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THE HULLESS OATS AGAIN. 
Among the first varieties of the oat mentioned 
in English agricultural and horticultural works, 
the Bui less or Naked Oat {Aiu-na nuda) is most 
accurately described. Nearly three hundred 
years ago (1597), Gerardk, in his History of 
I'Junta, published in London, England, not only 
described this variety or species, whichever it 
way be, but gave a very fair illustration of the 
grain and manner of growth. From that time 
down to the present day every agricultural cyclo¬ 
paedia or work npon farming of any account, has 
mentioned this very old sort; and long before 
the first number of the Rukae New-Yorker was 
issued, twenty-eight years ago, Ilnlless Oats 
were common in most or the Northern States, 
'lime and again it has been referred to in our 
columns, and so late as July 11,1871, we noticed 
this variety under the heading of “ An Old Hum¬ 
bug Revived; ” then again, October 17, under 
the name of t ‘ Bohemian Oats ; *’ and once more, 
on March 20. 1875, when a full history was given 
ol Unsold sort, which was then introduced under 
the name of “ Boutello Hulless Oat.” 
Now. that there are many persons who might 
savo their dollars by reading the Rur.u. New- 
Yorker, is quite evident, from the fact that this 
old Iiulless Oat. can ho brought out annually as 
something new, and every time find any number 
of purchasers, at fancy ju ices. We do not say 
that this old Naked or Iiulless Oat is not worth 
cultivating, under certain circumstances and for 
certain purposes, hut that it is far inferior to the 
common adherent-bull sorts for general purpos¬ 
es, was settled long ago. l T et that there are 
thousands who will believe that it is new and 
very valuable, every time anybody says so 
through an advertisement in a newspaper, is 
well illustrated by the following, winch we clip 
from the Byracuse Journal. Our readers will 
please note that the writer admits that fifty 
bushels of it were sold to the Agricultural De¬ 
partment at Washington, which is in keeping 
with the other grand and, progressive operations 
of our great national seed-store. 
• In the spring of 1875 1 purchased six bush¬ 
els, by weight, of the Boutolle Eullces Oats, 
which was then advertised by Boutolle in the 
IttriiAi. New-Yorker, and in a few local papers 
by Boutello s local agents, at &20 per bushel, and 
if purchasers of the oats wished to contract the 
crop raised from said oats, with or to the said 
Boutolle, at, .ft per bushel, he ^ Bern telle) was 
ready to do so. Bontelle's contract, however, 
was that the purchaser should pay one-half of 
the purchase-money, or fill per bushel in cash, 
the rest to he paid in oats at the end of the sea¬ 
son, when ho (Boutello) came to buy the crop. 
Bontelle’s place of residence, or home, was in the 
city of Montpelier, Vt., as I understood from his 
agent at. Slcanea teles. During the summer, or 
some time in the year 1875, I understood that 
Bontelle's residence, or place of business, was 
burned up. and left Boutolle nnablo, financially, 
to make bis contracts good, and people thought 
him a fraud, as well as his oats, on account of 
his failure to meet hie contracts. 
"As I stilted in the commencement of this 
article, I bought six bushels, by weight, paying 
the express charges and flip, and contracting my 
crop to him at f 4 per bushel for all that I chose 
to spare, I sowed the six bushels on about four 
acres ol land that had been badly run or heavily 
cropped the four seasons previous with, first, 
corn: second, peas; third, oats; fourth, flax— 
the flax crop showing plainly the failing portions 
of the plot. T sowed them on this piece of land 
for the reason that it was the only small piece of 
ground that I had to sow that season, not wish¬ 
ing to mix them with any other grain. The re¬ 
sult. was, on the best part of the plot the grain 
was a very fair growth, but on the worn parts of 
the field the grain was very small and poor and 
at harvest I figured my calculations down to 
seventy-five bushels; but when I came to thresh 
and clean up one hundred and twenty bushels of 
clean Hulloss Oats, by weight, and some thirty 
bushels, by measure, of the poorer grain, I cornd 
not think the grain a fraud; and when, after 
having a few of them ground, we found them to 
make a very sweet and nourishing food, I made 1 
up my mind that they were destined to become 1 
a blessing to the country, as had been the high- 1 
priced Early Bose Potato, which retailed, at first, 1 
at six dollars a bushel, or one dollar a pound. I 1 
think they will make good biscuit. We used the 
flour only lor puddings. T have beard that ‘ 
buckwheat Hour is a great deal Letter for having 1 
a certain amount of oat-flour intermixed with it. 
