young’s TRAVELS IN FRANCE.

599

Sect. III.— Of the Culture of Plants,

Gallega Officinalis. —Commonly fpontaneous in the fields, between Milan and Pavia,and wherever cattle have admiffion all clofely eaten.

Pa/iurus. —I know no plant that makes a better hedge than this in the north of Lom-bardy . Sig. Pilati, near Brefcia, has one of fix years growth, as good as an excellentwhite thorn one in England would be in ten.

Trigone!la Fcenum Gnzctim. —Cultivated in the Bolognefe in preference to clover; foilwith it; and fow wheat on the land.

Sainfoin. —In Tufcany, the coline de Pifani are much under this plant, which is calledlupiiicllo ; particularly about Cartel Fiorentino, where it was introduced about twentyyears ago by Sig. Neri; one of the good deeds which deferve a nation’s thanks, betterthan a viftory, or the taking of half a dozen towns. A thoufand facks of the feed werefent thence to Naples and Sicily . Will thofe kingdoms awaken at lad ? Sig. Paoletti,at Villamagna, has a piece of good fainfoin on a fteep Hope ; but I found one-third ofit burnet.

Larch . —In the Milanefe, at Mozzata, the Count de Caftiglioni having two hundredperticheof wafte heath, and a community two hundred more adjoining, he took a leafeof it for ever ; and ploughing the whole, fowed acorns, planting alder, larch, and othertrees, which do well; but the fown oak, in eight years, exceeded every thing, and arebeautiful trees: the foil a poor gravel. We have in England fo many prejudices, that amhn who does not travel is apt to think that every thing Englifh is better than the famethings in other countries; and, among other follies, that for oak England is fuperior toall the world : but timber wants fun as much as wheat; and I have no where in Eng-land feen fuch a growth of timber, as in many places abroad. Larch aboundsgreatly in the mountains, and is reckoned an admirable wood for water-works; all portsare of larch. 1 have read in fome writer, that there is a law in many parts of Lombardy which allows a land-proprietor, whofe eft ate is entailed, to plant, on the birth, of adaughter, a certain number of Lombardy poplars, which are her portion on coming ofage, or being married, in fpite of any entail. I enquired, both in Piedmont and here,into the truth of this, and was allured there is no fuch law ; nor did they ever hear ofthe cuftom, even when eftates have not been entailed.

In the arfenal of Venice is fome quantity of larch,, kept under cover,, and valuedgreatly for all works expofed to water. They are not very large, but cort tw'enty-twoducats each. The marts are very fine pine-trees, from the upper Trevifano ; I mea--fured one thirty-eight yards long, and two feet diameter at the butt, and one foot at theether end.

Lucerne. —I mention this plant, for an opportunity of obferving how very rarely it iscultivated in Italy : I faw a little near Padua ; and there is an inconfiderable quantityin the Parmefan, where it is cut five or fix times ; they find that cows give more milk,on it than on any other grafs.

Raves. —I was furprifed to find turnips, or rather the French raves (for I fear theyare not the genuine turnip) cultivated in Tufcany. I was allured that in the Valdi-ehiana there are many, fown immediately after wheat, but never hoed, yet come gene-rally from two pounds to five pounds ;. fome to thirty pounds (twenty pounds Englifh),and that they are applied to the feeding and fattening of oxen, which lell at 140 feudithe pair (39I. 13S..4CL Englifh) ; nothing befideis given,, except a little hay.

Cyprus Tree. —At Soma, near the Lago Maggiore, th re is a famous Cyprus tree,which Corio, in his Storia di Milano? fays,, was the place where the people aflembled in

congrefs;