THE OAT CROP. 
m 
had in generations long past established the same facts; and man, by his steady cultiva¬ 
tion of the crop, has shown the estimation in which it has ever been held by him. It 
becomes still more important, from the fact that it may be cultivated in higher latitudes 
than some of the other cereals, and rarely in a northern climate disappoints the farmer. 
The amount of organic elements in a bushel of oats weighing 32 lbs. is as follows : 
Starch 
Casein or avenine 
Albumen 
Gluten 
Dextrine 
Sugar and extract 
Oil 
Water - 
lbs. oz. 
17 4 
4 9 
0 4 
0 8 
2 15 
0 11 
2 6 
3 4 
32 0 
Diseases oe the oat. 
The oat, in certain fields, especially those that are weedy, is subject to disease ; or 
rather to the attack of a fungous plant, whereby almost every kernel upon the panicle or 
head is totally destroyed. This fungus is called by authors Uredo avencc. It is a species 
of smut. The kernels, or the places where they would have grown, is filled with a black 
smutty substance, which finally becomes dry enough to send out a powder of extreme fine¬ 
ness, which is really a cloud of seeds capable of germinating and growing, and producing, 
like other seeds, individuals similar to the parent. 
The smutty heads are well known undoubtedly to farmers, inasmuch as many may be 
found in most fields of oats. In addition to the smutty panicle, the whole plant is stinted, 
being shorter and more erect than the healthy one. The coverings of the grain, the 
husks, are apparently corroded through, so as to show upon the side the black mass within 
them. The spores, or seeds which have been already alluded to, are extremely minute 
rounded particles, whose forms are only made known by the aid of a powerful microscope. 
They are globular grains, not uniform in size, but with a diameter which does not exceed 
3 jbj of an inch. These minute atoms are scattered over the field, and lodged in the soil; 
and, without doubt, if we may rely upon analogy, they retain for a long time the power of 
germinating, and will do so when a favorable opportunity occurs. This fact renders it 
highly desirable that every smutty plant should be eradicated and burnt, when it first 
shows any symptoms of the disease in question; for undoubtedly the spores are taken up 
by the roots, and conveyed to heads of the grain, where they at once begin the work of 
destruction. 
The fungous plant, which appears so much like a gangrene of the grain, is represented 
on Plate LV, fig. 23, in the first stage of its growth. It, however, more frequently appears 
