiequence to the farm
er ; and he ought to know by
what means he may increafe it
in his ground.
The pafture of plants is increaf
ed by fermentation, as it loofens
the foils, fo that their roots do
more eafily find their food. All
rich foils contain the principles
of the food of plants in abun
dance : And a fermentation is
produced among them by any
thing that alters the arrangement
of their particles. A fermenta
tion is produced by heat from
the fun, and by rain : But when
the foil is too much filled with
water, the fermentation is abat
ed, or deftroyed. Ploughing,
and otherwife ftirring the ground,
is a principal caufe of fermenta
tion in the foil. The plough not
only increafes the pafture of
Slants by pulverizing the foil,
ut by mixing the falts and oils
contained in it, fo as to bring on
a degree of fermentation, if the
foil -have neither too much, nor
too little water in it at the time
of ploughing.
I fufpect that our fevere frofts
in winter may have a tendency
?.o -excite a degree of ferrneiita-
F E R
tion, which takes place after the
ground is thawed. For the heav
ing and fettling of the foil will
make fome alteration in the dif-
pofition of its particles, and eon,-
duces to its imbibing more free
ly, fnow water and rains, which
contain food of plants.
But dung^ and other flrong
manures, are perhaps the chief
caufes of the fermentation of
foils. Dung is no fooner mixed
with the foil, when there is a
proper degree of warmth in the
earth, than it ftrongly ferments
in itfelf, and brings on a new
fermentation in the earth which
is in contact with it, which is
communicated to remoter earth :
By all which the cohefion of the
parts of the foil is broken, the
foil highly pulverized, and the
pafture of plants proportionally
increafed, fo that their roots can
freely extend tbemfelves in queft
of their food.
By the fame fermentation, the
food or nouriihment of plants is
increafed ; be-caufe the dung it
felf is diffolved, its falts and oils
mixed, its fine earthy particles
fet at liberty, the vegetable fub-
ftances, fuch as roots, weeds, &c.
corrupted and diffolved : All
which confpire to increafe the
food of plants, and prepare it to
enter the minute pores of their
roots.
That plants -may flourifh, it is
thought to be needful that a fer
mentation of the foil be contin
ued during their growth. Oth
erwife a fufficient quantity of
fleam will not arife to their roots ;
a probable confequence is, that
they will be flinted in their
growth. It may be for this rea-
fon that tillage, during the grow-
ng of plants, is found to be fo
,'ery advantageous to them ; ef-
pecially when they are hoed to
a good'depth, by which the fer*
F E R
mentation of the foil among the
toots is increafed.
FERN, or BRAKES, Polypo-
<#7te,awell known fort of weeds,
that is often troublefome to fuch
of our cleared, or partially fub-
dued lands, as have not been
tilled. They are fo full of falts,
that they fhould be cut green,
and laid in our ba*n yards to pu
trefy, and mix with dung. Per
haps there is fcarcely any better
method of iiicreafmg manure.
Pafturing the land where they
grow, especially with hungry
cattle, that will cat them as fait
as they come up, will help to
fubdue them* Folding will kill
them ; for there is nothing fo
fatal to them as urine : But not
lefs than two or three year's til
lage will fubdue them. They
are hardefl to fubdue in deep
foils. Plentiful dunging, with
tillage, will be effectual ; but a
molt certain remedy is urine ;
this they get in plenty by fold
ing.
" Fern, cut while the fap is in
it, and left to rot on the ground,
is a very great improver of land ;
for if burnt when fo cut, its afhes
will yield double the quantity cf
fait that any other vegetable can
do. In feveral places in the north
parts of Europe, the inhabitants
mow it green, and burning it to
afhes, make thofe afhes up into
balls* with a little water, which
they dry in the fun, and make ufe
of them to warn their linen with ;
looking upon it to be near as
good as foap for that purpofe."
jfo&. of Arts.
In the Farmer's Calendar you
may read, under September,
t; Now is the proper time to cm
.fern, called in forne places brakes.
This is moft profitable work, and
fhould never be neglefted. Car
ry it into your farm yard, and
build large flacks of it for cut-
F I S lit
ting down through the winter,
as faft as the cattle will tread it
into dung ; alfo for littering the
ftables, ox houfes, cow houfes,
hogfties, &c. By having great
plenty of it, you will be able to
raife immenfe quantities of dung,
which is the foundation of all^
good hufbandry ; and it is well"
known that no vegetable yields
fuch a quantity of falts as fern \
from which we are to conclude,
that it is heft adapted to the
making manure."
It is a lamentable thing that
we mould hitherto be fo inatten
tive to our own welfare, as to
fuffcr this weed to render our
lands in a manner ufelefs, when
it might be turned to fo great
profit. It is a double advantage -
to cut brakes, as they not only
make plenty of good manure,
but every cutting helps to de-
ftroy them. The work may be
done after the hurry of hay mak
ing is over ; and perhaps no la
bour on a farm can turn to bet
ter account,
FESCUE, the name of a ge
nus of grafs, of which there are
feveral fpecies.
FIELD, a piece of cultivated
land, whether for tillage, paflure y
or mowing,
FISH, animals that live in.
water. All the parts of fifh,
fnell filriandall other, are excel
lent manures. They may be
ufed, either falted or frefh ; fak
ed fifh are faid to be befl. The
offals of fiih, and fifh that are
fpoilt for eating, may be con
verted to this ufe : But I fhould
prefer ufmg them as an ingredi
ent in compofL They are fo
flrong a manure, that it has been
faid, one fingle alewiie will an-
fwer as well as a {hovel full of
the belt dung, in producing In
dian corn. But they caufe land
to exert itfelf fo much, that i*
wilt
112 FLA
will be apt to grow poor, unlcfs
care be taken to prevent it.
FLAIL, an inftrument for
threfhing. A flail confifts of the
hand-ftaff, the fwiple or flyer, the
caps or caplins, the firing or
band. The ftaff Ihould be of the
lighteft timber, fuch as a-fh, and
made perfectly ftraight ; the fly
er fhould be of a heavy kind of
Wood, as walnut, elm, or beetle
wood. Some make the Caps of
wood, -but ftiflffoal leather is bet
ter. The firing or thong, which
connects the cap with the flyer,
may be of the neck of deer {kin.
But the fkiri of an eel will laft
much longer than any other
firing I have met with.
FLANDERS GRASS, a
name given to clover, denoting
the country from whence it firft
came into England.
FLAX, or LINT, Linum, one
of the moft important of all
plants, the culture of which is a
needful, if riot a profitable piece
of hufbandry. But I fufpecl the
true caufe of its being thought
unprofitable by many, is their j
poor management of it. It is a
crop that perhaps requires the
moft care, and the niceft cul
ture, of any that we are concern
ed with. But this may be faid
in its favour, it is fo ill tailed a
plant, that it is feldom deftroy-
ed, or hurt by infe6ts. It fhould
never be fowed on a foil that is
not rich, and well wrought ; for
if the crop be not good, and do
not get a good length, and a
{bong coat, it will not pay for the
labour, but be worfe than noth
ing, which is too often the
cafe.
Sandy and gravelly foils are
by no means fuitable for flax.
It' is not a plant that requires
much heat ; therefore it anfwers
well in cold latitudes. The
cooler kinds of foil, fuch as clay
F L A
and loam, and the black earth of
drained lands, are fuitable for it.
But they fhould be well pulver
ized and manured. In wet fea-
fons it commonly does better
than in dry ones : So that though
it may fometimes do well upon
high land, it is beft not to run the
rifk of it, but rather choofe a foil
that is naturallylowandmoift. It
it be too wet, fome little trenches
may be made, thirty or forty
feet afunder, to drain off the wa
ter. The land muft be in good
heart, either naturally, or by the
help of manures. But new dung
mould not be laid on it at the
time of fowing ; nor any thing
elfe that will make weeds in-
creafe ; for in no crop are weeds
more pernicious than in flax. It
is often found that they entirely
kill moft of the plants ; and the
remaining ones will be bufhy and
misfhapen, and have a weak coat
on them, being too much depriv
ed of the rays of the fun.
The manure for flax ground
fhould rather abound with oils
than otherwife, and be rather
cooling than hot. The old rot
ten dung of black cattle and
fwine is moft fuitable, or a com-
poft in which thefe dungs are
the principal parts. A top dreff-
ing of fea weeds, after the flax
is come up, is geatly recommend
ed. But I rather choofe to en
rich the ground a year before,
than when the flax is fowed.
A crop of potatoes is good to
precede one of flax. I plough
up green fward land, dung it
well with fuch manures as are
fuitable for flax, and plant it
with potatoes. This crop does
not abate the ftrength of the foil,
but rather increafes it. It makes
the ground mellow, and does
not encourage weeds : It is
therefore in fine order for flax
the year following.
Green
FLA
Green fward will fometimes
do well the firft year ; but it muft
be a fat deep foil, fuch as fome in
tervales are, and fhould have a
dreffing of old dung, well pul
verized, and mixed with the foil
by harrowing : For if it be not
well mixed, the crop will be of
various lengths, which is incon
venient, and occasions lofs.
In Englancl they fow two
bufhels of imported feed on an
acre. When they fow feed of
their own growing, they allow
more. In this country fome af
ford but one bufhel. The beft
quantity may be about fix or
leven pecks, or a little more or
lefs, according to the ftrength of
the foil. For it is not with this
crop as fome fay it is with grain.
Of grain, rich land requires,
they fay, lefs feed ; becaufe
what is wanting in feed, is made
up in flooling. > But however
this may be, it is moft certain
that the ftooling of flax will be
hurtful. That is the beft flax,
where a root bears but one fpire,
or ftalk. It will be ftraighter
and taller, as well as more foft
and pliant. The ground mould
be ploughed in the fall, and a-
gain in the fpring, the clods
broken, and the ftones taken oiit.
Flax mould be fowed early,
unlefs the foil be tao wet. A final!
degree of froft, happening after
"it is up, will not kill it. That
which is fowed early, has the
ftrongeft coat, as it is llower in
its growth.
A calm time mould be taken
to fuw the feeds : Otherwife it
cannot.be fowed even, it being
more difficult to fow than moil
other feeds.
Flax feed mould be chahged
once in two or three years, or it
will fo degenerate, as to be unfit
for lowing. It is worth while to
change it every year. It is cer-
FLA
113
tain, that feed from lefs than a
hundred miles diftance, has been
known to make a crop more
than double in value. It has
done fo in this country. After
the feed is fown, it fhould be
covered, either by bufh harrow
ing or by rolling, or both.
when flax comes to be about
four inches high, if weed appears
among it, they fliould be pulled
up by careful hands : And to
prevent wounding the flax, the
weeders fhould be barefooted.
If they fhould tread it down at
this age, it will foon rife up a-
gain. The weed, commonly
known by the name of falfe flax,
is not in bloflbrn till the flax is
nine inches, or a foot high. At
this time the weed is eafily found
by its yellow bloffoms ; and
what efcaped at the firft weed
ing, fhould at this time be care
fully eradicated. Otherwife it
will be troublefome infpreading
the flax, and in dreflihg it, and
the feed will be foiil.
The next operation in the cul
ture of flax, is pulling it : In do
ing which, care fhould be taken
not to mix long and fhort to
gether in the fame hands : But
to keep all of the fame length by
itfelf. The reafon of which cau
tion is fo obvious, that I need
not mention it.
The time of pulling flax de
pends upon its growth arid ripe-
riefs.and upon the propofed meth
od of managing it afterwards.
That which is to be watered,
fhould be pulled as foon as the
bloflbms are generally taller! off*
Some think the harl is ftroriger
at this time than afterwards, as
hone of the oily particles are yet
paffed up into the feed. It is un
doubtedly better for the foil, that
it be pulled at this time, than
when the feed is ripe* The
longer it ftands to. ripen, the
H4 FLA
more oily particles it will draw
from the earth.
Being pulled, and tied up in
hands, the flax mould be put in
to the water without delay. A
pond is preferable to running
water, both as it is warmer, and
not fo apt to deprive the flax of
its oily and glutinous fubftance.
In four or five days, according
to the warmth of the water, it
will be time to take it out. But
that the true time may not, be
miffed, it muft be carefully
Watched, and trials made by dry
ing and breaking a little of it,
that fo the harl may not get too
much weakened by fteeping.
After it is taken out and has
lain dripping a few hours, it muft
be fpread on a graffy fpot,- and
dried. If it fhould happen to be
not watered enough, the want
may be made up by letting it lie
in the dews for a few nights ;
and if a gentle rain happen to
fall on it, it will be the whiter
and cleaner.
The flax that goes- to^ feed'
ftould not ftand till it appears
brown, nor till the feed be quite
i'ipe. It is not neceffary on ac
count of the feed ; becaufe it
will ripen after pulling. When
the leaves arc falling from the
ftalks, and the flalks begin to have
a bright yellow colour, the bolls
juft beginning to have a brownifh
cafi, is the right tkne for pulling.
The rind is to be loofened
from the ftalks, not by watering,
left it be too harm, but by fpread-
ing it on the grafs to receive the
nightly clews. When it is done
enough, the rind will appear fep-
arated from the flalk at the flen-
dcr branching parts near the top
ends. When it is almoft done
enough, it fhould be turned over
once or twice.
It was formerly the practice,
after drying the flax in the field,
F L A
to houfe it till fome time in Sep-
tember ; and then to beat off the
feed and fpread the flax. But
this often interfered with fall
feeding : And it was necef-
fary it iliould lie the longer,
the weather being cool. Some
times it has been overtaken by
fnows.
I prefer the method I have
lately gone into, as if faves la
bour ; which is, to fpread the
fox as foon as it : is pulled. I do
it on a fpot where the grafs is
not very fhort, which prevents
fun burning. And I avoid an
evil which I once experienced.
In a wet feafon the flax was fpoilt
in the field after pulling, before
I could get itjdry. As the weath
er is hot, it will be done in about
ten days or a fortnight. I then
take it up, bind it in fmall bun
dles, beat the feed off. and lay it
up in a dry place till winter.
While it lies on the ground, molt
of the falfe feed will fhell out,
which is a confiderable advan
tage. It will be the fitter for
market : But the feed referved
for fowing mull be cleaned with
a proper fieve.
In the moil frofty clear weath
er, flax will drefs eafily without
roafting it before a fire, or bak
ing it in an oven. Thefe prac
tices are not approved, as they
make the flax too brittle ; and
caufe it to wafte a great deal in
the drefling. They are needlefs
in this country, whatever they
may be in fome parts of Europe,
\vhere there is a great deal of
moift, dull weather.
If the above directions wei'e
ftriftly followed, I have no doubt
but an acre of good land would,
in a favourable feafon, produce
four hundred \veight of flax,
On this fuppofition, we may
confider what the profit of the
crop will be f
One
F L A
One third of the flax will
pay for the dreffing. The oth
er two thirds, at nine
pence per pound, will /. s. d.
come to - - 10 o o
Dedufttwoploughingsl ^
of potatoe ground, J
Six loads of dung laidl
on the year before, J
Harrowing and fowing, o
Burning, or rolling, o
Weeding, perhaps, . o
.Pulling and ipreading, i
Taking up and fecur-1
ing it,
8 o
4 o
040
040
4 ,o
1 40
O 12 O
O O
Whole expenie, 5
The profit of the acre!
then is J >
To which I might add^j
for the feed, over I
.and above the quan- [
tity fown, J
Whole profit, 600
I believe there are but few fin-
gle acres, in this country, which
bring a greater profit than this
would be.
To prevent the ill effecl: of fo
fevere a crop as flax is to the
foil, it fhoulci be ploughed with
out delay, after the crop is taken
off. As flax is pulled early, the
ground thus gets a kind of fum-
mer fallow, which will do much
towards recruiting it ; and weeds
are prevented from going to feed,
at the fame time that they ferve
as a green drefTmg.
FLAX BRAKE, a machine
ufed in drefling flax. New im
provements of it are, placing the
jteeth fo as to converge towards
the fore part, and laying tlie up
per teeth higher at the hinder
part. That this machine may
tail for any confiderable time,
care mould be taken that it be
not expofed to the injuries of
the weather*
V L O 115
Brakes may be conftrucled to
go ly water. Either a mill may
be built for that purpofe ; or,
which is attended with lefs ex-
penfe, the machinery may be an
appendage to fome larger mill,
and moved without a diftiuct
water wheel. But fuch brakes
are attended with f'undry incon
veniences, beiides extra coil in
building them, and wailing oi
the flax : Though it cannot be
denied that the work may be
performed with much greater
expedition,
Not only brakes, but {"catchers,
or fwingling mills, have been in
vented, to be moved by the foot.
Pa-rt of the exertion of the la
bourer may undoubtedly be lav
ed by them. At leait, when
they are ufed by way of change,
the work may be lightened on
the whole. They who think
it expedient to have thefe ma
chines, may find them defcribcd,
with outs annexed, iii the Com
plete Farmtr.
FLOODING, FLOATING,
or DROWNING, covering of
low lands with water, when 3.
rivulet paries through them, by
making a dam at the outlet.
When there is a tafficiency of
water, and a. ihort dam will arr-
fwer, this is a piece c^ hufband-
ry that aught not to be neglect
ed. Oftentimes it nwy be of
great advantage.
Sometimes it is done for the
purpofe of deflroying the natur
al growth of trees, bullies, &c.
The water not only makes an
edential alteration iu their food,
but alfo excludes them from the
{ree air, which is eifentially nec-
eliary to vegetation. It is no
wonder, therefore, that it proves
their definition.
The flowing ot two fummers
is found fufficient to kill every
plant of tlje woody kind, fo that
FLO
it will not fprout any more.
But fome advife to drawing off
the water in Auguft, that the
ground may be, for a few days,
heated by the fun. The plants
thus fuddenly pafs from one ex
treme to another, which will
doubtlefs tend to deftroy them
the fooner. But when the fea-
fon is fo dry that another pond
of water could not be immedi
ately raifed, the drawing off had
better be omitted.
Another intention of flooding
is, to enrich the foil. Some lay
their low grafs lands under wa
ter during the whole of the win
ter. This may be a good meth
od for lands which are fo low
and wet, that none of the beft
grafles can be made to grow on
them. The poor water grafles
will grow the fafter ; and the
crops of hay, fuch as it is, will
be the larger.
But places where clover, or
herds grafs, or red top will flour-
ifli, fhould net be flowed during
the winter : Becaufe the winter
irofts are known to be neceflary
to the production of thefe grafles.
Flooded lands fhould always
be laid bare early in the fpring,
that the growth 'of the grafs be
not prevented : Or that the
ground may be dried fo early as
to be fit for tillage crops. And
ditching of flooded lands, "at leaft
round the borders, will be necef-
fary'to lay them dry enough for
tillage.
As {landing water catches duft
from the atmofphere, and always
contains more or lefs of the fin-
eft particles of foil, it depofits a
rich fediment ; a fat flime : , there
fore, will remain on the furface
after the water is removed. And
a time fhould be chofen for draw
ing it off, when the air is cairn,
and the water cleareft, that as lit-
tie a quantity as ppflihle of the
FLO
food of plants may pafs off with
it. Such land is no more liable
to fuffer by drought than the fer
tile land of Egypt, which is year-
ly enriched by the overflowing
of the Nile.
Though winter flooding do
not fuit the nature of good graff
es, a few days flooding in the
fpring and fall will not hurt
them ; but will enrich the foil,
and fo promote their growth.
The foil will have the fame ad
vantage as intervale land, which
i made rich and fruitful by oc-
cafional flooding : Yea, a great
er advantage, as the water may be
applied and removed at pleafure,
FLOUR, the edible, part of
corn. The name is chiefly giv
en to the meal of wheat corn, af
ter it js cleared from the bran,
by fiftjng or bolting. The flour
of wheat is the beft fubftance for
making bread that is known in
the world.
That flour may continue good
and fit for ufe, it fhould be put
into dry cafks, and then kept in a
place that is cold and dry. Oth-
erwife it will be apt foon to turn
four. And if it be paffed through
a fieve once in a while, it will
keep good the longer.
It is greatly to be regretted
that this country does not pro
duce flour in greater plenty.
That it may do fo, I ftiould think
nothing is neceffary befides the
following things : i. To procure
new feed of wheat from fome re
mote place, once in three or four
years ; and from the northward,
that it may ripen the earlier :
2. To give the land three or four
ploughings before fowing, fo as
to make it very mellow and fine,
like garden mould : 3. To pre
pare the feed in fuch a manner
as to prevent i'mut. See Smut.
FLOWER, or BLOSSOM,
the moil beautiful part of a plant,
many
F O A
many of which have an agreea
ble flavour.
The flower contains the or
gans of generation, the farina
Jecundans, which ' is neceifary to
iruitfulnefs, and the rudiments
of the fruit itfelf containing the
feed of a future plant.
FLY, an infeci that eats, cor
rupts and deftroys young plants.
See Infett.
FOAL, a colt. " Foals are
ufually foaled about the begin
ning of fummer, and it is the
cuftom to let them run till mich-
aelmas with the mare, at which
time they are to be weaned.
When, firft weaned they muft be
kept in a convenient houfe, with
a low rack and manger for hay
and oats ; the hay mult be very
fweet and fine, efpecially at firft,
and a little wheat bran ihould be
mixed with their oats, in order
to keep their bodies open, and
make them eat and drink freely.
When the winter is fpent, they
fhould be turned into fome dry
ground, where the grafs is fweet
and fhort, and where there is
good water, that they may drink
at pleafure. The winter after
this, they may be kept in the
{table, without any further care
than that which is taken of oth
er horfes : But after the firft
year, the mare foals and horfe
foals are not to be kept together.
There is no difficulty to know
the ihape a foal is like to be of ;
for the fame ftiape he carries at
a month, he will carry at fix
years old, if he be not abufed in
after keeping."
We often hear it lamented,
that our breed of horfes is fo bad.
But I am convinced that, as our
colts are managed, if we had any
other breed, we ihould foon make
it appear to be as mean as our
own, if not worfe. The abufing
jits in the firft winter, is the
F O D
117
principal caufe of their proving
io bad. For our fanners feldorn
allow their weaned colts any
food befides hay, and that is not
always of the bell kind. So that,
they feldom fail of being ftinted
in their growth, in the firft win
ter, to fuch a degree that they
never get the better of it. A
colt that is foaled late, ihould not
be weaned till February or March,
and Ihouid have oats during the
whole of the winter. In fome
countries they allow a young
colt fifteen hufhels. We need
not grudge to feed them with
meal, oats and bran, befides the
belt of clover hay ; for they will
pay for it in their growth. Af
ter the firft winter, they will
need no extraordinary feeding
till they are grown up. Were
the above directions obferved,
we ihould foon fee an improve
ment of our breed of horfes.
They would be capable of doing
much greater fervice, and be
likely to hold out to a greater age.
FODDER, dry food for horfes
and other cattle. The term in
cludes corn or grain, hay and
ftraw, the ftalks and leaves of
Indian corn, the haulm of peafe
and beans, &c. Dried weeds,
and leaves of trees, may alfo
ferve as fodder for hungry and
hardy cattle.
Mr. Liile recommends elm
leaves, dried on the fmall branch
es, as a great relief to cattle in
winter. He fays the cattle will
eat it before oats, and thrive ex
ceedingly with it. Alfo, the
chaff' of all kinds of grain, in the
old countries, is referved for fod
der, and made more account of
than the ftraw. In this country
it is fullered to be driven away
by winds. This is an inftance
of our want of economy.
In fuch a country as ours,
where. the winters are long and
cold,
siB F O D
cold, and where grafs does not
ferve for the cattle fo much as
half the year, providing fodder,
and preferving it, are matters of
high confequence. In this bufi-
nefs, a great part of the farmer's
care and ftrength is employed.
For there is not more than two
months in a year, in which farm
ers are not either preparing, and
laying up fodder for their {lock,
or elfe dealing it out to them.
But this need not difcourage the
Newengland farmer. For the
cafe is very much the fame in
moft parts of Greatbritain, where
the nation has become rich by
hufbandry, and where lands wijl
bear a high rent. One guinea
per acre per annum, is not ac
counted high rent for good land,
in tillage or grafs, in that country.
JLands that lie near to great towns
and cities are rented much higher.
The ways to increafe the quan
tity of fodder, will be found un
der other articles. The ways to
prefer ve it, fo as to make the
greateft advantage from it, may
be here confidered.
One important caution to be
obferved is, that hay, which is
the prin cipaj fodder, Ihould not be
fo much dried as to occafion its
wafting. When it has been
properly made, it mould not be
carted in, if it can be avoided, at
a time when the weather is dry
and windy, nor in the hotteft
part of the day. Mornjngs and
evenings are the be ft times for
removing it, as there is a damp-
nefs in the air which prevents its
being too crifpy. The leaves
will not crumble, nor the feeds
fhatter out. The beft parts of
the hay are often loft by not ob-
ferving this caution ; or at leaft
much di mini died.
The hay which is to be ftored
in fmall or narrow mows, and on
fcaffolds, will keep well with lit-
F O D
tie drying. That which goes
into a large mow, will need to
be dryer, as the air will not pen
etrate fo near to the centre of it,
To prevent the hay from tak
ing damage, by overheating in
a large mow, fomc recommend
a barrel, bafket, or a fluffed fack,
to be placed in the centre, and
gradually raifed as the mow rifes.
This forms a kind of chimney,
which takes away the fteam ot
the hay when it is overhot, fup*
plies frem air to the hotteft part,
and keeps the hay from turning
mouldy. But as good a meth
od may be to pitch fome of the
drieft hay in each load, into the
centre, and the greeneil round
the lides. In xhis way no room
will be loft,
In difpofing of the different
kinds of hay and other fodder,
fome regard mould be had to the
places, or parts of the barn, in
which the different forts of cattle
are kept. The clover hay, for
inftance, mould be laid up near
to the ftable where horfes are
kept, as this is the moft fuitable
fodder for them. The good hay
of other kinds, mould be put
where it can be handily given to
the calves, milch cows, and work
ing oxen. The meaneft fodder
neareft to the apartment of the
growing young ftock, on which
it is commonly beftowed, and
which is more proper for them
than for the reft.
In thofe parts of the country
where fait hay cannot be had, it is
a good method to apply fait to hay-
that has been damaged in mak
ing, and to ftraw, and hay of low
meadows, as it is put into the
mow. The fait will make it more
palatable both to horfes, and
neat cattle. One peck of fait is
enough for a ton of hay.
Some choofe that a barn mould
have large gaps between the
FDD
toards on the fides, that the hay,
&c. may have air. This is fure-
ly a miflaken notion ; for the
hay that is neareft to the gaps
will fofe its fweetnefs. The roof
of a barn fhould alfo be kept very
tight; and none of the hay fhould
be laid very near to the ground.
I do not approve of flacking any
kind of fodder, excepting in cafe
of necefftty. For fome inches of
the outfide of a Sack is certainly
fpoilt by the weather. It is well
if the reft happen to be well fav-
ed. It often proves otherwife.
When a farmer has more hay
than his barn will hold, let him
flack it near to the barn ; and,
as foon as he has made room, in
fome damp or calm day take it
in. There will be the lefs dan
ger of its getting damage.
Farmers, who mean to keep
good their flocks, and to have
plenty of manure, mould not be
fond of felling hay. If they
fhould have fome left in the
fpring, it will not grow worfe,
but fome forts will be better, by
keeping. And if a fhort crop
fhould happen, they will be glad
they have kept it.
Straw that is referved for fod
der, may help to preferve the
hufks and bottom flalks of Indian
corn, which commonly have too
much fap in them to be mowed
by themfelves. If they are
in owed together, in alternate
thin layers, the itraw will pre
ferve the corn flalks, arid the
ftalks will impregnate the ftraw
with their fweetnefs, fo that the
cattle will eat them together
with a good relifb, and be well
fiourifhe'd hy them.
Another method of managing
flrawj which I have found to be
of fingular advantage, is to mix
it with fait hay which is not more
than half dried. The hay is !
thus kept from heating, and the j
F O D
119
ftraw is fp tinftured with the fait
and fap of the hay, as to be render
ed an agreeable fodder for cattle.
It is well known that cattle
prefer fhort ftraw to that which
is long : Therefore fome farm
ers cut their ftraw as fhort as oats,
and to tempt the horfes to eat it,
mix fome oats or barley among
it.
FODDERING, feeding cat
tle with dry food. We have
occafion to begin to fodder, moft
commonly, about the beginning
of November ; and to continue
doing it till the middle of May,
and Sometimes later.
We fhould take care not to be-
in to fodder till it is really necef-
ary : Becaufe cattle that are fod
dered, will notgraze fo diligently .
When it is once begun, the cat
tle will expecl: it, and it muft be
continued. When we firft be
gin, we fhould fodder early in
the morning only ; for at that,
time of the day the froft is ufual-
ly on the grafs ; fo that the cat
tle will not graze. They fhould
not yet be houfed, horfes except-
ed ; But in wet weather the whole
flock fhould: be houfed; for they
bear cold better than wetnefs,
Or if not put into the barn, they
fhould have a fhed in the yard,
under which they may fhelter
themfelves.
The meaneft fodder fhould
not be dx2alt out firft of all. The
hufks and ftalks of Indian corn
are fuitable for this feafon. The
flraw and the worft hay fhould
be referved to give them in the
cohleft weather ; for it is then
that they have the keeneft appe
tites. The hay of low ground,
ftraw and haulm, it fait hay be
not to be had, may be fprinkled
with falted water, if faking it in
the mow has been neglected.
They will not only eat it hearti
ly, but live well upon it.
Wild
12O
F O D
Wild grafs hay is not fit for
horfes, nor any of the water
grafles. They will need fome
grain, if they be fed on any other
hay befides clover. They mould
have a final 1 window again ft
their rack, to let in frefh air to
their fodder, and at the fame time
give them light. They will eat
fnow with their hay, if you fet
it by them : They will take a
mouthful of each alternately ;
and the fnow feems to increafe
their appetite. If horfes have
not grain through the winter,
they ihould have it at leaft in the
fore part of winter ; for the com
ing on of winter is the moft try
ing feafon for them. If they be
fed with Indian corn, it mould
be well foaked and fwelled ; it
will give them the more nourifh-
jnent.
Neat cattle and horfes mould
not have fo much hay laid before
them at once, as will quite ferve
to fill them. The hay they have
breathed on much, they will not
eat up clean, unlefs when they
are very hungry. It is belt,
therefore, to fodder them twice
at night, and twice in the morn
ing. Let neat cattle as well as
horfes have both light and freih
air let in upon their fodder,
when the weather is not too
cold, or ftormy, to allow the
windows to be open. What one
fort of cattle leave, mould be
thrown to another fort. Thofe
that chew the cud will eat the
leavings of thofe that do not, and
vies verfa.
It is alfo well known to farm
ers, that what cattle leave in the
barn, they will eat abroad in the
open air ; and moil freely when
it is laid upon clean fnow. Not
only this, but the meaneft of
ftraw fhould be given them in
this way. What is left will help
to increafe the manure in the yard .
F O D
But fome of the young andl
hardy of the flock ihould be
kept wholly on ftraw, when a
farmer has great plenty of it, and
not be fufFered to tafte any other
fodder during the whole winter.
For their getting a tafte of other
fodder will fpoil their appetite
for ftraw. But if they be kept
entirely to it, it is faid by farm
ers of great experience, that they
will winter very well. If this
be attempted, there muft be a
diftinft yard for them.
Every farm yard, where any
considerable ftock is kept, mould
be furhimed with a large fhed,
and a rack under it. For where
there is no clean fnow to lay the
ftraw, and other mean fodder
upon, it mould be put into the
rack. A larger proportion of the
dung will be dropped under the
fhed, than in any other part of
the yard. And this dung will be
better than the reft, as it will not
be warned by rains, nor fo much
dried by the wind and fun.
Sheep,when they are under cov
er, ihould draw their hay through
a rack, made fo clofe as juft tc
admit their nofes. They fhould
have good hay, and a cool and dry
houfe. Beans is a fort of food
they eat very greedily, and even
the ftraw. But it is faid, that
ewes with young ihould not be
allowed to eat many beans ; as it
will make their lambs grow too
large within them . Neither mould
they be fed too generoufly, nor
to the full, till near the time of
lamping.
When a farmer thinks that h
has too much ftock for his fod
der, as will fometimes be the
cafe, it is not beft to pinch them
in their allowance fo much in
the fore part of winter as in the
latter part. For the cattle are
more liable to he pinched with
the cold, in Decemb er and Jan
uary,
FOG
Hair than afterwards. And no
man knows how favourable the
latter part of winter may be.
Advantage alfo may be made
of browfing in the latter more
than in the former part of win
ter, as the buds then begin to
(well* and the twigs have more
fap in them than before.
When browfing is depended
on, the farmer who has fait hay,
fhould preferve a fufficien t quan
tity of it to the latter part of
Winter. It will give the cattle
a high relifh for browfe. If they
have no fait hay, they mould
have fait, to increafe their appe
tite.
Cows that are near calving,
mould not be driven out after
the browfe, for fear of accidents.
They mould be kept on the befl
fodder : Not be tied up with the
other cattle ; but each one fhould
be fed in an apartment by her-
felf, without tying.
FOG, FOGGE, or FOG-
AGE, lorig grafs and ftumps of
grafs, remaining in mowing
grounds and paftures till winter.
This is accounted in general a
benefit to the land ; especially
when the grafs is not of a bad and
four kind. The fnow prcfTes it
down clofe to the furface, where
it fhelters the roots of the grafs,
corrupts it, and turns it to ma
nure. But when mowing grounds
are fed very clofe in the tall, the
cnfuing crop is poorer, the roots
being more injured by the feet
and teeth of cattle, and more ex-
rJofed to the weather. The dung
they drtfp, though it be confid-
erable, will not wholly repair the
damage of clofe feeding and
trampling.
But fog ismoft effentially fer-
viceable on a foil of the clay
kind. It forms a cover which
retains the rains and dews, in the
following fpririg and fummer, fo
f 6 L 121
as to give the furface a more
equable and conflant moifture ;
and prevents the binding and
cracking of the furface by the
heat of the fun. Nothing can
better oppofe the ill effecls of a
dry feafon on fuch a foil.
FOLDING of land, confin
ing fheep, or other cattle, night
ly, in a final) lot or yard, for the
purpofe of enriching the foil.
The benefit arifing from this is
fo great, that it ought not to be
hegle6ted, especially in thofe
parts of the country, where the
wolves do not come.
Some turn in their other cat
tle with the fheep. This is good
conduct, when the foil is warm
fand or gravel ; and not bad
when it is loamy. But it may
be better to yard the black cattle;
without fheep, on a very dry
foil ; fuch as hungry fand or
gravel ; and the fheep without
the black cattle, on a foil that is
heavy and cold. Thus both,
thefe kinds of manure will be
applied to the foil which will
be moft helped by them.
Folding is a much better
method than carrying dung from
the barn yard, when the feafon is:
fuitable for doing it. One great
advantage of it is, that none of
the ftale is wailed, but every
drop of 'it inftantly abforbed by
the foil that needs it, and will
make a good return for it.
Folding, or yarding, is but lit
tle attended to in this country ;
and not half the advantage is
made from it that might be,
when it is attempted. It is faid
that one hundred fheep in a fum-
mer will enrich eight acres, fo as
to need no other manuring for
fix years.
This matter is certainly mif-
conducled, when a farmer, either
to fave the labour of fencing, or
through ignorance of the advan
tage
22 F O L
tage of folding, makes his ia-
clofures too fmall, and folds the
land too much for his own profit.
Let a fpot of half an acre be
ploughed and fenced. Turn ia,
each night, a dozen head of neat
cattle, and fifty fheep. Continue
to do it for three weeks, harrow
ing the furface once in three
days, to mix the excrements with
the foil. The ground will be
iufficieatly folded to produce a
fine crop of turnips, or almoft
any other good crop. It is reck
oned by fome that a fheep will
fold one yard fquare in a night ;
or rather one rod fquare ia about
a fortnight.
A yard for cabbages or tur^
nips, may be begun about the
middle of May ; cr when the
cattle firil go to grafs. About
a month after will be nearly the
right time to tranfplant cabbages ;.
and fix weeks or about two
months after, to fow turnips.
And, for a general rule, it is belt
that a crop Ihould fucceed the
manuring as foon as poffible.
Wheaa crop of wheat is want
ed, the ground may be folded in
July, as the feed is to be fown ia
Auguft. And frequent ploughing.
and harrowing for this crop
Ihould aot be aegle&ed. If the
land be wettifh, do it in the mid
dle of the day ; if dry, in the
inorning before the dew is off.
Low grafs grounds, which are
cold and four, and produce bad
hay, may be furprifingly melio
rated by a little folding. It kills
fern and moffes, and roots out
the wild and watery graffes, even
without breaking up the foil.
At the fame time it encourages the
growth of better kinds of Cranes.
This may be done at certain fea-
fons that are unsuitable for the
folding of ploughed lands, they
being too wet and dirty for the
iheep to lie upoa, as in October,
F O O
November, March and April.
Sheep are more proper, for this
fort of folding than larger cattle,
as their excrements are hotter.
FOOD of plants, the matter
which enters into them, aad
gives them their nourifhment
and growth.
It has been much difputed
among aaturajifls, what the food
of plants confifts of. It is agreed,
that the food enters the pores of
plants in a liquid form. But of
what kind of matter this fluid is
eompofed, is the queflioa.
I mail pafs over, for the fake
of brevity, the argumeats of thofe
who have fuppofed this food
wholly to confrft of air, of earth,
or of Water ; or of any oae un
mixed fub fiance whatever. And
I mail not trouble my readers
with an account of any of the
futile experiments, by which
they imagined they had proved
their hypothefes. For L believe
they have all been wide of the
truth, and their experiments im
perfect and fallacious.
I mould think there caaaot be
a more likely way to afcertaia
the nature of this alimeat, than
to examine what plants contain,
or what they are made up of.
For they almofl entirely confift'
of what paffes into them during
their growth. The feed is fo
fmall, that the fubftance contain
ed in that can make but little al
teration ia the aature of the
wliele plant produced from it.
Or, if it did, feeds may be re
duced to their firfl principles, as*
eafily as die plant that bears
them.
Plants have been found by
chymical analyfesto contaia air,
water, earth, fait, and oil. But
any one may convince himfelf
of it, without the aid of a chym
ical procefs. If we take notice
of wood that is burning, we (hall
F O O
End, by its biffing and {napping,
that it difcharges no fmall quan
tity of air : Water is feen paff-
ing out at the ends of the fticks
on the fire : The flame proves
the exiflence of the oily part :
And falts are eafily produced
from the afhes, by extracting the
lie, and boiling it. The alhes
that remain are the caput mor-
iuum, or earth. It is natural to
ftippofe that the food of plants is
made up of thefe ingredients, to
which plants are fo eafily reduc
ed. For it feems irrational to
think, that the nature of the food
is totally changed in a plant, or
by conco6tion changed into a
fubftance of a quite different na
ture. If it were fo, rotten vege
tables would not give fuch good
nourimment to growing plants
as we find they do,
But then it is found that the
fubflances of which plants are
compofed, are varioufl-y combin
ed in different plants. Some
plants abound mod with oil,
fome with fait, &c. And this
variation is fufl&cient to conlli-
tute an almoft endlefs variety in
the natures of plants ; although
there were no different concoc
tions in plants, after the entrance
of the ingredients of their food,
which affimilates them to their
particular natures.
The food of plants is provid
ed by nature, in a greater or lefs
degree, in every part of the earth,
near the furface. In places
where it is found to be fcarce,
the defect may be fupplied by
tillage, dung, and other manures.
Tillage adds to the food of plants,
by opening the pores of the earth,
and difpofing it to abforb, and
retain the vegetable food that
floats in the atmofphere ; and al-
fo, by mixing the ingredients,
and caufmg a fermentation, which
prepares the ingredients to enter
F O O 123
the pores in the roots of plants.
Dung, and many other manures,
increafe the food, as they contain
it in greater plenty than the e
does. Some of the manures do
ahnofl entirely confifloi it.
The queltion has been much
conteiled, whether the food ot
all plants be the fame. It fecms
to be, in general, nearly the
Fame : i. Becaufe all plants con
tain more or lefs of each of the
ingredients : 2. JBecaufe moft
kinds -of plants will flourim on
any piece of ground that is well
cultivated, when it has the de
gree of moifture that fuits them :
3. Becaufe almofl, or quite, eve
ry plant will rob all others of
their food, which ftand near it ;
and one of its own kind riot per-
x:eptibly more than one of an
other kind.
But it may reafonably be fuf-
peted, .that the orifices in the
roots will not fo readily admit
any particles which do not fuit
the nature of the plants, as thofe
that do. For the flavour of the
root is often very different from
that of the earth neareft to it.
But if, oa the contrary, v/e fop-
.pofe the roots to take in all the
ingredients ot vegetable food
proinifcuoufiy, as they are pre-
fented, they arc not all equally re
tained. On this itippolition, a
plant irmfl have the power of
lending out, by perfpiration, or
excretion, a greater proportion of
one kind of ingredient of its
food than another, that the re
maining fap may be more iuka-
ble to the nature of the plant.
Which of thefe hypothefes is
neareft the truth, I will not un
dertake at prefent to determine..
But there is a remarkable anal
ogy beUvixt animals and plants, fo
far as their natures are inveftigat-
ed. Therefore, as animals have
different appetites, why may we
'
124
F O O
not fuppofe fomething fimilar in
plants ? Or, that feme roots may
reject one kind of particles in the
general food that nature provides,
and other roots reject other par
ticles. A flag, for inftance, may
imbibe more water, than a bum
of the whortleberry of the fame
bulk. Why may we not fup
pofe further, that as fome ani
mals feed qn afrnoft any thing
that comes in their way, fo fome
plants may be deilitute of any
nicenefs of appetite, and admit
all food prom ifcuoti fly ? But
whether the difagreeable parti
cles are rejected, without enter
ing the roots, or expelled after
they have, entered ; yet the real
jiourifhment of different plants,
as well as of different parts of
the fame plant, inuft needs be
fomewhat different. For that
\vhich nourifhes a plant, mult be
made up of nearly the fame par
ticles of matter, that the plant
is when it is grown. As there
is a real difference in the latter,
there muft be alfo in the former.
So that there is a real difference
in their nourishment ; though not
fo great a difference, but that the
food of all plants may be con-
fidered, in general, as being
much the fame. So a company
of men are faid in general to
feed alike, when they all eat of
the fame number of dimes at
one table, though one take a
greater proportion of his meal
from one diih, and another from
another: Or though, taking e-
qually of all, oneftomachdigefts
that which another does not, but
throws it off as unfuitable ali
ment.
If the above reprefentation be
agreeable to truth, it will follow,
that as all foils do not contain
the ingredients of vegetable food
in the fame proportions, fome
foils muft be fitter to nourifli one
F O O
kind of plants, and others anoth
er kind ; and the fame may be
faid of manures. And as expe
rience proves that this is fo, it is
favourable to my theory. But ftill
the food of plants is, in general,
nearly the fame. In confirma
tion of this opinion, it may be ob-
ferved that fallowing always en
riches a foil ; and, for ought that
appears to the contrary, makes it
more fit to produce all forts of
crops. But the food which en
ters into fallowed land from the
air muft be, in general, nearly
the fame.
It has been afked, whether a
piece of ground, which has borne
the fame crops, year after year,
till it will bear the fame no long
er, may not be in a good condi
tion for bearing fome other crop
that requires equal flrength in the
foil ? I think it doubtful wheth
er this has ever appeared to be
the cafe in fact. But have ob-
ferved, that a piece of ground,
tired of producing white crops,
as they are called, which require
much nourifhment from the foil,
may be in a fit condition for
crops that require little : Not
becaufe the food of different
plants is efTentially different,
but becaufe the latter takes from
the air a greater proportion of its
nourifhment than the former.
Thus land which appears to be ex-
hauled by cropping with wheat
or oats, may be fufficiently rich
for peafe or potatoes. And a-
gain, as fome plants draw their
nourilhrnent from a greater depth
in the foil than others, a fpot
that feems to be cxhaufled by fi
brous rooted crops may be in a
condition for tap rooted ones.
Arid this is perfectly confident
with the opinion that the food
of both kinds may be nearly the
fame. And on the whole it ap
pears, that there may be fuffi-
dent
FOR
c*ient reafon for a rotation of
crops, though the food ot all
plants were the fame, or nearly
fo, as I fuppofe them to be.
FOREST, a traft of ground
producing wood. Each farm ot
any considerable bignefs, mould
have a foreft to afford a fupply
of fewel and timber. In clear
ing farms in a new country, due
regard mould be had to preferr
ing a perpetual foreft. Some
have miftaken their intereft fo
much, as not to leave a fufftcient
quantity of land uncleared. So
that they are put to the difagree-
able neceflity, either of buying
their fire wood, or elfe of go
ing fome miles after it. That
part of a farm mould be fet apart
for this purpofe, which is leaft
adapted by nature for tillage, or
grals. Land which is fwampy,
with a very thin foil over a fan-
dy bottom ; land that is rocky and
mountainous, or which will but
poorly bear a dry feafon, or even
the mo ft fandy, or gravelly
heights, of fteep declivities vyhjch
cannot be ploughed, may an-
fwer well for a foreft. Foreft
trees, having long roots, fome
of which penetrate deeply, v,::I
find fufficient notirimnient, in
places where corn and grafs can
not be cultivated to advantage.
So that it is very bad economy
to fuffer any fuch places to be
deftitute of growing trees. For
if they do not produce wood
they are in a manner ufelefs.
Or if they produce any grafs,
trees will not hurt them for paf-
turage, but in fome cafes make
them better.
The quantity of ground that
mould be fet apart for this ufe,
muft vary according to the hrge-
nefs of the farm it belongs to,
1 and according to the demand for
wood, the quality of the foil, and
the nature of the climate. If the
FOR
125
climate be hot, the foreft may be
final ler.
A fmall farm cannot fo w^ell ad
mit of a large lot for wood as a
larger one. Some intelligent fann
ers in this country have thought
they could make a lot of ten cv
a dozen acres anfwer the purpofe
of fupporting one conftant kitch
en fire. But it certainly will not,
unlefs the foil be uncommonly
fruitful, and the trees fuch as are
of the quickeft growth. If land
be poor and dry, it will require
twenty acres or more, to fupply
one fingle fire, and keep the
{lock ot trees undiminifhed.
To thicken a foreft, or to pre
vent its becoming too thin, cattle
mould be kept out at all feafons,
that all the trees which fpring
out of the ground may live, and
grow up to maturity. And when
it is found needful, acorns, or
other feeds, Ihould be planted, fo
that none of the ground may
continue unoccupied.
In our rnoft fouthern climates,
I find that hard wood is more
rapid in its growth than in the
northern. And fprouts oftener
grow up from flumps of trees
that are felled. The trees that
grow up quickeft in general
mould be moil cultivated.
Thofe of thefe kinds Ihould be
more generally left ftanding than
others ; fuch, for inftance, as the
red and grey oaks, aih, white
maple, &c.
That a foreft may be preferv-
ed from wafte, as few trees as
podible Ihould be felled in fum-
mer, orfpring ; not only becaufe
the wood and timber is of lefs
value, but becaufe no fuckers
will be fo apt to come up from
their roots. It is a frugal meth
od to fell all wood, and timber
trees, in December and January,
or a little before and after thole
months. The wood will laft
longer,
26
FOR
longer, will be more durable on
the fire, and burn better : And
the timber will be more lafting.
When a number of fuckers fpririg
up horn a Hump, all, excepting
one or two, fJiouid be taken a-
way as early as poffible ; then the
remaining ones will grow with
rapidity. Thofe are to be left
which are talleft, and moft rap
id in their growth.
When a farm is quite deftitute
of a foreft, fome fpot, or fpots,
the mo ft barren of any part of
the farm, ihouldbe converted to
this ufe, and be planted with
fuch trees as may be expecled to
thrive beft.
If thefe fpots be tillable, " cat
tle of all kinds, and fwine fhould
be fenced out ; and the ground
well ploughed and harrowed,
znd made mellow,. Acorns may
be put in, in rows four feet afun-
<ier, two inches apart, and two
inches deep. The intervals may
bear fome hoed crops, while the
trees are fmall. They mould be
hoed the firft year with the hand
hoe ; the fecond with the horfe
hoe, and fo on afterwards. When
they are a year old begin to thin
them. When they are, by re
peated thinnings, as they grow
larger, reduced to the .diftance of
eight feet, all the reft may ftand
for timber, till fome of them are
iit for fome ufes. But the final
diftance for large timber trees, is
from twenty to thirty feet."
Complete Farmer.
But if places defigned for fpr-
efts cannot conveniently be till
ed, the trees mould be raifed in
a nurfery, and tranfplanted into
fuch places. The coft of doing
it will be trifling, to compare
with the advantage to be obtain
ed by doing it, efpecially in thofe
parts of the country where wood
35 become a fcarce article. Small
clumps of trees on little efni-
F O U
nenccs, have an excellent ef
fect on the beauty of a country.
FOUNDERING, a very pain-
fuj difeafe in the feet of horfes.
A horfe affecled with this difeafe
draws himfelf up in a heap, and
is loth to move. It is laid to be
occafioned by bruifes on the legs,
by bad fhoeing, by ftanding in
cold water after 'being heated
with exercife ; or even by ftand
ing ftill in the ftable for feyeral
days. As the difordejr is in
the feet, covered by the hoofs
and fbles, it is difficult to make
application to the parts affefred.
But drawing out the fole Mr.
Snape does not approve of, with
out paring the hooE Something
mult be done without delay, left
impofthumations come on in the
feet, by which the hoofs will be
caft off : In which cafe, the horfe
mull lie by ufelefs for a number of
weeks before the new hoofs will
be grown. The fame writer di
rects that the hoofs be razed from
the coronet or top to the bottom,
quite through the hoofs to the
quick, fo as to make the blood
run. Thefe channels in the
hoofs may be readily made with
a common marking iron.
To cure the wounds made in
the hoofs, apply to them tar, tur
pentine and honey, melted to
gether, with a fourth part of fpir-
it of wine, foaking pledgits of
clean flax, or tow, in this mix
ture, and layirjg them upon the
chinks, not opening them till
two days after the fjrft dreffmg ;
afterwards making frefh applica
tions every day, till tli channels
in^the hoofs are grown up.
The fame applications muft
be made to the fole, if that has
been drawn. But fimilar chan
nels in that, as } apprehend, may
anfwer well enough, and paring
the fole thin. They muft, how
ever, have the fame drefiings as
the
F R E
the hoofs. A piece of leather
/hould be laid over the fole, and
the whole foot fo bound up with
ftrong bandages, that the appli
cations may not get difplaced.
See Gibfon's Farriery.
FREEZING, or congelation,
the fixing of fluids, or turning
them into ice, by their being ex-
pofed to very cold air.
" Philofophers are by no means
agreed as to the caufe of this
phenomenon. The Cartefians
account for it by the recefs, or
going out of the ethereal matter
From the pores of the water.
The Corpufcularians, on the
other hand, attribute it to the in-
grefs of frigorifick particles, as
they call them. Hobbes afferts,
that thefe particles are nothing
elfe but common air, which, en
tangling itfelf with the particles
of water, prevents their motion.
Others will have a kind of ni
trous fait to be the caufe of con
gelation, by insinuating itfelf
between the particles of water,
and fixing tt^m together like
nails. And indeed it feems prob
able, that coM and freezing do
arife from fome fubftances of a
fiiline nature, floating in the air ;
fince all falls, and particularly
nitrous ones, when mixed with
ice and fnow, greatly increafe
their cold, and even bulk."
DiB. of Arts.
The freezing of the ground is
that in whch the farmer is chief
ly interefted. But when we fay
the ground freezes, we mean that
the watery and moift particles in
the ground are turned to ice, by
which the particles of the foil
are fo ftrongly bound together,
that the ground is harder to pen
etrate than ice itfelf. As to the
ground itfelf, it would be inca
pable ot congelation, if wholly
diverted of moifture. We fee
UO figns of froft in the fands of
F R E
127
an hour glafs, however expofed
to cold. When the ground is
bare, it commonly freezes to as,
great a depth as water does,
which, in this country, is forne-
times not left than 30 inches.
But in Britain, the greateft depth
to which Mr. Boyle ever could
find the ground frozen in any
filiation, was only 14 inches.
The farmer is in fome refpets, >
greatly benefited, and in other
refpe61s, feems not a little injur
ed, by frofts.
He is certainly benefited by
the winter frofts, as they are the;
means of the growth of his beft
graffes. Such is their nature,
that the atlion of froft upon the
foil, is needful to fit it to nouriui
them. Thus Providence h;is
wifely and mercifully contrived,
that the belt grafles lhall be pro
duced in cold countries, where
they are moft needed, for the.
fupport of beafls in the winter.
Frofts ferve to open and fbfteri
the foil, and fo ferve to increafe
the pafture of plants, making it
more eafy for the roots of gralles
and other plants to extend them-
felves in quell of their food.
At the fame time they make it
more eafy to pulverize by the
plough and the harrow ; and
confequently fitter for tillage.
And perhaps where the ground
freezes fo much as it does in this
country, leis labour may be re-
quifite in tillage, than in coun
tries where the winters are mild
er. But this will not wholly ex-
cufe the negligence in culture of
which our fanners in general are
guilt?.
As it appears very probable
that freezing is caufed by fdine
particles, which abound more in",;.
cold northwardly winds, than irlP
any other, thefe particles pene
trate the foil in winter, fome of
which get entangled in it, ib as
nor.
128
F.R E
not to efcape out by thawing,
but, remaining in the foil, in-
creafe the food of plants. Ac
cordingly, it has long been ob-
ferved, that the more land is ex-
pofed to the aftion of froft in
winter, the more fruitful it be
comes. Hence the praftice has
become general in fome parts of
Europe, to lay the foil up in
ridges, and make it as rough and
uneven as poflible, during the
winter, that the froft may pene
trate the deeper ; and not only
pulverize it the more, but fill it
the more with nitrous fait.
Another advantage we have
from the freezing of the ground
is, that it helps to kill weeds ;
and efpecially when their roots
are turned up to the furface by
autumnal ploughing. Many
weeds that in other countries are
perennial, in this, by means of
our great frofts, are only annual.
They are only propagated by
the feed ; and, therefore, are the
more eafy to fubdue.
But, on the other hand, the a-
bounding of froft in this coun
try, is detrimental to the farmer,
by preventing his working the
foil for the fpace of almoft four
months fucceflively, that is, from
the beginning, or middle, of
December, to the latter end of
March. During this long froft,
the farmer has often but little
employment for himfelf and his
domefticks, and ftill lefs for his
working cattle ; the necefTary
confequence of which is, that
both man and beaft muft be more
hurried, and fatigued, in the oth
er parts of the year.
The Britim farmers feem to
have greatly the advantage of us
.in this refpe6t, as their ploughs
may be going fome part of each
month in the winter, which has
rarely, if ever, happened to be
poflible in any part of Neweng-
F R E
land. But whether the ihereafi
iiig mildtiefs of our winter, as
the back wildernefs is more clear
ed and cultivated, will not re
move this inconvenience, I un
dertake not to determine.
Another inconvenience of fe~
vere froft, is the deftruclion of
our winter grain, which we have
not yet found out any fure way
to present. Sudden and violent
freezing, when the ground is bare
and very wet, caufes a quick and
violent expanflon of the foil,
which fnaps the tender roots of
the corn to pieces. This hap
pens ofteneft in our ftiff loams
and claySj foils which expand
mo ft by 'the froft.
Our long continued fro ft feems
to be againft us alfo, as our ma
nures remain unaltered, during
the whole winter. Nothing can
be done to mix, fhorten or pul
verize them. The cattle can do'
them no good by trampling :
There is no fermehtatibn, nor
corruption, going forward in
them. So that we arc under no
imall difadvantagS^ to making
and increafing rSmures. But
this, by the way, mould ferve tat
excite us to be the more careful
and induftrious in this bufmefsj
in thofe months which are fa
vourable. Perhaps we mall find
this laft inconvenience in fome
meafure balanced by the great
heat of our fummers, fo favoura
ble to the putrefaction of ma
nures. And, to avail ourfelves
of this advantage, we mould
never fail in fumrner to have
manures rotting in dunghills, or
in yards, &c. The greater plen
ty of them the better.
I may add, that what xve call
untimely frofts, are often hurt
ful to us, either by killing our
tender plants in the fpring, or
the bio Horns on our fruit trees ;
or by corrupting our unripe crops
early
P fc U
in autumn, or even before
fammcr is ended. The truth is,
that though our fummers are hot,
there is but one month in the
year, that is> Juty, in which we
can depend upon being unmo-
lefted by froft. Such is the un-
evennels of our ciimate.
On the whole, I rather think
the inconveniences of our fe-
vere frofts, more of which I
might have mentioned, are much
more than a balance for the ad-
Vantages of them. But the gifts
of Providence, on the whole, are
dealt out more equally to the
people of each habitable coun
try on this globe, than fome are
ready to imagine. What makes
the difference appear the greater,
to a curfory obferver, may be,
that the people of one country
do not fo well improve natural
advantages, as thole of another.
FRUIT TREES. The forts
which are moft common in this
country, are apple, pear, peach,
plum and cherry. And per
haps there ace no others that
would be more profitable. But
a greater variety might be eafi-
ly had ; and would be a real im
provement.
The apple tree I mention firft,
as being of the moft importance
of all our fruit trees. In about
five or fix years after the feeds
are {'own in the nurfery, the
young trees may be fit for tranf-
planting into the orchard. Mr.
Donald ion advifes that they be
planted thirty feet apart. But I
have known orchards anfwer
very well, that were planted as
dole as twenty five feet. No
Hated rule, however, fhould be
afligncd for the di {lance of the
trees, unlei's it be this general
one, that the diftance mould be
Fttch, that the trees which are
largeft mould not crowd each
ether, when they are full grown :
Q
F R U
nor, on the other hand, that any
of the ground in an orchard
mould be unoccupied. For I
think it is better that a fpot of
ground be well covered with
trees, when they have got to
their largeft growth, than to have
a larger fpot fpoiled for tillage,
by trees that are too far afunder.
As fome fpecies of apple trees
are apt to grow larger than oth
ers, a due regard fhould be had
to this in planting an orchard.
And a conjecture may be formed
from the foil to what fize trees
will grow. If apple trees were
to grow to fuch a fize as they
commonly did at the firft fettle*
ment of this country, when the
feeds, or the young trees, were
newly imported from Europe,
it might be proper to fet them as
far apart as from thirty to forty
five feet. But the fize to which
they ufually grow of late, will
not require more than twenty
five feet, in common foils. But
fome foils being peculiarly fa
vourable to the growth of this
kind of trees, the diftance in
them may- be greater, as it may
be expected the trees will grow-
large. The moft fuitable foil
is allowed to be that which is
rocky and moift, confifting Q
fandy or gravelly loam.
In traniplanting of trees, the
large roots muft of neceffity be
fhortened, and the final 1 fibrous
roots fhould be moftly or whol
ly cut off. For if they are left
on, they will probably be dead
and dry before the tree is plant
ed, efpecially if it is carried t<*
any diftance, or expofed at all to
the fun or air : But the mouths
where they are cut off will re
ceive fpme fap from the earth r
though the dried fibres would
not. But if trees are planted
without any delay, it is next tp
impoflible to prevent thefe {len
der
430 F R U
.der roots from being twilled or
turned out of their natural pofi-
tion, and if this mould be the cafe
they wcnild neither inhale nor con
vey. Cap to the tree. There muft
'be Come lofs of roots. There
fore, to balance the lofs of rionr-
ifhment by the roots, when the
'head is large, a proportionable
'part of the hflihs flioul'cl be taken-
'away. The trees may be tranf-
planted in fpring or autumn. I
have generally had the beft fuc-
ce'fs in the fpring, and rather pre
fer that feafon. I do it at the time
when the buds are juft beginning
to open into leaves. The holes
Should be made fo broad as to-
til low the roots to have their nat-
r.ral. fituation, without contor
tion. ' And if dead" earth be
'thrown out, rich earth from the
jfurface fhould fupply its place.
If the earth be not rich, : a little
old. dung may be mixed with it.
But dung unmixed will be hurt
ful. Trees are fometimes killed
by having dung heaps lying near
to their roots, which .mews that
they, ought to be dunged fpar-
ingly, and' with- caution. ,
If the trees be planted in a fit-
nation much expofcd to winds,
they fhould be made fteady with
flakes during the firft year, that
the roots may not be loofcned,
and the air let into them, by the
rhotkm of the tops. And fome
woollen, or other foft fubftance,
mould be put between the ftake
and the tree,: to prevent galling
of the tree.
Pear trees require much the
fame management as apple trees.
But as their tops are more coni
cal fhaped, and not fo broad,
they may be let rather nearer 't'o
ther. " Perhaps twenty feet or
fs may be fufficicnt in a foil
that is not rich. One thing that
Recommends them is, that they
\vill thrive well in fome of the
F R U
moft unpromifmg foils, and even-
in a flifF clay. The moft crab
bed natural fruit is valuable, as
from it may be made the agreeable
liquor called perry. But for
eating they muft be grafted. See
Pear Trees.
When apple and pear trees
need pruning, it mould be done
before' the middle of winter, in
November or December. A
gradual pruning, from year to
year, is generally better than
greatly diminifhing their tops at
once. But fuckers that grow
rapidly mould be taken oflF at any
feafon, as f aft as they appear;
or they will bring on ilerility,
either partial ortotal r and afpeedy
decay of the tree. In pruning,
every dead and decaying limb.
Humid be remov.ed, ; and cut off
clofe to the trunk, or where it
originates. It is recommended
that wounds made by large am
putations fhould be made fmooth,
and fmeared with clay mortar. '
It woul'd be better Hill to fmear
the wounds with a little melt
ed pitch, which would form a
coat impenetrable fyjf the weather.
With regard t.o ftone fruits^-
as plums, peaches and cherries,
they do not well bear much
pruning. They mouM, howev
er, be cleared of their fuckers,
both round the roots, on the
Hems, and iir the tops. See
Ptacii Tf^s, &c.
Cherry trees grow luxuriantly
in this country, and are apt to
Jive long. But peach trees are
foon pail: bearing, and on the de
cay. The early decay of peach
trees is fuppofed to be partly
owing to worms in their roots.
For it is a certain fa6l, that a
trqc, apparently pad. bearing, has
been fpeedily recovered, by re
moving the earth from above its
roots, and laying on allies and
earth over them,
F'U R
Plum trees 'of the damafcene
Jcind, will hear no fruit, if the
ground about them be Awarded,
unlefs it be in a wet, fpringy foil.
Perhaps this may be the cafe with
all the other kinds of plum
trees ; unlefs when they are
planted in a foil that is both rich
and loofe, with the right degree
-of humidity.
FURROW, the trench made
by aplough in going, alfo the earth
thrown out of the trench. The
European writers often ufe the
word furrow, to fignify a plough
ing. They tell of fowing on
one furrow, that is, after only
: one ploughing ; on the fecond
furrow, or on two furrows, that
is, after two ploughings, &c.
Though I fee no need of our a-
dopting this way of {peaking, I
think it not arnifs to mention it,
to prepare readers to underltand
thofe writers the better, when it
falls in their way to perufe them.
FURROWING, in this coun
try, is under Hood to mean mark
ing ground into little fquares with
a horfe plough, in order to plant'In-
dian .corn, pj dny other plant that
requires the like culture. The
goodnefs of this ^operation con-
fiils in making ' the -furrows
Straight, equidiftant, and at right
angles ; neither too deep nor too
ihallow ; that the dung and feed
may lie neither too low nor too
high. When dung is to be laid
in the furrows, they .{Jio.uM/j.e
deeper ; when ground is to" be
feeded without putting diiii^ in
the furrows, or holes, the fur
rows mould be very fhailow.
The nearer the time of plant
ing this work is done.the better. If
a rain fall between fun owing and
pianting, it is detrimental.' It
foddens the ground, or makes
it more heavy and compact, and
.caufes the furrows to be left vif-
ible,
G A R
G.
GARDEN,-" a piece of ground
cultivated and properly orna
mented with a variety of plants,
flowers, fruit trees, &c. Gar
dens are u.fually drftinguilhed in
to flower garden, fruit garden,
.and kitchen garden : The n'rit of
which, being dcfigncrl for orna
ment, is 'lo.be placed "in the molt
.confpicucms part, that is, next to
the back front of the lioufe ; and
the fccond and third, being de-
fig tied for ufe, fhonld be placed
lefs iii fight." Diet, of Arts.
I confider the kitckcn gar
den as of very confiderable im
portance, as pot herbs, fallads,
and roots of various kinds, are
ufef ul in houfekeeping. Having
a plenty of them at hand, a fam
ily will not be fo likely to run
into the error, which is too
common in this country, of eat-
ing flefh in too great a proportiou
ior health, tanners, as well a;;
Others, mould have kitchen gar
dens : Ar.id they need not grudge
the labour of tending them,
:vh.ich may be done at odd in-
.tcrva'Is of time, which -may oth-
erwife chance -to be .coiifumed in
rie-edlefs -loitei i n-g.
It is "beft that a garden fliould
be on a declivity. If it be very
iteep, it may be thrown into
-banks, and -level plats. There is
commonly a variety of foils on a.
declivity of any confiderable ex
tent. This will give a material
advantage to a garden, as a vari
ety of different plants may hav^e
.each the foil that beftfuits them.
A kitchen garden mould not
be fi.tua.ted at any great diftance-
from the houfe, leil being too
much out of fight, it fhould b<? :
j out. of mnid, and the necefifary
! culture of it too much neglect-
A gardpa
132 GAR
A garden fliould have a clofe
fence, that the winds may not
drive feeds of weeds into it. The
fence fhould be at leafl feven
feet high, and picketed, to pre
vent the entrance of thieves.
The height and clofenefs of
the fence, will increafe the veg
etation by increafmg the warmth
of the air in the garden, except
ing perhaps in the parts which
are ihaded by the fences. The
rage of high winds will be fo op-
pofed as to prevent the tearing
and diftorting of tender plants ;
and fowls may be the more eafily
kept out.
A garden mould have a bor
der of about three feet, and next
to the border a walk of the fame
width or one foot wider. The
walk through the middle may be
from fix to eight feet as the owner
pleafes. This may be croffed by
one, two, or three narrower ones,
if the fhape of the ground re
quires it ; or if it is half as long
again the one way as the other,
\vhich is more elegant than an e-
quilateral fquare. On thefe crofs
walks may be efpaliers for grapes.
Trees mould nut be in the outer
border, but on the oppofite ficles
of the outer walks ; not two ma
ny of them ; perhaps one of the
dwarf kind in 20 or 30 feet.
Standard trees in gardens give
too much fhade. Dwarfs are
commonly cut into efpaliers.
But this torturing of trees makes
them lefs fruitful, and ftiorter
lived. Thofe who prefer it may
make this facrifice to elegance
and beauty. In fruit trees which
need much heat, and placed a-
gainft northern walls, I object
not to it.
. GARDENING,a kind of ap
iculture, ufually called horti
culture. It may be confidered
as farming in miniature. It is
converfant in preparing ground
GAR
for different kinds of feeds, and
in treating themproperly during
their growth. The garden is the
fitteft place to make the firll ex
periments in, with exptick roots
and feeds, as the lofs is inconfid-
erable, if they mould not prove a-
greeable to the climate. If they
profper well in the garden, they
fhould afterwards be tried in the
field : And even then not at firft
on a very large fcale.
He who would make his gar
dening profitable, fhould have
his kitchen garden near to the
dunghills, that the manure may
be applied without too much la
bour. Dung that is old, and def-
titute of feeds, fiiould be ufed,
that too many weeds may not be
propagated. And that a garden
may be kept clean, not one weed
fhould be fuffered to have its
feeds ripened in it : And every
rootxveed that appears in autumn,
mould be extirpated in fuch a
manner that, if poffible, no parts
of its root may remain in the
ground. The feeds of many
weeds may alfo be deftroyed, by
laying the ground in high ridges
during the winter. At the fame
time, it will help to enrich the
foil ; and many of certain kinds
of infetls, or their eggs, will be
dellroyed : Especially if th&
ridging be performed about trip
lafl of November, or the beg in
ning ot December. Ground that
is fo managed, will be dried the
earlier in the fpring, to fuch a
degree, as to be fit for digging
and feeding. Ii is of more ad
vantage in land that is apt to be
too wet, than in that which is fan-
dy and dry.
GARG'ET, a difcafe in cattle.
Cows fometimes have their ud
ders greatly diftended, and indu
rated, with this diilemper ; of
which they will pine away and
die, unlefs a remedy be fpeedily
applied.
G O A
applied. The method of cure is,
to make an opening in the dew
lap, and inlert into it a pie<;e
ol the root of mechoacan, as big
as a nutmeg, with a filing made
iafi to it, that it may be drawn
out when the cure is effeUed.
The humour, in about twenty
four hours, will b f e revulfed from
the udder to the dewlap, and
foon difcharge itfelf at the orifice,
which completes the cure.
GIGS, little tumours or blad
ders in the mouths of horfes. To
cure flit them open to difcharge
the matter ; and waih them with
fait and vinegar.
GLANDERS, a very foul
and often fatal difeafe in hoiks.
It is always accompanied with a
copious difcharge of mucus
from the noilrils, and fwelling
of the glands under the throat
and tongue. In its advanced
flages the difcharge becomes pu
rulent. And when the bones
become carious, the difeafe is at
tended with an intolerable flench,
and may be pronounced incur-
able.
In the firft and fecond ftages,
Gibfon direfts to purges, diaph-
oreticks, and rowelling in the
hinder parts by way of revujfion.
To clear his noftrils, burn brim-
(lone, feathers and hits of leath
er' under his nofe, palling the
fumes into his noftrils, through a
funnel. And when much mat
ter is difcharged by freezing,
fyringe the noflnls with brandy,
or red wine. Afterwards * ihiali
quantity Unguentum Egyptia-
c.'im, diflblved in oil of turpen
tine, may be inje&ed through a
large pipe, which will be help-
iul toxvards cleanfing the ulcer
ated parts. See W. Gibfon on
Farriery.
GOATS, a well known tame
kind of animal, remarkable for
cUsibiug, Tac ewes often bear
G O A 133
twins. They are hardy, not fub-
ject to many difeafcs, but the
kids are apt to poifon tlicrafel^es
by eating Lrarel, or lamb poifon,
as it fs often called. The coil of
i ceding goats is next to nothing
in a new country, as they pre
fer mofs, leaves, twigs and barlv
oi trees, to all other food. But
they nidy be eailly made very
tat with corn.
They would be a profitable
animal to keep, efpecially in a
new country, were it not that no
fence of a common height will
confine them. The kids are ex
cellent for the table ; ami the
old ones are eatable, and apt to
be well filled with tallow of an
excellent quality. Their milk
is extremely nourishing, good to
mix 'with cow's milk in cheefe ;
an excellent reilorative, highly
valued in comfurnptive cafes.
They give a greater quantity of
milk than any other animal of
their fize. And their fkins make
a much flronger leather thiin
thofe of fheep : It is nearly of
the fame ilrength as deer's fkin.
They may be inade greatly
ufetul in fubduing new land.
r rhe method of managing them
for this purpofe, is as follows.
When the large trees are all fell
ed, let ten acres be enclofed for
thirty goats, or in that propor
tion. The fence mould be fev-
en feet high, and leaning a little
inwards towards the top. This
pafture will feed, and even fat
ten them the firil year ; for they
will eat the bufhes and girdle
the fmall trees ; and in three
years every i'mall tree, bufh and
plant, of the woody kind, will
be totally killed. After which,
when fumcient time has been aU
lowed for the roots to decay, the
land may be ploughed with as
fmall a team as is ufed for plough
ing of common green fward ;
and
G R A
and it will be in excellent heart.
The fhrub oak land is very prop
er for them, and difficult to fub-
due without them.
In winter, goats fhould be driv
en into a thick wood, fomewhat
diftant from inhabitants, and a
flight flicker made for them, a-
bout which they will haunt, and
live well upon the mofs of trees
and browfe,- till fpring. Or,
they may be kept in a pen at
home, and f$d with the meaneft
fodder. The kids will be apt to
die if they come too early ; there
fore, the ram fhould be kept from
the ewe's till the laft of November.
GOOSE, a well known bird.
The tame kind are fome of them
entirely white, but they are mofl-
ly particoloured, grey and white.
The belly and wing feathers are
white, even in thofe that have
moft of the grey colour.
Geefe are more profitable than
moft other tame fowls, on ac
count of the cbeapnefs of their
feeding, and the value of their
flefh and their feathers, befides
their greafe and quills. Some
llrip them of moft ot^their feath
ers twice a year. But this hurts the
animals, and is on the whole, no
profit to the owner. Moulting
time is the right feafon for pluck
ing them ; for then the feathers
are loofe, and begin to fall off of
themfelves. Geefe begin to lay
their eggs in March ; and begin
to fit on them in March or April.
The time of incubation is four
weeks.
GRAFTING,orENGRAFT-
ING, the taking a fhoot from
one tree, and inferting it into
another, in fuch a manner, that
both may unite and become one
tree.
Trees which are of the fame
genus will unite. Nut trees will
take on each other. Apple and
will fbme times unite ; the
G R A
latter will grow on the common
thorn. Plumb, peach, almond,
nectarine, and apricot will unite.
But peach and neclarine Jhould
be inoculated. The general rule
of grafting is, flone fruit on flone
fruit, and feed fruit on feed fruit.
The methods of grafting are
various ; as grafting in the rind,
or crown grafting whip graft
ing, or tongue grafting root
grafting inarching, or grafting
by approach and cleft grafting.
The laft is moft commonly prac-
tifed in this country, and is at
tended with fuccefs. It is done
on the flocks, in a nurfery, or
on the frnall limbs of trees, in
an orchard, or garden. The latr
ter part of April, or beginning
of May, is the feafon for doing
it, before the leaves open, and
when the fap flows upwards in
abundance. The head of the
flock, or branch, muft be cut off
Hoping, an4 a flit made the con
trary way in the top of the (lope,
deep enough to receive the cion,
which fhould be cut like a wedge,
with a very fharp knife, the out-
fide of the wedge being much
thicker than the other. The
rind of the cion inuft exactly
join to the rind of the flock.
The flit fhould be opened by a
wedge of hard wood, that the
cion may be gently put in its
place. The whole fhould be
clpfely covered with clay, or
with a mortar of fliff loam arxl
hprfe dung, fo as to keep out the
air from the joint for feveral
months. It fhould be confined
with rags or tow, to guard it a-
gainft rain and winds. Two
buds of the cion, at leaft, fhould
be left above the mortar. For a
more particular account of graft
ing, fee Did. of Arts.
GRAIN, a general name for
all forts of corn, as wheat, rye,
maize, barley, oats, millet, &c.
GRANARY,
G R A
GRANARY, a flore houfe for
threfhed corn. A granary ihould
be fo conftrufted, that corn may
be kept free from dampnefs, in-
iefts, and vermine. To avoid
the laft of thefe evils, its being
mounted on blocks, capped with
flat ft ones, like fome of the houfes
for Indian corn, is no ill expe
dient. But for large granaries
this will not be convenient.
