222 CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



grown wheats in moderately warm weather. In other 

 countries, both in Europe and America, although lying 

 within the same parallels of latitude as Scotland and the 

 north of England, the oat crop is a failure, or at least gives 

 an inferior yield, and this, apparently, owing to the high 

 range of summer temperature prevailing. The conclusion, 

 then, arrived at, is, that the northern parts of this kingdom, 

 and nearly the whole of Ireland, derive their oat-growing 

 capabilities in the first place from their insular position, and, 

 in the second, from the mountainous character of the land 

 a combination ensuring a " large amount of aqueous vapour 

 in the atmosphere," and its deposition in the ground in the 

 form of refreshing rains, mists, and dews. But while Scot- 

 land retains as yet her pre-eminence as an oat-producing 

 country, just as she has, by improved modes of cultivation, 

 enabled her farmers to raise now better crops of wheat and 

 of barley than were produced half a century ago, so may we 

 expect that, by a like introduction of improved practices 

 into the south of England, succeed in raising good crops of 

 oats that grain which will always possess a high value in 

 the farm, if not as food for men, as food for horses. But 

 although it is apparently true that good crops of oats de- 

 pend more upon a proper condition of climate than upon 

 the qualities of the soil for good farming produces good 

 crops in all soils it is not by this meant to be assumed 

 that the quality or nature of the soil is a matter of little 

 or no importance not so, for assuredly one soil is better 

 adapted to produce a good quality than another ; and there 

 are also certain districts in which oats of one kind succeed 

 well where oats of another kind will not succeed at all. 

 We proceed, therefore, to take up the subject of the soils 

 best adapted for the growth of the oat. 



2 OrFor the earlier varieties of the Avena sativa class of oats, 

 such as the Sandy, the Potato, the Hopetoun, &c., the best 

 soils are those derived from the alluvial deposits of the 

 " trap " and " new red sandstone " formation which form 

 the lower parts of valleys and the more level districts in 

 which these two classes of rocks abound. So that, as a 



