OCR Text |
Show ME M ME ing the Ground, and they will not eat it too clofe, fo as to end n of the Roots. The Beginning wry, the Ground that which comes from a more Southern Cjmate; But this Seed maybe fav’d in England between the Roots fhe Quantity of the Plants fhould be fuffer’d to ain ftirred with , to encourage themto fhoot again ; of this, youfhouldbe careful not e the Crownofthe Roots, upon which in great Plenty; in order to which, a {mall grow uncut. till the Seeds are ripe; whenit muft be cut, and laid to dryin an open Barn where the Air mayfreely pafs through, but and the Seed muft be defended from the Wet, for to pufh. With this Management, Cif if it be expos’d thereto, it will fhoot while it the Soil be warm) by the Beginning of March remains in the Pod, whereby it will be {poil’d: the Shoots wil] be five or fix Inches high ; When it is quite dry, it muft be thrath’d out when, you are in want of Fodder, youmay and cleans’d from the Husk, and preferv'd in feed it downtilla Weekin 4prid: After wh ch adryPlace till the Seafon for fowing it: And it fhould be fuffer’d to grow fora Crop, which this Seed fav’d in England is much preferable will be fit to cut the Be June; when to anybrought from Abroad, as I have feveral you fhould obferve to get it off the Ground times experienc’d ; the Plants produc’d from as foonas poffible, and ftir the Ground again it having been muchftronger than thofe proFrench, Helvetian, or Turkey Seeds, with the Plough, which will forward the Plants duc'd from fhooti gain, fo that by the Middle orlatter which were fown at the fame Time, and on Endof Ful ill ther Crop fit to the fame Soil andSituation. uds are at that time very tur, cut, which muft be and asthe Roots by managedas before: After ain in Autunm, this time will have taken deep Hold in the Ground, fo there will be little Danger of hurting them, if you fhould turn in Jarger Catt y yay s obferve not to fi e ain after the I aminclinable to think, that the Reafon of this Plant not fucceeding, whenit has been fown in England, has either been occafion’d by the fowing it with Corn, with which it will by no means thrive; (for tho’ the Plant be veryhardy when grown prettylarge, yet at its firft coming up, it be incommoded byanyother Plants or Weeds, it feldom does well; therefore it fhould always be fownbyitfelf, and carefully which would confide if not de- clear'd from Weeds until it has Strength, after which it is not eafily deftroy’d:.) Or perhaps ftroy them. In this manner you maycontinue conftantly People have fown it at a wrong Seafon, orin Roots have done fhooting, left they thould eat downthe Crownofthe Roots w the Buds, to have two Crops to cut, and twoFeedi wet Weather, whereby the Seeds have rotted upon this Plant; and in good Seafons tt and never come up, which hathditcour: may be three Crops cut, and two Feedings, whichwill be a great Improvement, efpec ally attempting it again: d their where Grafs will come to little, and be of great Uie in dry Summers when Grafs is often buroc up. And as it is an early Plant in the here laid down, be duly follow’d, it will be But however the Succefs has been, I dare aver, that if the Method of as this Plant will grow upondry barren Soils, fowing and managing of this Plant, whichts Spring, fo it will be of great Service when Fodder falls fhort at that Seafon; whenit will be fit to feed at leaft a Month before Grafs or Clover ; for I have had this Plant eight Inches high bythe tenth of March, at which time the found to thrive as well as any other Sort of Fodder nowcultivated in England, and will continue much Jonger ; forif the Ground be duly ftirred between each Crop, and the Jaft Crop fed, as hath beendirected, the Plants will continue in Vigour twenty Years or more without renewing, provided they are not permitted Grafs in the fame Place has fcarcely been one Inchhigh, That the Cold will not injure this Plant, I to feed, which will weaken the Roots more which were dug up in Of and laid upon the Ground in the open Air till the B ginning of March ; when 1 planted them again, and they fhot out very vigoroufly foon nay even while they lay upon the Gro d, they ftruck out Fibres from the Underfide of the it will remain good, if well dry’d beto d be carry’d in, three Years. The People abroal than four times cutting it would do. , The Hay ofthis Plant fhould be Kept in am fullyfatisfy’d, for in the very cold Winter clofe Barns, it being too tender to be kept 0 Anno 142%, 1 had fome Rootsof this Plant Reeks open to the Air as other Hay; a Roots, and had begun tofhoot green from the Crown of the Roots, But that Wet will de- ftroy the Roots, I am fully convined, for I fow'd little of the Seed upon a moitt pot of Ground for a ‘Tr al, which cameup very well, and flourith’d exceedingly during the Summerfeafon 3 but in W inter, w hen the great Rains fell, the Roots began to rot at Bottom, and reckon an Acre of this Fodder fufficient © keep three Horfes all the Year round. Catt MEDICA COCHLEATA; Snail-Trefoll. The Charaéfers are ; Thee Plants differ from the fo ruit, which of thefe Kinds are J There are great Numbers of a arae icKK a + a : { Botanick preferv'a d in are Plant which o! for Variety ; but I fhall in this Place mention twoorthree of the moft curi oa dbefore the Sp were moft of them de- which are cultivated in Gardens for tne ftroy’d, nefs of their Fruit. 