_Of_ ST. FOIN.
St. Foin, from the Country we brought it from, is call’d _French
Grass_: And for its long Continuance, some having lasted Forty Years,
’tis call’d _Everlasting Grass_, tho’ it be not strictly a _Gramen_.
’Tis call’d in _French_, _Sain Foin_, i. e. _Sanum Fœnum_, from its
Quality of Wholsomeness, beyond the other artificial Grasses, green and
dry. ’Tis also call’d _Sanctum Fœnum_, Holy Hay.
’Tis a Plant so generally known to every Body, that there is no need
to give any formal Description of that Part of it which appears
above-ground, It has many red Flowers, sometimes leaving Ears Five or
Six Inches long: I have measured the Stalks, and found them above Five
Feet long, tho’ they are commonly but about Two Feet.
The Reason why _St. Foin_ will, in poor Ground, make a Forty times
greater Increase than the natural Turf, is the prodigious Length[161]
of its perpendicular Tap-root: It is said to descend Twenty or Thirty
Feet. I have been inform’d, by a Person of undoubted Credit, that he
has broken off one of these Roots in a Pit, and measured the Part
broken off, and found it fourteen Feet.
[161] There is a vulgar Opinion, that _St. Foin_ will not succeed on
any Land, where there is not an under _Stratum_ of Stone or Chalk,
to stop the Roots from running deep; else, they say, the Plants
spend themselves in the Roots only, and cannot thrive in those Parts
of them which are above the Ground. I am almost ashamed to give an
Answer to this.
’Tis certain that every Plant is nourished from its Roots (as an
Animal is by its Guts); and the more and larger Roots it has, the
more Nourishment it receives, and prospers in proportion to it. _St.
Foin_ always succeeds where its Roots run deep; and when it does
not succeed, it never lives to have long Roots; neither can there
ever be found a Plant of it, that lives so long as to root deep in
a Soil that is improper for it: Therefore ’tis amazing to hear such
Reasoning from Men.
An under _Stratum_ of very strong Clay, or other Earth, which holds
Water, may make a Soil improper for it; because the Water kills the
Root, and never suffers it to grow to Perfection, or to attain to its
natural Bulk. The best _St. Foin_ that ever I saw, had nothing in the
Soil to obstruct the Roots, and it has been found to have Roots of a
prodigious Depth. If there be Springs near (or within several Feet
of) the Surface of the Soil, _St. Foin_ will die therein in Winter,
even after it has been vigorous in the first Summer; and also after
it hath produced a great Crop in the second Summer.
This Tap-root has also a Multitude of very long horizontal Roots at the
upper Part thereof, which fill all the upper _Stratum_, or Staple of
the Ground; and of thousands of _St. Foin_ Roots I have seen taken up,
I never found one that was without horizontal Roots near the Surface,
after one Summer’s Growth; and do much wonder how Mr. _Kerkham_ should
be so mistaken, as to think they have none such.
Also these Tap-roots have the horizontal ones all the Way down; but as
they descend, they are still shorter and shorter, as the uppermost are
always the longest.
Any dry Ground may be made to produce this noble Plant, be it never so
poor; but the richest Soil will yield the most of it, and the best.
If you venture to plant it with the Drill, according to the Method
wherein I have always had the best Success; let the Land be well
prepared before you plant it. The Seed, if not well ordered, will very
little of it grow; therefore ’tis convenient to try it in the manner
mention’d in the Chapter of _Hoeing_; where are also Directions to find
the proper Quantity and Depth to plant it at: I have observ’d, that the
Heads of these Seeds are so large, and their Necks so weak[162], that
if they lie much more than half an Inch[163] deep, they are not able to
rise through the incumbent Mould; or if they are not cover’d, they will
be malted[164]. A Bushel to an Acre is full twenty Seeds to each square
Foot, in all I try’d; but there is odds in the Largeness of it, which
makes some Difference in the Number.
[162] The Kernel or Seed, being much swollen in the Ground, I call
the Head: This, when it reaches above the Ground, opens in the
Middle, and is formed into the Two first Leaves; the Husk always
remaining at the same Depth at which it is cover’d: The String that
passes from the Husk to the Head, is the Neck; which, when by its too
great Length ’tis unable to support the Head till it reaches to the
Air, rises up, and doubles above it; and when it does so, the Head,
being turn’d with its Top downwards, never can rise any higher, but
there rots in the Ground.
[163] In very light Land the Seed will come up from a greater Depth;
but the most secure Way is, not to suffer it to be cover’d deep in
any Land.
[164] We say it is malted, when it lies above-ground, and sends out
its Root, which is killed by the Air. And whether we plant _bad_ Seed
that does not grow, or _good_ Seed buried or malted, the Consequence
will be much the same, and the Ground may be equally understock’d
with Plants.
The worst Seasons to plant it are the Beginning of Winter, and in the
Drought of Summer. The best Season is early in the Spring.
’Tis the stronger when planted alone, and when no other Crop is sown
with it[165].
[165] The worst Crop that can be sown amongst _St. Foin_, is Clover
or Rye-Grass; Barley or Oats continue but a little while to rob it;
but the other artificial Grasses rob it for a Year or Two, until the
artificial Pasture is near lost; and then the St. Foin never arrives
to half the Perfection as it will do when no other Grass is sown
amongst it.
The Injury these Hay-crops do to the St. Foin is best seen where some
Parts of the same Field have them, and the other Parts are without
them.
If Barley, Oats, or other Corn sown with St. Foin, do lodge, it will
kill[166] the young St. Foin that is under it: But then so great a Crop
of Corn will certainly answer the very little Expence of drilling the
St. Foin again, either the next Year, or as soon as the Corn is off the
Ground.
[166] When Barley, among which the St. Foin is planted in a dry
Summer, is great, there are few Farmers that know till the next
Spring, whether the St. Foin succeeds or not; because the young
Plants are not then visible; unless it be to those who are accustomed
to observe them in all the Degrees of their Growth. I have seen a
Field of Ten Acres of such, wherein, after the Barley was carried
off, nothing appeared like St. Foin; but when by the Print of the
Chanels I searched diligently, I found the small St. Foin Plants
thick enough in the Rows; they had no Leaves, they being cut off by
the Scythe; no Part of them that was left had any Green Colour; but
from the Plants there came out many Sprigs like Hog’s Bristles, or
like the Beard of Barley: This whole Piece of St. Foin succeeded so
well, that the Third Year its Crop was worth Three Pounds _per_ Acre,
the Land being good.
St. Foin drill’d betwixt Rows of Barley or Oats, always is stronger
than when drill’d amongst Corn that is sown at random; and therefore is
in less Danger of being kill’d by the Lodging of the Corn; neither is
the Corn in Rows so liable to fall as the other.
The Quantity of Seed to be drill’d on an Acre will depend, in great
Measure, upon the Goodness of it; for in some bad Seed, not more than
One in Ten will grow; and in good Seed, not One in Twenty will miss;
which is best known by stripping off the Husks of a certain Number of
Seeds, and planting the Kernels in Earth, in the manner directed for
finding the proper Depth to plant at, which, in this Case, let be half
an Inch: This being done, the Quality of the Seed will be known. But
until frequent Trials have furnish’d Experience enough to the Planter
to know the Difference, let him observe, that the following are good
Signs; _viz._ The Husk of a bright Colour, the Kernel plump, of a
light-grey or blue Colour, or sometimes of a shining black; yet the
Seed may be good, tho’ the Husk is of a dark Colour, if that is caused
by its receiving Rain in the Field, and not by heating in a Heap, or in
the Mow; and if you cut the Kernel off in the Middle, cross-ways, and
find the Inside of a Greenish fresh Colour, it’s surely good; but if of
a yellowish Colour, and friable about the Navel, and thin, or pitted,
these are Marks of bad Seed.
The Quantity, or rather Number of Seeds convenient to drill, ought to
be computed by the Number of Plants[167] we propose to have for making
the best Crop, allowing for Casualties[168].
[167] Not that we need to be so exact as to the Number of Plants,
whether they be Two, Three, or Four hundred upon a square Perch.