In granaries, where corn is in
tended to be kept for years, a
very particular care fhould be
taken in their conftruftion. The
roof mould be made perfectly
tight, that no rain nor fnow may
.enter. The ftories mould be 4
low, that too much room may
not be unoccupied. Each floor
.Ihould be covered with boxes
about fonr feet fjquare, leaving a
paflage all round between them
and the outward walls, for the
convenience of earning at the
windows, and to prevent any
wet from penetrating to the
boxes. The {hitting and tolling
of grain from one box to anoth-
,er, will help to prevent or cure
dampnefs. In England, where
they are wont to keep grain in
facks for a long time, they turn
the facks bottom upwards, which
anfwers the end of (hitting, as it
fives a new fituation to every
ernel contained in them.
To prevent the heating of corn
in granaries, the windows Ihould
be opened when the air is dry,
and the weather windy, but
clofed at other times. The grain
fhould be laid thin- at firft, not
more than three inches deep, and
frequently ftirred. After it is
well dried, it may be laid in
thicker heaps ; or put up in
calks, or lacks, as may be found
convenient. But if it lie long
in large bodies, it mould be fre
quently attended to, that it may
not be fuffered to heat, and take
G R A 135
damage. To find whether the
bottom or centre of a heap be hot,
pufh a lath, or other flick, into
it, and let it remain a few min
utes. If there be heat in the
grain, it will be communicated
to the lath. If it be found to be
hot, it Ihould be fhifted and laid
thin, or ventilated. When the
degree of heat is fmall, ventilat
ing may be fufficient to cool it.
See Ventilator.
".They have, near Grand Cai
ro, a magazine, or granary, de
fended with good walls, and call
ed Jofeph's granaries. Many-
parts of Africa abound with gra
naries of this kind. They are
fo many deep pits made in the
folid rock.^ The defcent into
them is but juft large enough for
a man to go down into them ;
but they grow larger as you de-
fcend, and are ufually fquare,
from 20 to. 40 feet in diameter.
In thefe the great men of the
country preferve their corn,
They firft ftrew over the floor
with ftraw, then they lay on
their corn, ftill as the heap rifes
placing a thin bed of ftraw be
tween the corn and the fides, as
they did at the bottom. In this
manner they proceed, till the
whole cavity is filled. When
this is done, they cover the
mouth of the entrance with a
fort of hurdle of green boughs
of trees, interwoven one with
another. This they cover with
about two feet thick nefs of fand ;
and over this raife a ridge of
earth, well beat together, in or
der to throw off the rain both
ways r that none may fettle on
the place r and foak into the mag
azine. The corn thus .ftored,
keeps three, four, or more years.
All the care they take with re
gard to the corn is, to expole it
two or three days to the fun's
heat, to dry it thoroughly before
they
136
fe ft. A
they put it into the
Great care is to be taken in open
ing thefe ftore rooms ; for if
people defcend into them be
fore they have had fufhcient
communication with the frefh
air, they are killed by the damps."
tymplete Farmer.
GRASS, a general name for
moft of thofe plants which are
ufed in feeding cattle, both in
their green and dry Hate.
" The land, on which grafs
feed is intended to be (own,
fhould be well ploughed, and
cleared from the roots of nox
ious weeds. Before the feed is
fown, the fur face of the ground
Ihouldl be made level and fine :
Otherwife the feeds will be buri
ed unequal iy. When the feed
is fown, it ihould be gently har
rowed in, and the ground rolled
with a wooden roller, which will
make the furface even, and pre
vent the feed being blown into
patches. It is the common way
of proceeding ; if a farmer wants
to lay down his land to grafs, he
either takes his feeds indifcrim-
inately from his own hay rick,
or fends to his neighbour for a
fupply. By this means, befides
a certain mixture of rubbifh,
which muil neceffarily happen,
it is not unlikely but that which
he intends lor dry land, may
have come from moift, where it
grew naturally, and fo on the
contrary : And the confequence
of this Covenly method frequent
ly is, that the ground, inftead of
being covered in one year with
a good feed, is filled with weeds,
not natural to it, which would
never have fprung up, if they
had not been brought thither.
" Some fay that if you ma
nure your ground well, good
gratfes will come in of them-
felves. I own they will. But
the queftion is, how long will it
C- R A
he before that happens ? Arid
why will you be at the expenfe
of lowing what you fnuft after
wards try to kill ? Which muft
he the cafe, fo long as people
fow all kinds of rubbifh tmdetf
the name of hay feeds. Others
fay it will be better to have a
mixture of different feeds. I
fuppofe this to be true. But can
not a mixture be had, though the
ieeds be gathered atid feparated ?
And is not a mixture by choice
more likely to be proper than one
by chance ? Efpecially after fuffi-
cient experience has been had ot
the particular virtues of each
fort, and of the different grounds
where they will thrive beft ?
" It is faid by fmrie, that weed$
will come up along with the
grafs, though what is called clean
feed he fowed. No doubt of it.
Can any one imagine that grafs
feeds mould be exempted from
what happens to every other
kind of feed ? But I will ven
ture to fay, that not near the
quantity of weeds will fpring up
which they imagine, if the grafs
be fown thick." Stilling JUet.
It is undoubtedly beft to fow
clean feed, which is known to
be fui table to the foil, when land
is laid down to grafs. For though
gra'fes will gradually come in,
no great crop is to he expefted
the firft year, unlefs k be a crop
of rank and ufelefs weeds. And
he that miffes of the firft year's
crop, lofes much, as the longer
the land lies, the more compact,
or bound, it will become, and
produce the fmaller crops.
Of profitable grafles there arc
many forts, fome of which thrive
beft in one country, and fome in
another. The graffes which are
moft ufeful in this country, be-
fides red clover and bird grafs,
which have been mentioned in
their places, are herds grafs, red
top,
G ft A
top, or what is called Englifh
grafs, honeyfuckle, or white clo
ver, and wire grafs. There are
feyeral other grafles produced in
this country, as quich grafs, dogs
.grafs, and fcratch grafs, refem-
bling arfmart, on the uplands ;
and in low places, blue joint
grafs, Alopecunesgeniculatus, and
goofe grafs, Galium, which are
accounted good fodder, befide
many other kinds of lefs value,
which deferve not a particular
mention.
The herds grafs, or foxtail,
.Mopecurus pratznjis, is a native
of this country, arid is perhaps
as valuable as any that we cul
tivate. The cattle are fond of it
both green and dry. It is eafi-
ly managed, and makes a nour-
iihing kind of hay. It ofteii
-grows very tall, and commonly
produces a larger crop than grafs
of any other kind. It is not apt
- to lodge when it grows rank,
and it thrives well on any kind
ef foil, except hungry fand and
gravel ; more eipecially in the
northern parts of Newengland.
In fome foils it does well to
mix this grafs with clover. For
it will be found that, as the lat
ter diminifhes from year to year,
this will increafe, fo that the
crops will not fail for a confider-
. able number of years. The time
to cut herds grafs, is when it is
j lift out of bloiTom ; but when
it is mixed with clover, which
ripens earlier, it muft be cut a
little fooner.
The red top grafs, Poo, trivi-
d. prate nfis, is fo natural to
every foil in this country, that
alloitr old fields, which have lain
long, are full ot it, as well as our
paftures. It makes a profitable
5 hay for fpendirig, though the
crop is felv'lom fo large as that of
I herds grafs. It is more certain
durable, and bears the une-
R
G R A
vennefs of our climate better
than almoft any other grafs. In
paftures it fhould be fed clofe ;
for when it is run up to feed, the
cattle are not fond of eating it.
White clover, orhoneyfuckle,
fo called for the remarkable
fweetnefs of its tafte, Trifolium
repens. It bloflbms in June, and
is ripe early. It is good feeding,
in paftures in the beginning of
fummer. But when it grows by
itfelf, it does not ufually rife to>
a height fufficie.nt for mowing.
Wire grafs, Poa compreffa, is
of a bluifli colour, and ihaped
much like the red top grafs, but
is more folid and heavy, having
fcarcely any cavity in the ftalk.
It would be highly prized, could
it be made to produce largely.
It grows beft where the ground
is baked, orchard trodden, and
where the foil is riot deep, as in
a thin fward over a flat rock ; and
it bears drought to admiration.
Rhodeifiahd Bent, Agroftis
interrupta, is allowed to make
a very excellent hay.
Lucern and St. Foin, have
been tried a little in this coun
try ; but it feems they will not.
profper well in our climate, as
our winter frofts are too hard for
them ; though they do extreme
ly well in fome countries that
are in the fame latitude.
The burnet, which is now up
on trial, will be found to anfwer fl
I thirikj very well.
GRAVEL, earth of the fame
nature with fand, only more
coarfe and harfh. Both feem to
confift wholly of minute pebbles.
Gravel is ufeful in mending
roads, in making dams, and for
walks in gardens, &c.
A foil of mere gravel is the
meaneft of all foils; and will
produce next to nothing, till^ it
be mended with fomethtng mix
ed with it : and even then it
will
I3 8
G R
will need a wet feafon, unlefs it
be in a wet fituation, as at the foot
of a hill, or watered with fprings.
The beft manures for this fort
of land in general, are marl, clay,
die mud of fwamps, ponds, riv
ers and creeks. If applied in
large quantities, they will meli
orate it for a long time. The
beft yearly dreffingsare the dung
of cows and fwine, fea weeds,
ifraw partly rotted, bits of leath
er, woollen rags, and alrnoft any
fpumry fubftances which retain
moifture for fome time.
This kind of foil, well manur
ed, fometimes produces good
crops of fuch plants as require
much heat, as Indian corn and
tobacco. And it does well in a
good feafon, for rye, clover,
beans:, peafe and' potatoes.
GREASE, a diftemper fo de
nominated, is a fwelling and
goufdinefs of the legs of horfes,
which frequently happens to
ihem after a journey. Moft
people have believed their greafe
to be melted by hard riding, and
fallen into their legs : And that
which may have given encour
agement to this opinion, is the
colour of the matter iffuing from
the chinks and fores in tbofe
parts, when they come to break,
fbmewhat rcfembling greafe.
The diftemper may arife from
various caufes. If the greafe be
-an attendant on fome other dif
temper, the cure will be the
more- difficult, and it will be in
vain w expert a recovery, until
the difcafe is removed which- oc-
cafioned it. Therefore, methods
for the cure of thofe diftempers
rnuft be followed, and applica
tions made outwardly for this. But
if it be an original diforder, and
if the horfe havebeen'pampered,
or well fed, the cure ought to be
begun by bleeding and purging,
to leffen the redundancy of hu^
G R E
mours. Neither mould thefe b*
too often repeated : But what is
wanting in that way had muchbet-
ter be effeftuated by a more fpare
diet, with daily exercife. After
moderate evacuations, a rowel
may be rnade on the infide of
the thigh, or on the belly ; which
may be continued for a month,
or longer if neceffary. In the
mean time the cinaber or anti-
monial balls ought to be con-
ftantly given. And while thefe
things are doing internally, the
legs mould be frequently rubbed,
not with hard inftruments, but
with a good wifp of hay, or a
brufh. Baths and fomentations,
fuch as may caufe the humours
to go off by perfpiration, or ren
der them fit to return in the cir
culations, are alfo to be made.-
ufe of. For this purpofe the f ok
fowing is recommended.
Take wormwood eight hand
fuls, John's wort, centaury, cam
omile, of each four handfuls, el
der flowers two handfuls, bay-
berries half a pound : Boil them
in two gallons of water till one
third is confumed, and make a
fomentation.
The horfe's legs are to be bath
ed three or four times a day,
with woollen cloths wrung out
of the liquor, and applied as hot
as he can bear them, adding a
little of the fpirit of wine or
brandy. And if they be much
inflamed, as happens when the
fifiews are affefted, a good quan
tity of the afhes of the green
twigs of vines, walnut or oak,
may be boiled in the decoclion,
adding more water, when the oth
er ingredients are eafily to be had.
The lees of wine, with a mix
ture of foap, are alfo very proper
to be applied warm : As alfo
cow's dung boiled in vinegar.
Suitable cataplafms in bad cafes
are proper. The camphorated
fpirife
G R E
fpirit of wine alone is good, viz.
an ounce of camphire to a pint ot
ibirit. Frequently ufed, it will
anfwer well when the (welling
.w. See Gibforis Farriery.
GREEN DRESSING, turn
ing a -:rop of green plants into the
grour in fummer, to enrich the
foil, and fit it to produce a good
crop of wheat. By repeating
culture,, poor or worn out
laud may be brought to any de-
of richnefs that is defired,
jut any other manure. Buck
vvheat, rye, peafe or oats, may be
fowed in the fpring, and in June
. ou^he.d in, when they are full-
ell; of fap, and moil eafjly rotted.
The ground mould be again
ploughed in the fall, fowed with
winter grain, and well harrowed.
The coil of ploughing and feed,,
is not fo much as that of dung,
when it can be had, and carting
it. This management, therefore,
may often appear eligible, efpe-
cially in places where manures
are not plenty. On account of
the cheapnefs of the feed, Mr.
Eliot recommends millet as a
moft fuitable crop for green
c^re fling ; and fome have ufed
clover and rye grafs. In Britain,
buck wheat is much ufed, as the
ftalks, when green, are very large
and juicy, and as they require
but a fhort time to rot. It is af-
ferted, that about ten days are
fufficient for it to lie under the
furrows.
The chief difficulty I can think
of, which tends to difcourage
this practice, is, the choking of
the plough in going among a
tall growth of plants. It rnay
be needful for a boy to tend if,
But in Britain, to prevent chok
ing, they recommend to pafs a
roller over the crop to be turn
ed in, which lays it flat, and in
tiie fame direction tjiat the plough
t? to pafs.
G R I
139
GREENS, the general name
of thofe pot herbs which are
boiled for food when they are
young and tender. Some of the
moil ufeful of them known in
this country, are fpinage, kale,
French turnips, dandelion, purf-
JaiK, white and black milliard.
There is a.Scoth knle which may
be reared earlier than almoit any
other greens, and Is equal in
goodnefs to any. To have greens
early, let kale and French tur
nips be fowed in October, and
the -young plant covered clofely
with eel grafs, or It-raw, during
the winter, and till the influence
of the fun be fuffjicieut to renew
their vegetation.
GREEN SCOURING, " a
difeafe to which iheep and bul
locks are often fubjeft. The bell
remedy for this cjiftemper is ver
juice : A wine glafs full is e-
nough for a iheep, and a pint for
a bullock." Complete Farmer.
GRJPES, or cholick pains.
Horfes are very fubje6t to grip
ing, or cholick pains. They
may proceed from flatulencies,
or wind pent up in the ftomach
and bowels, frocj inflammation
of the coats of the ftomach and
inteftines, or from worms, fpafins,
&Co In fuch cafe U is very
wrong to give him heating things
by the mouth, as is too common
ly praftifed. Bleeding fhould
be the firfl thing in thefe cafes,
it the diforder be violent, which
may be known by the creature's
motions, frequency of lying
down, and ftarting up again, &c
As horfes are coftive in thefe
cafes, the rectum fhould be clear
ed of the hard dung, by back
racking, as it is called, that is, it
fhould be taken out by a hand,
which gives a horfe great relief.
For the preflure on the neck of
the bladder being thus rejTioved,
he will be able to ftale,
140
G R O
ent clyfters are then of great ad
vantage, as they not only bring
way the excrements, which af-
ibrds a paflage for the wind
backwards ; but they aft as an
internal fomentation, to remove
fpafms from the bowels. They
may he frequently repeated, till
the confined air finds a paffage
Backwards. If it mould be
found necefTary, a fpoonful of
laudanum may be given in a pint
of watergruel, either by the a-
nus in a clyfter, or by the mouth.
See Clark's Farriery. Nearly
the fame treatment is proper for
horned cattle under the fame
diforders,
GROUND, a general name
for land, be the foil what it may.
Ground that is fit to produce
crops is neither too foft nor top
hard ; neither too wet nor too
dry. It is light and eafily pul
verized. It is not fo tenacious
as to cleave to the fpade, which
enters eafily. That is the Deft
mould which cuts like butter,
and yet eafily crumbles, and has
110 ill fmell. It does not crack
in dry weather. It is dark col
oured, or quite black ; does not
fopn poach with wetnefs. It
Ihines alter the plough : Flocks
of crows follow the ploughman,
and, as Pliny expreffes it, peck
at his heels.
GROVE, a row or walk of
trees, planted clole or a little
open, for ornament and made.
Formerly a grove made in reg
ular lines, was considered asmoft
ornamental. But modern im
provers are rather difgufted with
the uniformity of a grove, and
prefer thofe which appear as if
they were the work of nature or
chance. As tafte alters from time
to time, I mail not undertake to
Determine which are mo ft grand
pr beautiful. As my great ob-
is real iraproveroent and ad-
G R O
vantage, I (hall here only attend"
to groves in regular lines.
Groves in gardens are both
ornamental and ufeful, if the
trees be not too large. They
fhade the walks in the borders ;
fo that we may walk in gardens
with pleafure, in the hotteft part
of the day. It is fcarcely need
ful to fay thefe garden groves
mould oonfift of fruit trees ; an4
they fhould be of the fmaller
kinds, if in a garden of a fmall
or middling fize. A double row
has the bell effecl:, as it refpects
fhade, one near the wall, the
other on the oppofite fide of the
walk. But this on the whole I
do not recommend, unlefs it be
in gardens uncommonly large.
IP* other fituations groves of
larger trees are preferred. Lanes
and avenues, leading to manfion
houfes and other buildings, may
be ornamented with rows of trees,
either on one, or on both fides :
If only on one, it fhould be the
fouthernmoft, on account of the
advantage of fhade in the lane.
Such trees are beft, the limbs of
which are not apt to be low ;
fuch as 7 elm, am, maple, poplar,
&c.
Lots and enclofures fliould be
bordered with rows of trees, ei
ther fruit trees- or timber trees,
in clofe order. They will do
better a yard or more from the
fence, than in hedges according
to the Englifh method, as rec
ommended by Mortimer. But
fuch trees fhould be chofen, as
are not apt to propagate and
multiply, left the borders be foon
filied with fhrubs.
It would be advantageous to
the publick, as well as to the
owners of adjoining farms, if all
our roads were lined with groves,
of barren or timber trees. They
might! be either within or with
out the fences. In the latter cafe,,
government
G R Q*
government might interpofe, and
tecure to the planters thofe which
flood in the roads againft their
lands ; and oblige farmers to
plant in the roads againft their
own hnds. I (hoiijd prefer this
to- planting, within" the fences, ef-
pecially where the roads fyave a
good width* Bat the trees
(hould be fo tall when planted^
a.s to be above the reach of cat
tle ; and- be flaked, or otherwife
fecured, till they arrive to a cer
tain bignefs. The expenfe of
thus fecuring them need not
amount to much, when compar
ed to the advantages arifmg from
fuch groves,
Or, if they were planted along,
the foutherly fides of roads only,
the advantage to the publick
\vould be great. Befides provid
ing a flock of wood and timber
for future generations, the pref-
ent would receive the benefit of
their fhadow, cafl into the roads
in the hotteft part of our fummer
diiys. This would be extremely
refrefhing to travellers, to teams
that pafs under them, and to
many tame animals that live in
the roads. In this cafe, the ad
joining lots would not be injur
ed with the fhade ; but for the
beauty of their appearance, trees
on both fides of the road would
be beft.
If the country were well ftock-
ed with thefe groves, their per-
fpiration would help to abate the
fcorching heat of die fun, in a
dry feafon, by moiftening the at-
mofphere. They would ferve
to impede the forcer of high,
driving winds and ftorms in fum
mer, which often tear our tender
vegetables, or lay our crops flat
to the ground. Our buildings
would be alfo in lefs danger
from them. The winds in win
ter would not be fo keen and vi-
clent. The force of fea winds
H A R
141
on our fruit trees would be abat
ed. The fnows that fall would^
be laid more even on the ground*
K.oads: would be lefs blocked up,
and feldomer rendered impair^
ble by them. But. for theie lalt*
riurpofes, groves of evergreens/
will. have the greateft effe6t:.
Groves fhouldbe p-ianted thicl;.
at firft, that the- above advanta
ges may be had from them while^
young, \Vhen the trees become-
fo large as to be crow-ded, they-
mould be thinned* And thus
a co-rifiderable quantity of fewel
a-nd timber may be foon realiz
ed by the proprietors.
The increafing fcarcity and
dearnefs of wood, especially in
the oldell fettlements in this^coun-
try, affords an unanswerable argu
ment in favour of fuch a piece
of good husbandry.
GRUB, ** the name of a large
maggot produced from the eggs
of a certain fpecies of butterfly.
It is of a large fize, and often
does great injury to the corn by
undermining it, and preying ort
its roots. It produces the beetle,
and is by fome called the rook
worm, becaufe rooks are partic
ularly fond of it. The befl way
to dellroy the grub, is good and
frequent ploughing, which will
clear the ground, however in-
fefted with this infcft, for fome
y ears at \c aft . " Complete Fa rm-
er.
H.
HARROW, a kind of drag
ufed in tillage. By drawing a
harrow over ploughed ground,
the clods which remain after
ploughing, are broken, and the
f round made mellow and fine.
t ferves alfo to deftroy weeds,
by piil-iing out their roots, and
expofing them to the fun and
wind. Aad it is ufed to cove "
.-eta
H A R
feeds newly fown. The wood
of a harrow fhould be the ftrong-
eft and beft feafoned white oak.
There are two kinds of har
rows commonly ufed ; the fquare
harrow, and the bifurcate har
row ; the former is for old and
clear ground, the latter for land
that abounds with flumps of trees
and other obftacles. The fquare
harrow is armed with fixteen,
or .with twenty five tulhes, jar
teeth. The fharper thefe teeth
are, the more they will pul
verize the foil. If they be fteel-
ed at trie points, they will hold
their fharpnefs the longer, and
ilir the ground more effectually.
And the coft of doing it is fo
little, that it is furprifing to fee
that it is fo generally neglecled
by our farmers.
It has been the common practice
in this country to place the. teeth
in the joints of the fquare har
row. But this has a tendency to
weaken the joints, and the teeth
are more apt to become loofe.
They mould be placed^ in the
folid parts between the* joints.
The beft way to faften them is,
with moulders uader the harrow,
and nuts fcrewed on above.
Some ufe harrows with wood
en teeth, but they are of fo little
advantage to the land, unlefs it
be merely for covering feeds,
that they may be confidered as
unfit to be ufed at all. The
treading of the cattle that draw
them, will harden the foil more,
perhaps, than thefe harrows will
foften it.
The bifurcate, or triangular
harrow, is either a fork of natural
growth, or elfe made artificially.
The artificial one is commonly
ftrongeft, when well made, as
* timber may be chofen which is
*" Sufficiently tough and ftrong.
i The two legs may either be lap-
?? ?d together at the angle, or elfe
H A R
framed together like a pair of
rafters, excepting that the butt
ends, being tougheft, and ftrong-
eft, muft be put together. But
the joint muft be ftrengthened
by a good iron hoop fmartly
driven on to the nofe, after the
wood is thoroughly dry, and
fattened with ftrong nails ; and
further ftrengthened with a brace
from one leg to the other, fram
ed in, about two feet from the
jun6lure of the legs.
The angle may be more or lefs
acute, according to the ftate of
the land in which the harrow is
moftly to be ufed. For the
rougheft ground the angle muft
be more acute ; but lor well
cleared ground, the angle may
be of 45 degrees, or more. The
more obtufe the angle is, the
more near together the teeth
muft be placed. Jn this kind of
harrow fome put 9, fome 11, and
fome 13 teeth, or even 1$. The
rougher and harder the land, the
fewer the teeth ; and the fewer
they are, the longer and ftronger
they mould be. Twelve inches
clear of the wood is not too long,
nor three pounds too heavy for a
tooth in the ftrongeft harrows.
To prevent this machine from
faftening itfelf often in immovea-
ble flumps and roots, the teeth
may be let leaning a little back
wards. But where there are no
obftacles, they fhould rather in
cline the contrary way, or at
leaft they fhould be perpendicu
lar.
Some make ufe of a horfe har
row of the forked kind, and very
narrow, to mellow the ground
and kill weeds, betwixt rows of
Indian corn. But the horfe.
plough anfwers the purpofe bet
ter in general, unlefs it be upon
green fward ground, in which
the horfe plough will not an-
fwer at all. The ftifihefs of the
014
H A R
eld furrows will prevent its reg
ular going. Lord Kaimes rec
ommends what he calls a clean
ing harrow with no lefs than 56
teeth, which teeth are no more
than fix inches apart. The ufe
of it is to clear land of ropts-,*in
an expeditious and effectual man
ner. The weight of a tooth is
one pound only. If they are fet
raking forward they will pene
trate the deeper, and have a bet
ter effeft..
HARROWlNG.workingthe
foil with a harrow. A team
that travels quick, is beft for
harrowing, unlefs the land be
too full of obftacles. Horfes,
therefore, are better for this work
than oxen, becaufe their motion
is quicker. The fafter the har
row moves, and the more it
.jumps, the more the hard clods
are broken, and the turfs torn.
The teeth will alfo keep cleaner
and go deeper ; fo that the land
will be more mixed and mellow
ed. But clayey land is fo apt to
be cloddy, that it is often necef-
fary to follow the harrow with a
maul, or a hoe, to break the re
maining clods.
Befides pulverizing the foil,
covering feeds, and drawing out
the roofs of weeds, the defigns of
harrowing are to make the land
level, or fmooth ; and, on fal
lows, to caufe the feeds of weeds
to vegetate by expofing them to
the air, in order that they may
fee deftroyed by after operations,
either with the plough or the
harrow.
When land is wet and poachy,
6r at all muddy, it can be of
no fervice to harrow it. It will
rather do damage, as it will make
it more compact and ftiff.
Land that is too light and
ii puffy, as drained fwamps often
I are, cannot eafily be too much
i harrowed. The more it is har-
H A R
rowed, the more compact it will
be ; and this is what it wants.
The harrowing of new ground
for feeding, without ploughing,
may be performed in almoft any
weather, if the ground be only
dry enough to be mellowed by
the harrow. And the fooner, af
ter burning, this work is done, fo
much the better, as it will pre
vent the afhes being blown
away by high winds, and as it
will fpread it more equally,
and more effectually mix it
with the foil. Here the ftrong-
eft harrow muft be ufed ; and
it ought to be heavy, in or
der to make any considerable
impreffion on the foil. It is
often neceflary that the harrow
pafs feveral times in the fame
place, in order to faife a fuffi-
cient quantity of mould. There
is no reafon to fear its being loft
labour. The more fuch ground
is harrowed, the better crop may
be rationally expefcled.
On furrows of green fward
newly ploughed, the harrow
(liould pafs the fame way that
the plough did : Otherwife,
fome of the furrows, which lie a
little higher than the reft, will
be turned back again, grafs up
wards. This fort of land re
quires a heavy harrow, or one
made fo by loading it. A light
one will fink into the furrows
but little, and be of little fervice.
On old ground, ploughed
plain, the harrow mould pafs, the
firft time, acrofs the furrows,
as the teeth will better take hold
of the roots of weeds, and more
deeply penetrate the foil. It
will alfo do more towards level-
ling the ground. Afterwards it
mould be harrowed the other
way, lengthwife of the furrows.
Harrowing commonly does
the moft fervice immediately af
ter ground is ploughed, as the
tect.ii
144 It A H
teeth go deeper and raife the more
mould. If it be neglected at
this juncture, a- time fhould be
chofen when the foil is not too
dry. After a -gentle rain the
clods will crumble the more ea-
fily ; and the foil underneath
being drier, will -not-be harden
ed by the treading of cattle.
'In light fandy, or gravelly
foils, or where there is occafion
for narrowing land .which is ex-
cefitvely dry, or in danger of
foon becoming fo, it fhould be
done when the dew- is -on the
ground, early in a morning.
This will incrfcafe, rather than
dimini/h the moiftnefs of the foil.
And on the contrary, land which
is apt to fee too wet, fhould be
harrowed at a time when it is
rlrieft, as in the middle of a fair
day. The /Irft fcratching will
caufe it to dry faft, and fo pre
pare it to be m.'Stde fine and mel
low by the fecond.
The Europea a farmers recom
mend harrowinig ground once
over before cor n is fowed, and
then to harrow in the feed the
contrary way. The grain will
be the more eve in, and not ap
pear fo much in n *ws, as if it were
fowed upon the furrows ; but it
ivill not be fo deeply covered.
-Perhaps fowing upon farrows,
both winter and .fummer grain,
may be generally t hebettermeth-
od in this countr jr, which is fo
much more liable lo fufferby fe-
vere f rolls and drc nights. Some
of our farmers even think itbeftto
plough in the fee el with a fhaU
low Furrow. The roots will lie
'the deeper, and b c lefs expofed
-to-fiiflfer by troft-a nd drought.
Harrowing fallows' is doubt-
lefs a beneficial operati'on. If it
be done two or three .times be
tween ploughings, the .feeds of
weeds will be encouraged to veg
etate, and confequently N vill be
killed at the next ploughing C#
harrowing. Thus the land ;will
become very clean after a year
of fallow ; arid the food and paf-
ture of plants will be more in
creafed than it could be by:
ploughing only. For every weed
that confumes in the foil is of
fome advantage.
Some have found their ac
count in harrowing mowing
grounds, when they have become
bound and ftiff. Though the
roots of the grafs are much torn
.and mangled by harrowing, the
foil will be loofened at the fur-
face, and the vegetation of the
grafs fo much increafed, that the
excefs of the next crop will more
than compenfate the labour of
harrowing. It mould be done
in autumn, and before heavy
rains fall, but after a gentle, one,
when thefurface is a little moHU
ened. It would be beft, before
harrowing, to arTord the land a
fprinkling of old dung, qr com-
pofl : Or elfe immediately after,
and btiih it in. Its fruitiulnefs
will thus be greatly increafed.
The harrowing of land that is 1
ploughed in ridges, mould be per
formed lengthwife, and by two
harrows abreaft, or three, if the
breadth of the ridges require^
them, that the trenches may not
be too much filled. The fecond
harrowing may be acrofs, if the
land needs to be laid even for
-mowing. But then the trenches
fhould be cleared out with a
fhovel or plough, if the land be
fo flat and \Vet as to make it
proper or r necerTary to lay it
down in ridges.
Harrowing of winter grain, in
the fpring, is approved of be
yond the Atlantick. When the
roots are well fet, and in fuffi-
cient plenty, I think this may
be a laudable. piece of hufband-
ry. The harrow will deftrof
ft A R
but a few of the plants ; and
the lofs of them will be more
than made up in the increafed
growth of the reft. But, in or
der to make the loofened plants
take rooting, Mr. Lifleadvifes to
drive a flock of fheep about over
the field. Others advife to roll
ing the ground, which appears
more rational.
HARVEST, the feafon when
corn is cut down, arid fecured.
In this country, there are two
feafons which are called harveft :
Englifh harveft and Indian har
veft. The former is about the
fend of July or beginning of Au-
guft, the latter in October or No-
Vember.
Wheat and rye are harvefted
in much the fame manner. Both
are reaped and bound in iheaves.
It is ufual to cut rye rather
greener than wheat, that the
flour may be the whiter.
When a fevere blight or ruft
has ftruck the ftems of wheat, or
rye, it anfwers no purpofe to let
it ftand longer to ripen, or grow
hard. It is agreed that it fhould
be cut though full in milk. And
afterwards it may lie on the
ground, expofed to the fun and
weather,till the grain is hardened.
But the heads mould lie fo as
not to touch the ground ; which
may be eafily done, if the reap
ers will only take care to lay the
top end of each handful on the
lower end of the preceding one.
Some fay it will anfwer to cut it
three weeks before the ufual
time, and before the ftems are
turned yellow.
If grafs or weeds grow among
grain, it fhould be cut high, that
fo the lefs quantity of trafh may
be bound up in the fheaves.
And when taking weeds with the
grain cannot be avoided, it
fhould be reaped a little the ear-
Jier, that it may have time to lie
H A K. 145
in the field, till the weeds are well
dried, without danger of fcattering
the corn by its being over dried.
The bands fhould be made in
a morning early, when the dew
is greateft,and the ftraw moft fup-
pie. But the beft time to bind
the fheaves, is when the air begins
to be damp towards everting, as
the leaft degree of moifture will
toughen the ftraw and prevent
the fcattering of the grain : And
there is fome degree of damp-
nefs in the air, for an hour or
two before funfet.
A late writer advifes to make
the fheaves with only one length
of ftraw.
After binding, it fhould be
made up into mocks without de
lay, or after ftanding in fheaves
one day, if the weather be fettled
and dry ; where it is to ftand irt
the field till not only the ftraw^
but the grain, be thoroughly
dried ; and till a fuitable oppor
tunity prefent for carting it in.
It fhould be done when the air
has a fmall degree of darnpnefs$
to prevent the fcattering of the
grain.
It would be beft on fome ac
counts, that grain fhould be
thrafhed as foon as it is carted im
But as it is ufually a hurrying
feafon, it is but feldom that the
farmer can {pare time for it. It
muft, therefore, be ftored moil
commonly.
The belt method of ftoring it,
is, to lay the fheaves up in the
barn. But if want of room re
quire them to be flacked, care
{hould be taken that the grain
may not draw moifture from the
ground, by laying boards, ftraw%
or rubbifh under the ftack. A
better way ftill is to have a tight
floor of boards mounted on four
blocks, fet in the ground, and fo
high from the ground as to pre
vent the entering of vermin.
H A R
In building a flack, care fliould
be taken to keep the feed ends
of the fheaves in the middle, and
a little higher than the outer
ends. No fowls nor birds can
then come at the grain ; and the
rain that falls on the ftraw ends will
run off, and not pafs towards the
centre. The ftack mould be well
topped with ftraw, that the rain
may be completely turned off. As
to the harvefting of barley, oats
and peafe, fee thofe articles.
With refpeft to harvefting In
dian, corn, I would obferve, that
many do it much too early, to
their own damage and lofs. As
long as there is any greennefs,
or fap, remaining in the whole
length of the ftalk, below the ear,
or even in the cob ; fo long the
corn improves by ftanding. For
the fap will continue to dif-
charge itfelf into the grain.
Though a crop harvefted earMer
may meafure as much in ears, or
more, when it is newly hufked,
it will fhrink a great deal, fome-
times fo much that not two corns
on an ear will touch each other.
Befides, there will be the great
er difficulty in drying and keep
ing it. Corn that is harvefted
early, will not be fit to- ftore in
out door cribs, nor in our com
mon corn houfes, unlefs it be
firft fpread thin on floors, and
dried. And this is troubl-efome,
at leaft, if not impracticable.
Squirrels, and rapacious- birds,
diforderly cattle and bad fences,
drive perfons to harvefting early.
But there is commonly more loft
than faved by it. When the
corn Hands tolerably fecure,. and
is in no danger from froft, nor
from thieves, harvefting early is
an error. I fhould not think
the beginning of November at
all too late.
It is not fafe to let it lie long
ra the Imfks after it is gather-
H A T
ed, left it fliould heat, or contract
dampnefs. One unripe ear or
green ftalk, in a heap, may dam
age many. The common praftice
of collecting large companies to
hufk the corn as foon as it is gath
ered, is a laudable one. And after
it is hufked, it mould have a dry
place, and foijiuch benefit of the
air, that it may be fure not to
grow warm, let the air prove to
be ever fp moift.
Sometimes a fevere early froft:
drives the farmer to harvefting,
as he knows the froftbitten corn
is apt to rot in the hufks. But in
fuch a cafe, or when corn holds
its greennefs uncommonly late,
an approved method is, to cut it
up clofe to the ground, bind it
in fmaU bundles, and fet it up in
fmall fhocks in the field. It will
ripen kindly, and take no dam
age. By this method the grain
has the benefit of all the fap con
tained in the ftalks, to bring it
nearer to maturity.
I have heard of fome perfons
in the county of Lincoln, who,
finding their Indian corn very
green at harvefting, have boiled"
k in the ears after hufldng : By
which expedient they were able
to dry it in the ears, without its
rotting, or moulding. This may
be no ill method at a pinch. But
rather than be obliged to do it
yearly, I mould think they had
better lay afide the culture of this
plant^or elfe ufe no feed but from
the northward, which will ripen
in- feafon,
HATCHEL, an inflrument
called fometimes a- comb, full of
lon-g pins of iron or fteel for teeth,
with which flax and hemp are
combed. They who manufac
ture thefe articles, as perhaps all
the families of farmers- fhould,
ought to be provided with fever-
al hatchels of different finenefles.
Where only flax is manufactur
ed,.
HAY
d, two combs, one coarfe, and
the other fine, will be fuffi-
cient.
HAY t dried grafs.
HAYHOOK, an inftrument
to pull hay out of a mow, or |
ftack. This inflrument is often |
made of wood ; but an iron one ;
is far preferable. It fhould be
fharp pointed, armed with a fluke,
and have a focket to receive
the wooden handle. The han
dle mould have a turn at the end
for the eafe of pulling. There
can be no better handle than the
half of an old oX bow : Or a
little more than half. But this
in liniment will wafte the hay,
and diveft it of much of the feed.
A better way is, to -cut off flices
of two or three feet in thicknefs,
from a mow or flack, as it is
wanted for ufc.
HAYMAKING, the curing,
or drying of grafs for fodder.
The firft thing to be confidered
about haymaking, is the time of
cutting the grafs. It mould not
be cut too early, or before it has
got its growth : For this will
caufe it to ihrink too much in
drying. On the contrary, it
fhould not ftand too late, or till
the feed be quite ripe. It is not
.only harder to cut, but the ripe-
nefs of the feed will caufe it to
{hatter out while drying, which
will be a considerable lofs, as the
feed is the moft rich and nour-
iihing part ; and the foil will be
the more exhausted by nourifh-
iiig the feed till it come to ma
turity, and the next fucceed-
ing crop will be the poorer.
There never can be any advan
tage in mowing late, unlefs it be
thickening the grafs roots, by
fcattering fome ofthe feed, where
they were before too thin. He
that mows early has the advan
tage of longer days for drying his
jeay ; and of morter nights,
HAY
147
when the dews are lefs detri
mental to haymaking.
The right time for cutting;
clover is when half the heads be
gin to lofe their bright colour,
and turn brownifh by ripenefs.
A general rule for other grades
is, to cut them foon after they
iave bloflbmed, or as foon as the
feeds are formed. The grafs is
then in its perfeftiop, as it is full-
eft of juices, and the juices will not
evaporate nor the draw (brink
too much in drying. Four pounds
of green grafs will, commonly,
make one pound of dry hay.
But the farmer who has many
acres of the fame kind of grafs,
cannot always expeft to cut the
whole of it in exactly the right
feafofl. That he may approach as
near to right as poflible, he
(hould cut the thicker! grafs firft
of all ; especially if it be in dan
ger of lodging, or fo thick that
the loweft leaves perifh, or the
bottoms of the ftalks turn yel
low. The thinned of his grafs
mould be cut next, which is apt
to be ripe fooneft : And laft of
all, the middling fized grafs, or
that which is on a medium be
tween thick and thin.
Where a fecond crop is ex-
peeled the fame year, thick grafs
Ihould be cut a little the earlier,
that the roots may not be injur
ed fo much as to prevent their
fpeecly recovery, by being clofe-
ly covered too long by the firil
crop.
Some regard mould be had to
the weather, when the time of
cutting is in contemplation.
Thofe, efpecially, mould regard
it, who are able to call in as much
afliftance as they pleafe in hay
making. It would be beft for
them not to cut any grafs juft
before the full or change of
the moon, as falling weather is
to be looked for at thefe times
more
jl H A Y
more efpecially : Though in
facl it does not always fo hap
pen.
Grafs, which has not been
waihed by rain tor feveral days,
has a kind of gum on it, which
is known by its adhering to the
lithe. This gum is thought to
be a benefit to the hay ; and farm
ers are fond of mowing their
grafs when this gum appears,
rather than juft after the grafs
has been wafhed by rain.
As to the drying of hay, or
the manner of making it, I know
there are a variety of opinions.
The right way is to do it in fuch
a manner that as much of the
fap as pomble may be retained,
and in the beft (late that is pofli-
ble. In this I mould think all
would agree. All perfons will
allow that too much drying is
hurtful. It is certainly a lofs to
rake it, or fHr it at all, when it is
fo dry that the leaves will crum
ble. And doubtlefs as much of
the fap (hould be retained as is
confident with its being kept in
good order for fodder, and for
long keeping.
Some graffes will keep well
with lefs drying than is needful
for others. The Rhodeifland
bent, as it is called, or red top
grafs, will do with lefs drying
than fome other grafles. It has
been much practifed to put it up
with fo little drying that it heats
in the mow to fo great a degree,
as to make it turn brown like to
bacco ; and it is known that cat
tle will eat it well, and thrive on
it. But the mow will certainly
fend out part of the virtue of the
hay in fleams. I cannot but
think that all graffes mould be
fo much dried, that mows and
ilacks, though they have a de
gree of heat, Ihould not emit any
ienfi&Ie fleam ; and I would not
3 have hay naatde brown
HAY
by mow burning. It furcly doea
not appear to. fo good advantage
at market.
Were it not for the labour and
coft, a good way of haymaking
would be, for the haymakers to
follow at the heels of ths mow
ers, at lead as foon as the dew
is off, and fpread the fwarths
evenly ; turn the grafs about the
middle of the fame day ; make
it up into cocks before night ;
open the hay, and turn it the
next day ; and fo on till it be
fufriciently dried, doubling the
cocks if figns of rain appear. It
will not commonly take more
than two or three days to dry it,
unlefs it be very green, or un
commonly thick and rank. A
perfon who has but little hay to
make, need not be much blamed,
if he do it in this way ; efpecial-
ly if the weather do not appear to
be fettled.
But a method which I have
generally found to anfwer well
in fettled good weather, and
which faves fo much labour as
to recommend it, is as follows.
If the grafs be thick, the fwarths
mowed in the morning I turn
bottom upwards at evening, which
prevents the hay being browned
and hurt by imbibing the dew
of the approaching night, the
part that is dried being not ex-
pofed. Thefe fwarths, together
with thofe mowed in the after
noon, I fpread the next morning,
as foon as the dew is nearly ex
haled. I rake the hay in the af
ter part of the day, in fuch a
manner that the raking feryes
to promote its drying, flinging
fome of it inwards, expofmg the
greenefi locks as much as pofli-
bie to the fun, raking alternate
ly on one windrow and another,
till all are clofed. Then I make
them up into cocks of a mode
rate fize. After this, if the weath
er
HAY
er continue fair, I ftir the hay
no more for two or three days,
and then cart it in. It will
fweat fb much in the cocks, that
there will be no danger of its
mow burning afterwards.
But if the weather be un fet
tled, or if fliowers be frequent,
it may be better to fpread grafs
well, as foon as it is mowed, ftir
it often, cock it the fame day it
is mowed, open it the next fair
day when the dew is off, let it
fweat a little in cock, and houfe
it as foon as it is dry enough.
Jt will bear to be laid greener
on a fcaffold, than in a ground
mow ; and in a narrow mow
greener than in a broad one. And
that which is leaft of all made
fhould be put upon a fcaffold.
When grafs is very thin, and
not full of fap, having ftood be
yond the right time of cutting ;
Jt may be cut in the forenoon,
and raked in the afternoon, of
the fame day ; and then dry fuf-
ficiently in cocks, in two or
three days. But if a heavy rain
fall, it will need to be opened,
and expofed to the fun for a few
hours. If there be only a fmall
quantity of rain, it may be fuf-
ncient to pujl out fbme of the
hay round the bottoms of the
cocks, or only on that fide which
was windward when the rain
fell, and lay it on the tops. If
the cocks are fb fituated that the
water has run much under their
bottoms, they mould be turned
bottom upwards, and trimmed at
leaft ;but it will moft commonly be
peceffary to fpread them abroad.
Sometimes hay will become
too dry, notwithftanding every
precaution to prevent it : For it
will dry txvice as fait in fome
fair days as in others, becaufe of
the different drynefs of the air.
When this is the cafe, it ihould
be removed to the barn only in
H A Y
149
the evening, or morning, when
the air is damp. And it is good
to have fome greener hay to
mix with it.
Some think that mown grafs
fhould never be expofed to the
full influence of the fun, left it
be robbed of too much of its
fap, while it is in its moft fluid
ftate. A very ingenious gentle
man, of my acquaintance, does
not permit his grafs to lie in
fwarth, but for an hour or two
after it is cut ; or no longer than
till its wetnefs be gone, and it
juft begins to appear withered :
He then gathers it into very
fmall parcels, which he calls
grafs cocks, not more than a
good forkful in each : Turns
them over once in a while, about
funfet is the beft time : Doubles
them as they grow drier : Arid
when the hay is aim oft dried e~
nough, makes up the whole into
large cocks. Grafs that is thus
dried, will not wafte at all by
crumbling ; nor will much of
its juices evaporate. I. have
feen his hay, the flavour of which
excelled almoft any other that I
have met with.' The colour of
it, indeed, was rather yellowifh
than green : But that is a matter
of no confequerice to the farmer
who does not fend his hay to
market. I cannot but think that,
in dry fettled weather, this is an
excellent method of haymaking.
But in catching weather, per
haps a method which takes lefs
time is to be preferred. From
the above Mr. Anderfon's meth
od is not much different. " In-
ftead," fays he, " of allowing the
hay to lie, as ufual in moft places,
for fome days in the fwarth, af
ter it is cut, and afterwards put
ting it up into cocks, and fpread-
ing it out, and tending it in the
fun, which tends greatly tobleach
the hay, exhales its natural juices,
and
i 5 o H A Y
and fubjefts it very much to the
danger of getting rain, and thus
runs a great rifk of being good
for little, I make it a general
rule, if poflible, never to cut my
hay but when the grafs is quite
<lry ; and then make the gather
ers follow dole upon the cut
ters, putting it up immediately
into frnall cocks, about three
feet high each when new put
p ; always giving each of them
a flight kind of thatching, by
-drawing a few handfuls of the
hay from the bottom of the cock
all around, and laying it lightly
on the top, with one of the ends
hanging downwards. This is
done with the utmoft eafe and
expedition ; and when it is once
in that ftate, I confider my hay
as in a great meafure out of dan
ger ; for unlefs a violent wind
ihould arife, immediately after
the cocks are put up, fo as to o-
verturn them, nothing elfe can
hurt the hay ; as I have often
experienced that no rain, how
ever violent, ever penetrates in
to thefe cocks but for a very lit
tle way. And, if they are dry
put up, they never fit together
io clofely as to heat ; although
they acquire in a day or two,
fuch a degree of firmnefs, as to
be in no danger of being over
turned by wind after that time,
unlefs it blows a hurricane.
" In thefe cocks I allow the
hay to remain, until, upon in-
ipeftion, I judge that it will keep
in pretty large tramp cocks, &c.
The advantages that attend this
method are, that it greatly a-
bridges the labour, that it allows
the hay to continue almoft as
green as when it is cut, and pre-
ferves its natural juices in the
greateft perfection. For it is dri
ed in the moft flow and equal
manner that can be defired. Laft-
ly, that it is thus in a great meaf-
H E M
ure fecured from almoft the pof-
fibility of being damagedby rain."
EJfays on Agriculture.
Clover is a fort of hay that re
quires a critical attention in cur
ing : Becaufe, though the ftalks
need much drying, the leaves
and heads will bear but little
without wafting. It is beft to
rake it towards night, when the
dampnefs of evening begins to
come on ; open it the next day,
and never ftir it much when
there is danger of its crum
bling.
Salt hay, in this country, has
ufually been hurt by lying too
long in the fwarths. The meth
od in which I have treated it for
feveral years, is, to cock it the
next day after it is cut, and car
ry it in, without delaying more
than one day, and put a layer of,
forne kind of dry ftraw between
load and load of it, in the mow,
to prevent its taking damage by
overheating. The ftraw con
trails fo much of its moifture
and faltnefs, that the cattle will
eat it very freely ; and the hay
is far better than that made in
the common way.
If this hay be permitted to lie
out in rains, the faltnefs of it
will be diminished, which they
who have but little other fodder
may be apt to confider as an ad
vantage. But it will contract
no virtue, while it lofes its falt
nefs. The frefh water will dam
age it ; efpecially for thofe who
have plenty of other fodder, or
even ftraw to mix with it.
Salt hay fhould not be cut
when the full or change of the
moon is approaching, left the
tides fhould be high, before it
can be got off from the marfh.
HEMP, a plant with a tough
fibrous coat, which anfwers the
fame purpofes as flax, but is
coarfer and llronger.
The
HEM
The plant is tap rooted, and
therefore does beft in a deep and
free foil. It is luxuriant, and
quick in its growth, and there
fore requires a rich,, and well
prepared foil. The foils which
have been found to fuit it heft,
are a rich gravelly loam, or a
loofe black mould, which is dry
and deep. It is an error to think
that it needs a wet foil, for it
bears drought almoft equally
with any plant that we cultivate.
Mr. Eliot found by experi
ment, that it anfwered very well
on a drained fwamp : And he
tells of a man in the Jerfies,who
raifed as much hemp yearly, on
half an acre of fuch land, as
brought him fifty pounds York
money. It is not uncommon
for one acre to yield half a ton,
which will fell for twenty pounds
in cam, at the loweft. And I
am told by one who is much ac
quainted with it, that it is more
eafily broken and fwingled than
flax ; and that, oftentimes, the
brake will do all that is neceffa-
ry in cleaning it.
To prepare land for a crop of
hemp, the land mould be plough
ed to a good depth in the fall of
the year preceding. If it be
green fward land, it mould be
ploughed as early as Auguft or
September, that the fward may
be perfectly rotten. And if it
were ploughed in ridges it would
be the better, and fit for fowing
the earlier. And by crofs plough
ing and harrowing in the fpring,
it mould be made extremely fine
and mellow, A little dung
Ihould be applied, if the land be
not in the beft heart ; and the
fall is the beft time to apply it.
But if compofts are ufed, they
mould be laid on juft before
fowing.
The time of fowing the feed
is as early in the fpring as the
HEM
foil can be got into good order,
as it is a plant that is not eafily
injured by froft ; but the middle
of May will not be too late.
The feed for fowing mould
be of the laft year's growth, as
older feed is not wont to come
up at all. I once fowed feed
which was brought from Eng
land. It looked as well as any
I ever faw ; but not one in ten
thoufand ever fprouted. The
quantity of feed for an acre, in
the broad caft way, is three
buftiels ; but half that quantity,
in the drill method, will be e-
nough. If the land be poor, a
fmaller quantity of feed will
ferve. The groimd mould be
watched after lowing, that birds'
do not take away the feeds.
The drill method is on fome
accounts preferable to the other,
For though in the firft crop it
will fall fhort, it exhaufts the
land lefs ; and, therefore, in the
long run, it may be more profit
able. But in this way it pro
duces more feed, and this meth
od is certainly advantageous on
account of the more convenient
pulling of the hemp. If fown
on narrow ridges, or beds, and
the trenches ihoveled out after
fowing and harrowing, I fufpeft
the broad caft way would have
the preference. But of this I
have had no experience.
As the correfpondent parts of
generation are on different plants,
they are of two diftmct fexes,
male and female, and require
different treatment. I will ven
ture to affert, contrary to M.
Mercandier, that the male is the
plant which bears the flowers,
and the female that which bears
the fruit, or feed.
That which bears the flowers,
will be fit for pulling about the
end of July. Its ripenefs is
known by its growing yellow at
'52
tt E M
the top, and white at the root,
by the falling of the flowers, and
the withering of the leaves. If
care be taken in pulling, not to
hurt thofe plants which are left,
they will thrive the better after
it, as they will have more room,
and as the earth will be ftirred
about their roots; And the drill
method is favourable to this
work, as the pullers need not
tread among the thickeft of the
hemp. And fowing in beds has
the fame advantage.
After pulling, it mttft be put
into the water without delay, to
fteep. Ponds and ftill waters
are beft. It will not take more
than four or Tive days to water
it enough. But it mufl be watch
ed, left it fhould be overdone.
After watering, it mufl be fpread
and dried in the fun.
The fruitful kind does not
jipen till about five or fix weeks
later. Its ripenefs is known b^
the feed's turning brown. After
it is well dried, and the feed
taken off by a kind of coarfe
comb, it muft be watered. It
will take almoft three times as
much watering as the firft kind.
The one kind is more fit to be
manufactured into thread and
cloth, the other more fuitable
for rigging of fhips, and ropes.
But the lateft kind may be made
pliable and fine, if labour enough
be bellowed upon it. In Head
of fteeping, fpreading hemp in
the dew will anfwer, as I have
found by experience ; and this
method is pra6tifed in England.
The drefling of hemp may be
performed in the fame manner
as that of flax, if it be not un
commonly large and long. A
perfon, who is well acquainted
with the culture and manufacture
of hemp, allured me, that when
his neighbour raifed it on a
drained fwamp, he had it twelve
HEM
feet long ; and, that he might
manage it eafily in dreffing, he
cut it in the middle. It was
then as long as ordinary hemp,
and as ftrong for every purpofe*
If fome of the ftalks of hemp
fliould be too large and ftubbonv
for the brake, they may be put
by themfelves to be peeled by
hand. The doing of it may be
an amufement for children and
invalids.
But to facilitate the drefling
of hemp, mills mould be erefted
for doing it. Or the machinery
may be an appendage to fome
other mill. Two brakes fhould
be moved together, a coarfer and
a finer, placed head to head, that
the hatidfuls may be eafily fhifu
ed frorri one to the other. It is
light work for two boys to tend
them. But the breaking of large
hemp by hand, is fevere labour
for the ftrongeft men.
If no convenient dream be at
hand, a mill may be conftru&ed
to be worked by a horfe.
It was formerly the cuftom id
beat hemp abundantly with mal
lets, or with peftles in large mor
tars, or in fulling mills, to make
it foft, and fit for fpinning. But
M. Mercandier has (hewn how
it may be more eafily done, by
fteeping it in warm water, or in
lie, and wafhing it. See his
Trea.ti ft on Ihmp.
The great profit of a crop of
hemp, and its being an article
that will readily command cafh,
fhould recommend the culture
of it to all our farmers. Befides
the hemp itfelf, of the value of
twenty pounds per acre, after it
is dreffed, the feed of an acre
muft be allowed to be of confid-
erable value. Perfons need not
fear their crops will lie upon
their hands, when they confider
the vaft fums of money which
are yearly fcnt to other countries
for
H I D
fbr this article, almoft enough to
deprive the country of a medi
um, and how naturally the de
mand for it will increafe as it
becomes more plenty. There is
no reafon to doubt of fuccefs in
raifing hemp, if the foil be fuita-
ble, and well prepared ; for it is
liable to no diftemper ; cattle
will not deftroy it, unlefs it be
with their feet ; and it is an anti
dote to all forts of devouring in-
fefts. Neither is the plant diffi
cult as to climate. Though the
hotte/l climates do not fuit it,
temperate and cool ones do ;
and it has been found, by the
finall trials that have been made,
to thrive well in the various
parts of Newengland. The moft
northern parts are very iuitable
for the growing of hemp. The
fouthern are equally fo.
RENTING FURROWS,
thofe which are turned from
each other, being contiguous at
bottom, as the two lait furrows
in ploughing a land, or between
ridges.
HERD'S GRASS, or Fox
Tail, A/opecurus pratenfs. This
grafs is a native oi Newengland.
Mr. Eliot fays it was firil iound
at Pifcataqua in Newharnpihire,
by one Herd, who propagated it,
whence the name. It is culti
vated in our improved fields for
hay. It requires about ten or a
dozen quarts of the feed for an
acre. It does beft in rich and
inoilt land. More needs not to
be faid of a grafs, the great val
ue oi which is fo well known in
this country ; efpecially in the
northern parts, where it profpers
more than in the fouthern. It
is of more importance to our
farmers than any other grafs that
thev cultivate.
HIDE BOUND, a diftemper
into which horfes fall when they
are poorly fed and neglected.
T
HID 153
" A horfe that is hide bound
grows lean, has a feverifii heat,
his lkin {licks to his ribs, thu
{pine becomes harder than uiiial,
fnutll boils breakout on his back,
and yet his appetite fometimes
continues good. As this difor-
dcr feldom is an original com
plaint, but generally arifes from
forne former caufe, regard mufl
be had to that caufe, in the
method of cure. But as to the
diforder itfelf, Vegelius direHs
the anointing the whole body
with oil and wine mixed togeth
er, rubbing them ftrongly againit
the hair, in a warm fun, in or
der that the (kin may be relaxed,
and a fweat break out ; after
which the horfe ihould be well
curried, and placed in a warra
flable, with plenty of litter.
" The authors of the Maifon
Rujiiqut advife that the next
clay after bleeding the horfe, a
fomentation be made of emoli-
ent and aromatic {lengthening
plants, boiled in lees ot wine, or
beer, and that the whole body
of the horfe be rubbed with thefe
plants, whilit they are warm, till
it. is thoroughly wet ; and that
the loins, belly, and neck, as
well as the re it of the body, be
anointed with a mixture of one
part honey and three parts of
ointment of elder, rubbing it
{trongly in with the hand, that
it may penetrate the fk-in. This
done, the horfe fhould be cover
ed with a cloth dipt in the warm
fomentation, and doubled, and
another covering fhould be put
over this, tying it on with one
or two furcingles. The horfe
mould remain in this condition
24 hours, and then be fomented,
rubbed, &c. twice as before.
Thefe fomentations being iinifh--
ed, a warm covering mult be
continued, left the horfe catch
cold ; and he ihould then have
an
154
HOE
an opening clyfter, and the ne.tt
morning a purging medicine ;
continuing to wafh his head and
Tseok, and alfo to rinf'e his mouth
with the decoction,
" For food, put into a pail or
two of water about half a bufncl
of barley meal carefully ground,
ftir it well about, and let it fet
tle. When the heavier! parts
have fubfided, pour the thin part
off for the horfe to drink, and
give him what remained at the
bottom, at three different times
in the day, mixing -with it a due
quantity ot crude antimony.
The horfe muft have reft for
fome time, and be fed with the
belt hay, or grafs, according to
the feafon of the year. In
fpring, there is nothing better
than new grafs. In about three
weeks, he will begin to mend
remarkably." Mills on Cattle.
HOE, a well known inftrn-
rnent ufed in tillage. It is call
ed by fome writers the hand hoe,
to diitinguifh it from the horfe
hoe.
Hoes are chiefly of two kinds,
narrow and broad. The ufe of
the narrow hoe is to break up
fpots of hard, or tough ground,
as the balks left by the plough
in fwarded land, or the corners
of lots where the plough cannot
conveniently reach ; or to take
up firong roots, fueh- as thole of
the ihrub oak, &c. Therefore,
this tool mult be made thick and
iirong, with a large eye, that, it
may admit a flrong helve.
It has alfo the name of a break
ing up hoe ; but it is ieldom
made to do the work of a plough
in this country of late, unlefs by
the pooreft people, and in new
places where teams cannot be
eaiiiy had,
The broad hoe is a very im
portant implement among farm
ers, as it is mucU ufe-d, though
H O E
rot fo much as it fhould bev
The more mellow the land is>
the larger the hoc ihould be,
that work may be done more
expeditioufly. The tough and
hard foil requires a narrower
hoe, to render the labour more
eafy.
Where land is not ftony, hoes
fhould he kept iharp by grind
ing. They will enter the ground
the more ea(ily, and deflror
weeds and their roots more ef-
feftually.
For the eafe of the labourer,
hoes fhould be made as light as
is confident with the needful
degree of ftrength : Their han
dles efpecially ihould be made
of fome light kind of wood, as
alh, or white maple, or a young
tree of fpruce. For the Horfe
Hoe, fee that article.
HOEING, either burying
feeds in the earth with the hoe,
or breaking and ftirring the foil,
chiefly when plants are growing
in it.
This after tillage, as I may
call it, has been found to be of
great advantage to almoft every
kind of plants, and to fome it is
fo neceffary that no crop is to
be expected without it. The
deeper land' is hoed, the greater
advantage do plants receive from
hoeing, if due care be taken that
their roots be not diflurbcd, or
too much cut to pieces.
The ends to be anfwered by
hoeing are chiefly thefe : i. To
defiroy weeds, which are always
ready to fpring up in every foil,
and which would rob the culti
vated plants of moft of their
food. Scraping of the furface,
if it be done frequently, maj
anfwer this purpofe ; but to de-
ftroy the roots of weeds, deeper
hoeing is neceffary. 2. To keep
the foil from becoming too com
pact, which prevents the roots
extending
HOE
extending themfelves freely in
fparch of their food, at the fame
time keeping up a fermentation,
by which the vegetable food is
concocled, and brought into
contaft with the roots. For this
purpofe, the deeper land is hoed
the better. But hoeing fhould
ceafe, or be only fuperficial,
when the roots are fo far extend
ed as to be much injured by
hoeing. They will bear a little
cutting without injury. For
where a root is cut off, feveral
KC\V branches will com-e in its
place. 3. To render the foil
more open and porous, fo that it
ihall greedily drink in the night
ly dews, and that rain may not
run off, but readily foak in as it
falls, and be retained. Accord
ingly, the more and ohenerland
is hoed, the more moiilure it re
tains, the better it bears drought,
and the more its plants are nour-
ifhed. 4. Another dciign of
hoeing, and which has not been
enough attended to, is to nour-
rfh plants by drawing freih foil
near to them, the effluvium of
which enters their pores above
ground, and increafes their
growth. 5. At the fame time,
earthing of plants makes them
ftand more firmly, and increafes
their pafture in the fpots where
the roots moft abound. At the
fame time it prevents the drying
of the earth down to the roots.
But earthing, or hilling of
plants, mould be done with cau
tion. Hilling exceffivcly is
hurtful, as it does not permit the
roots to have fo much benefit
from the rains, and too much
hinders the influence of the fun
upon the lowermoft roots.
Whatever hilling is done, fbould
be done by little and little, at
feveral hoeings, that the roots
may gradually and eafily accom
modate themfelves to the altera-
H Q E 155
tion of their condition. LafMy,
frequent hoeing ferves to pre
vent the {landing of water o
the furface, fo as to chill the
ground, and check all fermenta
tion in it.
When alt the hoeing between,
rows of plants is performed with
the hand hoe, the labour is fe-
verc, and more expenfive to the
owner 4 and the plants will, on
the whole, receive tar lefs advan
tage from hoeing. Therefore,
where land is tokrably free
from obftacles, I would carneft-
ly recommend that the hoe
plough, or the common horfe
plough, which anfwers nearly
the lame end, 'be much ufed ;
and the earth ftirred with it to a
good depth, and frequently, dur
ing the proper feafon of hoeing,
which is the former part of fiun-
mer, but varies with refpecl to
different crops.
A plough, called a cultivator,
has been conltru&ed, with two
mouldboards, which turns the
mould both ways at once, to
wards each of the two rows be
tween which it paffes. But, as
it requires more than one horfe
to draw it in ftifF ground, two
furrows made with a hoe plough,
or horfe plough, according to
the cuftomary practice, may an-
fwer full as we-H. When the
foil is light and mellow, it will
be a faving of time to ufe this
cultivator ; and the work will
be done with more regularity
and neatnefs, if guided with
fkill, and due care.
The ufual method of horfc
hoeing is as follows : At the
firll hoeing, turn the furrows
from the rows, fo that they form
a veering, or ridge, in the inter
vals between the rows. The
plough fhould pafs as near to
the rows as may be without dan
ger of eradicating or diflurbing
the
356 H O E
die plants ; for it is beftthat the
ioil be loofened as near to the
roots as pofiible : Becaufe when
they are tender and weak, they
\viliextcnd their roots but little;
and there will be no opportuni- j
ty afterwards oi ploughing and j
uirring the earth fo near to
them, without too much danger
of tearing and injuring their
roots. After ploughing, the
rows are to be cleared of weeds
with the hand hoe, and a little
frefh earth brought into contact
with them.
At the next hoeing, and all
after hoeings, in our common
liuibandry, the furrows are to
l)e turned towards the rows, fo j
as to form a henting, or trench,
in the middle of e;i.cii interval ;
and crofs the furrows lalt made,
that the land m?iy be the more
thoroughly pulv'cn/-:ed. This
operation carries the {hare of the
plough- farther from the roots,
a.'vi at the fame time a fiords
plenty of frelh earth about the
plants ; which mult be finifhed
with the hand hoe. But if, in
ploughing, any oi the plants
nld dbance tahe covered, they
iuu.it be lot free witho.i.U delay.
At the lalt hoeing, -either ot
Indian corn, or of any thing that
is planted in hills, as it is vulgar
ly culled, it is belt to make but-
one furrow in an interval, and to
p;Js the plough both ways, or
cut the ground into fquares with
the plough, or rather -with the
cultivator. This leaves the roots
the more room, and Ici.s work
will remain to be done with the
hand hoe.
If the horfe be weak, or the
ground hard and fthY, it may be
needful to let the plough go
twice in a place, which makes
four times in an interval, for
ihe plough fhoukl go as deep lor
hoeing, as in any other plough-.
If O E
ing, or elfe the intention of it
will be partly defeated ; which
15 to keep that quantity of foil
light and mellow from which
the plants are to draw the moil
of their noiirifliment.
We apply horfe hoeing to In
dian corn, when the ground is
well cleared from obihcles, and
could not be ealily perluaded to
negleft it. Every farmer knows
how much it faves labour, and
thafr the crop is increafed by it.
Why then will they not be per-
fuaded, by all that has been expe
rienced, and written, by fome
of the wife ft farmers, to apply
this method of culture to many
other plants ? I have no doubt it
might be done with equal advan
tage. Indeed, we cultivate but
few plants in tillage, for which
this kind of. culture would be im
proper. In Europe, they horfe
hoe all kinds of grain, and even
fome kinds of graiies.
In a dry feafon, or in land
that is in no danger of ever be
ing too wet, it is ad vi fable to hoe
only in the morning and even
ing. And if farmers will work
as early and late as they can,
they may afford to delift, and re 11
themfelves from nine till four,
when the air is hotteit. The
ground will get and retain the
more moiiture which is thus ho
ed early and late. And in the
middle of fome ot our ho tie ft
days, -there is danger of hurting
teu-ler plants, by drawing the
fcalding hot earth clofe to their
items. But the opinion enter
tained by many, that no hoeing
at all Ihould be done in a dry fea
fon, is irrational and ridiculous
They deprive their land ot the
benefit oi the dew, by neglect
ing to hoe it, fuffer it to be over
run with deilructive weeds,
which rob the plants of moft of
their nouriilunent, and allow the
ground
HOG
ground to be fo compacted and
hard, that the rain when it comes
will not penetrate it. This
ftrange opinion will occafion
much lofs to thofe whole con
duct is influenced bv it.
HOG-STY, a kind of build
ing in which hogs are confined
and fed. The ways oi confhit-
ing thefe houfes are various :
But the beft are thofe which are
framed and boarded. The boards,
that the fwine may not gnaw them
to pieces, fhouhl be of fome
harder wood than white pine,
and they {hould be [aliened with
ribbings and fpikes. Whatever
be the conftructure of ilies, they
ihculd always have one part clofe
and warm, with a tight roof over
it ; and the other part open, in
which the trough is placed.
Swine will not well bear to be
wholly fecluded from the weath-
; er and funftiine ; and it is hurt-
. ful to them to have a cold and
i wet lodging ; more hurtful than
many people are ready to imag-
! ine '
The floor of a fly mould be
\ very tight, to prevent the lofs of
j manure ; or elfe it {hould be
mounted fo high above the
ground, that the manure may be
eaiily pulled cut from under it.
It is a good way to have the open
fide, or end, a little lower than
the other, that the lodging part
may always be dry. And fome
build them with a gap above the
fill at the lower part, where much
oi the filth will go out, with
out the trouble of (hoveling it.
If planks be thought too ex-
petifive for flooring, a good, and
very durable floor, may be made
of flat ftones, bedded in clay,
that the manure may not foak
into the ground, But none of
ti:c rocks mould be fo fmall, that
the iargeit hog can ftir- them with
II O G 157
In a neighbouring town., I
once faw a light ity. mounted on
four low wheels,, one at each
corner ; which was frequently
drawn with eafefrom onef^t <o
another, in an orchard near to the
dwelling houfe. By means oi
tiiefe removals, every part of the
enclofure might be manured m
turn, arid nu manure wafted by r
its Handing too long in one
place. 1 heartily wifh this ex
ample may be followed, as it
may be with a trifle of expcnfc,
for it muft needs be profitable in
a considerable degree.
In feeding hogs, their food is
often wailed, and fo dirtied as to
be fpoiled, by their {landing with
their feet in the trough, and by
their fcuiiling with each other*.
Thk may be eafily prevented.
Let the trough be fo fpiked u>
the floor, or otherwife made -lo
fleady, that they cannot difplace
it ; and let a piece of joift be fo
framed in over the trough, that
they cannot ftarid over it ; but
can put their heads under the
joift into the trough. I have
faved much in this way, fince
I firft thought of it. The fwine
eat little or no filth, when a
a trough is fo defended, which is
a matter of fome importance
with me ; for I am thoroughly
convinced, that the more cleanly
any animals feed, the more fweet
arid wholefome their flelh will
be. And none of the food that
is given them will in this way be
wailed, or next to none.
As there is fome labour, and
much care required, in tending
hogs, which are fattening in a fly,
I lhall with p leaf tire relate a
method of doing it without tend
ance, excepting with water. It
was difcovered to me by an in
genious and valuable friend.
Let a hopper be built over the
trough, capable of holding as
inucli
too
H O P
coarfe linen cloth. They are
commonly about eleven feet
long, and near two yards and a
half in circumference, and con-
fain about 250 weight of hops.
The fmall bags, called pockets,
contain about half as much.
The manner of bagging is
thus. Make a round or fquare
hole about 26 or 30 inches over,
in the floor of the chamber
where the hops are laid in heaps
after fweating. Tie with a piece
of pack thread, a handful of hops
in each lower corner of the bag,
to- ferve as handles for the more
eafy lifting or removing the bag;
and fatten the mouth of the bag
to a frame, or hoop, fomewhat
larger than the hole, that the
hoop may reft on its edges. The
upper part thus fixed, the reft of
the bag hangs down through the
hole, but not fo far as to touch the
lower floor. Then throw into
it a hufhel or two of hops, and
let .a man go into the bag, and
tread the hops down till they lie
clofe ; then throw in more and
fread ; and fo on till the bag is
full. Loofe it from the hoop,
and few up the mouth as clofe
as poflible, tying hops in-the up
per, as was done in the lower
corners. The harder the hops
are preffed, and the clofer arid
thicker the bag is, the longer
and better the hops will keep.
A fmall manuring of hop
ground every fecond year is fut-
ficient. Dung was formerly
more in ufe than at prefent, ex
perience having fhexvn that lime, I
lea fand, marie, afhes, &c. an-
fwer the end better, and laft
longer. But hog dung prevents
mildew from taking hops.
Each pole, according to Dr.
Hales, has thr^e vines, which
makes fix vines to a hill. All
the fprouts above this number.
iiijuld be broken ofFin che f
tl O R
HORN DISTEMPER, a dif-
eafe of neat cattle, the feat of
which is in their horns. Cows
are more fubjeft to it than oxen.
It does not attack bulls ; and
fleers and heifers, under three
years old, have not been known
to have it. The dillein per grad
ually confumes the pith of the
horn. Sometimes it is in both
horns at once, but more ufually
in one only.
The difeafe is difcoverable by
the coldnefs, or lofs of the nat
ural warmth of the horn ; by
dulnefs of the eyes, fluggiflmefs*
lofs of appetite, and a difpofition
to lie down. When the brain is
affetted, cattle will tofs their
heads and groan much as if in
great pain.
To effeft the cure, the horn
mould be perforated with a nail
gimblet, through which the cor
rupted thin matter will be dif-
charged, if care betaken to keep
it open. By this boring, which
mould be nearly horizontal, or
in the depending part of the
horn, and two or three inches from
the head of the animal, the cure
fometirnes is completed. When
it proves ptherwife, a mixture of
rum and honey with myrrh and
aloes, fhould be thrown into the
horn with a fyringe ; and be fev-
eral times repeated, if the difeale
continue. For a more particu
lar account, fee a letter from the
Hon. C. Tufts, Efq. in the lit
Vol. of the Memoirs of the Acad
emy of Arts and Sciences.
HORSE.oneof the moil ufeful
of tame quadrupeds. The marks
or evidences of a good one ars
thefe, a high neck, a full breaft, a
lively eye. a ftrong back, a ft iff
dock, full buttocks, ribs reaching
near .to the hips, well made hoofs
rather large, and a good gait.
The fize of a horie fliouJd be
in proportion to the work in
which
H O R
which he is chiefly to be em
ployed. Small fized ones often
prove gOod in the faddle. They
are apt to be h<rrdy, arid in pro
portion to their fjze,and thequan-
tity of their eating, ufualiy are
the moft profitable. Plough
horfes, and all draught horfes,
ihould be large, as their weight
is of importance in drawing ; and
as it is often inconvenient to put
two horfes to one plough, efpe-
cially in horfe hoeing. Large-
nefs is alfo of importance, when
they are ufed fmgle, in journey
ing, as they molt ufually are, in a
chaife or fleigh.
A horfe 's manner of going is
a matter of no fmall importance.
The ambling gate, or what in
this country is vulgarly called
pacing, is not good, neither for
the horfe nor the rider. It is
tirefome to both. It habituates
a horfe to carry his feet too near
to the ground, fo that he is the
more liable to trip and ft urn We;
The method fo much practif-
ed formerly in this country, of
teaching horfes to pace fwiftly,
and racing in that gate, is high
ly pernicious. It puts them to
a much greater ftrain than run
ning ; and numbers have been
thus ruined; Some colts natur
ally amble, and others trot. But
all may be made to trot, if due
care and pains be taken with
them while they are young, or as
foon as they are firft ridden. In a
carriage an ambl is tirefome to
a norfe^ appears highly improp-
ejr, and is difgufling to every one.
And I do not fee why it Ihould
appear at all more tolerable in
the faddle.
When any change of gait is
wanted fur the eafe of the rider,
the canter is to be preferred,
than which none can be more eafy .
The way of breaking a young
horie ihat is nioftly ufcd in this
U
O R
159
ry, is highly abfurd, hurt*
ful, and dangerous. He is
mounted and ridden before he
has been ufed to the bridle of
to bearing any weight on his
back; If he will not go for
ward, he is mofl unmercifully
beaten ; by which his fpirits are
broken, and his ftrength impaired*
If he rears up, he is pulled back
wards, with the rilk of hurting
both horfe and man. If he runs
and fiarts, as he probably will
under fuch management, he flings
the rider, perhaps is frightened,
gains his liberty, and is encour
aged trado juft fo the next op
portunity ; and the unfortunate
rider bleffes himfelf, as he has
reafon to do, if he efcape with
out broken limbs. Or ii the
horfe ihould chance to go kindly,
the rider continues the exercife
till the horfe is fatigued^ difcour-
aged, and injured.
