42 CHAPTER 5. 



trade to thrust an ordinary smooth walking-stick rapidly into the sack. 

 If the grain is of good quality and condition and free from dirt, &c., the 

 stick will pass down comparatively easily. If, on the other hand, the 

 oats are damp, badly screened, and otherwise of inferior quality, more 

 difficulty will be experienced in the attempt. 



72. Various defects in oats. 



Kiln drying is a process resorted to in order to get rid either of damp- 

 ness or softness or of both defects. Oats so dried have a peculiar and 

 easily recognised smell and taste, and in some cases there is a loose and 

 shrivelled appearance about the ends of the husks. This arises from the 

 kernel having swollen when damp, and afterwards contracted in size 

 when the damp was suddenly expelled in the kiln. The colour of the 

 oat is also deepened, and often assumes a reddish hue ; but the colour, 

 as will be explained presently, may be got rid of by fumigation. 



The process of kiln drying in itself damages the flour to a certain 

 degree ; but the great objection to kiln-dried oats arises from the flour 

 having been in most instances, as regards English oats, damaged before 

 they are sent to the kiln. No amount of drying, we need scarcely say, 

 will restore damaged flour to its original condition, or in fact make bad 

 into good flour. An attempt is often made to get rid of the smell by 

 spreading out the oats in thin layers to the action of the air, and then 

 mixing them with new fresh-smelling oats immediately before they are 

 offered for sale. Foreign oats, even though in good condition, are 

 nearly always slightly kiln-dried before being put on board ship to pre- 

 vent their heating in bulk during the voyage. This process, if the oats 

 are in good condition, as they often are in the finer climates of the 

 Continent, is almost unobjectionable. Oats which have been badly 

 saved, or have become dirty from any cause, are sometimes washed to 

 improve their colour, and are then put in the kiln to be dried. 



Very good new oats are occasionally slightly kiln-dried to harden them 

 and make them resemble old oats, and thus increase their value. 



Foxy oats are those which have heated from being kept in bulk, when 

 not perfectly dry ; and in consequence have undergone to a certain 

 degree a process of fermentation. They are easily recognised by a red- 

 dish and sometimes very red colour, and by a peculiar bitterness of smell 

 and taste. They are unfit for horses. The nutritive quality of the flour 

 is in a great measure destroyed. They act injuriously, especially on the 

 kidneys, and produce excessive staling and cause the horse rapidly to 

 lose condition. The red colour is sometimes got rid of by fumigation. 



Fumigation or bleaching is a process resorted to in order to get rid of 

 the heightened colour imparted to the oats by the process of kiln-drying 

 or by their having become foxy. 



The dark colour is got rid of and an unnaturally white hue is given by 

 subjecting the oats to the fumes of sulphur. This fraud may be detected 

 by taking a handful of oats from the heap and bringing it quickly up to 

 the nose, or by applying the nose directly to a hollow made in the heap. 



