HOW TO GROW GOOD CORN. 



175 



the wild oat seed gradually becomes smooth exter- 

 nally, and its awn less 

 coarse, while inter- 

 nally the grain be- 

 comes larger and hea- 

 vier; so that while the 

 seed of the wild oat 

 would weigh about 

 15 lb. per bushel, that 

 of a fine sample of 

 white cultivated oat 

 sown on our farm 

 this year weighed as 

 much as 48 lb. per 

 bushel. 



Now, the proof of 

 this theory consists 

 in the facts — 



1st. That heavy 

 oats degenerate by 

 being cultivated in 



■noor Soil Spikdet of the Wild Oat.* 



2nd. By being let go ivilcl, they sink still lower, and 

 gradually assume the external hairs, stiff awns, and 

 poor grain of the wild oat. 



* Fr 



'om Popular Science Review, vol. i. p. 10. 



