296 



OAK 



OAT 



in the year 1765, and in the year 

 1786 the dimensions of the trees 

 were as represented in the follow- 

 ing table. 



Height in Circumf. 

 feet. Ft. In. 



Lombardy poplar 60/o70 4 8 



Abele poplar - 60 70 -4 6 



Elm ... 40 60 3 6 



Chesnut - - - 30 50 2 9 

 White or Wey> 



mouth pine - 30 50 2 5 



Scotch fir - - 30 50 2 10 



Spruce - - 30 50 2 2 



Larch - - - 50 60 3 10 



The measures were taken five 

 feet above the ground. It appears 

 that if trees can be waited for 21 

 years they will repay the cost, by 

 becoming fit for many important 

 uses. And I am persuaded that 

 some of the species of oak will 

 grow as fast as some of the trees 

 in the foregoing table. 



One acre will bear 160 oaks, at 

 the distance of 15 feet from each 

 other: If each tree will grow in 

 30 years to half a cord of wood, ■ 

 worth 12s. per cord, the whole 

 produce will be 90 cords of wood, 

 worth 160 dollars, which is four ' 

 dollars and a third per acre per i 

 annum, for the use of the land, a j 

 greater profit than we expect from 

 other acres in general. It ought 

 to be considered that intermediate 

 trees taken out young, may pay the j 

 cost of planting and culture ; and 

 that the land may serve most of 

 the time for tillage or pasture ; for j 

 tillage while the trees are small, | 

 which will hasten their growth. 

 The increasing dearness of fuel 

 and of timber should put the holder 

 of land, in old settlements, upon 



thinking of the cultivation of all 

 trees that are useful for either of 

 these purposes. The day is at 

 hand, if not already arrived, when 

 this will be one of the most profit- 

 able, as well as important, braneh- 

 es of husbandry. 



" The natural history of the 

 American Oaks was first partially 

 given by John Philip Du Roi, who 

 published his observations in two 

 volumes 8vo. at Brunswick in Ger- 

 many, in 1771 : and in 1801 more 

 extensively, by Andrew Michaux, 

 the celebrated botanist, who resid- 

 ed many years at the Botanical 

 Garden which was established by 

 the late Louis XVI. king of France, 

 near Charleston, South-Carolina. 

 The species and varieties describ- 

 ed by him are twenty-nine. This 

 truly superb work on American Fo- 

 rest Trees, ought to be in the hands 

 of every gentleman farmer in the 

 United States. It may be had of 

 Wells and Lilly, Booksellers, 

 Boston." — See Forest Trees. 



OATS, Avena, a well known 

 grain, very pleasant and nourishing 

 to horses, and conducive to keep 

 them in health. Though other 

 sorts of grain are too binding, oats 

 have a contrary effect ; and even 

 too much so, unless they be sweat- 

 ed in a mow before they be thrash- 

 ed. The flour of this grain is no 

 bad ingredient in table provisions. 

 It is highly approved for gruels 

 and puddings : And would be more 

 used, were it not for the difficulty 

 of divesting the grain of its husk. 



There are varieties of this grain, 

 distinguished by their different 

 colours, the white, the black, the 

 grey, and the brown oats ; but as 



