FARMERS^ REGISTER— OATS— IMPROVEMENT OF LAND. 



275 



THE ANUIATi:!) OAT. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' P.ei;i.stcr. 



TJiere is nothing, perliaps, more admirable in 

 llie economy of the Ve^eta])le Kingdom, llian tlie 

 various means used for tlie diffusion of seeds. Some, 

 sucli for instance as tliose of the common thistle, arc 

 attaclied to a kind of down so light and buoyant, as 

 to float in very slightly agitated air, and by high 

 winds are wafted many miles from the parent stem. 

 Others, again, are enclosed iii berries, whitli are 

 swallowed by Idrds as food ; but, being sufficiently 

 hard to resist destruction by the digestive powers 

 of the animal, are deposited in the most distant 

 parts of the earth fit for future germination. The 

 misletoe, which takes root only on the trunks or 

 limbs of trees, by a singular provision of Provi- 

 dence, is planted, with the assistance of the feathered 

 tribe, in the following curious way. Its seeds are 

 enveloped in a viscous pulp, which adlicres to their 

 beaks whenever they eat of them ; and this they can 

 only get rid of by wiping them upon some hard sub- 

 stance to which it will stick. The seeds, in their 

 gummy covering, are thus transferred from the 

 bills of the birds to the limbs or trunks of trees, and 

 there shoot up into the little green bushes so fami- 

 liar, I dare say, to most of your readers. Again ; 

 (he cocoa tree generally grows on the borders of the 

 sea, into which, or within reach of the tide, it drops 

 its enormous nuts: these being closely shrouded in 

 a thick, byt light spongy hull, which is impenetra- 

 ble to water, float for a considerable time, at t!ie 

 mercy of the winds and currents, until at length 

 they reach some distant shore, and there reproduce 

 their kind. Slany other seeds have a sort of thorny 

 covering, by which they are attached to the hair 

 and wool of beasts, and are so preserved as far as 

 the animal mav happen to travel. In all the ope- 

 rations of which the foregoing arc but a few exam- 

 ples, the v/isdom and benevolence of the Creator 

 are manifest. Various as are the modes, the final 

 cause is the same, the dissemination of the seeds 

 of every plaiit througliout eVery region capable of 

 sustaining its growth. 



These remarks, Mr. Editor, are merely intended 

 as a preftce to a small matter which has recently 

 engaged my attention, and to which I will now pro- 

 ceed to draw yours, under the impression, that it 

 may interest many of your subscribers, even should 

 it be of no actual service to them in an agricultural 

 point of view. 



The oats accompanying this communication, 

 were part of the produce of a few which were 

 obtained, I believe, from some ship that arrived 

 in the James river during the year 1831. They 

 reached the friend of whom 1 received them through 

 so many different liands, that he was not able to 

 learn either th.e name or the origin ; but to me they 

 really appear to have been formed by nature in 

 sportive imitation oi' insecis ; nor docs it require 

 any very great stretch of the imagination to sup- 

 pose them endowed w'ith life. This insect, or ani- 

 mated oat, is somewhat larger than the common 

 oat, the body being covered with a thick close coat 

 of brown fur, or rather, in appearance, short hair. 

 It has two long beards or horns, knee bent, and in 

 other respects nearly resembling the legs of the 

 grasshopper. Before the seeds are separated from 

 tlie plant, there is a further likeness to the insact 

 tribe, each one having two leaves which serve to 

 inclose the seed when green, but which, in its ripe 



state, stand off like short wings. These, however, 

 being then but slightly attached, are soon lost. — 

 T\\Qforin, however, of the oats, is the least curious 

 part of their resemblance to insect life, for when 

 made suddenly wet, and then laid singly upon a 

 table, their legs, as I have described them, begin 

 slowly to move, and, acting as levers on the table, 

 turn the seeds over and over, giving to them the 

 exact appearance of some little animal just strug- 

 gling into being. This motion continues as long 

 as the grain is moist, but as soon as dry, all again 

 is perfectly still. Should you, or any of your rea- 

 ders, be aide to throw additional light upon the sub- 

 ject, I shall be pleased to get it through the medium 

 of some subsequent number of the Register. S. 



For the Farmcro' Register. 

 AN EXPERIMENT ON OATS. 



Having sown the same oats for several years 

 without changing the seed, my crops became ful- 

 ler and fuller every year, of the hlack dust head, or 

 blast, until the loss from this cause amounted to 

 one half of the crop ; and when thrashed out, the 

 black dust was so suffocating, that the laborers 

 were made sick by it. I determined in the spring 

 of 1SS2 to change the seed, and got 100 bushels of 

 the purest seed that could be procured in Rich- 

 mond : they did not quite hold out to sow all 

 the land intended, and I had to use some of my 

 own impure seed — which I washed effectually in 

 very strong lime water, and allowed them to remain 

 in the lime wafer one night before sowing. It prov- 

 ed an effectual remedy : the product was decidedly 

 more clean on harvesting, than that from the seed 

 procured in Richmond, although that was tolera- 

 bly pure. H. c. 



QUERIES AND REMARKS ON THE IMPROVE- 

 MENT OF LANDS. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Louisa, Sept. 3, 1833. 

 Sir, — Cannot you publish something for the 

 encouragement of poor farmers wlio live in a poor 

 country, where we can get neither lime, marl, nor 

 plaster, without paying almost the worth of the 

 land per acre to be manured.'' Is there really anv 

 virtue in burnt clay? That is the only source 

 of manure accessible to myself, and many others 

 ai'ound me — all the manure of our farm pens, after 

 using all the straw, shucks and corn stalks we can 

 raise, only serves to cover a few acres, after sup- 

 plying our gardens and turnip i)atclies. 



Be pleased to recollect, Mr. Editor, that all your 

 subscribers do not possess such estates as Wyanoke, 

 Shirley, &,c. but are small farmers, h.avebut weak 

 force, and poor lands to cultivate, and who are still 

 anxious to remain in the " Old Dominion ;" but, 

 unless they can fall o!i some plan, different from 

 Avhat has been pursued for years, must, of neces- 

 sity, emigrate. Cannot you, sir, I earnestly and 

 respectfully ask, help us to devise some means, 

 with our feeble resources, of improving our impo- 

 verished soils, without relying on liming, maiding 

 and plastering.' These remarks are respectfully 

 suiimitted, not for pvkUcalion, but to elicit some 

 information useful to 



A rOOR FARMER. 