Neither is it possible to know beforehand the precise Number of
Plants that may live; for sometimes the Grub kills many, by eating
off the first Two Leaves.
[168] Many even of the best of Seeds, both sown and drill’d, are
liable to Casualties, but not equally; for about Twenty-eight Years
ago, my Servants (being prime Seedsmen) had a Fancy in my Absence to
try an Experiment of the Difference betwixt sowing and drilling of
St. Foin; and in the Middle of a large Field of my best Land they
sow’d a square Piece of Three Acres, at the Rate of One Bushel to
an Acre, not doubting but, by their skill in sowing even, it would
succeed as well as if drill’d; but it succeeded so much against
their Expectation, that the Land all round it, which was drill’d at
the same Time, with the same Proportion of the same Seed, brought
extraordinary good Crops of St. Foin; but the sow’d Part was so very
thin, that tho’ it lay still with the rest for Eight Years, it never
was a Crop, there not being above Three or Four upon a square Perch,
taking the Three Acres all together: Not that it can be supposed,
that the sown would always meet with so many Casualties as this did;
for then Eight Bushels sown to an Acre might have been too thin, and
much thinner than all the rest of the Field was, tho’ drill’d with
only One Bushel to an Acre: And ’tis often seen, that when an Acre is
sown with seven Bushels of Seed, the St. Foin is as much too thick,
as that sown with One Bushel was too thin.
I do not know, that of the many hundred Acres of St. Foin, that have
been drill’d for me, ever one Acre was too thin, except when planted
with Wheat: The young Plants were kill’d by the Frost.
In drilling St. Foin not to be ho’d, and before the Ploughs of my Drill
were so perfect in making narrow Chanels as they are now (for, when the
Chanels were open, they had Six times the Breadth, wherein Part of the
Seed was wasted), then my Quantity was One Bushel to an Acre, sometimes
Six Gallons.
But a single Acre (in the middle of a large Field of St. Foin) being
drill’d late in _October_, the frosty Winter kill’d at least Nineteen
of Twenty Parts[169] of that Bushel. At first it made such a poor
Appearance, that ’twas by mere Accident, or it had been plow’d up for
a Fallow; but, missing of that, a few Plants were perceiv’d in the
Summer, which by their Singleness grew so vigorous, and so very large,
that the Second Year of Mowing it[170] produc’d a Crop double to the
rest of the same Field, which was drill’d in the Spring, with the same
Proportion of Seed, and none of it kill’d: tho’ all this Field was a
much better Crop than some that was sown in the common Manner, with
Seven Bushels to an Acre. I have generally observ’d the thin[171] to
make the best Crop, after the First or Second Year.
[169] But I believe, there might remain alive Three or Four Plants to
each square Yard, standing single, and at pretty equal Distances.
[170] But _Note_, This Acre was dunged, and in better Order than the
rest.
[171] But, notwithstanding I commend the Planting of St. Foin thin,
that most of the Roots may be single; yet I have Fields that were
drill’d with but Four Gallons of Seed to an Acre; and yet the Rows
being Seven Inches asunder, the Roots are so thick in them, that the
Ground is cover’d with the St. Foin Plants, which seem to be as thick
(in Appearance) as most sown St. Foin, whereon Seven or Eight Bushels
are sown on an Acre. And I have other Fields that were drill’d
with about Two Gallons of Seed to an Acre (which is Five Seeds to
each square Foot), the Rows Sixteen Inches asunder, that produce
better Crops, tho’ the Ground be poorer. The drill’d St. Foin, being
regular, is more single, tho’ as thick as the sown; and for that
Reason always makes a better Crop, and lasts longer than the sown
that is of the same Thickness, but irregular.
I have also often observ’d in Lands of St. Foin, lying dispersed in a
common Field (but where there was not Common for Sheep), and where the
Ends of other Lands kept in Tillage, pointed against the Pieces of St.
Foin, and the Horses and Ploughs turning out upon the St. Foin[172] did
plow and scratch out a Multitude of its Plants; so that it was thought
to be spoil’d, and Law-suits were intended for Recompence of the
Damage; that afterwards this scratch’d Part, supposed to be spoil’d,
became twice as good as the rest of the same Pieces, where the Ploughs
did not come to tear up any Plants.
[172] This Plowing and Scratching was a sort of Hoeing, which helped
the St. Foin by a small Degree of Pulveration, as well as by making
the Plants thinner.
The Reason why the single St. Foin Plants make the greatest Crops, is,
that the Quantity of the Crop is always in Proportion to the Quantity
of Nourishment it receives from the Earth; and those Plants which run
deepest will receive most; and such as are single will run deeper than
those which are not single.
Also the single do send out all round them horizontal Roots,
proportionably stronger and larger, whereby they are better able to
penetrate, and extract more Nourishment from the Staple, or upper
_Stratum_, than the other can do, if there be a competent Number; which
is, when ho’d, fewer than any-body imagines. ’Tis common to see a
single St. Foin have a bigger Tap-root than Twenty thick ones: Their
Length is in Proportion to their Bigness: Therefore that single Plant
may well be supposed to have Twenty times more Depth of Earth to supply
it, than all those Twenty small Roots can reach to. And tho’ these
under _Strata_ are not so rich as the upper; yet, never having been
drain’d by any Vegetable, they do afford a very considerable Quantity
of Nourishment to those Roots which first enter them.
The small thick Plants are so far from equalling the Product of the
single, by their Excess of Number, that the more they are, the smaller,
shorter, and weaker they become; less Nourishment they have, and the
less Crop they produce; and are soon starv’d, decay, and die, unless
reliev’d by the Expence of frequent Manure, or that the Soil be very
rich.
Single Plants exceed the other by a Multitude of Degrees, more than a
Giant does a Dwarf, in Strength, as well as Stature; and therefore when
natural Grass happens to come, are so much the better able to shift
amongst it.
The single Plants seem also to exceed the other in their Longevity; for
’tis observ’d, that all St. Foin that has continu’d great for a good
Number of Years without Manure, has been so single, that the Owners
have determined to plow it up at the Beginning, for the Thinness of it.
How long this may last by Culture, I can’t tell; but undoubtedly much
longer than without it; and I can say, that I never knew a Plant of St.
Foin die a natural Death; the most common End of it is Starving. And
when an hundred thick Plants have not the Nourishment which One single
Plant has, ’tis no Wonder that these (in a Croud[173] thus besieg’d
with Hunger) should be starv’d before it.
[173] Sown Plants, when too thick, are crouded on every Side; but
those that are drill’d, have always Room enough on Two Sides of them;
unless the Rows are too near together.
Another Advantage the single have, in respect of Moisture: These reach
to a Depth where that is never wanting, even when the upper _Stratum_
or Staple is parch’d up, as appears by the Experiment of the Mints,
that if any Root of a Plant has Moisture, that Root will communicate a
Share to all the rest. Hence it is, that, in the driest Summer, these
single Plants make a great Crop, when the other yield next to nothing.
I remember I once saw a Farmer coming out of a Ground with a Load of
St. Foin Hay, which he assured me was all he could find worth cutting,
out of Forty Acres of this thick sort, in full Perfection, Three Years
after sowing: He valued his Load at Three Pounds; but withal said it
came off so much Ground, that the Expence of Mowing, Raking, _&c._ was
more than the Value; when, in the very same dry Summer, there was Three
Tun of St. Foin to an Acre in a Field[174], where it was drill’d single
and regularly.
[174] This was on rich deep Land in _Oxfordshire_; and the other St.
Foin, which was so poor, was on thin Slate Land near _Causham_ in
_Wiltshire_ in the _Bath Road_. It is now about Forty Years since.
And I have often observ’d, that where the Plants are thin, the Second
Crop of them springs again immediately after cutting; when Plants that
stand thick in the same Ground, spring not till Rain comes; and I have
seen the thin grown high enough to cut the Second time, before the
other began to spring.
The best way to find what Number of these Plants it is proper to have
on a Perch of Ground, is to consider what Quantity of Hay one large
Plant will produce (for, if cultivated, they will be all such).