Inftead of this mad manage
ment, the way praclifed in the
older countries fhould be adopt
ed. Let a horfe firft of all be
tamed with the bridle^ by leading
him again and again \ in the firft
place, after, or by the fide of an
other horfe ; and after he walks
well, bring him to trot after his
ieader. In the next place, put
on the faddle, and lead him ill
thati time after time. Then lay
a fmall weight on the faddle, and
if he be apt to ftart, iaften it, that
it may not be flung off^ increaf-
ing the weight from time to timCi
till he learns to carry what is e-
qual to a man's weight;. Laftly,
let a man gently mount him,
while another holds him by the
bridle, and fix himfelf firmly in.
the faddle. The place of riding
is recommended to be a plough
ed field. Let him thus be rid
den with a horfe going before
him, till he learn the ufe of the
bit, and will flop, or go forward,
H O R
at the pleafure of the rider, and
without the application of much
force. Being exercifed in this
manner a few times, and treated
with all poiliblegentlenefs, there
will be no more occafion for
leading him. He will go well
of him felt" ; and be thoroughly
broken, without formjch as giv
ing him one blow, and without
danger or fatigue, to the horfe
or his rider. And, what is much
to be regarded, the horfe's fpirits
will be preferved, though he be
fitfficiently tamed. In teaching
a horfe to draw, gentlenefs muft
be ufed. He fhould be tried fir ft
in company with other horfes,
whether in carting or ploughing ;
and the draught Ihould not be lo
heavy as to fret him or put him
to great exertion till he has learn
ed to draw fteadily. After this
he may be put to draw light loads
by himfclf. Laftly he may be put
to a pleafurc carriage, but coupled
with another rather than alone,
and toaftctghrather thanachaile.
It may be taken for a general
rule, that the gait which is eafi-
eft to a horfe, will be the eafieft
to his rider. For jaded horfes,
it has always been obferved, are
apt to go hard, and to tire their
riders.
The feeding of horfes, as I
conceive, has not been fuffi-
ciently attended to in this coun
try ; which is, doubtlefs, one
reafon why they are in general
fo mean and defpicable. Too
many keep horfes who cannot
well afford to feed them. They
fhould neither run upon the
roads and commons, nor in paf-
tures that are filled with wild
and water graffes. They love a
dry pafture, not too much {had
ed, and fhort grafTes of the beft
kinds. Clover and white honey-
iuckle, both green and dry, are
excellent food for them. It
H O R
nourifhes them well, and pres
vents coftivenefs, which is very
hurtful to them. The beft of clo
ver hay will keep them as well as
moft other kinds of hay with oats.
To fit a horfe tor a journey he
mould not be fuffered to grow too
fat and grofs. He ihould for
fome time be kept in the ftable
rather than in the pafture, and
fed moftly with hay and proven
der : But rather fparingly if he
incline to be fat. He mould
have exercife daily to harden his
fleih, and keep him in the habit
of travelling. He ihould be fliod
fome days before he begins a
journey, that the flioes may be
well fettled to his feet, and the
nails a little rutted at the points,
that they may hold the faft'er.
And the pads of the faddle
fhould be well fitted to his back,
fb as to fill the hollows, and bear
equally on every part. And
while he is onthe journey, he
fhould be ftabled every night.
It is deftruclive to expofe a horfe
to the dampnefs and cold of the
night after fevere exercife. But
it would be bed, if neither
horfes, nor any of our cattle,
were wholly confined to dry
meat in winter. Horfes indicate
this, by their eating fnow with
their hay. Set a bafket of fnow
within reach of a horfe, when he
is at his manger, and he will take
a mouthful from each alternately.
Of all juicy food for horfes in
winter, writers on hufbandry
feem to give carrots the prefer
ence. They have been found by
experience to anfwer well in-
ftead of oats for labouring
horfes ; and to fatten thofe which
are lean.
He that would be fure to keep
his horfe in good order, mull be
ware whom he fuffers to ride
him, -and mutt fee that he is never
abufed. Profufe fweating mould
always
H O R
always be avoided. And when
a horfe is much warmed by ex-
ercife, he mould not be expofed
to cold air, or night dew, and
much lefs to rain and fnow. If
he cannot be in-ftantly rubbed
down and houfed when warm,
he mould be covered with a
blanket ; and he fhould always
have a dry ftable, and be well
littered. The neglect of thefe
precautions may bring on incur
able diforders.
Horfes mould not be too
much deprived of the liberty of
motion, as they too often are.
Clofe confinement after hard la
bour, will be apt to abate their
circulations too fuddenly, make
them chilly, and ftiffen their
joints. To be deprived of mo
tion, is bad for man and beaft.
Horfes therefore Ihould not be
ftraitened for room in their (tables.
Stables fhould not be fo low as
to prevent their tofling up their
heads as high as they pleafe.
Some {tables have fo little room
over head as to bring horfes into
a habit of carrying their heads
too low. They become atraid
to lift them up. They mould
alfo have room in their {tables to
turn their heads to any part of
their bodies, that they may de
fend themfelves from the biting
of infecls, allay itching, &c.
And their halters mould always
be fo long, and their itable fo
wide, that they may ,lie down
conveniently. Nor mould horfes
be fo placed as to be able to de
prive each other of his fodder.
When horfes are kept in fta-
bles, as they generally are in the
coldeft half of the year,they mould
be daily drefled, as it is called.
The curry comb, and the brum,
mould be well ufed on all parts oi
their {kin, which are covered with
hair. This increafes perfpiration
through the pores of the fkin.
H O R
161
which is neceflary to health; and
caufesthe blood to move falter in
the veins This treatment will not
only caufethem to look better,but
they will have better health, and
more activity and courage. Thev
will digeft their food better, and
be better for fervice. But if rub
bing and fri&ion be wholly neg-
ledecl, or fiightly performed, the
hair will appear dry and rough ;
the perfpirable matter hardens
in the pores of the {kin, or re
mains lodged at the roots of the
hair, and has the appearance of a
dirty white duft : And fometimes
like fmall fcales attended witi\
itching. More efpecially is rub
bing neceilary for horfes, when
they are growing cold after being
fweated by labour. In (uch cafes
it Ihould never be omitted.
Columella obferves " that the
bodies of cattle ought to be rub
bed down daily, as well as the
bodies of men ; and fays it often
does them more good to have
their backs well rubbed down,
than their bellies well filled with
provender."
But in warm weather it would
be belt lor them, that they
mould not have the confinement
of the halter, nor even of the
(table. A fmall fpot of feeding
ground, if it were only a few-
rods, adjoining to the (table, and
the door left open, that a horfe
may go in and outalternately as he
pleafes, would greatly conduce
to the health of the animal.
This degree of liberty will be
moil needful, when the flies are
troubleiome ; and be better for
him than confinement to*a liable
that is perfectly dark. la fly
time it gives a horfe much eafe
and comfort to linear his limbs,
neck and head, with rancid fuh
oil, or fomething elfe that will
keep the flies from attacking him.
Aud in allJCeafgns,whsnhories have
162
H O R
been heated with exercife, they |
ihoulcl be well rubbed, or curried. |
VVhen ahorfe runs inapafture j
during the grafs feafon, he (hould
have fome fhelter, not only a
(hade to defend him from the in-:
tenfe heat of the fun, but a fhed,
or a clump of trees, that he may
retreat from the inclemencies pf
the atmofphere.
But horfes that are daily
worked, in fummer, Ihould be
rnoftly kept upon green fodder
in (tables, rather than grazed in
paf hires. The tendance of them
will not be fo burdenfome, with
a fpot of high arid thick grafs at
hand, as leading them to and
from a pafture, at the diftange of
a quarter of a mile. Tins will
prevent their being often chilled
by feeding in wet nights. A
large quantity of manure will
thus be fa^ed. And a very
frnall quantity of land will an-
iwer, in comparifon with what it
takes for the paftunngot a boric.
Keeping a fithe and a hafket at
hand, a horfe may be foddered in
this way, in two or three rqin-
'utes ; and by the time that the
whole fp-ot has been once mow
ed over, that which is firft cut
will be grownup again. Where
a number of horfes are foiled, a
pair of poles, or a hand cart, will
be better than a bafket to carry
the hay to them. This pra6Hce,
called foiling, anfwers well near
to cities and large towns, where
lands for pailurt-ge are not plen
ty ; and where, by means of the
plenty of manure, lands may be
made to yield the greateft crops
of graft. For very thick grafs
Ihould not be fed off; becaufe
the greater part of it will be waft
ed by the trampling, and the ex-
crem^nfs ef animals.
HORSE HOE, a kind of
plough ufed in flirring the foil,
when a crop is growing on it. It
H U R
does not effentially differ from a
common horfe plough, only in
the different manner of connect
ing it to the horfe. This is done
by two arms, or fhafts, likethofe
of a cart, faftened by fcrews to a
fhort plank about three feet long
and one foot broad ; which plank
is made fail to the fore end of the
beam, which may be occafional-
ly removed to the right or left,
according as the hoeing may re
quire the plough to pafs nearer
to, or farther from the rows.
This is lefs apt to injure tho
plants, than a common harnefs.
The advantage of this inilru-r
ment above a horfe plough is
iaid to be principally the ileadi-
nefs of its going, by which a fur-"
row may be drawn very near to
a row of plants, without danger
ot injuring them. This was the
opinion oi Mr. Tull,the inventor.
But as it cannot be fo well gov
erned by the handles as the com
mon horfe plough, the fafety of
the plants muft chiefly depend
upon the fleadinefs oi a horfe's
going. I therefore prefer the
norfe-plough, in the whole, for
loofening the ground betwixt
rows. It will anfwcr, at lea ft,
every purpofe of the horfe hoe.
HURDLE. The hurdles ufed
in hufbandry, for fences, are
frames of wood, confifting of
two poles, four feet apart, con,
nested with Imall Hicks acrofs
from the one to the other.
Spruce poles are good for this
ufe, being light and tough. The
fticks may be of fplit timber,
fuch as does not rot too foon j
or round nicks of natural growth,
fuch as thrifty fuckers from the
flumps of oak trees. If they are
wattled, or have twigs wove into
them, the fticks may be a foot, or
eighteen inches apart ; and they
will refemble the hurdles on
wftich fifh are dried. If thry are
not
H U R
not Wattled, the {licks muft be fo
near together, that neither flieep
nor hogs can pafs between them.
Cheap gates may be convenient
ly made in this way, A hurdle
is often wanted, to make a good
fenae acrofs a run of water, being
mod fuitable for this purpofe, as
it may be fattened by ftrong
flakes at the ends, and as it refills
the current of water but little.
They are ufeful to fence fmal]
pens and yards on any fudden
occafion. And as they are eafily
removed, they are ufed in En-
v-l-'iu. 1 ., in eating off a crop ot tur
nips with flieep. If there fhould
be need of preventing the climb
ing of boys over them, the ends ot
the crofs flicks may rife a tew
inches above the upper pole, and
be made (harp at trie points.
HURTS, a;:d Bruifes in the
withers. Horfes are very often
hurt, or wrung in the withers,
by the br ther horfcs, or
bv un'it fiddles, cfpecuiiy when
the bows are too wide ; tor by
that means they bruite theflefha-
gainft the fpinesor 'thefecondand
third vertebrae of the back, which
form that prominence which riles
above their (boulders. When
the fwelling is moderate, the
ufual method is to wafh the part
with fait and watrr, or to apply
horfe dung, or fait and black
foap mixed together, which very
often fucceeds. Any reftringent
charge, as bole and vinegar with
whites of eggs, has the fame effcl;
as alfo the whites ot eggs beat up
into a foam with a piece of alum.
This is very much commended.
" Sometimes the hair is rub
bed off, and the part becomes
galled, in which cafe nothing is
preferable to the rectified fpirit
of wine or brandy, which ought
to be ufed often, covering the
part with a flaxen cloth dipped
in beefwax, and a little oil melt-
IMP
i63
ed together, to keep the dirt
from it and defend it from th*
air." Gibfon'sFur.
HUSBANDRY, the art and
bufinefs of a farmer. Though
the word is commonly ufed as" if
it were perfectly fynonymous
with agriculture, it is, in it rift.
nefs, a word of larger fignifica-
tion. It includes not only tl e
bufinefs of tillage, and the care
and management of vegetables,
but it extends to the rearing and
feeding of cattle, (wine, poultry,
the management of the dairy,
raifmg flax and hemp, fruit and
timber trees, &c. and indeed to
every branch of rural economy.
I.
IMPROVEMENT, not the
bare ufe or occupying of lands,
though the word is too often fo
ufed improperly. In this fenfe
of the word, forne have improv
ed lands till they would produce
nothing at all.
By the improvement of lands,
I would be under flood to mean,
making them better and more
profitable.
To improve lands that are
worn out, or bring them into fuch
a ftate that they will bear good
crops, the method mod approved
and praitifed, feems to be, to ceafe
from tilling them, and let them lie
tor pa ft urage, perhaps eight or ten
years. It land get a good fwanl
by lying, it may be thought to
be confiderably recruited. But
it may be done in a much fnort-
er time by fallowing and plenti
ful manuring, it the owner will
be at the expcnle ot doing it.
Land that is fo poor, either
naturally, or by fevere cropping,
as to produce few or no vegeta
bles fpontaueoufly, may as well
be laid common. This will b
the rnpil profitable jnethod, when
the
164
I M P
the fence is fuch that it can be
eafily removed, and profitably
ufed elfewhere. More manure
will be dropped by cattle, on
land that is common, while fo
many people depend upon the
roads and .commons for paftur-
age, than if it were an inclofed
pafture : Therefore it may well
be expected to recruit the faft-
er, and be fooner in a condition
to bear good crops.
But if the circumstances of the
farmer be fuch, that he cannot
excufe his pooreft land from til
lage, let him either provide plen
ty of manure for it, or elfe let
winter rye be fown on it. Some
have found that a fucceffive
cropping with this grain will re
cruit land, and that each crop
will be better than the preceding
one. But if the land be very
poor, fuch a courfe mould be
gin with a year ot fallow, or elfe
manure fliould be applied. That
weeds may not increafe, fonie
hoed green crop fhould inter
vene once in three or four years.
But the moft quick and effectual
methods of recruiting land, per
haps, are fallowing and green
drelling. Much may be thus
done in one or two years.
If a field be not too far exhau fl
ed, laying it to clover will re
cruit it, if the foil be deep, and
{uitable for clover. But the
grafs fliould be fed off, not mow
ed.
The beft management would
be, not to fuffer lands to become
fo poor as to need much recruit
ing ; but to keep them, at leaft,
in the fame degree of richnefs,
as they are when newly cleared.
There is great lofs in cropping
land fo feverely as to wear it out,
and ufing methods afterwards to
recruit it. For, by doing this,
we muft be content with crops
for o;ie or two years, which v/i!!
I M P
fcarcely pay the cod of culture :
Or with none at all : Whereas",
by a judicious courfe of tillage,
if the feafons prove fruitful, prof
itable crops of fome kind or oth
er may be always obtained.
We ihall fcarcely find any
fpot in this country, that is not
capable of much improvement.
And, by the help of manures,
lands which are continually
cropped, may be made richer and
richer ; even by fuch manures as
are obtainable in moft parts of
this country. We are too apt to
be fatisfied with a final 1 degree
of richnefs in our tilled lands.
Being u fed to poor fuccefs in
farming, we content ourfelves
with a crop of ten or a dozen
buihels of wheat or rye from an
acre, and think our lands are in
heart, if they will produce fo
much. But, in old countries,
where the foil is not naturally fu-
periour to ours, farmers get more
than twice this quantity. Mr.
Young has found, that in fever-
al parts of the north of England,
where the rule is a crop and a
fallow, or a white and a green
crop alternately, the average prod
uce ot an acre, reckoning wheat,
rye, barley, oats, peafe and beans,
is thirty bumels. And in thofe
places where the method is, two.
crops to a fallow, the average
produce of the fame crops is
twenty fix bumels.
It appears to be beft, therefore,
in that country, not to raife two
exhaufiing crops in fucceffion.
Making this a rule, feems to be
ftill more neceflary in this coun
try ; becaufe one of our moft
faihionable white crops of corn
is more exhaufting than any of
theirs ; that is, maize is more ex
hau (ling than wheat or oats.
He that would really improve
his tillage land, or even keep it
from depreciating, ihould always
manure
IMP
manure it for a crop of maize,
and very plentifully, or elfe tal
low next after it ; and never take
two white crops without a green
one, or an improving one inter
vening. A good improving
courfe may be, i. Potatoes on
green fward land, well dunged.
2. Maize dunged. 3. Rye. 4. Clo
ver two years. 5. Wheat. The
fecond courfe may be, i. Peafe,
beans, rye, or potatoes. 2. Maize,
hemp, flax, barley or oats, dung
ed. The third courfe, i. Rye.
2. Clover two years. 3. Wheat.
I am convinced that, by fuch a
management, with deep and fre
quent ploughings, our lands in
general would yield more than
twice as much as they do at prefent.
It is adefpicable way of fann
ing, to expend forty ihil lings on
a crop that is worth no more
than forty millings. The land
holder is, in fuch a cafe, in fa6t,
no richer than the pooreft labour
er. But if the crop were double
to the coft of culture, the farmer
would receive fome intereft or
rent, for his land ; and might lay
up fomething to fupport him
when he is part his labour, as well
as lighten his labours at prefent.
Such a degree of improvement
would enable farmers to provide
fettlements for more of their fons
near home, than they can at pre
fent ; not only as they would
gain fomething to purchafe lands
with, but becaufe fifty acres
would afford a better living, than
a hundred have hitherto, as moft
of our farms have been managed.
Some may inconfiderately
think, that he who raifes twenty
bufhels from an acre, has only
double the advantage that he has
who raifes ten. But if ten only
juft pay for the culture, feed,
fencing and taxes, the latter has
no advantage at all from his
land ; and is in na better a condi-
I M P 165
tion than he \vho buys his
bread ; while the former clearly
gains ten bufhels from an acre.
The more a farmer gets in a crop,
over and above paying neceflary
charges, the greater is his clear
gain, as it is called.
I would en treat farmers tocon-
fider that the coft of raifmg
a poor crop, one time with an
other, is nearly as much as that
of raifmg a large one. There is
the fame expended in fencing
the fame tax paid the fame
quantity of feed fown the fame
almoft expended in ploughing,
as rich land ploughs fo much more
eafily than poor, as to make up
for the extra number of plough-
ings in a courfe of tillage. I
may add, there is the fame or
more labour in thrafhing. An
attention to thefe things is e-
nough to convince any one of
the gre-t importance of endeav-
ouri ng to improve crops by a more
fpirited and rational hufbandry.
If a farmer think he cannot
afford to lay out a farthing more
on the tillage of an acre, than he
has been accuftomed to do, let
him be entreated to fave a little
in fencing, and fo enable himfelf
to do it, leaving out fome of his
lands that bring little or no prof
it, and pay taxes for a lefs quan
tity of land in tillage; or let him
turn fome of his tillage land to
grafs ; and lay out the fame
quantities of labour and manure
on a third lefs land in tillage.
Lands in tillage might thus be
made profitable ; and more fo
than many are ready to imagine.
It has often been obferved,
that thofe farmers in this country
who have the feweft acres, com
monly get the beft living from
their farms. It is, dov. /tlefs, be
caufe their lands are under better
cultivation. And fome have tak
en occafion to remark, that our
farmers
1 65
I M P
farmers are ruined
plenty of land in
by the great j
their poffef-
Though this remark is
jufl, I can fee no reafon why it i
ihoukl continue to be fo ; my !
more than, that being rich mould !
neceflarily make a man poor. I
What need has the man who j
poffelFes three hundred acres, to j
deilroy the woo.- 4 ., or clear the
!<md, as they call it, any fafter
thrm he can make ule of the foil
to the bell advantage ? What
need has he to be at the expenfe
of enclofing more than his neigh
bour does, who has only one
hundred acres, while he ha's no
more ability, or occafion. for
doing it ? Or to pay taxes for
more, acres id grafs or tillage ? It
is a foolifhatid ruinating ambition
in any one, to defire to have a
wide farm, that he' may appear to
be rich, when he is able to give
it only a partial and {lovc'ily cul
ture.
If fuch improvements as are
poffible,and even eafy, we're 1 made
in the hufbandry of this country^
many and great advantages
would be found to arife. As
twice the number of people
might be fup ported on the fame
quantity of land, all our farming
towns would become twice as
populous as they are likely to be
in the prefent ftateof hufbandrV;
There would be, in general, but
half the diftanceto travel to vif-
it our friends and acquaintance,
friends might oftener fee, and
converfe with each other. Half
the labour would be faved in
carrying corn to mill, and pro
duce to market ; half the jour
neying faved in attending courts ;
and half the expenfe in fupport-
ing government, and in making
and repairing roads ; half the
diftance faved, in going to the
fmith, the weaver, clothier, &c.
bait the diilance faved, in going
I N A
to publick worlbip, and moft
other meetings ; lor where flee-
ples are four miles apart, they
would be only two or three.
Much time, expenfe and labour
would on thefe accounts be lav
ed ; and civilii'jt.iGMi, with all the
focial virtuef, wo^jS, perhaps, he
proportionabiy promoted and in~
ereafed.
Nothing is wanting to produce
thefe, and other agreeable effects,
but a better knowledge of, and
clofer attention to, matters of
hufbandry, with their necefTary
eonfequences, which xvould be
a more perfect culture, a judi
cious choice of crops, and
change of feeds, arid making
every advantage of manures.
Improvements of vaft impor
tance,, might alfo be made in the
management ol meadows and
paftures. See thofe articles.
INARCHING, "a method of
grafting, commonly called graft
ing by approach, and is ufed
when the Hock intended to graft
on, and the tree from which the
graft is to betaken^ fland fonear,
or can be brought fo near, that
they may be joined together.-
The method of performing it is
as follows : Take the branch
you would inarch, and having
fitted it to that part of the flock
where you intend to join it, pare
away the rind and wood on one
fide, about three inches in
length. After the fame manner;
cut the flock or branch iri the
place where the graft is tdbe unit
ed, fo that the rind of both may
join equally together : Then cut
at little tongue upwards in the
graft, and make a notch in the
frock to admit it ; fo that when
they are joined, the tongue wil!
prevent their flipping, and the
graft will more clofely unite with
the flock. Having thus placed
them exaflly together, tie them
with
I N C
with fome foft tying ; then cover
the place with grafting clay, to
prevent the air from entering to
dry the wound, or the wet from
getting in to rot the ilock. You
ihould alfo fix a ftake in the
ground, to which that part of
the flock, together with the graft,
fhould be faftened, to prevent
the wind from breaking them a-
funder, which is often the cafe,
when this precaution is not ob-
ferved. In this manner they are
to remain about four months, in
which time they will be iuffi-
ciently united, and the graft may
then be cut from the mother tree,
obferving to flope it off clofe to
the flock. And if at this time
you cover the joined parts with
frefh grafting clay, it will be of
great fervice to the graft.
" This operation is always per
formed in April or May, and is
commonly praftifed upon myr
tles, jafmines, walnuts, firs, pines,
and feveral other trees that will
not fucceed by common graft
ing, or budding." Dictionary of
Arts.
INCLOSURE, or ENCLO
SURE, that which fwrrounds,
enclofes, and fecures a field. See
the article. Fence. The word is
alfo ufed to fignify the land
which is enclofed ; alfo the ap
propriation of lands before held
in common.
INCREASE, a word com mon-
ly ufed in hufbandry, to exprefs
the proportion in which a crop
exceeds the feed from which it is
railed. It is generally true that
the fmaller the quantity of feed
the greater is the increafe ; be-
caufe a plant that ftands by itfcif,
has all the food that the earth is
adapted to give it. But plants
that are fo near together that
their roots intermingle, do more
or lefs rob each other of their
food. But we muil not conclude
W
INC
169
from hence, that the lefs quanti
ty of feed we fow, the better.
Becaufe, in getting a crop, other
things befide the increafe from
the feed, are to be taken into con-
fideration.
Other things being equal, thofe
crops are mod to be coveted,
which require the fmallefl propor
tion of feed. But the greateft
profit, on the whole, is to dirett
the choice of crops. The cheap-
nefs of feed fometimes mifleads
the farmer; To this caufe may
be afcribed, not feldom, the cul
tivation of maize on foils that are
more fuitable for other kinds of
corn ; or on foils that will pro
duce no crop of maize worth
cultivating. In a fuitable foil,
well dunged, it is not uncom
mon for one quart of maize to
yield ten bufhels, which is an in
creafe of 320 fold. The expenfe
of feed, therefore, for producing
a bufhel of corn, at 45. is but fix
tenths of a farthing. But an in
creafe of 20 fold is a good crop
of wheat ; the feed to produce a
bufhel of wheat, at 7^. will be
more than four pence : So that
the expenfe of feed for wheat, is
thirty times greater than for
maize. One confcquencc of
this diflerence in feed is, that
many of the poor can obtain
feed for the former crop, who
cannot obtain it for the other.
And I fufpecl that the greater
expenfe for feed of Englifh grain,
as we call it, has gradual ly
| brought the people of this coun-
try into a habit of fowing it too
| thin, and made them eftabliih
I rules of doing fo. It is certain
I we fow much thinner than Euro-
| peans do. For the fame reafon,
i the poor perfift too much in the
culture ot maize.
It is not eafy to determine what
quantities of feed will anfwer
befl for given quantities of
ground,
ground. But it is obfervable,
that, in kindnefs to man, the be-
neficientGovernour of nature has
made moil plants of the farina
ceous kind, capable of getting their
full growth when they ftand.
near together. The greateft in-
creafc from the feed, is not to be
accounted the rnoft profitable
crop. A yield of eleven for one
may he of more advantage than
twenty for one. If one bufhel
of wheat fowed on an acre pro
duce 20 bufhels, and two bum-
els on an acre produce 22, it is
worth while to fow two bufhels.
The farmer may confider one of
the two buihels as yielding 20
bufhels, and the other as yield
ing two buihels. In this cafe
eleven for one is more advan
tageous than twenty for one. See
the article teak
Another matter in which in
creafe is to be confidered, is the
breeding of cattle, and oilier an
imals. The farmer may reckon
increafe in neat cattle as follows :
He that has one Cow may ex-
peel:, in one year, to poffefs a
tow and calf ; in two years, a
cow, a yearling and a calf ; in
three years, a cow, a two year
old fteer or heifer, a yearling
and a Calf. The two year old
ifeer or heifer may be worth 3/.
the y earl ing qos. and the calf 2,os.
So that the increafe from a cow
worth 4/. in three years may be
worth 6/ Confequcntly, he that
lets outa cow for half her increafe,
as is the pra6Hce in fome places,
gets 25 per cent, ftmple irtterdl
on the money that lie buys her
with. No man therefore that
has a due regard to his own in-
terelr, will rhoofe tohire cows at
this rate ; or take them to the
halves as it is called, engaging to |
return the cow and halt her in-
creafe at the end of three years.
\Vhen cows are thus let the own-
-L IN I>
j er ought to rifque the cow and
her offspring.
The increafe of fheep is a mat-
i terof greater uncertainty, as they
| are liable to more fatal difeafes
i and accidents than black cattle
are. But as they often bring
two at a yeaning, it many times
happens that ewes increafe as
fait as cows, or fafter. But as a
lamb grows to maturity in one
year, and a me calf not in lefs
than three years, ewes may be faid
to increafe three times as faft as
Cows, even 'when they bear fingle.
INDIAN CORN, Zca.aweH
known and ufeful plant of the
grain kind. It is called maize
in molt countries, zea in fome.
The parts of generation are on
different parts of the fame plant.
The panicles, or toflels, contain
t\uzjannafc?ciindans, which fall
ing on the filk, or the green
threads at the end of the ear, im*
pregnate the ear, and render it
fruitful. If the toflels, or fpin-
dies, were cut off before the grain
in the ear is formed, the crop
would be fpoiled. This has been
proved by experiment* But
this effect will not take place*
unlefs all the tofTels be removed ;
becaufe one of them will be fuf-
ficient to impregnate twenty
plants. The filks, or threads,
| in uft be undifturbed to the time
i of impregnation. They are as
neceflary as the fowing itfelk If
part of them are taken away or
I pulled out as foon as they ap
pear, part of the corn will be
; wanting on the ear i For every
j fingle grain has one of thefe
threads. It is therefore a bad
practice to fuffer weaned calves
to go among the corn, as fome
do, at the feafon of impregnation.
Maize is confidered, in this
country, as a moft important crop,
It is preferred to wheat and rye,
becaufe it is not fubjeft to blaft-
ing.
I N D
ing, nor to any other diftemper
that is apt, in any great degree,
to cut ihort the crop, A good
foil, well tilled and manured,
feldom fails of giving a good
produce.
Another advantage of it is, that
it is more productive than either
wheat or rye are, even when
they efcape blaiiing and fmut.
No grain on the whole is more
ufeful ; for there is no other
grain equal to it, for the fatten
ing of cattle, poultry and fwine.
No other beef is ib well tailed as
that which has been ted with it.
The pork fattened with it is very
white, firm and fweet ; and it
makes the flefh of all animals
very folid and good.
Though it be not fo light and
eafy to digelt as moil other forts
of corn, it is found, that people
yho are fed on it from their in-
fi-ncy, grow large and flrong,
and enjoy very good health.
There are a variety of ways of
preparing it for food. The In
dians parch it in embers, then re
duce it to meal, and carry it
with them, when they go forth to
war, or hunting. Whenftliey eat
it they reduce it to a pafte with
water, for it needs no other cook
ing. It is called nocake.
The green ears, cither roafled
or boiled t are delicate food ; cf-
pecialiy fome of the more tender
forts, which are cultivated for
this purpofe. Ripe corn, the
hulls being taken off \*\\ a
weak lie, and boiled till it is foit,
is an excellent food ; and not
inferiour to it is pounded corn,
known by the name of lamp. In
either way, many account it c-
qual to riee. But the mo.ft com
mon ufe of it is in meal lifted
rom the bran, made into bread or
uddings. For the latter, it is
1 lowed to excel all other forts
: For the former it does
I N D 171
not anfwer well, by itfeH" ; but is
excellent when mixed with an c~
qual quantity of; rye meal..
The cheapnefs of fee<r, being
next to nothing, greatly recom
mends, to the poorer foito-f peo
ple, the culture of this corn.
For it is often the cafe, that they
are fcarccly able to procure other
feed for their ground. But this
they can often have gratis.
In our new fettlements, border
ing on the wildernefs, it fcenis
to be of more importance than in
other places ; becaufe the fialks,
leaves and hufks, being good
fodder, fup ply the new begin^
ners with winter food for their
cattle, before hay can be railed.
Of all foils a clayey one- may
juiily be accounted the worii:
kind for <-his- crop.. A loamy foil
! will not aiifwer without a plenti
ful drefling. But a fandy or grav
elly foil is heft ; or land, ii it be
not deititute ot vegetable food.
In the northern parts of Ncw~.
england, it is not worth white |p
plant this corn, on clay-, nor or*
mere loam : For it requires
much heat, and thefc foils are
not fo much warmed by the fun,
as fandy and gravelly ones. On
any foil it requires much tillage
and manure in this country ; if
either be {canty, a good crop is
not to he expected.
I think it is not the heft metru
od to plant it on what we call
green fwarcl ground, at Icaft in
! the northern parts. It is apt to
be too backward in its growth,
a.nd not to ripen fo well. But
if we do it on fuch land, the
j holes Jhould be made quite
| through the furrows, and dung
j put in the holes. If this caulion
i be not obferved, the crop will be
j uneven, as the roots in fome
| places where the furrows an*
j thickefr, will have but little ben-
I efit from the rotting of the {ward.
Bui
572 I N D
But if the holes be made through,
the roots will be fed with both
fixed and putrid air, fupplied by
the fermentation in the graf's
roots of the turf. In this way, I
have known great crops raifed on
green fward ground, where the
foil was a fandy loam, but moft-
ly fand.
But in the courfe of my expe
rience, I have found peafe and
potatoes the moft fuitable crops
for the firft year. In the fecond,
it will be in good order for In
dian corn. This cafe, however,
may be peculiar to the northern
parts of Newengland.
For this crop, it is certainly
beft to plough in the fall pre
ceding ; and again in the fpring,
juft before planting. If the land
he flat, and inclining to cold, it
ihould lie in narrow ridges during
the winter ; and if it is naturally
nioift, the corn fhould be plant
ed on ridges ; otherwife it fhould
be ploughed plain in the fpring.
Some recommend gathering
feed corn before the time of har-
vcft, being the ears that firft rip
en. But I think it would be
better to mark them, and let
them remain on the ftalks, till
they become faplefs. Whenever
they are taken in they ihould be
hung up by the hufks in a dry
place, fecure from early froft ;
;i:ul they will be fo hardened as
to be in no danger of injury from
the froft in winter.
I would not advife the farmer
to plant conftantly his own feed ;
but once in two or three years,
to exchange feed with fomebody
at the diftance of a few miles.
Change of feed is doubtlefs a
matter of importance in moft
kinds of vegetables ; though it
has not yet been fo plainly dif-
covcred in this as in fome others.
But let the farmer beware ot tak
ing his feed from too great a dif-
I N D
tance. If he fhould bring it, for
inftance, a hundred miles from
the Ibuthward, his corn would
fail of ripening ; if as far from
the north he muft expeft a lighter
crop ; and in cafe of drought, the
latter will be more apt to fuffer 9
as it has been proved by experi
ment. A fanner in the county
of Briftol, took feed from the
county of Cumberland. It came
on well at firft. But the fummer
being pretty hot and dry, it
parched up, and produced next
to nothing, though the feed he
had taken from his own field
turned out very well.
If the farmer cannot conveni
ently obtain new feed ; or if he
be loth to part with a fort that
has ferved him well, and choofe
rather to ufe it than feed he has
not tried ; let him, at leaft. fhift
feed from one field to another, and
efpecially from one kind of foil
to another.
And in the choofing of feed,
fome regard ihould be had to the
ftate ot the foil on which it is in
tended to grow. If it be poor,
or wanting in warmth, the yel
low fort with eight rows will be
moft iiiitable, as it ripens early.
A better foil fhould have a larg
er kirxd of feed, that the crop may
be greater, as it undoubtedly will.
If twenty loads of good ma
nure can be afforded for an acre,
it fhould be fpread on the land
and ploughed in : If no more
than half of that quantity, it will
be beft to put it in holes. In the
former cafe, the corn ufually
comes up better, fuffers lefs by
drought, and worms ; and the
land is left in better order after
the crop. In the latter cafe, the
plants are more aflifted in their
growth, in proportion to the
quantity of manure. If the
manure be new dung, burying it
under the furrpws is by far tha
better
I N D
better method. None but old
dung (hould be put in the holes.
Let the ground be cut into ex-
a6l iquares, by fhoal furrows
made with a horfe plough, from
three to tour feet apart, according
to the largenefs orfmalinefs of the
fort of corn to be planted. This
iurrowing is eafily done with one
horie,and is by no means loft labour,
as the more the ground is ftirred,
the more luxuriantly the corn
will grow. If dung is to be put in
the angles where the furrows
crofs each other, the furrowing
fhould be the deeper, that the
dung may not lie too light.
The right time of feeding the
ground may be from the firit to
the third week in May ; or a lit
tle fooncr or later according to
the drynefs of the foil, and the
forwardnefs of the ipring. The
farmers have a rule in this cafe,
faid to be borrowed from the abo
riginals, which is, to plant corn
when the leaves of white oak be
gin to appear. But fo much time
is commonly taken up in plant
ing this corn, it being tedious
work to dung it in holes, that it
will be neceffary to begin in the
driett part of the field a little ear
lier than this rule directs.
Shell the feed gently by hand,
that it may not be torn or bruif-
ed at all, rejecting about an inch
at each end of the car. And, if
any corns appear with black eyes,
let them alfo be rejeled, not be-
caufe they will net grow at all,
the contrary being true ; but be-
caufe the blacknefs indicates,
either fome defe6t in drying, or
want of perfection in the grain.
Put five corns in what is called
a hill, and let them not be very
near together ; for the more the
roots crowd each other, the more
they will prevent the growth of
each other. Four corns would
perhaps be a better number, it it
I N D
'73
were certain they would all prof-
per. The true reaftms for put
ting more than one in a place I
take to be, that by means of it,
the rows may be fo far a part as
to admit of ploughing between
them ; and that forne labour in
hand hoeing is fared, itbeingno
more work to hoe a hill with
five plants, than with one in it.
Some fl.ecp their feed. Butin.
general it had better be omitted ;
for it will occafion it to periili
in the ground, if the weather
ihould not prove warm enough
to bring it up fpeedily. If
planting a fecond time mould
become neceflary, by means of
the deftruftion of the firil: feed ;'
or if planting be delayed on any
account till the beginning of
June, then it will be proper
that the feed mould have boiling
water poured on it. Let it not
foak more than half a minute,
and be cooled fpeedily, and
planted before it dries. The
corn will be forwarder in its
growth by feveral days. The
ieetl ihotild be covered with a-
bout two inches of earth.
To prevent birds and vermine
from pulling up the corn, fteep
fome com in a ftrong i y'ufionof
Indian poke, or refufe tobacco,
and fcatter it over the ground
before the corn is up. White
threads itretched over a field of
corn, will prevent crows from a-
lighting upon it : But I douSt
whether this will deter any other
birds.
A handful of afhes on each
hill, will nourifh the plants, and
have a tendency to prevent their
being annoyed by worms. Some
Iry it on juft before the firft, or
fecond hoeing. It will have a
better effect in preventing worms,
if laid on before the corn is up.
But it is commonly defigned to
anfwer chiefly as a top drefling ;
and
'74
I N D
and for this purpofe it wo-ul'd an-
fwer better near the third hoe
ing ; for then the plants want
the greateft degree of nourifli-
ment, as they begin to grow very
rapidly. Two dreflings with
afhes, to anfwer the two pur-
pofes, would not be amifs.
When the plants are three or
four inches high, the. plough
jnuftpafs in the intervals, making
two furrows in each, turned from
the rows ; and then the weeds
killed with the hand hoe, and a
little frefh earth drawn about the
plants. This operation we call
weeding.
In about half a month after,
plough again, but acrofs the
former furrows, and turn the fur
rows towards the rows. Then
with the hand hoe earth the corn
as much as it will well bear.
This is called moulding, or halt-
hilling.
When the plants are about knee
high. and before they fend out their
panicles,orfpindles,give them the
third and laft hoeing. The bell
way at this hoeing is to plough
one furrow in an interval, both
ways. The cultivator with two
mouldboards would be better
for this work, than the common
horfe plough, as it would throw
the mould equally towards each
row, and fave labour in hand
hoeing. The ground would thus
be cut into fquares, and the hills
almoft completely formed. In
finilhing them, care ihould be
taken that they be not made too
high, or fleep ; that fo they may
not divert the water, which falls
in rains, rom the roots. When
hills are too much railed, they
alfo prevent the warm influence
of the fun upon the lowermoft
roots, by too great a thicknefs of
earth ; in confequence of which,
the plants are put to the exertion
of fending out a new fet of routs,
I N D
at a fui table diftance from th$
fur face.
Some think high hills are
needful to make the corn ftand
upright. I never could perceive
the advantage of it. But I am
confident it is oftener broken by
winds when the hills are uncorn-
ly high, which is a greater evil
than its leaning half way to the
ground, if indeed that be any
evil at all, which I think may
be doubted.
The farmer, wlia wiflies for a
large crop of this corn, fhould
not annoy it with running
beans, or pumpions ;, the former,,
by winding' round the ftalks
and ears, cramp them in their
growth, and (Sometimes bend
them down to the ground
by their weight ; the latter, by
their luxuriant growth, rob the
hills of much vegetable food,
and by their thick made, Ihut
out the influence of the fun from
the roots of the corn. So that
they mud needs be very detri
mental to its growth, and ripen^
ing.
At the fecond and third hoe-
ings, all the fuckers mould be
buried under the foil ; not brok
en off, as is the common prac
tice, becaule this wounds the
plants. If the fuckers be fufler-
ed to grow, they feldom, or nev
er produce fair and perfecl ears ;
and they rob the ears on the
main flalk of their nourUhment.
I mention the fecond and third
hoeings,becaufe the fuckers will
not all appear till the third; and
the fooner they are deflroyed
the better the crop will be.
Inttead of the common meth
od of planting, if your land be
rich and eafy to till, and free
from obftacles, I mould ,think
it would be bed to plant the
corn in the drill method, the
rows being of the lame diftance
as
I N D
s in the common way, placing
the corns about five or fix inches
af under. I have found by experi
ment, that a greater quantity 'of
corn may be produced in this
method, than in hills ; and the
labour is but little, it at all in-
creafed. In afmall field, where
the dung had been evenly fpread,
and ploughed in, I planted one
row thus, the reft being in the
common way ; and it yield
ed, at harveft, one eighth part
more corn by meafure than
cither of the two neareft rows,
the corn being equally ripe and
good.
When there is reafon to appre
hend that the ground will prove
too moift for this crop, it will be
advi fable to plough it into nar
row ridges, and feed each ridge
with one or two rows, as fhall be
found moft convenient. Some
of the fineft crops that I have
known, have been railed in this
method.
1 When a feafon is at all wet,
this would be the beft culture in
almoft any foil, unlefs the very
dried be excepted.
There is a kind of ridging,
which would be very proper for
this plant, not only on account
of drying the foil, but that the
land may have an alternate reft-
ing, or fallowing, between the
rows. In the common method
of plain ploughing, it commonly
happens that a hill Hands pre-
cifely in the place of a hill of the
preceding year. When this is
the cafe, the plants will receive
lef's nourifhment than it the hill
had had a new fituation. That
each hill may always have this
advantage, let a ridge be formed
by two furrows, turning part of
a row of hills on each fide, fo as
to meet each other, in the laii
year's interval : Thus fmall
ridges will be formed, ou which
I N D 175
the rows fhould be planted. If
dung be firft fpread over the
ground, the moft of it will be
buried where it fhould be, in the
bottom of thefe ridges. At the
timeof weeding, or at the fecond
hoeing, the remainders of the
old hilis may be turned towards
the new rows. With fuch a
mode of culture, land could not
foon be exhaufted, even by a fuc-
ceffive cropping with maize.
Land which has before been
planted on ridges is as proper for
this management, as if it had
been planted in hills, or even
more proper. For the fuccefs of
a method not very \lfflimilar to
this, fee Experiment for raifing
Indian corn, in the Mention of
the. American Academy, by Jofeph
Greenleaf, Efq.
The toflels, or top ftalks, fhould
not be cut off, till the top of the
fpindle is perfectly faplefs. I
think we ufually cut them too
early, unlefs their total greennefs
for fodder be a fufficient com-
penfation for pinching the ears.
The wounding and mutilat
ing of mofl other annual plants,
in their green ftate, is known to
make them lefs fruitful. I have
f ufpe6led the effect muft be the
fame on this plant.
To fatisfy myfelf, I made the
following experiment. The
whole of a fmall field was topped,
Sept. 10, 1783, excepting two
rows through the middle, the ex
tremities of the fpindles being
quite dry. The tops of the two
rows were not cut at all. The
two uncut rows produced a
tenth part more corn by meafure,
than the two neareft rows did.
The quantity of ripe corn was
equal, all the excels being in the
green ears. I am led by this ex
periment to think the ft a! k ought
never to be topped at all : For
the greennefs of the ftalks mak
ing
176
I N D
ing them a better fodder, will
not compensate for the lofs
of a tenth part of the corn, if
nothing be reckoned for the ex
tra labour of topping and preferv-
ing them. But as M. Aimen
has fuggefied that the panicles
ihould be cut off as foon as the
plants are impregnated, I choofe
rather to lufnend my judgment
concerning it, till I fee the refult
of more experiments.
We are certainly guilty oF an
error when we harveft this corn
too early. The difference of ear
ly and late harveft ed corn may
be feen by the flirinking of corn
in the former cafe. In drying,
large fpaces will be left between
the kernels on the cob ; but that
which, is well ripened on the
flail;, will lhew no fuch inter
faces. The corn will undoubt
edly be growing better till the
flalk below the ear is perfectly
fapiefs, and the cob dry ; receiv
ing continual nouriihment from
the fap, unlefs the fro It or forne
accident ihould happen to pre
vent it. Squirrels and other an
imals drive people to early har-
vefting ; but there is commonly
more loll than -faved by it.
When corn Hands tolerably fate
from the attacks of tame and
\vild animals, harvefting eaily is
an unpardonable error. See
flat&tfl-
This plant is fo luxuriant in
its growth that it irnpoverifhes
the foil falter than aimoft any
other crop. Therefore it is not
good husbandry to plant it more
than two years in fucceiliori. It
would be better ftill to grow it
but one year in the fame place.
European writers fay, the land
mould be ploughed as foon as
ihe crop is oil, to prevent the
ibiks tram drawing the rnoifture
out Of the ground. But the rea-
fon of this ;-s not fo evident as to
I N O
carry convition,unlefs the ftems
are quite in a green {late. It is,how-
ever, a good method to plough
all fields in tillage, as foon as the
crop Is off.
INOCULATING, or BUD-
DING, inferring a bud fo that it
will live and grow, in the fide of
the trunk, or limb of a tree. It
anfwcrs the fame end as grafting.
Mr. Miller fays, " This is com
monly praclifed upon all forts of
ft one fruit in particular, fuch as
peaches, neclarines, cherries,
plums, &c. as alfo upon orang
es and jafmines, and is prefera
ble to any fort of grafting. The
method of performing it is as
follows : You muft be provided
with a {harp penknife, having a
flat haft (the ufe of which is to
raife the bark of the ftalk to admit
the bud) and fome found bas mat,
which Ihould be foaked in water,
to increafe its ftrength, and make
it more pliable ; then having
taken off the cuttings of the trees
you are to propagate, you fhould
choofe a fmooth part of theftock
about five or fix inches above
the furtace of the ground, if de-
figned for dwarfs ; but if for
ftandards, they ihould be budded
fix feet above ground ; then
with your knife make a horizon
tal cutcrofs the rind of the {lock,
and from the middle of that cut
make a flit downwards about two
inches in length, fo that it may
be in the form of a T ; but
you rnull be careful not to cut
too cleej), left you wound the
{lock. Then having cut off
the leaf from the bud, leaving
the foot flock remaining, you
ihould make a crofs cut about
half an inch below the eye, and
with your knife flit off the bud,
with part of the wood to it, m
form ot an efcutcheon; This done,
you muft with your knife pull
off that part of the wood which
was
I N O
Was taken with the bud, obferv-
ing whether the eye of the bud
be left to it or not (for all thofe
buds which lofe their eyes in
{tripping fhould be thrown away,
being good for nothing.) Then
having gently raifed the bark of
the llock where the crofs inci-
fion was made, with the flat haft
of your penknife, cleave the
bark from the wood, and thrufl
the bud therein, obferving to
place it fmooth between the rind
and the wood of the flock, cut
ting off any part of the ririd be
longing to the bud, which may
be too long for the flit made in
the flock : And fo having exacl-
ly fitted the bud to the flock, you
inufl tie them clofely round with
bas mat, beginning at the Under
part of the flit, and fo proceed
to the top, taking care that you
do not bind round the eye of
the bud, which lliould be left
open.
" When your buds have been
inoculated three weeks or a
month, you will fee which of
them have taken ; thofe of them -I
which appear fhriveled and black |
being dead, but thofe which re
main frefh and plump you may de
pend are joined. At this time you
fhould loofen the bandage, which,
if not done in time, will pinch
the flock, and greatly injure, if
not deilroy, the bud.
" The March following" (per
haps April in this country) " you
mufl cut off the flock about three
inches above the bud, Hoping
it that the wet may pafs off, and
not enter the flock. To this
pa> t of the flocl , left above the
bud, it is very proper to fallen
the (hoot which the bud makes
in {urmner, to fecure it from be
ing blown out ; but this part of
the flock mufl continue on no
longer than one year, after which
it mud be cut off clofe above the
X
I N S
177
bud, that the flock may be cov
ered thereby.
." The time for inoculating is
from the middle of June to the
middle of Augufl, according to
the forwardnefs of the feafon,
and the particular forts of trees
to be inoculated, which may be
eafily known by trying the buds,
whether they will come off Well
from the wood. But the moft
general rule- is, when you ob-
lerve the buds formed at the ex
tremity of the fame year's {hoots,
which is a fign of their having
finifhed their fpririg growth. "
Gardener's DiB.
INSECT, a numerous clafs of
animals. They have the name
infecl from their appearing to be
almofl cut off in the middle, or
in fome part of their bodies.
But the name is alfo applied to
worms, &c. which have not this
mark of diflinflion.
A general divifion of infers is
into winged and naked ones.
Both forts are generated from
eggs. They are either hatched
in the form of their parents, or
into maggots or worms, which, af
ter feveral tranfmutations, come
to be in the form of their parents.
I do not undertake fo great a
tafk as to difcourfe of all forts of
infefts ; but only of thofe which
are found to be noxious to the
plants that are cultivated in this
country*
As I have already faid fome-
thing concerning caterpillars,
and treated more largely on that
formidable infeft the canker
worm ; I mall here begin with
one that is almofl equally terri
ble in its eHefts, the fpecies of
gryllns, or locuft, called the
Grqfskffpper, which is as diffi
cult to guard again if as the canker
worm, or much more fo. More
or fewer of thefe well known in-
fecls appear every year on our
grounds.
178 I N S
grounds, more efpecially in dry
iummers ; and in a fevere
drought, they ufually appear in
endlefs fwarms, hurting the moft,
and deftroyingmany, of the fruits
of the earth, by eating off the
more tender parts, and depriving
the ftems of their fap. They
Lave this year, 1789-, in fome
places, eaten off the bark of the
limbs of trees and fhrubs.
An infufion of wormwood, or
a decoBion of almoft any bitter
plant, fprinkled on vegetables, it
is afferted, will prevent their eat
ing them. But this labour will
be thought too tedious, unlefs it
be in gardens or other very fmall
inclofures. And this would be*
to no purpofe, when green food
to fupply them became fcarce.
In this cafe, they will eat onions,
and all forts of plants, wormwood
not excepted.
If our farms were always plen
tifully Hocked with fowls, and
particularly with turkies, thefe
infects would be thinned, as they
are fond of them, and eat mul
titudes of them, efpecially in
the beginning of fu mm er, before
they can make much ufe of their
wings. But this can be only a
partial remedy.
As the grafshoppers depofit
their eggs in the furface of the
foil, it is thought that the greateft
production of them is in mowing
grounds, and in open fields that
are not much trodden by cattle.
They are feldorn feen to tarry
in forefts, or in very moift or
fliady places ; though they trav-
erfe fuch places in queft of their
food. The only way then, it
feerns, to guard againft them
moft effectually, would be, to
paiture the whole of our high
lands clofcly, excepting the parts
that are in tillage. For the eggs
will be moftly ^rufhed by the
. jt of cattle. But for a whole
i
INS
country to do this, would per
haps be confideredas making too 1
great a facrifice ; and for one or
two farmers in a village or neigh
bourhood to do it, would have
but little effect, unlefs where
they are furrounded with large
forefts ; becaufe the infects,
when they come to be furnifhed
with ftrong wings, at which time
they devour fafteft, pafs from
field to field with the rapidity of
horfes.
However, as they abide and eat
chiefly where the foil is natural
ly dry, a proper expedient may
be, to cultivate hay crops only
on low and moift lands, which is
practicable, as thefe lands might
be made far more productive
than they are. Or, if on high
land, it mould be fome early
crop, fuch as clover, which may
be mowed before this infect has
attained to its full growth.
The black ivorm^ an infect fo
called, is an am coloured worm,
with a ftripe almoft black upon
its back. At its full growth, it is
about the bignefsof agoofequill,
and an inch and a quarter in
length. The greateft mifchief
that they commonly do, is to
young cabbages, cauliflowers,
&c. They never chpofe to ap
pear on the furface in the day
time ; but keep themfelves buri
ed about an inch or two beneath
it. In the night they come up,
eat off the ftems of the young
plants, and again bury them
felves in the foil, often attempt
ing to draw in the plants after
them.
They fometimes deftroy oth
er vegetables. I have known
them to cut off great part of a
field of Indian corn, before the
firft hoeing : But this is not a
common cafe.
They begin to devour in May,
and ceafe ia June,
v
I N S
1 once prevented their depre
dations in my garden, by manur
ing the foil with fea mud, newly
taken from the flats. The plants
generally efcaped, though every
one was cut off in a fpot of
f round that lies contiguous,
rom the fuccefs of this experi
ment I conclude, that fait is very
offenfive, or pernicious to them,
Lime and afhes in fome meaftire
prevent their doing mifchief ;
but fea water, fait, or brine,
would be more effectual antidotes.
Top worms, or Spindle worms, a
white worm relembling a grub,
found in the hofq, or focket, of a
plant of maize, which eats off
the item of the plant, and ren
ders it unfruitful. When its
excrements appear on the leaver,
it may be known that a worm is
in the focket. They are nxoft
commonly found in places that
are rich and dungy, particularly
in corn that grows near to barns ;
but they will fometimes prevail
through whole fields. Sprinkling
the corn, when they begin to eat,
with a weak lie of wood afhes will
effectually deftroy them. .So, I
fuppofe, would almoftany bitter
intufion ; but of this. I have made
no trial.
The. griped bug, or yellow fly,
is a fmail four winged infetf, the
outward wings of which are ftrip-
ed with yellow and black. They
eat and deftroy the young plants
of cucumbers, melons, fquaihes
and pumpions. They begin to
eat while the plants are in feed
leaf ; and, unlefs they are oppof-
ed, will totally deftroy them, ef-
pecially in a dry feafon.
Thefe infefts maybe confider-
ably thinned, by killing them in a
dewy morning, when they have
not the free ufe of their wings,
and cannot well efcape.
I have fometimes defended the
plants in fome rneafure, by en-
I N S
179
circling them with rock weed.
But nothing that I have tried
has proved fo effeBual, as fifting,
or fprinkling powdered foot upon
the plants, when the morning
dew remains on them. This
forms a bitter covering for the
plants,.which the bugs cannot en
dure the tafte of. Perhaps water
ing the plants with fome bitter in-
fufion might equally preferve
them, if it were often repeated.
I prefer foot, as 1 know by ex
perience that once fprinkling
with it will anfwer the end, un
lefs it happen to be warned off
by rain. When this happens.,
the footing mould be repeated.
The turnipjly, a well known
winged infe6t, which eats the
feed leaves of turnips, before the
firft rough leaf appears. Their
ravages are fo general, and of
fuch confequence, that the inge
nious have attended to the matter,
and explored many methods, both
preventive and remedial, to op-
pofe them.
One of the preventive meth
ods is, making the ground fo rich
that the plants will grow rapidly,
and continue but fora fhort time
in the feed leaf ; for, after the
evolution of rough leaves, the
plants are almoft or quite out of
danger of this infett.
It is alfo recommended, to
pafs a roller over the ground, as
foon as the feed is fown. This
not only prevents the too fud-
den efcape of the moifture in the
furface, and caufes the plants to
rife fooner and more vigoroufly ;
but fills up or clofes ten thou-
fand little interflices in the fur-
face, which ierve the infecls as
places of retreat. The confe
quence is, either that they are
deftroyed by rains, driven away
by winds and ftorms, or fiiffen-
ed with the dews of the coldeft
nights.
Mr
I N S
Mr. Tull thought it bell that
the feed ihould be buried at dif
ferent depths in the foil, and' fays,
as they will come up at different
times, either the firil or the laft
will probably efcape the fly. He
accordingly conitru&ed his tur
nip drill in fuch a manner as to
bury the feed at different depths.
The fame thing in effect may
be done in the broad cafl way of
fowing. The ground may be
harrowed with a common harrow
with iron teeth ; then half the
feed fowed, and the ground
fmoothed with a bu(h harrow and
rolled ; then the other half fow
ed, and burned in, or raked. At-
I N S
flight top dreffing, and increafe
the growth o( the plants.
Some writers aifert, that only
drawing a green bulh of elder
over the young plants will fa\e
them from the fly. I think it
may have fome tendency towards
it ; but I have never made the
experiment. An infufion, of el
der, applied by fprinkling, w r ould
probaoly have a greater effeih
But I mould expect more from
an infufion of tobacco.
Some fet plants of tobacco
thinly in their turnip ground,
thinking that the fcent of them
does fomething towards repelling
the fly. I have no objection to
ter which the roller mould be this, excepting that a much rich-
again pafled over the furface.
Some writers on this fubje6l
are confident that the beft meth
od is, to fow the feed very thick,
equal to double the ufual quanti- j
ty of feed, that when the flies
have cuten all they can, there may
be a fufficient number of plants
remaining tpinfiire a good crop.
Another projeft is fowing a mix
ture of old and new feed, as the
latter is known to come up foon-
er than the former, one or other
of which may happen to efcape.
After the turnips are up, if the
flies appear in plenty, it is advif-
able to pafs a fmooth roller over
them. If the roller be drawn
carefully by hand, or even by a
horfe, turning the roller about on
the head lands only, the opera
tion may be performed without
hurting the turnips ; and the flies
will moftly be crufhed by the
roller. This operation mould he
performed in a dewy morning,
when the flies are fo ftiff that
they cannot make their efcape.
Or, inflead of this, lam confi
dent that the fitting of foot over
the turnip ground in a dewy
morning will be effeftiial ; at the
iame time that it will arifwer as a
er ground is requifite for tobacco
than for turnips, in our climate.
Some attempt to clear a turnip
ground from flies, by making:
fmokes on the head lands around
it, or chiefly on the windward
fide.
The red worm is another ene
my to the farmer. This infeft is
ilender, and ufual ly about an
inch Jong, with a hard coat, and
a pointed head. It eats off
wheat, barley and oats, above the
crown of the roots'. It perforates,
or bores quite through bulbous
roots, turnips, potatoes, &c. My.
turnips for feveral years, which
were fown in the ipring, have
been thus almofi ruined, though
on a foil that fuited them. When
a turnip is once wounded by
them, it grows no bigger, unlefs
it be in ill lhapes, and hard ex-
crefcences, and becomes totally
unfit for the table. As to pota
toes, I have feldom known them
do much hurt, unlefs when they
were planted in a foil that did
not fint them, particularly in a
clay. It is eafier to fay what
will not flop thofe borers, than
what will do it. I have manured
with fea mud ; applied dry fait
IN S
to the foil after the plants were
up ; mingled dry fait with the
feed when it was fo wed ; fteepcd
the feeds in brine before lowing,
and coated them with fulphur ;
but all in vain.
I fuppofe the burning of a ftub-
ble as it ftands would deftroy all
the worms that happened to be
very near to the furface. A cer
tain Englifh writer thinks that a
perfect fummer fallow would def
troy them, partly by expo (ing
fbmc of them to the neat of the
fun at each ploughing, and part
ly by depriving them of food.
I Ihould think ploughing late
in autumn might deftroy many
of them, by expofing them to the
mod violent action of the froft.
Or in a garden, throwing up the
foil in ridges with the fpacie, fo
to lie during the winter, would
have a good effect. Liming
plentifully, if it could be afford
ed, I mould rely upon as a mod
effectual antidote to this, and fev-
eral other kinds of infers. The
CompUte Farmer mentions lime
and foot as good antidotes to this
infect in particular.
The garden Jlea is a minute fly
that eats cabbages, and other
plants of the brajjica kind, while
they are in feed leaf. They are
of a very dark colour, or nearly
black.
I once applied fome clefts of
the flems ot green elder to fome
drills of young cabbages, which
this fly had begun to eat, and
could not find that they eat any
afterwards. But as I made this
trial but once, I dare not poli
ticly affert its efficacy. I would
heartily recommend the trial of
bitter fteeps to gardeners who are
troubled with this infect. They
are earlier in gardens than any
other infect ; and I have never
known thern fail to appear in a
$lry fpring.
i NT s
j Lice, an infect in the fhape of
j mites, but larger, and of the col
our oi the plants ; which eat and
deftroy cabbages, french turnips,
muftard, &c. They adhere fo
ftrongly to the plants that rains
and ftorms will fcarcely beat
many of them off ; and their
bodies are fo unctuous that water
will not foon wet them. Salt
manures do not prevent their ap
pearance. I have often fprink-
led them with a ftrong infufion
of tobacco, which does but partly
conquer them. The fmoke of
tabacco I have tried with no
greater fuccefs ; and urine I have
found to have little effect on
them. But branches of elder
laid on the plants feemedto have
a great effect this fummer, 1787.
I have never been able to find
any better remedy before, than
to take away thofe parts of plants
which are almoft covered with
them, and wipe off thofe which
are fcattering. But when they
have taken pofleffion of the cen
tre of a plant, it is difficult, if
pofiible, to preferve it by wip
ing, as the young leaves are too
tcmlcr,and too much crumpled, to
admit of being cleared of the in
fects by this method. The whole
plant in this cafe Ihould be remov
ed out of the way. froft kills
thefe in lefts.
There is a kind of black lice,
which afcend the trunks of apple
trees about the middle of May,
and afterwards appear on the
fmall branches, changed to the
colour of the bark, arid ftrongly
adhering to it. I know of no
better way to deal with thefe in
fects than to rub them off.
Sometimes the leaves of trees
will appear dead in the latter
part of the fummer, and drawn
together with filaments of the ap
pearance of cobweb. The eggs
of future caterpillars areenclcfed
with
I N S
with the fe leaves. Thefe branch
es {bo-j..d therefore be taken off
and burnt ; not fuffered to con
tinue through the winter.
Maggots. I have often found
a white maggot, of the fhape and
lize of thofe in cheefe, preying
upon the roots of young cabba
ges, turnips, and raddimes. My
raddimes, when fown early, fel- -
dom efcape ; thofe that are fown
in June moftly profper.
A perfon in my neighbour
hood, who has often been defeat
ed by thefe infefts, in his at
tempts to raife cabbages, declares,
that laft fpring, as ufual, the mag
gots attacked his cabbages before
he tranfplanted them ; and that,
having a fcarcity of plants, he
tranfplanted, on the fame fpot
where they ufed to fail, fome
which had maggots in their roots
among found plants : That as
foon as he had done tranfplant-
ing, he watered them plentifully
with fea water : That the water
ing was not repeated ; but the
maggots did no damage at all ;
and that his crop was very large
and good. Some that were left
without watering were deftroyed,
as before, by the maggots.
I have fince tried this experi
ment, with a good effect. Very
few of the cabbages were touch
ed by the maggots. But I find
there is danger in applying the
fea water plentifully, unlefs it be
in a wet fe.afon. The plants are
in danger, when the ground is
dry, of imbibing too much of the
fait. In this cafe their growth is
greatly obftrufted.
Though I have conceived that
it would kill all forts of plants,
to pour fea water upon them, the
cabbage, having an oily furface
to which water does not eafily
adhere, is perhaps an exception.
The farmers who are remote
from the fea cannot apply fea
INS
water to their cabbages, without
too much experife of carriage.
But they can afford to water their
plants with a brine of equal fait-
nefs. I wifli them to make the
experiment, not only on cab
bages, but on raddimes, &c. It
is fafe to apply fait water in a
wet feafon, or juft after a rain.
The HeJJianjly, fo called, is an
infecl that is pernicious to wheat,
while it is growing. It made its
appearance in the time of the late
war, iil the vicinity of Newyork,
and is fuppofed to have been im
ported with the German troops.
From thence it has fpread into
ConnefticutandNewjerfey, lay
ing wafte whole fields in its
courfe. A more formidable in-
feft has fcarcely ever appeared in
the country.
But againft this enemy it feems
an eafy antidote has been already
difcovered. A letter, figned D.
Wadfworth, which has lately been
pubiifhed in the newfpapers,
communicates a method of pre
venting its depredations, which
the writer fays he has feen ufed
with effect. It is only fteeping
the feed before fowing for twelve
hours in a ftrong infufion of the
leaves of elder.
In the lateft edition of Dr,
Morfe's Geography, there is an
account, that yellow bearded
wheat, fown late in autumn, ef-
caped the Heffian fly.
The palmer worm, a wanderer,
as its name fignifies. This is a
fmall worm, about half an inch
in length, with many legs, and
extremely nimble. It appears at
different times in different parts
of the country. I have feen them
only on apple trees and oak trees,
in any great abundance. They
give trees the fame appearance
that the canker wormdoes. They
appeared in the county of Cum
berland in the year 1791, about
the
INS
the middle of June, eating off
the covering of the leaves on
both fides, and leaving the mem
branous part entire. The fol
lowing year there were none to
be ieen ; and I have not known
them in- any place two years in
fucceflion. The feeds of them
may be conftant, wanting only a
particular ftate of the weather to
produce them. The fpring which
preceded their appearance had
been remarkably dry, both in
April and May. The hiftory of
this infecl; is fo little known,
that I will not undertake to fay
how they may be fuccefsfully
oppofed, I made fmokes under
the fruit trees, without any ap-
Earent effect:. As they let them-
dves down by threads, they
may be thinned by making the
trees, and firiking off the threads.
Their ravages had not any lafting
efFecl : For the orchards that had
been vifrted by them bore plenti
fully the following year.
Weevil, an infect injurious to
corn in granaries. Shutting up an
apartment and filling it with the
frnoke of burning fulphur will
deftroy .them. But the fmoke
Ihould be continued as much as
twelve hours. Grain may be
cleared of them by fifting, in a
fieve fo made that the infeSs will
pafs through, and the grain ftay
behind. See the article Weevil.
The timber worms mould alfo
be mentioned. Thefeare of two
kinds. The fmaller kind eats
only the fappy parts of the wood,
turning it to what is vulgarly
called powder pofl. To prevent
damage from this infect, nothing
more is neceffary than to fell the
timber in December or January,
in which months it is fure to be
freeft from fap. When it is nec
effary to fell trees that are full of
fap, fomething mould be done to
divert it of the fap, or alter the
I N S i8y
quality of this juice. Soaking it,
even in frefh water, will be of
fome fervice. But in ialt water,
foaking will be quite effe&ual,
againft molt kinds of worms.
The large boring worm is far
more mifchievous than the one I
have mentioned ; and no feafon
of felling fecures timber wholly
from this infect. TJiey make the
greateft havock in pine. They
are hatched in the cavities of the
bark, and being fmall when they
enter the wood, they grow larger
as they proceed, till their boring
may be heard, like the cutting of
an augur, to a confiderable dif-
tance. ^ They proceed to eat the
wood in every. dire6tion, till they
become as large as one's linger,
or till the juice of the wood, be
ing altered, is unfit to nourifh
them any longer.
Steeping the wood feafonably
in fait water deftroys the worms,
or prevents their entering the
wood. If the trees be fcorched
in a light flame, before they have
entered too far, the effect will be
the fame.
To prevent and cure worms in
timber, Mr. Evelyn recommends
the following, as much approv
ed. 4< Put common fulphur into
a cucurbit, with as much aqua
fortis as will cover it three fingers
deep ; diftil it to a drynefs, which
is performed by two or three
re6tifications. Lay the fulphur
that remains at bottom on a mar
ble,* or put it in a glafs, and it
will diflolve into an oil ; with
this oil anoint the timber whiclx
is iniefted with worms."
Befides the deftruftive infe6ts
which appear more or lefs every
year, there appear fometirncs
formidable fwarms, or armies of
worms, which fuffer fcarccly any
green thing to efcape them.
They overran many parts of the
county of Cumberland, in the
year'
I N S
(770, rather before the mid
dle of July, to the extreme con-
flernation, as well as the great
injury of the inhabitants. Thty
/hipped the corn and grafs of
the leaves, leaving only the bare
items, and thofe deprived of their
lap. They were extremely vo
racious ; and appearing to be in
the utmoft hafte, they all moved
in the fame direction. They
fuffered nothing that they could
climb upon to flop their courfe.
They crawled over houfes, and
all other buildings, unlef's when
they found a door, window, or
chink in their courfe, where they
could enter. Whether they pall
ed in this manner over the plants
they deftroyed I did not take no
tice.
Between twenty and thirty
years ago the fame dreadful in
fect appeared in the county of
Effex ; and between 1770 and
1780, in fome places in the terri
tory of Vermont.
The only ways of oppofing
their ravages that have been ufed,
are, either to mow a field of grafs,
whether it were fully grown, and
fit to cut, or not ; or, to fence a-
gainfl them with narrow trench
es, made perpendicular, or rath
er hanging over, on the fide next
to the field. Many fields of
corn have been thus faved ; and
bufhels of the worms being una
ble to climb fuch crumbling walls
died in the trenches.
If their hiftory were attended
to, perhaps it would' be found
they have flated periods.
It is not fuflicieiU for the far
mer to defend his vegetables
againft infecls. There are in-
fets alfo that annoy and hurt
his animals.
Lice are often found on colts,
and on neat cattle, efpecially on
yearlings in the fpring. When
thefe animals become poor, they
I N T
mo ft commonly grow loufyV
which makes them ftill poorer.
Poffibly it may be owing to an
obftru6tion of perfpiration. For
there are doubtlefs many oily
particles in the effluvium of
healthy cattle, and oil is an anti
dote to this infeft. Oiling their
fkins will clear them of lice ; fo
will a ftronginfufion of tobacco.
But when they are cured, better
feeding is the be ft preservative
from the return of the infecls.
The tick, or tike, is the fheep
loufe. When thefe infe61s be
come numerous, they are very
hurtful to the flieep. In Eng
land, the farmer fmears his fheep,
after fhearing, with a mixture of
butter and tar. This fortifies
them againft being injured, either
by the weather, or by infers.
But at any time, oil, or tobacco,
will ciefiroy the ticks.
INTERVAL, the fpace be
tween two places, or things.
The word is ufed in husbandry
to denote the fpace between rows
of corn, or other vegetables ; ef
pecially in the horfe hoeing huf-
bandry.
By interval, alfo, and more
ufually in this country, is under-
ftood land on the border of a riv
er. Interval land is commonly
fo high and dry as tc be fit for
tillage ; and yet always folow as
to be frequently overflowed by
the fwelling of rivers, efpecially
in the fpring. On fome of thefe
lands the water often continues
fo late in the fpring that they
cannot be feeded till June. But
the increafed fmitfulnefs of the
foil feems to more than make up
for this delay. For when the
waters fuhnde, they leave a fat
[lime upon the foil, rnoft friend
ly to vegetation.
The foil on thefe intervals is
noft commonly fand, with a
large mixture of the fined vege
table
K A L
table mould ; and much of it is
made, from time to time, by the
mif'ting of the channels of rivers.
This fort. of land has generally
been prized highly in this coun
try. But in foine places it has
become lefs fruitful of late than
formerly. The reafon of this
alteration moft probably is, that
the floods are not fo great as, or
that they fubfide quicker than for
merly ; owing to the more culti
vated ftate of the country, and a
quicker evaporation of the waters^
K;
KALE, Colewort, an excellent
potherb, early, and of quick
growth, which ought to be culti
vated in this country.
KALENDAR, an account of
time. That great naturalift, Dr.
Linnasus, did not approve of
farmers' confining themfelves to
certain fet .days, or weeks, for
committing their feeds to the
earth. The feafons are much
forwarder in* fome years than in
others. Therefore, he who thus
governs himfelf, will a (lured I y
fow his annual feeds fomctimes
too early, and fometimcs too late.
That a better pra6lice might be
introduced, he recommended it
fo fiis countrymen to take notice
at what times the trees unfold
their leaves. Nature is fo uni
form in her operations, that the
forwardnefs of trees is an unfail
ing indication of the ilbrwardnefs
of the fprihg. And the genial
warmth, which caufes trees and
fhrubs to put forth their leaves,
will be fufficient to caufe feeds to
vegetate.
In order to reduce to pra6Hce
fo ingenious a hint, an account
mould be made out of the firft
leafing, and I may add, the blof-
foming of a variety of trees and
fhrubs. I fuppofe trees and i
Y
K A L
185
mrubs to be moft fuitable for this
purpofe, as they are more deep
ly rooted, and therefore more
iteady and uniform in their appear
ances, than any plants which are
perennial only in their roots.
They are efpecially much more
fo than annuals.
It is certain that fuch an ac
count taken in one place wilf
not anfwer alike for every part:
of the country ; becaufe the
vegetation in every part is nor.
equally forward. Therefore, I
would earneftly recommend, that
in each degree of latitude,
throughout Newengland at leafi,
fome attentive naturalift would
make a lift of a confiderable num
ber of trees and fhrubs, which
are common, and near at hand ;
carefully watch their appear-
ances, and minute the times of
the firft opening of their leaves,
and alfo of their blofToming,,
By comparing the accounts, the
abfurdity will immediately ap
pear, of (owing the feme kind o
feeds at the fame time of the
month or year, in the 42d, 43^
4/jth, and 4sth degrees of latitude-'
This is a matter that farmers
ought to attend to ; that fo thofc
who remove from one degree of
latitude to another, may not be
confounded concerning the true
times of fowinef, on fuppofition
that they have been once in the
right practice. The right in one
place will be wrong in another.
When thefe accounts are ob
tained, let trials be made, by
fowing a certain kind of feed be-,
fore, at, and after the foliation,
or the flowering of fome particu
lar plant, and the produce com
pared. Let accurate experiments
of this kind be yearly repeated,
with all the moft ufeful fpring
plants ; by this, in a few years,
complete kalendars may be ob
tained for &very degree of lati
tude
K A L
tude in this country. The con-
fequence will be, that the farmer
will be able infallibly to read the
true times of fowing, by calling
his eye upon the trees and ihrubs
that are about him. We have
already fuch a rule as this, with
refpecl: to Indian corn ; but it
perhaps ought to undergo a fur
ther examination.
But fuch rules, after all that
can be done, muft not govern us
invariably. The right times of
feeding admit of fome latitude,
on account of the degree of dry-
nefs of the foil, and of its expo
fure to the folar warmth. Land
mould have the right degree of,
inoiflure when feeds are fown on
it ; and a fouthern expofure will
afford an earlier vegetation than
a northern.
That I may fet an example of
what I have been recommending,
and begin the needful work, here
follows an account of the leafing
and bloffoming of trees and
ihrubs in that part of Neweng-
land which lies in the 44th de
gree of latitude, in the fpring of
the year 1789.
Leafing, Bloffbning.
Goofebery, April 16 May 12
Englifh Willow 28
Wild red Cherry 29 - - 19
Lilac - - 30
Currant May i - o
Alder 5
Apple Tree - 6 - 25
Thorn Bum 7
White Birch 8
White Maple 9
Beech - - - 10
Plum Trees - 12
Hazle 14
Elm - - i\
Summer Pear - 17 31
Wheat Plum - - - 19
Common red Cherry 19 - 20
Damafcene Plum 22
Grey Oak t 20
White Oak r-3
K I L
KALI, Salicorftia, glafs worf,
or rock weed, a fea plant which
grows upon rocks near the more.
By burning of this weed a hard
fixed fait is obtained, which is a
principal ingredient in the com-
pofition of glafs., Rock weed is
alfo an important manure.
KALMIA, angufli folia, a
flirub commonly called laurel,
or lamb poifon. It is an ever-
:reen, with narrow leaves of a
irty green colour. The flowers
e red, growing round the up
per part of the ftem.. It grows
plentifully in low flat land,
which has never been ploughed.
It indicates a cold foil.
