VARIETIES OF OATS. 217 



6 to 1 quarters to the acre. The yield of meal is in gen- 

 eral high, as much as 245 Ibs. having been obtained from 

 one quarter ; the average may, however, be put down at 

 210 Ibs. per quarter. The straw of the potato oat is of a 

 pale yellow colour, and carries, when well grown, a large 

 " bushy ear." The seeds being very apt in this variety to 

 be shed, the crop should be cut before it is dead ripe, a 

 good indication of the proper degree of ripeness having 

 been attained, being in an equal mixture of the green 

 and yellow colour in the straw. The potato oat is, per- 

 haps, one of the most remunerative of all the varieties, 

 if grown upon a suitable soil, on which point we shall 

 hereafter have more to say; meantime noticing the second 

 of the varieties of which we have above given a list, namely, 

 the Sandy oat, fig. 5. Mr. Lawson states that this variety 

 was discovered in 1824-5 011 the farm of Miltown, in 

 Aberdeenshire, by a herd boy named " Sandy Tampson," 

 who first saw it growing upon a recently formed bank of 

 soil ; his master, Mr. Price, noticing its value, cultivated it 

 from year to year. The sandy oat is better suited for late 

 districts than the potato, and although it does not yield so 

 much in meal, it is, nevertheless, esteemed by the millers. 

 The grain is smaller than the potato oat ; the straw is stiff, 

 tall, and not easily lodged ; and the grains are not so apt 

 to be shed ; when the crop may be cut therefore at a later 

 period of its ripening, the whole straw should indeed have 

 a pale yellow colour before being cut. (3) Sheriff oat. 

 This is comparatively a new oat ; in some cases, with a 

 favourite soil and under good cultivation, the yield is very 

 high. It is earlier in point of ripening than the potato 

 oat ; the straw is of moderate length ; the grain is smaller 

 and lighter than the potato oat. (4) Hopetoun oat. When 

 first introduced this variety had a high character ; it had 

 a larger straw and a stouter than the potato oat ; and was 

 considered remarkably free from a liability to lodge. Now, 

 however, according to an authority, its degeneracy is such, 

 especially in the latter respect, that " no variety so easily 

 bends over and becomes straw-broken as the Hopetoun. 



