The Grange advance., 1874-03-25
AGRICULTURAL.
Improvement Of Oats.

Improvement Of Oats.
Experiments in selecting and plant
ing the heaviest wild oats successivelv.
have resulted in bringing the weight Of
the grain up to 38 pounds per bushel
in the course of six years only. Now
as we find in nature that it is harder to
improve than to degenerate, it is not at
all strange that by unconcern in plant
ing. and for want of proper selection of
seed, the oats We raise rarely come up
even to the standard weig ght of 80
pounds to the bushel. Frequently the
oats grown in the South. where care
lessness in this respect has unfortunate
ly long been the rule, weigh but IS
pounds to the bushel, or mere trifle
over the weight of their uncultivated
progenitor. Much Of this poverty of
quality in oats is charged to climate
as convenient an excuse, by the way,
for the unenterprising farmer as is
fate " for the Mussulman. But that
excuse is not valid for several reasons.
In the first place, seed weighing 45 to
30 ounds per bushel may be procured
with ease if wanted. In the second
place this seed will reproduce itself for
several years without deterioration. In
case which came to our knowledge
and the facts for which we can vouch
for, Il field in Pennsylvania was sown
on April IL, 1869, with oats obtained
from Nova Scotia and which weighed
45 pounds to the bushel. The crop
was harvested in July and weighed
when thrashed AZ pounds to the bush.
el That season certainly happened tc
be wet one and favorable for oats
But the next year the naturalized seed
was sown and the crop; although the
season was very dry, still weighed II
pounds per bushel. It is probable tha
the seed might have deteriorated b,
this time had the faermer continued tt
sow it. The experienc however, dis
proves the idea that heavy oats canno
be grown in the United States, even il
a hot, dry season like that Of 1870 i,
which corn curled considerably.
AS bearing in IN interesting name
upon this subject we gather some fact
from a recent article in The Lo,,do,
Field upon the growth of heavy oats.
An ounce Of Scotch potato oats, weigh
ing % pounds to the bushel, was foun,
to contain 384 seeds an ounce of Eng
llsh Waterloo oats, weighing Al pound
to the bushel, contained 62S seeds Th
Scotch oats when husked gave 40 grain
Of meal per 100 seeds; the English oat
gave only % grains of meal to 100 SEEDS
1t is evident from this data that tn
heavy oats would give much stronge
, plant than the lighter ones, because ther
, were 40 grains Of nutriment for ever
100 seeds, while the lighter had but 2s
: Again, If two bushels of the heavy see
} were sown the seeding would be abou
, one-half thinner than with two bushe
Of the light seed. A bushel of the heav
seed would contain 307 200 grains, whic
} would give seven seeds to the squa1
foot, or one to every 4x5 inches GO il
, ches square). A bushel of the lighte
oats would contain 442,112 grains. {
over 10 seeds to the square foot, or on
to every 3*x4 inches (144 square il
, ches). If this is true of oats of such e.
ira weight Cat least with us) as 4
, pounds to the bushel, what must it
when the light cha8y seed common t
, our farms is sown? What wonder is
| that our very low standard of 80 pound
to the bushel for this grain is, in tn
ma ajority of cases, not nearly reached
, and that farmers, necessarily blamin
something, blame the climate? Ho,
much longer will we ignore the fact we
known two thousand years ago, ths
" seeds culled out and selected with muc
labor nevertheless will degenerate sav
when the largest are yearly chosen wit
great care 2"
| Nmctn~