But I mention it in a work of
this kind, on account of its poi-
fonous quality. Sheep and goats,
efpecially young lambs and kids,
will eat it, when compelledby hun
ger, by which they ficken and die.
The way to cure them of this fick-
nefs, is drenching them repeated
ly with milk, mixed with oil, or
frefh butter. Or, 4 tea of rue,
'given in feafon, may have the
fame good effe6h
KID, the young of a goat. See
Goat.
KILLING^/ beajls.^ Asfev-
eral of the tame kinds of animals
are, by divine leave, ufed as the
food of man, it is requifite to de
prive them of their lives by vio
lence. This may well be ac
counted a difagreeable operation,
as it is apt to hurt the feelings of
tender hearted people, who have
not accuilomcd themfeives to
it.
Mercy, which ought to be ex
tended to beafls, and even to the
meaneft animals, pleads that their
lives iljould be taken in a way
which is leaft painful. The
fpeedicft method is therefore in
general to be preferred. The
iifual method of flunning neat,
cattle by a blow on the head is
laudable,
K I L
'laudable, as they have probably!
no fenfe of pain alter it. But I
for one to knock clown a bead j
while another is holding him, is |
not without danger to the hold
er ; and fuch a pralice ought
not to be continued. Inftead of
this, the beaft fhould be tied, and
in fuch a manner that he cannot
efcape, nor caufe the blow to be
mifplaced by ftarting. Thruft-
ing the pointed knife into the
heart of a hog, if it can be done
without erring, is nearly the
fame, as he expires in a few fec-
onds. But who can approve of
the barbarous practice, of hang
ing up calves alive by the heels?
Or of carrying them to the butch
er on horfes in a pofture ftill
more uneafy ? Decapitation with
a Tingle ftroke is a good method
of killing ilieep, lambs, and
-calves. Some will 'objeft that it
is not cleanly ; but greater clean-
linefs will not atone for cruelty.
It fhould be remembered that no
death can be more inftantaneous
than beheading ; therefore none
lefs painful.
For our own advantage, care
(hould be taken that the blood be
entirely di (charged ; and behead
ing is favourable to this defign.
Blood is not wholefome food ;
one reafon perhaps why it was
anciently forbidden by divine
authority ; and the lawfuinefs of
eating it feems difputable among
cliriftians.
The time of killing beef is to
be regulated by the market, and
the advantage and convenience |
of the farmer. And the fame |
things muft fix the time, if he
fells them to the butchers. Beef
that is only grafs fed muft be kill
ed as early as the beginning of
November ; becaufe after this
time, grafs will not increafe the
fatnefs of cattle. This may be
Afforded at the loweit price, per-
K I T 187
haps 2 1 pence per lb, withouflofs.
Cattle that are fatted till Decem
ber muft have, befides grafs or
hay, corn or juicy vegetables, or
both, to increafe their fatnefs.
The price of beef therefore ought
to be higher, by about two far
things. If not killed till January,,
the price mould continue rifmg,
at leaft in the fame proportion ;
and fo on, till the time of fatting
by grazing returns.
KILN, a fabrick for admitting
heat, to dry or burn various
things. Malt is dried on a kiln.
Another fort of kilns is ufed for
the burning of lime ftone. A
lime kiln fhould be conftrucled
of a fort of ftones which will en
dure the fire. But if fuch can
not be eafily obtained, hard burnt
bricks will anfwer, and laft a
good while. The fhape of a lime
kiln mould be like that of a
pitcher, wideft in the middle, and
gradually narrower to the top
and bottom. The fire will be
the more confined, and acl: the
more powerfully. In countries
where lime ftone is plenty, each
confiderable farmer is funiifhed
with a lime kiln, in which he
makes lime to manure his foil.
This pra6tice might doubtlefs be
imitated with advantage, in a few
places in this country, where
this fort of ftone is at hand.
KINE. See the article Cow.
KITCHEN GARDEN, a
garden to produce vegetables for
the kitchen. Mr. Millar fays,
" A kitchen garden is almoft as
neceflary to a country feat, as a
kitchen to the houfe : For with
out one there is noway of being
fupplied with a great part of ne-
ceffary food. Whoever pro-
pofes to refide in the country,
fhould be careful to make choice
previoufly of a proper fpot of
ground for this purpofe ; becaufe
fruit trees and afparagus require
three
K I T
three years to grow, before any
produce can be expefted from
them.' 3 The lame writer recom
mends, " that this garden be near
to the houfe, that fo it may be
the better attended to; that the
foil be two feet deep, on account
of raifing parfnips, and .other long
rooted efculent "plants ; that it
Ihould have a good expofure to
the fun ; that no plants that re
quire much depth of foil Ihould
be cultivated in the borders that
are planted with trees, left the
roots of the trees be difturbed, or
injured ; that if the foil be too
jnuch inclined to wetnefs, it
Ihould be laid drier by hollow
drains. But he prefers a fpot
that is not naturally low and wet,
as the fruits and herbs raifed on
dry ground are wholefomer, and
better tailed."
Thefe directions are excellent.
But I cannot approve of the
quantity of land he propofes to
be laid out for a garden. Four
or five acres I fliould think three
or four times too much for almoft
any perfon in this country. Halt
an acre will be fufficient for al-
rnoft any family, unlefs we ex
cept thofe who have inc4epend-
cnt fortunes, or can afford to
Js.eep two or three gardeners in
pay. A fmall one well tended,
will be more profitable than a
large one poorly cultivated.
Every man may determine the
fize of his own garden by his a-
bility and circumifances.
Dwarf trees are moft fuitable
for the borders of fmall gardens ;
or it may be flill better that trees
ihould be in a garden by them-
felves. Too many of the falling
leaves of trees are difagreeable in
a garden, and their fhade is no
advantage to vegetation near
them. But every one has a right
to confult his own fancy in fuch
matters. Where horticultural
LAM
neatnefs is meant to be preferved
the plough muft not be introduc
ed, but the whole dug with
fpades, fhovels or forks.
The breadth of the walks, that
they may not offend the eye,
mould be proportionable to the
largenefs of the garden : The
broadeft mould be lengthwife
through the centre, and narrow
er ones round by the outfidc
borders. A walk mould be a lit
tle rounding, higheft in the mid
dle, for the fake of drynels. See
the articles Garden, and Garden
ing.
L.
LAMBS, the young of
The firft care of them is to fee
whether they can come at the
teat ; and if not, to clip away the
wool of the ewes which hinders
them, as alfo all tags of wool ori
the udders of the ewes, which
the lambs are liable to take hold
of inftead of the teats.
If a ewe refufe to let her lamb
fuck, fhe and her lamb fhould be
fhut up together in a clofe place,
till fhe grow fond of him. For
this purpofe, ionic fay that fur-
prifing a fheep with a dog will
be effeanal.
Care mould be taken to feed
the ewes plentifully after yean
ing, and with fome juicy kind
of food, that fo the lambs may
I not fail of having plenty of milk.
i The rams may be gelded at any
time from one to three weeks
old, if they appear to be well and
Hrong.
They mould not be weaned
till they are fix weeks, or two
months old. At this age they
mould be taken from the ewes,
and have the befl of pafture dur
ing the firft fortnight ; by the
end of which time they will be
ib naturalized to living wholly
upon
L A R
grafs, that they may be
jturned into a poorer pafture.
The word wooled lambs, and
bad coloured ones, and thole that
are very fmall, fhouldbe deftined
to the knife, and not weaned.
So great is the need of increafing
the manufacture 0F woollen in this
country, that I muft earneftly
recommend it to the farmers, not
to kill, .or fell for killing, any
lamb, till it is near half a year
old, or till the wool be come to
fuch fulnefs of growth, as to be
valuable for fpinning. To kill
them earlier is fowaftefula prac
tice as to be inexcufable.
Thofe ewe lambs which are kept
for ftock, mould not come at the
rams : For if they have lambs at
a year old, it flints them in their
growth ; and they have fo little
milk, that their lambs common
ly die for want of nourishment.
Or it they chance to live, they
will be apt to be always fmall.
This praftice is one reafon why
our breed of fheep in this coun
try is fo poor. See the article
Sheep.
LAMPAS, " an excrefcence
in the roof of the mouth, which
hinders a horfe from feeding, and
happens ufually to young horfes.
It is cured by applying a hot
iron made for that purpofe. It
is fuccefsfully performed in all
parts ; fo that there is no need of
any caution, but only that the
farrier do not penetrate too deep,
fo as to fcale the thin bone that
lies under the upper bars ; for
that would be attended with very
troublefome and dangerous fy mp-
toms." Gibfon's Furriery.
LAND, a general name appli
ed to the fur face of the earth, or
to the ground.
LARCH, Finns lanx, " a
genus of trees, whofe leaves are
long and narrow, produced out
c?f little tubercles, in the form of
LAY
189
a painter's pencil. The cones
are produced at remote diftances
from the male flowers, on the
fame tr.ee : The male flowens are
very like fmall cones at their
fir ft appearance, but afterwards
ftrctch out in length. In autumn
they caft their leaves. From the
wounded bark of this tree exudes
the pureft Venice turpentine."
Compete Farmer.
A fort of trees whichgrow nat
urally, and in great plenty, in
the northern parts of Newen-
gland, called juniper, I take to
be the true larch, as k anfwers
to the above defcription, as well
as to that given by Mr. Miller.
They thrive beft in poor, wet and
cold foils, and fhould by all
means be cultivated. This is
eafily done by fowing the feeds
which are found in their cones.
The trees are an excellent tim
ber for fome ufes. They are
commonly ufed as ports for
fences, and are faid to be more
durable than almoft any other
timber, when fo ufed. But for
rails in fences, or any work that
is expofed to the weather, this
timber will laft a long time.
LAYERS, tender twigs buri
ed in earth, which having ftruck
root, are afterwards cut off, and
become diflincl plants.
Potatoes, and many other her
baceous plants, may be in this
manner propagated. Butthere is
little advantage to be gained by
doing it.
As to thofe trees and fhrubs
which yield no feed in this cli
mate, neither can be propagated
by cuttings, there may be often
occafion for laying them. The
manner of doing it is as follows :
Take fhoots <of the laft year's
growth, bend them to the earth,
and bury them in good mellow
foil half a foot under the furface,
and fallen them with hooks to
prevent
190
LEA
prevent their rifing, bending
the tops fo as to bring them
above the furface. A flit up
wards in the twig ihould be made
in the part that lies deepeft in
the foil, or a wire drawn fa ft
round it, to prevent the fap
mounting too raft ; and mofs
Ihould be laid on the furface, to
prevent the fudden drying of the
mould. Afterwards they fhould
be watered as there may be occa-
fion. If they form roots, they
may be cut off, and tranfplanted
the next fpring into the nurfery.
The time for laying ever
greens is July or Auguft ; for
laying deciduous trees, Oftober.
LAYLAND, or LEYLAND,
or LAYS, fallow ground, or that
\vhich lies untilled.
LEAVES, the moft extreme
parts of the branches of trees,
Ihrubs, &c. " Their office is to
fubtilize the nouriihing fap, and
convey it to the little buds, and
to cover and defend the flowers
and fruit.
" Dr. Grew obferves, that the
fibres of leaves confifl of two
general kinds of veflels, viz. for
fap, and for air ; and are ramifi
ed out of greater into lefs, as
veins and arteries are in animals.
"IF the furfaces of the leaves
are altered, by reverfing the
branches of trees on which they
grow, the plants are flopped in
-their growth, until the foot ftalks
are turned, and the leaves recov
er their former pofition. If
leaves are eaten, or cut off, the
en-:'ofed buds will not grow, and
the plants will be weakened.
The winter feeding of wheat,
therefore, is hurtful ; and it has
been found fo by experience.
" Another principal ufe of the
leaves, is to throw off by tranf-
piration what is unneceffary to
the growth of plants, anfwering
to the difcharge made by iweat .
LEE
in animal bodies. As plants re
ceive and tranfpire much more,
in equal times, than large animals,
fo it appears how neceiTary the
leaves are to preferve the plants
in perfefcl health : For it has
been found by the moft exacl
calculation, made from repeated
experiments, that a plant of the
funflower receives and perfpires,
in twenty four hours, f even teen
times more than a man." Com~
plete Farmer.
Mr. Bonnet made many ex
periments, which proved that
leaves imbibe the moiftureofthe
atmofphere on their under fur-
face ; excepting fuch as have the
upper furface covered with hairs,
or down. The leaves undoubt
edly ferve for infpiration, as well
as for tranfpiration ; and plants
draw through their leaves, fome
confiderable part of their nour-
ifhment.
Leaves alfo ferve for ornament,
and to fcreen vegetables, and
their fruits, from the too intenfe
heat of the fun in fummer.
Leaves of trees are ufeful as a
manure, excepting thofe of the
refmous kinds. They fhould be
colle61ed into farm yards, tram
pled by the cattle, and mixed
with their excrements. Some
recommend leaves of oak for hot
beds, in Mead of tanner's bark, "as,
:>y fermenting more (lowly, they
afford a more regular and perma
nent heat. Dr. Hunter proved
the advantage of them by his
continued praclic*. SecGeorgi*
cat Eflays, by A. Hunter.
LEES, the grofs fcdimerit in
:ermented liquors. Moft kinds
)f lees contain much of the food
of plants. But they ihould not
)e applied to the foil as_a manure
their acidity is deftroyed, by
mixing and fermenting them
with large proportions of alkali-
ous fubltances, fuch as marie,
lime,
L I M
lime, afhes, foot, &c. Even the
pomace at cyder mills, which has
hitherto been confidered by our
farmers as good for nothing
might be thus changed into a
good manure. It is nearly the
fame fubftance as the lees of cy
der. Cyder lees will alfo pro
duce brandy by diftillation.
LICE. See Infefts.
LIME, a crumbly foft fub-
ilance, made by burning ftones,
and the (hells of fhell fifli, and
flacking them with water.
Lime has been proved, by the
long experience of European
farmers, to be one of the moft ef
ficacious manures. This may be
thought ftrange by thofe who
know it to be a mere alkali, con
taining neither oil nor fait, which
are certainly the principal ingre
dients in the food of plants. Oil
is an indifpenfably neceffary part
of this food.
But, by experiments made of
late, it has been clearly proved
that plants are greatly nourifhed
by fixed air, of which it is known
that lime contains a large quan
tity. It has been proved by the ex
periments of Mr. Lavifier, that
one third part of calcarious earths,
and particularly of lime ftone,
confifts of fixed air.
But befides affording to plants
this nourifhment, which is known
to be in plants, lime acls as a
manure, by attracting and imbib
ing the oils and acids which are
contained in the earth and atmof-
phere. It not only collects thefe
ingredients of vegetable food,
but fo alters them as to fit them
to enter the roots of plants.
With the acids it forms a fait,
which, by mixing with the oils,
becomes a faponaceous mucilage,
which is the true pabulum for
the nourifhment of plants.
Thefe changes cannot be made
in the ingredients of which veg-
L I M 191
table food is compofed, without*
confiderable degree of fermenta
tion. This fermentation breaks
and mellows the foil, and fo in-
creafes the paflure of plants, that
the roots can more fir cly extend
themfelyes in quell of their food.
Accordingly it is found that lim
ing renders a foil very foft and
open.
And as lime, when it is flack-
ed, is a very foft fubftance, I can
fee no reafon to doubt of its
containing a very confiderable
quantity of thofe impalpably
fmall particles of earth which
enter into plants, and become
part of their fubftance. If fo,
it mufl be allowed that lime
is fit to anfwer every intention
of manure. It either has all the
ingredients of vegetable food, or
produces and prepares them,
though not in the fame propor
tions as dung, which is allowed
to be the moft valuable of ail
manures.
Lime has been complained of,
as impoveri filing the foil ; and
it has been often remarked, that
though one drefling will pro
duce feveral good crops, the
land is lefs fruitful forfome time
after, than before it has been
lined ; and that a fecond drefT-
ng with lime, will not have fuch
an effecl: as the firft, in increafing
the fertility of the foil. But the
"armer fhould confider how Tar
ic has been recompenfed by
extraordinary, crops, for the ex-
laufting of his foil ; and that if
ime will not, other manures will
ecruit it. So will fallowing,
reft, or tiling it as a pafture.
It is granted that lime may
lavean ill efFeft, when it is inju-
iicioufly applied, as in too great
quantities, or to an improper foil.
Three cart loads, or 120 bulh-
els, are allowed to be a fuffi-
cient drefling for an acre. Butiti
Ireland,
I M
Ireland, where they plough ex
tremely deep, they lay on twice as
much. This dreffing enriches
cold, ftiff and clayey foils, for
many years after ; and in fuch
foils it may be fafely repeated.
If it force any foils too much, it
can be only thofe which are
weak and fandy.
The beft time for applying
lime as a manure is, when land
is newry broken up, or after ly
ing a long time in grafs. This
may be afcribed to the plenty of
roots in the foil, which the lime
foon diffolves, and changes into
food for plants.
Mr. Evelyn advifed to the
mixing of lime with turf in al
ternate layers, to lie in heaps for
months ; in which time it will
become fo rich and mellow as to
run like alhes. He thought it
would nourifh the foil more than
if ufed alone in a greater quanti
ty, and without any danger of ex-
haufting the vegetative virtue of
the earth, which mould be pre-
ferved. If it were mixed with a
large proportion of clay, or with
mud from the bottom of ponds or
rivers, it might be applied even to
fandy and gravelly foils without
danger, and to great advantage.
Lime is a very important ingre
dient in compofts, as by railing a
flrong fermentation it diffolves
and prepares the other materials.
There mould be fome layers of
it, where it can be eafily obtain
ed, in every heap of compoft. It
will be* the fooner fit for ufe, as
well as prove to be a more fertil
izing compofition.
When lime is laid on land
which has a quick defcent, it
ihould be always mixed with
dung, and laid on the higheft part ;
bacaufe it fo loofens the foil, as
to difpofe it to be plentifully
wafhed downwards by rains, fpi'l
and manure together.
L I M
Lime is an excellent manure
for foils that are moffy, as it
fpeedily diffolves the oil which
is contained in mofs, which is
not foon diiTolved by other ma
nures, and changes it to vegetable
food. It deftroys all aquatick
weeds, and diflplves the remain
ders of decayed vegetables in the
foil. Therefore it does well in
rnoory and peaty fwamps that are
drained.
While 1 am treating on this
excellent manure, I have the dif-
agreeable reflection, that it will be
to little purpofe ; as lime is fo
fcarce and clear in moft parts of
the country, that it muft not be
ufed as manure. Moft people
can fcarcely obtain a fufficient
quantity of it for building. But
thofe farmers who know they
have lime ftone or mells in plen
ty near them, mould not neglect
to make ufe of them as manures,
after .reducing them to lime.
LIME STONE, a ftone of a
calcarious nature, which, by cal
cination, or burning in the fire,
becomes lime. There are many-
kinds of lime itone ; the harder!
kinds make the beft lime, and
require the mo ft burning. Chalk
will burn into lime, of the nature
of ftone lime, but a great deal
weaker ; lime may be made of
marble and alabafter, &c. But
the ftones ufed for lime are moft-
ly ofabluifh colour, or inclining
to grey. They are fometimes
purely calcarious, but often mix
ed with undiffolvable ftones,
which leffen their value.
Some countries are very plen
tifully furnifhed with thefe
ftones, Great Britain and Ireland
in particular. It is ftrange they
have been found in fo few places
in Newengland. It has proba
bly been owing to want of atten
tion. An infallible way to dif-
tinguifh them is, by dropping
L O A
upon them a few drops of aqua
fortis, fpirit of fea fait, or oil
of vitriol. All thofe Hones, on
which thefe, or any other ftrong
acids, effervefce, or rife into bub
bles, are lime Hones, and will
burn into lime.
It is greatly to be wiflied, that
fome perfons in the various parts
of this country, would be furnifli-
ed with one or other of thefe
acids, and make frequent trials
with them. They who are not f ur-
nifhedwith the proper acids, may
prove ftones, by burning them
for fome days in a fmith's fire,
and then throwing them int
water. PofTibly we may find
the benevolent Author of nature
has not left us fo unfurnimed
with thefe valuable ftones, as we
have been ready to imagine.
LOAM, one of the principal
kinds of earth. Some fuppofe it
to be not one of the natural foils ;
but gradually made fince the cre
ation, by the putrefied vegetables
which have fallen upon the
earth. This does not appear
probable ; for, if fo, why do we
meet with any other kind of foil ?
This foil cpnfi'fts of very line
particles, without grit, almoft as
fine as thofe of clay, but do not co
here like them. If it lie long
under water, it is apt to have
the appearance of clay. It
receives water readily, and re
tains it long ; on which ac
counts it is preferable to clay or
.fand. It is better adapted by
nature to nourifh vegetables than
either the one or the other. But
it needs manure, and will com
monly pay well for it by the in-
creafe of its crops.
Loams are of various kinds.
Some is fHff, approaching to the
nature of clay, and is apt to be
adhefive in wet weather. This is
not fit f or the nourishing of thofe
vegetables wkich require much
23
LOU 193
heat. It needs to be drefled
with hot and opening manures
for any kind of crop. Other
loam is more light, foft and mel
low, and does not fo much need
the mod heating manures. Some
loam is of a dark red, hazely, or
brown colour. This is com
monly a mofi excellent foil.
Other loam is of a light yellow,
or whidlh colour, .and requires
abundance of manuring to ren
der it fruitful.
> All kinds of loam are apt to
be too wet, and to be covered
with a fhort green mofs, if they
lie flat. In this cafe, ridge plough
ing is beft* and hollow drains
often neceffary. Loam that has
a mixture of gravel, or fand, is
warmer, and fitter for tillage ; but
all loams are good for the grow
ing of grafles.
LOCUST TREE, Robinia, a
well known tree, which grows
in great plenty in the vicinity of
Bofton, and is a native of this
country, but does not flourifh fa
well in the Province of Maine,
as the froft of winter is apt to
kill the extremities of the limbs.
There are particular places, how
ever, in this diftrift, where the
growth of this tree is confidera-
bly rapid.
This tree would be more priz
ed for its beauty, were not its
limbs often broken by high
winds. Its leaves put out late in
the fpring, and fall off early in
autumn. It bloffbms about the
beginning of June, at which
time it makes a beautiful appear
ance, and perfumes the circum
ambient air with an agreeable
odour. The branches are armed
with hooked fpines ; and the
leaves compofed of ten pair of
oval lobes, terminated with ar
odd one.
The wood is not only good few-
el, but excellent timber, very du
rable
94
L U C
rablein any fituation, and particu
larly when ufed as potts in'fences.
This tree grows belt in a fandy
foil, and will popagate itfelf in the
moil barren places, where the foil
is fo light as to be blown away by
winds. By fhelteringfuch places,
and dropping its leaves on them-,
itcaufesafwardtogrowoverthem,
and grais to grow upon them. It is
not advifable to plant groves of
the locuft tree on the borders of
fields, on account of their fp read
ing too much by fcattering their
feeds, unlefs on thofe which are
imoft barren. B ut thofe who pof-
fefs hills of barren fand, and in a
climate that fuits them, fhould
not delay to makeforefts of thefe
trees on fuch fpots. It may be
eai r ily done by fowing the feeds
in a nurfery, and tranfplanting
them. A plenty of wood may be
thus fpeedily produced, without
the lead injury to the land, yea,
\vith advantage to it.
It is much to be regretted, that
of late years a worm has deilrey-
ed many of the trees, by eating and
boring them through the trunks
and limbs. Perhaps it will be
found that -quickfilver is an anti
dote to thefe infects.
LUCERN, medicago, a plant
with a perennial root, and an an
nual top. The bloflojns are of
the butterfly kind, of a fine pur
ple colour, growing upon fpikes
from two to three inches long. |
The feeds are kidney fhaped, and
contained in pods.
This plant is fupnofed to have
been brought from Media, whence j
the names medicago and medica.
It has long been profitably culti
vated in France, more in the fouth
ern than northern parts of that
country, where they call it Bur- i
gundy hay.
It loves a foil moderately rich, |
and not very dry. It is tender
while young, and inuit be culti-
L U F
vated with care ; alter wards 'it
grows more hardy. No other
plants, nor weeds, fhouldbe fufter-
ed to grow with it. Themoftap-
pro\ ed method of cultivating it
is by tranfplanting it in rows. It
grows fo fail that fix crops of
hay may be cut from it in one
year.
After each cutting, the weeds
fhould be killed, and the ground
ftirred with the dutch hoe. It
fhould be cut a good while be
fore the time of its bloffoming.
The leaves and ft ems are fo juicy,
that they require abundance of
drying, to make them into hay.
The beft ufe it can be put to is,,
to cut it and give it green to cat
tle and horfes. It is a very fweet
and fattening food for them ;
and fome lay it will cure them,
when they happen to be fick.
Three acres of lucern, in Eng
land, has yielded fo much as to
feed ten working horfes from the
end of April to the firft of Ofto-
ber, in which time they would
have eaten 20 tons of hay. Mr.
Roque lays it has yielded him at
the rate of eight tons of hay per
acre. And M. Duharnel had 40
tons green from an acre, equal
to ten tons of hay. Volumes
have been written on the virtues
and advantages of this plant.
But, from repeated trials, it ap
pears that our winter frofts def-
troy it. I hav"e been informed
that it profpers well in Virginia.
In that and the more fouthern
Hates greater attention than hith
erto has been, ought to be paid
to its cultivation.
LUPINES, a fpecies of wild
pea, cultivated principally for a
g ree n cl r e f 1 i n g . T h e y w i 1 1 g t o \ v
well in almoft any foil : efpecial-
ly in that which is dry, fandy
and poor.
The red and blue lupines,
which are cultivated in gardens,
are
M A L
.are faid: to grow wild in great
plenty in Spain.
LYE, or lie, a fluid impregnat
ed with falts.
MALANDERS, a horfe dif-
eafe, caufed by corrupt blood, or
over hard labour, &c. It e on fi its of
chops, or cracks, on the infide oi
the fore legs agarnrft the knee,
discharging a red fliarp humour.
To cure this difeafe, wafli the
cracks with warm fo.ap fuds or old
urine ; then rub them twice a
day with an ointment of hog's
lard mixed with two drachms of
iublimate mercury. Or apply
a poultice of the roots of marfh
mallows and flax feed, foftened
with linfeed oil, tying it on with
a roller. Continue that till the
feeds fall off and the fores be
come clean. Afterwards a mix
ture of turpentine .and quickfil-
ver will be a proper application.
MALT, barley, or other corn,
prepared for making beer or ale.
As it is of great importance that
the people of this country fliould
make a greater ufe of malt than
they do at prefent, I will here
five the procefs of making it,
rom the Didionary of Arts and,
Sciences.
" In making malt from barley,
the ufual method is to fteep the
grain in a fufficient quantity of
water, for two or three days, till
it fwclls, becomes plamp, Ibme-
what tender, and tinges the wa
ter of a bright brown, or redclifh
colour. Then, this water be
ing drained away, the barley is re
moved from the itecpirig ciilern
to the floor, where it is thrown
into what is called the wet
couch ; that is, an even heap,
rifing to the height of about two
feet. In this wet couch, the cap
ital part of the operation is per-
M A L
Formed ; for here the barley
fpontaneouily heats, and begins
to grow, {hooting out firit therad-
icle,then the plume,fpire or blade.
But the procefs is to be Hop
ped' fhort at the irruption of th
radicle, otherwife the malt would
be fpoiled. In order to flop it,
they fpread the wet couch thin
over a large floor, and keep turn~
ing it once in four or five hours,
for the fpace of two days, laying
it fomewhat thicker each time.
After this it is again thrown into
a large heap, and there fuffered to
grow fenfibly hot to the hand, as
it ufually will in twenty or thirty
hours : Then being fpread again,
and cooled, it is thrown upon
the kiln, to be dried crifp with
out Icorching. If thefe direc-
j tions be followed, the malt will
ahvays be good.
" The method of malting In
dian corn, or Virginia wheat, is
much lefsJaborious. For, if tl/is
corn be buried two or three inch-'
-es deep in the earth, and covered
with the loofe mould, in ten or
twelve days time the corn will
fprotit, and appear like a green
field ; .at which time being taken
up, and warned or fanned from
the dirt, it is immediately com
mitted to the kiln, and by this
means becomes good malt."
MALT DUST, the dull which
falls from the kiln, while malt is
drying. Repeated experiments
made by Europeans, have citab-
lifhed the credit of this dull; as a
manure for HirT loams and clays.
A good drefling of it has been
found to increafe a crop of bar-
Icy as much as fifty per cent, and
wheat Hill more. The quantity
ufed is from thirty to fixty bum-
els per acre, according to circum-
Hances. It is ufed rnoflly, or
i only, as a top drefling. Itexcrts
| its ftrength fo fuddcnly as to be
i nearly exhauHed with one crop.
MAN
It mould not be fown together
with winter wheat, but upon it
in December or January follow
ing : For if it be fown early, it
will exert its ftrength too foon,
and bring the wheat forward too
faft, as has been proved by exper
iments. For barley, this dreifing
ihould be fown with the feed and
harrowed in. A fmall dreffing
of this manure on grafs land,
mightily increafes the vegeta
tion, and the fweetnefs of the.grafs.
Maltfters ihould carefully pre-
ferve this precious manure in
fome place where it will not con
tract dampnefs. It may be of
ufe to farmers in their neigh
bourhood : But it cannot be
come a manure of general ufe,
the whole quantity that is made
being To final 1.
MANURE, any kind of fub-
ilance fuitable to be laid on land
to increafe its fertility.
,JVlanures contribute feveral
ways to the producing of this ef
fect : Either by increafmg the
quantity of vegetable food in ths
foil or by preparing- the nour-
ifhment already contained in the
foil to enter the roots of plants
or by enlarging the vegetable paf-
ture in which roots fpread and feck
their food or by attracting the
food of vegetables from tire air.
Some of the manures increafe
fruitfulnefs in all thefe ways, par
ticularly the dung of animals,
rotted vegetables, &c. Other ma
nures perform each office, ex
cepting the firft : And fome have
no other immediate effecl: befides
opening and loofening the foil :
But even thefe la ft kinds may
fometimes be ufed to great ad
vantage.
There are different ways of or
dering and managing manures,
according to their different na
tures. Some are to be applied
to land without alteration, or
MAN
mixing ; the reft to be prepared
by compounding and fermenta
tion : Some are fuitable for ftiff-
and fome for light foils : Some
to be mixed in the foil by the
plough and harrow ; other kind?
to be ufed only as top dreffings.
Farmers and gardeners fhould
not be fo inattentive to their own
intereft, or that of their employ
ers, as to fuffer a variety of valu
able manures to lie ufelefs, while
they are fuffering for want of
them. J have drawn up the fol
lowing lift for their benefit, hop
ing that fuch a variety, all ot
which can be had by one or oth
er, in this country, and by moft
farmers in plenty, might excite
the ambition of fome to make ufe
of their advantages, and fuffer
no manures to efeape their atten
tion.
The fubftances fit to be ufed
as manures, are either animal,
vegetable, foflil, or mixed.
Animal manures are fuch as
thefe that follow :
Putrefied Jlejli, fuch as the car-
caffes of animals, or meat not well
faved. This may be an ingredi
ent in compoft, or buried at the
foot of fruit trees to increafe their
fruitfulnefs. Dead horfes, dogs,
cats, rats, and uneatable birds,
ihould, inftead of putrefying the
air by rotting above ground, be
thus converted to an economical
purpofe. When the carcaffes of
animals are buried in dunghills,
it may be proper to lay over
them fome bumes of thorn, to
prevent ravenous dogs from tak
ing them away.
Blood, mixed with faw duft,
and ufed as a top dreffing, &c.
See the article Blood.
Hair, a top dreffing for grafs
land ; under the furface of a dry
foil in tillage ; or ufed in com
poft. In either way it is an ex
cellent fertilizer,
MAN
Feathers, fuch as have been
worn out in beds, or are unfit to
go into them in compo/l.
Rffufi wool, fuch coarfe dag
locks as are not fit for carding
covered with the plough in a dry
foil. They will ferve as fpunges
to retain moifture, and be a rich
food for plants when they are dif-
folved. So will
Woollen rags, chopped to piec
es, for a light foil. They mould
be cut as fraall as an inch fquare.
Twenty four bufhels are faid to
be a fufficient quantity for the
dreffing of an acre. Thefe fhould
be under the furface.
Hoofs of cattle Jimp, 8cc. If
large hoofs were fet in holes with
the points downward in. a dry
foil, fo low as not to be difturbed
by the plough, they would caufe
the land to retain raoiflure, and
hold the manure, not only by the
fpunginefs of their fub fiance, but
alfo more efpecially by their hol-
lownefs.
Bones, of all kinds, pounded or
broken into fmall pieces, with
hammers or mallets. This is an
incomparable manure, if they
have not been burnt, nor boiled
in foap. But in either way they
mould befaved for manure. Six
ty bufhels are a fufficient dreffing
for an acre.
Rawjkins of all kinds of ani
mals. Thefe mould be cut into
fmall pieces, and ufed for light
loils, ploughed in.
Le&tker t new or old, in fmall
bits, for dry foils, ploughed in.
Curriers' Jliavings, cut fmall,
for a foil of fand or gravel,
ploughed in.
Oil, of all forts, ufed in com-
pofts, not applied to the foil till
a year after it is mixed, that it
may be diffolved and altered.
FiJIi, of all kinds, from the
whale to the mufcle ; they are
belt ufed in compoits j and
M A N 197
fhould lie a year, that their oil
may be diffolved, and fitted for
the nourilhing of plants.
Ojfalol fi(h, in compofts, fit
for one foil or another, accord
ing to the predominant ingredi
ents of the mixture.
The vegetable manures are good,
though not fo ftrong as animal
ones. They can be had in great
er plenty in moft places ; and
ought to be laid on in larger
quantities.
Green vegetables, fuch as all the
otherwife ufelefs weeds in fields
and gardens. Thefe fhould be col
lected and rotted in heaps. They
are a good manure for all foils,
and to nourifh all forts of plants.
Aquatick weeds, fuch as grow
in the borders of ponds and riv
ers. Thefe fhould be collected
in large heaps on the higher
ground, and covered with turis,
the grafs fide outwards. Thefe
heaps will be eafily made in forne
places, and will be a valuable
manure. Some fay, care fhould
be taken to prevent their taking
fire by fermenting, as their heat
will be very great.
Straw, and other offal of corn
of all kinds, rotted in farm yards,
or dung pits.
Rcfufc hay, both frefh and fait,
rotted in yards, and trampled on
by cattle, and mixed with their
excrements.
Tfiatch, that grows by the fides
of fait creeks, or the parts of it
which cattle will not eat, mould
be thrown into the farm yard, to
putrefy. Thus a great increafe
cf good manure may be made.
The haulm of all dry vegeta
bles, fuch as the ftalks of pota
toes, beans, peas, &c. . Even the
offal of flax, if it have fufficient
time to. rot, will be a good manure.
Fern, a vegetable peculiarly a-
dapted to the purpofe of making
manure, See Fern.
Lees
ag8- MAN
Lees of fermented liquors, rot
ten fruit, and pomace, in compoft.
Oil cakes, which may begot at
the mills where linfeed oil is fac-
tured, for top dreffing, being
firft pulverized.
Tanner' shark from , Fermcnted
the oak tree,
Rotten wood,
Saw duft,
be laid on
clayey and
ftifF foils.
Decayed Jhips>
Wood ajhes, a good top dreffing
for almoft any kind of foils, but
beft for a moift one.
Coal aJJies, top dreffing for
cold damp foils.
Coal diift, top dreffing for low
meadows.
Malt duft. See that article.
Sea plants, rock weed, eel
grafs, &c. are the moft valuable
of green vegetables for manure.
They fhould be either ploughed
into the foil, or mellowed in
compoft dunghills. It is a wrong
practice to ufe them as top drefi-
irigs. Much of their virtue in
this way is loft.
Mofs, mixed with dung in
holes for a dry foil. Good for
potatoes.
Linen rags ; thefe will be a ma
nure worth faving, but they take
a long time to putrefy in com
poft.
The fojjil or earthy manures
are thefe :
Lime, mixed with the foil, or
in compofts, for ftifF foils. See
the article Lime.
Marie, moft fuitable in gener
al for light foils. See the article
Marie.
Sand, in roads, wafhed down
from hills, to open a ftifF clayey
foil. See the article Sand.
Plaijler of "j Abforbent ma-
Paris, and I nures for cold
Duft of | wet foils, for top
kewnjl&nes, j dreffing.
MAN
Gravel, for a wet puffy fwamp,,
Clay, to mix with the plough
and harrow in a fandy or gravel
ly foil. It fhould be expofed to
the ation of thefroft one winter
before it is ploughed in. Other-
wife it will remain a long time
undiifolved.
!To be mixed
with a fandy or
gravelly foil; but
beftin compofts,
with dung. See
the article Mud.
AJlies of fea coal for cold itifF
'land.
Peat, when reduced to afhes,
top dreffing for all foils, beft for
a cold one. See Peat.
Turfs, either in compofts, or
dried and burnt. They may
be takew from the fides of high
ways without damage. Thefe
places are the walks of cattle and
f wine, where much dung is drop
ped ; the turf is therefore a rich
ingredient in manure.
Shells of mell fifh, ploughed
in whole, are a good manure for
dry foils ; and ground or pound
ed fmall for ftifF land.
Brick duft, 1 To open a clayey,
Burnt clay,) or warm a cold foil.
Beach /and, to open a ftifF, and
warm a cold foil. That which
has a fine grain is the beft.
Pit fand, of any colour, to
meliorate a foil of ftifF clay. It
fhould be laid on plentifully.
The mixed folid manures are
thefe.
Dung of all kinds. Though
it chiefly confifts of rotten vege
tables, there is a mixture of ani
mal juices in it, and fome of the
fineit particles of the earth.
Moft dungs mould be mixed
with the foil, by the plough or
harrow. See the article Dung.
Compojls of every kind, fit for
light or ftifF foils, according to
the difference of their predomi
nant
MAN
ixant ingredients ; or a general
manure for all foils.
The fcr apings of hack yards,
for all kinds of foil, but when
containing chips, (havings of
wood or much law duft, tor Itiff
foils.
Rubbifk of old houfes, for cold
and ftiff foils. This contains
much nitre in compofts it is of
moft: advantage.
Earth that has been long un
der cover. This commonly col-
lefts much nitre. Beft in com
pofts.
Scraping of flreets, a general
manure, fit for all foils. Farm
ers who live in the vicinity of
cities, and great towns, Ihould
always avail themfelves of this
kind of manure.
Mixed liquid manures.
Old brine of falted meat or fifli,
which contains, befides fait, fome
blood, oil, &c. in compofts.
Sea water, which contains
other things befides water and
fait, fit to nourifh vegetables. It
may be fprinkled on land, or
ufed in com polls.
Soap Jitds replete with a pre
pared food for plants ; excellent
for watering gardens in dry
weather. None of this ihould be
loft. If the garden be diftant, or
wet, it may enrich the dunghill.
Urine of all animals that are
mingent. This contains earth
and animal juices, falts and oil ;
and is, next to dung, perhaps the
moft valuable and important
of all manures. See the article
Urine.
Water in the. hollows of farm
yards. Inftead of fuffering this
rich liquor to foak into the bow
els of the earth, it Ihould be taken
up by mulch, or fome abforbent
fubftancc thrown into it, or elfe
carried out in a water cart, and
fprinkled over a foil that needs
MAN 199
Water that runs from compofl
dunghills. This fhoul d be thrown
back upon dunghills, or elfe ufed
as the preceding article.
Liquors from die hoiifis. This
Ihould be ufed in compofts.
After all, I may add Salt, be
ing diftinft from all other ma
nures, an important ingredient in
the food of plants, and adapted
to prepare other ingredients.
Some apply it as it is, but it has
a better effecl: when ufed in com
pofts.
If our farmers in general would
be perfuaded to avail themfelves
of fo many of thefe manures as
fall in their way, or can be eafily
obtained, we mould no longer
hear fo many difmal complaints
as we do, of fhort crops, and worn
out lands. The face of the coun
try would foon be furprifingly
improved.
But that manures may fully
anfwer their intention, they muft
be judicioully applied. We
mould not only apply each ma
nure to the foil for which it is
moft fuitable, but at feafons when
it will produce the moft valuable
efFecl. For a general rule it is
beft to apply thole rich ferment
ing manures, which are to be mix
ed in the foil, as near as may be
to the time when the ground is
feeded. Dung Ihould be plough
ed in with the feed furrow, as it
is called. Compofts may be har
rowed in with the feed. The
reafon for applying thcfe ma
nures at this time is obvious.
They will begin to raife a fer
mentation in the foil, almoft as
foon as they are applied ; fo that
if there be no feed, nor plants to
be nourilhed by them, fome part
of the good effect of the manure
will be loft. As part of the fer
mentation will be paft, before the
plants begin to grow ; fo there
may be danger of its being over,
before
2OQ
MAN
before they have attained to their
full growth. If fo, the foil will
harden, and the plants will re
ceive the lead quantity of nour-
ifhment at the time when they
need the grcatefL
As to thofe manures which
raife little or no fermentation,
they may be laid on at any time
when the farmer has leifure for
it, as fand on a clayey, gravel
on a boggy and puffy foil ; or
clay, marie, or mud, on a light
foil.
H It has been too much pra&ifed
in this country, to apply fcanty
dreflings to lands in tillage, hard
ly fufficient to have a perceptible
effect, and to repeat it year after
year. But this, I think, is a
v;rong practice. A fufficient dreff-
ing once in two years, I have al
ways found to do better than a
half dreffing each year. This
laft method does not fo well agree
with a fucceflion of crops ; be-
caufe fome crops require a much
greater degree of ftrength in the
foil than others do. Let us then
rather follow the example of the
European farmers, who common
ly manure very plentifully once
in a. courfe of crops, and no
more ; and the year the manure
is laid on, take a crop that re
quires the greateftaffiftance from
manure, or that bears high ma
nuring beft, or makes the belt re
turns for manure : Afterwards,
crops that need lefs manure, till
the end of the courfe. Perhaps
the year of manuring in this
country mould be chiefly for In
dian corn. This crop is not ea-
iily overdone with manure, and
it pays well for high manuring.
And this happens well for us, as
a hoed crop, when the dung is
ufed, will prevent the increafe of
weeds, which a plentiful dunging
will greatly promote in every
kind of foiL
MAR
) MAPLE, acer, a tree. See
: Sycamore.
MARE, the female of a horfe.
Breeding mares jfhould be free
from difeales ; and have good
eyes ; becaufe the colts are apt
to inherit their diftempers. They
Ihould be the firongeft, beft fpir-
ited, and well fhaped ; not of any
bad colour. If any defefts are
difpenfed with, the mare and the
ftallron mould by no means have
the fame defeats. In fuch cafe
there can be but little profpeft
that the iffue will be good. Some
fay they mould not breed with
ftallions of the fame blood. Croff-
ing the breed is faid to be of great
confequence. Mares ihould not
be fuffered to breed till after four
years old ; and the beft time for
them to take horfe is about the
latter end of June, then they will
not foal till the fame part of the
month of the following May,
when the grafs will be grown,
which is better to make mares
give milk than dry food is.
Mares that are with foal mould
be houfed the earlier in the fall;
and fed well till foaling. For
the laft month or two before foal
ing, they mould not be ridden
fwiftly, nor be put to draw at all,
nor to cany heavy burdens on
their backs.
MARKING of cattle. As
one man's cattle, horfes, and
fhecp, have very often fuch a re-
fernblance to thofe of another,
that they cannot eafily be diftiri-
guifhed ; and as they often graze
together on commons, or in com
mon paftures, marks for thele
different animals have been found
neceffary.
I have known no other mark
ing ufcdfor horfes than branding
with a hot iron, on the fhoulder
or thigh. As thefe marks are not
ornamental, moft perfons choofe
that their horfes mould have no
marks
MAR
marks, but natural ones, as they are i
called, fuch as particular fpots on
them ot different colours, c. In
this cafe, thefe natural difcrimi-
nations fhouldbe regiftered j be-
caufe, in cafes of difpute in law,
no owner's word, who is a: party,
will be taken as evidence.
The marking of neat cattle on
the horn, with the branding iron,
is foeafily done, and without giv
ing them pain,and is fo permanent;
that it ihould never be negle&ed.
The brand mould be made near
er the point than the root of the
horn, on the outfide which is
inoft expofed to view, and not
very deep, efpecially on young-
cattle, which have thinner horns'
than older ones. Burning a
horn through to trie pith will
hurt a creature, and will fpoil the
horn for certain ufes afterwards.
The fame kind of mark would
be preferable for fheep, if they
all had horns ; as" they have not,
fome other mark, alike furtable
for all, Ihould be ufed. Mark
ing them on the wool is a bad
practice. Some of the wool is
fpoiledand loft by it; and,atlong-
eft,itcan laft only to the next {hear
ing ; oftentimes not fo long ; and
an uncertain mark is worfe than
none. The ear mark muft be
ufed, thoiigh the operation gives'
fome pain to the animals.
Thefe marks may be diftinctfor a
great number of flocks. And
tliefe marks ihould be matter of
record.
MARLE, a fine fat kind of
cfarthj but littde coherent, and
eality diifolved in water. It is
allowed to be one of the richeft
of manures. It is of various
colours IFU different places, grey,
blue, brown, yellow, red, arid
mixed. It is diftinguifhable into
three forts, ftone marie, clay
. marie, and llate rnarle. The firft
is hard, the fecond foft, the laft
A 2
MAR
is found in thin lamina,like (late.
Each kind, however, is of thd
fame nature as the others.
Marie i s faid to havebeeri found
in fevefal parts of this country.
Poffibly it may abound in all
parts ; if fo, it may double the
value of our lands when it cornes
to be in general ufe. People
mould make themfelves ac
quainted with the nature and ufe
of it, that they may be difpofed
to feek for it, arid be able to dif-
tinguifti it from all Other earths-
It often bears fo near a refem-
blartce to clay, that the one may
be eafily miftaken for the other.
That we may be able to diftin-
guifti thefe fubftances, ^ve mould
remember, that mafle is apt to>
break into little fquare bits, like
dice ; that when it is wetted, it
has riot the tenacity of clay ; that
after being expofed to the weath
er, it eafily falls to pieces with a
blow ; that after tying oft the
fur face for fome time, it looks as
if it were covered with white
froft, or with a fprinkling of fine
fait.
Marie effervefces with acids j
but this effervefcence does notdif-
tinguifli it from other calcarious
foflils. , ,
It has beerf faid that a mofl: in
fallible way to diftiMguifti marie
from other earths, is, to drop a
piece of dry marie, a's big as a
nutmeg 1 , into a glafs" of cl'ear wa
ter, where it will fend u'p many
fparkles to the fur face of the wa
ter, arid foori diflblve into a foft
pap. But I have found that
fome clays exhibit nearly tho
faitie appearances.
Sometimes the beds of rriarle
are near the yfurface, but they are
oftener found deep in the earth.
It is fqmetimes found on the
banks of ditches, by means ofc
j the rank growth of weeds and
i grafs on it. Boring with a long
2-O2-
M A R
auger, or the' fcrew borer, may
difcover where it is. Two kinds
ot marie were lately found at
Penobfcot in digging a well.
Sometimes it is very dry and
compa6l in the earth, but in fome
places almoft liquid. Earths,
thrown out of wells, if they have
a clayey appearance, fhould al
ways be examined.
Maries have been known to
fertilize all kinds of foil, but
light fandy ones more than any
other. But as Dr. A. Hunter,
by decompounding, has proved
that marie confifts of particles
of lime ftone, mixed.with clay or
fand, or both ; according as ei
ther of thefe ingredients is more
predominant in: it, the foil will
be indicated for which it is moft'
iuitable. That which contains
the leaft proportion of clay will-
be proper manure for a IHfffoil,
being of the moftabforbent kind ;:
that which has the largeft propor
tion of clay 'fhould be applied to
a fandy foil. To difcover the
proportion of thefe fubftances in
marles, the fame ingenious wri
ter advifes as follows :
; ' Having dried and powder
ed the marie to be examined,
pour upon any given weigritof it
a final 1 quantity of water. To
this mixture, well fhaken, add a
little of the acid of fea fait,
and when the confequenfc cffer-
vefcence is over, add a little
more. Repeat this addition at
proper intervals, till no more ef-
iervefcence enfiies. Then throw
the whole, with an equal or
greater proportion of water, into
a filter of grey paper, whofe
weight is known. When all the
fluid parts have paffed through, fill
up the filter again and again, with
9|arm water. By this means the
difTolved particles of calcareous
earth, adhering to the refidue, or
ntang.led in the pores of the paper,
MAR
will be warned away, and
ing but what is really unfoluble
will remain in the filter. This
rtjtduum, with the filter, muft
be completely dried and weigh
ed. Then the difference be
twixt its weight and the orig
inal weight of the filter, gives
you the weight of unfoluble parts-
contained in the marie under ex
amination. This being known,
the proportion of calcarious earth
in the fame rnarle is evident.
The proportions of clay and
fand in it are discovered by fub-
jecling the refiduum to a proper
elutriation. This operation is
very fimple, and performed thus :
Having weighed the dry refidue,
mix and fhake it well with afuf-
ficient quantity of water. After
allowing a little time forthefub-
fidence of the groffcr parts, let
the \vater, with the finefl parti
cles of clay fufpended in it, be gent
ly poured off. When this is done,
add more water to the remainder,
and after fufficient mixture and
fubfidence, pour off that likewife.
In the fame manner repeat the
operation, again and again, till
the water comes over perfectly
pure. The fubitance which then
remains is fand, mixed perhaps
with fome flakes of talc ; and
whatever this fubftance wants of
the weight of the refidue employ
ed, is the weight of pure clay
carried away by the water in the
procefs of elutriation." Georgtcal
EJJays..
If five parts in fix prove to be
calcarious in a piece of marie,
the lime is predominant, and it is
fit for the fliffer foils ; if two
thirds only be calcarious, and the
reft clay, it is fit for a fandy
foil, &c.
The calcarious part of marie
does not produce fo quick an ef
fect as lime, when ufed as ma-
nu|s ; becaufe the latter is burnt,
and
M A R
flakes fuddenly. This feems
=to be the true difference, which
Is not effential ; becaufe the cal-
caricus part of marie gradually
(lakes ia the earth without burn
ing. Like lime, it attracts and
imbibes the acids of the earth and
air, forming a fait, which dif-
folves the oils, increafes the paf-
ture of plants, and prepares the
food of plants to enter their roots.
The quantity -of marie to :be
applied to an acre is about fixty
loads. Some fandy foils may
bear more of the clay marie ;
rich foils need not near fp much,
of the kind of marie which fuits
them.
Marie mould be mellowed by
the froft of one winter before it
is buried in the foil ; even in this
cafe, it will not fertilize the foil fo
much the firft year as afterwards.
Some marles do not produce
their ful-1 efFefttill the third year,
as they diffolve (lowly. Some
fay the good effect of one full
<lreffmg with marie will lait thir
ty years.
As good foils may be over
done with this manure, it is bet
ter to err at firft in laying on too
little than too much. More may
be added at any time. As the
principal effects of marie 2re
like thofe of lime, it is not to be
expecled that marling a fecond
time will have fo good an effefl: as
the firft. T his obfervation is fakl
to be confirmed by experience.
There is another fort of marie
no lefs valuable than the former
kind ; and much ufed in old
countries. It is cornpofed chief
ly of broken fhells, which were
undoubtedly once the (hells of
marine animals, mixed with a
proportion of (and. It fotne-
times alfo contains a mixture of
mofs and decayed wood.
This marie is udially found
under mofs, or peat, in low furik-
M A R
203
en parts of the earth ; and efpe~
cially thofe which are nigh to
the fea, or confiderable rivers.
Mr. Mills fays, " Whoever finds
this rnarle finds a mine of great
value. It is one of the beft and
mod general manures in nature ;
proper for all foils, and particu
larly fo far clay." This fort of
marie, as well as the other, may be
eafily found by boring. It has
been fomethnes difcovered by-
ant hills, as thefe infects bring
up fome final! pieces of (hells
from their holes. One would
think that this country muft be
furnifhed as plentifully as any oth
er with this kind of marie ; wheth
er we fuppofe the beds to have
been formed by the general del
uge, by the raging of the fca and in-
undationsiince that great event, or
-by the (liiitingof the beds of rivers.
The goodnefs of this rnarle
depends upon the (hells, which
are the principal, and fometimes
almoft the whole that it contains.
It is much of the nature of lime,
and will go further than other
marie. It efferYx^c-clTilrongly
with all acids.
MARSH, according to Dr.
Johnfon, a fen, bog, or fwamp.
In this country the word is ufed
only to fignify flat land, border
ing on the fea, and lying fo low
as to be often overflowed by the
tides, when they are fulleft.
Marmes are diftinguimed into
high marfh and low mar Hi. The
former bears a very fhort grafs, but
in many places very thick ; the
latter produces a tall rank grafs,
called thatch. Both thcfe forts
of grafs are too highly impreg
nated with fait to be a conftant
food for cattle ; hut the long
grafs is falter than the fhort, as it
is ottener wetted with fea water
during its growth.
It is efleemed healthy for
horfes, cattle, and Iheep, to have
5504
M E A
fome of this fort of land in their
paflure ; or to be turned, now
and then for a few days, into a
marfh. At leaft it jfaves the
trouble and expenfe of giving
them fait. In England, it is
thought to fave fheep frpm that
fatal diftemper, ttye rot.
Marmes are certainly the rich-
<eft of our lands, as appears by
the aftoni filing degree of fruitful-
nefs, apparent ir> jthofe peices
from which the fea has been ex
cluded by dikes. Marfr? may be
fo far improved by diking and
tillage, without manuring, that
inftead of producing lefs than
one ton of fait hay per acre, it
ihall produce fhree tons of the
bed kinds of hay. The value of
this foil mult needs be great, as
it is not exhauftcd by cropping,
and needs no manure, unlefs it
be fand, or fome other cheap fub-
ftance. to dry and harden it.
Some marihes require a long
fJike to exclude the fea, in pro
portion to the land it contains ;
others a fhort one, as where the
marfh is narrowest towards the
fea. He that poifeffcs a marfh of
the latter kind, can undertake no
buiinefs that will be more profit
able than diking it. Two men
can eafily build a rod of dike up
on high marih in a. day. Through
the hollows and creeks, more
work wil} be required.
If a marfri, after it is diked,
ihould ])Q rather too wet for til
lage, aditch fhould be made round
by the upland to cut off the frefh
water, both above and below the
furface, and lead it to the outlet
or fluice. See Dike, and Sluice.
MATTOCK, a pickaxe.
This is a ufeful inftrument in fink
ing wells, digging trenches, ditch
es, &c.
MEADOW, grafs land for
jnowing. In this country the word
is feldom ufed to iignify upland
M E A
mowing ground, but that which
is low and moid, and feldom or
never ploughed. In other coun
tries it is the name of all mowing
grounds.
Too much or too little moif-
ture is hurtful to thefe meadows,
Thofe that are apt to be too wet
mould be made drier by ditching
or by draining, if it be practica
ble. They may be made drier
alfo by fpreading fand, gravel, or
coal jduft,' upon them : At the
fame time, their fruitfulnefs will
be increafed, and better kinds of
grafs may be introduced.
When they are become dry,
they fhould be ploughed and till
ed, if the foil be riot a tou^h clay
with only an inch or two of black
mould above it. In this cafe, I
think a low meadow fhould nqt
be ploughed at all. Inftead of
ploughing, perhaps it would be
better to cut away the hillocks
and unevenneffes j which by rot
ting in heaps, or burning, may
be converted into good manure
for the foil. And to jncreafethe
thicknefs of good foil, let fand
and other earths, with dung, be
fpread over it.
When the foil is a loofe crum
bly clay, fuch as is found under
fome meadows, fuch a meadow
may be converted to tillage land
with great advantage.
Flooding in the fpring not on
ly enriches, the foil of meadows,
but makes them bear a {harp
drought the belter. It caufes the
grafs to grow fo rapidly that the
foil is fooner fcreened from the
fcorching heat of the fun.
Particular care fhould be al
ways taken to keep cattle, out of
meadows in the fpring and {all,
when they are very wet and (bit.
For they will fo break and fpoil
the fward with their {eet, that it
will not be fit for mowimj, nor
bear more than half a crop. All
the
M E L
the fall feeding of fuch land
Jhould be over, before the heavi-
eil rains of autumn. In the
fpring, no hoof mould, by any
means, be fuffered to go upon a
foft meadow. It occafions fo
inuch lofs and damage, that a
farmer had better give treble price
for hay to feed his cattle, or buy
corn ior them, than to turn them
in, as fome do, to eat the grafs
that firft fprings, and which has
but little more nourifhment in it
than water. No hufbandry can
be worfe, if hufbandry it may be
called.
Meadows that bear poor water
graffes mould be mown rather be
fore the grafs is grown to its full
iize. The hay will be fo much
fweeter and better, that what it
wants in quantity will be more
than made up in its quality. And
the lofs of quantity may perhaps
be made up in fall feeding ; or
elfe a fecond crop may be taken.
I have long obfer ved that heavy
rains commonly fall before the
end of Auguft, by which low
meadows are often flooded.
Therefore, there is danger in de
laying to mow them till it is fo
late. The crop may be either
totally loft, or men muft work
in the water to fave it in a damag
ed condition.
MEASLES, a difcafe in fwine.
The eyes are red and inflamed,
and the fkin rifes in pimples, and
runs into fcabs. To cure a
fwine of this difeafe, take half a
fpoonhil of fpirit of hartfhorn,
and two ounces of bole armcni-
ac, mix it with meal and water,
and give it him ifi the morning
when he is hungry. Jlepeat the
dofe every day, till he is cured,
which will be in four or five
da vs.
MELON, a pleafant tafted,
cooling fruit. It grows beftina
warm climate ; and is large and
M E S
20;
excellent in the fouthern dates.
But they will ripen in Neweng-
land, in the common way of
planting ; but are not fo large,
nor fo early in the moft northern
parts. Some improvement has
lately been made in this fruit, by
bringing feeds from the fouth-
ward. Whether this will be a
lading advantage time will fhew.
Of all the kinds of melons,
Mr. Miller greatly prefers the
cantaleupe, a native of America.
But I have not heard whether it
has yet found its way into this
country.
The fame writer fays, the feeds
of melons mould be three years
old before they are planted ; and
that thofe feeds which are fo light
as to fwim on water, are not good
to plant. Melons grow beft on
a fandy loam, which has a warm
expofure tothefouth orfoutheaft.
The vines fhould be flickered a
gainft cold winds which flop their
growth ; and againfl 4)oifterous
winds from any quarter, which
will hurt them, by difhirbmg and
difplacing their vines.
A good manure to be put un
der melons, is an old compofl of
good loam, with the dung of
heat cattle or fwine. The ends
of the runners, and the fruit lat-
eft formed, fhould be taken off,
that the fruit firft formed may
Lave more nourifhment, grow
larger, and arrive to the greater
perfection. To raife melons on
hot beds, under frames, or un
der hand glafles, fee Gardener's
Dictionary.
MESLIN, wheat mixed with
other grain in fowing. The
name is moft commonly applied
to a mixture of wheat and rye.
But there is an unfitnefs in fow
ing thtfe together, as wheat re
quires the beft foil and tillage,
and rye will anfwer with the
pooreft.
206
MET
I fh<Duld greatly prefer the
mixture of fpring wheat and bar
ley, as barley requires nearly as
good a foil, and as many plough-
iflgs, as wheat. But that which
chiefly recommends this mixture,
is, that wheat will not blight
when it is fown with barley.
This has been proved by the ex
perience of a number of farmers
in my neighbourhood, who are
encouraged toperfift in the prac
tice. This confirms a hint that
was thrown out by Mr. Eliot,
in his EJJays.
Whatihouldbe the reafon why
barley prevents the blightiifg of
wheat, may be worthy of the in
quiry of naturalifls. "May it not
poflibly be this ? That the large,
bufhy beards of the barley fo en-
clofe the necks of the ftems of
wheat, as to defend them in fome
degree from cold in the cool
nights ; fo that the fap in the
ftems of wheat is not fo much
thickened by the cold, as to be
obftrucled in its afcent to the ear ?
The worftcircumftance attend
ing this kind of meflin, is the
difficulty of feparating the two
forts of grain. Though wheat
does no harm in malt, barley is
a poor ingredient in bread. So
that there is need of making the
feparation. Barley being light
er than wheat, will moftly fall
nearer to the tail of the meet in
winnowing, by means of which,
fome of the wheat maybe almoft
or quite extricated from the bar
ley. Throwing it with a (hovel
may do fl.il 1 more towards feparat
ing the two forts. The lighter
grain will drop ihortof the heap.
METH EGLIN, a pleafantfer-
mented liquor, made of honey
and water. It is made thus : Put
fo much new honey into fpring
water, that when the honey is
diflblved, an egg will not fink to
the bottom, Soil the liquor for
M I C
an hour. When cool, barrel it
up, adding a fpoonful of yeaft to
ferment it. Some add ginger
half an ounce to a barrel, and as
much cloves and mace ; but I
have had it very good without
any fpices. One hundred weight
of honey will make a barrel of
metheglin, as ilrong as good
wine. I once had a barrel made
with 90 pounds of honey. Af
ter fermenting and fining, it was
an excellent liquor ; fome part
of which I kept bottled feveral
years ; it lofes the honey talte
by age, and grows lighter colour
ed : But on the whole, it does
not improve by age, like fome
liquors.
MICE, a well known genus
of quadrupeds, troublefome to
all houfekeepers, but more ef-
pecially to farmers, and thofe
who keep quantities of grain in
their houfes, or in granaries.
Farmers mould know the belt
ways of oppofing their depreda
tions, and of deftroying them.
The field moufe eats the bark of
trees in nurferies and young orch
ards, when fnow is on the ground,
and moflly when it is deep. A
good way to prevent this mif-
chief is to tread down the fnow,
and make it very compa6t, about
the ftems of the trees. And
though laying mulch about the
roots of trees be good for the
trees, it occafions the mice to in-
creafe ; therefore I do not go in
to that practice, while the trees
are fmall, and have a fmooth
bark. It is only while the trees
are young that mice eat the bark.
In fpring, the field mice eat
corn and other feeds under the
furface ; in the fummeY they hurt
the grafs ; and in autumn I have
found that they eat potatoes be
fore they are dug up. I know
not. whether the field moufe and
thofe in houfes, barns and grana
ries,
M I L
*ies, be of the fame fpecies ;
though the former are larger. But
it has been found that both may be
deftroyed by the fame poifon.
Take a fpoonful of flour, mix
ed with fome fcrapings of old
cheefe, and feeds of hemlock,
made as fine as poflible. Set it
where they haunt. If it be fet
in a houfe, let it not be in the
fame apartment with any thing
that is to be ufed as the food of
man. This mixture will deilroy
all the mice that eat it.
But fince many fear to ufe poi
fon, they may take them alive in
wire cages. However, inflead
of the round ones which are com
monly ufed, I would recom
mend fquare ones, enclofed in
thin wooden boxes, with a hole
in the box againfl the entrance
of the cage ; becaufe a moufe
will not fo readily enter into a
place where he fees another con
fined. The bait may be a rind
of cheefe fcorched, madefaflto
the centre of the bottom of the
cage, and fo far from the hole
that a moufe cannot reach it till
he has got quite into the cage.
For if he mould flick in the paf-
fage, he will prevent the entrance
of others.
MILDEW, or MELDEW,
or HONEY DEW, a certain
fweet tailed clammy fubflance,
found in mornings, on the leaves
of fome vegetables, the pores of
which do not abforb it. Many
have believed that this dew is the
real caufe of the rufl, or dark
coloured fpots, on the flems and
leaves of blalled grain. This
has been the popular way of ac
counting for the difeafe, among
my countrymen. It has been
fuppofed, that this moiflure ad
heres to the plants, and fo con-
denfes as to obflruft their perfpi-
ration, by which they ficken and
become unfruitful.
M I L 207
The French call this diflemper
in grain rouille, or ruft. It is un
doubtedly the fame which the
Romans called Rubigo. The
flems and leaves are befpattered
with brown fpots, and the grain
appears fhrunk and fmall, in pro
portion as thefe fpots abound on
the plants. It moflly attacks
wheat and rye, but fometimes al-
fo oats and barley.
Mr. Worlidge, an ingenious
writer on hufbandry, was an ad
vocate for the hypothefis I have
mentioned. He therefore advif-
ed to brufhing off fuch dew with
a repe, before the fun could con-
denfe it on the grain. But it is
much to the difcred ; i of this opin
ion, that though bruthing has oft
en been tried, it has never been
certainly known to have had the
defired effe6r. I am one among the
many who have tried it without ef-
fe6l. M. Duhamel made trials,
to determine whether this were
the real caufe, by applying to the
leaves of plants fuch glutinous
fubflarices as were fufBcient to
flop the perfpi ration ; but it had
no fuch effect as rufl. How-
much lefs can fuch an effect be
expeclcd from adhefioris to the
flems, fince the leaves are the
principal organs of perfpiration ?
Or when not a fourth part of the
furface of a pl<mt is ever covered
by the fpots ?
Some impute this diflemper in
grain to intenfe heat from the
fun, happening after dry gloomy
weather. But it is known that
it attacks young plants in au
tumn, when the heat from the
fun is not great, nor the weather
dry, and covers the leaves with
fpots of rufl.
Mr. Miller and others fuppofe
infe&s to have a hand in this dif-
temper ; either originally, or af
ter the flems are wounded. But
microfcopical obfervations have
not
M I L
not afforded reafon to believe
this to be the true caufe. And Mr.
Tillet has obferved that the fpots
are ohiifferent colours on different
plants, according to their differ
ent kinds of lap ; from whence
it may feem probable that the fap,
rather than infe&s, or their eggs
or excrements, is the fubftance
of which the fpots are formed.
Some have fuppofed the fpots
to be made by the intenfe action
of the fun on the drops of com
mon dew, while they adhere to
the flems after the fun is up, and
colle6t the rays as lenfes, by
\vhich the ftems are over heated
under the drops, or rather burnt.
But the ihape or thefe drops will
hardly juftify fuch an opinion :
For though their convexity on
the outfide is confiderable, their
concavity on the infide is almoft
the fame. Or if it mould be al
lowed that the rays do converge
a little in the drops, yet their ac
tion on the ftems cannot be fo
great as to diffolve their fub-
ttance into that powder, of which
the rufl is known to confift. Be-
lides, if this were the caufe, the
fpots would be made only on the
eaftern fide* ot the ftems, which
is contrary to fa61. They ap
pear equally on every fide of the
items. ,
Mr. Tillet's hypothefis feems
to bid fairer than either of the
foregoing to account for thisdif-
temper. He thinks it is caufed
by a fharpnefs in the air in dry
cloudy weather, which breaks
the veflels interwoven with the
fubftance of the blades and ftems,
and makes them difcharge a thick
oily juice, which, by degrees, is
turned into that rufty powder*
He examined with a microfcope.
and faw fmall openings in the
membrane covering the plant
where the pbwder lay : And ob-
feived that the juice iffued
M I L
through thefe fmall openings.,
over which he faw fdme pieces
of the membrane, which partly
| covered the openings. Hence
! he juftly concluded that the 1
caufe of the difeafe is the wound
ing of the fap veffels,frOrri which
wounds the fap exudes, which
mould pafs into the ear to per-
fe5t the grain : But I greatly
fufpe& he does not here aflign
the true caufe of thefe fra&ures.
It they were caufed by any un
favourable ftate of the air, one
would think that, of two adjoin
ing fields, one would not efcape
this diftemper, and the other be
ruined by itj which is not an un
common cafe. And M. Chat-
eauvieux has remarked, that the
whole of the fame field of wheat
is not ufually affecled at the fame
time. Beiides, M. Duhamel
often applied to' plants acid and
corrofive, alkaline and fpiritous
liquors ; which trials did not
produce any thing like ruft.
How then can any fuch effluvi
um in the air be fuppofed to cor
rode and break the veflels of the
ftems ?
M. Chateauvieux believed
that the powder which forms the
ruft, is the extravafated juice of
the plants, becaufe it flops their
growth. As he had not obferved
the ruft to come but in dry weath
er, and when there were no dews,
he conjectured that the want of
moiiture caufes the furfaces of the
ftems to crack, and pour forth
their contents. Whether this
be the true caufe or not, future
obfervations and experience may
enable us to determine. To me
it does not appear very probable ;
becaufe, in this country, in fome
of the drieft feafons, grain has
been moftfree from ruft. I rath
er think this is generally the cafe.
Were it proper that I mould
attempt to aflign another caufe,
after
M I L
after the vain inquiries of fo ma
ny of my fuperiours, I fhould af-
cribe the burfting of the fap vef-
fels to cold. The fafls that have
led me to form this hypothefis are
chiefly thefe : Firft, that in the
col icr parts of North America,
grain is far oftener hurt hy this
diftemper than in the warmer ;
oftener in the northern than . in
the fouthern ftates. Secondly,
becaufe early ripe grain moft com
monly efcapes the ruft. Thirdly,'
becaufe the ruft does not often
appear on fummer grain, before
the nights begin to grow colder,
as they do about the latter end of
July. From thefe observations,
I have been led to think, that the
increafmg cold of thefe nights
thickens the fap in the leaves
and the neck of the ftem, juft be
low the ear, where it has thethin-
neft covering, fo as to form ob-
ftru&ions in the fap veffels : After
which thepreffureof the fap up
wards, in a warm day, is fo ftrong
as to burft the veffels, and out
ward membrane, and fo to form
paffages for the fap to the fur-
face of the ftems, &c. I am the
more induced to adopt this hy
pothefis, becaufe I have obferv-
ecl the fpots ufually appear firft
ie n-eck of the ftem, and are
a! ys there in the greateft plen
ty.
By a greater degree of cold
than that which formed the firft
obitruttions, I conceive aew ob-
ftructions are formed below the
wounds or fiflures, by means of
which new cracks are made from
whence the fap exucles : And
thus the ftems may become fpot-
ted, as they fometimes are, quite
to the ground.
I dare not abfoKueJy depend
upon the truth of this theory,
though I do not conceive how it
can be othenvife. I would ear-
neftly requeil ail who are able,
B
MIL 209
to make obfervations concerning
this diftemper, that fo my opin
ion may be either confirmed or
refuted ; efpecially that light
may be thrown on a fubjett that is
very interefting to the inhabitants
of this country. For we are not
to expeft that we fiiall be able ef
fectually to prevent or cure this
diftemper, by which we fuffer
greatly, until the caufe of it be
inveftigated.
If I have Been fo happy as to
afiign the real caufe of ruft on
grain, will it not follow, that
the moft probable way to pre
vent itmuft be, to bring our feed
from a more northern climate,
where it has been ufed to bear a
greater degree of cold than it
will meet with here ? This has
been found to be the cafe by ex
perience; and feems to be much
in favour of my hypothefis. But
it foon alters by repeatedly fow-
ing it, fo as to become natural
ized to our climate ; and as lia-
able to this diftemper as any oth
er feed : Whence I conclude,
that it ought to be renewed once iri
three or four years, at the longefh
M. Chateauvieux cured rufty
plants of wheat in autumn, by
taking off the leaves clofe to the
ground. If the ruft comes ort
after the ftems are grown, he fup-
pofed it to be incurable. But
the rufting of the leaves is not
always followed ty the rufting
of the ftems ; and if the latter
efcape, the grain will be well fil
led. If there be no way of cur
ing this diftemper, we ftiouldne-
glecl nothing that we can do to
prevent it. As to fpring grain,
this I conceive may be done by
new feed from the northward, by
fowing early, and only on warm
foils ; giving it plenty of tillage
before fowing, and warm top dref-
fings about the time of earing.
By thefe means the grain will
get
M I L
get beyond its milky ftate, be
fore the time when ruft is ex-
peted to appear ; and the crop
will be good, though fome fpots
mould be formed on the grain
afterwards, or when the grain is
nearly arrived at its moft perfect
flate of : fulnefs.
Winter grain is not fo often
bla'fted, becaufe it ripens earlier.
.But that it may efcape an autum
nal ruft, it- mould not be fown be
fore the hotteft of fummer is paft.
Some grains of wheat fown by
M. Chateauvieux, on the fixth
of July, were totally deftroyed
by the ruft in autumn. Early
fown winter grain undergoes too
great a change of weather, from
hot to cold.
Some writers tell of other dif-
tempers in grain, befides ruft, uf-
tilago and frnut ; but I have met
with no other in this country of
any confiderable ex-tent ; there
fore, I (hall not trouble the read
er with the mention of any other.
See the articles Burnt Grain and
Smut.
MILK, a nutritious liquor,
which nature prepares in the
breads of female animals, for the
nourifliment of their young.
The milk of cows is that with
which the farmer is moft con
cerned.
That the greateft quantity of j
milk may be obtained from cows, |
they, fhouid not calve out of the
right fcafon. April is a good
time of the year, if the calves are |
to be reared ; if not, perhaps ,
May is better, being rather more |
iavourable to the dairy. But that
eows may give plenty of milk
to nourifh their calves at this fea-
ibn, they fhould not be wholly
confined to hay, or any other dry
meat : But be daily fed with
fome kind of juicy food, f'uch as
potatoes, turnips, carrots, &c.
*ntiJ they have plenty of grafs.
M I L
In feeding milch cows, the
flavour of the milk mould be at
tended to, unlefs it be when their
calves fuck all their milk. Feed
ing them with turnips is faid to
give an ill tafte to the butter
made of the milk. The decay
ed leaves of cabbages will un
doubtedly give a bad tafte to the
milk, though the found heads
will not. There is no fear of
potatoes and carrots having any
bad effecl; upon the milk in this
way. The quantity of milk is
greatly increafed by potatoes,
but it becomes thinner. Some
think carrots have a tendency ta
dry up the milk in cows ; but I
have allured myfelf of the con
trary by much experience.
The milk of cows in fummer
is fometimes made very bitter
by their feeding on ragweed,
which they will do, when they
are very hungry. To prevent
this evil it is only neceffary that
they fhould not be forced to eat
it by the want of other food.
MILLET, Panicum, a round
yellowifh white grain, which
grows in panicles at the top of the
ftalk. The ftalks and leaves are
like thofe of Indian corn, but
fmaller. It grows to the height
of three or four feet. A fandy
warm foil fuits it beft. It mould
be fown about the middle of
May, in drills three feet apart.
The plants fhould be fo thinned at
the firft hoeing as to be about fix
inches apart in the rows. It will
produce as large crops as Indian
corn, and bears drought admira
bly well. Cattle are fond of eat
ing it green, preferring it to clo
ver. A crop of it fown thick,
and mowed green, would be ex
cellent fodder.
Some fay a crop may be ob
tained by lowing it at about mid-
fummer. Perhaps it may be fo
in hotter climates. I tried the
experiment
M O S
experiment in the 44th degree of
latitude, and the crop was little
better than mere chaff, for want
of continuance of heat to fill the
grain.
This grain appears to be fub-
Jeft to nodiftemper; but when it
is nearly ripe, the birds are apt
to get a great deal of it, if it be not
watched carefully.
