/AN.] OATS. 55 



been ploughed up, and sown again in the spring; 

 but observing the plants that were alive beginning 

 to flourish very early, 1 gave them time ; yet it 

 never got to be n full plant, nor did I expecl, 

 though the straw was very stout, and the hawcs, 

 or ears, very fine ones, that it would have turned 

 out so well. Those sown in January and February 

 both lost some of their plants, so that that sown 

 in March, with the least seed, was the fullest and 

 evenest plant of any." 



The Earl remarks : " I was induced to make 

 the following trial, from having Seen upon two very 

 capital farms in Kent and Essex, great crops of 

 oats, sown as early as Christmas week, and from 

 being informed, by the gentlemen who occupied 

 those farms, that they always sowed their oats as 

 early as that, if the season admitted of it ; and that 

 they thought it the best time for sowing that grain. 

 I wished to ascertain whether this plan would an- 

 swer in this more northern county. The general 

 time of sowing oats here, is from the beginning of 

 March to the end of April ; and it is the opinion 

 of most people here, that oats sown much earlier 

 would be liable to be destroyed by spring frosts. 

 Last winter was very favourable for the experiment, 

 as the weather was open at Christmas for sowing, 

 and the frost in the spring not severe. I divided a 

 field of eight acres equally : one half was sown the 

 day after Christmas day ; the other half the middle 

 of March. Five bushels per acre were sown broad - 

 ast on each part, and the same oats : the sort, a 



$ 4 small 