Without Culture these Plants never attain to a Fourth Part of the Bulk
they do with it: Therefore very few have seen any one Plant at its full
Bigness. One Plant, well cultivated, has in the same Ground made a
greater Produce, than One thousand small ones uncultivated.
But the Hay of a large single cultivated Plant will weigh more than
half a Pound; and 112 Plants upon a square Perch, weighing but a
Quarter of a Pound apiece one with another, amount to Two Tun to an
Acre.
If St. Foin be planted on some sorts of Land early in the Spring, and
ho’d, it may bring a Crop the same Summer; for I once planted a few
Seeds of it on sandy Ground in my Garden, at the End of _February_,
which produced large Plants above Two Feet high, that went into Blossom
the following _June_; tho’ there was a severe Frost in _March_, which
kill’d abundance of Wheat, yet did not hurt these Plants: This shews
that St. Foin is a quick Grower, unless it be planted on poor cold
Ground, or for Want of Culture.
And tho’ the poor Land, and ill Management generally allotted to it,
cause it to yield but One mowing Crop a Year; yet it has yielded Two
great ones on rich sandy Land, even when sown in the common ordinary
matter.
Thin St. Foin cannot be expected to cover all the Ground at first,
any more than an Orchard of Apple-trees will, when first planted at
Thirty Feet Distance from each other every Way; yet this is reckon’d a
proper Distance to make a good and lasting Orchard. But if these should
be planted at Three Feet Distance, as they stand in the Nursery, it
would not be more unreasonable than the common Method of sowing St.
Foin is; and there would be much the same Consequence in both, from
covering all the Ground at first Planting; except that the St. Foin,
being abundantly longer rooted downwards than Apple-trees are, has
the greater Disadvantage, when by its Thickness ’tis prevented from
growing to its full Bulk, and Length of Roots[175].
[175] Horizontal-rooted Plants suffer no greater Injury by their
Pasture’s being over-stock’d than Cattle do; because their Pasture
lying near the Surface of the Ground, they have it all amongst them:
But St. Foin, and other long Tap-rooted Plants suffer yet more,
because great Part of their over-stock’d Pasture is lost by them all,
when they hinder one another from reaching down to it, by shortening
one another’s Roots, which they do when they all become Dwarfs by
reason of their Over-thickness.
The Difference is only this: People are accustom’d to see Apple-trees
planted at their due Distance: but few have seen St. Foin planted and
cultivated at the Distance most proper to St. Foin; or ever consider’d
about it, so much as to make the necessary Trials.
I have constantly found, that, upon doubling any Number of narrow
Rows, having equal Number of Plants in each Row, the Crops have been
very much diminish’d; and, upon leaving out every other Row, that is,
lessening the Number of Rows to half, the Crops are increased; and
where Two Rows are wide asunder at one End of a Piece, and near at the
other End, the Plants are gradually less and less, as the Rows approach
nearer together.
We ought never to expect a full Crop of St. Foin the First Year[176],
if we intend to have good Crops afterwards, and that it shall continue
to produce such, for the same Reasons that must be given for planting
an Orchard at other Distances than a Nursery.
[176] But when it has been planted on rich sandy Land, and proper,
it has produced very great Crops the first Year; but then the Summer
wherein it grew amongst the Barley, must not be reckoned as the first
Year.
The common Error proceeds from mistaking the Cause of a great or small
Crop.
Where the Spaces betwixt Rows are wide (if there be not too many Plants
in them) we always see the St. Foin grow large, and make the greatest
Crop; but when ’tis young, or after cutting, we see room (as we fansy)
for more of such Plants, to make a yet larger Crop; not considering
that ’tis the Wideness of those Spaces, and less Number of Plants,
that cause the Crop to be so large, there being more Pasture for those
Plants.
Where these Spaces are narrower, and the Rows of equal Thickness, we
see the Plants less when grown, and that they make a less Crop; and yet
there seems to be room for more Rows, which we fansy might make the
Crop larger, not considering that ’tis the Narrowness of those Spaces
that causes the Plants and Crop to be less, for want of sufficient
Pasture.
Thus, fondly increasing the Number of our Rows and Plants, we bring our
Crop (unless the Soil be rich) to nothing, by too much over-stocking
their Pasture; and, if that Pasture be over-stock’d, the Crop will be
diminish’d more than in proportion to that Over-charge; for perhaps
’tis not impossible to prove (if we would be curious), that Plants, by
wanting a Fourth Part of their due _Quantum_ of Nourishment, will be
diminish’d to half[177] of the Bulk they would have attained to, had
they been supply’d with the other Fourth Part.
[177] When Plants have not their due Nourishment, they suffer the
more by Cold and Drought; so that want of Nourishment diminishing
their Growth One-fourth, Cold, or Drought, or both, may diminish it
another fourth.
I have observ’d ho’d St. Foin to grow more, and increase its Bulk more,
in Two Weeks, than unho’d St. Foin in the same Ground (and without any
other Difference) hath done in Six Weeks; and the quicker it grows, by
being better fed, the sweeter and richer Food it will make for Cattle,
whether it be spent green or dry[178].
[178] Cattle are the best Judges of the Goodness of Grass, and they
always choose to feed on St. Foin that is most vigorous, and refuse
that which is poor and yellow. And the richest sweetest Grass will
always make the best Hay; for the drying of it does not change the
Quality of the Grass.
At whatever Distance the Rows be set, if they have too many Plants in
them, the Crop will be very much injured; and the greater the Excess is
beyond the just Number, the more void Space there will be amongst them;
because the smaller the Plants are, the less Ground they cover.
I have had the Experience of drilling at all Distances, from
Thirty-three Inches to Seven Inches, betwixt the Rows; and recommend
the following Distance, for the different Methods of drilling; whether
the _St. Foin_ be design’d for hoeing, or not. As,
First, For _Horse-hoeing_, I think it is best to drill double Rows
with Eight-inch Partitions, and Thirty-inch Intervals; which need only
be ho’d alternately, leaving every other Interval for making the Hay
thereon.
Indeed I have never yet had a whole Field of ho’d _St. Foin_; but have
enough to shew, that Horse-hoeing makes it strong upon very poor Land,
and causes it to produce two Crops a Year upon indifferent Land.
It is not necessary to hoe this every Year; but we may intermit the
Hoeing for three or four Years together, or more, if the Land be good.
Whilst the Plants are small the first Year, Care must be taken not to
cover them with the Plough: Afterwards there will be no great Danger,
especially in Winter, the Earth not being suffered to lie on them too
long.
Secondly, For _Hand-hoeing_, drill the Rows Sixteen Inches asunder, and
single out the Plants, so as to make them Eight Inches apart at least
in the Rows, contriving rather to leave the Master-plants, than to be
exact in the Distance: This must be done whilst they are very young, or
in Summer; else they will come again that are cut off by the Hoe.
Lastly, when _St. Foin_ is drill’d without any Intention of hoeing, the
best Way (I think) is to plant single Rows, at Eight Inches Distance,
with no greater Quantity of Seed, than when the Rows are at Sixteen
Inches Distance; because, by this Method, the same Number of Plants in
the Rows, that are but Eight Inches apart, will be much more single,
than those in the Rows at Sixteen Inches apart are, without being set
out by the Hoe.
Which of these Methods soever is practis’d, the Land should be made
as clean from all Grass, and as well pulveriz’d, as possible, before
Drilling.
The Tines of the Drill-harrow must exactly follow the Shares, which
leaving the Chanels open, the Tines cover the Seed, some at Bottom,
and some on each Side; so that it is cover’d very shallow, tho’ it
lies deep within the Ground, where there is more Moisture, than nearer
to the upper level Surface: This causes the Seed to come up in dry
Weather; and yet it is not in Danger of being buried by a too great
Weight of Mould incumbent on it.
But take heed that no other Harrow come on it after ’tis drill’d; for
that might bury it. I never care to roll it at all, unless on account
of the Barley; and then only in very dry Weather, with a light Roller,
lengthways of the Rows, immediately after ’tis drill’d; or else stay
Three Weeks afterwards before it be roll’d, for fear of breaking off
the Heads of the young _St. Foin_.