The way to harveft it is, to cut
off the pannicles with a knife,
near the uppermoft joint of the
ilalk, put them into facks or meets,
carry them to the barn floor, and
empty them into heaps, covering
them with cloths. After lying five
or fix days, it rnuft bethrafhed and
cleaned. It fhould be dried well
in the fun, before it is flowed a-
way in the granary ; tor it will
not keep well with any moifture
in it.
Millet is an excellent food for
fowls and fwine ; for the latter
it mould be ground into meal.
Some mix it with flour in
bread ; but it is better for pud
dings. There is alfo a red fort of
millet ; but this I have never
feen.
MOSS, ^Lichen, a fort of plant
that is injurious to the growth of
other plants in general. It was
formerly thought to be an ex-
crefcerice ; but even the mi-
nuteft kinds are now known to be
propagated by feeds, and have or
gans of: generation.
Low meadows are often infer! -
ed with mofs, which prevents
the fiourifhing of the grafs, and
indicates the coldnefsand fournefs
of the foil. To cure meadows of
mofs they mould be top dreffed
with lime, alhes, and other abfor-
bent manures ; as well as laid
di ier by ditching'or draining. Af
ter which Hre mould be put to it at
a time when it will burn freely.
Tillage lands, when they are j
laid down to grafs, often become '
M O S
moffy, especially when they are
too long in grafs. Cold loamy
foils are moft fubjeft to this e-
vil. The mofs on fuch land is
often fo fmall, as to appear only
as a green mouldinefs of the fur-
face. Btit this mould confifls of
diftinct minute plants, as well as
all other mouldinefs, as may be
feen by the help of nncrokopes.
If dreflings of warm man ures do
not prove fufficient to clear the
ground of this rnofs, it mould be
Icarified, or harrowed, or elfe
broken up and tilled. For if it
be permitted to continue, it will
rob the grafs of molt of its food,
A very long white or yeilowiih
mofs grows in wet fwamps.
Draining the fwamps, and fct-
ting fire to the mofs in a dry fea-
fon, will commonly befufficient
to fubclup. it.
I mentioned mofs under the
head of manures. As mofs is
known to contain a large propor
tion of undiffolvedoil, any thing
that will diflblve that oil, will
convert it into a rich food for
plants. Lime is excellent for
this purpofe : Mofs and lime,
therefore, mixed in compofldung
hills, may well be expected to
make a good manure.
As mofs retains water more
than almoit any thing elfe, fome.
have found advantage by mixing
it with Candy and gravelly foils.
It enables the foil to retain the
moifture it receives from rains
and dews, and to hold tiie ma
nures that are laid on it : And
the mofs itlelf {lowly dijfoives,
and becomes food for plants.
Richard Townlley, Efq. a wri
ter in the Gtorgical. Ejjays, tried
experiments of yellow mofs in ;
the culture of potato e s . One r o \ v
was manured with liable dung ;
another row of the fame length,
with liable dung covered witli
common yellow mofs. The
full
f-
212 M O .
firft row yielded 438 ft of pota
toes ; the fecond 515 ft. En
couraged by this great fuccefs,
he tried a row of potatoes on fta-
ble dung by itfelf, another oh
mofs by itfelf; the crops were
of equal weight ; thofe on mofs
more fizeable than the ether. In
the firft experiment, I fuppofe
the heat of the (table dung dif-
folved the mpfs as faft as was
neceiTary for the nourifhment
of the potatoes, which was moft
needed in the latter part of fum-
mer. The refult of the latter
experiment is more furprifing.
Doubtlefs the ground had been
before richly furnimed with
fome fubftance which was adapt
ed to diffol ve the mofs : Perhaps it
had been limed in the year pre
ceding. If fo, it renders the {lory
more credible.
Nothing is more common
than to fee mofs of a light green
colour upon fore ft trees. The
feeds being carried in the air,
lodge in the crevices of the bark,
where ihey vegetate and grow
into plants of a larger or fmaller
fize, according as they happen
to be more or lefs (haded. This
is fo different from the yellow
i wamp mofs, that cattle eat it very
greedily.
Mofs on fruit trees is detri
mental to their fruitfulnefs.
" The remedy is fcraping it off
from the body arid large branch
es, with a kind of wooden knife,
that will not hurt the branches ;
or with a rough hair cloth,
"which does very well after a
leaking rain. But the mofl ef-
feclual cure, is taking away the
caufe. This is to be done by drain-
ng off all fuperfluous moiilure
rbm about the roots of the trees.
And it may be guarded againfl
in planting the trees, by not
fetting them too deep in the
foil.
M O U
" If trees ftand too thick in a
cold ground, they will always be
covered with mofs ; and the bed
way to remedy the fault is to thin
them. When the young branch
es of trees are covered with a
long and (liaggy mofs, it will ut
terly ruin them ; and there is no
way to prevent it, but to cut off
the branches near the trunk, and
even to take off the head of the
tree, ifneceflary, for it will fprout
again. Arid if the caufe be in
the mean time removed by thin
ning the plantation, or draining
the land, the young fhoots will
continue clear after this.
" If the trees are covered with
mofs in confequence of the
ground's being too dry (as this will
happen from either extreme in
trie foil) then the proper remedy
is, the laying mud from the bot
tom of a pond, or river, pretty
thick about the roots, opening
the ground to fome diilance and
depth to let it in. This will nojt
only cool it, and prevent its giv
ing growth to any quantity of
mofs ; but it will prevent the
other great mifchief which fruit
trees are liable to in dry grounds,
which is the falling of the fruit
too early." Mortimer's Hujband-
ry.
MOULD, a word that imports
the fineft parts of a foil, or the
furface abo vethe foil. It is the flra-
tum or layer of earth which forms
the furface, or turf, in paflures or
grafs land, in which the roots get
the principal part of their nourifh
ment. The plough ats in the
mould ; hence the name mould-
board is given to that part of a
plough which turns up the foil and
mould. In fome places this lay
er is thicker, in others thinner.
The deeper it reaches, the richer
the land may be efteemed ; and
it is the more val uable. It is com-
raonly black, or of a dark brown
colour,
MOW
colour. The layer which is
next under it is foil, which is al-
fo fit for tillage. But in tilled
lands the rich mould and foil are
blended, and the mixture has the
name of mould.
The beft mixed mould is of a
hazelly or chefnut colour; neither
too adhefive nc,r too loofe ; nei
ther baking to a crud with
drought, nor turning to mo.rter
with wetnefs ; it is fweet fcent-
ed ; and teels unftuous and line.
All good mould and foil will be
come black, by being expofed
to the fun and air for a year or
two. An am coloured mould
is not good, a pale yellow mould
flill worfe.
A good mould contains much
of that extremely fine impalpa
ble earth, which is a real ingre
dient in the food of plants. This
is called, by fome writers, vege
table mould.
The word mould is alfo ufed
to fignify foil that is made loofe,
light and fine by tillage and ma
nuring. Hence plants are faid to
be moulded when this fine earth
is drawn up to their ft ems by the
hoe. And a garden mould is
made by tillage and manure.
MOULDBOARD, that part
<?f a plough which turns over the
furrow. For ploughing green
fward an iron mouldboard is
beft : For if it be wood it ought
to be plated with iron to prevent
its being foon worn through. For
ploughing in tillage land a wood
en mouldboard will anfwer.
MOW, a quantity of hay, or
grain in the ftraw, piled in a barn
for keeping. Ground mows are
more liable to take damage by
moifture, than mows upon fcaf-
folds. Mows of grain ihould be
laid upon the latter. The larger the
mow, the drier the hay or (heaves
mould be of which "it confifts.
3ce Fodder.
MOW 21$
MOWING, the operation, or
art of cutting down grafs, corn,
&c. with a Tithe. ,
They who have not been in
the-ir youth accuftomed to do
this work, are feld-om found to
be able to do it with eafe or ex
pedition. But when the art is
once learnt, it will not be loft.
As this is one of the moft la
borious parts of the hufband-
man's calling, and the more fa
tiguing as it muft be performed
in the hotteft feafon of the year,
every precaution ought to be
ufed which tends to lighten the
labour. To this it will conduce
not a little, for the mower to rife
very early, and be at his work
before the rifing of the fun. He
may eafily perform half the ufual
day's work before nine in the
morning. His work will not
only be made eafier by the cool-
nefs of the morning air, but alfo
by the dew on the grafs, which
is cut -the more eafily for being
wet. f By this means he may lie
ftill and reft himfelf during all
the hotteft of the day, while oth
ers who begun late are fweating
themfelvesexcefiively ; and hurt
ing their health, probably, by
taking down large draughts of
cold drink to flake their raging
thirft. The other half of his
work may be performed after
three or four o'clock ; and at
night he will find himfelf free,
from fatigue.
If the mower would hufband
his flrength to advantage, he
Ihould take care to have his fit he,
and a.ll the apparatus for mow
ing, in the beft order. Who
ever does his work with infufli-
cient, or bad tools, the mower
ihould not. His fithe ought to
be adapted to the fur bee on which
he mows. If the fur face be level,
and free from obftacles, the fithe
may be long and almoft flraight ;
and
5214
MOW
and he will perform his work
with lefs labour, and greater ex
pedition. But if the furface be
uneven, cradley, or chequered
with flones, or flumps of trees,
his fithe muft be fhort and crook
ed. Otherwife he will be obliged
to leave much of the grafs uncut,
or ufe more labour in cutting it.
A long and ftraight fithe will
only cut off the tops of the grafs
in hollows.
A mower mould not have a
fnead that is too (lender ; for this
will keep the fithe in a continu
al tremor, and do much to hin
der its cutting. He muft fee that
it keeps perfectly fait on the
fnead ; for the leaft degree of
loofenefs will oblige him to uf<e
the more violence at every flroke.
Many worry themfelves need-
lefsly by not attending to this
circumftance.
Mowing with a company ought
to be avoided by thofe who are
not very flrong, or who are little
ufed to the bufmefs, or who have
not their tools in the beft order.
Young lads, who are ambitious to
be thought good mowers, often
find themfelves much hurt by
mowing in company.
Mowers mould not follow too
clofely after each other : For
this has been the occafion of fa
tal wounds. And when the dan
gerous tool is carried from place
to place, it fhould be bound up
with a rope of grafs, or other wife
equally fecured.
" Mr. de Lifle introduced in
England, the mowing of wheat.
The method is this : The fithe
he ufes is at leaft fix inches fh$rt-
er in the blade than the common
fithe ; and inftead of a cradle,
has two twigs of ofier put femi-
circular wife into holes made in
the handle of the fithe, near the
blade, in fuch a manner that one
femicirclc interfecls the other.
M O W
** By this method of mowing
wheat, the ftanding corn is al
ways at the left hand. The
mower mows it inward, bearing
the corn he cuts on his lithe, till
it come to that which is ftanding,
agairift which it gently leans.
After every mower follows a
gatherer, who, being provided
with a hook or ftick, about two
feet long, gathers up the corn,
makes it into a gavel, and lays
it gently on the ground. This
muft be done with fpirit, as an
other mower immediately fpl-
lows." Complete Farmer.
As reaping is flow and labori
ous work, it would be right for
our countrymen to learn this
method of mowing their wheat ;
which will undoubtedly anfwer
alfo for other forts of, grain.
MOWING GR6UND, ^a
name commonly given in this
country to land that is mowed for
hay ; which being fit for either
mowing or tillage, is occafion-
ally ufed for the latter.
The generality of farmers, in
this country, lamentably miftake
their intereft, by having too large
a proportion of their lands in
grafs for mowing, Half the
ufual quantity with the beft man
agement, would produce as much
hay as they need, a great deal
more than they commonly get ;
befides faving them expenfe and
much hard labour ; and allow
them to convert half their mow
ing land to tillage or pafture ;
especially to the latter, which is
moft wanted.
A Newengland farmer is not
contented, unlefs he yearly mows
over the greater part of his clear
ed land ? becaufe he fuppofes
that if he does not, he (hall be
able to winter but a fraall ftock.
His grafs on the moft of his acres
muft needs be very thin, even
when the feafons are moft fa
vourable ;
MOW
vburable ; therefore, if a fummer
happen to be dry, the foil, which
is fo poorly covered as to retain
neither dews nor rains, is una
voidably parched and bound.
The grafs, thus deprived of its
nouriihrnent, does not get half its
ufual growth in a dry feafon ; and
the crop turns out to be almoftnoth-
ing. The diftrefled farmer, not
knowing how to get fodder for his
cattle in the enfuing winter, with
fevere labour or coil, mows his
dead grafs, and gets perhaps four
or five cocks from an acre. He
cannot fell off many of his ftock,
becaufe of the general fcarcityof
hay ; nor fatten them to kill, for
want of grafs ; therefore he keeps
them along poorly and pinching-
ly, till the ground is bare in the
following fpring ; then, to fave
their lives, he turns them into
his mowing ground, as foon as
there is the leaft appearance of
green grafs. They potch the foil
to the depth of fix or eight inch
es, which is fufficient to pre
vent the growth of a good crop
that year ; as it finks a great part
of the furface to fuch a depta
that it can produce nothing ;
tears and maims the roots which
remain in their places ; and leaves
the furface fo uneven, that if a
crop of grafs fhould grow, it
could not be mown clofely, if at
all. Therefore, through want of
hay, the foil and fward mult be
mangled in the fame way the
fpring following ; and fo on
from year to year perpetually.
How abfurd and ruinating is this
practice !
If our farmers would refolve
they will mow but half the quan
tity of ground which they have
mowed hitherto, I fhould think
they might foon find their ac
count in it. But it will be nec-
effary that they fhould adopt
a new kind of management.
M O W
215
with refpeft to their mowing
grounds.
In the firfl place, let them not
lay down Uvgrafs for mowing,,
any lands that are quite exhauft-
ed by fevere cropping ; nor
without manuring them well.
Good crops of grafs are not to
be expefted when there is no
ftrength, or next to none, in the
foil. Therefore the lands fhould
be dunged when the grafs is fown,
unlefs we except clover and oth
er biennial graffes. And even
for thefe it is often quite neceffa-
ry, always advantageous.
Mr. Miller advifes to fowing
perennial graffes in autumn, not
with corn, but by themfelves.
This is the right way to have the
foil well filled with good grafs
roots, before it "fubfides and be
comes compact. I think the far
mer need not grudge to forego
his corn crop in this cafe ; but
perhaps this is not neceffary ;
for no crop will be miffed by
fowing grafs by itfelf. If it be
fown with winter grain it will
not produce a crop for mowing
the next year ; but if fown by"
itfelf it will produce a good crop ;
and a plenty of itrong roots will
be eftablifhed in the foil. But
when grafs is fown with grain,
the grain kills part of the roots,
and ftints the growth of the reft
to fuch a degree that they will-
never recover. But whether the
feed of red clover will come up
fo well if fowed in autumn, as if
fowed in the fpring, is perhaps
yet to be proved. Concern
ing other grafs there needs no
queftion.
Alfo, the furface fhould be
rolled after the feed is fown, to
clofe the mould about the feeds,
to prevent their being removed
by ftrong winds, to prevent the
furface from being irregularly
torn bv the frofl of v.'inter, and
to
2l6
M O W
to make the foil fmoother for
mowing.
Grafs land, by lying, is apt to
become uneven, ai>d knobby.
Por this reafon the good farmers
in England pafs a roller over
their grafs land every fpring arid
fall. It gives the roots of grafs
a more equal advantage for nour-
ifhment and growth, and facili
tates the mowing of the grafs, and
the raking of the hay.
When land becomes bouncJ, or
mofTy, fo as to diminifh the
growth of the grafs, if it be not
convenient for the farmer to
break it up, it mould be cut, or
fcarified, with fome fuch in fir u-
inent as the three coultered
plough, invented by M. de Chat--
eauvieux. Then dreffed with
fome Ihort rotten manure fuited
to the foil ; burned, and a roller
panned over it. Inftead of the
three coultered plough, when
that cannot be had, a loaded har
row with fharp fteeled teeth may
anfwer. There is no danger of
deftroying the roots of the grafs
by this operation. Though they
are broken they will be fpeedily
renewed ; new offsets will be
more plentifully formed, and the
crops will rife with renewed vig
our.
Let farmers keep their iow-
ing land fo completely fenced,
that cattle and fwine may be ef
fectually prevented from break
ing in at any time of the year.
I think every one mull: be fenfi-
ble of the neceility of this.
It is ridiculous to think of tak
ing many crops of hay from any
piece of upland, in uninterrupt
ed fucceflion, without affording
it any manure. For it does not
imbibe the richnefs of the atmof-
phere fo plentifully as land in
tillage. Grafs land fhould there
fore, once in two or three years
at leaft, have a drefling of good
M O W
rotten dung, or of acompoft ftiit-f
able for the foil. But the beft
way is to do it every year. Au
tumn is the time for applying the
manure, according to long ap
proved practice. But a writer in
the Georgical EiTays recommends
doing it immediately after the
firft mowing, when a fecorid crop
is expefted, which will undbubt-
edly be the larger. Whenever
it is done, a bum harrow fhould
be drawn over the furiace, which
will break the fmal'l lumps re
maining in the manure, and bring
it clofer to the roots of the grafs.
By this management, four or five
tons of hay may be the annual
produce of an acre. Or if the
furface be not dunged, the crop
mould be fed off once in three
years ; that the excrements of
the cattle may recruit the foil.
No cattle mould, on any ac-
count, be turned into a mowing
ground in the fpring. The mif-
chief they will do, will be ten
times more than the advantage
they can get. In the fall, neat
cattle may take the aftermath :
But fhcep and horfes will be apt
to bite fo ctofe as to injure fome
of the roots. Therefore I think
they fhould be kept out, efpeciaJ.
ly after the grafs comes to be
fhort. Whatever dung is drop
ped by the cattle, fhould be care
fully beat to pieces, and fpread,.
before winter, or early in the
fpring.
Thefe lands mould never be 1
fed fo bare, but that fome quan
tity of fog may remain on them
through the winter. The fnow
prellcs it down to the furface,
where it rots ; it holds the rain
water from paflingoff fuddenly ;
and the virtue of the rotten grafs
is carried into the foil, where it
nourilhes the roots.
Grafs lands, with fuch a man
agement as is here recommended,
would
M O W
would produce crops furprifmg-
ly large ; efpecially in the north
ern parts of Newengland, which
are extremely natural to grafs.
The furface would be covered
early in the fpring with a fine
verdure. The crops would cov
er the ground fo foon as to pre
vent moft of the ill effect of
drought in fummer. It would,
by forming a clofe cover to the
foil, retain moft of the moifture
that falls in dews arid rains'. So
that a dry fummer would make
but little difference in the crop ;
and the rich lands would often'
produce two crops in a year.
On this plan of management,'
much labour might be faved in
hay mdking ; and the grafs might
all be cut in duefeafori ; not on
ly becaufe the farmer has more
leifure, by having fo much lefs
mowing to do ; but alfo becaufe
a good crop is not apt to dry up
fo 1 fuddenly, as a poor and- thin
one. The grafs in our mowing
grounds is often faid to be win
ter killed. It is obfervable that"
this happens only in the little
hollow places, where the melting
fnow towards fpring forms little
ponds of wafer. A cold night
or two turns thcfe ponds to cakes
of ice, which lying long tiporr
the roots chills them fo much that
they cannot foon recover. Or
the ponds made by the thawing
of the ice dcitroy the roots by
drowning theni ; ib winter flood
ing deflroys all the beft grades.
The grafs, however, only of one
crop is dcffroyc'd in the hollows ;
for it rifes again by the midfum-
mer, or autumn following.
Laying lands very fmooth ancl
level, according to the above di
re ft ion, will do much towards
preventing this evil. But if a
field be perfectly fiat, and apt to
retain too much wet when it is in
tillage, it ikeuld be laid down to
Gc
M U D
217
grafs in broad ridges or beds. I
am acquainted with fome farmers
who have found advantage from
this method. The trenches, or
furrows between the beds, mould
be the breadth of two or three:
fwarths afunder, that the graft
may be mowed with the lefs in
convenience. It is near as much
work to mow a half fwarth as a,
whole one ; which is a good rea-
fon why th'e beds mould not be
very narrow. Ten ortwelve feet
is a good breadth, as it is equal
to two fwartfis.
MUCK, dung or other filth,
fuitable for manure.
MUD, a black or dark colour
ed fediment, found at the bottom
of ponds, rivers, creeks, ditches,
and wet funken places. It is
moftly compofed of a fine vege
table mould, mixed with the fub-
ftance of peri'fhed vegetables, &c.
and therefore it contains much
of the natural food of plants.
In ponds and rivers, this fedi-
merit is made rip of fine duft, to
gether with a rich variety of oth
er fub ftances, which, have been
Xvafted in the air, and have fallen
into the water ; together with
the fubtilcff. particles of the:
neighbouring foils wafhed down
into them by fains. That is fup -
pofed to be the richeft mud,
which is near to the borders, and
which has been alternately flooded
and fermented ; as if will ferment
when it lies bare, in fome degree.
Iti rivers, and in long ditches
that have currents, there is a'
greater" proportion of foil in the
mud. It has been brought down
from fott, mellow lands, through
which the rivers pafs ; and fome
of it doubtfefs from beds of
marie, which are often found in
the banks of rivers, and which
readily diffolve in the water. ^
Some ponds are totally drietf
up in a hot and dry fummer' ;
a-i 8
M U D
and all ponds and rivers are fo
diminifhed by a copious evapora
tion, as to leave part, and the
richeft part, of their beds uncov
ered. And thefe beds, where
there 'has been no rapid current,
are always found to contain a
rich mud. In fome places it
2'eaches to a confiderable depth.
This mud, though taken from
frelh waters, has been found to
be a valuable manure ; more ef-
pecially for dry, fandy and grav
elly foils. I have known it to
have as good an eflfeft as barn dung,
in the culture of Indian corn,
upon fuch foils. The advantage
of it is not found to be only for
one feafon ; it meliorates th
land for feveral years. It reftore&
to a high piece of ground what
Vegetable mould the rains, in a
long courfe ot years, have been
wafning away from it.
It is happy for the farmer that
Providence has prepared for him
thefe magazines of manure in all
parts of the country. None but
the ftupid will let them lie un
noticed, or unremoved. When
a dry autumn happens, the pru
dent farmers will be very iriduf-
trious in carting mud up from
evaporated ponds, and other
funken places in their farms, and
laying it upon their light foils,
especially upon high gravelly
knolls ; or into their barnyards,
if the diftancc be not too great.
We had a fine opportunity for
doing much of this work in the
autumn of 1786. We might thus
in great meafurehaverecompen-
led ourfelves for the difad van
tages we lufFered by the uncom
mon drought.
But with refpecl to ufing mud
asamanure, the maritime farmers
have the advantage of all others.
For the fea oofe, that uliginous
matter which appears on the flats,
a&d in creeks and harbours, along
M u n
the mores of the fea, has all the
virtues of freih water mud, with-
that of fea fait fuperadded, which,
is one of the mofl important in
gredients in the compofition of
the belt manures. I might add,
that it abounds, more than any
other mud, with putrefied animal
fubftances. Much of thefe are
contained in the fea itfelf : And
innumerable are the fowls and
fiih that have perifhed upon flats
fince time began ; and the com
ponent parts of their bodies have
been fealed down by the fuper-
venient (lime;
Mud taken from flats where
there are fhell fiih;-or even where
they have formerly lived, is bet
ter for manure, than that which
appears to be more unmixed.
The fhells among it are a val lia
ble part of its compofition. If it
abound much with fhells, it be
comes a general manure, fit to be
laid upon almoii every kind of
foil
That mud, however, which is
a richer manure than any other*
is taken from docks, and from,
the fides of wharves in populous
towns. For it has been greatly
enriched by the fcouring of foul
flreets, and from common few-
ers ; as well as from an unknown
quantity of animal arid vegetable
fubftances, accidentally fallen, or
defignedly thrown into fuch pla
ces.
Sea mud may be taken up at
any feafon, whenever the farmer
has mofl leifure. It is a good
method to draw it up on ileds
from the flats in March, when
the border is covered with firm
ice. I have thus obtained mud
from flats, with great expedition
und little expenfe.
Mud that is newly taken up,
may be laid upon grais land. But
if it is to be ploughed into the
foil, it ihould firft lie expofed to
the.
M TJ L
the froft of one winter. The
froft will deflroy its tenacity, and
reduce it to a fine powder ; after
-which it may be fpread like alh-
*es. But if it be ploughed into
the foil, before it has been mel
lowed, it will remain in -lumps
for feveral years, and be of leis
advantage.
A layer of mud will be no bad
ingredient in a heap of compoft.
But it mould be contiguous to a
ftratum of lime, if that can be
obtained. But where this is want
ing, new horfe dung is the heft
Jubftitute, to excite a ftrong fer
mentation.
The beft method of managing
-all forts of mud, were it not for
increafing the Jabour, would be to
lay it in farm yards, and let it be
thoroughly mixed with the dung
and ftale of animals. When it
is fo managed, the compoft is ex
cellent, and fkforalmoft any foil,
though beft for light ones. Per
haps the advantage of it is fo
great as to pay for the increafed
expenfe of twice carting. For
it will abforb the ftale of cattle,
and retain it better than ftraw.
and other light fubftances.
MULBERRY, Morus t *wd\
known tree, the leaves of y^hich
are the proper food of filk worms.
For this ufe, thofe which bear a
black fruit are preferred. Ac-
cordifig to Mr. Miller, the male
and female organs of generation
are commonly on the fame tree;
but fometimes a tree will have
only male flowers.
It would be right for us to
propagate thefe trees, as it might
be done with the greateft eafe.
We may do it by their feeds, or j
by layers, cuttings or flips. If j
we are not difpofed to make ufe !
of them for the feeding of fill; !
worms, they would pay for the i
trouble of rearing them, by their j
fruit and their timber. They fui t
NAY 21$
our climate, and grow rapidly, at
leaft in Connecticut, and in the
weftern parts of MafTachufetts.
Pofiibly the time may come
when we may be glad to make
filk for our own ufe in this coun
try. If this mould happen, it
will be regretted if there be no
trees in the country from which
the worms can be fed. They
will grow well in a deep dry foil
which is moderately rich.
MULCH, rubbiih of decayed
vegetables. Litter is a word of
the fame import
N.
NAVE, the middle part of a
wheel, through which the axle
paffes. See wheels.
NAVEL GALL, " adiforder
on the top of the fpine, oppofite
to the navel, whence the name.
It is moft commonly caufed by
an ill formed faddle, or want of
good pads, and being neglefted
turns to a foul fungous excref-
cence ; and fometimes, after long
continuance, to a fiftulous ulcer.
While there is moiftureand fen-
fibility in the part, an ointment
may be applied of quickfilver
and turpentine ; an ounce of the
former to two ounces of the latter,
rubbed in a mortar till they be
well incorporated ; and then
fpread upon tow. On each fide
of the fpine, over the (welling,
may be laid fmooth dry pledgits,
or bolflers., which may be girt
round with a furfmgle. But if
the fore be. dead and lifelefs, a
good fliarp knife muft be ufed to
cut it to, the quick ; then let it be
drefled according to the directions
for the cure of wounds.
" A fit fafl a Ifo proceeds from a
faddle gall, and is another of the
accidents that happen to the fpine.
It is dry and horny, and may be
cured by .anointing , it firft with
oil
280 N W
oil of bays, until ,it turns foft ;
fhen by dreffirig it with quick-
filver and turpentine, as aboye
directed. This will make a
cure, efpe.cially if .the hard horny
iubftance be gently fcarified in
ibme places." Gibfqn's Farriery.
NECTARINE, Atwgdalus>*
fpecies of the peach, with a
imooth rind, and a firm pulp.
The name is derived from nec
tar, the poetical drink of the Gods.
NEW HUSBANDRY, drill
kujbandry, or horfe hpang huf
bandry. It chiefly differs from
the old hufbamdry, in this, that
the foil is tilled while the plants
to be nounlhed are growing in
it. Thn's mode ot culture was
introduced into England, by the
ingenious JethroTull, Efq. who
wrote largely and repeatedly on
the fubject. His volume in fo
lio, entitled, New horfe hoeing
.Hiijbandry, was publimed in the
year 1751. An Effay on tjie
fame fubject, in the year 1733.
A Supplement to the Effay, in
173 . Addenda, and Corjcju-
fion, in ^738, and 1739. This
gentleman expended as it were
his whole life, in zealqus and be
nevolent exertions to convince
mankind of the great utility of
his new fyftem, and directing
them in the practice of if. But
he had the mortification of find
ing, that only here and there an
enterprifing genius adopted it in
practice. And though move than
fixty years have now elapfed,
fmce he made it publie4c, it is fo
far from having become the gen
eral practice of farmers in that
country, that there is no reafon to
fuppofe that it ever will : Al
though it has been recommend
ed, and further explained and
improved, by writers of note in
feveral nations.
The author of this hufbandry
meant to apply it chiefly to
N E W
wheat, as being the moft impor
tant kind of corn. The new
hufbandry differs from the old in
the manner of preparing the
ground for a crop, and in the
manner of fowing the feeds.
The ground is ploughed into
ridges, Or beds, five or fix feet
wide, and fmoothed with har
rows. Inftead of fowing at ran
dom with the hand, or broad
caft, as it is called, the feed is
drppped by a drill, in flraight
lines, in little furrows about two
inches deep. Either J:\vo or
three fuch rows are on one bed,
eight or nine inches apart ; and
the feeds are clofely covered in
the furrovys, by a frnall harrow
annexed to the drill.
Mr.Tull invented a drill, or drill
plough, on a new cpnftruftion.
It is not only effentially differ
ent from the fembrador, or fower,
invented by Don Jofeph de Lu-
catello ; but an improvement up
on the drill which was invented
by Mr. Worlirlge. With this ma
chine one may low fuch a quan
tity of feeds, and as many rows as
may be thought neceffary, lay
the feeds at a convenient depth,
and cover them nicely, only by
drawing the machine once along
the ridges.
As foon as the plants are a
few inches high, the horfe hoe is
introduced, which differs but lit
tle from a horfe plough, except
ing in the manner of connecting
it to the horfe that draws it.
With this plough, paffing it with
in three or four inches of the
row<>, the earth is turned from
the rows into the intervals
or alleys, fo that the furrows
meet each other, a ; nd form a
fharp ridge. This is the firil
hoeing, and is performed late:
in autumn, juft before winter."
It lays the young plants fo dry,
that it is thought they are in no
NEW
danger of being killed by the
Jrofts of winter. But fome im
provers on this fyftetn have re
commended on) it* ing one of thefe
furrows, or if both be ploughed,
to turn back oije of them to
wards the row before the hard
frofts of winter ; left the ridges
ihould be too much in danger of
being warned away by rains, and
the young plants removed. This
feems to be a real improvement
upon Mr. Tull's method.
Early in the following fpring
[they fay in March, but it muft
be April in this country) the
earth is turned toward the rows ;
then in May, from them ; and
laflly, in June, it is turned back
to the rows, and partly againft
the Hems, when the graip is juft
out of bloflbin ; which laft
ploughing is thought to do more
iervice than any other, as it
greatly helps to fill out the grain ;
and muft not, therefore, on any
account, be omitted.
Each of the ploughings mult
be very deep, fo as to keep the
ground very loofe and open.
But care muft be alfo taken to
uncover plants that chance to be
buried by the plough-; to weed
the grain once or twice in the
rows, and to ftir the earth be
tween the rows, with a prong hoe
or hand hoe, as often as the in
tervals are ploughed, or horie
hoed.
The advantages of this method
of culture are laid to be thefe :
That indifferent land will pro
duce a good crop, which would
produce little or nothing in the
old way ; that a good crop of
wheat may be railed each year
from the fame piece of ground,
without impoverishing the foil,
as the intervals are always fal
lowed ; that there is no need of
manuring the land at all, as the
(extraordinary tillage will anfwer
NEW
221
the fame end as manure, and at
lefs expenfe ; that there will be
no crop milled or prevented by
a year of fallow, which muft take
place every fecond year in the
old way of cultivating wheat,
to prevent exhaulling the foil ;
that the crops will be larger, bet
ter and. fuller grain by tar, and
entirely free from the feeds of
weeds.
The editors of the laft edition
of Mr. 'Full's horfe hoeing Hitf-
bandry, by a computation of the
expenfe and profit of the old huf-
bandry and the new, and com
paring theaccounts.maketheclear
profit of the latter appear to be
more than double to that of the
former. This may be feen at
large in the Complete Farmer, un
der the article tiujbandry. Oth
er ingenious writers in Great
Britain, fince have written in
confirmation of this opinion.
See Encyclopedia, article Agricul
ture.
I do riot at all fcruple the fair-
nefs of the computations ; nor
the accounts of writers in other
countries to the lame purpoie.
But there is no arguing with any
certainty from the advantage ot
the new hulbandry in England,
or other parts of Europe, to the
advantage of it in this country.
Becaufe, inthefirft place, labour
is more than twice as dear in this
country ; and that there is a
greater quantity of labour requir
ed in the new hulbandry than iu
the old, is very obviouily true.
There are at leaft two or three
ploughings extraordinary to a
crop, befides weeding and Irand
hoeing ; arid weeders will not
accept of the weeds they pull as
fufficient pay for pulling them,
as poor women fornetirnes do in
the old countries.
Another reafon for fufpecnng
that the new hufbandry may noj
anfwer
N E W
anfwer fo much better than the
old in this country, when appli
ed to wheat and rye, is, that thefe
grains are here very fubjeft to
blafting ; and the later they rip
en, the more they are in danger
of this diftemper. Hoeing of
grain will caufe it to ripen later,
as may be feen in the border of a
field that is contiguous to hoed
ground. The plants that ftand
neareft to the hoed ground retain
their greennefsmuch longer than
the reft of the grain, becauie
they are more plentifully fed.
Hence there appears to be fome
reafon to doubt of the advantage
of hoeing wheat and rye in this
country.
But if there were no weight
in this, nor in the foregoing ar
gument, yet the difference of
climate muft be taken into con-
fideration. Our lands are hov-
en and mellowed by the froft of
every winter, to a greater depth
than the hoe plough can ever ftir
them, by which the roots of win
ter grain are often hoven out of the
foil ; but in England, the ground
feldom freezes to half the depth
that a plough goes. Therefore,
the moft forcible argument in
favour of the new hufbandry,
which is ufed by its advocates,
will not fo well apply in this
country ; which is, that the
ground fettles and becomes very
compact, during the long contin
uance of a crop of grain upon it.
| fee no reafon to doubt but that
our extraordinary degree of froft
may, on the whole, have nearly
as much effect, towards loofening
and breaking the foil in tillage
ground, as one ploughing has.
But this by the bye.
Not only is the fuccefs of the
new hufbandry in this country
for the above reafons uncertain ;
but there are feveral difadvan-
<*3ges and inconveniefiCes, at-
N E W
tending this hufbandry, which
are common to all countries.
One of thefe difadvantages is the
coft of the drill plough. This is
every where a material objection
to the new huibandry in the
minds of common farmers. And
the curious and complicated
ftrufture of this machine, which
renders it liable to get out of or
der, is no fmall inconvenience ;
for common labourers are not
expefted to have Hull enough to
rectify, or repair it. Befides,
the accuracy of the work of drill
fowing requires fo much thought
and attention, that the ignorant
and carelefs,who are apt to defpife
new inventions, will not perform
it in the beft manner. So. that a
gentleman muft always do his
own fowing himfelf, if he wifhes
to have it done well. And not
every gentleman who has a farm
will be difpofed to fubmit to this
employment. Neither does the
drill plough perform well on fid-
ling fituations and declivities.
To which it may be added, that
there are many kinds of feed
which it is next to irnpoflible to
fow well with this machine.
Such are all the hooked, winged,
flat, long fhaped, and extremely
light feeds ; fuch as thofe of car
rots, parfnips, lettuce, &c. It
will not well deliver any but
thofe which are ponderous,
fniooth, and fo round, or regular
fhaped, as to be eafiiy put in mo
tion.
Thefe difficulties are complain
ed of in the old countries ; but
there is a more material one to
conflict with in many parts of
this. In many of our fields,
flumps of trees, roots, rocks and
ftones, are fo frequently met
with, that the drill plough could
not be ufed. It is neceffary that
the ground fhould be perfectly
clear of every thing that can ob-
NEW
or hinder the going of the
drill. Thefe obitacles, Iconfefs,
are not infuperable ; but in pro-
cefs of time may be removed.
And in future generations the
drill may be more conveniently
ufed.
I have not mentioned thefe
things with any view to deter my
countrymen from attempting to
apply the new modeof culture to
winter grain. There is nothing
that I more fincerely wifh, than
to fee careful experiments made
with it. But I think this caution
ought to be obferved, never to at
tempt to raife fpring wheat, or
fpring rye, in this manner.
Though I have never read, nor
heard, of horfe hieing fpring
wheat in England, 1 have known
it tried by feveral perfons to their
mortification and lofs, in this
country. The crops were fo en
tirely blafted as to be fcarcely
worth reaping. This has been
the cafe, when the culture has
been conduced by fome of the
moft judicious perfons, with great
attention, and with the proper
apparatus. The true reafon of
their mifcarriage I take to be this,
that as fpring grain ripens later
than winter grain, and hoed later
than unhoed grain, it could not
be ripe till fome time in Auguft,
when fome of the nights are fo
cold as to blaftthe grain, by flop
ping the afcent of the fap.
But let the new hufbandry be
tried on winter wheat, fown in
Auguft, or September, on a warm
foil with a fouthern expofure,
and where there are no ftones,
nor any other obftacles ; and let
the feed be brought from fome
place at leaft a hundred miles
northward. If with thefe advan
tages for ripening early, and in
favourable fcafons, a good crop
of wheat cannot be obtained, it
will not be worth while to make
NEW
22$
any farther trials. But it mould
be tried on rye alfo ; for as that
is known to be a hardier grairt
than wheat, it is poflible it may
anfwer better in this hufbandry.
We need not be at the expenfe
of procuring drill ploughs, and
horfe hoes, to make experiments
of thefe kinds. After the ground
is ploughed into ridges and well
harrowed, the channels may be
expeditioufly made two inches
deep with the head of a common
rake, and the feed may be fcat-
tered in them by hand, and cov
ered with the rake. The horfe
hoeing may be well enough
performed with a common horfe
plough, pairing it twice in a fur
row, if it be found neceflary, that
the ground may be ftirred to
a fufficient depth.
If, after a fair trial or two, the
new culture of winter wheat and
rye mould prove unfuccefsful, it
need not difcourage any from,
fowing their grain with a drill
plough. In land that is fit for
it, the fowing may be performed
with great expedition. If the
feed were to be drilled in rows
about nine inches apart, leaving
no wider intervals, it would be
attended with feveral advantages.
Half the feed may be faved by it,
which is a matter of fome im
portance, efpecially in a time of
fcarcity of grain.
If the feed be good, it will un
doubtedly all come up well and
profper : Becaufe it will all be
buried at the mo ft fuitable depth
in the foil. But in the common,
way of fowing, fome of the feeds
are buried at fuch a depth, that
they fcarcely come up at all.
Some are fo near the (urtace, that
the leaft drying of the foil pre
vents their vegetating,or alternate
rnoifture and drynefs turn them
to malt. And fome will be un
covered, which will be taken a-
way
224
NEW
way by birds. Many {tinted
plants will appear ; the crop will
be uneven, fome part of it being
better, and ripening fooner, than
the reft. Another advantage of
drilling will be, that weeders may
pai's through afield to weed it, if
there mould be cccafion for it,
without any danger of hurting
the plants. And all fields of
wheat that produce weeds, ought
to be carefully weeded. Sowed
in this way the ground might al
to be itirred in he narrow inter
vals with a fma}l hoe, which would
encourage the growth of the plant,
and keep it cleaner from weeds.
Inftead of the drill hufbandfy,
Dr. Hunter recommends a new
icheme of his own, which par
takes partly of the new, and part
ly of the old hufbandry. He
calls it alternate human-dry. The
Icheme is as follows : He ploughs
his ground in flat ridges, or in
lands, nine feet wide. When
ieed time arrives,' he fows one
land in the broad caft way, and
leaves the next, fowing the third,
and fo on alternately through the
field. The lands which are not
fown .he fallows, allowing them
three or four ploughing* in the
fallow year ; fows them the next
year, and fallows the other.
He finds this to be a good mode
of culture for land that is weak,
and which lies remote from ma
nure. A mean foil will thus bear
pretty good crops without drei "-
lings, or with very fmall ones.
The grain has greater advantage
of a free air than in the old huf
bandry. No new implements
are needed, nor any greater ac
curacy in the culture required,
than any ploughman is capable
of. Perhaps a row or two of
potatoes, or carrots, in the mid
dle of the fallow ridges, might
not be amifs in this hufbandry ;
but rather ail improvement.
But, to retufrn to my fubjeft :
Every one mud be eaiily con
vinced, that plants in general re
ceive a greater degree of nourifh-
ment, it the ground about their
roots be frequently ftirred during
their growth. We find the ben
efit o! this in our gardens. We
fee that bare \\reeding does not
anfwer fo well as hoeing, among
the^plants we cultivate in them.
The great advantage of horfe
hoeing hufbaridry muft appear, if
we only attend to our ordinary
method of cultivating Indian
corn, which differs but Jittlc
from that husbandry. If plough
ing and hoeing were to be total
ly negletled, while the plants
are growing, we ftrould have no
good crops. On the contrary,
the deeper we plough the inter
vals, and the oftener we ftir the
moivld witbrtbe hand hoe, the bet
ter is our crop. An-d why fhonld
not the advama-ge of the fame
culture be equally great, when
appHecho molt of the plants which
we cultivate ? The more the
ground is opened by frequent
ftirnngs, the more vegetable
nourifhrnent it will receive from
the atmofphere ;- and the roots
will find a freer pafTage in ex
tending fhemfelves after their
food. They will, therefore, re
ceive a greater quantity ; and
their growth and perfection wilt
be anlwerable.
I have not the feaft fufpicion.
that barley and oats will fail of
receiving great advantage from,
this culture ; in both ot which I
have had fome experience. Sev
eral years of late 1 have applied
this culture to barley, in fingle
rows or ridges three feet apart ;
and have never once failed of
gaining at the rate of 40 bumels
per acre. The grain has been
perfeftly clear from feeds of
weeds, and more full and large
tha-rf
N U &
than when cultivated in the com
mon way; After ploughing the
ground, and harrowing it, I form
the ridges with the cultivator.
I fow the feeds with a moft lim-
ple drill of my own inventing.
The weeds are killed, and the
, plants earthed, by paffing the
cultivator between the rows, with
the addition of but little hand
hoeing. That it does well for
hemp, has been proved by trials
in this country. None will doubt
the advantage of it in railing po
tatoes-, our common culture of
which is fo fimilar to that of In
dian corn. But if they were fet
in drills, inftead of 'hillocks, the
produce would be greater^ in
both corn and potatoes, as I have
found by ieveral trials*
The new hufbandry may as
well be applied to all filiquofe
plants, as peafe t beans, &C; and
to all efcuicnt roots, as parjfntps,
carrots, beets, and the like. The
fame may be faid with regard to
cabbages* afparagus, and moft
kinds of pot herbs. The trials
that have hitherto been made
upon inch plants, in this country,
have been fo fuccefsful, that I
truft the practice will foon be
come general. See the Rev. Mr.
ill.
inds of plants require
fo much lefs labour in the drill
way, than is ufually beftowedon
them in gardens, that when they
are cultivated for the market, or
for feeding of cattle, they ihould
by all means be fown in drills,
and horfe hoed. The above
writer from his own experience
concluded, that five bulhels of
carrots might be as ealily raifcd,
as one bulhel in the
N U R
225
fruit trees, the land (hoiild not
be quite fo rich as that into which
they are to be transplanted ; be-
caufe it will be better for them
to have their nourimment in-
creafed than diminimed, as they
increafe in age. Therefore, a
nurfery will need but a little ma
nure, unlefs the foil be uncom
monly peon
A nurfery mould not be on a
fpot where fruit trees have lately
grown, or indeed any other deep
rooted plants. It mould be on a
medium between the too extremes
of wet and dry*
To prepare the ground for
fowing, it mould either be trench
ploughed, or dug with a fpade to
a conliderable depth. From a
foot to fifteen inches is not too
deep. This mould be done in
the latter part of fummer, and the
ground well cleared of the roots
of all perennial weeds and graffes.
The feafon for planting either
feeds or ftones, is about the month
of Oftober* If it were done in
the fpring, none of the plants,'
would be up in lefs than a year r
And a confiderable proportion
of the feeds would perith. The
feeds may be fownpromifcuouf-
ly ; and they mould be pretty
thick, U'caiife they will not all
come up. Some think it necef-
fary to fow the pomace with the
feeds .of apples, I have fown
them with and without it, and
do not fee that lowing feeds
with the pomace is to be prefer
red.
When you tranfplant trees of
one or two years growth in the
nurfery , mark the ground in lines
three feet apart. Then open a
trench a foot wide on the firlt
method. My own experiments line, and of a depth proportiona-
have fully juftified this opinion, ble to the length of the roots
Eliot's EJJaySi p.
Thefe ki
common
NURSERY, a garden, or
plantation of young trees, to be
trarifplanted. la a nurfery for
D4
Take the flock* out of the feed
bed, with a fpade, preferving the
roots as entire as pofiible ; Cut
off
526
N U R
off all the very (mall fibrous
soots ; and it a root tends direft-
ly downward, it muft be fhort-
cned : Plant them in the trench
twelve inches afunder. Then
dig a trench and plant it in the
next line, and-fo on, till the bufi-
nefs is completed.
The main branch for the top
Ihould not be cut off, but care
fully preferved. Several of the
lateral branches mould be taken
off, more or fewer in proportion
as the root is more or lefs dimin-
ifhed. In this fituation they are
to grow till they are tranfplant-
ed into orchards, &c. And they
rnuft be carefully tended, or they
will not become good trees. Ev
ery fprlng and fall the ground
between the rows muft be well
digged, and fo carefully as not to
injure or difturb the roots ; or
elfe the intervals muft be horfe
hoed. If the latter be intended,
the rows mould be planted at
leaft three feet and a half apart.
But the plough muft not go fo
near the rows as not to leave
fome ground to be dug^ with
the fpade, or ftirred with a dung-
fork ; and in ufmg the plough,
great care fhould be taken to
avoid galling and injuring the
trees.
A nurfery fhould 'always be
kept clear of weeds by frequent
hoeing. No fuckers that fpring
up from the roots mould be dif
fered to remain. They will need
a- little pruning each year, to
prevent their becoming misfhap-
en ; and all buds fhould be
fpeedily rubbed oft, which
would make branches too low
on the ftems. A nurfery re
quires fo much attention, that it
ihould be in a fituation where
the owner cannot avoid feeing it
otten ; otherwife it will be in
danger of differing through neg-
N-U T
The fruit trees fhould be a!- -
lowed to grow to the height of
five or fix feet, before they are
budded or grafted. See thoft ar
ticles^ Inoculation, and Graft
ing.
Trees, to be tranfplanted into
forefts, may be cultivated in a
nurfery in the fame manner as
fruit trees. But, as Mr. Miller
advifes, it would be beft to have
a nurfery of thefe in the place
where the foreft is defigned to
be planted ; where a diffident
number of the trees may be left
Handing, after the reft have been
removed.
If a nurfery be in dich a fitu
ation that the young trees are in
danger of being broken down by
deep ihows ; either the fence on
the windward fide fhould be
made fo open, that the wind may
have a free paffage through it,
and drive away the fnow : Or
elfe the trees may be defended
by ftaking. A ftake a little tall
er than the tree, made of a flip
of board, fhould be fet clofe on
the windward dde, and the
top of the tree fattened clofe to
il with a foft firing. Or two fuch
flakes may be fo fet, that the up
per ends may meet over the top
of the tree.
NUT TREE, or WALNUT
TREE, Juglans, a well known
tree, valuable for its fruit and tim
ber. There are fix forts, accord
ing to Mr. Miller, who makes
the hickory, or white walnut of
Virginia, to be diftincl from our
white walnut.
There are but two forts that
grow fpontaneoufly in this coun
try ; the white walnut, and the
fhagbark, fo called. The firft of
thefe is a very hard and tough
wood, which our formers find
ufeful for many purpofes. It will
bend into almpft any form with
out breaking,, efpecially the low-
"ft U T
^er part of the body of a young
tree. It is white and fmooth ;
it is therefore much ufed for ox
bows, goads, and axe helves. But
it foon decays when it is expofed
to the weather. The fruit of this
tree has a thin fmooth fhell, and
is of very little value. The inner
bark is ufeful for making a yel
low die.
The fhagbark tree is fo called,
on account of the roughnefsof its
icaly bark, which hangs in flips on
the bodies of old trees. This has
afmall rich nut,enclofedinavery
thick (hell ; but it is not fo much
efteemed for its timber as the oth
er fort. The nuts naturally ad
here ftrongly to the trees, but the
firft hard froft caufes them to
drop.
The black walnut tree is faid
to grow naturally in Virgnia, and
particularly on the banks of the
Ohio. Though it be rather brit
tle, it receives a good polifh ; is
hard and heavy, and is much priz
ed for its beautiful brown colour,
and ufed in ail forts of cabinet
work.
We have another fort, not in
digenous, but the only one that
is much cultivated in this coun
try. It goes by the name of the
Englifh walnut. The fruit is
much larger and better than that
of either of the other forts. In
its tender ftate, it is ufed in
pickles for fauce. But the nuts
are too folid for this ufe when
they are come to their full
growth.
A moift loamy foil feems to be
the befl fituation for walnut trees;
but they will growonalmoftany
upland. They are not well a-
dapted to be cultivated in nurf-
eries. They bear tranfplanting
but poorly, unlefs when they are
very young. The roots mould
not be wounded, butitisnoteafy
to avoid it in taking them up, as
N Y M
they naturally run deep. Though
the tranfplanted trees are beft
for fruit, they grow fliort and
bufhy, and are not fit for timber*
Therefore, he who wiihes to cul
tivate a grove of them for tim
ber, fhoiild plant the nuts in the
place-s where he wiihes the trees
to remain.
As there is a confiderable pith
in the limbs of walnut trees, they
do not admit of much pruning.
The water is apt to enter at a
wounded limb and caufe it to
mt,
NYMPHA, " the ftate of
winged infe&s, between their liv
ing in the form of a worm, and
their appearing in the winged or
moft perfect ftate. The eggs of
thefe infecls are firft hatched in
to worms, or maggots ; which,
afterwards pafs into the nympha
ftate, furrounded with fhells, or
cafes, of their own fkins : So
that, in reality, thefe nymphs arc
only the embryo infecls, wrap
ped up in this covering ; from
whence they at laft get loofe,
though not without great diffi
culty.
"During the nympha ftate,
the creature lofes its motion,,
Swammerdam calls it nympha au-
retia, or {imply aurelia ; and oth
ers give it the name of chryfalis^
a term of the like import." Diet*
of Arts*
It is in their winged ftate on
ly, that they copulate. The fe
male lays eggs ; and their ofiu
fpring go through the fame
changes. The ftate of thefe an
imals may ferve to remind man
kind of the manner ot their ex-
iftence, firft in mortal bodies,,
then in a ftate. of death, after
wards pofTefTed of glorious bod
ies. In their aurelian ftate, thefe
animals have no vital motion,
but are to all appearance dead.
So that in thsir lafl ftate of ex-
v iftence^
28
OAK
ilience, infers have as it were
refurreftion bodies.
O,
OAK, Quercus, a well-known
tree, the timber of which is
of great ufe and importance in
ihip building, and architecture,
and is valuable for fewel and
many other purpofes. The tim
ber is both ftrong and d.u/able,
Mr. Miller reckons eighteen
fpecies of the quercus, or oak. I
know of but five that grow in this
country, uhlefs the fwamp white
oak, fo called on account of its
growing in wet fwamps, may be
a diftincr. fpecies from that which
grows on the upland.
The firft and beft is the white
oak, Quercus alba, which bears a
Jong ihaped, fmall and pleafant |
tafted acorn. 'The bark is of a
very light am colour. The tim
ber is more ftrong, and far more
durable than the other kinds.
Staves for cafks, made of this tree,
bear a higher price than any oth
er. As it does not foon decay,
the farmers find it convenient to
have their wheels, carts, ploughs,
and feveral other implements of
huibandry, made of this timber.
The but ends of the trees which
have grown in paftures,are com
monly found to be extremely
tough, and are moll fit for the
jiaves and fpokes of cart wheels.
The black oak, Quercus nigr'a*
has a very dark coloured, hard and
rough outer bark. The inner
bark: is of a bright yellow col
our, and may be ufed to advan
tage in dies, Little or none of
this oak is found in the Di Uriel
of Maine. Of all the kinds of
oak produced in our country,
this is eileemed the beft for few-
el, as it will burn freely in its
green ftate : But it is not fo
Wiuch prized for timber as fome
other forts,
OAK
The grey oak is next in quali
ty to the white for build ing. The
red, Quercus rubra, which is fo
called from the colour of its
wood, anfwers well for Haves,
efpecially for molafles hoglheads.
But as it is not a lafting timber,
it is more proper for fewel ; and
for the laft purpofe, it does not
anfwer well in its green ftate.
The acorns of the grey and red
oak, are much larger than thofe
of the white. The leaves are al-
fo larger, and very deeply finu-
ated. They are probably not
different fpecies of the oak, but
only varieties.
The laft kind, and the meanefl
of all, is the dwarf, or ihrub oak,
it being fit for neither fewel nor
timber. It is always crooked
and fmall, andfeldom rifestothe
height of ten feet. It delights in
a poor foil, aad overruns many
of ourfandy and gravelly plains.
It has a ftrong root, which will
continue to fend up new Ihoots,
though they are cut off yearly ;
fo that there is no effectual way
to fubdue them, but by grubbing
them, or pafturing goats upon
them.
As all the kinds of oak bear
fruit, the ihrub oak as plentifully
as any, thefe trees are of fome
advantage in feeding fwine and
pouitry. They are fondeft of
the acorns that grow on the white -
oak, as the other kinds have a
bitter tafte. Some perfons gath
er them, and lay them up for
winter feeding of fwine. It is
faid that acorns were anciently
ufed as the food of man : I fup-
pofe it muft have been only thofe
of the white oak. But even
thefe, as well as the other kinds,
are of a very aftringent quality,
too much fo to be a very whole -
fome food, unleis in compofition
with fomething that has a contra
ry quality.
O A K
The bark of oak is flill more
aftringent, fome fay equally ib
with the cortex per u~oi anus, and
may anfwer the fame medical
purpofes. This bark is ot great
life in tanning hides, and a good
ingredient in dies.
The oak produces a fungous
ball, or apple, of aloofe, fort con-
texture, which foon dries and
falls off, and is of no ufe.
But befides, it has little round
hard kind of excrefcences, called
galls, which are of great ufe in
dying and making the beft writ
ing ink. Though they grow as
large as nutmegs in other coun
tries, thofe which I have found
in this, have been much fmaller.
Perhaps trees muft ftand fingle
many years, before they will be
apt to produce galls of a large
fize. I have not found them but
upon the white oak, and thofe
not larger than peas.
I beg leave here to give the
reader the hiftory of galls, from
the Dictionary of Arts. " An
infecl of the fly kind is inftruct-
cd by nature to take care of the
fafety of her young, by lodging
her eggs in a woody fubftance,
where they will be defended from
all injuries. She, for this pur-
pofe, wounds the branches of a
tree ; and the lacerated veiTels,
difcharging their contents, foon
form tumours about the holes
thus made. The hole in each of
the tumours, through which the
fly has made its way, may tor the
moft part be found ; and when
it is not, the maggot inhabitant,
or its remains, are fure to be
iound within, on breaking the
gall. However, it is to be ob-
ierved, that in thofe galls whijch
contain feveral cells, there may
be infefts found in fome'of them,
though there be a hole by which
the inhabitant of another cell has
efcaped."
OAK
229
It is to be wifhed, thatperfons
in the oldeft parts of the country,
when an oak is felled, would
fearch for galls. If they are pro
duced here in plenty, it will not
be right to per 11 ft in lending our
money for them to foreign coun
tries.
As trees, both for timber and
fewel, are become fcarce in fome
parts of the country, it is high
time to begin to make planta
tions of trees for thefe purpofes.
And I know of no kind that will
anfwer, all things confidered,
better than the oak. The trees
are fo hardy as never to be dam
aged by the fevere coldnefs of
our winters : Neither have they
been known to fuffer much by
any kind of infefts. The red
ancl grey kinds are very rapid in
their growth, and will foon re
pay the coft and trouble of rear
ing them : And the white is of
fo effential importance for tim
ber, that a fcarcity of it is to be
dreaded.
Some of our pafture lands, which
are high and quite bare, would be
much improved, if every hundred
feet fquare were fhaded by a
lofty oak : Befuies gaining a
beautiful appearance, efpecially
if they were placed in regular or
der. Barren heights, in fome
paftures, are in great want of trees
to fhade them. Copfes, or
clumps, in fuch places, would
have excellent eficfls. There
would be more grafs, the appear
ance would be beautiful, and the
profit confiderable. But the
queiiion is, in what manner fliall
oaks be propagated ? They may
undoubtedly be raifed in nurferies,
and tranfplanted, as well as other
trees. But this method is' not
univerfally approved.
Mr. Miller fays, oaks are beft
produced from the acorns in the
places where the trees are to re
main
OAK
main ; becaufe thofe which are
tranfplanted, will not grow to fo
large a fize, nor remain found fo
long. He advifes to planting the
acorns as foon as they are ripe
in O&ober, which will come up
in the following April ; becaufe
if they are attempted to be kept,
they will fprout, although fpread
thin. He directs that the ground
defigned for a plantation, mould
have a good and durable fence ;
that it be prepared' by three or
lour ploughings and borrowings ;
that the acorns be taken from the
largeft and moft thrifty trees ;
that they may be fowed in drills
about four feet afunder, two
inches deep, and two inches a-
part ; that the ground mould be
ploughed and hoed among them,
during the firft eight or ten
years ; that after two years fome
oi them mould be drawn out
where they are too clofe ; and
fo from time to time as they
.grow larger, till they come to be
-eight feet diflance, each way,
when they will want no further
thinning for a long time. - But
after the trees come to be large,
he thinks 25 or 30 feet apart will
be the right diftance.
Another writer direfts that the
acorns be gathered as foon as
they fall in autumn, and kept in
,a box or boxes of fand till the
following fpring. Then open
them, and carefully plant thofe
of them which are fprouted,
which he fays will not fail to
come up. But no time mould
be allowed for the fprouts to dry.
I incline to prefer this method,
efpecially fmce I have tried that
which is recommended by Mr.
Miller without fuccefs. Not one
in a hundred ever came up.
A rich deep foil fuits the oak
beft, and in fuch land they will
grow to a large fize. The tim-
Eer is apt to be tough andpliable :
OAK
But in a gravelly foil, or one ( thatt
is dry and fandy, the wood is
more hard and brittle. The oak,
however, will grow in almoft any
foil that is not too wet.
Many are apt toobjecl: againft
attempting to raife timber trees,
that they fhall not live to receive
any advantage from them. But
do they think they were born for
themfelves only ? Have they no
great regard for the welfare of
their own children ? Do they
not care how future generations
fare after they are gone ? The
more growing trees they leave
upon their farms, the better will
their children be endowed ; and
does this appear as a matter of
indifference ? Or if they mould
providentially be under the ne-
cefTity of felling their farms
while they live, will they riot be
prized higher, by any rational
purchafer, for having a few hun
dreds of thrifty young trees
growing upon them ? But it is
poflible that while they hold their
farms, they may receive aclual
advantage from their trees them
felves. Pofiibly trees may grow
fafter than they apprehend. The
Marquis of Lanfdown planted
with trees a fwampy meadow^
with a gravelly bottom, iri the
year 1765, and in the year 1786,
the dimenfions of the trees were
as reprefented in the, following
table.
Height in Circumf.
Frat. Ft. In.
Lombardy poplar 60^70 4 8
Arbeal - - 50 70 4 6
Elm - - 40 60 3 6
Cheftnut - - 30 50 2 9
Weymouth pines 30 50 2 5
Scotch fir - - 30 50 2 10
Spruce - 30 50 2 2
Larch - - - 50 60 3 lo
The meafures were taken five
feet above the ground. It appears
that if trees can be waited for 2 1
yeans
OAT
years they will repay the coft, by
becoming fit for many important
ufes. And I am perfuaded that
fome of the fpecies of oak will
grow as faft as moft of the trees,
in the foregoing table.
One acre will bear 160 oaks,
at the diftance of 15 feet from
each other : If each tree will
grow in 30 years to half a cord of
wood, worth 12s. per cord, the
whole produce will be 90 cords
of wood, worth 160 dollars,which
is four dollars and a third per
acre per annum, for the ufe of
the land, a greater profit than we
expecl: from other acres in gen
eral. It ought to be confidered
that intermediate trees taken out
young may pay the coft of plant
ing and culture ; and that the
land may ferve mo{l of the time
for tillage or pafture ; for tillage
while the trees are fmall, which
will haften their growth. The
increafmg dearnefs of fewel and
of timber mould put the holder
of land, in old fettlements, upon
thinking of the cultivation of all
trees that are ufeful for either of
thefe purpofes. The day is at
hand, if not already arrived,
when this will be one of the
moft profitable, as well as im
portant, branches of hufbandry.
OATS, Avsna, a well known
grain, very pleafant and nourifh-
ing to horfes, and conducive to
keep them in health. Though oth
er forts of grain are too binding,
oats have a contrary effecl ; and
eren too much fo, tinlefs they be
fweated in a mow before they be
thraihed. The flour of this grain
is no bad ingredient in table pro-
vifions. It is highly approved for
gruels and puddings : And
would be more ufed, were it not
for the difficulty of diverting the
grain of its huflc.
There are varieties of this grain,
jliftinguiihed by their different
OAT 231
colours, the white, the black, the
grey, and the brown oats ; but as-
thefe differ only in colour, they
are not confidered as dillinct fpe
cies.
The white oats which are moft
commonly cultivated in this
country, are generally preferred
in other countries, as producing
the beft crops. But I fufpe6l
that fufficient trials have not yet
been made here, in the culture
of the black oats. The produce
of them from a few corns fowed
in a garden, has been aftonifhing.
But this might be owing to the
newnefs of the feed in our cli
mate, or to fome circumftance
lefs confiderable, orlefs obvious.
There is al-fo a fpecies of the
naked oats. This, one would
think, muft have the advantage
of other oats, as it is thrafhed
clean out of the hufk, fit for grind
ing. But with this grain we arc
yet unacquainted.
I have lately met with the Tar-
tary oats, which refemble our
white oats, but differ in their man
ner of growing. They bear very
plentifully : But are rather apt
to lodge.
Oats cannot be fowed too early
in the fpring, after the ground is
thawed, and become dry enough
for fowing. The Englifh farm
ers fow them fome time in Feb
ruary. But in a wet foil they
fometimes anfwer very well,
though fowed in June.
Three bufhels of feed is the
ufual quantity fown on an acre.
This quantity fay fome will be
rather more than enough on a
rich foil. If the foil be poor,
the quantity of feed Ihould be the
greater, fay they, as the plants
will be fmaller, will not tiller ;
and fo may ftand the nearer each
other without crowding. But
this is a matter of opinion only,
and may be amifiake.
Oats
232 OAT
Oats have ftrong piercing
roots, and are called heatty feed
ers, fo that they can find their
nourimment in {tiff foils ; and
for the fame reafon they fome-
times produce great crops when
fown after one ploughing. But
two ploughings are generally
better for them than one.
When they are cultivated ac
cording to the new hufbandry,
they fhould be fowed in double
rows, fifteen inches apart, on
beds fix feet wide. For they
will grow taller than wheat, and
therefore require more room.
One bufhel of feed will be fuffi-
cient for an acre in this way.
Some advife to brining and
liming the feed ; but this may as
well be omitted, unlefs when
they are fowed t late. It may
ferve in this cafe to quicken their
growth.
Oats mould be harvefted in a
greener ftate than other grain.
The it raw fhould not be wholly
turned yellow. It will be the
better fodder, if it do not itand
till it be quite ripe and faplefs.
Mr. Cook, an Englifh writer, re
commends cutting them about
tour or five days before the ftate
of ripenefs ; and fays they will
improve by lying on the ground.
But if they be quite ripe when
they are cut, they will be apt to
ihed out by Jying.
Though they Ihould be well
dried on the ground after cutting,
they fhould not be raked, nor
handled at all, when they are in !
the drieft ftate. It fhould rather
be done in mornings and even
ings, when the ftraw is made
limber and pliable by the moift-
ure of the air. If they fhould
be got in when they are fome-
what damp, there will be no dan
ger, having been before thor
oughly dried ; for the ftraw and
ckafT are of a very dry nature.
O L I
} . Some choofe to reap them ?
But the ftrav/ is fo valuable a
fodder, that it is better to cradle
or mow them. And that 'the
ground may be well prepared
for mowing and raking, a roller
fhould be palled over it after
fowing and harrowing : But
fome prefer rolling the ground
after the grain is fome inches
high ; it is faid to clofe the foil
to the roots, and make the grain
grow with freih vigour.
Oats are fo apt to rob land of
its richnefs that they fhould not
be fowed on the fame fpot twice
in fucceffion, unlefs the foil be
very plentifully manured. In a
fucceffion of crops, oats may
foraetimes be fown to advantage
the firft year after the breaking
up, before the land can be made
mellow enough for ether grain :
Or they may follow wheat or
barley. In the latter cafe, the
wheat or barley ftubble ihould
be ploughed in as foon as the
crop is off.
OLIVE, olea, the famous tree
which produces oil. A fpecies
of thefe trees grow wild in the
woods and forefts of France.
But thofe which they cultivate
profper well, and are fo fruit
ful and profitable, that the oil
s an article of their exportation,
Darticulariy in Provence and
JLanguedoc.
Even in England the trees
lave produced fruit in the open
air fit for pickling, though their
tWBtners be not warm enough to
bring the fruit to maturity.
I am perfuaded our fummers are
hot enough tor this tree, fo that
we might cultivate it to advan
tage, if our winters do not prove
to be too cold. It is faid to grow
on any kind of foil, though
largeft in a rich one : But to
produce the beft oil in a poor
lean foil. As Bofton and the
foutherly
ONI
ONI
8ft
(blithely part of France are m i them after fowing, efpecially '
the fame latitude, it is tobe wifh-
e.d that trials maybe made to cul
tivate thofe trees in this country.
Whoever attempts it, fhould lit
them be fcreened, either by build
ings, or high fences, from the cold
northwardly winds.
But if this- climate mould not
i'uit them, doubtlefs they may be
cultivated to advantage in fome
of the foutliem ftates. And I
think every poffible attempt
fhould be made, that may enable
us to live lefsr dependency on
Europe. The oil and pickled
olives brought from thence, a-
naount to more than a trifle,-
which ought to be faved if practi
cable.
. ONIONS, Albums a well
known efculent root. The com
mon fort have purple bulbs;
The white, or ,filver fkinned,
which are fuppofed to have come
from Egypt, are by fome prefer
red to the other. Theyhave not
fo ftrong a tafte;
. This plant flourimes fo weli
in the fouthe'rn parts of Newen-
glarid, that it has long been a con-
iiderable article of exportation ;
in the northern parts, it requires
the very beft culture j but even
tfoere, onions may be railed in
fuffieiertt plenty for home con-
fumptionj
A fpqt of ground fhould be
r&efen for them, which is nioift
and fandy j becaufethey require
much heat* and a considerable
degree of moifture; A low fitu-
ation, where the fand has been
warned down from a neighbour
ing hill, is very proper for them.
And if it be the warn of a fandy
road, fo much the better. The
moft fuitable manures are old
rotten cow and horfe dung mix
ed, afhcs, but efpecially foot. A
fmall quantity of allies or fand,
or both, ihould be fpread over
the foil be not fandy. And it is
not amifs to roll the ground af
ter fowjng ; or harden the fur-i
face with the back of a (hovel.
I have many years cultivated
them oh the fame fpot ; and
have never found the land at all
impoverimed by them. But on
the contrary, my crops are bet
ter than formerly. But the ma-,
nuring is yearly repeated ; and
muft not be laid far below the
iurface.
The ground mould be dug or
ploughed in autumn, not very
deep ; and then made very fine
in the fpring, and all the grafs
roots, and roots of weeds, taken
out ; then laid in beds four feet
wide. Four rows of holes are
made in a bed, the rows ten!
inches apart, and the holes in the
rows ten. About half a dozen
feeds are put in a hole, or more
if there be any danger of their
not coming up well, and buried
an inch under the furface. This
is allowed by the experienced
cultivators in Connecticut, to be
the beft way of fetting the feeds.
For they will grow very well in
bunches. I have lately found
that they grow full as well in
drill rows a: foot afunder. They
crowd ea-ch other up out of the
foil, and lie in heaps as they
grow upon the furface. Though
the largefl onions are thofe that
grow fingly, fome inches apart.
thofe that are more crowded
produce larger crops.- And the
middle fixed onioas are 'better
for eating than the largefb. . .
The Jail week in April i'S the
right feafon for fowing the feeds,'
if the ground-be capable of being
got into proper order fo early.
In wet ground it is often necef-
fary to low them later.
Laft year I lowed my onions
ki dulls, twelve inches apart,
acrofs
334
acrofs the beds : And 1 found
jny crop was near double to
what it ufed to be, when they
were fowed in bunches, perhaps
this will prove to be the better
method. But I gave them a Mb a
$ight top dreffing of foot, juft
before they began to form buJbs,
which might be the true reafon
of the great increafe : So that I
dare not yet abfolutely prefer
th drill method to the other ;
though I am much inclined to
give it a decided preference.
Onions mould be hoed three
or four times, and kept quite
clear of weeds, before the tops
arrive to their full height. At
this time* the bulbs will begin to
fwell > hoeing mould therefore
be laid afide, and the weeds pul
led up by hand as often as they
appear. Weeds not only rob
the plants of their food, but in
jure them much with their (hade ;
for they have occafion for all
the warmth of the fun that they
can get.
To promote the growth of the
bulbous roots, I have found it
advantageous to trample the
ground hard between the rows
or bunches, and to draw the foil
away from the bulbous roots,
laying them bare to the fun.
They are the more warmed, and
grow f after*
Some think it proper, and
even neceffary, to pafs a rollei
over beds ot onions, or cripple
down their tops by hand. But
I- have never been able to find
the leafr advantage from either
of thefe methods : Nor do I
think they ought to be practifed ;
lor I cannot eafily conceive how
the cruming and wounding any
plant, while it is growing, mould
conduce to its improvement.
Though fome may have good
crops, who treat them in this
manner, I aju pervaded that it"
O N I
they negleBed it, they would
have much better crops. For,
befides the mifchief already men
tioned, the fun is (hut out from
the bulbs by cruming the tops
down upon them ; but the more
upright the tops are, the more
the fun will mine upon the roots,
I would fooner cut off part of
the tops than go to crulhing
them.
Others make and twift the
tops, to loofen the Bulbs in the.
foil, which I cannot approve of :
For if it do not fnap off fome of
the fibrous roots, it gives too free
a pafTage of the air to them, by
which, if dry weather follow,,
they will be injured, rather than
aflifted in their growth.
When onions are thick neck
ed, do not incline to bottom, but
rather to be what are vulgarly
called fcal lions, the more care
mould be taken to harden the
ground about them, and to lay
the bulbs bare to the fun. And
it may be proper to let them
touch the foil only in that part
which fends out the fibrous roots.
At the worft, if they fail to
have good bottoms the firft year,
and chance to efcape rotting till
fpring ; they may perhaps get
them by being transplanted.
Even an onion which is partly
rotten will produce two. three,
or four good ones, if the feed
flems be taken oftasfoon as they
appear. They ripen earlier than
young ones, have the name rare
ripes, and will fell at a higher
price.
When onions are fo ripened
that the green nefs is entirely
gone out of their tops, it is time
to tahe them up : For from this
time the fibrous roots decay, and
no longer convey any nourifli-
ment to the bulbs, as appears by
their becoming quite loofe in the
fgil, and eafy to. taj^e up.
After;?
O N I
After they are pulled up they
fliould lie on the ground tor ten
days or a fortnight, to dry and
harden in the fun, if the weather
be fair. Then, in fair dry weath
er, he moved into a garret, and
laid thin. The fcallions {hould
not be mixed with the good
onions, left they mould caufe
them to rot ; but be hung up in
fome dry place in fmall bunches,
where they will not be too much
expofed to froft.
That onions may keep well
through the winter, they mould
not be trufled in a warm and
moift cellar ; but have actuation
that is dry and cool. Moillure
foon rots them, and warmth caufes
them to vegetate. A degree of
cold which would ruin moil
other efculent roots, will not in
jure them at all. The fpirit
that is in them is fufficient to en
able them to relift a confiderable
degree of froft. Accordingly, in
the fouthern parts of this coun
try, as I am informed, they are
ufually kept through the winter
in dry calks placed in chambers,
or garrets. But they {hould not
be removed, or touched, white
the weather is very frofty.
Thofe which are (hipped for
market, are ufually made into
long bunches, by tying them to
wifps of ftraw.
When onions are kept long,
they are apt to fprout, which
hurts them for eating. To pre
vent this, nothing more is ne-
cellary than to fear the fibrous
roots with a hot iron. The pores
of the roots will thus be flopped,
through which the air enters an.d
caufes them to vegetate.
To obtain feed from onions
they mould be planted early in
beds, about nine inches apart.
The largest and foundeilare belt.
In a month the tops will appear;
and each one will fend up (ever-
O R C
a 35
al {Jems for feed. They {hould
be kept free from weeds ; and
when the heads of the flowers be
gin to appear,each plant muil have
a Itake about four feet long, and
its ftems be loofely tied to the
ftake by a foft firing of fufficient
ftrength. If this be neglected,
the heavy tops will lay the
flalks on the ground, or the
winds will break them. In either
cafe, the feeds will fail of com
ing- to perfe61ion.
ORCHARD, an cnclofcd
plantation ofljruit trees, not again
to be removed.
An orchard may confifl wholly
of pear trees ; or of quince,
peach, plum, &c.or i,t may be a
mixture of various kinds of trees.
But orchards of apple trees are
the mod important, and are al-
molt the only ones in this coun
try. Other fruit trees are com
monly planted in the borders of
fields, or gardens ; becaufe only
a frnall number of them is defirea,
or confidered as advantageous,,
by fanners.
The foil for an orchard {hould
be fiuted to- the nature of the
trees planted in it. Though a
clay foil will do well for pear
trees, it is not at all fuitahie tor
apple trees. Dry land and grav
el are not good ; but a deep ha
zel loam is preferred to any oth
er- foil ; and it is the better if
it be fomewhat rocky and moilt.
Plains, hollows, or high fum-
mits, are not fo good fituations
for orchards, as land gently flop-
ing : And a ioutheaitern expo-
lure is generally the belt. But
when this cxpofes the trees to
lea winds, a fouthweltern expo-
lure may be accounted better,
It the land be fwarded, it fliould
be broken up and tilled one
year before the trees are planted ;
arid if it be dunged it will 1:>~
better for v :., The ro?!;
,&4
O R C
fhouki alfo be token out ; becaufe
it cannot be done fo convenient
ly afterwards. And if there be
any large flumps of trees, which
would laft long in the ground,
they mould be taken out. Other-
wife they will render the opera
tions of tillage in the young
orchard very difficult.
