OATS 



OATS 



487 



Fig. 716. On the left, spread- 

 ing oats; on the right, sided 

 or mane oats. 



the largest total yield not giving the largest yield 

 per acre. 



The total acreage for the United States in 1905 

 was 28,046,746, with a production of 953,216,197- 



bushels, worth at farm 

 values$277,047,537. Of 

 the vast quantities of 

 oats produced in the 

 United States nearly all 

 are used for home con- 

 sumption. Oats to the 

 amount of 41,369,415 

 bushels, worth $12,- 

 504,564, were exported 

 in 1900, and 41,523 

 bushels, valued at $18,- 

 360, were imported. 

 Since that time the ex- 

 ports have constantly 

 decreased and the im- 

 ports increased, so that 

 in 1904 only 1,153,714 

 bushels, valued at 

 $475,362, were ex- 

 ported, while 170,882 

 bushels, valued at $57, 

 802, were imported. 

 [Yearbookof the United 

 States Department of 

 Agriculture, 1904.] 



This increase is un- 

 doubtedly due, as 

 be mentioned later, 

 the increasing popularity of oats as an arti- 

 cle of human diet in the United States. 



The yields of oats in Canada for forty 

 years have been as follows : 1871 the yield 

 was 42,489,453 bushels ; in 1881 it was 

 70,493,131 bushels ; in 1891 it was 83,428,- 

 202 bushels, and in 1901 it had risen to 

 151,497,407 bushels. The yield was distrib- 

 uted approximately as follows in 1901: On- 

 tario, more than 88,000,000 bushels; Que- 

 bec, 33,500,000; Manitoba, 10,500,000 ; New 

 Brunswick, nearly 5,000,000; Prince Edward 

 Island, 4,500,000; Nova Scotia, 2,300,000 ; Brit- 

 ish Columbia, 1,500,000; The Territories, 6,000,000 

 bushels. 



Classifieation. 



Oats may be divided into two great classes. 

 These are spreading oats, and sided, mane or ban- 

 ner oats. (1) In the spreading oats the branches 

 of the panicle extend in all directions from the 

 rachis. This class comprises the largest number and 

 the most popular of the varieties of oats. (Figs. 

 716, 717, 718.) (2) In the second class, known as 

 sided or "mane" oats, the branches all hang to one 

 side of the rachis, thus producing the appearance 

 that has caused the name of "banner" oats occa- 

 sionally to be afftxed to them. The terms " open " 

 and "closed" panicles are sometimes applied to 

 the two flower arrangements. (Fig. 716.) A third 

 class, or hulless oats, while classed by themselves, 

 may in fact belong to either of the preceding 



classes, although sometimes called by a distinct 

 name, Avena nuda. The principal agricultural dif- 

 ference is in the hull, which is so loosely attached as 

 to be completely removed by the threshing process, 

 leaving the grain only. There is also difference in 

 the structure of the parts. Because of low yields 

 and other considerations these oats have never 

 become popular and are not extensively grown. 



At the Ohio Experiment Station, where seventy- 

 one varieties of oats have been under experimenta- 

 tion for several years, another classification has 

 been made. There the different varieties have been 

 divided into four groups. (1) In the first or "Wel- 

 come" group are placed all varieties with spread- 

 ing panicles, and having coarse straw and short, 

 plump grains. (2) In the second or " Wideawake " 

 group are placed those varieties with spreading 

 panicles which have long,' slender kernels and 



Fig. 717. Good head of spreading oats. 



