48 
ANALYSIS OF THE OAT.-NO. 1. 
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While the above were drying, others wer® 
weighed from which to determine the ash. The 
burning was always effected in platinum vessels 
over argand gas-burners, and at a dull red heat. 
The first specimens of the young plant arrived 
on the 4th of June, and the succession at weekly 
intervals was uninterrupted until the cutting of 
the crop on the 3d of September. The oats were 
of the potatoe variety, and though regarded by the 
unusually wet season, were uniformly strong and 
healthy, the sample proving one of uncommon 
excellence. The plants on the 4th of June were 
from 4 to 6 inches in height, consisting merely 
of one leaf, and the commencement of the stalk. 
These two parts, therefore, are first to be consi¬ 
dered. as to the quantity of ash which they yield. 
Of the Leaf —The preceding table exhibits 
the proportions in the leaf at successive stages 
of its growth—1. Of Water. 2. Of Ash. 3. Of 
Ash calculated dry. 
The decrease of water during the growth of 
this part is considerably more than in the leaf. 
The quantity of ash in the undried straw (second 
line) increases toward the end, as in the undried 
leaf. This, in both cases, is owing to the 
gradual disappearance of the water; for we see, 
in the third line, that the actual per-centage of 
ash in the dried stalk, is less on the 3d of Sep¬ 
tember than it was on the 4th of June. In the 
earlier growth of the stalk the dried stem or solid 
part, though less in quantity, actually contains a 
larger per-centage of ash than is afterwards ne¬ 
cessary to its perfect maturity. As the stalk is 
the stem of the plant, through it must pass the 
inorganic materials necessary for the building up 
of all the other parts. How wise the provision, 
which enables it to furnish an abundance of 
these materials at the time when they are most 
needed ! Between the 6th and the 27th of August 
the demand upon the straw was very great; at 
this period the grain was most rapidly attaining 
its full size ; the leaf also between the 13th and 
the 20th of August increased its per-centage of 
ash from 16 to 21. When these parts have at¬ 
tained their full size, and approach maturity, the 
ash in the stalk begins to accumulate again, as 
is seen in the two last weeks. This Is at the 
same time that the decrease in the leaf mentioned 
above takes place. 
From the very large per-centage of water in 
the stalk on the 3d of September, when the oats 
were cut, it is evident that there must be an im¬ 
mense diminution during the drying of harvest, 
as I have seldom found more than 13 or 14 per 
cent, of w r ater In straw taken from a well-made 
stack. This will appear in a subsequent table. 
Of the Quantity of Ash in the Knots .—It was 
not until the 23d of July that determinations of 
ash and water in the knots were commenced. 
Professor Johnston has stated in his Elements of 
Agricultural Chemistry, some curious facts re¬ 
specting the knots in the stalks of wheat, rye, 
bamboo, &c. He says, that the ash of this part 
is larger in quantity, and contains a greater pro¬ 
portion of silica, which in the bamboo is some¬ 
times found in solid masses. To ascertain if the 
quantity of ash in the knots of oats varied greatly 
