. A 



tiiofe cf the common fort, but arc finallcr. It riowcrs ] little cr no damage ; the ftraw and hnilcs bein'^- of lb 

 in July and Auguft, but feldom ripens its fruit in ' dry a nature; that if they are houfed wet, they will 

 Endand. It is propagated by pardng the rpots in not heat in the mow, or become mouldy, as other 



gra^n ufually do •, fo is of great advantage in the nor- 



the fprinfjC, and the plants muil be kept in the bark- 

 ftove to have them thrive well in this country. ..-. . 

 A VENA. Lin. Ge'n. Plant. '85. Tourm Inft. R. H. 



Oats. 



'■'1 ! 



5^4 



The CfiARACTKRs are, ,\ ;. ,; : , : 



"The ft'rivers are colic tied in a Icofe panicky ^^ithgut beards \ 

 thejc have a hhcdvidar empcikrnent^ fivclling in the niid- 

 dk^ and pointed at 'loth ends, ■ The petal of the fiowcr is 

 bivalve^ the lower valve being of the fame fize^imth the 

 ernpcdenunt^ butbqvder^ piUting cut from the backafpiral 

 bccirdy t'ujfiing^ jointed^ and refexed. There are two 



-y I . 



oval nc£iarii fitting upon the upper fde of the gennen^ 

 rohicb is cbtufe^ fupporting. two refiexed hairy flylcs^ 

 crowned by two plain Jfigma ; thefe are attended by three 

 ^_e folder ft amine ^ crowned by oblong forked fumffptsl^^.'^he 



germen afterward becomes an oblong fwelling fced^ pointed 

 at both endsy having a longitudinal furrow^ and clofely 

 fhiit lip in the cover or chaff. 



This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond fc(5t\on 

 of Linna^us's third clafs, entitled Triandria Digynia, 

 from the flowers having three ftamina and two 

 ityles. 



thern parts of Englaud, and in Scotland, where their 

 harvell is generally late, and the autumns wet. 



. The meal of this grain malces tolerable good bread, 

 and is the gommon food of the country people in tlie 

 north. In the fouth .if ,is efteemed for pottage, ai^.d 



' other mefics, and in fpme places they make beer with 

 this grain. 



The bed time for fowing of Oats is in February or 

 N).arch, acc9rding as the feafon is early or late ; and 

 fpmetimes I have known it fown in April upon cokl 

 lanH, and has been early ripe. The black and red 

 Qats may be fowa a month earlier than the white, 

 becaufe they are hardier/ , , ,/ 

 . Oats are often fown on }and whicli has the former 



produced Wheat, Rye, or Barley. I^he com- 



1 ,' 



mon method is to plough in the ftubble about the 

 beginning of February, and fow tlie Oats, and har- 

 .T?yFh9ni inj but tjxei) they irxult be hari*owed the 

 farne way as the t arrows, lay, for if it be done crofT- 

 ways, the ftubble will be raifed on the furface; but 

 this is not a good method of hufbandry, for when 

 AvEMA {Difpermis) calycibus difp.ermibus feminibiis las- | people have time to plough the ftubble in autumn. 



vibus. Hort. Cliff. 25. Oats with two frnooth feeds in each 

 empalernent. There are three forts ot thefe Oats culti- 

 vated in England, viz. the white, the black, and the 



it will rot in^winter j and then giving the land ancdicr 

 ploughing and a good harrowing juft before the Oats 

 are fow>^, it' will make the ground finer' ^nd better 



brown or red Oat^' Ayhifh^'are fuppofed to be only acci- to receive the grain. ; Moft people allow four bulhels 



dental varieties ; but where they have been many years 

 feparately cultivated, I have never obierved themto 

 alter. However, as their prmcipal ciiiierence is m 

 the colour of their g'-ain, I ihall not enumerate them 

 as diftinft fpecies. There is alfo a naked Oat, which 

 is fpmetimes cultivated in the diftant parts of England, 



. but is rarely feen near London. -. ' , 



TThe white fort is the moft common, about London •, 



" the black is more cultivated in the northern parts of 

 England, and is efteemed a very hearty food for 

 hories'i but the firft makes the whiteft meal, and is 

 chiefly cultivated where the inhabitants live much 



upon Oat-cakes. ■ : - ■ * 



I'he naked Oat is lefs common than either of the 



' .'J ■ 



others, efpecially in the fouthern parts of England ; 

 but in the north of England, Scotland, and Wales, 

 it is'cultivated in plenty. This fort is efteemed, be- 

 caufe the grain threflies clean out of the huflv, and 

 need not be carried to the mill to be made into oat- 



meal or grift. An acre of ground doth not yield fo 

 many buftiels of thefe, as of the common Oats, by 

 rcafon the grain is fmall and naked, and goes near in 

 meafure •, but %vhat is wanting in the mealure, is lup- 



plled in value. ■ . ' 



