Chapter VIII: Preface (8)

[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.