Be sure to suffer no Cattle to come on the young _St. Foin_ the first
Winter[179], after the Corn is cut that grows amongst it; their very
Feet would injure it, by treading the Ground hard, as well as their
Mouths by cropping it; Nor let any Sheep come at it, even in the
following Summer and Winter.
[179] The first Winter is the Time to lay on Manure, after the Crop
of Corn is off; such as _Peat-Ashes_, or the like; because, there
being no natural Grass to partake of it, and the Plants being less,
less will supply them; and because, when made strong in their Youth,
they will come to greater Perfection: But I never used any Manure
on my _St. Foin_, because mine generally had no Occasion for Manure
before it was old; and _Soot_ is seldom to be had of sufficient
Quantity in the Country; and little _Coal_ is burnt hereabouts,
except by the _Smiths_, whose _Ashes_ are not good. The Price and
Carriage of _Peat-Ash_ will be Ten Shillings for an Acre, which would
yet be well bestowed in a Place where Hay is vendible; but, by reason
of the great Quantity of watered Meadows, and Plenty of St. Foin,
Clover, and Hay, raised of late Years by Farmers for their own Use,
here are now few or no Buyers of Hay, especially these open Winters;
so that laying out Money in that Manner would be in Effect to buy
what I cannot sell. I think it better to let a little more Land lie
still in St. Foin, than to be at the Expence of Manure; but yet shall
not neglect to use it, when I shall find it likely to be profitable
to me.
One Acre of well-drill’d _St. Foin_, considering the different Goodness
of the Crops, and the Duration of it, is generally worth Two Acres
of sown _St. Foin_ on the same Land, tho’ the Expence of drilling be
Twenty Times less than the Expence of sowing it.
One of the Causes why _St. Foin_, that is properly drill’d, lasteth
longer[180] without Manure than the sown, is, That the former neither
over nor understocks the Pasture; and the latter commonly, if not
always, doth one or the other, if not both; _viz._ Plants too thick in
some Places, and too thin in others; either ’tis not single, but in
Bunches; or if it be single, ’tis too thin; it being next to impossible
to have the Plants come true and regular, or nearly so, by sowing at
_random_. Plants too thick soon exhaust the Pasture they reach, which
never is more than a small Part of that below the Staple: When the
Plants are too thin, the _St. Foin_ cannot be said to last at all,
because it never is a Crop.
[180] I have now a great many single _St. Foin_ Plants in my Fields,
that are near Thirty Years of Age, and yet seem as young and vigorous
as ever; and yet it is common for thick _St. Foin_ to wear out in
Nine or Ten Years, and in poor Land much sooner, if not often manured
by _Soot_, _Peat-Ash_, or _Coal-Ash_.
They who _sow_ Eight or Ten Bushels of good Seed on an Acre, in a good
Season, among their Corn, with Intent that by its Thickness it should
kill other Grass, reduce their _St. Foin_ almost to that poor Condition
I have seen it in, where it grows naturally wild without sowing or
Tillage, upon the _Calabrian_ Hills near _Croto_: It makes there such a
despicable Appearance, that one would wonder how any body should have
taken it in their Head to propagate so unpromising a Plant; and yet
there has scarce been an Exotic brought to _England_ in this or the
last Age, capable of making a greater or more general Improvement, were
it duly cultivated.
Some think the _Cytisus_ would exceed it; but I am afraid the Labour of
shearing those Shrubs by the Hands of _English_ Servants, would cost
too much of its Profit.
_Luserne_, requiring more Culture, and being much more difficult to be
fitted with a proper Soil, never can be so general as _St. Foin_.
But now let us consider the best Methods of ordering _St. Foin_ for
Hay and Seed. The Profit of _St. Foin_ Fields, arising from either of
these Ways, is a great Advantage to their Owner, above that of natural
Meadows; for, if Meadow-hay cannot have good Weather to be cut in its
Season, it can serve for little other Use than as Dung, and yet the
Expence of mowing it, and carrying it off must not be omitted. But if
there be not Weather to cut _St. Foin_ before blossoming, we may expect
it till in Flower, or may stay till the Blossoms are off; and if it
still rain on, may stand for Seed, and turn to as good Account as any
of the former: So that it has Four Chances to One of the Meadow.
The elevated, but not mountainous, Situation of the dry Land whereon
_St. Foin_ is mostly planted, renders it so commodious for making of
Hay, that it escapes there the Injury of Weather, when Hay in low
Meadows is utterly spoil’d.
On the high Ground the Wind will dry more in an Hour, than on the
Meadows in a whole Day. The Sun too has a more benign Influence above,
and sends off the Dew about Two Hours earlier in the Morning, and
holds it up as much longer in the Evening. By these Advantages the _St.
Foin_ has the more Time to dry, and is made with half the Expence of
Meadow-hay.
But before the Manner of making it be describ’d, the proper Time of
cutting it ought to be determin’d; and upon that depend the Degrees of
its Excellence (besides upon the Weather, which is not in our Power);
for tho’ all Sorts of this Hay, if well made, be good, yet there is a
vast Difference and Variety in them.
The several Sorts may be principally distinguish’d by the following
Terms; _viz._ First, The _Virgin_. Secondly, The _Blossom’d_. Thirdly,
The _Full-grown_. And, Fourthly, The _Thresh’d Hay_.
The First of these is best of all, beyond Comparison; and (except
_Luserne_) has not in the World its Equal. This must be cut before
the Blossoms appear: For when it stands till full-blown, the most
spirituous, volatile, and nourishing Parts of its Juices are spent on
the next Generation; and this being done all at once, the Sap is much
depauperated, and the _St. Foin_ can never recover that Richness it had
in its Virgin State. And tho’, when in Blossom, it be _literally_ in
the _Flower_ of its Age, ’tis really in the _Declension_ of it. If it
be said, that what is not in the Stalk is gone into the Flower, ’tis a
Mistake; because much the greatest Part of its Quintessence perspires
thence into the Atmosphere.
And moreover, That all Vegetables are, in some Degree, weaken’d by the
Action of continuing their Kind, may be inferr’d from those Plants
which will live several Years, if not suffer’d to blossom; but,
whenever they blossom, it causes their Death, tho’ in the first Year of
their Life. For in Plants (as Dr. _Willis_ observes in Animals) Nature
is more solicitous to continue the Species, than for the Benefit of the
Individual.
Part of a drill’d _St. Foin_ Ground was cut the Beginning of _May_,
before blossoming[181]; and from the Time of cutting, until it was set
up in Ricks, being about Ten Days, the Sun never shone upon it[182];
but the Weather was misty: At last it was forc’d to be carried together
for fear of Rain, so green, that out of the largest Stalks one might
wring milky Juice; yet by making the Hay up in several little Ricks,
and drawing up a great Chaff Basket in the Middle of each, its Firing
was prevented; but it look’d of a dark Colour by heating; and was the
very best[183] Hay that ever I had.
[181] By cutting before blossoming, is not meant before any one
Blossom appears; for here and there a Bud will begin to open with a
red Colour long before the rest: Therefore, when we perceive only a
very few Blossoms beginning to open (perhaps but One of a Thousand),
we regard them as none.
[182] This also was an Advantage to this Hay; for Apothecaries find,
that Herbs dried in the Shade retain much more of their Virtue than
these dried in the Sun; but Farmers not having any such Conveniency
of drying their Hay in the Shade with Safety, must always choose
to dry it by the Sun; because in cloudy Weather there is Danger of
Rain; and therefore such excellent Hay must be had by Chance; for to
be well made in the Shade, it must be in Danger of being spoiled or
damaged by Rain.
[183] This Hay, so cut before blossoming, has kept a Team of working
Stone-horses, round the Year, fat without Corn; and when tried with
Beans and Oats mixed with Chaff, they refused it for this Hay. The
same fatted some Sheep in the Winter, in a Pen, with only it and
Water; they thrived faster than other Sheep at the same time fed with
Pease and Oats. The Hay was weighed to them, and the clear Profit
amounted to Four Pounds _per_ Tun. They made no Waste. Tho’ the
Stalks were of an extraordinary Bigness, they would break off short,
being very brittle. This grew on rich Ground in _Oxfordshire_.
