OAT. 13 



Turner observes, in 1568, that the naked oat, 

 iiuda, grew in Sussex : he adds, " it hath no 

 husk abyding upon it after it is threshed, and 

 is like otemele. This kinde groweth in no 

 other countre that euer I could tell of, sau- 

 ing onelye in England, nether haue I rede 

 in anye newe or olde Autor of this kinde." 

 The bearded oat, sterilis, was brought from 

 Barbary, and first cultivated in this country 

 in 1640. The brittle oat, fragilis, came from 

 the south of Europe in 1796. 



The Spanish oat, Loeflingiana, was in- 

 troduced in 1770 ; the Siberian, Siberica, in 

 1777 ; the Pennsylvanian, Pensylvanica, in 

 1785. The fan-leaved, chstichophylla, came 

 from Switzerland in 1791. 



The French call this species of corn, 

 Avoine, or Aveine, from the Latin avena. The 

 old English name Haver we deem to be a 

 corruption of the same word; for what reason 

 it has since been changed into Ote, and then 

 Oat, we are unable to account. 



The Muscovites make an ale or drink of 

 oats, which is of so hot a nature, and so 

 strong, that it intoxicates sooner than the 

 richest wine. 



The chaff of oats, being tasteless, is an ex- 

 cellent thing to pack grapes, or any tender 