Trees which are ungrafted are
fuppofed to bear as good fruit as
any for cyder. They commonly
bear more fruit, andwill laft longer.
But when grafted trees are to
be tranfplanted, thofe mould be
chofen that have not been graft
ed more than two years. Old
ilinted trees, the refufe of a nurfe-
ry, are to be avoided, which will
jgrow very flowly, if at all. For
directions concerning the time
and manner of planting an orch
ard, fee Fruit trees and Tranf-
planting.
Concerning the right diflance
of the trees in an orchard, there
are a variety of opiniojis. But
the coldnefs and wetnefs of the
climate, an argument ufed in
England for placing them far a-
funder, does not fo well apply in
this country. Trees in that coid
and cloudy region nee-d every
poflible advantage of expofureto
the fun and air. It ihould be
confidered at the time of plant
ing, to what fize the trees are like
ly to grow : And they fhouldbe
fet fo far afunder, that their limbs
will not be likely to interfere
with each other, when they ar
rive to their full growth. In a
foil that fuits them beft v they \yill
become largeft. Twenty five
feet may be the right di fiance in
fome foils ; but thirty five feet
will not be too much in thebefl,
or even forty. If, contrary to
expectation, they mould be too
clofe when they are grown up,
they may be eafily thinned : And
u will be. better to take away here
O R C
and there a whole tree, than to
lop and maim them all, that they
may have room.
The planting of fmall trees in
the midft of full grown ones does
not anfwer fo well for the fmali
ones, as when the trees are all
nearly of one fize. A fmall tree
among large ones has not an
equal chance of expofure to the
fun and air : Both of which are
of great importance. So that it
is of the lefs importance to re
place a tree that dies in an orch
ard. And it is of no advantage
to do it, when the nearefl neigh
bouring trees appear to be rather
too much crowded.
An orchard mufl be conftant-
ty well fenced, to keep out cattle.
It mould be enclofcd by itfelf.
Hungry fheep would peel the
trees while they are young ; and
cattle will bite oif all the lirnbs
of young and olcj trees that are
within their rc-Lich. But there is
no danger in turning in a horfe
occafionally, when there is grafs
and no apples ; and fwme may
be confined in an orchard that is
grown up, fo that the trees can
not he hurt by them, and when
the iruitis not in their way.
Sheep fometimes get into an
orchard that is well fenced, by
means of high banks of fno\v%
when they are fiiff or crulled. I
can think of no better way to
prevent this, than to make the
fence fo open, with round poles,
or pickets, that the fnow will pafs
freely through it* and not rife in
high banks. The latter kind of
fence might be fa conf trusted as
to. keep out fuch creatures as are
apt to take fruit from the trees,
without leave of the proprietor.
After an orchard is planted, it
is b.eft to keep the laud continu
ally in tillage, till the trees have
nearly got their full growth ; at
Jeafl till they ha,ve begun to bea:~
plentifully.
O R C
plentifully. The trees will grow I
fafter, and be more fruitful.
But great care muft be taken
that the roots be not diftr.vbed by
ploughing, nor th.<3 bark on the
ftems oi the trees wounded.
The ground near the trees,
which the plougb leaves, mould
bebrokeaand made mellow with
a fpade, for twu or three years,
before the rapts haye far extend
ed.
Severe prunings fliould gener-
be avoided. The limbs that
interfere, and rub each other,
jnuft be cut out; but never (hort-
en the (hoots, nor cut off any of
the bearing fpurs. Take off all
decayed and broken branches,
clofe to the ftems from whence
they are produced ; and cutaway
#11 fuckers, as foon as they ap
pear, whether irom the roots,
trunks, or any other parts. Prun
ing mould be done in Novem
ber, or in the beginning of De
cember. In the depth or winter
it will be apt to be neglected, and
towards fpring the iap will be in
motion, an.,d the buds (welled.
But fuckers mould be taken away
whenever they appear. This re
quires clofe attention.
In fome of our new towns and
plantations, woodpeckers attack
apple trees, They girdle the
trunks of the trees with a row of
deep holes, and fometimes with
feveral rows ; which renders the
trees fickly and unfruitful. I am
informed that fmea.ring the part
with cow dung where they have
begun, caufes them to defifl. A
piece of birch bark, put round
the part where they ufually peck,
might guard a tree againft them.
Jt will hold itfelf on for a long
time, wherever it is put, and not
need renewing. The birds feein
to be mo(t fond ot pecking on
the upper part of the items, near
to the lo^weli branches,.
ORE 237
ORE WEED, fea weed, fea
ware, or fea wreck. Thefe names
are applied to all the? vegetables
which grow plentifully in the (eu
and on the muddy and rocky parts
>f the (hprebelow high water mark.
The forts are chiefly three ;
the kali, or rock weed, which
ftrongly adheres to rocks, and
which is allowed to be of the
greateft value for manure. The
alga^, called eel grafs, or grals
wreck, is of the next rank as to>
its richnefs. But there is anoth
er fort, confting of a broad leaf
with a long (hank or ft em, of an
inch diameter, by lome ignorant-
Iy called kelp ; this is faid by Sir
A. Purves to be of the leaft val
ue ot any of the fea weeds.
However, none of them are un
important for fertilizing the eartlu
All vegetables when putrefied
are a goo.d pabulum for plants ;
for they confift wholly of it. But
the value of marine vegetables is
greater than that of any other ;
tor, be(ides the virtue* of the
other, they contain a large quan
tity of fait, which is a great fer
tilizer. Mr. Dixon thinks thofe
weeds which grow in the deepeft
water are the beft. Perhaps they
contain a greater proportion of
fait than thofe which grow near
the (hore, as the.y are feldom or
never wetted with freih water.
A great advantage that thefe
plants have above any other, is
their fpeedy fermentation and.
putrefaction. The farmer has no
need to wait long after he has
got them, before he applies them
to the foil. The, rock weed may
be ploughed into the foil, as foon
as it is taken from the fea. This
is praclifed in thofe parts of Scot
land which lie neareft to the
(hore ; by which they obtain ex
cellent crops of barley, without
impoverishing the foil. Neither
, have they any occafion for fal-
lowing
23$ ORE
lowing to recruit it. In hills of
potatoes, it anfwers nearly as
well as barn dung. I have
Jinown fome fpread it upon
young flax newly come up, who
fay it increases their crops f'ur-
prifmgly. The flax may grow
fo fall, and get above this ma
nure and {hade it, fo foon, as to
prevent evaporation by the fun
and wind; fo that but a fmall
part of it is loft ; and flax is fo
tiardy a plant that it does not fuf-
fer by the violence of fait, like
many other young plants.
But I rather think it is beft to
putrefy fea weeds before they
are applied to the foil. This
may fpeedily beaccompliihedby
laying them in heaps. But the
jheaps mould not lie naked. Let
them be covered with loofe earth
or turf ; or elfe mixed in com-
poft dunghills, or laid in barn
yards with divers other fub-
ftances. This f ubftance will foon
.dilfolve itfelf, and what is mixed
with it, changing to a fait oily
flime, very proper to fertilize
light foils, and not improper for
almofl any other.
As to the eel grafs, &c, the
beft way is to cart it in autumn
into barn yards, filling the whole
areas with it, two or three feet
deep. It may be either alone, or
have a layer of ftraw under, and
another above it. When it has
been trampled to pieces by the
cattle, and mixed with their ftale
and dung, it will be fitteft to be
applied to the foil. It being a
light and bibulous fubftance, it
will abforb the urine, which is
totally loft by foaking into the
earth, unlefs fome fuch tralh be
lafd under cattle to take it up,
and retain it.
Farmers who are fi mated near
to the fea more have a vaft ad
vantage for manuring their lands.
If they were once perfuaded to
O R E
make a fpirited improvement*
they might enrich their farms to
almoft any degree that they pleafe.
They mould vifit the mores af
ter fpring tides and violent ftorms,
and with pitchforks take up the
weeds, and lay them in heaps a
little higher up upon the more ;
which will at once prevent their
growing weaker, and fecure them
Irom being carried away by the
next fpring tide.
Many are fo fituated that they
can drive their carts on a fandy,
hard beach, at low water, to the
rocks ; and fill them with weeds.
Can they be fo ftupid as to ne-
gle6t doing it ? It is even worth
while to go miles after this ma
nure with boats, when it cannot
be obtained more eafily.
It has often been obferved that
manuring with fea weeds is an
excellent antidote to infefts. It
is fo, not only in the ground, but
alfo upon trees. I have an orch
ard which has been for many
years much annoyed by caterpil
lars. Laft fpring, about the laft
of May, I put a handful of rock
weed into each tree, juft where
the limbs part from the trunk ;
after which I think there was not
another neft formed in the whole
orchard. April is a better time
to furnifh the trees with this an
tidote to infefts. And the month
of March is perhaps better ftill.
Putrefied Jea weeds mould, I
think, be,ufed for crops of cabba
ges, and turnips, and for any oth
er crops which arc much expofed
to be injured by infecls.
One difadvantage attending the
bufmefs of farming in this coun
try, is, that our cold winters put
an entire ftop to the fermentation,
and putrefaction of manures.
This may be in fome meafure ob
viated by the ufe of rock weed,
which is fo full of fait that it is not
afily frozen ; Or if frozen, it is
' foon
O S I
jfbon thawed. I have been in
formed that fome have laid it un
der their dunghills by the fides
of barns ; in which fituation it
has not frozen ; but by its fer
mentation hasdiffolved itfelf, and
much of the dung that lay upon
it. There is undoubtedly a great
advantage in fuch a praHice.
Another advantage of this kind
, of manure, which muft not be
forgotten, is, that it does not en
courage the growth of weeds fo
much as barn dung. It is cer
tain it has none of the feeds of
weeds to propagate, as barn dung
almoft always has. But fome
fuppofe that its fait is deftru&ive
to many of the feeds of the moft
tender kinds of plants ; if it be
fo, it is only when it is applied
frefh from the fea, at the firne of
fowing. Buteven this is doubtful.
This manure is reprefenled in
the Complete Farmer to be txvice
as valuable as dung, if cut from
the rocks at low water mark ;
that a drefling of it will laft three
years ; and that fruit trees which
have been barren are rendered
fruitful by laying this manure a-
bout their roots.
OSIER, Salix, Sallow, or
V/iltow Trees. According to Mr.
MUler there are fourteen fpecies ;
the twigs of fome of which are
much ufed by bafket makers in
Europe.
A fort of grey orbrown willow
grows naturally in this country,
in low moift places. But it is
only a bufhy ihrub, of flow
growth, and has not that tough-
nefs in its {hoots for which fome
o-f the foreign willows are valued.
Two forts are propagated in ,
this country, which were brought
from Europe, The young moots
of the yellow fort have a golden
colour ; but the trunks of the
trees are almoft black. The green
fort bids fair to be m^ore uieful
O V E 239
than the other. They will grow-
in almoft any foil, and come to
be large trees ; but a moift foil
fuits them belt, I have known
the green fort to grow where the
ground is fome part of the year
flowed with water, as in the bor
ders of rivers and ponds.
It might be advifable for the
people in fome parts of the
country to propagate them for
the fake of the wood. I know
of no other trees that increafe
nearly fo raft as both thefe kinds
do. A prodigious quantity o
wood might be obtained from an,
acre planted with them. In lefs
tha twenty years they would
be large trees. I have knowr*
fets, or cuttings of the fmalleit
fize, in ten years, grow to the
fize of thirty inches round, or
ten inches diamater.
The trees are eaftly propagat
ed by cuttings, or fets, either in
fpring or fall. If in fpring, they
mould be planted early, as foon
as the ground is thawed. Young,
fets mould be three feet long,,
and two thirds of their length in
the ground.
Live hedges may be more-
cheaply and expeditioufly made
of ofiers than of any other plants.
Stakes or truncheons of feven or
eight feet long may be fet in a
fpungy or miry foil ; they will
take root and grow, and form a
hedge at once. This faves the
coft of fecuring a young hedge.
It is with great, pleafure that I ob-
ferve fome fences of this kind
are begun in the country. It is
a very cheap and eafy method of
fencing, which cannot be too
much encouraged. The trim
mings of the hedges will be of
great value in towns where wood
is become fcarcc. and may be
had yearly. See Willow.
OVERFLOWING of the
GALL, a difeafe in horned cat-
<+ tie,
240
O X
tFe, known by a copious dif-
charge of water at their eyes.
To cure it, take a heft's egg, open
the end, and poitt off the white,
refervirig the yolk ; the.: fill up
the cavity with equal quantities of
foot, fah and black pepper ;
draw out the tongue of the ani
mal, and with a flender ftick
pufh the egg down his throat. It
fbould be repeated two or three
mornings. It feldom fails to cure.
OUT HOUSES, flight build
ings that belong to a manfion
houfe, but ftand at a little dif-
tance from it. When it can con
veniently be fq ordered, the
out houfes of a farmer ought to
be fo placed as to be all contig
uous to the farm yard. Then all
the dung, filth and rubbish they
afford at any time, may be flung
into the yard, without the trou
ble of carrying ; where they will
be mixed and mellowed by the
trampHng of beaits, and contrib
ute to the increafe of manure.
OX, a caitrated bulk Till
they are four years old, they are
ufually called fleers,- afterwards
oxen.' Oxen that are white,
black and white, or a very pale
red, are feldom hardy, or good
in the draught. Red and white
oxen are often good ; but the
darkeft coloured oxen are gener
ally befl. Brown, dark red and
brindled are good co-lours.
The figns of a good ox are thefe :
Thick, foft, finootb and fhort
hair ; a ihort and thick head ;
glofly, fuiooth horns ; large and
ihaggy ears ; wide forehead ;
full, black eyes; wide noftrils ;
black lips ; a thick flefhy neck,
arid large moulders; broad reins ;
a large belly ; thick rump and
thighs ; a ftraight back ; a long
tail, well covered with hair ;
ihort and broad hoofs.
Steers at the age of two years
and a haft, or earlier, may be
O Y S
rained for the draught*
If it be longer delayed, they are
apt to be reftiff and ungoverna-'
ble. They fhould not be work
ed by tbemfelves, but in a teain
with other cattle which have been
ufed to labour. Their work
fhould be very cafy at firft, and
only at fhort intervals, as they
are apt to fret and worry them-
felves exceffively. A gentle u-
fage of them is beft,.aiid beating
them mould be avoided. .
If oxen are worked in the-
yoke in wet and rainy weather,
which fometimes unavoidably
happen^, their necks are apt to
become fore. To prevent this,
a little tallow fhould be rubbed
on the parts of the yoke which
lie upon their necks, and alfc*
upon the bows.
When ' fteers cOifie to be four'
year? oM, they have one circu
lar ring at theroot of their horns,
at. five two rings, and one ring is
a-dded each year ; fo that if you
would know the age of an ox,
count the rings on one of his
horns, and axld three, which a-
mounts to the true number of
his years. It is the fame in a
bull, and a cow. In very^ old
cattle, thefe rings are fometimes
rather indiftint.
When an ox has completed his
eighth year he mould be worked
no longer, but be turned off to
fatten. His flefh will not be fo
good, if he be kept longer. A
little blood mufl be taken from
him, that he may fatten thefafler.
OYSTER, or OISTER, a bi
valve teftaceoas fifh. The low
er valve is hollowed on the in-
fide, and protuberant without :
The upper fhetl is flat or hol
low on the outfide. The fhells
of thefe fifh are an excellent
manure, but being large they
fhould be burnt to lime be
fore they are applied to the foil.
*t
PAN
P.
PALE, a pointed ftake, ufed
in making enelofures, partitions,
&c. Gardeners oftentimes have
occafion to make pale fences, to
fecure choice apartments from
the entrance of tame fowls,
which will not ofteri fly over a
paled or picketed fence : As
well as to prevent the intrufion
of idle and mifchievous people.
PAN; a ftratum of compacl
earth under the foiL In fome
places it is fo hard that it cannot
be dug through without pickaxes
or crows. It the pan be low, the
ibil is faid to be deep and good ;
but if near the furface^ the foil
is thin and poor. The common
depth in good land is from eigh
teen to twenty four inches.
The deeper ftrata, or layers in
the bowels of the earth, are
fuppofcd to have been fornied,
by the diurnal rotation of the
earth, before it had become
compact and folid. But this
ilratum being more conftant and
regular, the formation of it, if I
miftake not, mould be afcribed
to other caufes. If we fuppofe
that this and the foil above were
intermixed, and of one confid
ence after the creation, the pan
muft have been formed long be
fore this time, by the fubfiding
of the more ponderous parts of
the foil. For it has been often ob-
ferved, that clay, chalk, and lime,
which have been laid on as ma
nures, after fome years^ difap-
pear from fhe furface, and are
found a foot or more beneath it.
Rains, and fermentations in the
foil, make way for the defcentof
the heaviest particles contained
in the foil.
It is in favour of this hypothe-
lis, that the pan under the foil
mod commonly bears an affinity
) the foil itfelf. Under a grav-
Ff
PAN 241
elly foil, there is a large propor
tion of gravel in the pan ; under
a fandy one it ufually is found to
eonfift chiefly of fand ; and under
a ftiffloam it iscommonly clay :
I think it is alv/ays found to be fo.
But I fuppofe the operation of,
froit Ihould be confidered, as af-
fifting in forming the pan. All
the foil above it is ufually hqveii
by the froft in winten At leaft
it is fo in this latitude. We fee
rocks and ftones below the fur-
face when the ground is frozen,;
which before were on a level
with it ; and in a foft foil they
do not rife quite up to their form
er fituation, when the ground is
thawed. The froft does more
than tillage, and perhaps more
than rains, or fermentation, to
wards caufing th more ponder
ous parts of the foil (or ponder
ous bodies in the foil) to iubfide^
or fink.
The ffoft may have another in
fluence in increafing the com-
pachiefs of the under ftratum.
As the froft expands he foil, the
preifure of it downward is in-
creafed j by which preffurc, the
matter of which the pan confifts,.
is made moft clofe and hard, like
earth that has been violently ram
med. But this perhaps can take
place, only when the frozen ftra
tum is held down by ftrong ob-
jecfs, which reach far below the
froft and pan ; as the (tumps of
large trees deeply rooted, large
rocks, &c.
But it will be objefted, that
fome foils appear to have no pan.
under them* To anfvver this, it
may be faid, that perhaps fome
foils were, originally made up of
particles equally ponderous ; fo
that one had no more tendency
to fubfide than another. Or elfe
the loofenefs and opennefs of the
under earth in fuch places, was
fo great that it could not flop the
ponderous
24-
P A 'N
ponderous parts of the foil in their
defcent; fo that they have been
difperfed among the loefe earth,
and part of them gone to a very
great depth.
If I have given a juft account
of the formation of the pan, will
it not follow, that this under ftra-
fcum is lefs penetrable in cold
than in warm latitudes, when
made of like materials ? So far
^s my obfervation has extended,
this appears to be the cafe. It
ought alfo to be lower ii% the
earth, and the foil deeper ; and
future obfervationsmay convince
'us that this alfo is fat.
Another corollary may be,
That deeper ploughing than is
ufually praftifed in this country
would be proper. For it feenis
that nature defigned all the flra-
ta above the pan to ferve forpaf-
tfure of plants. And it is well
known that the more it is flirred
and mixed, the fitter it is for this
purpofe ; not only becaufeit lies
the more loofe and open, but be-
cau.fe the more of the food of
plants will be contained in it.
Such a ftratuiE, at a right dif-
tance from the furface, is a great
l>enefit to the foil. For, as no
manures can eafily penetrate it,
they muft remain in a good fitu-
ation to be taken up by the roots
of vegetables. But where there
is no compact under ftratum,un-
lefs at a great depth, manures laid
upon the foil- are partly loft.
Hence appears the great propri
ety of claying 2nd marling fuch
foils. In a long courfe of til
lage, thefe dreflings will fubfide,
and do fomething towards form
ing the ftratum that is wanted.
But to form a good under lira-
turn at once, where it is wanted,
let one hundred or more loads of
clay be fpread on an acre of
fandy grafs land. After it has
lain, fpread upon the furface one.,
PAN
winter, let it be made perfectly
fine and even by a bufh harrow,
and rolled. Afterwards turn it
under with a very deep plough
ing. This will greatly affift a
weak drv foil to retain moifture,
and to hold the manures that mall
be given it. Jt will be a lafting
benefit. But this ploughing
mould be done at a time, when
the clay is fo damp that it will
turn over in whole flakes.
When, a plot of ground intend
ed for a garden wants an under
ftratum, it may be advifable to
dig trenches four feet wide, and
place a regular bed of clay in the
bottom . The fecond trench may
be contiguous to thefirit, and the
firft be filled up with the earth
that is taken out of the fecond ;
and fo on till the whole work is
completed.
Some have put themfelves to
the expenfeof this operation, on
ly with a view to get rid of all
the feed of weeds in a garden
which had long lain neglected,
placing the upper part of the foil
at the bottom.
PANAX, GINSENG, or
NINSENG. As this plant is a
native of our country, and is be
come a confiderable article of
commerce, I think it is neceffary
that every one mould know how
to diftinguiih it from all other
plants when he meets with it. I
defire therefore to entertain the
reader with Mr. Miller's account
of it.
" It hath male and hermaphro
dite flowers on diftincl; plants.
The male have fimple globular
umbels, compofed of feveral
coloured rays, which are equal.
The flower hath five narrow, ob
long, blunt petals, which are re-
flexed, fitting on the empalement,
and five oblong flender ftamina
inferted in the empalement, ter
minated by fingle fummits. The
hermaphrodite
PAN
hermaphrodite umbels are fimple,
equal, and cluttered ; the invo-
lucrum is fmall, permanent, and
compofed of feveral awl fhaped
leaves. The flowers have five
oblong, equal petals, which are
recurved, and five fhort Aamina
terminated by fingle fummits,
which fall off, with a roundifh
germen under the empalement,
fupporting two fmall ere&ftyles,
crowned by fimple ftigmas. The
germen afterwards becomes an
umbilicated berry with two cells,
each containing a fingle heart
fhaped, convex, plain feed.
" The fpecies are, i. Panax
qmnquefolium,fotits^ ternis quin-
atis ; or panax with trifoliate
cinquefoil leaves ; called ninzin.
2. Panax tnfolium, foliis ternis
itrnatis ; or panax with three
trifoliate leaves.
" Both thefe plants grow natur
ally in North America ; the firft
is generally believed to be the
fame as the Tartarian Ginfeng. j
It has a flefhy taper root, as large
as a man's finger, which is joint- |
ed, and frequently divided into
fmaller fibres downward. The
ftalk rifes above a toot high, nak
ed to the top, where it generally
divides into three fmaU foot
$alks, each fuftaining a leaf com
pofed of five fpear ftiaped lobes,
which are fawed on their edges ;
they are of a pale green, and a
little hairy. The flowers arife j
on a (lender foot ftalk, juft at the
divifion of the foot ftalks which
fuftain the leaves, and are formed
into a fmall umbel at the top ;
they are of an herbaceous yel
low colour, compofed of fmall
petals, which are recurved.
Thefe appear the beginning of
June, and are fucceeded by com-
prefled heart fhaped berries, which
ripen the beginning of Auguit.
The Chinefe affirm that it is a
fpvereign remedy for all weak-
P A R
243
nels occafioncd by exceffive fa
tigUfes, either of body or mind ;
that it cures weaknefs of the
lungs and the pleurify ; that it
Hops vomitings ; thatitilrength-
ens tke fiomach, and helps the
appetite ; that it ftr.engthens the
vital fpirits, and increafes the
lymph in the blood ; in fhort,
that it is good againil dizzinefs
of the head, and dimnefs of fight,
and that it prolongs life in old
age."
Mr. Miller found he could not
propagate this plant by the feed,
either raifed in England, or
brought from America. None
of the feeds would grow. He
believes the hermaphrodite plants
fhould have fome of the male
plants {landing near them, to
render the feed prolifick ; for
all the plants he faved feed
from had only hermaphrodite
flowers.
PANIC, or PANNIC, a kind
of grain that refembles millet,
and requires the fame culture.
Of this grain whole fields are
cultivated for bread, in Germany
and Italy. The Italian kind is
faid to be larger and better than
the German.
PARSNEP, Paftinaca, an ef-
culent root, of a fweet tafle, and
of a very nouri filing quality.
Prafnepsmuft have a mellow,
rich and deep foil, not apt to be
very dry. The be ft taded roots
are produced in a foil that is
more fandy than loamy. When
they are cultivated in kitchen
gardens, the ground mould be
duguncommonlydeep; eighteen
or twenty inches at leafi. No
common ploughing will loofen
the foil to a fufRcient depth.
The goodnefs of a crop of thefe
roots depends much upon their
length.
If they be fet near together,
they will not grow to a large
PAR
faze. I fow them in rows acrofs
the beds, 15 inches apart, and al
low about fix inches from plant
to plant at the laft thinning,
which may be early,, as they are
not often hurt by infecls. I have
feldom known any tobedeftroy-
ed by them.
The feeds mould be fowed as
early as in March, if the ground
be thawed, and not too wet.
Some fow them in the fall ; but
that is not a good practice, be-
caufe the ground will grow too
clofe and ftiff, for want of ftir-
ring in the fpring ; which can-
not well be performed in gar
dens, without danger of in
juring the roots. And weeds
will be more apt to abound a-
inong them, if they be fown in
autumn.
The manure that is ufed for
parfneps fhould be very fin and
rotten, and quite free from ftraws
and lumps ; otherwife it will
caufe the roots \o be forked,
which is a great damage to them.
They require but little manure,
as they draw much of their qour-
ilhmeht from a great depth.
What manure is given them,
fliould be fpread before digging
the ground, that fome of it at leaf?
may go deep. They do not im-
poverifh the foil. I have raifed
them near thirty years in the fame
fpot, on a foil not naturally rich,
and with a very flight yearly
drefling. The crops are better
than they were at firft : And the
earth is become very black to a
great depth.
Parfneps will continue grow
ing fo late as till the tops are kill
ed by the troft, if not longer.
Some let them remain in the
ground through the winter, ex-
pocling that they will grow larger
in that feafon. But it is not pof-
fible they fhould grow at all, fo
( jong as they are cnclofcd with
PAR
the frozen foil. They may pof-
fibly grow a little in the fpring,
before there is opportunity to
take them up, if they efcape rot
ting. But their growing will he
chiefly f prouting at the top, which
hurts them for eating. As foon
as they begin to fprout, which
will be as foon as the ground is
thawed, they will begin to grow
tough,andtohaveabitterifh tafle,
The beft way is to dig them up
about the lafl of November, or in
the beginning of December. Let
them not be wounded, or fo much
as touched with the fpade in do
ing it, if it can be avoided ; nei
ther mould the tops be cut off very
clofe to the roots, nor any of the
lateral roots cut off. In either
cafe the roots will rot, or become
bitter.
Many lofe their parfneps, or
make them fprout, by putting
them into a warm cellar. It is
better to keep them in fome out
houfe, or in a cellar that freezes ;
for no degree of froft ever hurts
them. 3 Lit to prevent their dry
ing too much, it is befl to cover
them with dry fods, or elfe bury
them in fandthat has no moiflure
in it. Beach fand is improper,
becaufe the fait in it will make
them vegetate.
It is faid by European writers,
that, parfneps are an excellent
food for fwine, and ufeful for
feeding; and fattening all forts of
cattle.
If we would cultivate them for
thefe purpofes, the horfe hoeing
husbandry niuft be applied. The
ground mufl be trencli ploughed
in October, and all the ilones
carefully taken out. The trench
ploughing muft be repeated be
fore the end of November, the
foil made fine by harrowing, laid
in beds of from three to four feet
wide, and fown by a line in drills
on the middle of the beds. There
PAS
may be either one or two rows
an a bed. If there be two, they
mould be full twelve inches apart,
and the intervals proportionably
Vider.
Autumnal fowing in the field
culture is not amifs, as the ground
is to be kept light by horfe hoe
ing. In this operation the ground
fhould be ftirred very deep. The
plough ihould go twice in a fur
row. At the laft ploughing, the
furrows ihould be turned towards
the rows.
PASTURE, according to the
language of fanners in this coun
try, means land in grafs, for the
fummer feeding of cattle.
To manage pafture land advart-
tageoufly, it fhouldbe well fenc
ed in fmall lots, of four, eight or
twelve acres, according to the
largenefs of one's farm and flock.
And thefe lots fhould be border
ed at leaft with rows of trees. It
is beft that trees of fome kind or
other ihould be growing fcatter-
ed in every point of a pafture, fo
that the cattle may never have
far to go in a hot hour to obtain
a comfortable {hade. The grafs
will fpring earlier in lots that are
thus flickered, and they will bear
drought the better. But too
great a proportion of (hade ihould
be avoided, as it will give a four-
nefs to the grafs.
Small lots, thus flickered, are
not left bare of fnow fo early in
the fpring as larger ones lying
bare, as fences and trees caufe
more of it to remain upon the
ground. The cold winds in
March and April hurt the grafs
much when the ground is bare.
And the winds in winter will not
fufter fnow to lie deep on land
that is too open to the rake of
winds and ftorms.
It is hurtful to paftures to iurn
in cattle too early in the fpring :
And moft hurtful to thofe paftures
PAS
j in which the grafs fprings earli-
i eft, as in very low and wet paf-
I tures. Fetching fuch land In the
fpring, deftroys the fward, fo
that it will produce the lefs
quantity of grafs. Neither
ihould cattle be let into any
pafture, until the grafs is fomuch
j grown as to afford them a good
bite, fo that they may fill them-
felves without rambling over the
whole lot. The 2oth of May is
early enough to turn cattle into
almoft any of our paftures. Out
of fome they mould be kept lat
er. The dried paftures ihould
be ufed firft, though in them the
grafs is (horteft, that the potch-
ing of the ground in the wetteH
may be prevented.
The bufhes and (lirubs that
rife in paftures, mould be cut in
the moft likely times to deftroy
them. Thirties, and other bad
weeds, mould be cut down be
fore their feeds have ripened ;
and ant hills ihould be deftroy-
ed. Much may be done to
wards fubduing a bufhy pafture,
by keeping cattle hungry in it.
A continual browiing keeps
clown the young ihoots, and
totally kills many of the bufh
es. Steers and heifers may mend
fuch a pafture, and continue
growing.
But as to cleared paftures, it is
not right to turn in all forts of cat
tle prpmifcuoufly. Milch kinc,
working oxen, and fatting beafts,
ihould have the firft feeding of
an enclofure. Afterwards, iheep
and horfes. When the firft lot
is thus fed off, it ihould be fhut
up, and the dung that has been
dropped ihould bebeat to pieces,
and well fcattered. Afterwards,
the fecond pafture mould be
treated in the fame manner, and
the reft in courfe, feeding the
wetteft pafture alter the riricft,
that the foil may be lefs potched,
Something
246
PAS
Something confiderable is fav-
ed by letting all forts of grazing
animals take their turn in a paf-
ttire. By means of this, nearly
all the herbage produced will be
eaten ; much of which would
otherwife be loft. Horfes will
eat the leavings of horned cattle;
and fheep will eat ibme things
that both the one and the other
leave.
But if in a courfe of pafturing,
by means of a fruitful year, or a
fcanty flock of cattle, fome grafs
of a good kind mould run up to
feed, and not be eaten, it need
not be regretted ; fora new fup-
ply of feed will fill the ground
with new roots, which are better
than old ones. And I know of
no grafs that never needs renew
ing from the feed.
A farmer needs not to be told,
that if he turn fwine iflfto a paf
ture, they mould have rings in
their nofes, unlefs brakes and
other weeds need to be rooted
out. Swine may do fervice in
this way. They mould never
have the firfl of the feed ; for
they will foul the grafs, and
make it diftafteful to horfes and
cattle.
Let the flock of a farmer be
greater or lefs, he mould have at
leaft four enclofures of pafture
land. One enclofure may be
fed two weeks, and then {hut up
to grow. Then another. Each
one will recruit well in fix weeks ;
and each will have this fpace of
time to recruit. But in the lat
ter part of Oclober, the cattle
may range through all the lots,
unlefs fome one may have be
come too wet andfoft. In this
cafe, it ought to be fhut up, and
kep.tfo till feeding time the next
year.
But that farmers may not be
troubled with low miry paflures,
they mould drain them, if it be
PAS
pralicable,orcanbe done confift-
ently with their other bufinefs,
If they mould produce a fmaller
quantity of gr.ifs afterwards, it
will be fweeter, and of more
value. It is well known, that
cattle fatted in a dry pafture 9
have better tailed flem than thofe
which are fatted in a wet one. In
the old countries it will fetch a
higher price. This is particu
larly the cafe as to mutton.
Feeding paflures in rotation, is
of greater advantage than fome
are apt to imagine. One acre,
managed according to the above
directions, will turn to better ac
count, as fome fay who have prac-
tifed it, than three acres in the
common way. By the com
mon way I would be underflood
to mean, having weak and tot
tering fences, that will drop of
themfelves in a few months, and
never can refift the violence ot
diforderly cattle ; fufFering weeds
and bufhes to overrun the land ;
keeping all the pafture land in
one enclofure ; turning in all
forts of flock together ; fufFering
the fence to drop down in au
tumn, fo as to lay the paftt*re
common to all the fwirie and
cattle that pleafe to enter ; and
not putting up the fence again
till the firft of May, or later.
Such management is too com
mon in all the parts of this country
with which I am moft acquainted.
I would hope it is not univerfal.
Land which is constantly ufed
as pafture, will be enriched.
Therefore it is advifable to moAy a
pafture lot once in three or fpur
years, if the Turf ace be fo level
as to admit of it. In the mean
time, to make amends for the
lofs of pafture, a mowing lot
may be paftured. It will thus be
improved : And if the grafs do
not grow fo rank afterwards in
the pafture lot, it will be more
clear
PAS
cfear of weeds, and bear better
grafs. Alternate pafturing and
mowing has the advantage ot
faving a good deal of expenfe
and trouble, in manuring the
mowing grounds.
Though paftures need manur
ing lefs than other lands, yet,
when buihes, bad weeds. Sec. are
burnt upon them, theafhes Ihould
be fpread thinly over the furface.
The grafs will thus be improv
ed : And grafs feeds mould be
(own upon the burnt fpots, that
no part may be vacant of grafs.
PASTURE of PLANTS, or
vegetable Pafture, that part of
the ear- h in which the roots of
plants extend and receive their
nourimment. This is properly
their natural pafture. But more
commonly thefe expreflions in
tend that depth of foil which is
ftirred, and rendered fo loofe by
tillage, that the roots of tender
vegetables eafily penetrate it, as
they extend themlelves in quell
of nourimment.
Within certain limits, the
greater quantity of pafture a
plant has, the greater advantage
it has to get nouriihment. But
fome require a greater, and fome
a lefs quantity of pafture, ac
cording to the diftance to which
their roots are difpofed to extend.
Therefore, fome plants mould be
placed at greater diftances than
others. The fanner, mould be
able to determine thefe diftances,
with refpeft to every plant that
he cultivates ; becaufe the large-
nefs ot his crops in fome rneaf-
ure depends on it. He mould
therefore attend to the conftruc-
ture of the roots of different
plants ; and obferve to what
length the lateral fibres extend.
But as the capillary fibres of
moft plants are fo fmall, and fo
impregnated with the colour of
the foil, as to become invifible
P A S 247
near their extremities ; the fol
lowing experiment is adapted
to throw much more light on
this mbje6t, than any examina
tion of the roots by the eye.
In a foil that is become hard
and bound by lying, let a triangle
be marked on the ground, forty
yards the length of the fides, and
four yards the length of the bafe.
Let the foil it includes be well
dug and pulveriled. Then
draw a line fo as to bifcft the
bafe and the acute angle. On
this line, at equal diftances, plant
the feeds, give them the ufiial
culture, obferve their growth,
and fee at what breadth the plants
arrive to their greateft growth.
If they do fo in that part of
the triangle which is four feet
wide, it will follow th; i the
plant has fent its. roots ; , o feet
on each fide, and from that dif
tance drawn part of its nourim-
ment. Mr. 'Full, .in his experi
ment, made ufe of the feeds of
turnip : But other feeds may
ferve as well ; and it might be
advantageous to make trial with
many kinds of feed.
I do not recommend that all
plants/ which extend their roots
as much as two feet, Ihould be
placed four feet apart. Doubt-
lefs the capillary roots may in
termix, to a certain length, with
out robbing each other to fuch a
degree as to injure the crop ef-
fentially : But the comparative
diltances at which different plants
ought to grow, may in this way
be afcertained with exaftnefs.
Another thing which ought to
be determined, is, what depth ot
pafture different plants require.
For this purpofe, let one bed be
dug nine inches deep, another
of equal dimenfions, and foil,
twelve, and another fifteen. Let
the three beds be fet with equal
numbers of the fame kinds of
feeds ;
248
PAS
feeds ; and let the produce be
compared. If it be found that
the excefs in the crop will not
pay for extra tillage, the extra
tillage Ihould be avoided for the
future. But the experiment
fhould be made two years in fuc-
ceffion,without fhifting the beds ;
becaufe the deepeft part ot the
foil will be in better order the
fecond year than the firft, in land
which has not before been dug
to that depth. The refult might
be with the more fafety depend
ed on, if the trials were made
three years in fucceffion.
And there will ftil! be fome
danger of drawing too hally a
conclufion, if another thing be
not confidered, which is, that
plants, which ftand fo near to
gether as to be fomewhat crowd-
ea, will alter the natural form
of their roots, and point more
downward, when there is a plen
ty of artificial pafture below them.
So that deep tillage will render
it proper to let plants proportion-
ably nearer together. The beds
fhould therefore be dug the fourth
year as before. If the firft in
clude one hundred plants, let the
fecond include one hundred and
fifty, and the third two hundred.
I fuppofeall the beds to be equally
manured, and equal in dim en -
fions, as well as equally pulverif-
ed, and to the fame depth as be
fore, and equally tended after
fowing. Then by comparing the
produce, it may be determined
whether making a deep pafture
ior the roots be really advanta
geous, and to what depth the
ground ought to be loofcned, as
well as at what diflance the plants
ought to be fet.
I have here gone upon the
fuppofition thru the beds be
equally pulverifed : For, if not,
the quantity of pafture in one,may
be double to that in another,in the
2 A S
fame depth. If the tillage differ,-
the crops will differ in proportion,,
But I will next obferve, that
there are twree ways of increaf-
ing the artificial paifure of plants :
One is tilling the land to a great
er depth, by means ot which a
greater quantity ot foil, under a
given furface, is employed in the
bufinefsof vegetation : Another
is a more perfett tillage, by which
the number of little cavities in
the foil are increaied, fo that the
roots may come into contact
with a greater quantity of vegeta-
able food, more or lefs of which
is contained in- the fliffeft parts
of the foil : The third is apply
ing fuch manures as raife a fer
mentation in the foil, by which
its parts are well broken and di
vided, and kept in that ftate till
the fermentation ends, and for
fome time after, till the foil has
had time to fubfide.
Tillage and manure are both
requifite to pulverife the foil.
Without the former, the manure
cannot be properly mixed with
the foil ; and tillage alone will
not anfwer, not even in land con-
fiderably ilored with the food of
plants, unlefs it be of ten repeat
ed while the crop is growing :
Becaufe the foil that is only till
ed, foon fettles, and becomes too
compact ; unlefs manure be ap
plied, which will keep up a fer
mentation, fometimes for feveral
months, befides increafing the
vegetable food. Any one may
obferve, that dunged land feels
fofter to the foot, than land which
has not been dunged, when both
have had equal tillage. The form
er therefore will afford more nour-
iihment for the plants growing
in it, befides the nourifhment
contained in the dung.
Indeed there is one kind of
foil, which, inftead of being too
clofe, is too puffy and porous to
be
PEA
be a fuitable pafture for plants.
The interfaces are fo large, that
the roots will not pafs through
them. We fometimes meet
with fuch a foil in drained
fwamps. This foil mufl be
ploughed and harrowed to make
it more folid, or compact. Til
ling it helps to fill up the vacui
ties ; and in the place of one large
one, many fmaller ones are form
ed, of a fize more fuitable to facil
itate the extenfion of roots.
PEACH TREES,4mygJalus,
a well known kind ot truit trees,
of which there is yet no great va
riety in this country. Mr. Miller
reckons no Iefsthan3i forts, be -
iides a number ot lets value.
We have room for making, very
great improvements, it feems, in
the culture of this fruit. What
we call the rareripe, is almoft
the only fort I have feen, that
is worth cultivating : And this
kind, within thirty, years pafl,
fecms to have greatly degenerat
ed. , I apprehend it is time that
thefe were renewed, by bringing
the trees or itones from fome
other country.
Peach trees fli6uld be cultivat
ed near to or in the borders of
gardens. When they are propa
gated by planting the flones, they
mould be taken from fruit that
has thoroughly ripened on the
tree, and be planted in Oclober,
three inches under the furface.
The trees may alfo be propagat
ed by Jnoculatingupon plums and
apricots. This will undoubted
ly render them longer lived.
When the trees are tranfplant-
ed, the downright (hoot of the
roots fhould be pruned very
fhort, and the lateral ones be left
at a good length ; for if the trees
draw much of. their nouriQiment
irom a great depth,, the fap will
be crude, and the fruit not fo
good. As thefe trees are natives
PEA 249
of 3 warmer climate they ought
to have a fouthern expofure.
They mould alfo be fcreened
from the direct influence of north,
and northeafterly winds.
The foil that fuits them beft is
a dry light loam ; and the fur-
face mould be conflantly tilled;
and moderately manured with
old rotten dung.
If too great a quantity of
peaches appear on the trees, fo
as to crowd each other, they
Ihould be fpeedily thinned, by
taking off the pooreft : For if
they be fuffered all to remain on.
the tree, much of the fruit will
drop off unripe : What remains
will not be fo perfect, and per
haps fewer in number.
As the fruit grows not on fpurs,
but on the fhoots made in the
laft preceding year, Mr. Miller
dire6ls,that the new flioots fhould
be fhortened, by cutting them
yearly in Oftober, leaving them
from five to eightinchesinlength,
according as they are weaker or
flronger. I have praftifed this
method of cutting in October
for feveral years ; which has
caufed trees, which were before
barren, to bear fome fruit. And
I obferve that the branches of the
trees are not fo often killed by the
froftin winter. But the trees have
now become fickly and barren.
PEAR TREES, Pyrus, Pears
have a nearer affinity to quinces
than to apples : For a pear cion
will grow and profper upon a
quince flock, but not fo well upon
an apple : Arid a quince cion will
grow upon a pear flock.
The vafl variety of pears,
which are cultivated in the
world, have been obtained from
the feeds, which, like thofe of
the apple, will produce fruit
trees different from the- parent
tree. Seeds fometimes bring de
generate, and fometimes improv
ed
#50 PEA
ed fruit trees. So that, all the
beft grafted fruits have been,
fome time or other, produced by
nature itfelf : And though the
fruits vary, there is not a fpecifi-
cal difference.
Though the pear will grow
upon the quince, or even upon
the white thorn, it fhould not be
grafted on the former, unlefs it
be for dwarf trees, and in no
cafe upon the latter. The flock
of the thorn will not grow to fo
large a fize as the cion will :
The trees will therefore be top
heavy, and fhort lived, as I have
found by experience. ^There
fore it is beft in general, ttiat pears
fhould be grafted upon pears.
The propagation or pear trees
from the feeds, and the culture
of them in nurferies, do not dif
fer from the propagation and
culture of apple trees. See Nur-
Jery.
Pear trees bear -fruit to -the ends
of the laft year's moots, as well
as upon the fpurs. Therefore,
the new moots fhould not be
fhortened, left the fruit be di-
imnifhed : And, for the fame
reafon, thefe trees fhould never
ftand fo near together as to
crowd each other. But the dif-
tance at which the trees are to
be fet in an orchard, or in a grove,
depends partly upon the nature
of the trees, as fome grow larger
than others ; and partly upon
the fruitfulnefs of the foil. In
general they may be allowed to
iland nearer together than apple
trees. Thefe, as well as other
fruit trees, ihould have the
ground tilled about them, to pro
mote their growth and fruitful
nefs, at leaft until they are be
come fo large as to bear plentiful
ly, and occafionally from time to
time afterwards.
PEASE, Pifum& fort of plants
which bears a papilionaceous or
PEA
butterfly flower, fucceeded by
unocular pods full of globofc
feeds.
The varieties are fo numerous,
that I mail not undertake to dif-
tinguifh them. They are culti
vated in gardens and in fields.
The garden culture is thus : Af
ter the ground has been well
dug, raked and levelled, mark it
out in double rows one foot apart,
and leave intervals of three feet
between the double rows, fo that
when they are brufhed, there may
be a free paffage through the in
tervals. Open the trenches
three inches deep with the head
of a rake, or with a hoe ; fcatter
in the peafe at the rate of about
one to an inch, or nearer ^to
gether if you have plenty of
feed ; and then cover them with
a-rake. Or fmall marks may be
made for the rows, and the
peafe pricked in with a finger to
the fame depth, and the holes
filled* with a rake. The former
method is beft, as the mould a-
bout the peafe is left lighter ;
and it is more expeditioufly per
formed.
The ground mould He hoed,
and kept clear of weeds ; and
when the young plants are fix
inches high, the fterns fhould be
earthed up a little, and each
double row filled with brufh
wood, fo that each plant may
climb, and none of them trail
upon the ground. The brufh
fhould be fet ftrongly in the
earth, or they will not bear the
weight of the plants in windy
weather. I fet the larger bufhes
ftrongly between the rows, mak
ing the holes with a crow .bar ;
and then the frnaller bufhes in
the rows as leaders. The latter
may be fharpened a little at the
points, and pufhed in by hand.
They will be the more fruitful
for brushing or flicking, as well
as
PEA
as more Tightly, and more con
veniently gathered. But the low
dwarf kinds feldom need any lup-
porting.
Whatever be the fort, no weeds
fhould be fuftered to increafe
among them ; and the alleys
mould be hoed deep once or
twice after hrufhing. But the foil
fhould not be very rich, left the
plants run too much to haulm.
The mo ft hungry part of a gar
den anfwers well for peafe.
The earlieft forts of peafe will
fometimes be ripe in June : So
that a crop of potatoes, turnips,
; or cabbages,may be had after them,
For field .peafe, land that is
newly ploughed out of fward is
generally accounted beft ; and
land which is high and dry, and
has not been much dunged. A
light loamy foil is moft fui table
for them ; and if it abound with
flaty ftpnes it is the better. But
they will do in any dry foil. The
forts that grow large fhould have
a weaker foil ; in a ftronger foil
the fmaller forts anfwer beft.
The manures that fuit peafe beft
are mar]e and lime.
Horfe hoeing husbandry appli
ed, it it were practicable, would
greatly aflift the growth of peafe.
They fo foon begin to trail upon
the ground, that the feafon in
which this culture can be appli
ed, is extremely fhort. But ibme
have obtained very good crops in
this way. Much of the feed at
leaft might be faved.
Our farmers dp not common
ly allow a fufficient quantity of
feed for peafe, in broad oaft fow-
ing. When peafe are fowed thin,
the plants will lie upon the
ground, and perhaps rot : When
they are thick, the plants will
hold each other up, with their
tendrils, forming a continued
web ; and will have more benefit
ft' the air.
PEA
At Fryburgh and Conway, as
I am informed, the farmers fow
three bufhels on an acre, accord-
ing to the practice in England ;
and their crop, one time with an
other, is upwards of t-wenty bufli-
*els. This is certainly better for
them, than to fow one bufhel,
and reap eighteen : But he that
fows one bufhel only on an acre,
muft not expecl, one time with
another, to reap twelve.
The only infe6t that common
ly injures our peafe, is a fmall
brown bug, or fly, the egg oi:
which is depofited in them when
they are young, and the pods eafi-
ly perforated. The infecl. does
not come out of his neft, till he
is furnifhed with fliort wings.
They diminifh the peafe in which
they lodge to nearly one half,
and their leavings are fit only for
the food of fwine. The bugs,
however, will be all gone out, if
you keep them to the following
autumn. But they who eat bug
gy peafe, the winter after they arc
raifed, muft rim the venture o
eating the infecls.
If fpwn in the new plantations,
to which this bug has never been
carried, peafe are free from bugs :
For the infects do not travel far
from their native place. There
fore, care fhould be taken not to
carry them, as fome are apt to
do, in feed, from older fettle-
ments. Even in a part of an old
farm, near to which peafe have
not for a long time, if ever, been
(own, a crop of peafe are not
buggy, if clean feed be town.
Therefore, in fuch places, one
may guard again ft this infect, by
(owing peafe \yhicharecertainly
known to be clear of them. But
if the contrary be known, or even,
fufpefted, let the peafe be fcald-
ed a quarter of a minute, in boil-,
ing water ; then fpread about*
cooled, and fown without delay.
52
PEA
PEA
If any of the bugs mould be in
the peafe, this fcalding will def-
troy them : And the peafe, in-
flead of being hurt, will come
lip the fooner, and grow the
faftei.
All peafe that are fown late,
fhould be fteeped, or fcalded, be
fore lowing. They will be for
warder. But peafe mould always
be fown as early as the ground
can be got into a good tilth, with
out any filly regard* to the time
of the moon ; by which I have
known fome mifs the right time
of fowing, and fuffer much in
their crop. The real caufes
of a crop not ripening equally,
are bad feed, poor culture, and
fowing too thin. If the ground
be ploughed but once, it fhould
be harrowed abundantly. But
on green fward ground, I think
it mould be ploughed early in au
tumn, and crofs ploughed and
Jjarrowed in the fpring. In old
ground, as it is called, it is no bad
way to plough in the feed with
a fhoal furrow : It will be more
equally covered, and bear drought
better ; and I mould think, the
crop would ripen more equally.
There is no danger of their being
buried too deep, in our common
method of ploughing. The Eu
ropean farmers think fix inches
is not too great a depth for peafe
to be covered in moft foils, and
four inches not too deep in clay.
Changing the feed is a matter
of very great importance ; for
peafe are apt to degenerate more
rapidly than almoft any other
plants. Seeds ihould be brought
irom a more northern clime ; for
t'hofe which ripen earlieft are beft.
I would change them yearly, if
it could be djne without much
trouble or coft. Once in two or
three years is neceffary.
If weeds come up among field
, while they are young, they
be weeded. But whea
are grown up, they will
mould
they
hinder the growth of weeds by
their made, unlefs they are fow r
ed too thin. Peafe fown thick
form fo clofe a cover for the foil,
that they caufe it to putrefy ;
they are therefore called an im
proving crop : But they alfo
draw a greater proportion of their
nourifhment from the air, than
moil other plants ; for it is ob~
fervable that they continue their
greennefs long after the lower
parts of the fterns are dead to ap
pearance.
Garden peafe are harvefted by
picking them off as they ripen ;
but field peafe muft unavoidably
be harvefted all at once. They
mould be carefully watched, and
harvefted, before any of them are
fo ripe as to begin to (hell out.
Thofe among them which are
unripe, will ripen, or at lead be
come dry, after they are cut or
pulled up ; and fuch peafe, well
dried, are not commonly bad for
eating, though ill coloured. To
dry them, they fhouid be laid on
the ground in fmallheaps, as light
and open as poflible, the greened
of the ftraw and pods uppermoft.
The heaps mould never be turn
ed upfide down, though rain
ihould fall, but they may be gent
ly lightened up, if they fettle
clofe to the ground. This will be
fufficient. When thoroughly
dried, they mould be carefully
removed to the barn, at a time
when the air is not dry, and
tferafhed without delay. But if
the thrafbing muft be delayed, it
is better to keep them in a flack
than in a barn.
After winnowing, peafe fhould
lie on a floor, three or four inch
es thick, and air fhould be let
into the apartment, that they may
be dried ; which they will be in
two r tkree weeks, the weather-
PEA
feeing generally dry. After this
they may be put into cafks to keep.
Our common method ot pull
ing .up peafe by hand, is too la- j
borious. They fhould be cut or '
pulled up with a {harp hook in
the form of a fickle ; fattened to
a long handle. Some perform it
expeditioully with a common
fickle. But this is little, if at all,,
lefs laborious than doing it with
the hand.
When land is in fui table or
der, field peafe may be cultivated
according to the new hulbandry,
with advantage. M. Eyma
found his crops were half as large
again in this way, as in the old
hulbandry, befides faving half the
feed. The intervals between the
double rows mould be near four
feet wide, or there will not be
fufficient room for horie hoeing.
And this mould be done with, be
fore the plants begin to trail on
the ground.
PEAT, a kind of earth, or rath
er a foflil, ufed in fome countries
for fewel.
It is often found in low, mi
ry, and boggy places, that lie
between hills. That which is the
moft folid is the moft valuable.
It lies at different depths ; fome-
times, very near the furface ;
femetimes eight or ten feet below
it. The bell way to find it is by
boring. The flratum above it is
moft commonly mud, or moory
earth.
I fuppofe many places where
it is found tohave been originally
ponds ; and that they have been,
either fuddenly, at the time ot
Noah's flood, or gradually fince,
filled up with wood, and other
vegetable fubflances, which, by a
flow putrefaction, have been
changed into the fubftance we
call peat. For fome undilfolved
trunks of trees, bark, c. are
found among it.
PEA 253
It is fometimes found in inter
val lands, and near to the banks
of rivers. In thefe places, the
{hitting of the beds of rivers, cauf-
ed by the choking of the old cur
rents, will afford a probable ac
count of its formation.
Peat is diftinguifhable by its
cutting very fmooth, like butter
or lard, by its being free from
grit, and its burning freely, when
thoroughly dried. It will not
diffolve when expofed to the air
tor a long time, but become hard
like cinder.
A dry feafon is thebeft oppor
tunity for digging it, as the la
bourers are but little incommoded
by water. They who dig peat for
fewel, mould have long angular
fpades, the blades of which mould
be lhaped like a carpenter's bur,
with which it may be eafily cut
put of the pits, in pieces four
inch.es fquare, and twenty inches
in length. Thefe fhould be laid
fmgly on the furface to harden.
When they are partly dry they
are piled open, athwart each
other : And in a few days of dry
ing weather, they will be fit^ to
cart, and {lore for fewel. This
fewel muflbeconftantly kept in
a dry place.
It has been found by trials that
the afhes of peat is a very impor
tant manure, of three times the
value of wood afhes. Fifteen
bufhels are allowed to be a fuf
ficient top drefling for an acre.
It is an excellent manure for cold
grafs lands ; and for all fuch crops
in any foil as require much
heat. They mould be fowed by
hand, as they can thus be more
evenly fpread. It may be done
in winter with the leaft dan
ger of hurting plants by its
heat. If fown in fummer, it
fhould be juft before rain, when
it will be immediately deprived
of its burning quality.
The
PEA
The method of burning peat
to allies, I will give from the Mu-
Jeum Rujticum, as I have had no
experience in it myfelf.
" As foon as it is dug, fome
of it is mixed in a. heap regular
ly difpofed with faggot wood, or
other ready burning fewel : Af
ter a layer or two of it is mixed
in this manner, peat alone is pil
ed up to complete the heap. A
heap-will confiil of from one
? hundred to a thoufand loads.
" After letting fire to it at a
proper place, before on purpofe
prepared,it is watched in the burn
ing : And the great art is to keep
in as much of the {moke as poi-
fible, provided that as much vent
is left as will nourifh and feed
the fire.
" Whenever a crack appears,
out of which the fmoke efcapes,
the labourer in that place lays on
snore peat ; and if the fire flack-
ens too much within, which may
be known by the heat of the out-
fide, the workman muft run a
ilrong pole into the heap, in as
many places as is needful, to Rip
ply it with a quantity of frefli
air. Whenmanaged in this man
ner, the work goes on as it mould
do. It is noticed, that when once
the fire is well kindled, the heav-
ieft rain does it no harm whilftit
is burning." To preferve the
afhes for ufe, this writer proceeds
'thus :
... " It is neceffary to defend the
afhes from the too powerful in
fluence of the fun, arr, dews, rain,
&c. or great part of their virtue
would be exhaled and exhaufted,
If the quantity of afhes procured
is not very gre'at, they may be
eafily put under cover in a barn,
cart lodge, or hovel ; but large
quantities muft neceffarily, to
avoid expenfe, be kept abroad ;
and when this is the cafe, they
Should be ordered as follows :
PEA
" A dry fpot of ground muft
be chofen ; and on this the allies
are to be laid in a large heap, as
near as poflTible in the form of a
cone Handing on its bafe, the top
as {harp pointed as poflible :
When this is done, let the whole
be covered thinly over with a
coat of foil, to defend the heap
from the weather : The cir
cumjacent earth, provided it is
not too light and crumbly.
" When thus guarded, the
heap may very fafely be left till
January or February, when it is
in general the feafon for fpread-
ing it. But before it is ufed, it is
always beft to fift the afties, &c.' !
Mr. Eliot fuppofeditwas nec-
eflary to dry the peat before
burning : But perhaps he never
tried the above method. He
fays, if it be ftifled in burning, it
will be coal inftead of alhes ;
and that the red fort makes bet
ter charcoal than that made of
wood.
It is happy for mankind, that
bountiful Providence has prepar
ed and preferved this precious
treafure, containing the effence ot
vegetables, by which they may
be fupplied with fewel in their
houfes, manure for their lands,
and coal for fmiths' forges. But
in vain itis -provided, unlefs men
will fearch for it, and make ufe
of it. There is no reafon to
doubt of its being as plenty iu
this country, as in any other.
When Mr. Eliot fearched for it,
he tells us he foon found it ii*
feven different places.
The afhes are fajd to have a
better effecl; upon winter,than up
on Runnier grain ; and to be not
good for leguminous plants, as it
makes their haulm too luxuriant.
The good effefts of a drefiiog are
vifible for three years ; and they
will not leave land in an impov-
erifhed {late.
PEN,
PER
PEN, a fmall enclofure, to
Confine animals in.
PERKIN, or PURRE, a liq
uor made from the murk, or grots
ipiatter, remaining after perry is
preffed out. It has the fame affini
ty to perry as cyderkin has to cy
der. To make this liquor,the murk
is put in a large vat with a proper
quantity of boiled water, which has
itood till it is cold again. It may
infufe 48 hours if the weather be
cool, and then be preffed out.
The liqour may be put into cafks
and lightly flopped, and will be
fit to drink, in a few days. It is
oqual to fmall beer : But if well
boiled with hops, it will be fit
for keeping till the following
fummer. And it may be great
ly improved by bottling.
PERRY, a liquor made from
pears, in the fame manner as cy
der is from apples. The pears
fhould, in general, be ripe before
they are ground. They will not
bear fo much fweating as apples.
The mofl crabbed and worfl eat
ing fruit, is faid to make the befl
perry. After perry is made it
fhould be managed in all refpefts
Hke cyder. Boiling has a good
effecl; on perry, changing it
from a white to a flame coloured
and fine flavoured liquor, which
grows better by long keeping
and bottling.
PERSPIRATION of
PLANTS, the palling off of the
juices that are fuperfluous, through
pores prepared by nature on
their fuperficies for that purpofe.
The analogy which plants
bear to animals, is in no inflance
more remarkable than in this e-
vacuation. The parts of a plant
which contain the excretory
duels, are chiefly the leaves. For
\ve find, that if a tree be contin
ually deprived of its leaves for
two or three years, it will ficken
and die, as an animal does when
PER 255
its perfpiratio^ is flopped. But
fmear the bark on the Hems with
any glutinous fubftance fuffi-
cient to flop any pores, and no>
great alteration will be obferved
in the health of the tree, as has
been proved by experiment. And
as M. Bonnet has proved that
leaves generally imbibe the moif-
ture of the atmofphere on their un
der furface, is it not reafonable to
fuppofe that the pores for tranf-
piration are placed on their up
per furface ? But that the flems
of plants contain fome bibulous
pores, feems evident from this,
that when placed in the earth,
they will fend out roots, But
thefe pores in the flems are fo
few, that the flopping of them
does not materially injure a
plant.
As animals have other ways of
throwing off thofe parts of their
food which are not fit to nourifh
them, it is no wonder that plants
have been found to perfpire in-
fenfibly a far greater quantity
than animals. Plants cannoe
choofe their food as animals do r
but mull take in that which is>
prefented by the earth and atmof
phere, which food in general is
more watery, and lefs nourilh-
ing, than that of animals ; and
lor thefe reafons, alfo, it might be
juflly expetled, that the matter
perfpired by a plant mould be
vaflly more than that perfpired
by an animal of the fame bulk ;
and this has been found to be the
cafe. See the- article Leaves.
A practical inference or two
from the copious perfpiration of
plants may be, that the plants
we cultivate fhould not be fet
too clofe, that they may not
be incommoded, or rendered
fickly, by the unwholefomc
fleams of each other. They are
as liable to be injured this way,
for ought that appears to the
contrary,
256 FLA
contrary, as animals are. And
the water that drips from trees
upon fmaller vegetables is known
to be not healthy for them ; the
reafon is, becaufe this water con
tains fome of the matter which
perfpired from the trees. But
if the perfpirable matter of plants
be injurious to plants, it does
not follow that it is fo to animals.
It is thought to be not fo in gen
eral, but the reverfe. The efflu
vium of poifonous plants is an
exception.
PLANT, an organical body,
deflitute of fenfation and fponta-
neous motion, adhering to an
other body fo as to draw its
nourishment from it, and 'propa
gating itfelf by feeds.
This name comprehends every
thing that exifts in the vegeta
ble kingdom of nature, from the
lofty cedar of Lebanon to the
minuted mofs.
Plants by their want of fenfi-
bility, and their fixed pofition,
are inferiour to, and diftinguifh-
ed from the animal part of cre
ation ; alfo, by their organiza
tion, and power of reproduc
tion, they are fuperiour to and
diftinft from the kingdom of
fo fills and minerals. They hold
the middle rank in the vifible
works of the Almighty Creator ;
and are conilructed with fuch
admirable wifdom, as to be fit to
fhew forth his praife.
The external and mofl obvi
ous parts of plants are the root,
item, branches, leaves and flow
ers.
The root, by which a plant is
connected with the earth, con
tains a vail multitude of abforb-
ent pores, through which it un
doubtedly receives the greater
part of its nourimment.
But the internaj ftruftmre of
plants, though perhaps far more
fimple than that of animalSj Teems
FLA
not yet to have been thoroughly
irivefligated
Dr. Hill's fyftem of the anat
omy of plants, as reprefented
by Dr. Hunter, in the Georgia
cal Effays, I will lay before the
reader, as concifelyas poffible.
" The conftituent parts of a
plant are, i. The outer rind. 2.
The inner rirrd. 3. The blea.
4. A vafcular feries. 5. A fleihy
lubftance, or the wood in a tree
or fhrub. 6. Pyrarnidical veffels
included in the flefh. And 7.
The pith.
" The fmallefl fibre of the root,-
and the fmallefl; twig in the top,
have all thefe parts ; and no part
oi the tree has more. Even the
flower is made of the extremi
ties of thefe parts. The outer
bark ends in the cup of the flow-
er ; the inner rind in the outer"
petals ; the blea in the inner pe
tals. The vafcular feries ends
in the neclarium ; the pyramid-
ical veffels form the receptacle,-
and the pith furnifhes the feeds,
" The outer bark is made up.
of membranes with a feries of
veffels between them, which
veifels inofculate with thofe of
the inner bark, to which they
communicate part of their juices.
' The innef bark is made of
regular flakes, each of which
confifts of two membranes, in-
cloiing a feries of veffels which
communicate with thofe of the
blea.
" The blea lies next to the in
ner bark, and is made up of hex
agonal cells ; and in angles form
ed by thefe cells are the veffels
of the blea, which pour their
contents into the cells. Thefe
cells feem to be refervoirs for the
water imbibed by the plant."
Out of the contents of thefe cells
I fuppoie a new circle of flefh
or wood in perennial plants to
be annually formed,
? L A
*Next to the blea lies the vaf-
ular feries, a courfe of veffels
lodged between two membranes.
Thefe veffels have a free com-
fcmnication with the blea, and the
wood.
" The wood, or flefhy part, is
made up of flrong fibres, in
which may be feen the tracheae,
filled with elafHck air.
" The pyramidical veffels are
fpread through the fubftance of
the flefhj and as they advance up
wards their ramifications inofcu-
late, fo as to prevent obftruclions
of the fap iri its courfe. The
fides of tnefe veffels are always
in contact with the tracheae ; and
they alfo communicate with the
pith ; which is found in the cen
tre of all plants, but not always
regularly continued ; therefore
it is not thought to be abfolutely
neceffary to vegetation. It re
ceives a fluid from the pyramid
ical veffels, and is thought to be
a refervoir of part of the fap. It
is found in the ribs of leaves, and
funs to the ovarium."
Doubtlefs there are alfp vari
ous flrainers, by which different
juices are affimilated to the na
ture of the plants ; and by which
juices in the fame plant are pre
pared for feveral purpofes ; for
the leaves, the fruit and the feeds
contain different juices. The
fhorteft cion muft be fuppofed to
contain fome of thefe {trainers ;
otherwife it would not produce
its own proper fruit, but that of
the flock on which it is grafted.
Many forts of plants may be
made to vegetate in an inverted
ftate ; a proof that the different
parts of a plant are nearly of the
fame flrufture. It alfo fhews
that the leaves are adapted to take
in nourilhmentas well as the roots.
PLASTER of PARIS, or
GYPSUMo " The plafter of
;Paris is a preparation of feveral
? L A sy
fpecies of gypfums, dug near
Mount Maitre, a village in the
neighbourhood of Paris; whence
the name.
4 The beft fort is hard, white,
fhining and marbly ; known by
the name of Plaflerjtone, or Par
get of Mount Maitre. It will
neither give fire with fteel, nor
ferment with aquafortis, but very
freely and readily calcines in the
fire into a very fine plafter ; the
ufe of which in building and
cafting ftatues is well known*".
DiEl. of Arts.
When this fubftanee is reduc
ed to powder, without burning, a
moderate degree of heat will
make it boil like milk, and ap
pear like a fluid. But it cannot
be made to boil more than fif
teen or twenty minutes. Whence
I conclude it contains a large
quantity of fixed air, which is
difcharged in boiling. After
(landing a few days the fixed air
will be reftored, and it will boil in
the fame manner as before.
It was not till of late that it
has been known as a manure.
The Pennfylvanians have im
ported it from France, as I am
informed, and find it a great ad
vantage to their crops. They re
duce i*to a fine powder in mills
for that purpofe, before they ap
ply it to the foil. Several (hip
loads have been carried from
Novafcotia to Philadelphia ; but
this is not found to be fo good 21
manure as the French gypfum.
Five or fix bufhels are faid to
be a dreffing for an acre ; I have
never heard of more than fix
bulTieis being laid on an acre. It
is ufed as a top dreffing on grafs
land ; but mixed with the foil in
tillage, when the crops arc hoed*
which is unavoidable.
When it is fowed upon wheat
and other grain, while it is grow
ing, it has asgoodaaeflfeft as the
Urgei*;
5 ' P L O
largeft dreffing of the beft dung.
It mould be finely pulverifed af
ter being burnt in a moderate
fire, and fowed in May, as evenly
as poffible. Cloudy or dull wea
ther is accounted beft for doing
it. The good effect of one dref
fing, it is faid, will continue
feven years.
It is dbubtlefs a great abforbent
and afts like quicklime, or like
powder of marble, inm-ending the
foil. But in Novafcotia, where
it is found, I am told it does not
appear to have any great eflfecl:
as a manure. This m#y be
owing to the want of being fuffi-
ciently pulverifed. Or it may
$o better in a hot than in a cold-
climate.
PJfrAT, a fmall piece of grou-nd.
PLOUGH, a machine with
which the ground is turned up
and broken. It is the moft im
portant of all the tools ufed in
nufbandry : And much of the
comfort of th labourer, as well
as the profit of the farmer, de
pends upon the good ftru&ure of
it.
The plough was fo early in
vented, that mention is made of
it in fome of the moft ancient
books, both facred and p^>fane.
Numbers of them, however, have
been fo badly conftrucled as to
be of little advantage*
Omitting what has been faid
f the various kinds of ploughs, I
perfectly agree with the writer
of the New Syjlem of Agricul
ture, that two ploughs are all
that are requifite in the com
mon culture of land, a ftrong
one and a light one. The ftrong
plough is neceffary in foils that
are ftrongly fwarded, or very
ftiff; or filled with ftrong roots,
ftony, or rugged ; in all other
foils the light plough, or that
which is commonly called the
feorfe plough, will e fufficient.
P L O
**The ftrong plough, which
fhould always be made of the
ftrongeft of white oak, mould
not be heavier than is neceflary
for ftrength. One of the han
dles fhould be framed into the
chip, and the beam into the han
dle ; the other handle muft be
made fail to the groundwreft
and mouldboard ; and the handles
ihould be fo long, that the plough
may be guided by them with
out much exertion of ftrength.
Otherwife the ploughman will
find his labour to be very fatiguing.
The fliare fhoukl, be made of
tough iron, well fteeled and
fharpened on the point and wing,
and rightly tempered.
The coulter (hould alfo be
fteeled on the edge, and be fre
quently made (harp by grinding,
when ufed in fwarded ground
that is not ftony. This will render
the draught the more eafy, efpe-
cially . where there are ftrong
roots in the foil, which muft be
cut off by the coulter. The
plough will not only be the
more eafily drawn and lefs apt
to choke with roots and rubbifh ;
but will cut the furrow more
evenly. The coulter mould be
inferted into the fhare fix- inches,
at leaft, from the point, for land
that has no impenetrable roots ;
but where fuch roots abound, the
point of the fhare mould be in-
ferted into the back of the coul
ter, very near to the bottom.
The coulter fhould always lean
backwards between the fhare
and the beam ; and be bent un
der the beam, fo as to pafs
through it at right angles.
Every one knows that the
chip and the groundwreft fhould
be plated with iron, on two of
their fides. Otherwife they will
foon wear away.
In fome parts of this country,
ploughs are tolerably well con-
tatted i
? L O
flru&ed ; in other parts, fo badly,
.as to occafion the lofs of much
time and labour. But for thofe
ilrong ploughs, which are ac
counted the beft, I would fug-
geft two or three improvements.
One is, that the fock, or fock-
et of the (hare, mould be fo made
as to receive a chip five inches
thick, or deep, and that the chip
be anfwerably thick at the tore
end, where it enters the fock,
and the fock mould be large e-
nough to receive it, By means
of this conftruftion the furrow
begins to cant as foon as it is cut
through by the coulter. There
fore the mouldboard takes it aU
ready turning, fo that it meets
with but little refiftance ; confe-
<juently it requires lefs ftrength
of team, by half, as fome . fay,
to draw the plough. The la
bour of the ploughman^ is alfo
diminifhed, as the plough is
more eafy in its going. The late
Robert Pier point, Efq. of Roxbu-
ry, was polleffe.d of a plough of
this make, the original of which
came not long nnce from En
gland. His family will doubt-
lefs be ready to oblige any perfon.
with a view of it.
That gentleman once told me,
that with his plougii he had brok
en up the hardeft green fward
ground, with only a yoke of
ileers four years old to draw it.
Another improvement that I
would fuggeft, is, to have an iron
plate rightly fhaped, inftead of
a mouldboard ; either riveted to
the mare, or a continuation of it,
Every ploughman knows, that
the greateft part of the trouble of
his work arifes from the furring
up and clogging of the plough
by the earth's cleaving to it, and
particularly to the mouldboard.
And it is plain that this not only
hurts the regular going of a
plough, but makes it harder to
P L O
draw, and caufes it to have the
lefs effect in turning and pulver-
ifing the foil.
But a plate of iron, in place of
the mouldboard, would always
be fmooth and bright, and glide
eafily through the foil in fward-
ed ground ; and the plough
would be far more eafily manag
ed. It is the opinion of the above
mentioned writer, that with a
plough of this kind, rightly con-
itruded, there can never be need
of more than one yoke of oxen
to plough in the hardeft foil. If
two yoke would be fufficient for
our hardeft land in this country,
much would be faved by fuch a
plough. And of this I think
there is little reafon to doubt.
I will juft mention one thing
more, which fome will allow to
be a confiderable improvement.
Inftead of wheels to a plough,
which are now generally repro
bated, let a little roller be fixed
to the fore end of the beam, in
fuch a manner as to move upon
the furface. It ihould be four
or five inches in diameter, and as
much in length, and be connect
ed with the beam, by an iron
rightly fhaped for the purpofe*
which can be eafily put on
and off at pleafure. It is to be
ufed only in ploughing green
fward ground, and fuch as is
pretty level, and clear of obfta-
cles. It gauges the plough, fo
as to prevent its going too
deep ; and it compreffes the
furface, fo that the coulter cuts '
it more evenly. Befides, it is
'manifeft that this will eafe the
ploughman of part of his labour.
But whether this be thought
of importance enough to be at
tended to or not, the iron plate
for a mouldboard, I think, can
admit of no doubt concerning
its utility. The coft of it will
be the only objection ; but thiv
u
P L O
is of no weight. The extra
coft will certainly be fayed in
the work of a few days ; as the
plough may be drawn with a
weaker team ; turn over the foil
more completely ; and perhaps
fave the hiring of a man to tend
>the plough and turn turfs. It
fhould be remembered that a
*wooden mouldboard ought to be
plated ; which, if well done, may
coft half as much as an iron
mouldboard ; and will much
fooner come to need repairing.
Tne bloomers who make what
are called fliare moufds, fhould
draw the plate about four feet
long ; the hinder part, which is
to be for the mouldboard, not
* inore than one fourth or fifth of
an inch thick j the part that is
for the ftyre, of the ufual thick-
nefs. With fuch a piece of iron
any ingenious fmith can make
the fhare and mouldboard in one
piece.
The light plough may be made
<very way like the former, but
fmaller ; but a roller to this
plough is not requifite ; and a
wooden mouldboard will'anfwer ?
if properly plated with iron.
As the handles of ploughs
mould be crooked, efpecially at
the outer, ends, a fmall fladle
quartered, together with a part
of the root, is the l>eft timber
that I know of for this purpofe.
While they are green they may
be foaked in hot water and bent
into the right fhape. If dried in
this fhape, they will always re
tain it, though ever fo much af
terwards expofed to the weather.
PLOUGHING, the operation
of turning, breaking and loofen-
ing the earth with a plough.
Lands in general that are ufed
in tillage muft be ploughed, if
therebe not intolerable obftacles,
or great difficulties in the way to
prevent it. Breaking up ground
P L O
with the fpade, or the hoe, it
tedious and expenfive, in com-
parifon with ploughing ; fo that
t fmall quantities of land could
3e employed in tillage, were it
not for the important art of
ploughing.
One rule to be regarded in
ploughing is, that no land, except
ing green fward, fhould be
ploughed when it is fo wet that
it will not eafily crumble. For
the principal defign of ploughing
is to break the cohefion of the
foil, and fet the particles of it at
fuch a diftance from each other,
that even the fmalleft and tender-
eft roots of plants may find their
way between them in queft of
their nourifhment.
