﻿112 
  Elementary 
  Species 
  

  

  Some 
  years 
  afterwards, 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  

   1824, 
  he 
  observed 
  a 
  large 
  specimen 
  of 
  oats 
  

   in 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  fields 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  farm. 
  Being 
  

   at 
  that 
  time 
  occupied 
  in 
  making 
  a 
  standard 
  col- 
  

   lection 
  of 
  oats 
  for 
  a 
  closer 
  comparison 
  of 
  the 
  

   varieties, 
  he 
  saved 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  that 
  plant 
  and 
  

   sowed 
  them 
  in 
  a 
  row 
  in 
  his 
  experiment-field. 
  

   It 
  yielded 
  the 
  largest 
  culms 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  collec- 
  

   tion 
  and 
  bore 
  long 
  and 
  heavy 
  kernels 
  with 
  a 
  red 
  

   streak 
  on 
  the 
  concave 
  side 
  and 
  it 
  excelled 
  all 
  

   other 
  sorts 
  by 
  the 
  fine 
  qualities 
  of 
  its 
  very 
  white 
  

   meal. 
  In 
  the 
  unequal 
  length 
  of 
  its 
  stalks 
  it 
  has 
  

   however 
  a 
  drawback, 
  as 
  the 
  field 
  appears 
  thin- 
  

   ner 
  and 
  more 
  meager 
  than 
  it 
  is 
  in 
  reality. 
  

   " 
  Hopetown 
  oats," 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  called, 
  has 
  found 
  its 
  

   way 
  into 
  culture 
  extensively 
  in 
  Scotland 
  and 
  

   has 
  even 
  been 
  introduced 
  with 
  success 
  into 
  Eng- 
  

   land, 
  Denmark 
  and 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  It 
  has 
  

   been 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  Scottish 
  oats 
  for 
  more 
  

   than 
  half 
  a 
  century. 
  

  

  The 
  next 
  eight 
  years 
  no 
  single 
  plant 
  judged 
  

   worthy 
  of 
  selection 
  on 
  his 
  own 
  farm 
  attracted 
  

   ShirrefTs 
  attention. 
  But 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1832 
  he 
  

   saw 
  a 
  beautiful 
  plant 
  of 
  wheat 
  on 
  a 
  neighboring 
  

   farm 
  and 
  he 
  secured 
  a 
  head 
  of 
  it 
  with 
  about 
  100 
  

   grains. 
  From 
  this 
  he 
  produced 
  the 
  " 
  Hope- 
  

   town 
  wheat." 
  After 
  careful 
  separation 
  from 
  

   the 
  kernels 
  this 
  original 
  ear 
  was 
  preserved, 
  and 
  

   was 
  afterwards 
  exhibited 
  at 
  the 
  Stirling 
  Agri- 
  

  

  