250 AGRICULTURE 



case with certain other varieties. This, to 

 some extent, accounts for the necessity of 

 sowing some of these new oats very thickly. 

 Seed that is well ripened and of high ger- 

 minative capacity may, of course, be sowed 

 more thinly than seed of poorer quality. 



In the case of cereals, the great danger 

 of sowing too thickly is laying or lodging, 

 for the reason already given in discussing 

 the subject of drilling, namely, that the 

 greater the number of plants on a given 

 area, the more completely are the sun's rays 

 excluded from reaching the lower part of 

 the straw, with corresponding reduction in 

 lignification, and therefore with reduced 

 power to stand erect. But within reasonable 

 limits thick seeding has its advantages. In 

 diminishing lignification it results in the 

 production of straw that is of superior 

 feeding value ; and it is possibly to some 

 extent owing to the large quantity of seed 

 that Aberdeenshire farmers use per acre 

 that the oat-straw of that country has such 

 high feeding value. Then, again, if straw 

 is to be used for textile purposes, such as 

 making hats, horse collars, and the like, it 

 is not desirable to have it much lignified, 

 because it is more brittle and therefore less 

 easy to manipulate. Where, therefore, straw 