The other Part of the Ground was afterwards cut in the Prime of its
Flower, and made into Hay by the Heat of the Sun, without Rain or Mist:
This came out of the Ricks at Winter with a much finer Colour, and as
fine a Smell as the Virgin Hay; but did not come near it in fatting of
Sheep, or keeping Horses fat at hard Work without any Corn, as the
Virgin Hay did.
This superfine Hay cannot well be had of poor uncultivated[184] _St.
Foin_: because that may not be much above an Handful high, when ’tis
in Condition to be so cut; and would then make a very light Crop,
and would be a great while ere it sprang up again: But the rich will
have Two or Three Tun to an Acre, and spring again immediately for a
second Crop; so that little or no Quantity would be lost by so great
an Improvement of its Quality. For ho’d _St. Foin_ upon a poor chalky
Hill, cut at the same time with that uncultivated on a rich Valley,
does in dry Weather grow again without Delay, when the Valley attends a
Month or more for a Rain, to excite its vegetative Motion.
[184] I reckon Manure of _Peat-Ashes_, _Soot_, or the like, to be a
Culture.
This Hay the Owner (if he be wise) will not sell at any common Price;
but endeavour to have some of it every Year, if possible, for his own
Use.
The Second Sort of _St. Foin_ Hay is that cut in the Flower; and tho’
much inferior to the _Virgin_ Hay, it far exceeds any other Kind, as
yet commonly propagated in _England_; and if it be a full Crop, by
good Culture, may amount to above three Tun to an Acre. This is that
_St. Foin_ which is most commonly made; and the larger it is, the more
nourishing for Horses. I have known Farmers, after full Experience, go
Three Miles to fetch the largest stalky _St. Foin_, when they could
have bought the small fine leafy Sort of it at home, for the same Price
by the Tun.
The next and last Sort of _St. Foin_ that is cut only for Hay, is, the
_full-grown_, the Blossoms being gone, or going off: This also is good
Hay, tho’ it fall short, by many Degrees, of the other Two Sorts: It
makes a greater Crop than either of them, because it grows to its full
Bulk, and shrinks little in drying.
This gives the Owner a Third Chance of having Weather to make good Hay,
and spins out the Hay-Season ’till about _Midsummer_; and then in about
a Fortnight, or Three Weeks; after the Hay is finish’d, the Seed is
ripe. But, first, of the manner of making _St. Foin_ Hay.
In a Day or Two after _St. Foin_ is mow’d, it will, in good Weather,
be dry on the upper Side: Then turn the Swarths, not singly, but Two
and Two together; for by thus turning them in Pairs, there is a double
Space of Ground betwixt Pair and Pair, which needs but once raking;
whereas, if the Swarths were turn’d singly, that is, all the same Way,
suppose to the _East_ or _West_, then all the Ground will require to be
twice raked; at least, more of it, than the other Way.
As soon as both Sides of the Swarths are dry from Rain and Dew, make
them up into little Cocks the same Day they are turn’d, if conveniently
you can; for when ’tis in Cock, a less Part of it will be exposed to
the Injuries of the Night, than when in Swarth.
Dew, being of a nitrous penetrating Nature, enters the Pores of those
Plants it reaches, and during the Night possesses the Room from whence
some Part of the Juices is dry’d out: Thus it intimately mixes with the
remaining Sap; and, when the Dew is again exhal’d, it carries up most
of the vegetable Spirits along with it, which might have been there
fix’d, had they not been taken away in that subtile Vehicle.
If _St. Foin_ be spread very thin upon the Ground, and so remain for a
Week in hot Weather, the Sun and Dew will exhaust all its Juices, and
leave it no more Virtue than is in Straw.
Therefore ’tis best to keep as much of our Hay as we can from being
exposed to the Dews, whilst ’tis in making; and we have a better
Opportunity of doing it in this, than in natural Hay; because the
bigger the Cocks are, the less Superficies (in proportion to the
Quantity they contain) will be exposed to the Dew, and _St. Foin_ may
be safely made in much larger Cocks than natural Hay of equal Dryness
can, which, sinking down closer, excludes the Air so necessary for
keeping it sweet, that if the Weather prevents its being frequently
mov’d and open’d, it will ferment, look yellow, and be spoil’d. Against
this Misfortune there is no Remedy, but to keep it in the lesser Cocks,
until thoroughly dry. _St. Foin_ Cocks (twice as big as Cocks of
natural Hay), by the less Flexibility of the Stalk admitting the Air,
will remain longer without fermenting.
This being able to endure more Days unmov’d, is also an Advantage upon
another Account besides the Weather; for tho’ in other Countries,
People are not prohibited using the necessary Labour on _all Days_ for
preserving their Hay, even where the certainer Weather makes it less
necessary than here, yet ’tis otherwise in _England_; where many a
Thousand Load of natural Hay is spoil’d by that Prohibition for want
of being open’d; and often, by the Loss of one Day’s Work, the Farmer
loses his Charges, and Year’s Rent; which shews, that to make Hay while
the Sun shines, is an exotic Proverb against _English_ Laws; whereunto
_St. Foin_ being, in regard of Sundays and Holidays, more conformable,
ought to be the Hay as proper to _England_ as those Laws are.
But to return to our Hay-makers: When the first Cocks have stood one
Night, if nothing hinder, let them double, treble, or quadruple the
Cocks, according as all Circumstances require, in this manner; _viz._
Spread Two, Three, or more, together, in a fresh Place; and after an
Hour or Two turn them, and make that Number up into one Cock; but when
the Weather is doubtful, let not the Cocks be thrown or spread, but
inlarge them, by shaking several of them into one; and thus hollowing
them to let in the Air, continue increasing their Bulk, and diminishing
their Number daily, until they be sufficiently dry to be carried to
the Rick.
This I have found the most secure Way: Tho’ it be something longer in
making, there is much less Danger than when a great Quantity of Hay is
spread at once; for then a sudden Shower will do more Harm to one Acre
of that, than to Twenty Acres in Cock.
And the very best Hay I ever knew in _England_, was of _St. Foin_ made
without ever spreading, or the Sun’s shining on it. This Way, tho’ it
be longer ere finish’d, is done with less Labour than the other.
Not only a little Rain, but even a Mist, will turn _Clover Hay_ black;
but _St. Foin_ will not with any Weather turn black, until it be almost
rotten, its Leaves being thinner than those of _Clover_.
If _St. Foin_ be laid up pretty green, it will take no Damage, provided
it be set in small round Ricks, with a large Basket drawn up in the
Middle of each, to leave a Vent-hole there, thro’ which the superfluous
Moisture of the Hay transpires.
As soon as its Heating is over, these Ricks ought to be thatch’d; and
all _St. Foin_ Ricks, that are made when the Hay is full dry’d in the
Cocks, ought to be thatch’d immediately after the making them.
That which is laid up most dry’d, will come out of the Rick of a green
Colour, that which has much heated in the Rick, will have a brown
Colour.
The Seed is a Fourth Chance the Owner has to make Profit of his _St.
Foin_: But this, if the _Hoeing-Husbandry_ were general, would not be
vendible in great Quantities for planting; because an ordinary Crop of
an Acre will produce Seed enough to drill an Hundred Acres, which would
not want replanting in a long Time.
The other Use then of this Seed is for Provender; and it has been
affirmed by some, who have made Trials of it, that Three Bushels of
good _St. Foin_ Seed given to Horses, will nourish them as much as
Four Bushels of Oats. When well order’d, it is so _sweet_, that most
Sorts of Cattle are greedy of it. I never knew so much of it given to
Hogs, as to make them become fat Bacon; but I have known Hogs made very
good Pork with it, for an Experiment; and being valued at the Beginning
of their feeding, and the Pork by the Score when the Hogs were kill’d,
which, computed with the Quantity of Seed they eat, did not amount
to near the Value of the same Seed sold for sowing; that being Three
Shillings _per_ Bushel, and the Profit made by giving it to the Hogs
was but Two Shillings a Bushel.
The Goodness of the Seed, and of the Hay out of which it is thresh’d,
depends very much upon the manner of ordering them.