When, in ploughing, of land in
tillage, the furrow turns over
like a dead mafs of mortar,
ploughing can be of no advan
tage at all. The foil becomes no
lighter or loofer by it, but rather
heavier, and more compact. On
tlie contrary, land mould not be
ploughed when it is too dry ; be-
caufe it requires the more ftrength
of team to perform it, nor can
the furrows be fo well turned
over.
The plough fhould be ufed
much more than it is in this coun
try. When a crop of barley or
wheat is defigned, the ground
fhould, at leaft, be thrice plougla-
ed ; for a crop of Indian corn,
twice is not too much. The ex
tra ex penfe will be repaid by the
increafed crops. The advantages
of frequent ploughing have not
been duly confidered. By often
repeated ploughings, land may
be brought to any degree of rich-
nefs almpft that is defired. Fre
quent ploughings are deftru&ive
to weeds, and fave mucji labour
in hand hoeing and weeding ;
befides making a greater quanti
ty of pafture for plants. preparing
tke
1 L O
fhe vegetable food the better to
enter the roots of plants, and dif-
pofing the foil to imbibe the rich
and fertilizing particles of the at-
mofphere.
As it is known that repeated
ploughings fupply the place of
manure; where manure is fcarce, '
farmers have need to plough the
more frequently. Mr. Tull \vas
of opinion tbat it was a .cheaper
method to enrich land by plough
ing than by manuring. In fome
fituations it undoubtedly is fo. But
it is beft that land mould have
enough of both, when it is prac
ticable.
And the more to promote the
fertilization of the foil by plough
ing, let the farmer plough as much
of his ground as poffible while
the dew is on it, becaufe dew
contains much nouriihment for
plants. The early rifer has the
advantage of his fluggifh neigh
bour; not only in ploughing^
but alfoin harrowingand hoeing,
to greater advantage.
When land is to be ploughed
that is full of flumps of trees and
other obftacles, as land that is
newly cleared of wood, or that
is rocky, the ftrong plough mould
be ufed ; and the flrength of the
team muftbe proportioned to the
flrength of the plough ; and the
plough to the condition of the
foil.
It is fometimes advifable, to
cut off clofe to the bodies of
ftumps,before'ploughing,the hor
izontal roots which lie near the
furface ; efpecially if there be no
{tones, nor gravel in the way, to
hurt the edge of an axe. When
this is done, the ilrong plough
will be apt" to take out the moft
of the roots fo parted. And the
frofts of a few winters will be the
more likely to heave out the
flumps, or fo to loofen them that
li&ey j$ay be eafily removed, I
r L o
'hare conquered the flumps of
white pine in this manner,; but
flumps which rot very foon it is
not of fuch importance to man
age in this way.
The plough muft go deeper in
breaking up new ground, than
old. Otherwise the little hollows
will go unploughed ; and there
will not be mould enough raifed
in the hillocks to level the fur-
face, and leave fufficient depth
for the roots ,of plants to extend
ihemfelves,
The )aft of fummer, or the be
ginning of autumn, is the right
feafon for ploughing new ground.
For itwill be beft to harrow^ and
crofs plough it, before it is feed-
ed, that the foil may be thorough
ly mixed and pulverifed* There
fore, the firft ploughing mould be
performed fo long beforehand,
that before the fecond, the turfs
may ferment and become partly
rotten. But this is not to be ex-
pe6led, if the ground be plough
ed late in the fall ; becaufe the
fun, at that late feafon, will not
warm the ground enough to bring
on any fermentation before the
following fpring, when the
ground is to be fowed. For falj
lowing, the ground mould be
broken up ftill earlier ; either in
fpring or fummer will do very
well, if time can befpared for it.
But it is beft that the moft or
all of our tillage land mould be
ploughed in autumn, both in new
and old ground. It jfaves time
and labour i n the following fpring,
the hurrying feafon, when more
work is to be done than we can well
get time for ; and when our teams
are ufually much weaker than
they are in the fall. But land
ploughed in the fall muft be a-
gain ploughed in the fpring ; and
a weaker team will perform it for
its having been ploughed in au-
HUBIJ. la very light old ground
P L O
a fmgje horfe may perform it ;
and two ploughings are better
than one in moil cafes.
Green fward land may be
ploughed at any feafon of the
year, if it be not too dry, nor too
much frozen. In the former
cafe the plough will go very
Iiard ; in the latter ploughing is
im practicable, which is the cafe
for four months together, com
monly^ from the firft of Decem
ber to the laft of March.
Farmers generally choofe to
plough green fward ground
when it is pretty wet, if it be not
miry ; becaufe the labour is
more eafy for man and beaft.
The Englifh farmers pratife
ploughing green fward in Janu
ary, not only becaufe they have
leifure, but becaufe it is fo wet
as to plough eafily. They call
it ploughing in lays ; and it is
faid to be well performed, when
the fward is all completely turn
ed over, without lapping one fur
row on another. The depth
that the plough mould go is- a
matter that ought to be attended
to. The depth mould be gov
erned in fome meafure by the
fiaple^of the foil. Where the
foil is deep,deep ploughing is beft.
See Pafture of Plants.
But where the foil is very thin,
fhoal ploughing is neceffary ; for
it the plough turn up much of
the under ftratum, and mix it
iviththefoil,itwillberatherhurt-
ful, at leaft for fome years after.
Land ihould always be plough
ed out of fward with a deeper
furrow than will be neceffary af
terwards, through the whole
courfe of tillage. All the after
ploughings will be the more eafi
ly performed*
^ Mr. Young, by attending par
ticularly to the depth of plough
ing in various towns in England,
found that the average depth in
P L O
fandy foils was four inches, ia
loamy foils four and three quar
ters, and in clayey foils three and
an half. But in Ireland they
plough much deeper ; fometirnes
not lefs than nine or ten inches.
Our farmers are fometimes led
to plough too fhallow, to fave a
little labour. And fome are too
much afraid to turn up what
they call dead earth. But they
fhould know that all the foil a-
bove the hard pan may be well
employed in tillage, for fome
crops or other ; and that if they
turn up a red foil, it will in a
year or two become dark, and fit
to nourifh plants, by being expof-
ed to the fun and the weather,
and imbibing rich particles from
the atmofphere.
Trench, ploughing is fome
times praciifed to advantage ; and
the culture of fome plants with
tap roots requires it. This is
done by paffing a plough twice
in a furrow. Ground may be
thus ploughed to the depth o.i
twelve or fifteen inches. But,
inftead of this double labour oi
the plough, where labourers are
plenty, the furrows may be deep-
ened with movels, by a number
of hands following the plough.
In old countries, where lands
have been tilled for a thoufand
years, and have b^en frequently
manured, the rich black foil has
been growing deeper and deep
er. So that jtrench ploughing by
this time may be very proper in
many of their fields ; and even
neceffary to bring up the ftrength
of manures, which has fubfided
to a greater depth than common
ploughing reaches.
But there is only a fmaU ^pro
portion of our land in this coun
try, to which trench ploughing
is fuitable, or which will well
pay the cpft of it. In mo ft
of our foils, even where the
P L O
liard under ftratum, or pan, lies
deep, trench ploughing would
throw up fo much cold hungry
earth, and bury the upper mould
fo deep, as to render the land
very barren at firft. The places
where it would anfwer beft, are
hollows, into which much vege
table mould has been waflied
down from the neighbouring
heights, which has a black moory
foil to a great depth ; and fuch
fpots as have been ufed as gar
dens, and have been often dug
with the fpade.
If labour of men and teams
were as cheap as it is in fome
countries, it would be advifable,
to give more of our deepeft foils
this culture than we do at pref-
ent. But wherever it is once
begun, it fhould be continued, at
leaft through 7 a coarfe of tillage ;
or elfe the firft ploughings will
be worfe than loft. The beft of
the foil would be buried at fuch
a depth as to become almoft ufe-
lels, unlefs it were alternately
brought near the furface, by af
ter ploughings equally deep.
Regard fhould be had to the
fhape of the land in ploughing.
They who plough a fteep hill up
and down injure their cattle, and
rnifs of ploughing their land to
advantage. The furrow that is
drawn up hill muft be exceffive-
iy moal ; or the team much
ilronger than common. For this
reafon a hill mould be ploughed
horizontally ; with furrows as
nearly parallel to the bafe as pof-
fible. This may be ealily done
when all the fides of a hill are to
be ploughed at once. The rains
will carry much of the fineft of
the foil to the bottom of the hill,
if the furrows are made up and
down. But ploughed the other
way, thehentings, or parting fur
rows, -frill be fufficient drains ;
and the water will move fo flow-
? L O a%
ly in them, that none of the foil
will be waflied away. But when
a hill is very fteep, no turning of
a furroV upwards fhould be at
tempted. And if only one fide
of a fteep hill is to be ploughed,
the furrows mould be all cut the
fame way, the team returning
light after each furrow.
The reader will perceive, that
what is commonly called crofs
ploughing on hills' fides is not
approved. But crofs ploughing
of land that is level, or gently
Hoping, is oftentimes very prop
er. Land in general fhould be
ploughed one way and the other
alternately, that it may be the
more thoroughly pulverifed and
mixed ; that is, when the fhape
of the ground and the dimen-
fions of a lot admit of it.
Green fward ground, that is
broken up in the fall, is ufually
crofs ploughed in the fpring fol
lowing. But this mould not be
done without caution. For if
the turf be not confiderably rot
ted, crofs ploughing will only
drive it into heaps, inftead of
cutting it to pieces : Neither
will the harrow reduce the turf
to powder. In this cafe it will
be belt to omit the crofs plough
ing : And after a heavy harrow
ing lengthwife of the furrows,
feed the land with peafe, pota
toes, maize, or any thing that
will do well with fuch culture.
Some plough green fward in
the fpring and feed it without
delay. It fometimes does well
for maize, oats, and flax, if well
dunged ; or for peafe and pota
toes without much dunging..
Potatoes feem to do better than
any thing elfe. But the holes
muft be made quite through the
furrows, whether dunged or not.
As this crop requires the greateft
part of its nourifhment in the lat
ter part of fumraer, about that
P L O
time the turf comes to be in fts
beft ftate for yielding nourifh-
inent to plants.
For a crop of winter wheat the
tillage ground fhould be plough
ed in the fpring, again in Ji^ne,
and laftly juft before fowingv
Whatever manure be put on, it
ihould be juft before the laft
ploughing, and ploughed in im
mediately. If the grain be
ploughed in with a fhoal furrow,
it will not be fo apt to be killed
by the winter. The roots will
lie deeper than thofe of harrow
ed grain ; and it will the better
bear drought in the following
fummer, it that mould happen.
For other feeding in general,
or for whatever is planted or
fown in the fpring, on what we
call old ground, it mould be
ploughed near the time of feed
ing, although it were ploughed
in the fall ; and the nearer to the
time of feeding the better. The
feeds will be the better iupplied
, with moifture to make them veg
etate ; and the crop will have
the better chance of being able
to outgrow and ftifle the weeds,
arid have the benefit of a loofer
foil, during the whole of its
growth. Thefe autumnal plough-
ings, I have found to be greatly
advantageous, efpecially in clays,
and in ftiff loams.
Many, to fave labour, plough
their land fo {hallow for fowing,
as fcarcely to take up the roots
of the weeds. Men of common
underftanding, I fhould fuppofe,
need not be told that this is bad
hulbandry : For it may rational
ly be expefted that there will be
a larger crop of weeds, than if it
had not been ploughed at all ; j
and that the roots of the plants j
will not have fufficient room to j
extend themfelves. Ploughing j
the ground in autumn will have I
<a tendency to prevent this moft j
FLO
abfurd conduft in the fpringV
which, many go into that they
may favour their teams in a faint
fealon.
That feed may be fown as ear
ly as poffible, many are led to
give the feed furrow before the
ground is fufficiently dry. If the
crop mould be a little earlier, it
will be the poorer. It will be
flower in coming up ; more of
the feeds will fail ; the blade will
be moreflender; nor will it grow
fo.faft as if it were fowed later,
when the ground is warmer.
Sometimes it will not grow at all
for a long time, but become fo
ftinted, that a crop muft be def-
paired of. No pra6tice can be
worfe than to give the feed fur
row in ftifffoils, before the ground
is fufficiently dried.
Land that is low and flat, and
therefore apt to be too wet and
heavy, ought to be ploughed in
ridges. The ridges may have
two, three or four furrows on
each fide, according as ,the ground
is wetter or drier. The wetteft
ground mould have the narroweft
ridges ; but they mould never be
narrower than four furrows in a
ridge. The rows will bebetween
four and five feet apart, if one
row of plants be fet on each ridge.
But if there be fix or eight fur
rows in a ridge, it may admit of
two rows, one on each fide of the
veering.
After lying in ridges through
the winter, the ridges {hould be
thrown into the hollows by an
other ploughing in the fpring ;
which will bring it into good or
der for feeding.
Or if it {hould be too miry to
be ploughed in the fpring, either
maize or potatoes may be planted
on the ridges ; and what is want
ing of the proper tillage, may be
made up after the ground is be
come drier, by frequent and deep
1* L O
norfe hpeings. Good craps f
maize have been obtained in this
method on land, which, with
plain ploughing, would have pro
duced next to nothing.
Molt of our clay (oils, which
lie level, require this fort ot cul
ture ; for this more than any oth
er foil is liable to be injured by
overmuch wetnefs. And the
drier it lies the weaker will be
the cohefion of its parts.
Some foils which lie gently
doping are fo wet as to need ridg
ing. It is not beft to make the
ridges diretly up and down the
flope, nor horizontally, but on a
medium between both. But
where the land will admit of it,
the ridges fhould lie north and
fouth. It is no bad pra6Hce to
Jay lands to grafs in ridges or beds.
For too much wetnefs is apt to
hurt grafs lands, as well as lands
for tillage, whether they are ufed
for mowing or paflurage. In the
former, the grafs will be too four
to make a good hay ; in the lat
ter, not only the grafs will be bad,
but the foil fo fott as not well to
bear the tread of cattle. I have
found that not only better grafs,
but a greater quantity, will be
produced in this method. Nor
will the foil fo foon become
hard and bound.
Nor is it a bad practice to fplit
the hills with the light plough in
autumn, after a crop ot maize ;
even though the ground be not
feeded till the following fpring.
One fide of a row of hi 11s is plough
ed off with one furrow, and the
other fide ploughed off the con
trary way by another furrow, fo
as to form veerings, or ridges, in
the intervals. It is performed
with lefs than halt the expenfe
ot a plain ploughing ; and near
ly the whole ot the furtace is
either taken up or covered. Eu-
ropeaa writers think land fhould
I i
P L U
be ploughed immediately after a
crop of maize, to prevent the
ftubs trom robbing the foil of its
juices. Be this as it may, the
ploughing is at leaft as ufeful as
other autumnal ploughing ; and
where dung has been put in holes,
it mixes it with the foil ; not to
mention the burying of fome of
the flubs and leaves of the corn,
which is of fome advantage to
wards enriching the foil.
There is another way of
ploughing called ribbing; which
is making furrows unconnected
with each other, three feet or
more afunder. It is but about a
fourth part fo much work as
ploughing plain. One very con-
(iderable advantage of it is, in-
creafing the fuperficies of the foil,
by which it is more expofed to
the aHon of froft, air, and dews,
and abforbs the largeft quantity
of nutritive particles.
In tillage land that is fteep,
ribbing is a further benefit to the
foil, as it prevents the wafhing
down of the vegetable mould,
and the ftrength of manures.
With this view the operation
mould be performed in autumn.
And the plough mufl pafs hori
zontally, or nearly fo, not up and
down the fteep.
In paftures or grazing land, de
clivities would produce the more
grafs, if they were ribbed ; as the
benefit of fudden rains would not
fo foon be over, by means of their
quickly running down into the
vallies. At the fame time, the
vailies would not fo often be
overcharged with water. Furrows
eight or ten feet apart would an-
fwer, and the ribbing would not
want to be repeated tor a long
time. The furrows fhould be as
nearly horizontal as poffible, as
well as in tillage land.
PLUM TREES,Prwj, ftone
fruit trees, which produce their
fruit
P O L
fruit upon fpurs, that fpring out
of all parts of the limbs.
The in oft common plum in
this country, is the damafcene
iplum, an excellent fruit for pre-
ferving, which is faid to have been
brought from Damafcus, whence
the name.
The black bullace, is a glob
ular, tart fruit, of the fize of
grapes ; befides, fome very crab
bed wild forts, which are. oval
iliaped, are found in fome parts of
this country. There is alfo a re
markable wild plum, peculiar to
an ifland near Newbury,of afmall
fize, and by fome much valued.
The better forts which are cul
tivated, are the horfe plum, a very
pleaiant tafted juicy fruit, of a
large fize : The peach pjum, red
towards the fun, with an agreea
ble tartnefs : The pear plum,,fo
called from its ihape, which is
iweet, and of an excellent tafte :
The wheat plum, extremely-
fweet, oval, and furrowed in the
middle, not large : The green
gage plum, which is generally
preferred before all the reft.
All the varieties of plum trees
may be propagated by budding, or
grafting.. Budding is preferable,
as thefe trees are apt to difcharge
a gum, where large wounds* are
made. The trees grow belt in a
foil that is on a medium betwixt
wet and dry. They mould be
kept clear of fuckers, and have
but little other pruning ; and
care mould be taken not to di*
miii'h or wound the fpurs.'
POLLEVlL/'animpofthume
on the poll of a horfe. At fir it it
requires no other method of cure
than what is common to other
boils, and inflamed tumours. But
fometimes it degenerates to a finu-
ous ulcer, through ill manage
ment, or neglect.
" There is a fmail firms under the
bone^ where the matter is.
PON
apt to lodge, unlefs care be taken
to keep the part iirm with a band
age : But inftead or' that the far
riers generally ufe to thruft in a
long teat, which raifes the flefh,
and opens a way into the finus.
And thus an ulcer is created
where there needs be none. All
therefore that is further neceffa-
ry on this head is, to caution the
practitioner againfl fuch ill meth
ods;. And if the tumour has a
very large cavity, it is better to
lay it open, than to thruil foreign
iubflances into it. And if it ac
quires an ulcerous difpofition, it
muft be treated as fuch." Gib-
Jon's Farri&ry..
POND, a colleftion of ftill wa
ter. A mill pool is fo called,
though it gradually receives wa
ter in one part, and difcharges it
in another : So that it is not per
fectly if ill water. The water is
fo often fhifted,. that it is not apt
to putrefy.
Paitures that are deltitute of
water, mould have artificial
ponds made in them, for water
ing places. '' Obferve where
nifties, reeds.; flags, and other a-
quatick plants grow fpontane-
oufly- ; or where frogs are ob-
ferved to lie fquatted down clofe
to the ground, in order to re
ceive its moifttire. Or obferve
where a vapour is frequently feen
to rife from the fame fpot. Some
fay, wherever little fwarms of
flies are feen conftaatly flying in
the fame place, and near the
ground, in the morning after
funrife, tbere is water under
neath." " If a well is made in a
floping ground, and the declivity
is fufficient to give it a horizon
tal vent, it will be \vorth the huf-
bandman's while to dig fuch a
paflage, and by means of pipes,
or any other conveyance, to car~
ry the water acrofs the light foil,
through which it might other-
\yifc
P O N
wife 'fink. The greateft quantity
of water will be obtained in this
manner, becaufe there will be a
continual flream." There is no
difficulty in making a durable
pond- in a clayey foil. Let a large
hollow bafin be made in fuch
earth, and it will preferve the wa
ter that falls in rain. But it is
apt to be thick and dirty, if fome
pains be not taken to prevent it.
The declivity, by which the cat
tle enter, mould be paved, and
gravel mould be fpread on the
bottom. Or it might be-better if
the whole were paved.
There are many large natural
ponds, which have outlets in one
part, and are fupplied by brooks
or rivers in other parts ; but a
greater number of fmaller ponds
which are perfectly flagnant, un-
lefs when they are agitated by
winds. Such ponds as the latter,
in hot feafons, are apt to become
putrid, and contaminate the air
about them. For this reafon they
fhould, it poffible, be drained.
And when the water is not. deep,
and an outlet can be made with
out too much coil, they mould
be drained for the fake of reclaim
ing the foil. This will be -of
great value, as it commonly is
found to be extremely rich, be
ing made up of the fine ft parti
cles of foil, wafted into them by
winds, and of decayed vegetable
fubftances, befides the fine mould
warned into them by rains.
Many farms contain little funk-
en fpots, which are mofl of the
year covered with water, and pro
duce fome aquatick bufhes and
weeds. Thefe are notorious har
bours for frogs ; and are there
fore called frog ponds. They
iho'uld be drained, if it be prac
ticable. It is commonly the
cafe, however, that draining them
in the common way, by making
aa outlet, would 'coil -more than
POP
267
they would be worth when drain
ed, becaufe of the height of the
land on every fide. But in this
cafe, if the banks be not clay,
they may be drained in the fol
lowing manner.
Take notice on which fide land
that is lower than the pond is
nearefl. On that fide, in the
bank near the pond, dig a kind
of cellar, two or three feet deep
er than the furface of the pond j
do it in a dry feafon. If a hard
ftratum appear, dig through it ;
and leave, digging where the bot
tom is loofe gravel, or fand.
Then make an open or a covered
drain from the pond to the cellar*
The water will be difcharged
from the pond, and foak into the
earth through the bottom of the
cellar, till a fcurf is formed on
the bottom that will flop the wa
ter from foaking into the earth.
This fcurf mould be broken from
time to time, and taken aWay with
a long handled hoe. Or, the
cellar may be filled up with ret-
ufe flones, which I think is pref
erable to the other method.
If the pond fhould not then
become fufficiently dry, a fmali
ditch fhould be drawn round it,
anddifcharge itfelf into the cellar.
The land that is thus gained will
be rich muck, much of which
may be carted away for manure ;
and common earth, or fand, may
replace it, without detriment t
the foil.
POPLAR, Populus, a well
known tree of quick growth ;
but ihort lived, and feldom ar
rives to any great fize. The
wood decays very foon when ex-
pofed to the weather. But being
a white, fweet, and light wood,
it is ufed for trays, and various
turned work, &c.
The Lombardy Poplarhegins to
be propagated in this country.
It is Uone by cuttings or flips.
T&e
268
POT
The trees grow moft rapidly, are
ftraight, tall, and beautifully ta
pering ; and are therefore covet
ed for groves, and to adorn yards
and avenues. They flourith well
in a moift foil, and even in a
heavy and clayey one. To what
iize they will arrive, and how du
rable they will be in this country,
time willdifcover.
POTATO, Solanum, a well
known vegetable. This plant is
Hefcribed by Mr, Houghton, to
be a bacciferous herb, with efcu-
ient roots, bearing winged leaves,
and a belled flower.
The potato was not known in
Europe, till carried thither from
Virginia, by Sir Walter Raleigh,
in the year 1623. He flopped at
Ireland, where he gave away ma
ny of the roots, which were plant
ed there, and multiplied fo faft,
that in the wars that happened af
terwards, when all the corn was
deftroy ed, potatoes were the chief
fupport of the people.
It is more than half a century
fince this root found its way into
this country. And within thir
ty or forty years they have been
much cultivated. They have
been found by long experience,
to be a very wholefome food for
man : For no people enjoy bet
ter health and fpirits than the
common people of Ireland, who
make them their principal food.
So that their being claifed by
botanifts among poifpnpus plants,
will not deter us from cultivat
ing them, and freely feeding up
on them. If they were eaten
raw, perhaps they would be
found to be very unwholefome.
But, like feveral other plants, the
aftion of fire renders them very
wholefome, and nourifhing to
man and beaft.
The colour of the roots may be
known by the flowers. The
white have white, and the red;
POT
reddifh flowers, fucceeded by an
apple, or berry, as big as a grape,
containing a multitude of fmall
white feeds. Potatoes are ufually
propagated by the roots : But it
is eafy to propagate them fever
al other ways. Cuttings from
the top branches, fet in the
ground, will produce a confider-
able crop. The cuttings will
even ftrike root, if they are
planted bottom upwards. The
fprouts broken from potatoes
which have been kept in cellars
will produce roots. So will the
apples, the bare eyes or buds, or
even a piece out of the heart of
a potato.
There feems to be nothing
about a potato but what is pro-
lilick, like the polypus. The
parts of the plant, above and be
low the furface of the earth,
feem to be the fame. The run
ning roots produce fruit, if con
fined under ground ; but if they
chance to pierce through the
furface, they bear leaves and ap
ples. So that potatoes may be
confidered as a fruit growing un
der the furface of the ground.
The forts or varieties, may be
multiplied in infinitum. It is
therefore ftrange that fo few
forts have yet been known in
this country. No longer ago
than about the year 1740, weriad
but one fort, a frnall reddifh col
oured potato, of fo_ rank a taite
that it was fcarcely eatable.
Soon after this, the white kid
ney potato appeared, as good
tabte potatoes as any that I have
known fince ; unlefs the brown
rough coated potato be except-
ed, which was introduced foon
after. Since th?fe we have
had the Spanifh potato, ex
tremely prolifick, but fit only
for cattle and fwine : Then the
bunker potato : The fmall round
potato, white and goodtafted : A
P O T
red potato : A potato, part
red and part white, brought horn
Ireland in the late war : A large
white potato, a great bearer,
known by the name of the flour po
tato : Orange potato, fo called
from its colour : Purple pota-to :
Cranberry potato, which bears
no apples on the tops ; and laft
ol all, the winter white. The
laft is as pleafant tafted as any
that are now cultivated, and ex
ceeded by none, unlefs it be the
yellow rough coat,
In the year 1785, I planted in
my garden a mixture of the {op
feeds of Spanith, bunkers, flour,
winter white, long red, and white
rough fkinned potatoes. From
this feed I obtained ten varieties,
really different from any I have
feen before, yet bearing feme re -
femblance to thofe from which
they fprung, fo that their parent
age might beeafily guelfed. As
my old forts had grown mixed to
gether, I -fupppfed their being
impregnated with {\\afannafd-
cundans of each other, might oc-
cafion thefe- new varieties.
Some of them appear to be ex
cellent roots, and well worth
propagating. I have fince found
that the top feeds will produce
various forts, though kept by
themfelves, or when there is no
poflibility of their mixing.
Since doing the above. I have
found that the renewing of po
tatoes from the top feed, -is no new
thing with the Englifh farmers.
They hold it to be neceifary to
do it once in fourteen or fifteen
years ; becaufe, after that period,
potatoes degenerate, and produce
lefs and lefs till they alrnolt
come to nothing. The brown
rough coats, and white kidney
potatoes, have thus failed in this
country ; and other forts have
become lefs fruitful than they
were. Perhaps every kind that
POT 269
we cultivate, might be improved
by fuch a renovation from- the
top feed.
I have much reafon to think
my renewed potatoes will prove
very productive : For, in the
year 1786, three pecks of the
roots, planted in a gravelly, poor
foil, produced forty five bufhels ;
fome of the hillocks containing
more than a hundred roots each ;
which is a greater number, by a
third part, than I have ever
found of other forts. This was
the fecond year from the feed.
As fome perfons may be dif-
pofed to renew their potatoes
from the top feed, I ilia 11 here
give the method of doing it.
Take the apples in the begin-
ning of Oftober, before the fro ft
has hurt them : Hang them up
j by the foot {talks in a dry clofet,
: where they will not freeze : Let
j them hang till March or April :
j Then main the apples, wafli the
j feeds from the pulp, and dry
; them in a funny window. Sow
the feeds in a bed, about the firlt
j of May. When the plants are
j four or five inches high, tranf-
I plant them into ground well pre-
! pared, one or two phnts in a hill.
j They will produce full grown
! apples, and fome of the roots
! will be as big as hens' eggs. But
! if the feeds were fowrt in au-
1 tumn, fome of them would come
i up in the following fpring.
i Nothing is more common than
1 their appearing in fields, where
; potatoes have been railed the
preceding year.
i As potatoes are come to be of
i more importance in this country,
I than any other efculent root, and
I are even an article of exporta-
! tion, I fhall be the more partic-
! ular in pointing out the bell
I methods of cultivating them.
This plant thrives befl in a
! light landy io-.'.zii, A dry foil
produces
POT
^produces the beft eating potatoes ;
one that is rather moift will give
the largeft crops. But if you
plant them in a clay foil, they
-will be ill tafted, wormy, and fit
only for cattle. The land fhould
foe ploughed deep for this crop ;
foecaufe roots will commonly
grow as low as the foil is flirred,
and no deeper. And the more
the ground is pulverifed before
planting, the better will be the
crDp.
Perhaps green fward ground
ought to be mentioned here as
^an exception. I have had the
largeft crops on fuch land, even
with one ploughing, and that
juft before planting. I account
for it thus : Potatoes want
air ; fuch land affords it from the
hollows under the furrows, in
no fmall quantity, both fixed and
putrid, and in the greateft abun
dance towards the end of fum-
iner, when they require the
greatefl: quantity of nourifhment.
No dung is found to be more
fuitable for potatoes than hogs'
dung, mixed with a great deal of
ilraw, or other rubbiih. This
dung is late in fermenting, and
therefore affords the roots plenty
or nourilhment, when they moft
need it. And as they want air
and room, rubbifh, and even
flicks and chips, or any thing
"that makes the ground lie light and
hollow, encourages their growth.
But thofe roots are account
ed beft for eating, which are
raifed without dung. I once
;had a middling crop, by putting
a handful of old weather beaten
fait hay in each hill. New land,
burnt, produces excellent roots,
.and a large crop, without any
manure but what is made by the
burning ; fometimes not lefs than
a peck in a hill.
The potato is fo hardy a
plant, that it will grow in aay
P O T
kind of foil, and even with the
pooreft culture. It is a great im
prover of land ; not only by the
rotting of its fucculent ftalks,
which ihould be buried in the
foil at, or immediately after dig
ging ; but the digging itfelt is a
further improvement. A crop
of potatoes is good to prepare
land for other crops. It is not
uncommon, on poor land, with
very little cultivation and with
out manure, to obtain one hun
dred bufhels per .acre. But in
Ireland, with deep ploughing,
or digging, with manure, four
times that quantity is common :
And Mr. Young mentions one in
ftance of an acre in England, pro
ducing a thoufand bulhels. As
they will grow almoft any how,
we are tempted to negleft them ;
but no crop that I know of will
better pay for good cultivation.
The firft of May is perhaps the
right feafon for planting pota
toes, in a dry warm foil : But
they will fometimes produce
well, though planted at the laft
of June. An early crop will be
better ripened, and more dry
and mealy. A late one is unfolid
and watery, as the roots do not
arrive to their full maturity.
When the ground has been
well prepared, by deep plough
ing, crofs ploughing, and ha.r-
rowing,let the lets be prepared by
cutting. Pieces, as I apprehend,
are better for fets than whole po
tatoes. Pieces confume .quick
in the earth, and pafs their fub-
ftance into the new plants :
But when potatoes are planted
whole, they come out of the
ground in autumn, almoft as hard
and folid as when they were
planted. And whole potatoes
fill the ground with fuch a mul
titude of roots, that they will
rob one another of their nour-
I .choofe potatoes of a
middling
POT
middling fize to cut into fets.
Such a one will make half a
dozen, or more good fets, with
one or two buds in each ; three
or tour of which fets are fuffi-
cient for one hill, and they
mould be placed fix or eight
inches apart; for the roots mould
never be much crowded.
The mooting parts exift in a
potatoe, in the form of a tree,. of
which the Hock is at the but, or
root end. I therefore take care
to cut athwart thefe parts as little
as poffible : For though they will
grow any way, the greater length
of mooting item there is in a fet,
the more ftrong and vigorous
will be its growth at firft.
If dung be ufed, it may be
fpread before the fecond plough
ing, or elfe laid under the fets.
The latter method will give a
larger crop. Dung laid under
the fets, will produce more than
if laid above them ; as Mr. Wynn
Baker proved by accurate exper
iments. The feeding roots
mould go into the dung, not di-
reclly into hungry earth below ;
and thefe roots ftrike downwards ;
and therefore need fome loofe
earth under the dung to extend
themfelves into.
The faihionable way of plant
ing potatoes in hills, may be as
good as any in rough ground,
or that which is not well fubdu-
ed. But in a rich, mellow foil,
well pulverifed, the drill method
is to be preferred. The fets maybe
eilther in fingle rows, three feet,
or double, one foot apart, and
from feven to nine inches afun-
der in the rows. One of my
neighbours planted in his gar
den, drills and rows of hills al
ternately of equal length, and e-
qually manured ; when he dug
them he found the drill rows
produced twice as much as the
Cither. It is not more labour to
POT 271
lay the dung in drills, than in
hills ; and the labour of hoeing
is not increafed. My trials irv
the drill way, have produced
only half as much again. But I
did not put dung in the furrows,
but always put dung in the hills-
My method has baen, in dry
ground, firft to plough in the
dung ; then harrow; raife the
ridges, and dibble the fets into
the ridges.
The lazy bed method, or
trenching, is moft praftifed in
Ireland. I have tried it feveral
times, and am convinced, that a
greater quantity on the fame
ground maybe raifed in this way,,
than in almoft any other. But
the labour is fo great, as it mufh
be performed with the fpade, that
I dare not recommend it, unlefs
in particular cafes, or to thofe who
have but little land.
It is a good, and very effectu
al method, to fubdue bad weeda
in the border of a field,which can
not w r ell be ploughed. But the
foil mould be deep,that the trench^
es may not go into the under ftra-
turn of hard earth, nor too near to it,,
And in this way good crops may
be got in fpringy and miry places,,
which are too wet for ether til
lage. But the work muft be be
gun in autumn. In October,
mark out the beds, five feet wide,
leaving two feet between each
bed for the trench : Spread the
dung upon the beds : Dig the
trenches, and with their contents
cover the beds to the depth of it-
bout five inches. In May follow
ing, dibble the fets into the beds,
quite down to the dung, and fill
the holes with earth. Befides
getting a good crop, the foil will
be thus drained and fubdued, and
fitted for ploughing, and tillage
crops.
An expeditious way of plant
ing potatoes is as follows. After-
tkc
272 POT
the ground is prepared, by plou~ v -
ing and harrowing, cut furrows
with the horfe plough, forty inch
es apart ; drop the lets in the
furrows ; then pals the plough
along the back of each furrow,
which will throw the earth of
both furrows upoH the fets ; and
afterwards level the ground with
the back of a harrow, or with a
harrow that has (hort tines if you
will ; but it is of no great confe-
quence whether it be levelled at
all. Another method of plant
ing is, to plough the ground
plain, keeping the furrows Straight
and regular, and drop fets in eve
ry third or fourth furrow. But
before this is done, the ground
ihould be ploughed and made
level and fine with the harrow.
But the method laft mentioned
is lit only for a dry foil, where
the feed needs to be laid deep.
Where the foil is moift, a better
way would be to furrow the
ground, and lay the fets on the
furface, clofe to the backs of the
furrows, and cover them by turn
ing another furrow towards each.
Jf this mould bury the fets too
deep, the ridges may be eafily
lowered, with a hoe or a rake ;
but I do not apprehend it would
be neceffary. The ridges may
remain as the plough leaves them.
As foon as rows of potato
plants are grown to the height of
four or five inches above the fur-
face, or earlier if the ground be
weedy, the cultivator, with two
mouldboards, mould be pa fled
between them, as dcp as one
horfe can draw it. For want of
a cultivator, a common light
plough Ihould go and return in
an interval, turning the earth at
the firil ploughing from, and then
at the fecond towards, the rows.
After each ploughing the plants
ihould be weeded, and a little of
the frefh earth drawn clofe to
POT
their items, uncovering thofe'
which chance to be covered by
th<r cultivator, or plough. This
.ionfhould be repeated three
tunes, taking care not to earth
the plants too much, as fome are
apt to do where the ground is
light and mellow : For potatoes
will not grow well more than a-
baut five inches under the fur-
face, being too far removed from,
the influence of the fun. The
ridges, or hills, fhould be rather
broad than ileep ; flat, on the
top, that the water, which falls in
rain, may not be too much divert
ed from the roots.
The laft hoeing mould be firr-
ifhed before the plants are in blof-
fom ; and before the branches be
gin to trail upon the ground.
Otherwife anew fet of roots will
be formed, too late to get their
full growth, and which will rob
the former fets of their nourifh-
ment. But if killing weeds be
neceifary after bloffoming, it may
he done with the hand hoe, ob-
ferving not to earth up the plants
at all.
Cattle mould be kept from a
field of potatoes, till- the roots
have got their full growth, as
carefully as from a field of corn.
For potatoes will not grow after
the tops are browfcd. They
doubtlefs receive as much of their
nourifhment through the tops, as
aimofi; any plant.
As foon as the tops are dead,
either by ripenefs or by froft, the
roots may be taken up. If they
lie in the ground till they are
foaked by the heavy autumnal
rains, they will be the worfe ;
and the labour of digging will be
increafed. Thofe that do not
much adhere to the tops, may be
thrown up by the cultivator, or
by thejiorfe plough, which will
facilitate the digging. But the
tops Ihould be pulled out, and the
fruit
POT
fruit that comes out with them
gathered, before the plough is
paffed tinder the rows. Some
recommend a tour or live prong
ed fork, as the beft inihumeiitto
dig them with.
There is no difficulty in keep
ing them through the winter, in
a cellar that is free from froft.
Caves, dug in a dry foil, preferve
them very well. They fhould
be covered with two feet of
earth over them. If they are
in danger of froft in a cool cel
lar, they mould be covered with
a little fait hay. This any farm
er may eafily do, who has a mar
itime foliation.
In cellars, they are more for
ward to fproutin the fpring, than
in caves. Thofe which are for
iummer eating, fhould be attend
ed to in May, the fp routs rubbed
off, and put into a cool and
dark part of the cellar. They
will thus keep well till new pota
toes are grown. But if any light
come to them, they will fend out
long moots towards the place
where it enters.
Raw potatoes will keep fwine
alive through the winter : But
they will not grow much with
this food alone. Parboiled, they
are an excellent food for fwine,
and will almoft fatten them. The
Eriglifh farmers parboil them,
not only for fwine, but for horn
ed cattle. I know of no food
that will more increafe the quan
tity of milk in cows ; and they
give milk no ill tafte, whether
boiled or raw. In either way
cows are very fond of them. For
liorfes they mould be boiled.
Though the Spanifh potatoes
be not fit for the table, they are
io very productive, that it would >
be well to raife them by them- ,
felves tor cattle. And out of i
other forts, the largeft and fmall- j
eit, the irregular (haped and the i
Kk
POT 273.
cut ones, mould be put by for the
cattle : For middling roots are
beft both for eating and planting.
Overgrown ones are apt to be
hollow and watery ; and wound
ed ones rot, oftener than found
ones.
As a further recommendation
of this ufeful root, I may add,
the farinaceous part of it makes
an excellent ftarch, much fupe-
riour, as fome fay, and not half fo
coftly, as that made of wheat.
1 he method of making potatoe
ftarch, according to Mr. Wef-
ton, is as follows : ** Wafh and
pare them, grate them upon large
tin graters, and fill tubs about
half full with the pulp : Then
fill them up with water : Stir it
well once a day, for three or four
days, and take off all the fcurn.
About the ^th day take out the
pulp, and put it into mallow earth
en pans, fuch as are ufed for
milk, as much as will cover the
bottom an inch thick, and put
water upon it. Every morning
pour off the water, break up the
ftarch, and add frefh water.
When it is thus become very
white, leave it in the pans till it
is quite dry, then put it into pa
per bags, and put it in a dry place
to keep."
This fort of ftarch has been
made and ufed in my houfe, for
twenty orthirty years paft. The
making of a quantity that will
ferve for a year is always begun
and fmifhed in a day or two.
As foon as the ftarch is fettled to
the bottom, which it does in
twenty minutes, the water is re
newed ; and initead of its {land
ing in tubs, and being fkimmed,
we flrain it through a cloth.
Which of thefe methods is
to be preferred I do not deter
mine.
Some fuppofe this ftarch is apt
to rot the things which are ftiffen-
274 s POT
ed with it ; but this is a great
xniftake.
In an abstract of the Memoirs
of the. Swedijk Academy, the a-
Dove writer found the following
account of one of their methods
of ufmg potatoes. " Mr. Charles
Skytfe has propofed to diftii
brandy from potatoes, in order
to fave the Corn, which is fo dear
in Sweden ; and finds by expe
rience, that an acre of land fet
with potatoes, will yield a much
greater quantity of brandy, than
when {"own with barley." It is
aflerted that a gallon of good
ilrong fpirit may be taken from
fix pecks of boiled potatoes, by
diftiilation.
The account given by Dr. An-
derfon of his fuccefs in extraft-
ing potatoe fpirits is this : He
boiled 72 pounds of potatoes,
they were then bruifed, and pafT-
ed through a riddle along with
fome frefh water. The pulp was
then mixed with cold water, till
the whole amounted to about co
gallons. This was allowed to
cool, till it attained to fuch
a temperature, as would be
proper for mixing yeaft with
wort, when fome yeaft was put to
it. In ten or twelve hours the fer
mentation began, which contin-
ed very brifkly for as many hours.
After waiting fome time, and in
vain warming it a little, with a
view to renew the fermentation,
he ftirred it brifkly, which renew
ed the fermentation: Stirring it
daily, the fermentation went on
for a fortnight, and then abated,
and could not be renewed by ag
itation or otherwife. It was then
diftilled with due caution, care
having been taken to ftir it in the
ilill, until it began to boil, before
the head of the ftill was applied ;
and the fire was afterwards fo
kept up as to keep it boiling
briikly, till the whole was run
P O U
over. In confequence of thefe
precautions and due reclification,
he obtained an Engliih gallon of
pure fpirit, confiderably above
proof, and .-.about a quart more of
a -weaker kind, a good deal below
proof. The Dr. fays, it was in
every refpeft the moft agreeable
vinous fpirit he ever fa w; and
that in tafte it fomewhat reSfem-
bled'fine brandyv According to
this account, one acre of potatoes
might yield 300 gallons of good,
ftrong fpirit, worth at lea it 9o/.
My new method of planting
potatoes is this. After the dung
is fpread and ploughed in, and.
the ground levelled with the har
row, I raife the ridges about three
feet and a half apart, with the cul
tivator ; and-, then dibble in the
fets along the tops of the ridges,
abo ut feven or eight inches apart,
laying each fet about as low as
the furface was before the ridges
were made. I" have had as good
crops in this way, as in any-other.
The method of raifmg potatoes
under ftraw, is very fimple and
eafy. Lay the fets about eight
inches apart each way, on any
kind of foil that is not too rich :
Cover them with ftraw, or refufe
hay, to the depth of about twelve
inches. Nothing more is to be
done to them till they are taken
up. They will be very clean,
and the crop confiderable.
POULTRY, all kinds of tame
birds, as hens, geefe, ducks, tur
keys, &c.
Thefe may be confidered as
part of a- huibandman's flock :
But the keeping of great num
bers of dunghill fowls will not
turn to his advantage ; as it is
certain they will never indemni
fy him for the corn and grain
that are requifite for their fup-
port. Yet on a farm a few of
them may be ufeful, to pick up
what would otherwise be loft.
And
Q U A
ftnd in this view they feem to be
profitable only part of the year.
If confined they will not prof
fer, though they have a yard of
tome extent ; if not confined they
will be mifchievous to the gar
den and field.
PRONG HOE, a hoe with
prongs inflead of a blade. It is
either a bidens, or a trident. It
is eafily {truck into the ground ;
and as the tines are fix or ieven
inches.long, it will llir the ground
to the .fame depth that a plough
does. It is ufeful in taking up
flrong rooted weeds, and open
ing ground that is crufled, or be
come too compact. The eye
and handle are the fame as a
common hand hoe. It is .the
beft inftrumerit to iHr the ground
with, clofe to the roots of plants.
PROVENDER, dry fcod for
.brutes, as hay, corn, &c.
PULSE, the fruit of legumi
nous, or podded plants, which
produce their feeds inclofed in a
pericarpium, confiding of two
valves, joined by a vifible future,
having the feeds fattened alter
nately to the two valves.
Q-
QUAKING MEADOW, or I
MARISH, low boggy land, -that |
makes and fettles under any one I
in patting over it.
It has a fward that is tough,
being a web of the roots of ftrong
grades ; but the mud under the
iward is very foft and yielding.
Such places fhould be drained
when<"it can be done without too
much expenfe. For its natural
.produce confifts of the worft wa
ter grailes, cranberries, &c. but
the foil is always deep, and rich.
See the article Draining.
Mr. Eliot drainepl fuch apiece
of ground, and foon made it fit
ior tillage.
Q u i 27$
1 OUIC K, or QUICK
HEDGE, all kinds of live hedge,
ot whatever plants they are com-
pofed. The hawthorn or white
thorn is moft commonly ufed.
The young fetsare raifedinnur-
feries in the old countries.
Mr. Miller fays, " In the choice
of fets, thofe which are raifed in
nurferies are to be preferred to
fuch as are drawn out of the
woods, becaufe the latter have
feldom fo good roots ; though, as
they are larger plants than are
commonly to be had in the nur-
fery, many people prefer them
upon that account ; but he has
found by long experience, that
thofe hedges which have beea
planted with young plants from
the nurfery, have always made
the beft hedges. He fays, if
perfons would have patience to
wait for thefe from the feed, and
to fow the haws in the^ place
where the hedge is deiigned,
thefeunremoved plants will make
a much flronger and more dura
ble fence than ihofe which are
tranfplanted .: But where the
hedge is to be planted, the fets
fhould not be more than three
years old from the haws ; lor
when they are older, their roots
will be hard and woody ; and
as they arc commonly trimmed
oft' before the lets are planted, lo
they very often mifcarry, and
fuch of them as do live will not
make fo good progrefsas young
er plants, nor are they fo dura
ble." See Hedge Fence.
QUICKS, this name is given
to the young plants ot which
a live hedge is compofed.
QUICKSILVER, or MER
CURY, a ponderous mineral
fluid. It has been often aiferted
that quickiilver will deltroy in
fects on trees. The method of
applying it is thus. Make a hole
Doping through the rind or bark,
\vitb
276 Q U I
with an awl. The hole mould go
into the wood, but not reach the
heart xDr pith. Pour in a fmall
drop or two of quickfilver, and
iftop up the hole with a peg. On
the 1 8th of May, in the prefent
year, 1787, I applied quickfilver
as above to two apple trees
which hid young nefls of cater-
piilars on them. One was in a
young orchard, the other in a
nurfery ; nefls of the fame age
being on neighbouring trees,
which ferved as ilandards.
Watching the nefts daily, I
found that the infects fpread
themfelves on the latter, and ate
the leaves as ufual. On the
former they multiplied but little;
and I could not find that many
of them fpread on the tree*s, or
ate the leaves at all. And from
the neft in the nurfery many of
the infecls removed to other
trees. But the caterpillars were
not all dead in either neft, till
about the dimmer folftice, the
ufual period of their exiflence.
Whence I conclude that though |
the quicklilver feemingly had
ibme good effect, this is not to
be relied on as the mod effectual,
eaiieft and che>apefi method of |
deftroying thefe infefts, or pre
venting their ill efiecl.
QUINCE TREE, Cydoma. a
imall fruit tree, beaiing a large
yellow fruit, ufeful in cookery
and medicine, but not fit to eat 1
raw.
It is eafy to propagate the trees
by fuckers, layers or cuttings,
but they require a moilt foil.
The cuttings mould be planted
early in autumn. The trees re
quire very little pruning ; the
principal thing is, to keep the
ftems clear of fuckers, and thin
t)ie branches where they crofs
each other. "Upright luxuriant
ihoots in the top mould alfo be
taken out, that the trees m-iy not
R A B
have too much wood, -which is
bad for all forts of fruit trees.
QUINCUNX ORDER, ac
cording to Mr. Miller, is appli
ed to a plantation of trees, dif-
pojfed originally in a fquare, con-
fifling of four trees, one at each
corner, and a fifth in the middle;
which difpofition, repeated a-
gain and again, forms a regular
grove, woo<}, orwildernefs ; and,
when viewed obliquely, prefents
ftraight rows of trees, and parralr
lei alleys between them.
QUITCH GRASS, called al
fo Witch graft, Twitch grafs,
Couch grafs, Dutch grafs, and
Dogs grafs, Loiium, a moft ob-
itinate and troublefome weed,
which fills the foil with white
ftnngy roots, and is harder to
fubdue than any other weed.
The more the foil is tilled, and
the oftener hoed, the fairer it
grows ; for if the roots be ever
io much cut to> pieces, each
piece will live and become a new
plant.
Land that is much infefted with
this weed fhouldbe laid .down to
grafs ; and as ibon as the fwarcl
binds, which it is apt to do foon,
burn beating (hould be applied,
which will go near to conquer it.
See Burn baking.
But it may be kept from bind
ing by plentiful and, frequent
manuring, and the grafs makes
very good hay,
R.
RABBITS. 4< In fome fitua-
tions thcfe animals may be kept
to advantage, as they multiply
exceedingly, and require no trou
ble in bringing up. They de
light in the fides ot fandy hills
which are generally unproduc
tive when tilled, but level
ground is improper for them.
The fur of the rabbit is worth
thrice
R A D
thrice the whole value of the
carcafs. Therefore, ftippofmg a
rabbit to confume a quantity ot
food in proportion to its carcafs,
it is a fpecies of ftock nearly
three times as valuable as either
cattle or meep. Rabbit war
rens ought to be inclofed with a
ftone or fbd wall : And at their
fir ft flocking, it will be neceifa-
ry to form burrows for them, un
til they have time to make them
for themfelves. Boring the
ground horizontally with 2 large
auger is perhaps the beft method
that can be praftifed. Eagles,
kites, and other birds of prey, as
well as cats, weafels, and pole
cats, are great enemies ot rabbits.
The Norfolk warreners catch the
birds by traps placed on the tops
of ftumps ot trees, or artificial hil
locks of a conical form, on which
they naturally alight." Encyclop,
RACK, a frame made to hold
fodder for cattle, to prevent
their trampling it under foot, and
wafting it.
Thofe racks which arc under
cover, as in iheep ho-ufes, horfe
flables, &c. may be conftrufted
of almoft any kind of wood ; but
thole which ftand abroad fhould
be of fuch timber as lafts long in
the weather. The rails may be
larch, or white cedar, and the
crofs flicks white oak. Such a
one will endure the weather ma
ny years.
RADICLE, that part of the
plantule in a feed, which, when
it vegetates, becomes the root.
Whatever be the pofition ot a
feed, the radicle will {hoot down
wards. The radicle ihoots from
the feed before the plumula,
which is the blade of a young
plant.
RADISH, m R&phanus, a plea-
fant root, which has an attenuat
ing virtue, and is a good antifcor-
butick.
RAG 277
I have had better fuccefs with
thole fown as late as June or
July, than with thofe Town in
the fpring. The earlieft are apt
to be cieiiroyed, or greatly injur
ed, by the white maggots ; t
which fea water is an antidote ;
but with refpect to this root not
-quite effectual.
To have a conftant fucceflion
of radifhes at table, the feeds
ill or, Id be fown once a fortnight,
from April to Auguft. But in
midfummer they fooner grow
iticky and ftrong, than in fpring
or fall. They muft therefore
be eaten while they are young.
I have had better fuccefs
thofe fown in Auguft, than i:
other month. In hot he
may be raifed any month in the
year. Or thofe
may be kept ii
eating in the \.
As radiihes arc uncertain in
their growth, the beft method is
to put in the feeds between rows
ot other plants ; and they are fo
loon pulled up, that they will
not incommode the plants among
which they grow.
Radifhes that are for feed re
quire much room, as they grow
to a large fize. For this puipoie
fome of the moft thrifty ones
(hould be left Handing ; or d(o
be transplanted to a place where;
each lhall ha\e as much room as
m>ar a yard {"qua re. The ripe-
iieis of the feed is known by the
pods turning brown. For tlvs
purpofe the feeds muft be fown
early in the fpring, becaufe they
ripen ilowiy.
RAGS, pieces of worn out
cloth, a valuable manure. Wool
len rags are an animal fubftancc,
and therefore contain much food
for plants. The longer they
have been worn, the more dirfy
they arc, and the ?nore perfpira-
i ble matter they have imbibed.
the
-278
R A I
the better they are for this life*
JBut ihreds of new cloth are
.good ; forne quantities of which
may be collected where tailors
work. Woollen rags mould
be chopped JYnall on a block,
and be fcattered, or fown by
hand. It is recommended to ufe
thefe as a top drefling. This
manure attracts nitre, and im-
'foibes dews, which the firft rain
carries into the foil. Or, as the
-earth grows dry it attracts moif-
ture from the rags.
Woollen -rags are peculiarly
good for a dry foil, as they will
retain moiflure along time ; and
in.fuch a foil I think they will
do bell when they lie a little un
der the furface. I would mix
them in the foil with the harrow.
Before they difiblve, they will
caufe plants to be nourished, by
keeping the ground moifl ; when
they are didblved, they become
iocd -for plants. Twenty four
Imfhels will be a fufficient dref-
dfing for an acre.
Linen rags, like other vegeta
ble fubiiances, contain food of
plants ; but they fhould be well
rotted in dunghills, before they
are applied to the foil. They do
jiot retain moiflure like woollen;
ad they diffolve (lowly.
RAILS, pieces of timber plac-
*cd horizontally in fences, fup-
ported at the ends by pofls. See
the article Fence.
RAIN, condenfe^ vapour,
which falls in drops, and waters
the earth. This is of more ad
vantage to the hufbandman'than
all his labour and care. No kind
or degree of culture will fecure
a crop, if the ground do not re
ceive a confiderable quantity of
2noifture from the clouds ; for
it the earth be not frequently
tnoiflened, the food of plants in
it will become fixed ; and there
be no fermentation in the
R A I
foil ; fo that the roots of plants
cannot receive any nourishment.
Was it not for the falling o'f dews
the want of rain would be much
oftener definitive to plants
than it is. -Dews are often great
in a dry feafon ; and from dews
plants receive a confiderable
part of their nourishment.
The due quantity of moiitee
might indeed be fupplied by wa
tering by hand, as long as wellSj,
fpriags and rivers were not dri
ed up. But the labour of doing
it would be worth more than all
the crop. Neither would artifi
cial watering have fo good an
effecl; as rain, on account of the
infe.riour quality of the water for
this ufe, and the mode of apply?.
ing it. The genfleft rains are
generally mod conducive to the
growth of plants, and the^ruit-
fulnefs of the foil, as all parts are
more equally foaked; and cloudy
weather, which moft common
ly happens before rain, helps to
predifpofe the earth, and its veg
etables, to receive the greater ad
vantage from the water that fails.
It is a lib believed the .eleftrick
fluid, which is conduced to the
earth by rains, conduces much to
the invigoration of plants.
Rain not only gives fluidity
and motion to the food of plants
contained in the foil, but contains
in itfelf more or lels of the in
gredients of it. The atmofphere
contains abundance of fajine,
earthy and oleaginous parti
cles ; fo that rain water cannot
fail of being impregnated with
them.
It has been proved by a varie
ty of experiments, that a much
greater quantity of rain falls at
the furface of the ground, than
at the top of a houfe, or other
building ; which may be partly
owing to the vapour contained
in the lower part of the atmof-
pherq,
& A r
which is joined to the
drops in their defcent.
Perhaps the a6Hon of the fun's
heat is proportionally greater in*
vallies than on fumrnits of hills;
if fo, there is a happy balance
between heat and rain on all
parts ot the furface of the earth.
Though it is often regretted that
low hollows are overcharged
with water, it is commonly foon
exhaufted by the heat of the fun in
fummer, which- is much greater
in vallies than on hills.
It may be afked; would it not
have been better, if a greater-pro
portion of rain had fallen on hills
than on vallies ? But they need
it not fo much, becaufe of the
greater coolnefe of the air on
hills. More of the fine mould
would have been warned down
into the hollows, and deeper
channels would have been made
in the foil by the running of wa
ter, which would have been con-
fiderable inconveniences.
The quantity of water that
falls in a year may be from twen
ty five to thirty inches. If the
whole were to fall at once, def-
truclive deluges would be experi
enced, and droughts equally de-
ftruclive. It is the frequency of
rains that renders the earth fruit
ful. To fome foils, as ft iff clays
and loofe fands, frequent rains are
more needful than to others.
The former imbibes the water
too (lowly ; the latter parts with
it too fpeedily. Thefe two kinds
of foil, therefore, need the moft
frequent mowers.
In- fome years the rains are fo
ordered, as to make the feafons
moft fruitful. A moderate
quantity in each week through
the fummer will be apt to fupply
fo much moifture, and keep up
fuch a degree of fermentation in
the foil, as is moft conducive to
ihe progrefs of vegetation.
R I D 279.
FaiTmers in this climate gen
erally wifh for but little rain
in April, and for much in May
and part of June ; then lefs in
hay time, and Englifh harvefL
But as it is not left to us to order
this matter, we fhould endeavour
to accommodate ourfelves to the
feafons ; and to affift nature when
ever we have opportunity for
doing it, draining land which
is too wet, watering that which
is too dry, and applying more'
manures to 1 dry foils, which will
make them more retentive o
water.
RATS, a mifchievous kind of
vermine too well known to the-
farmer. No walls that I know of
have been found to be fufficient
barriers againft them.
The fame poifon which I pre-
fcribed for mice, will well ferveto
deftroy thefe animals. But the beft
way is to catch them in a cage made
of wire, in a cubical form, en-
clofed in a wooden box. Each
fide of the cage mould be a plane
of about fifteen inches fquare.
RED WORM. See Infers*
REED, Arundo, " the name
of an aquatick plant, infefting
low grounds. The beft method:
of destroying them, is by drain
ing the land. Afhes and foofe
will kill them- So will plough
ing the land, and laying it in-
high ridges. They always indi
cate a good foil." Complete
Farmer.
RIDGLING, a male animal
half caftrated. A horfe of this
kind is as troubleforne as a ftal-
lion,or more fo ; but is not fit to 1
be depended on as one. A ridg-
ling hog will never be fat, nor,
grow fo large as a barrow, till*
his caftration he completed ; asj
it may be by making an opening
in the belly, when the cafe is the
moft difficult. They mouldbe-ei-
ther killed young, or completely;
ca&ratecL?
280
R O L
caftrated. The flem of a young
ridgling pig is good ; but that of
an old one brawny and difagree-
able.
KIPLING CART, amachine
to perform the work of reaping.
In a pamphlet publifhed at New-
york, in the year 1790, by F. C.
H. B. Pollintz, a ripling cart, as
lie calls it, is recommended for
the harveiting of wheat. In the
operation the heads of the corn
are taken off by feven combs,
each four feet in length. The
combs are ftrongly fattened, at
equal distances, to a roller, which
is turned by bands from the
wheels of the cart, and which
throws the heads into the cart,
\vhich is puibed forward by one
horfe, harnefled with his head to
wards the cart. Allowing that the
horfe travels twenty miles per day,
ten acres are reaped. A boy
placed in the cart fills lacks with
the heads, as the cart is going,
and throws them out at the head
lands.
After the heads are thus col-
Ie6i:ed, the threlhing of the wheat
is reprefented as performed by a
mill built on the principles of a
common coffee mill, which is
turned and fed by two fmall
boys, who can do three bumels
in an hour. If thefe modes of
threfhing and reaping were
brought into common ufe, it is
aiionifhing to think how much
labour might be laved. But I
fufpecl there are difficulties at
tending the method of reaping.
ROD, the fame as a perch, or
\ pole ; a meaiure of five yards
and a half. A iquare rod of luper-
ficies is the i6othpart of an acre.
^ ROLLER, a cylindrical in-
ilrument to pafs over lands, to
anfwer leveral good pui poles in
hufbandry.
Thofe rollers which are cut out
f free ftone, being heavier than
R O L
Wooden ones, are beft ta
and harden, the alleys in gardens^
walks, &c. But wooden ones
anfwer better in tillage, xvhen-
they are lufficiently large. A
roller for field hufbandry Ihouid
be five or fix feet long ; fo that
it may perform much in a fhort
time, being drawn by a horfe or a
yoke of oxen,for eitherof which it
may beeafily harnefied. It mould
be made perfectly round and
fmooth, that it may be drawn the
more eafily, and prefs the ground
the more equally in all parts.
And it ihould be from eighteen to
twenty fcur inches diameter. Be
ing large, the prellure will be
greater ; and the furface will be
left the more level*
A fpiky roller, or a roller fill
ed with fpikes, fix or feven inch
es long, fharp pointed at the out
er ends, is fometimes ufed in the
old countries, to pulverife clod
dy land in tillage, or to brake
and open the fward of grafs land
when it is bound, and too com
pact. After grafs land is fo brok
en, a top dreiling will have the
better effecl:. A roller is fome
times armed with circular knives,
four or five inches broad, put on
in the manner of hoops, the edg
es at right angles with the axis
of the roller, twenty inches from
each other. They ufe thefe in-
ftruments to cut the fward into
ftrips, in order to cut up the
turfs with a fharp ironed plough
for burn healing. This manner
of doing the work, is far 1 els ex-
pen live than cutting up the turfs
with the beating axe. But the
fward of land to which this in-
llrument is applied, ought to be
extremely level, and free from
Itones and ftrong roots.
ROLLING, fmoothing and
moderately hardening the fur-
face of land, by drawing a roller
over iu
The
R O L
The rolling of land in tillage
Should be done only in _dry
V eather ; never, when the foil is
fo wet as to flick to the roller.
No foil will admit of rolling that
is very uneven, or much rocky or
ilony. But fmall round pebbles
in a mellow foil, well pulverif-
ed, need not prevent rolling : For
the roller will prefsthem all into
the foil. Land that is apt to
have aftiff cruft formed upon it,
by lying only a few weeks, I
think mould not be rolled ; be-
caufe it will caufe the cruft to be
the mote hard and ftifF. But the
advantages of rolling in a light and
rich foil are fo great, that it is
pity that the practice of it is fo gen
erally laid afide in this country.
Rolling, after fowing and har-
rOwing, will caufe the iribuld to
enclofe the feeds ; much of
which, otherivife, lying in cavi
ties that foon become dry, is apt
to fail of vegetating.
Rolling aifo fills up ten thou-
fand little cells, which, when left
Open, are haunts arid harbours for
flies and other noxious xnfefts ;
befides, it has the advantage of
deltroying fome kinds ^of infefts
in the operation. It is peculiarly
beneficial on this account to a
crop of turnips. And fome rec
ommend parting the roller over
turnip ground, not only when
the feed is newly fown, but after
the plants are up.
When a clay foil is fown, roll
ing breaks many lumps, or hard
clods, which have efcaped the
plough and the harrow. But an
over light foil, which is apt to
dry too faft, needs rolling more
than any other. It ferves to pre
vent the evaporation of moifture,
by making it lefs porous.
Some of the European farmers
prefer rolling after the grain has
rifen to the height of four or five
inches, But of the utility of this
LI
R O O
281
we are not yet convinced by a
fufficient number of trials.
In all kinds of foil that are laid
down to grafs, rolling is necefTa-
ry, to lay the furtace fo fmooth
and even as to facilitate mowing
and raking. And thole kinds of
fowed corn which are to be cut
with the fey the, and raked, mould
be rolled, that lofs may be pre
vented in harvefting. Without
it, a crop of barley cannot be
well taken up clean with a rake*
efpecially when the corn is fhorfc
and fmall, as I have often found
to my lofs. Some writers on
hiifbandry think a crop of barley,
in particular, will be confidera-
bly larger for rolling it, as it is a
dry feed, that needs to be well
enclofed with rnould, in order to
its vegetating. Lands that are in
grafs, may be kept even by a
yearly rolling, which will prefs
down mole hills and other une-
vennefTes, and caufe the grafs to
grow thicker. It will alfo be an
advantage to be able to mow it
the more clofely.
ROOD, forty perches of land,
or a quarter of an acre.
ROOTS, the parts of plants
that are under the furface of the
earth, which imbibe the nutritious
juice of the earth, which feeds and
ncreafes the plants.
Botanifts diftinguifh roots into
divers forts, according to their
different forms. But the only
diftinftion to which the hufband-
man needs to give his attention,
[s, to confider roots as of the tap,
Dulbous, or fibrous kind. Of the
irft kind are the carrot, parfnep,
jeet,&c.of thefecondjthejpotato,
onion, turnip, and feveral other ;
of the laft, wheat and other kinds
of grain, and many gralfe's.
But (till there are perhaps but
few plants which have only one
of thefe kinds of roots, though
the form that is moft obvious
denominates
*8'2
R O O
denominates a root. Carrots,
and other tap rooted plants, fend
out horizontal fibres to a confid-
crable diftance. Trees in gener
al have both tap and fibrous roots.
A turnip has the three kinds of
roots, having a bulb, a tap, and
many lateral fibres from the tap.
Mr. Mills, on this fubjeft fays,
the roots that proceed immedi
ately from the feed, are always of
the carrot or tap kind. Tap
roots ftrike down perpendicular
ly into the earth, til.l it becomes
too hard to admit of their farther
paffage ; but when the foil is
deep, and eafily pierced, they
penetrate fometimes to the depth
of feveral yards, un lei's they are
cut or broken ; in which, cafe
they alter their direction.. This
is frequently obferved ; particu
larly in plants railed in water
only. The tap roots ihoot out
branches which extend heri-
zontally ; and thefe branches
are ftronger, in proportion as
they are nearer t,o the furface of
that layer of earth which is ilir-
red by the plough or fpade.
Thefe are the roots which we
call creeping or fibrous. They
extend fometimes to a confider-
ablc diftance from the plant that
produced them ; but then they
become fo minute, that the nak
ed eye can no longer trace them ;
efpecially when they have taken
the tinfture ot the earth that fur-
rounds them,' as they generally
do.
A carrot, for an example,
which feems to have only one
freat root, furni Pried -with fome
bres, puihes its roots, according
to Mr. Tull, to a confiderable
diftance ; but they grow fo very
(lender, that they cannot he dif-
tinguithed from the earth that
covers them, without great at
tention. The cafe is the fame
witkalmoft ull plants..
R o a
To convince the reader of this,,
and at the fame time to (hew
how far the roots of plants can
extend in ground that is well'
loofened, he recommends the
experiment which I have men
tioned under the article, Paflurt
of Plants, which fee.
The lollowing inftances, fays-
M. Duhamel, {hew what effort
trees will make,, to find a proper
foil for the extenfion of their
roots. On examining thofe of a
hedge, at the fide of which a
ditch had been dug, it appeared,
that after palling underneath the
ditch, they reafcended, and
fpread themfelvcs in the plough
ed earth on the other fide..
He made the fame obfervation
on a row of elms, which were
very near being killed by the
digging of a deep ditch pretty
near them, in order to prevent
their roots from damaging an
adjacent piece of ground. The
elms ihot out frefh roots in the
loofs mould that dropped into
the ditch ; thefe. roots reafcend
ed on the other fide of the ditch,
and fpread in the ploughed
ground, and the elms foon recov
ered their former vigour.
He likewife obferved, that ort
digging a trench at a fmall dif
tance from a young elm, and fil
ling it with good mould, the
roots of that elm took their di
rection towards the trench, and
grew to a great length in it.
Thefe obfervations prove that
horizontal roots extend far, ef-
pecially. in loofe mould : And as
a plant thrives in proportion to
j the length of its roots, Mr. Tull
I juilly infers the neceflity oi
I keeping the earth in tillage in a
I light itate, that the roots may ea-
fily penetrate it.
A root that has been cut or
broken, never grows longer, but
foon produces feveral new roots,
all
ROT
all of which gather the proper
food of the plant. Its means of
fubfiftence are therefore increaf-
ed, by the breaking of its roots,
in digging or ploughing, rathe
than otherwife. In the horfc
hoeing hufbandry many of th<
fibrous roots of "the growing plant
are undoubtedly cut off by the
plough. But it occafions the
multiplying of the roots, a
x:onfequently the greater noiu ilh-
inent of the plants.
ROT, a clifeafe in fheep, fimi-
iar to a pulmonary confumption
in men. A writer in the Scots
Farmer thinks, that if the difeafe
have not proceeded far, the an
imals may be cured by feeding
on turnips. But this is rather to
be doubted. It is faid to be caufed
by keeping them in a pad-are
that is too moift, producing
rank and watery graffes. The
raging of this diftemper in a
flock, is flopped by removing
them to a dry fituation : B ut the in
dividuals which are deeply feized
with it, are feldom cured. Cough
is a conflant fymptom. The
lungs decay, and the whole body
droops and languiflies, in the
fame manner as perfons in a hec-
tick. The fick of the flock
mould be removed from the
found (heep, that the infection
may fpread no further among
the flock.
ROTATION of CROPS, a
courfe of different crops in fuc-
cefiion, on the fame piece of
ground.
This matter has not yet been
fufficiently attended to by New-
england Farmers. This appears
by their often being necessitated
to lay their tillage lands wafte for
a confiderable number of years,
that they may get recruited.
The expenfe of recruiting wcrn
out land is fo great, that fuch a
courfe of crops ought to be pre-
11 O T 283
ferred as the foil will bear with
out material injury, or without
being too much exhauited. And,
when other things are equal,
fuch a courfe fhould be a-
dopted, as requires the leaft la
bour, or coft of manures and cul
tivation. When a courfe is well
chofen, it may be repeated on
the fame fpot perpetually, with
out damage to the foil.
It is not to be expecled, that the
heft rules concerning this matter
can be eflablifhed, but from the
experience of many years. For
though it may be eafy to com
pare the refpeftive advantages
of different courfes, in a few.
years, fo as to find which is more
productive ; it will take a much
longer time to determine which
courfe will be befl on the whole.
For the ilate oi the foil, at the
end of a long courfe, is to be
taken into the account. And it
is to be remembered that a courfe
that is fuitable for one foil, may
not be fo for another.
In countries where a fpirited
attention to agriculture has for a
long time fubfifted, one would
expect, that people have moft
probably adopted the bell
courfes. It is not amifs, there-
Fore, to obferve what courfes
they generally prefer in Brit
ain and Ireland, taking care not
ogo into a rafn and inconfider-
Ue imitation of them, without
naking allowance for local dif-
erences, &c.
A common courfe in Ireland
s, turnips, barley, clover, wheat:
Dr,potatoes,barley,ckver,wheat.
From the account that Mr.
i'oung gives of the courfes in
;ifferent places, which he paffed
hrough in his northern tour, the
olio wing things are obfervable :
hat where they do not fallow,
green and white crops follow
each other alternately ; and thai
wit
284
ROT
follows clover oftener than any
other crop : That where fallow
ing is praftifed, wheat is next,
and after it fometimes another
white crop ; but not generally.
It ought to be never.
The courfes of crops in Ire
land, will furnifli nearly the
fame obfervations.
The judicious farmer knows,
that fome regard muft be had to
the nature of the foil in a courfe
<of crops. Thofe crops which
require a light foil, mould make
no part of the courfe in a ftiff
one, and vice verjh.
But fuppofing the European
courfes to be the beft that can be,
fome variation is furely to be
made in this country ; what that
variation is, experience mult dif-
cover. Not only our climates,
but alfo our crops are different.
We raife fome crops that they
do not, and not all that they do
raife. But a rule that is fit to be
extended to all countries, is, that
two impoverifhing crops fhould
feldom, or never, fucceed each
other in a courfe. And it is
certain, that white crops in gen
eral, are apt to impoverifh the
foil, as they continue to draw
nourimment from the earth, for
fome time after the leaves are
dead, and ceafe to receive nour
imment from the air. And a)l
plants that bear an oily feed, rob
the foil of much of its vegetable
food : Such are flax and hemp,
fuppofing them to continue on
the foil till the feed is ripe.
Reafoning from experience
and obfervation, I am led to be
lieve, that the following are as
good courfes, as may be expe61-
ed to be introduced in this coun
try. On light warm foils, the
frrft year, maize dunged, peafe,
or potatoes : 2d year, rye, bar
ley, or buck wheat: The 3d, and
th, clover ; The 5th, wheat ;
ROW
The 6th, and 7th, clover. OH
cold and ftiff foils, ill, oats or
potatoes : 2d, Potatoes well dungr.
ed : 3d, Flax, or wheat : 4th,
Grafs, and fo on till it needs to>
be broken up again. Though
thefe may ferve for general rules,
yet as there is a great variety in
foils, and fome farmers can ob.-
tain manure in greater plenty
than others, each farmer muft en
deavour to accommodate his
courfes to his foil and pther cir-
cumftances.
ROWEL, a kind of iflue, or
artificial wound, made in the
fkin of a horfe, by drawing a
fkain of filk, thread or hair,
through the nape of the neck, or
fome other part, anfwering to
what furgeons call a feton.
Horfes are roweled for inwar,4
ftrains, efpecially about the moul
ders or hips, or for hard fwellings
that are not eafily diffolved. The
rowel may be made in almoft any
part, and fhould always be not
far from the difeafed part, and
about a hand breadth beneath it.
The two ends of the rowel mould
be tied together, that it may not
come out, and be fmeared with
lard, or frefh butter, before it is
put in. Afterwards, it fhould
be daily fmeared again, and
drawn backwards and forwards,
that the putrid matter may dif-
charge itfeif.
What are called rowels by the
Englifh Farriers are made as fol
lows : An incifion is made
through the fkin, about three
eighths of an inch long. Then
the fkin js feparated from the
flefh with the finger, or with the
end of a blunt horn, as far as the
finger will eafily reach. Into
this a piece of leather made very
thin, and round fhaped, is intro
duced, about the fize of a crown
piece, having a large round hole
in the middle of it. Previous to
introducing
RUN
introducing the leather, it is cov
ered with lint or tow, and dipped
in fome digeftive ointment. Al-
fo a pledgitof tow, dipped in the
fame ointment, is jvut in the ori
fice, to keep out the cold air.
See Clark's Farriery.
RUNNET, or RENNET, an
acid juice, contained in the maw
of a calf that has fed on noth
ing but milk. When the rennet
is to be preferved for ufe, the
calf mould be killed Toon after
he has fucked ; for then the curd
is entire and undigefted.
Dairy women ufually preferve
the maw, and the curd contained
in it, after falting them ; and
then by fteeping this bag and
curd, make a rennet to turn their
milk for making cheefe. But a
method which feems to be more
fimple, and is equally good in
every refpeft, is, to throw away
the curd, and after fteeping it in
very ftrong pickle, ftretch out
the maw upon a flender bow in-
ferted into it, which will foon be
very dry, and keep well for a
long time. Take an inch or two
of the maw thus dried, and fteep
it over night in a few fpoonfuls
of warm water ; which water
ferves full as well as if the curd
had been preferved, for turning
the milk. It is faid that one inch
will ferve for the milk of five
cows.
