14 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



fruit, for travelling. The husks, obtained 

 from oatmeal-makers, are used to pack dried 

 hams, tongues, beef, &c. to be exported to 

 hot countries. 



Oat straw is very good for cows, and they 

 eat it with pleasure ; but it is not so proper 

 for horses. 



The platting of oat and rye straw for hats, 

 was a custom of the ancient Britons, as well 

 as the Italians, and has never been entirely 

 out of use. Shakspeare notices it in the 

 Tempest: 



u You sun-burn'd sicklemen, of August weary, 

 Come hither from the furrow, and be merry ; 

 Make holy-day ; your rye-straw hats put on, 

 And these fresh nymphs encounter every one 

 In country footing." 



Towards the end of the last century it was 

 again introduced by fashionable ladies, as 

 a kind of half-dress, or costume of elegant 

 negligence. The simplicity and durability 

 of these head-dresses rapidly brought them 

 into such general use, that they gave rise 

 to a regular manufactory, which employed 

 the females of whole towns and villages, 

 who brought them to such perfection and 

 lightness, that they were often sold for six 

 times their weight in silver. 