This thresh’d Hay, when not damaged by wet Weather, has been found more
nourishing to Horses than coarse Water-meadow Hay; and, when ’tis cut
small by an Engine, is good Food for Cattle, and much better than Chaff
of Corn.
It requires some Experience in it, to know the most proper Degree of
Ripeness, at which the seeded _St. Foin_ ought to be cut; for the Seed
is never all ripe together; some Ears blossom before others; every Ear
begins blossoming at the lower Part of it, and so continues gradually
to do upward for many Days; and before the Flower is gone off the Top,
the Bottom of the Ear has almost fill’d the Seeds that grow there; so
that if we should defer cutting until the top Seeds are quite ripe, the
lower, which are the best, would shed, and be lost.
The best time to cut is, when the greatest Part of the Seed is well
fill’d, the first-blown ripe, and the last blown beginning to be full.
The natural Colour of the Kernel, which is the real Seed, is grey or
bluish when ripe; and the Husk, which contains the Seed is, when ripe,
of a brownish Colour. Both Husk and Seed continue perfectly green for
some time after full-grown; and if you open the Husk, the Seed will
appear exactly like a green Pea when gather’d to boil, and will, like
that, easily be split into Two Parts. Yet St. Foin Seed in this green
Plight will ripen after Cutting, have as fine a Colour, and be as good
in all Respects, as that which was ripe before Cutting: Some, for want
of observing this, have suffer’d their Seed to stand so long, till it
was all ripe, and lost in Cutting.
St. Foin Seed should not be cut in the Heat of the Day, whilst the
Sun shines out: for then much, even of the unripe Seed, will shed in
Mowing: Therefore, in very hot Weather, the Mower should begin to
work very early in the Morning, or rather in the Night; and when they
perceive the Seed to shatter, leave off, and rest till towards the
Evening.
After Cutting we must observe the same Rule as in mowing it; _viz._ not
to make this Hay whilst the Sun shines.
Sometimes it may, if the Seed be pretty ripe, be cock’d immediately
after the Scythe; or if the Swarths must be turn’d, let it be
done whilst they are moist; not Two together, as in the other Hay
aforemention’d. If the Swarths be turn’d with the Rake’s Handle, ’tis
best to raise up the Ear-sides first, and let the Stub-side rest on
the Ground in turning; but if it be done by the Rake’s Teeth, then
let them take hold on the Stub-side, the Ears bearing on the Earth in
turning over. But ’tis commonly Rain that occasions the Swarths to want
Turning[185].
[185] If the Swarths be not very great, we never turn them at all,
because the Sun or Wind will quickly dry them.
If it be cock’d at all[186], the sooner ’tis made into Cocks, the
better; because, if the Swarths be dry, much of the Seed will be lost
in separating them, the Ears being entangled together. When moist, the
Seed sticks fasts to the Ear; but, when dry, will drop out with the
least Touch or Shaking.
[186] Sometimes when we design to thresh in the Field, we make no
Cocks at all, and but only just separate the Swarths in the Dew
of the Morning dividing them into Parts of about Two Feet in each
Part. By this means the St. Foin is sooner dry’d, than when it lies
thicker, as it must do, if made into Cocks.
There are Two ways of threshing it, the one in the Field, the other
in the Barn: The first cannot be done but in very fine Weather, and
whilst the Sun shines in the Heat of the Day: The best Manner of this
is, to have a large Sheet pegg’d down to the Ground, for Two Men with
their Flails to thresh on: Two Persons carry a small Sheet by its
Corners, and lay it down close to a large Cock, and, with Two Sticks
thrust under the Bottom of it, gently turn it over, or lift it up upon
the Sheet, and carry and throw it on the great Sheet to the Threshers;
but when the Cocks are small, they carry several at once, thrown upon
the little Sheet carefully with Forks; those which are near, they
carry to the Threshers with the Forks only. As fast as it is thresh’d,
one Person stands to take away the Hay, and lay it into an Heap: And
sometimes a Boy stands upon it, to make it into a small Rick of about a
Load. As often as the great Sheet is full, they riddle it thro’ a large
Sieve to separate the Seed and Chaff from the broken Stalks, and put it
into Sacks to be carried into the Barn to be winnow’d.
Two Threshers will employ Two of these little Sheets, and Four Persons
in bringing to them; and when the Cocks are thresh’d, which stand at a
considerable Distance all round them, they remove the Threshing-sheet
to another Place. There belong to a Set for one Threshing-sheet Seven
or Eight Persons; but the Number of Sheets should be according to the
Quantity to be thus thresh’d: The sooner these thresh’d Cocks are
remov’d, and made into bigger Ricks, the better; and unless they be
thatch’d, the Rain will run a great Way into them, and spoil the Hay;
but they may be thatch’d with the Hay itself, if there be not Straw
convenient for it.
But the chiefest Care yet remains; and that is, to cure the Seed: If
that be neglected, it will be of little or no Value[187]; and the
better it has escap’d the Wet in the Field, the sooner its own Spirits
will spoil it in the Barn or Granary. I have known it lie a Fortnight
in Swarth, till the wet Weather has turn’d the Husks quite black: This
was thresh’d in the Field, and immediately put into large Vessels,
holding about Twenty Bushels each. It had by being often wet, and often
dry, been so exhausted of its fiery Spirits, that it remain’d cool
in the Vessels, without ever fermenting in the least, till the next
Spring; and then it grew as well as ever any did that was planted.
[187] But there is yet another Care to be taken of St. Foin Seed,
besides the curing it; and that is, to keep it from Rats and Mice
after ’tis cured; or else, if their Number be large, they will in a
Winter eat up all the Seed of a considerable Quantity, leaving only
empty Husks, which to the Eye appear the same as when the Seeds are
in them. A Man cannot without Difficulty take a Seed out of its Husk;
but the Vermin are so dextrous at it, that they will eat the Seed
almost as fast out of the Husks, as if they were pulled out for them.
I saw a Rat killed as he was running from an Heap of it, that had
Seven peeled Seeds in his Mouth not swallowed; which is a Sign, that
he was not long in taking them out. They take them out so cleverly,
that the Hole in the Husk shuts itself up when the Seed is out of it.
But, if you feel the Husk between your Finger and Thumb, you will
find it empty. Also a Sackful of them is very light; yet there have
been some so ignorant and incurious as to sow such empty Husks for
several Years successively; and none coming up, they concluded their
Land to be improper for St. Foin.
But of Seed thresh’d in the Field, without ever being wetted, if it
be immediately winnow’d, and a single Bushel laid in an Heap, or put
into a Sack, it will in few Days ferment to such a Degree, that the
greatest Part of it will lose its vegetative Quality: The larger the
Heap, the worse: During the Fermentation it will be very hot, and smell
sour.
Many, to prevent this, spread it upon a Malt-Floor, turning it often;
or, when the Quantity is small, upon a Barn-floor; but still I find,
that this Way a great deal of it is spoil’d; for it will heat, tho’
it be spread but an handful thick, and they never spread it thinner:
Besides, they may miss some Hours of the right times of turning it;
for it must be done very often; it should be stirr’d in the Night as
well as the Day, until the Heating be over; and yet, do what they can,
it never will keep its Colour so bright as that which is well housed,
well dry’d, and thresh’d in the Winter: For in the Barn the Stalks keep
it hollow; there are few Ears or Seeds that touch one another; and the
Spirits have room to fly off by Degrees, the Air entering to receive
them.
The only Way I have found to imitate and equal this, is to winnow it
from the Sheet; then lay a Layer of Wheat-straw (or if that be wanting,
of very dry-thresh’d Hay); then spread thereon a thin Layer of Seed,
and thus _Stratum super Stratum_, Six or Seven Feet high, and as much
in Breath; then begin another Stack; let there be Straw enough, and do
not tread on the Stacks; by this means the Seed mixing with the Straw,
will be kept cool, and come out in the Spring with as green a Colour as
when it was put in, and not one Seed of a Thousand will fail to grow
when planted. A little Barn-room will contain a great Quantity in this
Manner.
I have had above One hundred Quarters of clean Seed thus manag’d in one
Bay of a small Barn. We do not stay to winnow it clean before we lay it
up in the Straw; but only pass it through a large Sieve, and with the
Van blow out the Chaff, and winnow it clean in the Spring.
