30 BRITISH GRASSES. 



herent to the grain when ripe. Of these florets only 

 one is bearded, even when a third is present, which is 

 sometimes the case. The native country of the common 

 oat is unknown. Its hardiness leads to the suggestion, 

 that it must be of northern origin, for it is cultivable 

 even in the Arctic zone, yet no trace of it in a wild 

 state has been found after the most diligent search." 

 The learned Professor considers this plant to be a va- 

 riety of some wild species, probably A. strigosa, which 

 might assume the form of the cereal oat by continued 

 cultivation. He says it is probable that oats may have 

 originated in Mesopotamia or Persia, and describes an 

 oat found in the former country, on the banks of the 

 Euphrates, by the party under command of Colonel 

 Chesney. This plant was about eight inches high, 

 covered with fine soft hairs on the leaves. The panicle 

 contained about six spikelets, and the spikelets had two 

 or three florets each, with long, sharp-pointed, rather 

 membranaceous side lobes to the flowering glumes, and 

 a tuft of brown hairs at the base. Though the Euphrates 

 plant differs in many respects from the cultivated oat, it is 

 quite as probable that it may be developed into the other 

 form, as that the Mgilops should develop into wheat. 



The practical and experienced Mr. Haxton, of Fife, 

 gives a careful account of the varieties of Avena sativa 

 best worthy of cultivation, and from his notes we select 

 some of the most interesting descriptions. 



" The different kinds of oats are distinguished from 

 each other by a variety of characteristics, such as colour, 

 size, and form of the seeds, quality of the straw, the 

 period of ripening, liability to shed their seeds in high 

 winds, and adaptation to particular soils and climates. 

 There are three principal groups of oats, easily distin- 

 guishable by colour — white, black, and dun. 



