466 PHYSIOLOGY AT THE FAEM. 



the late Mr John Smith, Harecraigs, near Dundee, as a pleas- 

 ant and nourishing ingredient of puddings and of diet for 

 children. Excellent as it is for these purposes, its costly price 

 has much restrained its use. Sowans are made in Scotland 

 from what are called "seeds" namely, the husk and some 

 adhering starch separated from oats in the manufacture of oat- 

 meal. These are infused in hot water, and then, by standing, 

 allowed to become sourish, when by expression a mucilaginous 

 liquid is obtained, which, on being sufficiently concentrated, 

 forms a firm jelly and this is so wans. 



Flummery is very similar. Dr Antony Tod Thomson gives 

 the following directions for making flummery : " Take a 

 quart or any quantity of groats or oatmeal ; rub the groats or 

 the meal for a considerable time with two quarts of hot water, 

 and leave the mixture for several days at rest, until it becomes 

 sour ; then add another quart of hot water, and strain through 

 a hair sieve. Leave the strained fluid at rest until it deposits 

 a white sediment, which is the starch of the oats ; lastly, pour 

 off the supernatant water, and wash the sediment with cold 

 water. The washed sediment may be either boiled with fresh 

 water, stirring the whole time it is boiling, until it form a 

 mucilage or jelly, or it may be dried and afterwards prepared 

 in the same manner as arrowroot mucilage. Flummery should 

 not be made in a metallic vessel." There appear to be no ob- 

 servations recorded as to the use of sowans or flummery in the 

 food of the animals of the farm. 



Hordeum distichon, common long-eared barley. The com- 

 mon barley of this country is the Hordeum distickon ; but 

 several other species and their varieties are also cultivated, as 

 Hordeum vulgare, spring barley, Hordeum hexastichon, winter 

 barley, Hordeum zeocriton, sprat or battledore barley. The 

 grains, when deprived of their husk by a mill, become Scotch, 

 hulled, or pot barley. When all the coverings of the grains 