The red Dats are much cultivated in Derbyfliire, 

 Suffordfliire, andChefliire, but are rarely feen in any 

 of the counties near London : though, as they are a 

 ;ry hardy fort, and give a good increafe, they would 

 : well worth propagating, efpecially for all ftrong 



vei 



be 



lands. 



The Itraw of thefe Oats is of a brownifli red colour, 



■ ' ■ 



as .is aifo the grain, which is very full and heavy, an.d 

 efteemed better food for hoifes than either of the 

 fornier forts. , - 



Oats are a very profitable grain, and abfolutely ne- 

 cefiary, being the principal grain which horfes love ; 

 and arc efteenled the moft wholfoinc food for thofe 



cattle, bcir.g fwcct, and of an opening nature; ether 

 forts of grain being apt to bind, v/hich is injurious 

 to Jaboiinng horfes : but if you feed them with tliis 

 grain foon aiter they are houfed, before tliey have 

 Iwcatin the inov/, or are otherwife dried, it is as bad 

 on the other hand, for they arc then too laxative. 

 This grain is a great iniprovement to many eftates i 

 the north of England, Scotland, and Wales; for it 

 will thrive on cold barren foils, whicli will produce 

 no otiier fort of grain ; it will alio thrive on the liot- 

 teft" land : in fliorr, there is no foil too rich or too 

 poor for it, too hot or too cold for it ; and in wet 

 lurvefl^, when other grain is fpoiled, this will receive 



in 



of oats to an acre, but I am convinced three buft:icls 

 are more thanenouszhj the ufual produce is about 

 twenty-nve buftiels to an acre, though I have fomc- 

 times known more than thirty bufliels on an acre. 

 Oats are rdfo fown upon land \yhep it is firft broken 

 up, ^before the ground is brought to a tilth for other 

 grain, and is frequently fown upon the fward with one 

 ploughing ; but it is much better to give the fward 

 tin^e to rot befpre; the Oats are fown, for the roots of 

 the grafs will prevent thofe of the Corn from ftriking 

 downward. . 



AVENUES are walks of trees leading to a houfe, 

 which are generally terminated by fome diftant ob- 



Thefe were formely much more in requeft than nt 

 refent, there being few old feats in the country bur 

 lave one or more of thefe avenues ; and fome have 

 as many of them as there are views from the houfc; 

 but of late thefe are, with good reafon, difufed; for 

 nothing can be more abfurd, than to have the fight 

 contradled by two or more lines of trees, which Ihut 

 out the view of the adjacent grounds, whereby tlic 

 verdure and natural beauties of the country are loft ; 

 and where the avenues are of a confiderable length 

 (even where their breadth is proportionable) they ap- 

 pear at each end to be only narrow cuts through a 

 v/ood, which never can pleafe any perfon of real tafte ; 

 and, when the road to the houfe is throu^-h the ave- 

 nue, nothing can be more difagreeable ; for in ap- 

 proaching to the houfe, it is like going throug 



h a 



narrow lane, wliere the objc6ls on each fide arc fliut 

 out from the view ; and when it is vievred from the 

 houfe, it at bcft has only the appearance of a road, 

 which beino; extended to a len^-th in a ftrait line, is 

 not near fo beautiful as a common road, which is 



loft by the turnings, fo as feldom to be feen to a great 

 extent : but as thefe avenues muft be made exactly 

 ftrait, fo when the trees are grown to any fize, they 

 entirely break the vicv/, whatever v/ay the fight is 

 direfted through them; and if this is in a park, tlie 

 lawn of grals through which the avenue is planted, 

 is thereby entirely deprived of the beauty which it 

 naturally would afibrd, if left open and well kept : 

 therefore, whenever th.e fituation of a houfe A\'ill ad- 

 mit of a large open lawn in front, the road to the 

 houfe ftiould be carried round at a proper dlft'ancc; 

 and, if it be carried fometimes through trees, and 

 ferpented in an eafy natural way, it w^ill be much 

 more beautiful than any ftiff formal avenue, liow large 

 foever madet. 



But 



