154 OATS 



developed oats may sometimes have a light weight due to certain 

 characters of the grain. 



Varieties having an awn on the grain or an extended loose hull, 

 do not settle close in the measure. In such a case well matured oats 

 with a low per cent of hull will weigh less than 32 pounds per 

 bushel. Oats slightly damp do not weigh as much. Oats very ripe 

 and dry when threshed will often be " clipped " enough by the thresh- 

 ing machine to increase the weight per bushel. All this must be 

 considered in estimating the value of oats when the weight is known. 



Clipped Oats. Oats are clipped in the large elevators by passing 

 them through a " scourer " or machine that rubs off the awns, extend- 

 ing hull, the rachilla at the base of the grain, or any loose part. This 

 increases the weight per bushel, according to how close the clipping 

 may be. The legal weight of clipped oats is 36 pounds per bushel. 



Quality of Oat Straw. Oat straw contains more protein and 

 fat than the straw of other cereals or corn fodder. It does not con- 

 tain the long awns and hard chaff common in wheat and barley 

 straw, making it more desirable as a feed. Also oat straw is usually 

 cut much greener than other cereals, and is therefore softer and more 

 palatable. In fact, good green oat straw, well cured, is considered a 

 fair substitute for at least a part of the hay in feeding horses, when 

 not at hard work. 



Proportion of Grain to Straw. In the data cited in the pre- 

 ceding table of varieties there is a variation as an average of five 

 years of about one pound to three pounds of straw to one pound of 

 grain. There is no constant relation, but, in general, medium or 

 late varieties usually have about two pounds of straw to one pound 

 of grain, while early varieties produce somewhat less proportion of 

 straw. The proportion of straw to grain is comparatively high in 

 oats, generally estimated as two to one, while one and one-half to 

 one in wheat, and one to one in corn. Various factors increase the 

 proportion of straw, as soils rich in nitrogen, thick planting, or un- 

 favorable climatic conditions while the grain is ripening but after 

 the straw is well grown. 



EXERCISES 



Study of Oats Types. Oats belong to the family of Graminece, the 

 genus avena, and species sativa. 



They differ from wheat and rye mainly in having the grain borne in a 

 panicle rather than in a spike. 