1 he beft Places to procure the Seed arse from, The Species are ; are Switz, > and the Northern Parts of 1. Mepica; /entellata. 7 B. a nee ; le France, which fucceed better y hb 3 1727 c with us than ia Trefoil,commonty call’d in the Se z, Meptea; orbiculata. 4 Snail-Trefoil. Flat, round 3, Mepica ; cochleata, {pinofa, echinis magnis, utringue turbinatis, cum {pinulis reis, Raii Hif?. Prickly cochleated Medick, with a large Head turbinated on everySide with reflex’d Spines, commonly call’d, Horns and Hedge-hog. 4. Mepica ; marina. Lob. Icon. Sea Medick or Snail-Trefoil. The two firft Sorts are common in the Englifo Gardens, their Seeds being frequently fold in the Seed-fhops in London; but the third The Species are ; 1. Mepicaco; annua, trifolii facie. Tourn. Annual Moon-Trefoil, with the Appearance of Trefoil. 2. Mepteaco; Vulnerariae facie, Hifpanica. Tourn. Spanifh Moon-Trefoil, with the Appearance of Vudueraria, 3. Mepicaco ; trifolia, frutefcens, incana. Shrubby Three-leav’d hoary Moon-Trefoil, by many {uppos’d to be the true Cyti/us of Virgil. The two firft Sorts are annual Plants, which are preferved in Botanick Gardens for Variety, more than anyfingular Beauty or Ufe: Thefe may be propagated by fowing their Seeds in the Beginning of 4pri/, upon a Bed of light Earth, in the Places where they are to remain ; for they feldom fucceed when they do it in dry Weather ; for if the Ground be are tranfplanted ; and when they come up, very wet, or there fhould happen much Rain they fhould be clear’d from Weeds, and foon after theyare put into the Earth, it very thinn’d to the Diftance of a Foot afunder; often burfts and deftroys the Seeds; but if after which, they will require no farther Care, fome gentle Showers fall about a Week or ten but only to keep them clear from Weeds, and Days after the Seeds are fown, it will bring in Fuly theywill flower, and their Seeds will up the Plants in a fhort Time after. When be perfected in Auguf?, ‘The Secd-veffels of they are come up, theyfhould be carefully thefe Plants being fhap’d like Half-Moons, is clear’d from Weeds, and thinn’d out to abouta the only remarkable Difference between them Foot afunder or more, (for they muft remain and the Medica’s. The third Sort grows to be a ftrong Shrub, where they were fown, feldom fucceeding when Sort is pretty rare at prefent in England. Thefe three Sorts may be propagated by fowing their Seeds upon a warm dry Border ginning of April, obferving always to tran{planted); andafterthis, they will require no farther Care but only to keep them clear from Weeds; and in Fuly they will flower, and their Fruit will ripen in a fhort Time and will rife to the Height offive or fix Feet, and maybe reduc’d to a regular Head, when it will appear very beautiful: But it fhould not be cut too often, which would prevent its Flowering ; for if the Shoots at a fall Diftance, will appear as if are permitted to grow without much Trimithad a great Numberof Swai/s upon it; and ming, they will produce Flowers moft Parts the third Sort, having large rough Heads, will of the Year, which, together with the makea very good Appearance : For which fin- Beauty of its Silver colour’d Le ves, rengular Oddnefs, a good Garden fhouldalways ders it worthy of a Place in every good When the Plant is in full Beauty, the havea few Plants of each Sort, efpecially fince they require verylittle Care to cultivate them. Garden. When the Fruit is full ripe, it fhould be gather’d and laid by inadry Place for the the Seeds, either upon a moderate Hot-bed, or a warm Border oflight Earth, in the Seeds, for if they are permitted to remain upon Beginning of pril; and when the Plants come up, they fhould be carefully clear’d the Plants, and there fhould Rain happen, the Seeds would fprout in the Heads, and be deltroy’d The fourth Sort is a perennial Plant, which is preferv'd by fuch Perfons asare very curious in collecting great Variety of odd Plants. ‘This sated by fowing the Seeds, as Months, which if water’d ke Root in a fhort Time ; hich, they muft beplanted in Pots fill’d light fandy Earth, andfhelter’d in Winter a Hot-bed Frame, where they mayhave reat Share of free Air in mild Weather, only require to beskreen’d from hardFroft. s Plant is preferv’dfor the beautiful WhiteFits Leaves, which when intermix’d ther low Plants, makesapretty Variety. MEDICAGO; Moon-Trefoil. Glers are ; This Plant may be propagated by fowing from Weeds: But they fhould remain undifturb’d, if fown in the common Ground, ‘till the April following ; but if on a Hot-bed, they fhould be tran{planted about Mid/ummer into Pots, placing them in the Shade until they have taken Root: After which, they may be removd intoa Situation where they maybe {creen’d from ftrong Winds, in which they may abide’till the Latter-end ofO¢fober, when they muft be put intoa Frame, in order to fhelter *em from hard Frofts ; for thofe Plants which have been brought uptenderly, will be liable to fuffer by hard Frofts, efpecially while they are young. In April following thefe Plants may be fhaken out of the Pots, and placed into the full Ground where they are defign’d to remain, which fhould be in a light Soil, and a warm Situation, in which they will endure the Cold of our ordinary Winters extremely well, and continue to’ produce Flowers moft part of the Year. + Thofe alfo i Jere wn in an open Border may bet nted in the A4prif folBut in doing of to take ’em up with a Rall |