Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/383

351&#93; iuk easily obtained in n s-olid form, and thus a 2 in 1 n same field, without men idditional e "VVc mist, judicious farmers will avail then f this hint, hot disregard it with the stale plea ■.nr.it ion. RZB, . L. an indi- genous plant, consisting of two species, the principal of which is, khe Europeans, Common Fi rze, Whins, or Goazfi, which grows on heaths, road-sidN s, an I pas- tures. It abounds particularly in the county of Cornwall, where it is very productive, growing to the height of six or eight feet; and flowering from May till late in autumn. Furze thrives in a light sandy soil, though it ;rows more luxu- riantly in rich I md. It is pi gated from seed, which is sown in the months of February, March', and April, or in the beginning of May, in the proportion of Olbs. to an acre ; either alone, or with bar- ley, oats, or buck-wheat. But it is not mowed till the year after it has been sown, in the month cf i tctober, or somewhat earlier, when it will continue till Christmas, and be tit for use till March. Furze will grow for several years, and produce from ten to fifteen tons per acre, which, in the feeding of cattle, are equal to the same quantity of hay : hence it is in some places regularly stacked. This plant is of the greatest utility, especially as food for horses, which, when it is recently bruised, rat it in preference to hay, and even corn. Goats and sheep like- wise feed upon the tender tops. — • Cows also, that are fed with it, yield nearly the fame proportion of FIR md untainti d milk, as on meadow grass. Fdc is crushed an t reduced in a machine, con- stone, set on ; < 1 wooden axis itre. One end of this axis is fixed upon a placed in the centre of a cir- cular area, and at the other end is fastened a yoke, to which a Jit-horse is attached. As the il moves, the Stone revolves round its axis in a circular groove, ough of hewn stone, in a man- ner similar to sugar-baker-,, or tan- ners-mills. In this trough the whins or furze are placed, and .1 by the weight of the stone., as it passes over them : after being well crushed, they are raised up (by means of a three-pronged fork) in the form of a kind or matted cake, which being set upright, is 1 broken by the wheel revolv- ing on its axis. Thus, the opera- tion is continued, new surfaces being successively presented to the action of the wheel, till the whole i^ reduced to a soft pulpy mass.—- During the continuanc e of this pro- cess, however, it will be rcquisite to pour sufficient water on the furze, at different times, as, with- out such precaution, the plant could with difficulty be rendered soft enough to be eaten by cattie. To the furze thus crushed, chop- ped straw is sometimes added, in the proportion of J cwt. to a ton of furze. This operation may be effectually performed by the mills employed in grinding apples, or expressing oil. Rut, in some parts of England, the prickly points of the whins are merely broken with heavy real lets on blocks of wood, and in this state given to cattle., which- £24: them eagerly. Furze-