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EXPERIMENTS ON THE GROWTH OF PLANTS. 207 
ue A less degree of hairiness when compared with the fruits of the true 
A. fatwa, 
rf A greenish coloured, straight and slight awn, instead of the black, bent 
at right angles, and twisted at the lower part of the very rigid awn of the 
wild plant. 
4. The fruits were more frequently two than three perfect ones to each 
lume. 
5 5. The fruits were much more plump, arising from a greater development 
of grain than in A. fatua. 
6. The ripe fruits separated from the floral envelope less readily than in 
A. fatua. 
In following out the experiments in the spring of 1856, the best specimens 
having been selected for seed were again sown; and in the month of September 
following, when this crop was gathered, the results were as under. 
Ist. Avena fatua, tolerably true, though perhaps not so coarse and strong 
as is usual on heavy clays. 
Qnd. Avena fatua, var. sativa, with a diffuse, spicate, pyramidal panicle, 
allied to the form called “ Potatoe Oat,” by farmers. 
3rd. Avena fatua, var. sativa, with a compact panicle of flowers tending 
to one side, allied to the agricultural form known as “ Tartarian Oats.” 
The two latter presented various shades of advance; a few of the more 
changed were awnless, but most of them possessed awns which were very 
coarse and rigid fur what we may term “tame oats ;” and the grain was by 
no means so plump as (when compared with its thick envelope) to entitle it 
to be called a good oat. However, it was sufficiently striking, and, on the 
whole, much more sudden in its advance than I had calculated upon. But 
to proceed. 
In the present year, 1857, I planted the sorts, carefully separated, in 
separate patches of larger size, with the following result as to the crops. 
_ a. The plot of Avena fatua is again mixed with many examples of the 
- Potatoe form of oat, but:none of the Tartarian type. 
6. The Potatoe oats have a plumper seed and are much less awned ; some 
_ examples are however still rigidly awned. 
e. The Tartarian form is much larger than is usually grown in the best 
cultivation, its grain very fine, some awned, but mostly awnless. 
Thus far then have these curious experiments proceeded. Next year they 
will be transferred to the field, in the hope of perpetuating these new 
varieties, as they promise to be much more vigorous than the older ones; 
and this indeed is one of the advantages in agriculture of new sorts, as, fora 
time at least, they usually succeed better than the older ones. But this is a 
matter I must not stop now to discuss. 
_ It should be remarked that the shed seeds of the plot of 1856 were care- 
fully dug in, in the hope that, by being allowed to deposit their seeds as in 
nature, the whole may again degenerate into wild oats; but only one speci- 
men, and that of A. fatwa, came up, for, having been so long submitted to 
cultivative processes (and the gathering and storing of seed previously to 
sowing is a very important one}, they have little disposition to come up 
wildly afterwards, a fact whick is more observable in some situations than in 
Others ; and acting upon this hint, I am not quite sure whether the best way 
to get rid of some weeds would not be to carefully cultivate them. 
' These experiments are of interest as showing what may be done in this 
direction towards elucidating some curious facts in vegetable physiology. 
They are no less so to the agriculturalist, as the remark of the old farmer, 
which was never a favourite one with the botanist, is now known to be true; 
