VARIETIES OF OATS 



167 



color. Another division may be based on the time of ripening, 

 as early, midseason, and late; and still others on the size and 

 the shape of the grain. Early oats ripen in 90 to 100 days 

 from sowing, and late oats in from 115 to 130 days. 



205. Leading Varieties. The differences in time of ripen- 

 ing, shape of grain, and other characteristics are so slight as 



Figure 65. — Four varieties of oats differing in size, shnpe, and color. On the 

 left, an early yellow cat with small, slender grains, Pixty Day; next, a plump, 

 large-grained, reddish-brown variety. Red RiistDroof: then a small, black 

 oat, North Finnish Black; on the right, a medium late, large, white variety, 

 Swedish Select. 



to make the classification and identific?.tion of varieties ex- 

 tremely difficult. New varieties are introduced each year 

 by enterprising seedsmen, and old ones are sent out under 

 new names, thus adding to the confusion. A few of the more 

 prominent varieties of white oats grown in the Northern 

 states are Big Four, Silvermine, Clydesdale, Swedish Select, 

 and American Banner. Wliite Russian and Tartarian are 

 the most common varieties of the side-oat type. Farther 

 south, particuh.rly through Nebraska, Iowa, and IlHnois, 

 a small early yellow oat from southern Russia known as the 



