R A G

RAG

tbiilhel at London, from whence many loads are sent everyyear to Dunstable, which is thirty-three miles, wherethey are laid even on stiff-lands, just after the sowing os■the corn, allowing to the acre four sacks of six bulhelseach.

RAG-WORT, or as it is called in Yorkstiir o,seagrlm,is a very pernicious weed.

The reverend Mr. Comber, of East-Newton, has ob-liged the public with the following observations on thegrowth and destruction of ragwort, or seageim.

" This plant, fays he, has a stalk, in its early state,green, but, as it advances in age, inclining to violet or■purple, especially downwards, its flowers are yellow,•and thick-set, and composed each of a number of small-pointed leaves. It runs to feed in the latter end of sum-mer. The smell, both os the stalk and leaves, whichare jagged, (whence probably it obtains one name) and•the flower itself, are offensive toast animals, I think ; forI have observed that hardly any creatures feed upon it,except almost starved. I have not indeed observed•whether or no asses reject it.

" Like most other weeds, it thrives best in the bestfoils, either natural or artificial; and I took up a plant ofit in my orchard, about two years ago, (with the root)which, when in flower, touched my chin, (my height isabout five feet eight or nine inches) and its root, whichis round, and thick set with taws, was much larger than anew-born child’s head: but the usual dimensions aremuch less than these.

About four years ago, I observed the spreading of thisweed in that part of this estate which was in our ownhands. I took notice, that neither cows nor horses eatit; and when I fmelled it, I ceased to wonder that theydid not. It was obvious to remark, that a weed so bulkyas this, and so gross must extract much nourishmentfrom the earth, and that it was advisable to get rid of itas fast as possible. The most easy method was mowing,I therefore ordered a servant to mow these weeds in thepastures as near to the ground as he could ; and 1 hopedthat the common mowing in the meadows would be'suf-ficient to destroy them: but I soon found my mistake ;for in a very few weeks these offensive strangers shot upagain in a stalk and leaf, and even flower, though allin much smaller size than before, but with this disagreea-ble circumstance, that the root was so far from being in-jured with the scythe, that for one stalk several arose, andthe roots seemed to have gained new vigour from thewound.

“ I now applied myself to plucking up by the rootsthese odious inmates, and found new difficulties ; forwhile the ground was dry, as it usually is in the latter endof summer, I found the stalks of such of the seagrims aswere longest, and afforded the tightest grasp, either breakin plucking, and leave the root in the ground entirely, orat best bring with it only a small part of the root; andwhen the wet weather came on, and loosened the ground,and made it possible, or even easy, to bring away the wholeball of the root, ;et the season of seeding was come onalso, and the earliest tipe feeds had dispersed themselves,and produced an assurance of a larger crop for succeedingyears than the most careful plucking of the present cropcould destroy.

“ But if these were the difficulties which attended myattempts to eradicate those seagrims, which had happenednot to be mowed, I was much more embarrassed by those

which had been ; for here it was impossible to get anysuch fast hold, as to pluck them up with much, or evenany root.

“ I now applied myself to enquire what gentlemen orfarmers were plagued with this weed, and what methodsthey had tried with success to destroy it.

“ I was told by a gentleman in my own neighbour-hood, that Sir G. Cayley, of Brompton, near Scarbo-rough, baronet, had been plagued with this weed, andhad pursued the method of plucking with success.

" Animated by this assurance, I resolved to pursue thismethod with great attention ; and as it seemed to be a workwhich required great care, both in the choice of seasonand manner of plucking, I resolved not to depute the workto others, but to endeavour to clear a spot in my cow-pasture with my own hands, that, if my labour succeed-ed, I might employ others to follow the fame method un-der my own eye in the rest of this pasture.

" Accordingly, in the evenings of the summer, or ra-ther autumn, of 1762-, after showers, I applied myself tothis work ; and by the help of a pair of strong gloves, anda tight grasp, I brought up almost every root, in a space ofabout two hundred yards square, whole; so that I hadgood hopes I should fee this spot clear in the succeedingsummer. It is true, I saw‘ leaves of the species of thisweed, and of a very vivid green too, around the plantswhich I pulled up : but as 1 reasonably concluded these tobe fed by the taws which spread themselves fromthemainroot, so I (metbought reasonably) concluded also, thatthis main root being destroyed, the side taws would die,and consequently these young leaves.

" But how Was I disappointed, when in the summerof 1763,1 saw this spot of ground as much over-run withseagrims as any part else. of the pasture which had beenunpulled!

“ Conversing, however, with G. Watson, os NewMalton, Esq; towards the latter end of summer, on thissubject, I was assured by him, that by a repetition of thislabour of plucking for some years, he thought he had les-soned the number of his seagrims, though they were stillnumerous. Urged by this example, I have gone throughthe whole of my pasture, which is about ten acres, andkept five cows, at the latter end of last summer, of 1763,with the same care as was used to a small part of it in1762 ; yet am I nor elated with much hope of success »for a little plot before my garden (in which my horses run,and which was managed with still more accuracy on acrcount of the odious appearance of the seagrims frommy windows) seems to threaten another considerablecrop.

" As I did not confine my enquiries about the methodof destroying this hateful weed to any one rank of men, *•was told by an honest quaker, a farmer in my neighbour-hood, that he had found turning of sheep in winter intohis cow-pasture the only effectual method of destroyingthis hateful weed.

" I thought this method very likely to succeed ; torsheep are such close caters, that I have known them de-stroy whole beds of the rankest docks, which could nobe killed by any other means.

“ I have not been able to try this experiment consider^

ably ; for, as I am raising quick fences, both in my mea^dow and pasture, I keep no sheyp. I hSve, however, occasionally admitted some of my tenants sheep intosmall plot before my garden this winter; and, U P 011 a £e