OAT. 5 



the ancient philosophers and naturalists, and 

 his admiration of the observation of Lord 

 Bacon and more modern writers, the author 

 cannot be brought to a belief that corn will 

 change from one species into another. That 

 it will degenerate, from neglect of cultivation, 

 there can be no doubt ; but that it should be 

 entirely transmuted, seems entirely against 

 the great law of nature, as it was first ap- 

 pointed by the Great Creator, who com- 

 manded that " the earth bring forth grass, 

 the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree 

 yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in 

 itself," and not to produce seed of other 

 kinds. 



Should it ever be satisfactorily proved that 

 the seed of wheat and barley will produce oats 

 and rye, we may then conclude that all these 

 varieties of grain sprang originally from one 

 and the same species of grass. In the mean 

 time let us turn to the opinions of the old 

 writers on this interesting subject, which 

 cannot fail to amuse, and may be the means 

 of inducing the curious to make such experi- 

 ments as may fully elucidate the truth or the 

 errors of the authors of antiquity, who be- 

 lieved and state that this species of corn ori- 

 ginated from accident, or from change of soil. 