This Field-threshing requires extraordinary fine Sun-shiny Weather,
which some Summers do not afford at the Season, for threshing a great
Quantity of it; for ’tis but a small Part of the Day in which the
Seed can be thresh’d clean out. They who have a small Quantity of it,
do carry it into a Barn early in the Morning, or even in the Night;
whilst the Dew is on it; for then the Seed sticks fast to the Ear:
As it dries, they thresh it out; and if they cure it well, have thus
sometimes good Seed, but generally the Hay is spoil’d.
There is one Method of saving all the Seed good, and the Hay too, by
carrying it unthresh’d to the Barn or Rick, in a particular Manner,
tho’ it be a great Quantity, more than can presently be thresh’d; but
must be laid up in Mows or Ricks, as Corn is. Then if it be carry’d in,
in the Dews or Damp, the Hay is sure to be spoil’d, if not both Hay and
Seed: When ’tis taken up dry, the Seed comes out with a Touch, and the
greatest Part is lost in pitching up the Cocks, binding and jolting in
carrying home.
To avoid this Dilemma, a Person who happen’d to have a great Crop of
Seed on One hundred and Fifty Acres together (and being by Weather
delay’d ’till Wheat-harvest came on, so that most Labourers went to
Reaping) was forc’d to a Contrivance of getting it in as follows;
_viz._ Three Waggons had each a Board with an Hole in, fix’d cross the
Middle of each Waggon, by Iron Pins, to the Top of the Rades or Sides:
There was a Crane which a Man could lift, and set into the Hole in the
Board, and, having an Iron Gudgeon at the Bottom, which went into a
Socket in the Bottom of the Waggon, would turn quite round: The Post of
the Crane was Ten Feet Four Inches long, its Arm Four Feet Eight Inches
long, brac’d; having a treble Pulley at the End of it, and another to
answer it with an Hook.
About Forty Sheets were provided, capable of holding each One hundred
and Fifty, or Two hundred Pounds Weight of it; these had Knots or
Buttons at the Corners and Middles, made by sewing up a little Hay
in these Knots, as big as Apples, into Part of the Sheet; for if any
Buckle, or other thing, be sew’d to a Sheet plain, it will tear the
Sheet. Half these Buttons have Strings ty’d to them; these Sheets
are spread among the Cocks, fill’d by Two, and ty’d up by Two other
Persons: There is also a light Fir Ladder, wide at Bottom, the Top of
it fasten’d by a Piece of Cord to the brace of the Crane: they hitch
the Hook of the lower Pulley to a fill’d Sheet, and by a little Horse
at the End of the Pulley-rope, draw it up sliding on the Ladder; ’tis
up in a Moment: Then the Man who is below, hitches the Crook of the
Pulley to the lower Round of the Ladder, and the Loader above pulls up
the Ladder from the Ground, till the Waggon comes to another Sheet. The
Waggons are lengthen’d by Cart-Ladders before and behind, for the more
easy placing of the Sheets. When about Twelve or Fifteen of them are
loaded, they have a Rope fix’d to the Fore-part of each Waggon, which
they bring over the Top of all the loaded Sheets, and wrest it at the
Tail, to hold on the Sheets fast from falling off with Jolting. Then
the Loader pulls out the Crane, and puts it into the next Waggon in the
same Manner. One Waggon is loading whilst another is emptying in the
Barn, by treble Pulleys likewise; because ’tis inconvenient to take
it out of the Sheets by Prongs; but the Pulleys will easily draw off
Two or Three Sheets together. One Waggon is always going to the Field,
or coming home. This Contrivance makes more Expedition than one would
imagine: Three Loads have been loaded, and sent off, in the same Time
this way, that one Load of Hay has been loading, binding, and raking
off the Outsides of it, in the next Ground, in the common Way.
I will not relate the manner of making a Rick of this Seed in its Hay,
of monstrous Dimensions, by a sort of Mast-pole Forty-four Feet high,
with a Ten Feet Crane at the Top, which made the same Expedition;
because I think, that where such a Quantity is, _Dutch_ Barns with
moving Roofs are better. Such a Rick is troublesome to thatch, and the
Wind has more Power to blow the Thatch off so high in the Air, than if
it were lower. Neither would I advise any one to reserve much more St.
Foin for Threshing, than his Barn will contain; because tho’ sometimes
it brings the greatest Profit by Threshing, yet some Years ’tis apt to
be blighted.
I have been told by my Neighbour, that he had a Crop of Five Quarters
of St. Foin Seed on an Acre; but the most Profit that ever I took
notice of, was on half an Acre, which was drill’d very thin, and had
no Crop of Corn with it; by which Advantage it produc’d a good Crop
of Seed the next Year after it was planted, and the Third Year this
Half-Acre produc’d (as was try’d by a Wager) within a Trifle of Two
Quarters of Seed, which was sold for Two Pounds and Ten Shillings:
The thresh’d Hay of it was sold in the Place for One Pound, and Two
Quarters of Chaff sold for Twelve Shillings; in all Four Pounds and
Two Shillings. There was also a very good Aftermath, which was worth
the Charges of Cutting and Threshing: So that the clear Profit of
the One Year of this Half Acre of Ground amounted to Four Pounds Two
Shillings: And it was remarkable, that at the same Time the rest of the
same Field, being in all Ten Acres, had a Crop of Barley sown on Three
Plowings, which (the Summer being dry) was offered to be sold at One
Pound _per_ Acre.
I believe the greatest Part of the St. Foin that is sown, is spoil’d by
being indiscreetly fed by Sheep[188]; which Damage is occasion’d merely
by suffering them to continue feeding it too long at a Time, especially
in the Spring; for then the Sap moves quick, and must be depurated by
the Leaves; and as the Sun’s nearer Approach accelerates the Motion or
Ferment of the Juices, more _Pabulum_ is receiv’d by the Roots; but for
want of Leaves to discharge the Recrements, and enliven the Sap with
nitro-aereous Particles (the Sheep devouring the Buds continually as
fast as they appear), the St. Foin’s vital Flame (if I may so call it)
is extinguish’d; the Circulation ceasing, the Sap stagnates, and then
it ends in Corruption[189]. But let the Sheep eat it never so low, in
a short time, without continuing thereon, or cropping the next Buds
which succeed those they have eaten, the Plants will recover and grow
again as vigorously as ever, and if with a Spade, in the Winter you cut
off the St. Foin Heads an Handful deep, and take them away, together
with their upper Earth, the Wound in the remaining Root will heal, and
send out more Heads as good as those cut off, if those second Heads be
preserv’d from Cattle, until they attain to a Bigness competent to bear
Leaves sufficient for the Use of the reviving Plants: Nay, I have seen
Plants of St. Foin cut off in the Winter a Foot deep, and the Earth of
that Depth taken away; and the remaining Root recover’d, and grew to an
extraordinary Bigness: But this was preserv’d from Cattle at first.
[188] I never suffer Sheep to come upon St. Foin, except betwixt
Mowing-time and _All-Saints_. And there is so much Danger of spoiling
St. Foin by the Fraud of Shepherds, that I knew a Gentleman that
bound his Tenant never to suffer any Sheep to come thereon; and by
this means his St. Foin continued in Perfection much longer than is
usual, where St. Foin is suffer’d to be fed by Sheep.
[189] Natural Grass is not kill’d by constant feeding, because no
sort of Cattle can bite it so low as to deprive it of all its Leaves;
and ’tis, like Eels, more tenacious of Life than the rest of its
Genius, and will send out Leaves from the very Roots when reversed,
as is too often seen where turffy Land is plow’d up in large Furrows.
I esteem St. Foin to be much more profitable than Clover, because St.
