OAT-GRASS. 



The account, in imperial quarters, of the 

 foreign oats and oatmeal entered for home con- 

 sumption every five years since 1815, was 



1815 

 1820 

 1825 



214,000 



726,848 



15,000 



1835 

 1840 



900,319 

 176,142 

 510,836 



The annual average of oats, in Winchester 

 quarters, imported into England from 1801 to 

 1825 was, from 



I Qn. 



Russia ------- 46,652 



Sweden and Norway - 2,446 



Denmark 30,674 



Prussia ------- 39,900 



(;>-rni;iny _...-- 75,828 



Netherlands 84,269 



France and Southern Europe - - 1,953 



America .--.-- 4 



From Ireland were imported into this coun- 

 try, of oats and oatmeal, in Winchester quar- 

 ters 



1810 

 1815 



Qn. 



493,231 

 597,537 

 916,250 



1825 

 1830 

 1835 



Qn. 



1,471,252 



1,!22,76G 



Table shmmng the average Price of Oats per Bushel 

 in the Philadelphia Market, for the 1st, 2d, 3rf, 

 and 4th Quarters of the following Years : 



Oats raised south of Philadelphia usually 

 bring about 3 cents per bushel less than those 

 raised in Pennsylvania and still further north, 

 which are generally much heavier. 



OAT-GRASS. See AVENA. 



OATMEAL. The meal or flour of the oat is 

 used in Great Britain to make porridge, gruel, 

 bread, and poultices. In the mealing process, 

 the oats, after being previously dried in a kiln, 

 are made to pass through the mill-stone to di- 

 vest them of their coarser husks or " sheal- 

 ings" before being ground. The kernels are 

 then named " grits" "or " groats ;" and are next 

 ground over again into a coarse, rough meal, 

 varying in its fineness according to the custom 

 of different districts. This is afterwards either 

 baked upon a heated iron, called a gridle in 

 Scotland, into thin, flat cakes, or made up with 

 water into loaves, and baked. When gradually 

 stirred into boiling water, and boiled into a 

 thick consistence, it forms the porridge of 

 Scotland. It is eaten either with skimmed 

 milk, butter, molasses, or ale. It is thus very 

 108 



OKRA. 



generally used as the common porridge for 

 breakfast and supper of the greater portion of 

 the peasantry of the northern parts of England, 

 Scotland, and Ireland, and forms a very nutri- 

 tive and healthy food. It is, however, apt to 

 prove acescent in some stomachs, and to cause 

 cutaneous diseases. See GROATS. 



OCHRE. See FULLER'S EARTH. 



OFFSETS. In gardening, young radical 

 bulbs, when separated or taken off from the 

 parent roots, are so called. One of the chief 

 methods of propagating plants is by offsets. 



OIL-CAKE. The marc which remains after 

 the oil has been expressed from the seeds of 

 flax and rape. See COLZA, LINSEED CAKE, 

 PALMA CHRISTI, RAPE. 



OILS (Ger. oel; Lat. oleum). This term com- 

 prehends two substances that have very dis- 

 tinct properties, namely, volatile and fixed oils ; 

 but, in general language, the term oil is indi- 

 cative of the latter. Fixed oils are unctuous, 

 fluid bodies, which, when dropped upon paper, 

 sink into it, and make it semi-transparent, or 

 give it what is called a greasy stain. They 

 are composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. 

 Train oil has been sometimes used as a ma- 

 nure, and is a powerful fertilizer. See FISH. 

 Linseed oil is a common food for live-stock. 

 See LINSEED OIL. 



The following is the result of analysis of 100 

 parts of 



Hydrogen. Oiy<en. Carbon. 



Olive oil - 1336 -|- 9437 + 77-213 = 100 

 Train oil - 16-1 -f- 15 3 T M ' 67 = 10 

 Olive oil is chiefly imported into England 

 from the Mediterranean. It is the produce of 

 the Olea Europaa, a native of Greece, Africa, 

 and the south of Europe. The oil is expressed 

 from the ripe fruit, which resembles a small 

 purple plum in size and appearance. The 

 fruit is first bruised in a mill, and then pressed : 

 the first which flows is termed virgin oil ; after 

 obtaining which the marc is broken up, moist- 

 ened with hot water, and again submitted to 

 the press to procure an inferior oil. The oil 

 is left for a considerable time, to enable it to 

 deposit the feculencies, before it is ready for 

 exportation or for use. Good olive oil is of a 

 pale straw-yellow colour, perfectly inodorous 

 and tasteless. There are several kinds in the 

 market: that which comes from Provence is 

 the best, next to it that from Florence; it is im- 

 ported in flasks. Lucca and Genoa oils are 

 also good ; but the greatest part of the olive 

 oil brought into England is the production of 

 Naples and Sicily, and known by the name 

 of Gallipoli oil. Olive oil is used both dieteti- 

 cally and medicinally. It is superior to butter 

 for many purposes of cookery. 



OKRA (Hibiscus esculentis). This plant is 

 cultivated extensively in the West Indies, from 

 whence it has been introduced into the United 

 States. The pods are gathered green, and used 

 in soups. They form an important ingredient 

 in the celebrated Gumbo soup of New Orleans 

 and other southern places. The pods are filled 

 with seeds and a mucilage of a bland and 

 highly nutritious quality. Hence the okra is 

 frequently recommended to persons afflicted 

 with dysentery and other bowel complaints, 

 either eaten boiled, or made into soup. When 

 3 c 2 857 