In the Bath papers, Mr. Haz-
zard gives the following receipt
for making rennet: " When the
jraw (kin is well prepared and fit
for the purpofe, three pints of loft
water, clean and fweet, fhould be
mixed with fait, wherein fhould
be put fweet brier, rofe leaves and
flowers, cinnamon, mace, cloves,
and almoft every fort ot fpice ;
and if thefe are put into two
quarts of water, they muft boil
gently, till the liquor is reduced
$9 three pirjts, and care fhould be
RUN 285
taken that this liquor is not fmok-
ed. It fhould be ftrained clear
from the fpices, &c. and when
found to be not warmer, than
milk from the cow, it fhould be
poured upon the cell or maw ; a
lemon may be diced into it, when
it may remain a day or two ; af
ter which it mould be ftrained a-
gain, aad put into a bottle, where,
if well corked, it will keep good
for twelve months. It will frnell
'like a perfume ; and a fmall
quantity of it will turn the milk,
and give the cheefe a pleafing fla
vour." He adds, " If the maw-
be falted and dried for a week or
two near the fire, it will do for
the purpofe again almoft as well
as before/' Another receipt is
as follows : After the maw has
been well cleaned and falted, and
dried upon flicks or fplints, take
boiled water two quarts, made in
to brine that will bear an egg, let
it be blood warm, put in the maw,
either cut or whole ; let it fteep
twenty four hours, and it will be
fit for ufe. About a tea cup
full will turn the milk of ten
cows. It fhould be kept in glafs
bottles, well corked.
An ingenious correfppndent,
who has made ftri6i inquiry into
this fubjel, recommends the fol
lowing method of preparing a
rennet, which he has found to
be better than any other. "Throw
away the natural curd, which is
apt to taint, and give the bag a
bad fmell : Then make an artifi
cial curd, or rather butter, of new
cream, of fufficient quantity to
fill the bag. Add three new laid
eggs well beaten, one nutmeg
grated fine, or any other good
fpice : Mix them well together,
with three tea cup fulls of fine
fait : Fill the rennet bag with
this fubftance : Tie up the mouth :
Lay it under a ftrong brine lor
three days, turning it over daily :
Then
RYE
Then hang it up in a cool anc
dry place for fix weeks, and it wil
be fit for ufe. When it is ufed
take with a fpoon out of the bag
a fufficient quantity of this arti
ficial butyrous curd for the cheefe
you purpofe to make : Diffolve
it in a fmall quantity of warm
water, and then ufe it in the fame
manner, as other rennet is rnixec
with the milk for its coagulation.'
Whatever kind of rennet the
tlairy woman choofes to prepare,
Ihe fhould keep it in mind, that
this animal acid is extremely api
to turn rancid and putrefy, and
take care to apply a fufficient
quantity of fait to preferve it in
its befl ftate. It fhould be as
much falted as poflible. The
ilrongeft kind of fait fhould be
ufed. For it is probable that the
rank and putrid tafte, which is
fo often in cheefes made in thig
country, is owing to a putridity
in the rennet.
RUSH, Juncus, a troublefome
fort of plant, commonly found
growing in wet and miry land.
" Rufhes always indicate a
good foil, They may be clef-
troyed by lime, even after it has
been flaked, by fea coal afhes, or
by draining the land. Rufhes
thrive moil in land that is too
cold and moifl for moft other
plants. A(hes, and other warm
manures of various kinds, laid on
plentifully, will keep down the
ruflies for a time : But to eradicate
them perfe&ly, it is neceffary to
dra i n the 1 a n d . " Co mplete Fa rmer'.
RUST, dark fpots, of the col
our of the ruft on iron, that ap
pear on the ftems and leaves of
blighted grain. See the article
Mudew.
Some forts of grafs are alfo
fubjeft to the fame diflemper.
RYE, or RIE, Sccale, a well
known grain, that is much culti
vated in this country.
H Y E
Though rye by itfelf makes k
dark coloured, clammy, and un-
favoury kind of bread, it is better
to mix with Indian meal in bread,
than any other kind of Englifh
grain ; and for this reafon, our
farmers are the more fond of cul
tivating it.
Rye is as liable to fuffer by
ruft, as wheat ; but it is feldom
known to be fmutty. It is, kow-
ever, fometimes hurt by a diftem-
per called the Spur. See that
article.
Mr. Miller thinks there is but
one fort of rye, though diftin-
guifhedby farmers, into winter
and fpring rye. The winter rye
is larger and heavier than the
other, and is commonly more
profitable to the farmer. This is
Town in autumn, at the fame
time as wheat. The fpring rye
mould be fowed as early in the
fpring, as the ground will admit
of it.
Some fow their winter rye at
the lad hoeing of Indian corn,
and hoe it in. This is a good
practice, when it is fown on flat
land, or on a rich or heavy foil,
where grain is apt to fuffer by
the fro ft of winter. For the
plants'ofrye will be moftly on
the corn hills, and fo efcape in
jury from froft : At leaft they
will moll commonly efcape, or
r o many of them as are necefTary
o give a good crop. The plants
:hat are killed will be thofe in
:he low fpaces between the
hills.
Sandy and gravelly foils are
moft fui table for rye. It com
monly profpers much better on
uch, than on richer foils : The
)rincipal reafon of which may
3e its ripening earlier, and fo ef-
:aping the blight. Weak land
las flrength enough to produce
ye, and it does not exhauft the
oil f< much as other corn.
RYE
I have known the fams fpot
produce twenty crops of this
grain in fucceffion, (excepting
that it was planted with Indian
corn once or twice, to fubduethe
weeds] the crops yearly increaf-
ing, inftead of diminifhing. The
right method is, to plough in the
ilubble as foon as the crop is off;
and in a fortnight or three weeks,
according as weatjier and cir-
ctimiiances favour, crofs plough
the ground, and fow the feed.
The ftubble, fo early buried in
the foil, ferves as a manure. It
will need no dung.
It is faid by fome writers, that
fowing rye two or three years on
a warm dry foil* it will be for
warded, fo as to ripen a month
earlier than that which has been
long cultivated in other foils.
This ought to be attended to by
farmers in this country, where
grain that ripens late, is fo apt to be
blafted. But this obfervation,pof-
fibly,may not be founded in truth.
The quantity of feed to be
fowed, is recommended by fome,
to be two bufhels per acre. But
when the grain is fmall, five or
fix pecks may be a fufficient
quantity. For the fmaller the
grain the greater the number of
leeds.
The figns of ripenefs are, the
yellow colour of the ft raw, the
hanging of the ears, and the hard-
nefs of the grain. But fome
choofe to cut it when in the milk,
becaufe the flour will be whiter.
The quantity, however, will be
Icfs, unlefs it lie a good while on
the ground to ripen, which it
may fafely do in good weather,
if care be taken to keep the top
ends from the ground. Winter
rye is fome times fit to harveft
by the middle of July even in
the northern parts of Newen-
gland : Spring rye is always
fcter.
SAL 287
Some recommend fowing win
ter rye for grazing and fodder.
It affords very early feed for cat
tle in the fpring. Or it may be
mowed for hay two or three
times in a fummer. In coun
tries that are dry, and do not
naturally produce much grafs,
this niay beconfidered as a good
piece of hufbandry.
RYE GRASS, Lolium, a fort
of grafs propagated in England
for hay, fometimes called Rayt
grafs.
S.
SALT, a fubftance that readi
ly diffolves in water, has a pun
gent taile, and eafily unites with.
earth.
Salt is one of the eflentia! in
gredients of the nourifhrnent of
plants ; and fome kind of fait ii
contained in every plant.
Common fait is found in a va
riety of forms : But it always af-
fumes a cubick, or parallelepip
ed figure, after folution and
cryftallization. It is contained
not only in the fea, and in fait
fprings ; but in large ftrata or
mafles in the bowels of the earth.
Salt is of effential importance to
the fanner as a manure. It may be
applied to the foil, either by itfelf,
or mixed and diflblved in com-
poft. In the latter method, I
have found it to be a great fer
tilizer of land.
But if fait be applied unmixed
and undiflblved, it will endanger
the exigence of tender plants.
Mr. Tull afferts, that common
fait is poifon to all plants, ex-
j cept marine ones : He doubt-
j lefs means that it is fo, before it
is mixed, altered and affimilated.
In June, 1786, I falted one
bed or my onions, one bed of
my carrots, and one bed of my
early turnips ; laying the fait
under
488
SAL
under the furface, in the centres
of the intervals between the rows
at fome diftance, perhaps fix inch
es, from the plants, that .the fait
might have time to be difTolved,
and altered, before the fibrous
roots fhould reach it. The car
rots of the falted bed, evidently
grew much larger and better
than the reft of the carrots ; but
I could not perceive that the fait
was at all beneficial to the onions,
or to the turnips.
According to Mr. Ford's ex
periment in faking flax ground,
fait feems to be highly beneficial
to that crop. He fpreads the
fait over the ground, at the time
cf fowing the feed ; and thinks
that the quantity of fait fhould
be double that of the feed. From
three acres in flax falted, he had
fifty bufhels of feed, and an ex
cellent crop of flax. It was
thought that the ad vantage of fak
ing appeared more in the feed
than in the harle.
Mr. Eliot tells of five bufhels
of fait being applied to one acre
of flax, which is a much larger
proportion, and that it had an
extraordinary effecl : And alfo
of a crop of wheat being increaf-
ed by fait. It is hoped that fu
ture trials will more fully afcer-
tain the utility of this kind of
manure, and to what crops it
may be moft advantageoufly ap
plied.
SALTING of MEAT, the
method of preventing its cor
ruption for a long time, by the
application of common fait, &c.
As farmers are moft commonly
too far diflant from market plac
es, to be fupplied from them
with frefh meat, and as it is moft
convenient for them to kill only
at certain feafons, they ought to
be well acquainted with the beft
methods ot keeping meat in good
rder, by faking.
, S A L
The common method of pre-
ferving pork, referving the lean
parts for ufe in the cold feafoiv
and applying a large quantity of
fait to the tat, is perhaps as good
as any can be. But beef is great
ly injured, and rendered un-
wholefome by a fevere faking.
A good method of preferring
beef, which I have known to be
praftifed for feveral years paft, is
as follows : For a barrel of beef
of the common fize, reduce to
powder in a mortar four quarts
of common fait ; then eight
ounces of fait petre, and five
pounds of brown fugar. Let the
fait be well rubbed into the pie
ces, pack them clofe in the bar
rel, and fprinkle the fait petre
and fugar evenly over each lay
er. No water at all is to be appli
ed. The juices ot the meat, if
well packed, will form a fuffi-
cient quantity of brine.; and the
beef will keep fweet and good
through the following fummer,
fuppofing it killed and packed in
the beginning of winter, or late
in autumn ; and will not be too
fait to be palatable. Draining
off the brine and purifying it by
boiling and fcumming, with the
addition of a little fait in the be
ginning of fummer, and return
ing the brine upon the meat, will
be a real improvement.
Dr. Anderfon recommends a
fimilar method for preferving but
ter. Take of fugar one part, of ni-
treone part, and of thebeft Span-
ifh great fait two parts. Beat the
whole into a fine powder, mix
them well together, and put them,
by for ufe. One ounce of this
is to be thoroughly mixed with
a pound of butter, as foon as it is
freed from the milk, and then
immediately put into the veflel
defigned to hold it After which
it rnuft be prefled fo clofe as to
have no air holes ; and then fo
clofety
SAN
clofely covered that no air can
come to it. If all this is done,
he thinks the butter may be kept
perfectly found and good tor
many years. For he had feen it
at two years old, in every refpect
as fweet and found as when only
a month old.
SAND, is defcribed as a ge
nus of fo fills, found in minute
concretions, forming together a
kind of powder, the genuine par
ticles of which are all of a ten
dency to one particular fhape,
and appear regular, though more
or lefs complete, concretions ;
not to be diffolved, or difunited
by water, or forming into a co
herent inafs by it, but retaining
their figure in it : Tranfparent,
vitrifiabie by extreme heat, and
not diflbkible in, or effervefcing
with acids.
** Thefe are fubjeft to be va-
riotifly blended and intermixed,
either with homogene or hete-
rogene particles, particularly
with flakes of talk ; and, accord
ing to thefe, and their different
colours, are to be fubdivided in
to different kinds, as red, white,
&c.
"As to fand, its ufe is to make
the clayey earth fertile, and fit
to feed vegetables : For fuch
earth alone, we find, is liable to
coalefce, and gather into a hard
coherent mats, as is apparent in
mere clay. The earth thus em
bodied, and as it were glued to
gether, is no ways difpofed to
nouriih vegetables. But ir with
inch earth, a fufficient quantity of
fdiid be intermixed, it will keep
the pores of the earth open, and
the earth itfelf loofe and in-
cpmpacl ; and by that means
give room for the juices to af-
cend, and tor plants to be nour-
ifhed thereby.
" Thus a vegetable planted,
either in fand alone, or in a fat
SAN
289
glebe, or earth alone, receives
no growth or increment at all,
but is either ftarved or furTocat-
ed : But mix the two, and the
m.afs becomes fertile. In effect,
by means of fand, the earth is
rendered, in fome manner, or-
fanical : Pores and interfaces
eing hereby maintained, fome-
thing analogous to veflels, by
which the juices may be convey
ed, prepared, digefted, circulat
ed, and at length excerned, and
thrown off into the roots of
plants.
" Grounds that are fandy and
gravelly, eafily admit both heat
and moifture : But then they
are liable to thefe inconvenien
ces, that they let them pafs too
foon, and fo contraft no ligature,
or elfe retain it too long, efpe-
cially where there is a clay bot
tom : And by that means it either
parches or chills too much, and
produces nothing but mofs and
cankerous infirmities. But it
the fand happens to have a fur-
face of good mould, and a bot
tom of gravel, or loofe flone,
though it do not hold water, in
may produce a forward fweet
grafs ; and though it may be fub-
jeft to burn, yet it quickly re
covers with the lea ft rain.
" Sea fand is accounted a very
good cornpoft for ft iff ground :
For it effects thefe two things ;
it makes way for the tree or feed
to root in {tiff grounds, and
makes a fume to feed it.
" Sand indeed is apt to puffi
the plants that grow upon it, ear
ly in the fpring, and make them
germinate near a month fooner
than thole that grow upon clay,
becaule the falts in the fand are
at full liberty to be raifed, and
put into motion, upon the leaft
approach of the warmth of the
fun. But then, as they are hafty,
M
they are foon exhaled and loft,
m "T.
Ihc
S A N
" The beft fand, for the farm
er's ufe, is that which is wafh-
ed by rain from roads, or hills,
or that taken from the beds of
rivers. The common fand, that is
dug in pit.% never anfwe'rs near
ly fo well. Sand mixed with
dung, is much better than laid oil
alone : And a very fine manure
is made, by covering the bottom
of fheep folds with feveral loads
of fand every week, which are to
be taken away 1 , and laid on cold
ilifr' lands, impregnated as they
are, with the dung and urine of
fheep.
" Befides clay land, there is
another fort of ground very im-
proveable by fand. This is that
fort of black foggy land, ofi which
bufhes and (edge grow naturally,
and which they cut into turf in
fome places. Six hundred loads
of fand, being laid on an acre of
this land, meliorate it fo much,
that it will yield good crops of
oats, &c. though before, it would
have produced fcarce any thing.
If after this crop is taken oft, the
land be well dunged, and laid
down fdrgrafs, it will yield a large
crop of fweet hay.
" Sea fand; which is thrown
up in creeks and other places, is
by much the richeft of all fand
for manuring- the earth : Partly
its faltnefs, and partly the fat and
un&uous filth that is mixed a-
mongit, give it this great virtue.
In the weftern parts of England,
that lie upon the fea coaft, they
make great advantage of it. The
'fragments of fea (hells alfo, which
always abound in this fand, add
to its virtues : And it is always
the more e (teemed by the farm
ers, the more of thefe fragments
are among it.
" Sea land is beft, which is
taken up from under the water,
or from fand banks which are
covered by every tide. The
S A N
fmallefl grained fand, is themofl-
fudden in its operation, and is
therefore beft for the tenant, who
is only to take three -or four
crops : But trie coarfe, or large
grained fand, is much better for
the landlord, as the good it does
lafts many years." Complete
Farmer.
Sand entirely changes the na
ture of a clayey foil ; fo that it
will fcarcely ever become fo
compa6r, as it was before land
ing. Nor is any other manure fo
good as fand, to loofen and (oft
en it. No other will have fo
lading an eflfecl;. From being
the leaft productive, a foil of
clay, by fanding, comes to be the
o rnoft fruitful of any, when it is
fufficiently fanded ; for it has
more of the food of plants in it
than any other foil, wanting on
ly to have its cohefion fufficient
ly broken, to give a free pafTage
to the roots of vegetables. For
"this purpofe, a very fmalldreffing
of fand will not feem to produce
any effecl. A layer of two and
a half or three inches will not be
too much for land in tillage, ii
itbea-ftifFclay,-
The benefit of fanding does
not appear fo much the firft year
or two ,as afterwards : For the
oftener the land is tilled, the
more thoroughly is the fand mix
ed with the clay ; by which the
vegetable pafture is more and
more increafed.
But fand laid up'on clay land in
grafs, will have a great effeft,
without mixing it with the foil.
I have known half an acre of
clay land laid to grafs, which be
came fo bound and ft iff, as to
produce only two or three cocks
at a mowing, with a mixture of
low mofs and other tram. The
owner, in Oftober, 1783, with one
yoke of oxen, carted on eighty
loads of yellow fand from the
road.
S A N
road, which was about equal to
forty cart fulls ; levelled it with
a harrow, and threw in fome hay
ieed. The following year it pro-
duced ten hundred weight of
good hay : Laft year it produced
twenty hundred ; ^and it is ex
pected, that about thirty hundred
will he the weight of the crop in
the prefent year, 1786. The fand
not only added warmth to the
foil, but prevented the clay from
becoming fo dry and hard as to
prevent the roots of the grafs
from extending themfelves in it.
SANDY SOIL, afoil in which
fand is the predominant ingredi
ent.
It is feldom found unmixed
with other ingredients. Wherev-
.er it is fo, it is extremely barren,
and of little or no value. It will
Scarcely produce weeds.
Some barren fands confift of
very fine particles, and have no
: fward over them.. The wind
drives them before it, and makes
what are called fand floods,
which bury the neighbouring
lands and fences. The fences
near them mould be tall hedges
to abate the force 'of winds :
And trees which require but lit
tle nouri foment from the earth,
(hould be planted in thefe fands,
that a fward may be obtained up
on them. See Locujl Tree.
When a fandy foil is ufed in
-tillage, it mould be for thofe
crops which require the mod
heat, and are lead apt to fufifer by
drought ; as maize, tobacco, rye,
peafe, c.
The belt manures for a fandy
foil, are marie, cow dung, and
fwines' dung ; mud from flats,
fwamps, ponds, rivers, &c.
Clay is as beneficial to a fandy,
as fand is to a clayey foil. A
drefTmg of clay two or three inch
es thick, laid on a fandy foil,
and well mixed, will make it
SAP
291
fruitful for many years after, as I
have found by experience. It
brings the foil to the right con
fidence, renders it lefs porous,
and caufes it to retain its moift-
ure. At the fame time it is more
retentive of manures applied to
it : Perhaps the benefit received
from the clay will never be whol
ly loft. Though the clay is con
tinually finking further into the
earth, by means of every rain,
deep ploughing will return it to
the furface ; fo much of it at
leaftasisneceffary. Andrepeat-
ed dreflings of clay may be needed.
SAP, the fluid contained in
plants, which is drawn from the
earth and atmofphere, by .which
plants are nourished, augmented,
and rendered fruitful. It an-
fwers the fame purpofes as the
blood and othercirculating juices
in animals. It conveys nouriih-
ment to all the parts.
Before this juice enters, it is
called the food of plants ; after
wards, it has the name fap : But
it ftill confiftsof nearly the fame
ingredients, being compound
ed of earthy,' faline, aqueous,
oleaginous, and aerial particles.
The greater part of the fap en
ters at the root, being a fubacid
juice : And the nearer it is to the
root in a plant, the lefs it is al
tered from its original ihte. But
the farther it removes from the
root, or the more it circulates, the
more it is affimilated to the na
ture of the plant ; the heteroge
neous particles being flopped by
ttrainers, or thrown off by per-
fpiration. When the fap hasar-
j rived to the germs and buds, it is
highly conco6ted : And when
the leaves unfold, they ferve as
lungs for the further preparation
of this liquid for the purpofes na
ture intends it mould ferve.
It has long been difputed
whether there is a circulation of
292 SAP
^he juice in vegetables, fimilar to }
*hat of the blood in animals.
Malphigi, Grew, and others, have
contended in favour of fuch a
circulation. They fuppofed the
fap to afcend through tubes, or
arteries in the woody part, and
to return in what they call veins,
between the wood and the bark.
But Dr. Hales has confuted this
doftrine, and fubftituted a more
rational one in its place.
To conceive aright of the mo r
tion of the fap, it fhould be ccn-
fidered that the pabulum for the
jiourifhraent of plants is prefent-
ed to them, and efpecially to their
loots, in the form of a fleam, or
vapour : That the capillary pores
in the fuperficies of the roots and
other parts, imbibe this vapour
by the principle that is common
to all capillary tubes ; from
whence it pafTes by anailomofing
canals to the inner parts, where
it gets its higheft perfection. By
the fame principle, the fap alfo
afcends ?;G the top : But this is
not the only caufe of its afcent,
The increased rarefaction of
this juice within the plants, often
expands it and caufes it to mount
upwards. As often as once eve
ry day, when the weather is
warm, as in fpring and fummer,
the fap afcends and defcends.
In hot weather plants perfpire
freely, through the pores of the
leaves and bark, at which feafon
the fap is much rarefied. By
means ot the heat, the air in the
tracheae, or air veflels, expands,
and enlarges their diameters.
Therefore they comprefs and
flraiten the fap veffels, which
are in contak with them. The
fap by that preffure is forced up
ward, as it cannot efcape by the
root, and fends out the excre-
mentitious and ufelefs matters
contained in it,through the leaves
and branches. On the cooling
SEA
of the air, the fap fufcfides again
in its velfels. The veffels in the
uppermoft branches and leaves,
^re thus alternately emptied ; and
in their exhaufled flate, they im
bibe food from the air, which
mixes with the fap, and increaf-
es its quantity. This is a circula
tion peculiar to plants, and is
different from that of animals.
SCRATCHES, or Sclcnders,
a diforder between the hinder
paft?rn joints and hoofs of horfes,
confiding of cracks and forenefs,
with fuppuration. It is trouble-
fame commonly in the winter
feafon only. The method of
cure is the fame as for malanders.
See that Article.
SEA WATER, this fluid, be-
fides water and particles of com
mon fait, contains, according to
Dr. Ruifel's account, fulphur,
nitre and oil.
As it undoubtedly contains
much of the cffence of animal and
vegetable fubflances, by means
of the perifhing and confuming
of both in it, it is fitter than
mere fait to be u fed as a manure,
whether by itfelf, or in compoit.
In the year 1786, one hundred
hills of potatoes near the ihore
were watered with fea water,
about two quarts on a hill, being
one hour's work of a man. The
crop was half as much again, as
in the fame number of hills ad^
joining. The water was appli
ed to the foil jull after planting
the fets, which I fuppofe to be
the beft time for doing it, as
there can be no danger of burn
ing the young (hoots, and as the
fait will be mixed, with rain and
the moiffure of the earth, before
moots are produced.
In the year 1787, alternate
rows were watered in the fame
manner with fea water. There-
fult of this experiment was un
certain j becaufeby ploughing off
and
SEE
and on alternately between the
rows, the earth of the watered and
im watered rows was blended to
gether. But all together, a good
crop was obtained.
The fame year a piece of flax
was, in the month of June, very
fliort and yellow on one fide of
the piece ; but of a good colour
on the other, and much taller :
This induced the owner to water
the poor iide from the fea. In
ten days it was equal in length
and colour with that on the oth
er fide, though very little rain
fell in the time. At pulling, the
watered ficih was evidently bet
ter grown than the other. This
was a fufficient demonftration ot
the advantage of fea water,
when the land lies adjoining to
the Tea ihore ; fo that the labour of
applying it is inconfiderable.
The above experiments were
made in a clayey foil.
In a fandy (oil the fame year,
watering the ground where
French turnips were j aft fcnvn,
had an excellent effect. Though
it was a fpot where the turnips
had been deflroyed by infects,
feveral years fucceflively, they
generally efcaped this year. Not
more than one pailful! was appli-
* ed to a drill row two rods in
length, wetting the ground over
the feeds, foon after fowing.
Salt water applied to tender
plants, moil commonly proves
too ftrong tor them, it applied
when the ground is dry. But if
it be wet, the ftrength'of the wa
ter is abated by mixing with the
juices in the foil, before it is tak
en up by the roots, and thus it is
rendered innocent and fate, as I
I have found by experience. The
feeds bear the application of the
I fea water, better than the young
, plants do.
SEEDS of Vegetables. " their
laft product, by which their fpe-
SEE 293
cies are propagated ; being fre
quently all the fruit of a plant,
but fomctimes only a part includ
ed in the fruit.
" Every ieed contains a plant
in embryo. The embryo, which
is the whole future plant in mini
ature, is called the germ or bud ;
and is rooted in the cotyledon, or
placenta, which make its involu-
crum, or cover. The cotyledon
is always double ; and in the mid
dle, or common centre of the
two, is a point or fpeck, viz. the
I embryo plantule, which being
acled on by the warmth of the
fun and ot the earth, begins to
protrude its radicle, or root,
downwards, and foon after, its
plumula, or bud, upwards ; and a,s
the requifite heat continues, it
draws nourishment by the root,
and fo continues* to unfold itfelf
and grow.
" The two cotyledons of a
feed, are a cafe to the little
embryo plant ; covering it up,
and fheltenng it from injuries,
I and ieeding it from its own prop
er fubftance ; which the plan
tule receives and draws to itfelf
by an infinite number of little fil
aments, which it fends into the
body of the placenta.
" The cotyledons for the
moft part abound with a balfam
difpofed in proper cells ; arid
this feerns to be oil brought to its
greateft. perfection, while it re
mains turnid, and lodged in thefe
repofitories. One part of the
competition of this balfam is oily
and tenacious, and ferves to de
fend the embryo from any ex
traneous moifture ; and, by its
vifcidity, to entangle and retain
the fine, pure, volatile fpirit,
which is the ultimate production
of the plant. This oil is never
obferved to enter into the veflels
of the embryo, which are too
line to admit fo thick a fluid.
The
SEE
The fpirit,however,being quick
ened by an a6tivepower s may pof-
fibly breathe a vital principle into
the juices that Hourifh the em
bryo, and flamp upon it the
charafter that diftinguimes the
family ; after which, every thing
is changed into the proper na
ture of that particular plant.
" Now when the feed is com
mitted to the earth, the placen
ta fti 1 1 adheres to the embryo for
fome time, and guards it from the
accefs of noxious colds, &c. and
even prepares and purifies trie
Cruder juice the young plant is to
receive from the earth, by {train
ing it through -its own body.
This it continues todo, till the em
bryo plant being a little enured to
its new element, and its root tol
erably fixed in the ground, and
fit to abforb the juice thereof,
it then perifhes, and the plant
may be faid to be delivered ; fo
that nature obferves the fame
rnethod in plants, as in animals
in the mother's womb.
" Many forts of feeds will con
tinue good for feveral years, and
retain their vegetative faculty ;
\vheieas others will not grow
after they are one year old : This
difference is in a great meafure
owing to their abounding more or
lefs with oil ; as alfo to the nature
of the oil, and the texture of
their outward covering. All
feeds require fome mare of frefh
air, to keep the germen in a
healthy ftate ; and where the
air is abfolutely excluded, the
vegetative quality of the feeds
\vill be foon loft. But feeds will
be longeft of all preferved in the
earth, provided they are buried
fo deep as to be beyond the in
fluence of the fun and mowers ;
lince they have been found to
lie thus buried twenty or thirty
years, and yet vegetate as well
AS new feeds. How the vegeta-
S M
tive life is fo long preferved, by
burying them fo deep, is very
difficult to explain ; but as the
raft is very well known, it ac
counts for the production of
plants out of earth taken from
the bottom of vaults, houfes,&c.
" In the common method oi
fowing feeds, there are many
kinds which require to be fown
foon after -they are ripe ; and
there are many others which lie
in the ground a year, fometimes
two or three years, before the
plant comes up : Hence, when
feeds brought from diftant coun
tries are fown, the ground mould
not be diflurbed, at leaft for two
years, for fear of deftroying the
young plants.
" As to the method of pre-
ferving feeds, the dry kinds are
beft kept in their pods or outer
coverings ; but thefeeds of all foft
fruits, as cucumbers, melons,
&c. muft be cleanfed from the
pulp and mucilage which fur-
round them ; otherwife the rot
ting of thefe parts will corrupt
the feeds.
" When feeds are gathered, it
mould always be done in dry
weather ; and then they mould
be hung up in bags in a dry
room, fo as not to deprive them
of air." Dictionary of Arts.
SEEDING, the fame as fow-
ng of feed. Se the article Sow-
ng.
SEEDLING,arootthat fprings
rom feed fown. The name is
applied alfo to the tender tops of
plants that have newly come
from feed* "The little plants are
bus diflinguifhed from cuttings,
ayers 4 and flips.
SEMINATION, the manner
n which plants fhed and difperfe
heir feeds.
Some feeds are fo heavy, that
;hey fall direftly to the ground ;
others are furnimed with a pap-
S H E
piis, or down, that they may, by
means thereof, be difperfed by
the wind ; and others again are
contained in elaftick capfules,
which, burfting open with eon-
fiderable force, dhrtor throw out
the feeds to different diftances.
Some of the fecond fort are waft
ed over vaft tracls of land, or
even carried to remote countries.
The weed that is peculiar to
burnt land, and is called fire
weed, has fuch a kind of feed :
It is not ftrange, therefore, that
we fee it grow in burnt places,
many miles from where it has
grown before.
SHADE, a fhelter or defence
againft the heat of the fun. Cat
tle need not only to be fheltered
againft cold and wet weather in
other feafons, but againft heat in
fummer. Therefore the paftures
in which they feed, mould have
trees in them, that they may re
pair to their fhadow in the hotteft
hours. Clumps are preferable to
fingle trees, as they not only af
ford a cool lhade,but may fcreen
the cattle from the violence of
rain and ftorms, fome of which
happen in the time of grazing.
SHED, a flight roof or cover-
mg, oi boards or other materials,
for temporary purpofes. Where
boards are not eafily obtained,
they may be covered with ftraw,
which will laft a few years ; or
with the bark of trees, which
will be far more durable.
SHEEP, a well known tame
animal.
They multiply faft ; they are
fubjeft to but few difeafes in this
country ; their flglh is excellent
food, and their wool of the great-
eft importance to this nation ; in
which the woollen manufactory
ought to be encouraged, and may
be carried on to great advantage.
Mortimer fays, " The farmer
ikould always buy his fheep from
S H E
a worfe land than his own, and
they mould be big boned, and*
have a long greafy wool.
" For the choice of fheep to
breed, the ram rnuft be young,
and his Ikin of the fame colour
with his wool ; for the lambs
will be of the fame colour with
his fkin. Thofe ewes which
have no horns, are found to be
the beft breeders."
The farmers in Europe knowj
how to diftinguim the age ot
fheep by their teeth. When a
Ibeep is one fhear, as they ex-
prefs it, that is, has been fheared
but once, or is in its fecond year,
it has two broad teeth before :
When it is two fhear, it will have
four : When three, fix : When
four fhear, or in its fifth year, it
will have eight teeth before. After
this, their mouths begin to break,
" The fat paftures breed ftraight
tall fheep, and the barren hills
fquare and fhort ones. But the
beft fheep of all, are thofe bred
upon new ploughed land, the
reafon of which may be eafily
guelfed, as fuch land is common
ly the moft free from bad
graffes.
" All wet and moift lands are
bad for fheep, efpecially fuch as
are fubjecl: to be overflowed, and
to have fand and dirt left on
them. The fait marfhes are an
exception from this general rule :
For their faltnefs makes amends
for their moifture ; any thing
fait, by reafon of its drying qual
ity, being of great advantage to
fheep. The beft time for fheep
to yean, which go twenty weeks
with lamb, is in April, unlcfs
the owner has any forward grafs,
or turnips. Ewes that are big,
fhould be kept but bare ; for it is
dangerous for them to be fat at
the time of their bringing forth
their young. They may be well
fed, indeed, like cows, a fort--
night
night beforehand, to pttttfecDB in \
heart."
IvLBuffonfays," One ram will
be fuflicient for twenty five or
thirty ewes ; but that he fhpuld
be remarkable tor ftrength and
comelinels : That thofe which
have no horns are very indiffer
ent : That the head of a ram
fhoiUd be large and thick, the
forehead broad, the eyes large
and black, the nofe ihort, the
neck thick, the body Jong, the
back and rump broad, the tefti-
cles large, and the tail long :
That the belt are white, with a
large quantity of wool on the
belly, tail, head and ears, down
to the eyes : That the bed fheep
for propagation, are thofe which
have moft wool, and that clofe,
long, filky and white ; efpecially
if, at the fame time, they have a
large body, a thick neck, and are
light footed."
He fays, " that ewes fatten
very faft during their pregnancy ;
that as they often hurt themfelves,
and frequently mifcarry, fo they
fometimes become barren ^ and
that it is not very extraordinary
for them to bring forth monflrous
productions. But when proper
ly tended, they are capable or
yeaning during the whole oi
their life, or to the age of ten or
twelve years. But molt com
monly when they come to be
feven or eight years old, they be
gin to break, and become fickly;
and that a ram is no longer fit for
propagation after eight years, at
which time he fhouid be knit,
and fattened with the old iheep."
According to the fame writer,
V fheep Ihould in the fummer.be
turned out early in the morning
to feed ; and in four or five hours,
after watering, be brought back
to the fold, or to fome ihacly
place. At four o'clock, P. M.
they fhould be turned to their
S.H E
piilure again, and continue tfie?
till evening ; and were it not tor
the danger ot wolves, they mould'
pafs the night in the open air,
which would render them more
vigorous, clean, and healthy.
As the too great heat of the fun
is hurtful to them, fhady paftures
are belt for them ; or elfe to
drive them to a place with a
weflern defcent in the morning,,
and the contrary towards even
ing." That their wool may be
faved, they fhould not be paftured
in bufhy places, or where there
are briars. Sheep are often thus
deprived of moft of their fleeces ;
which befides the lofs of the
wool is very hurtful to the an
imals, when the weather is not
warm.
The above writer direfts, " that
every year a flock ot fheep
Ihould be examined, in order to
find out fuch as begin to grow
old, and ought to be turned off
for fattening. As they require
a particular management, (o they
fhould be put in a flock by them
felves. They fhould feed while
the grafs is moiflened with dew-
in the morning. Salt fhould
be given them to excite thirft, as
the more they drink the hfler
they will grow fat. But to com
plete their fattening, and make
their flefh firm and fblid, they
fhould have fome corn or grain
given them." They may be fat
tened in the winter ; but it is
commonly too expensive, as
they will require a good deal of
richer food than hay. When
fheep are once become fat, they
fhould be killed ; for it 'is faid
they cannot be made fat a /econd
time. The teeth of ewes begin
to decay at five, thofe ot weath
ers at feven, and thofe of rams
not until eight.
We (hear our fheep in general
too early in this country. In
England,
, SHE
England, where the fpring
more forward than in this coun
try, the approved time of {hearing
is from the middle to the latter enc
of June. They mould be wafliec
in a warm time. After this they
fhould run three or four days in
a clean pafture, before they are
fhorn. It is good for . them to
have time to fweat a little in their
wool, after warning*
In {hearing, great care mould
be taken not to wound, prick, or
cut their fkins with the fhears.
In England, after fhearing, the
farmers fmear their fheep with a
mixture of tar and frem butter.
This not only cures any little
wounds they may chance to get
in (hearing, but is fuppofed to
fortify their bodies againft cold,
and caufe their wool to grow a-
gain the fooner,
If any cold rains happen foori
after [hearing, the fheep mould
be put up in a warm houfe. For
if they be left abroad, it is apt to
be fatal to them.
But Mr. Young thinks they
are fo apt to be hurt by being kept
very warm that they, mould nev
er be confined to a houfe, but al
ways have the door open, that
they may be ita the houfe or the
yard as they choofe. They will
undoubtedly prefer the warmer
place when they are newly morn,
if the air be colder than common.
Small flocks commonly profper
better than large ones, as they
are not often To overheated by
crowding each other.
In France, fifteen pounds of fait
per annum arc allowed to a
iheep, and fifty for each head ot
cattle. The truth is, that in the
inland parts of this country, both
forts fhould have fait often, and
be allowed to eat as much as they
pleafe, their health requires it, and
they will pay well tar it to the
wner.
N
SHE 297
Some are fond of having black
flieep in their flock. But their
wool is feldom fo fine, or fo
ftrong, as that of white ones.
Nor is the wool ever a perfe6tly
good black, and it is found diffi
cult to give it any good durable
colour by dying.
SHELLS, ftony coverings,
which nature prepares for cer
tain kinds of animals in the fea,
and by which they are defended j
which are therefore denominat
ed {hell fifli.
Thefe {hells are much of the;
fame nature as lime ftone, and
are one of the beft kinds of ma-
ire. No length of time de
prives thofe mells of their virtue,
which are buried deep in the
earth. Thofe which muft have
been in that fituation, at leaft
ever fmce Noah's flood, are un-
arltered. But fhells which lie on,
the furface of the ground will
gradually moulder, and become
time.
This manure is fo highly ef-
teerned in fome parts of Europe,
:hat the farmers even carry it in
3ags upon horfes to the di (lance
of feveral miles from the fea.
Shells may be applied to the
"oil at one feafen of the year as
well as at another ; excepting:
hat they mould not be carted on
at a time whan the ground is fo wet
as to be poachy ; becaufe poach^
ng is hurtful to all foils. The
; armer may generally do this
york at a time when he is moft at
_eifure. Even in winter thofe
may well be removed, which lie
ower in the fea than high water
mark.
Mr. Wefton recommends that
fhells be ground fine before they
ufed as manure ; and fays,
the finer they are ground the
farther they will go. But it re-
quire* fo much labour to grind
them, that I doubt whether it be
worth
s8 SI L
worth while to do it, unlefs it be
for gardens. And in the long
rtin, they will benefit the foil as
much without grinding. Though
the benefit of them, when appli
ed whole, do not appear much in
the firft and fecond year,the tillage \
of every year will help to break
and crumble them ; and in a
courfe of years, by continual til
lage, they will befufficiently dif-
folved, and intimately mixed with
the foil.
It is chiefly the fmaller fhells
that fliould be thus ufed, fuch.a?
thofe of clams,- mufcles, Sec. for
thefe will be fooner dilfolved
than larger ones. As final 1 fhells
are moftly mixed with fand, or
tenacious rnud, they need' not be
Separated from thefe fubftances.
Thofe that are mixed 'with fand
will be a proper drefBng for
cold, ftiff and clayey foils ; and
thofe which are mixed with mud
fhould be laid upon foils that are
dry and light. For many of the
fhells will lie with the concave
fides upwards in the earth, and
will flop the water in its defcent,
and fo aflift the foil in retaining
moiflure.
Mr. Eliot tried* a fort of fhell
fand, which he fays he found to
be equal to good dung. -If it had
as much effett as dung at fir ft, it
in uft have been vaflly better than
dung upon the whole : Becaufe
ihells are a lafting advantage to
the foil.
SHRUB, a bum or dwarfifh
tree. Some apply the term to
all plants that are woody and tlo
not arrive to the fize of trees,
though not fo durable as trees.
The final! oak bulbes-on plains,
the elder, whortleberry bufh,
thorn, fweet fern, &c. are rank
ed under this head.
SILIOUOSE PLANTS, or
ILEGUK/IINOUS PLANTS,
thofe which contain their feeds
S L I
in pods. The feeds adhere to
the ftronger limbs of the two
valves alternately. Of this kind
are peafe, beans, vetches, and
many more.
S1THE, a well known inftru-
ment to cut grafs. This inftru-
ment fhould confift of tough iron
and the beil of ileel, well wrought
together, and nicely tempered.
If the temper of a tithe mould
prove to be too high, it may be
lowered by laying it to the hot
fun a few days in midfummer.
SLED, or SLEDGE, a car
riage without wheels, chiefly ufed
to convey loads when the ground
is covered with fnow. Plank
fleds, and framed fleds, are both
ufed. The latter for lightnefs
are rather preferable. But plank
fleds are more ufed for the heav-*
ieft loads, as maftsand mill logs.
The common length of a fled is
eight or nine feet ; but longer
ones are better for carrying
boards, and long timber.
SLIPS, twigs torn from a tree,
or fhrub, to propagate by plant
ing them in a moifl foil:
More than half, or even two
thirds of their length, fhould be
buried in the foil. They" ftrike
root more eafily than cuttings.
Early in the fpring is the right
legion to perform it. I have the
beftfuccefs when I doit as foon
as the ground is thawed in the
fpring.
The flips fliould either be
planted immediately after they
are taken from the trees ; or the
lower ends fhould be enclosed in
wet clay till they are fet in the
ground. This laftwillbe necef-
fary when the flips muft be carri
ed to any confiderable diftance.
And in this cafe, they fhould lie
for a while in water before they
are put into the ground.
It is neccffary to place them in
moifl earth, rich, and finely pul-
verifed.:,,
$ L U
verifed ; and they fhouU be fre-
quently reircfhed by a little wa
tering, unlefs the feafon be wet.
But it is the fureit method to
plant flips in pots, efpecially of
thofe kinds which are leaft apt to
ilrike root. In this cafe, it will
not be at all difficult to give them
continually the right quantity of
iHoifture. Slips from almoft any
kinds of trees and fhrubs may be
thus made to grow ; but they
will never make fo large trees
as thofe which come from the
feeds. They will be the more
fit, however, for the borders of
gardens.
_. SLOUGH, a deep muddy
fpot of earth.
Softand hollow places in roads,
where puddles of water ftand af
ter rain, by means of the frequent
paffing of loaded wheel car
riages, often become deep and
troublefome floughs. The way
to prevent their cxiftence, is to
make a channel, or a covered
drain, where the fhape of -ihe
ground admits of it, to lead away
the fuperfluous water. For the
ground will thus be permitted to
dry and harden, fo as to prevent
the finking of -wheels into it.
To cure a '{lough in a road,
fink pebbles, or any kind of
ftones into the bottom, and cover
them with a thick coat of coarfe
gravel, or with cinder from a
Imith's forge, or with rubbifh
from a brick kiln. But this
ihould be done in a dry feafon.
SLUICE, a frame of timber,
fei;ving to obftruft and raife the
water of the fea, or of a river, and
to let it pafs as there may be oc-
cafion for it.
Sluices are required for mills,
and for locks to carry on inland
navigation. But I ihall only
confiaer thofe fluices which the
hufbandman may find ufeful in
. flooding of low laHds,or watering a
S L U 290
dry foil with thePerfian wheel, or
in reclaiming of marines.
For the iirit and fecond of
thefe purpofes, fiuices with gates
to raife and let down are proper.
But for the laft gates are not
needed when the dream is large.
ThePerfian wheel has floats
made hollow, and of fuch a con-
ftruftion, as to raife the water
from a 11 nice, to the height of two
thirds the diameter of the wheel ;
where the floats difcharge the wa-.
ter into a trough ; whence it is con
veyed away in fuch a manner as
to water the neighbouring lands.
For a particular account of the
machine, fee Milk's DuhamcL
For reclaiming of marines,
boxes with (butters are ufed, ef
pecially when but a imall quan
tity of fief h water will need to pafs
out through the fluices. A box:
may be made of four pretty wide
and ilrong planks,either nailed or
pegged together. The length
of the box muft be equal to the
thicknefs of the bottom of the
dyke ; and rather projeft a little
at each end, that the paffages
may, not be obftrutred by dirt or
fods falling from the dyke.
Thefe boxes fhould be placed in
the lower! hollows of the maifh,
or in the creeks, and the ground
well hardened beneath them, and
on their fides. It is better to
place two or three boxes fide by
fide, if needful, than go to the
expenfe of building a more coft-
Jy kind of fluice. And each
hollow or creek, through which
a dyke pafles, and wherever
there is likely ever to be frefh wa
ter to convey away, (hould have
one or more of thefe little fluices.
Each box fhould have a clap
per, or fh utter. The mutter is
to be fattened to the mouth of
the box, at the end towards the
fea, with hinges made of iron or
wood. The rifi ng tide preffes the
{fruiter
goo
S M U
ihutter clofe to the mouth of the
box, fo that no water can enter ;
and at ebb tide the frefh water,
when there is any, opens it by its
prefTure, and paffes out.
When it is found necefTary to
Jbuild larger kinds of flukes, Bd-
idor's Architeflure Hydraulique^
and Mutter, fhould be confulted.
SMUT, a diftemper in grain,
which diffolves the fubftance of
the kernel, turns it to a black duft s
and burfts the coats of the kernels.
M. Duhamel diftinguifhes it
jby its entirely deftroying the
ferm and fub fiance of the grain;
y ks afFecling not only the ear,
but the whole plant, and extend
ing itfelf moft commonly to all the
ears which arife from the fame
root. He fays he has found it
as early as in April, by opening
a plant, and taking out a young
ear, not more than the fixth of
an inch long ; that a dillemper-
ed ear, when it comes out of its
liofe, looks lank and meagre, and
that the black 'powder may be
feen through the thin coat of the
grain ; that the powder has a fe
tid frnell, and no confiftency ;
that it is eafily blown away by
wind, or warned away by rain ;
and that he has never found itto
be contagious, like the powder
of burnt grain.
M. Tillet obferved that the
upper part of the ftalk of a fmutty
plant is not commonly ftraight,
from about half an inch below
the ear ; and that in that part it
is ftiff and hard, and is almoft en
tirely filled with pith, very dif
ferent from the ftems of healthy
plants ; whence he concludes,
that the afcent of the fap is ob-
ilrufted in the Items of fmutty
jplants.
' The real caufe of fmut has af-
caped the researches ofmany phi-
lofophers. M. Duhamel jullly
obferves, that it cannot be a
S M U
want of fecundation, 'as it de r
itroys hoth the male and female
organs, long before the time of
fecundation.
He confutes the conjectures f
its being caufed by wet upon the
ears, or the violent heat of the
fun, by obferving that the ears
are fmutty be-fore they ceafe to
be covered by the blades. And
if it were owing to the moiiture
of the earth, he obferves, that
there would be more fmutty
plants in the low and wet, than
in the high and dry parts of a
field, which is not faft.
He adds, that he never could
make it appear that the diftcni-
per is caufed by infecls, though
he had been of that opinion ; and
that Dr. Hales has proved by ex
periment that it cannot proceed
from the feeds being bruifed by
the flail, by bruiting 'a number of
grains with a hammer, which
grew well afterwards, and bore
found ears. The fame excellent
reafoner refutes the opinion ot
thofe, who impute fmut to dung
of fheep or pigeons!
M. Aimen, M. D. has very
judicioufly obferved, " that the
fmut of corn cannot derive its ori
gin from a deleft in the fap, as all
the parts of the plant, except the
ear, look healthy, and there are
plants whofe roots are perennial,
which appear vigorous, though
their feeds are fmutty every
year. He is of opinion, that
whatever weakens the plant, is
apt to bring on the fmut, and in-
(lances, as a proof of this, that it
is a frequent cuftom in his coun
try, to cut rye, as foon as it fpin-
dles, for food for their cattle ;
and that this rye generally pro
duces other ears, which feldom
contain any but diftempered
grain : To which he adds, tlaat
feed corn which has been prick
ed, or run through with a needle;
"
S M U
,cr which is not thoroughly ripe,
and that which produces lateral
or fecond ears, is fubjecl: to the
fmut."
He holds " that the diftemper
proceeds from an ulcer which
attacks firft the parts which fuf-
tain the feeds, and afterwards
fpreads to the reft of the flower.
But forae will fay, what is the pri
mary caufe of that ulcer ? In or
der to difcover it, M. Aimen ex
amined feveral grains of barley
with a microfcope : Some of
them were bigger than others :
Some were very hard ; and oth
ers yielded to the preffure of his
nail : Some were of a deeper,
and others of a lighter colour ;
fome longer and others rounder,
than they ought to have been :
Their rind was fomewhat wrink
led in feveral places, whereas in
its natural ftate it is fmooth :
And laftly, he perceived upon
fome of them black fpots, which,
when examined with a magni
fying glafs, appeared to be cov
ered with mould. Thefe grains
were feparated carefully, accord
ing to their feverai conditions,
and fown apart, though in the
fame ground. Alt the mouldy
grains produced fmutty ears ;
the Ihriveled and parched, and
thofe that were attacked by
infefts, either did not grow at
all, or did not produce any
fmut.
" He then fmgled out a par
cel of found grains, fowed them,
and fome time after took them
up, in order to examine them
again with a magnifying glafs.
He found fome of them mouldy,
replanted them all, and obfervecl
that the mouldy grains produced
fmutty ears.
" M. Aimen, without pre
tending that this is the only
caufe of the fmut of corn, con
cludes, from thefe experiments,
S M U 301
| that mouldinefs is a caufe of this
i diftemper."
That this philofopher has hit
upon the tiue caufe of fmut,
feems rather probable, when it is
confidered that mould is a kind
of minute nofs, and that the
things which moft effectually
kill mofs upon land, fuch as
lime, &c. have hitherto proved
the belt antidotes to this diftem-
per.
The methods of preventing it,
recommended by different writ
ers, are various.
The laft mentioned writer
thinks, " that the beft and ripeft
corn fhoujd be chofen for feed,
threfhed as foon as podible,
and limed immediately after ; as
well to keep it from growing
mouldy, as to deftroy the mould
already formed, if there be any :
Adding, that every method he
has tried to make corn fo pre
pared grow mouldy, has been
ineffectual, and that lie has nev
er known it produce fmutty
ears."
" As weak plants are found to
be moil fubject to fmut, he alfo
recommends good tillage, as a
fure means of giving them,
ftrength and vigour. Andheob-
ferves, that the lies made ufe of,
preferve the plants from mouldi
nefs, and of all of them lime
feems to him to be the moil ef-
feftual,"
Though liming at the time of
fowing, as is the practice in this
country, does not always pre
vent fmut, I would recommend
it to farmers, to do it in the
method that M. Aimen mentions
as fuccefsful. The lime will
probably have a greater effect,
when ufed fo early, than when the
mouldinefs on the kernels is be
come older and more deeply
rooted. The ftibjefct I am upon,
is of fo great confequcnce to the
iarmer,
goz S M U
farmer, and to thepublick, that I
ihall make no apology to the read
er, for proceeding to lay before
him the opinions of other writ
ers ; although I mall run out
this article to what fome readers
may call a tedious length.
M. de Lignerolle fays, "That
the fureft means of avoiding
irnut, and that which he has prac-
iifed with fuccefs ever fince the
year 1739, on upwards of three
hundred acres of land, is, to
change the feed every year, to
be very careful- that the feed
corn be well dried, and thor
oughly ripe, and that it be not
fmutty, nor have any fmutty
powder flicking to it. He then
pours boiling water on quick
lime, in a large tub ; and after
the ebullition is over, as much
cold water as-diere was hot, and
3irs it all ftrongly together, in
order to difTolve and thoroughly
mix the lime. The quantity of
wheat intended to be fowed, is
fprinkled with this lie, and then
well ftirred with a (hovel, and
laid in as high aheap as pofTible.
It is be ft to keep "the grain for a
week after this preparation,
turning it every day ; for other-
wife it would heat fo as to deftroy
the germ. By thefe means he
has not had any finut, when the
fields around him have been in
fected with that diftemper."
" M. Donat', near Rochelle,
-thinking the ingredients com
monly employed in the fteeps
too dear for the ufe of farmers,
ihidied for fome years to find~
out fomething cheaper, eafy to
be had every where, and there
fore better calculated to be of
general ufe. I have had the good
fortune, fays he, in a letter to M.
Duhamel, to accompliih what I
^viihed ; for I now ufe only pig
eons' dung, quick lime, afhes,
Tea fait, where this laft caa
S M U
be conveniently had. I have
fometimes made with thefe in
gredients, fteeped in water, fo
ftrong a liquor, that it has even
deftroyed the germ of the grain.
But there will be no danger of
that, if care is taken to obferve
the following directions, which
are therefult of feven years' fuc-
cefsful experience, even at times
when farmers who have neglecl-
ed to follow my example, have
had fuch wretched crops, as have
not paid the charge of reaping.
"Take -quick lime and pig
eons' dung, of each twenty five
pounds, forty pounds of wood
aOies, and twenty five pounds ol
fea fait, or fait petre. Put all
thefe into a tub, large enough to
hold half a hogfhead of common
water added to them. Stir them
all well with a ftick, till the lime
is quite diffolved. This lie will
keep fome time without fpoiling.
It urn ft be ftirred again juft be
fore the corn is fteeped in it.
The grain is then put into a baf-
ket, and plungecl in the lie,
where it remains till it has thor
oughly imbibed it ; alter which
it is taken out, and laid in aheap,
till it is quite drained of all its
moifture : Or, which is a ft ill
better way, take a malhing tub,
fill it with grain to within four
inches of the brim, and then
pour in the lie well ftirred be
forehand. When the tub is full,
let the lie run out at the bottom,
into fome other veflel, in order
to ufe it again for more corn.
Let the gram be then taken out,
and laid in a heap to drain.;
and continue in this manner
to fteep all your feed corn.
The wheat thus prepared, may
be fowed the next day, and
muft not be kept above five or
fix days, for fear of its heating.
This I fay from experience.
The quantity of lie above pre-
'fcribcd,
S M U
ifcribed, will ferve to prepare
more than twenty bufhels of
wheat."
Mr. Till! obferves, "that brin
ing avid changing the feed are
the general remedies for fmut.
The former of thefe he had
heard, was difcovered about fev-
enty years before he wrote, by fow-
ing fome wheat which had been
funk in the fea, and which pro
duced clean corn, when it was a
remarkable year for fmut all
over England : But he after
wards doubts whether this might
not happen by its being foreign
feed, and therefore a proper
change for our foil. He tells
us, that two farmers, whofe lands
lay intermixed, ufed feed of the
fame growth, from a good change
of land, and that the one who
brined his feed had not any fmut,
whilft the other, who neglected
that precaution, had a very fmut-
ty crop. But again he doubts
whether this feed might not have
been changed the year before,
and fo might not he greatly in
fected : Or at leaft not more
than the brine and lime might
cure. He adds, that fmutty feed
wheat, though brined, will pro
duce a fmutty crop, unlefs the
year prove very favourable ; tor
that favourable years will cure
fmut, as unkind ones will caufe
it : But, above all, he affures us
that the drill huibandry is the
mod effectual cure."
A writer in the Mufeum Ruf-
ticum, fays, " having obferved a-
mongft wheat while green,
though fhot up intofpindle, fev-
eral black, blighted ears, I ex
amined them, and found thefe
were ears in which, by fome ac
cident, the intention of nature
was prevented. I fuppofe, by
being detained too long in the
hofe, aad by the natural humidi
ty of the plant, a fermentation
S M U
was promoted in its ear, deftroy-
ing the fmall veffels through
which the corns were to receive
noiirilhment ; by which means
their contents became black, dry,
and dufty. Thefe ears growing
up with the others, imbibe
moifture fuffrcient to caufe the
dufty particles in the grains in
them to expand, and burft the
fine fkin which contained them :
Being thus fet at liberty, the air,
if it happen to be a dry feafon^.
dries them again ; by which
means they become light enough
to float therein, when feparated
from the fkin which held them.
If this happens when the wheat
is in the bloffom, which it often
does, part of the du ft enters the
ftigma of healthy corns, and
thereby inf efts them : The pulp
in thofe becoming black, a fer
mentation is raifed therein,
which deftroys the life of the
grain thus impregnated. Hence
thedifagreeable fmellis acquired
peculiar to this difeafe (the fmell
in a grain of fmut being the fame:
as in a black blighted ear.")
By the black blight, this au
thor feems to mean the fame as
burnt grain, burnt ear, or uftila-
go, in which diftemper the ker
nels do not burft, but are con
verted to a dry black powder,
If his hypothecs be juft, as it is
certainly plaufihle, it will follow,
that there is no more difference
between fmutty and burnt grain,
than between a clofed and an open
kernel of wheat : And that they
are in fa6l the very fame diftem
per, as indeed many writers have
confidered them, making 110 dif-
ttnftion. The antidotes for the
one, are certainly proper for the
other. For experience has mown
in many inftances that what pre
vents the one prevents the other.
The remedy this writer pre-
fcribes, appeals to be a probable
one. " When the corn is mot
into fpindle, and , the ears be
gin to appear, let fome penons
go along each furrow in the held,,
and carefully break off all ears of
the black kind ; and when broke
off, put them into a bag, and car
ry them away. As it is polhble
there may be fome of thefe dii-
eafed ca rs which are not buriten,
and therefore may efcape being
gathered, thefe may be known
by the ftalk.at the neck being
crooked backward and forward
five or fix bends, and the hofe
nearer to the head of fuch^than
in the ears which are good."
Another writer m the Mule-
um Rufticum, fays, " I have for
many years pail efcaped having
fmutty crops, by a proper careot
the feed wheat before it is put in
to the ground ; and the method
I puriue, though efficacious, is
in itfelffim pie and cheap. I take
four bufhels of pigeons' dung,
which I put into a large tub : On
this I pour a diffident quantity
of boiling water, and mixing
them well together, let them
ftand fix hours, until a kind of a
ilrong lie is made, which, at the
end of that time, the groffer parts
being fubfided, I caufe to be
carefully drained off, and put in
to a large keeve, or tub, for ufe.
This quantity is fufficient jor
eighty bufhels of feed wheat."
" My next care is to fhoot in
to this fteep a manageable quan
tity of my feed, which is imme
diately to be violently agitated,
with either birchen brooms, or
the rudders that are made ufe of
in (lining the malt in the math
tub, in a brewing office. As the
light grains rife, they muft be
diligently fkimmed off ; and af
ter the feed has been agitated in
this manner, for the (pace at per
haps half an hour, it may be tak
en out of the deep, and fown out
5 M U
of hand with great fafety : Arl
I can venture to fay, that if the
land is in good heart, and has
been properly tilled, it will not,
when fown with thefe precau
tions, produce a fmutty crop."
Another gentleman, who figns
himfelf A Norfolk Farmer,'" de
clares, he has obferved, that if
the feed was only well walhed,
it never failed : That he warned
fome feed which he knew to be
fmutty, in a large tub, filled with
plain, fimple water, ftirring it
violently with birchen biooms,
taking care from time to time to
ikim off the light. This anfwer-
ed very well, and he has ever
fmce continued the practice."
The fame practice of warning the
feed, is recommended by Monf.
de Gonfreville,of Normandy, in,
thzForeign EJJays on Agriculture.
It appears very probable, that
warning the feed very clean in
feveral waters, may be the beft
method of preventing both fmut
ty and burnt ears. The burfling
of fmutty ears in a field at the
time of bloffoming, may infeft
the grains in the found ears ;
which,may produce amouldmefs,
which, if not taken off, may caufe
the next crop to be dimimihed
and corrupted by one or b<ath of
thefe black diftempers.
But a Mr. Powell, in England,
writes to the compilers of the
Complete Farmer, that, in addi
tion to the ufual brining and lim
ing of feed wheat, if one pound
and a half of red lead were fift>
ed through a cullender upon one
buihel, ffirring the corn with a
(hovel, fo that every grain may
have a (pot or two of the lead
adhering to it, it will effetually
prevent fmut : And that fowls
\\ r ill not lie upon it. He is con
fident, that even fmutty feed, fo
prepared, will produce a found
crop.
S N .0
A Mr. Marfliall, a late Britifh
jvriter on agriculture, fays he was
informed by a Yorkshire farmer,
that he had made ufeof a-folution
oF arfenick as a preventive ot fmut,
and for twenty .years it had prov
ed effectual. The preparation is
made by pounding the arfenick
very fine, boiling it in water, and
drenching the feed with the de-
co&jon. The method is to boil
one ounce in a gallon of water,
from one to two hours. Then
add as much water or urine as
will increafe the liquor to two
gallons. This will anfwer for
two bumels of wheat. It may be
fowed without dry ing, or coating
with lime. If this will prove an
effectual antidote agairift fmut ;
it may be further faid in recom
mendation of it, that it will equal
ly fecure the feed againft birds,
and againft every kind of infecls.
Nor need any one be apprehen-
five that a poifonous taint will be
communicated to the crop.
; SNEAD, or SNATHE, the
ftaff, or handle of a lithe. The
right timber for fneads, is white
afh that grows on upland, it be
ing light and ftiff, which are two
very neceffary qualities : For if
a fnead be heavy, it will help to
t;ire the. mower ; and. if it be lim
ber and eafy to bend, it will caufe
the fithe to- tremble, which will
hinder, in fome degree, its cut
ting ; and render the labour of
the mower^more difficult and fa
tiguing. It muft be naturally of
the right crook, and not cut a-
crofs the grain of the wood.
SNOW, a congealed vapour
that falls in little fleeces to the
earth.
Snow lies upon the ground
commonly , in this country, in the
winter months, and in March.
Snows fometimes fall in Novem
ber and in April ; but they foon
Jnelt, and do not remain on the
o
SOf 205
ground unlefs it be in the thick
woods. In fome parts of the
wildernefs, it is not all thawed
till July ; as on the northern:
fides of high mountains, where
the trees form a deep (hade.
Snow is beneficial to the ground
in winter, as it prevents its freez
ing fo folid, or to fo great a depth
as it otherwife would. It guards
the winter grain and other vege
tables, in a confiderable degree,
from the violence of fudden frofts,'
and from piercing and drying
winds.
The later fnow lies on the
ground in fpring, the more ad
vantage do grafles and other
plants receive from it. Where
a bank of fnow has lain very late,'
the grafs will fprout, and look
green earlier, than in parts of the
fame field which were fooner bare.
A fmall fnow, that falls level,
pretty late in the fpring, is better
for the foil than rain. As it
thaws gradually, it does not run
off, but foaks directly into the
ground, moiftening every part e-
qually, fofteringthe roots of grafs,
and other vegetables. And till
it is thawed, the growing plants
are guarded againft the attacks
of frofts and winds. If a fnow
happen to fall after fpring grain
is fown, it does not injure it at
al \ ; but rather a (lifts its vegetating.
In the northern parts of New-
england, the ground in fome
years is covered with fnow for
four months, even in the culti
vated fields. This is not regret
ted by the inhabitants, as they
find it is a great advantage for
drawing mafts, logs, lumber, and
wood, upon fleds, which is much
eafier than carting them. The
roads are alfo far better, when
the ruts and floughs are filled s
and every part paved with ice,
or condenfed fnow. The win
ters, tedious as they are, feem too
soS
SOI
fhort for the teamfters to finilh
their winter bufinefs.
Meat that is killed in Decem
ber, may be kept in perfe6iion,
if buried in fnow, until fpring.
This is an excellent method of
prefer ving frefh and good the car-
caffes of turkies and other fowls.
Set an open eafk in a cold
place ; put fnow and pieces . of
meat alternately : Let not the
pieces touch each other, nor the
fides of the cafk. The meat will
neither freeze, grow dry, nor be
difcoloufed ; but be as good in
all refpe&s at the laft of March,
as when it was firft put in. The
furfaces of the pieces mould be
a little frozen, before they are
put into the fnow^ that the j nice
of the meat may not diffolve the
fnow. The cafk mould be placed
in the coldeft part of the houfe ;
or in an out houfe.
SOIL, that part of the earth
which lies upon the hard under
flratum, over which there is com
monly a cover of rich mould,
'which forms the furface, unlefs
deftroyed by fevere burning, or
warned off by violent rains, or
blown away by driving winds.
The original or unmixed foils,
in this country, are but few.
Clay, loam, fand, gravel, and
till, or moor earth, are perhaps
all that ought to be reckoned as
fit for cultivation. But they are
commonly more or lefs blended
together. In places where they
are unmixed, it would be a piece
of excellent hufbandry to mix
them, efpecially where they are
contiguous, applying gravel to
moor earth, and moor earth to
gravel ; fand to clay, and clay
to fand. And fand upon loam
would be an improvement.
A chalky foil is but feldom
found in this country. Marie is u-
fually at too great a depth to come
under the denomination of foil,
o r
and the fame may be faid of peaf,
This laft cannot eafily be reduc
ed to a condition fit for tillage.
It is bed to deftroy it, by digging,
it- wholly out for ufe, or by drain
ing the land, and burning the
peat on the ground. A chalky-
foil mould have fand and hot ma
nures applied to it.
I do not confider a ftony foil
as diftinft from the reft, as re
moving the ftones would bring
it under fome other denomina
tion. And this ought to be done,,
when land is to be ufed in til
lage, that its operations may be
facilitated.
Soils are commonly diftin-
guifhed into mallow and deep,,
the latter of which is preferred,
as the under ftratum comes not
fo near to the furface, but that
the ground may be ftirred to a
great depth ; and as it is fitted
for the growing of long tap root
ed plants, trees, &c.
But the moft common diftinc-
tion of foils is into rich and
poor. This difference,, which is
certainly very great, is not per
haps natural. Richnefs, I imag
ine, is rather to be confidered as
fuperinduced. All foils have,
fmce the creation, received large
quantities o fertilizing fnbftances
which were adapted to improve
them ; and by which, in moft
places, they have been greatly
mended. Not only vegetable
fubftances, fallen upon the fur-
face, and changed by putrefac
tion, have blended their faltsand
oils in the foil : But the foil has-
been drinking in vegetable food
by the dews and rains, and from
the air itfelf, which is loaded
with fertilizing particles. But
fome fpots have retained the add
ed richnefs better than others.
As to land which has been
long tilled, and often plentifully
manured, it is not eafy always to
diftinguiik
s or
eliftinguim what was its original
foil ; nor how rich or poor it was
in its natural ftate.
It does not follow, that all un
cultivated foils ought to be equal
ly rich, by means of the general
advantages mentioned above ;
becaufe fome foils are better cal
culated than others to retain the
food of vegetables. Some are
deftitute of a compa6t under ftra-
turn ; and it is no matter of won
der that fuch mould appear hun
gry and barren ; for whatever
richnefs they receive, is warned
by rains into the bowels of the
earth. Some foils are too coarfe,
or too porous, to be a proper
matrix for fertilizing fubftances.
Some are too fteep to retain
them, fo that they are warned in
to the hollows below. Some
are fo wet as to four and corrupt
them ; and in fome, there are
either mineral waters, or fleams
of thofe kinds, which are unfa
vourable to vegetation,
In tillage, t'ae furface mould
and the foil beneath are mixed,
and the more fo the better, as the
furface mould is made up as it
were of the edences of vegetables,
SOILING, or ASSOILING,
feeding animals with new mown
grafs, or grafs not dried, in racks,
or otherwife.
This is commonly pracli fed in
fome countries, where they put
it in racks, either under cover or
in yards. Thick grafs will go
much further in this way, than if
the cattle were turned in upon it
to feed it off ; as they would def-
troy and corrupt more by half
with their feet and excrements,
than they would eat. But when
it is given them in racks, they
will eat it up clean, without waft
ing any of it. An acre of rich
land, ufed in this way, will fum-
iner a number of cows. By the
time that it has been gnce cut
SCO
307
over as it is wanted, the firft part
will be fit to cut again. And the
labour of doing it is not to be
reckoned as any thing, as the
trouble of driving the cows to
paflure will be faved. This will
be more than a balance for the
labour of foiling, if cattle muft
be otherwife driven to any con-
iiderable diftance. And it great
ly recommends this pra6Hce, that
a prodigious quantity of manure
may be collected by it, which
otherwife would be little better
than loll, the dung being fcatter-
ed in pafturs, where it evapo
rates in the air.
SOOT, condenfed fmoke,
which adheres to the funnels of
chimneys. It is replete with the
oil and volatile fa Its which were
contained in the fewel, and is there
fore an excellent manure, much
fuperiour toalhes of any kind.
Both wood foot arid coal foot
mould be carefully faved, and
kept from the weather, to be
ufed as top dreffings.
Mr. Worlidge feems o think
wood foot the bell ; but Mr.
Mortimer give the preference to
that which comes from pit coal,
of which forty bufhels are allow
ed to be a lufficient drefling for
an acre. But of this kind our
farmers can obtain but little ; nor
indeed plenty of either, unlefsin
the neighbourhood of populous
towns, where much of it may be
collected for ufe by thofe whofe
bufinefs it is to clean chimneys.
Both kinds are to be ufed only
as top dreffings. The coal foot
is particularly good for low
meadows, or grafs lands, which
are four and moffy.
Soot is a good top dreffing for
winter grain. But it mould be
applied early in the fpring. Not
in autumn, left it mould caufe it
to grow too fall, by means of
which it will be the more liable
.
a female hog. See
SOW
$o be deftroyed by the froft of
winter. Neither mould it be
applied late in the fpring ; be-
caufe in cafe of a drought fon af
ter, it will be apt to burn too much.
Mr. Itllis recommepds fowing
foot over turnips, as foonas they
are up. This vill tend to pre-
yent flies from attacking them.
But that it may have this effecl:, it
Should be finely pulverifed ;
fowed early in a morning before
the dew is off; and in a rnode-
rate quantity, left its heat mould
injure the tender plants, to which
it will adhere and repel the in-
jfefts Silting is the beft way of
Applying it.
SOW,
Swine.
SOWING, committing feeds
to the earth, for the purpofe of
Obtaining a crop. *
There are three ways of feeding
the ground : i. In hills as it is
Called, or in fquares : 2. In drills,
<br continued rows : And 3. In
jhe broad caft method, or at ran-
clom with a caft of the hand;
which laft method is always term
ed lowing* The firft requires
the leaft quantity of feed, the 1 aft
the greateft. But the crops will
iiot be in proportion to the dif
ferent quantities of feed.
With regard to fowing, fevcr-
al things ought to be attended to ;
the quality or goodnefs of the
feeds ; the time of fowing them ;
the depth that is beft for them ;
and the quantity, or proportion
of feed to the ground. '
The quality of feed mould be
afcertained, in order to determine
the quantity that is proper to be
iown ; for if onfc tenth part of the
feeds, for inftance, fhould be def-
jtitute of a Vegetative power, a
tenth part more of fuch feeds
fhould be fown than the ufual
quantity, fuppofing the feeds to
p in perfe&ion, .
SOW
In order to determine the good
nefs of the feed to be fown,
you mould previoufly take fifty
grains at random from 'th$ par
cel ; fow them in good mould,
at a proper depth, and'carefully
bbferve how great a proportion
fail of coming up. They may
be fowri in a pot, and kept in a
warm part of the houfe, or in a
hot bed, that the farmer may have
timely notice of the (quality of
his feeds, when it is too early in
the fpring to do it in the open
grousd,. Many have miffed of
a crop, by not taking this precau
tion. When feeds are fufpefted
of being too old to vegetate, this
previous trial ihould by no means
be neglected. "
But if we wifh to have feeds
in the beft condition for fowing,
they ihould be well ripened on
their plants before they are gath
ered in ; afterwards they fhould
be kept perfectly dry, that they
may not contra6l the leaft
mouldiriefs ; and never be fe-
cluded from the air.
Mr. Miller 'found that air was
abfolutely neceffary to maintain
the principle of vegetation in
feeds. Having fave'd a parcel of
frefh feeds of feveral kinds, he
took fome of each, and fealed
them up in glafs phials ; the oth
er parts of the fame feeds he put
into bags, and hung them up in
a dry place, in a free air. After
a year had pafled, he took fome
of the feeds from each phial,
and each bag, and fowed them
at the fame time, and on dif
ferent parts of the fame bed.
The refult was, that almoft all
the feeds he took out of the bags
grew well ; but, of 'thdfe which
had been kept in the phials, not
one came up. This difcovery
was further confirmed by exper
iments afterwards. How care
ful then ihould both farmers and
gardener?
sow
/gardeners be, that no feeds de-
Figncd for fowing be kept total
ly fecluded from the air ?
All kinds of feeds are befl
kept in their pods, or hulks. Ef-
pecially they fhould be fo kept,
when they are defigned to be
tranfported to diftant countries*
Acc9;idingiy, feme of the beft
writers recommend the lying of
feed wheat in the fheaf to the time
of Towing. And, that none but
the beft or the grain may be fown,
inftead of threOjing, it is advifa-
ble to ftrike a handful at a time
gently againft a poft, and collect
what falls out ; becaufe the
heavieft and beft grain is always
the rnoft eafily detached from
the ear.
Being furnimed with good feeds,
the time for committing them
to the earth muft in great mea-
fure be determined by the judg
ment of the experienced huiband-
man ; bscaufe, from various cir-
cumftances, it comes to pafs,
that the true time admits of fome
latitude. The time for fpring
fowing will vary according to
the variation of the forwardnefs
of the feafon ; which may be
beft determined by the refpec-
tive forwardnefs of trees and
ihrubs. See the article Kalen-
dar.
But there are other circum-
ftances to be taken into the ac
count, which may further vary
the feafon for fpring fowing. A
light warm foil may receive the
feeds earlier than one that is
flrong and moift. The former
will arrive to the right degree of
drynefs fooner than the latter,
and is earlier fit for the opera
tions of tillage. And this is
certain, that feeds that require
the earlieft fowing, muft not be
fowed before the earth can be
well pulverifed. Neither fhould
plants that are eafily killed by
SOW
309
froft, be fo early fowed as to be
up till the fpring frofts are paft.
I may add, a fpot which has
a fouthern expofure may be
feeded rather earlier than land
which defcends to the north
ward, or than land which is level.
If feeds are fown too early, or
when the ground is too wet or
cold for them, they will either
periih, and fail of coming up ;
or if they come up, it is flowly,
fo that the plants become ftint-
ed in their growth, and never ar
rive to a full iize.
If the right feafon for fowing
fhould elapfe, the hufbandman,
being convinced of it, may ac
celerate vegatation by fteeping
the feeds in a lie of wood aihes,
or any other proper menftruum,
fo that they may overtake in
their growth thofe which were
fown in the right feafon.
The depth at which different
feeds fhould be buried in the
foil is various, according to the
difference of feeds and foils. M.
Duhamel found by experiment,
that but few feeds will come up
at all, when buried deeper than
nine inches ; that fome feeds
rife very well from the depth of
fix inches ; and that other feeds do
not rife at all when they are
more than two inches under the
fur face. And in general thofe
feeds, the body of which is thrown
above the furface in vegetat
ing, fhould have the lefs quantity
of foil above them, that they may
not meet with too much refift-
ance in rifing ; fuch as kidney-
beans and many other forts. A1-
fo the fame feeds may, and ought
to be buried deeper in a light
and dry, than in a heavy and.
moift foil. When the ground is
rolled after fowing, the feeds,
will vegetate the nearer to the
furface ; and therefore they
do not nesd to be fowed fo
deep,
310
SOW
sow
deep, as when the rolling is omit
ted.
To determine what is the
right depth, in a doubtful cafe,
Mr. Tull has fuggefted an ex-
cellentmethod. " Take a dozen
of flicks for gauges ; mark the
fir ft at half an inch from the end ;
the next at an inch ; and fo on,
increafmg half an inch to each.
Then, in the fort of ground you
intend to fow, make a row of
twenty holes, with the half inch
gauge ; put 
