318 Prof. Norton on the Analysis of the Oat. 
The second period must have been at least as long, if we con- 
sider the time required for the existence, propagation, and death 
of an entire fauna, whose numerous remains are foun upon a 
land once submerged. sei Sips 
Finally, the third period comprehends the historical epoch, 
when the country was inhabited by the foreign race whose re- 
mains are discovered in the peat beds. 
It follows therefore, that the glacier epoch is not merely an 
accident in the history of our globe, but that it embraces a long 
period, the more important to the geologist, that it is the con- 
necting link between the antediluvial times and the historical era. 
Art. XXXI—On the Analysis of the Oat; by Prof. Joun 
Pirxin Norton, of Yale College. 
(Continued from p. 236, this volume.) 
3. Of the Ash yielded by the Chaff.—The chaff forms a very 
small and seemingly unimportant part of the plant ; but it is in 
reality indispensable to its perfection, and a close examination 
shows that it is admirably adapted to its particular end. 
I, The quantity of ash which it yields is greater than that left 
by any other part, and as in the other “parts, this quantity varies 
with the soil and with the variety of oat. 
The following table exhibits the per-centage of ash and water, 
in seven specimens of chaff. 
Taste XXI. 
Hopeton Oats. Potato Oats./yean 
sandy | Duan of 
No. 1.|No. 2.|No. 3,| Oats. | Outs. No. 1,/No. 2./seven 
trials. 
Per-centage of water,. .._ |f0- 8110-65 10-58) 9-60/11-62)11-16'10-95! 10-69 
Do. _ of ash, calculated dry,| 7-23)10-69 
— 
It is singular that the per-centage of water in the thin, dry, 
light chaff, should be fully equal to that in the straw. 
The average of the above is nearly 17 per cent.; as this is 
higher than that of any other part, so no other exhibits so wide 
arange. ‘The chaff of Potato oat, No, 2, has nearly four times 
as much ash as that of Hopeton oat, No.1, This last-mentioned 
chaff is from the sample of oats I have hoticed before, as grown 
on a poor mossy soil. 
2. The quality of the ash from the chaff also varies greatly in 
different samples, and its composition suggests some interesting 
inquiries. As before, I will give an extended analysis first. 
