( 143 j 
article for corn ;) and throughout the whole course 
of vegetation, the crop must be kept free from 
weeds, a condition, that if well observed, will secure 
an abundant produce.(1) 
» XX. Of Oats. ig 
Oats is, among grains, whos the ass is among ani- 
mals—very little respected, but very amtotnizals em- 
ployed, | The levis avena of Ovid, and the steriles do- 
minantur avene of Virgil, show the degrees, both of 
use and abuse, with which it was regarded by the 
Romans. In modern times, a great literary authori- 
ty describes it, as food for, Scotch men and English 
Horses. It is probably this state.of, degradation 
among poets and philosophers, that determined the 
botanists of Europe, to give to America the honor 
of having produced it. Mr. Adanson found it grow. 
ing spontaneously in Juan Fernandez; whence the 
scavans wisely concluded, that it must be a native of 
Chili! But in this conclusion, they appear to have 
equally forgotten the laws of nature and the deci- 
sions of history ; for the quotations, with, which we 
began this article, show, that oats were cultivated In 
Italy many centuries before the existence of Ameri- 
ca was known to any European ; and few are igno- 
rant, that Chili is among the hottest and dryest re- 
gions of the globe, and that oats perish in dry and 
hot. climates. 
Of the many different species, or wasigtios of this 
grain, the black and the white, are those which. best 
deserve cultivation; because most hardy and pro- 
(1) In a favorable season, under good management, the white bean gives thirty for 
ote. 
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