THE SMALL GRAINS 



169 



II. OATS 



210. Introduction of oats. The cultivated type of oats (Fig. 82) 

 is of recent origin in comparison with wheat and barley, and 

 probably came from east-central Europe or western Asia. Oats 

 are also used extensively in northern latitudes as food for man. 

 This grain was introduced into the United States by the earliest 

 colonists, and its cultivation soon became very common. 



211. Regions of growth. The United States, with approxi- 

 mately 950,000,000 bushels, or nearly one fourth the total crop 

 of the world, ranks first in oat production. About one tenth of 





FIG. 81. A threshing machine 



The machine is shown in the diagram with one side covering removed so as to show the 

 cylinder and " shakers " by means of which the grain and straw are separated 



the entire oat crop of the world is produced in the central upper 

 Mississippi Valley in the four states, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, 

 and Minnesota. Oats are grown quite extensively in such coun- 

 tries as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, 

 but because of their limited areas, they rank below Russia, 

 Germany, France, and Canada in total production. As in the 

 case of wheat, there are two types of oats, winter and spring. 

 The winter type is grown almost altogether in the Southern 

 states and is well adapted to the climate of that region. Spring 

 oats, the principal type of the world, are best adapted to a cool, 

 moist climate. 