Foin is never known to do any perceivable Damage to the Corn amongst
which ’tis planted; but Clover often spoils a Crop of Barley[190]; and
I have known, that the Crop of Barley has been valued to have suffer’d
Four Pounds _per_ Acre Damage by a Crop of broad Clover’s growing in it
in a wet Summer: In a dry Summer both Sorts of Clover are apt to miss
growing; and if it does grow, and the next Summer (wherein it ought
to be a Crop) prove very dry, it fails on most sorts of Land, tho’ it
was vigorous enough to spoil the Barley the Year it was sown; at best,
’tis of but very short Duration, and therefore is not to be depended
on by the Farmer, for maintaining his Cattle, which the broad Clover
will also kill, sometimes by causing them to swell, unless great Care
be taken to prevent it. The broad Clover is esteem’d a foul Feed for
Horses. The Hop Clover is gone out of the Ground sooner than the broad
Clover; I never knew it cut more than once: Indeed Cattle are never
swollen by feeding on it; but then it affords but very little Feeding
for them, except the Land whereon it grows be very rich.
[190] But this Damage may be prevented by drilling the Clover after
the Barley is an Handful high or more; for then the Barley will keep
it under, and not suffer it to grow to any considerable Bigness till
after Harvest; nor will this Drill, being drawn by Hand, do any
Damage to the Barley.
St. Foin is observ’d to enrich whatever Ground ’tis planted on, tho’ a
Crop be taken off it yearly.
Poor Slate Land[191], when it has borne sown St. Foin for Six or Seven
Years, being plow’d up, and well till’d, produces Three Crops of Corn;
and then they sow it with St. Foin again.
[191] The Poverty of this sort of Land, lying upon Slate or Stone,
generally proceeds from the Thinness of it; and, if it were thicker,
it would be good Land: Much of this Earth, being dispersed among the
Crannies or Interstices of the Slate and Stone to a great Depth, is
reach’d by the Tap-roots of the St. Foin, but cannot be reach’d by
the Roots of Corn; and therefore, when constantly kept in Tillage, is
of small Value: Upon which Account such Land is greatly improveable
by St. Foin, even when sown in the common manner.
Rich arable Land was planted with it, and mow’d annually with very
great Crops (’twas drill’d in Nine-inch Rows, with Six Gallons of Seed
to an Acre; One Crop of it was sold at Four Pounds _per_ Acre): This,
after about Seven Years, and in full Perfection, was plow’d up by a
Tenant, and continued for many Years after so rich, that, instead of
dunging or fallowing it for Wheat, they were forc’d to sow that upon
Barley-stubble, and to feed the Wheat with Sheep in the Spring, to
prevent its being too luxuriant.
But ’tis to be noted, that the Land must be well till’d at the breaking
up of old St. Foin, or else the First Crops of Corn may be expected to
fail: For I knew a Tenant, who, the last Year of his Term, plow’d up
a Field of St. Foin, that would have yielded him Three Pounds _per_
Acre; but, thinking to make more Profit of it by Corn, he sow’d it with
White Oats upon once Plowing; and it proving a dry Summer, he lost his
Plowing and Seed; for he had no Crop of Oats, and was forc’d to leave
the Land as a Fallow to his Successor.
Many more Instances there are of this Failure of the Crop of Corn after
St. Foin has been broken up, and not well till’d.
When St. Foin is grown old, and worn out, as ’tis said to be when
the artificial Pasture is gone, and the natural Pasture is become
insufficient for the Number of Plants that are on it, to be maintained;
and is so poor, that it produces no profitable Crop, so that the Ground
is thought proper to be plow’d up, and sown with Corn, in order to be
replanted[192]; the most effectual Way to bring it into Tilth speedily,
is, to plow it up in the Winter, with a Four-coulterd Plough, and make
it fit for Turneps by the following Season; and if the Turneps be well
ho’d, and especially if spent by Sheep on the Ground, ’twill be in
excellent Order to be sown with Barley the following Spring; and then
it may be drill’d with St. Foin amongst the Barley.
[192] Or if you perceive, that there is a competent Number of Plants
alive, and tolerably single; be they never so poor, you may recover
them to a flourishing Condition in the following manner, without
replanting: Pulverize the whole Field in Intervals of about Three
Feet each, leaving betwixt every Two of them Four Feet Breadth of
Ground unplow’d. When the Turf of these Intervals, being cut by the
Four coulter’d Plough, is perfectly rotten, one Furrow made by any
sort of Plough will hoe one of these Intervals, by changing the whole
Surface of it. The poorer the Land is, the more Hoeings will be
required; and the oftener ’tis ho’d, with proper Intermissions the
first Year, the stronger the St. Foin will become, and the more Years
it will continue good, without a Repetition of Hoeing.
The Expence of this cannot be great; because the Plough, in hoeing an
Acre in this manner Nine Times, travels no farther than it must to
plow an Acre once in the common Manner.
I need not tell the Owner, that the Earth of these Intervals must be
made level, before the St. Foin can be mowed.
To return to the Benefit Land receives by having been planted some
Years with St. Foin: All the Experienc’d know, that Land is enriched by
it; but they do not agree upon the Reason why.
They agree as to the Οτι, but not the Διοτι.
Some are of Opinion, ’tis because the St. Foin takes a different Sort
of Nourishment to that of Corn: But that I think is disprov’d in the
Chapter of _Change of Species_, where ’tis shewn, that all Plants in
the same Soil must take the same Food.
Mr. _Kirkham_ thinks St. Foin has no collateral or horizontal Roots
in the upper Part of the Ground where the Plough tills for Corn; and
therefore has no Nourishment from that Part of the Soil which feeds the
Corn. This would be a very good Account for it, were it not utterly
contrary to Matter of Fact, as every one may see.
But so far it is right, that large[193] St. Foin draws the greatest
Part of its Nourishment from below the Reach of the Plough; and what
Part it does receive from the Staple is overbalanc’d by the Second
Crop, or After-lease, being spent by Cattle on the Ground; different
from Corn, which is very near wholly maintain’d by the plow’d Part of
the Earth, and is all carry’d off.
[193] For large St. Foin, being single, has large Roots, and very
long, which probably descend Twenty Feet deep: Now, if we allow Four
or Five Inches the Depth of the Staple, to afford a Supply equal
to Two Feet below it, taking the lower Nineteen Feet Seven Inches
together, upon this Computation, the Part below the Staple gives the
St. Foin about Nine Parts in Ten of its Sustenance.
For tho’ the under _Stratum_ of Earth be much poorer than the upper;
yet that, never having been drain’d by any sort of Vegetables, must
afford considerable Nourishment to the First that comes there.
And besides, in such Land whose Poverty proceeds from the Rain’s
carrying its Riches too quickly down through the upper _Stratum_, the
under _Stratum_ must be the richer[194] for receiving what the upper
_Stratum_ lets pass unarrested.
[194] In light poor Land the Water carrying some impregnated Earth
along with it down lower than it does in strong Land, that is more
tenacious of such impregnated Particles, the under _Strata_ of strong
Land are likely to be poorer than those of light Land.
’Tis well known, that many Estates have been much improv’d by St. Foin;
therefore there is no occasion to mention Particulars. Only I will take
Notice, that the First in _England_ was one of about One hundred and
Forty Pounds _per Annum_, sown with St. Foin, and sold for Fourteen
Thousand Pounds; and as I hear, continues, by the same Improvement,
still of the same Value. This is, I suppose, the same that Mr.
_Kirkham_ mentions in _Oxfordshire_.
Another Farm of Ten Pounds _per Annum_ Rent, which, whilst in
Arable[195], was like to have undone the Tenant; but being all planted
with St. Foin by the Owner, was lett at One hundred and Ten Pounds _per
Annum_, and prov’d a good Bargain.
[195] These Estates consisted of thin Slate Land; which before it was
planted with St. Foin, was valued at two Shillings _per_ Acre, and
some Part of it at One Shilling _per_ Acre (as I have been inform’d);
and yet Oxen are well fatted by the St. Foin it produces.
If it should be ask’d, Why St. Foin is an Improvement so much greater
in _England_, than in other Countries? it might be answer’d by
shewing the Reason why _English_ Arable is of so much less Value than
Foreign[196] where the Land is of equal Goodness, and the Corn produc’d
of equal Price.
[196] ’Tis doubtless from the extraordinary Price of _English_ Labour
above that of other Countries, occasioned by _English_ Statutes being
in this Respect different from all other Laws in the World.