The past season I sowed quite largely of them, 
but mostly on a level piuce of land that was poor- f 
ly drained, and the season being so very wet, the f 
level piece was nearly a failure, and an eight- a 
acre piece, on a dryer piece of land, was a very a 
good crop, although well known in my neighbor- a 
hood as the poorest piece of land on my farm, t 
My crop, all told, this past season, was three d 
| hundred and seventy-five bushels, by weight. 
Seeing a number of persons at Marcellus Station 
who bad never heard of them before, while ship¬ 
ping fifty bushels of them to the Agricultural 
Department, I thought I would give a short 
statement of their habits in growth, etc. They 
look like the common varieties while growing, 
but when threshed, the hull sticks to the 6traw, 
with the exception of a few poor oats that remain 
in the hull, the same as other oats. They thresh 
rather tough, and, therefore, bnt few are wasted 
great that it will compensate, in part, at any 
rate, for the extra labor of gathering them. At 
least, twice or three times as many bushels of 
Cfiufas can bo produced on an acre as of corn; and 
some who have tried them for fattening hogs 
say they are worth fully as much for this pur¬ 
pose. The tubers grow so near the surface that, 
in light soils, sheep will pull them out in biting 
off the tops; and they soon learn to dig them 
out with their feet. 
Upon the whole, we think there are many loc&l- 
SHEEP THE MAINSTAY OF AGRICULTURE, 
TURNIP-ROOTKD CERKRV 
during harvest. I sow them with the drill, the 
same as for wheat, at 40 to 44 quartB per acre, 
according to the fertility of the land to be sown. 
I think they will yield as much weight of grain 
per acre as any other oats. 1 shall try them the 
coming season, on trial with other oats that are 
said to be the most prolific or greatest yieldcrs. 
The 11 nliess Oats weigh from 1.1 to 5o pounds per 
bushel measure, according to quality. * * * 
I clean them with the wheat-sieve, and wind all 
on. The oatH with hulls on will grow HuIIess 
Oats the same as the others, as I found by actual 
trial the past season. They are the earliest vari¬ 
ety I know of, maturing the past season fully two 
weeks earlier than common varieties.” 
O. B. Morton. 
-* * »- 
THE CHUFA OR EARTH ALMOND. 
It is now more than twenty years since we 
planted our first Chufas, or Earth Almonds, and 
still at this late day wo find that there are hun¬ 
dreds and thousands of our readers who know 
nothing of ibis plant, or who are in doubt wheth¬ 
er it will grow as far north as the latitude of 
New York City. 
This Obufa, or Cypenis esculent us, is a low- 
growing, Blender kind of a grass-liko plant, bear¬ 
ing small, edible tubers at the base of each stem. 
These tubers are about an inch long and a half 
inch in diameter, and when fully ripe have a 
sweetish taste, not unlike a ripe chestnut. They 
are tender, aud will not withstand a "freeze,” 
however slight; therefore, no one need fear that 
they will ever become a weedy pest wherever 
frosts occur. 
The tubers should be sown in drills, eight to 
ten inches apart, and room enough should be 
left between the rows to admit of hand or horse 
culture, according to the extent of the planta¬ 
tion made. A light, warm, and rich soil suits 
them best, and as the plants tuber rapidly, it is 
not uncommon to obtaiu a yield of five or six 
himdred tnbers from one; the plants in tho fall 
forming a large clump or tuft of fine roots and 
tubers combined. 
There is nothing difficult about their culture, 
as they grow as readily as peas, and are far 
more prolific. 
WHAT THEY ARC GOOD FOR. 
Chufaa will probably uevor become popular as 
food for human beings ; but they are excellent 
for most kinds of farm stock, especially for bogs 
and sheep, as these animals will dig them as they 
are wanted, thereby saving the farmer the labor 
and expense of gathering the crop. As the 
tubers are so small, it. is a tedious operation to 
dig and pick them up. The yield, however, is so 
i ties in the Northern, as well as in the Southern 
State s, where the Chufa would prove a valuable 
crop, and we arc surprised that it has not been 
more fully tested by men who are seeking, or 
have need for seeking, more profitable crops than 
they are at present cultivating. 
-— 
TURNIP-ROOTED CELERY. 
I have had very j>oor luck in raising and keep¬ 
ing celery, but have been informed that what is 
called Turnip-rooted Celery is not only less diffi¬ 
cult to raise, but can lie kept, over winter without 
much danger of rotting. Will you please tell me 
something* about the la tier-named kind, and 
oblige—A Subscribes, Rocky Run, Montana. 
Celeriac, or Turnip-rooted Celery, is a variety 
which is cultivated for its roots, instead of the 
leaf-stalks, as with the more cotnuitm sorts. It 
is much hardier than the ordinary kinds, and as 
it does not require blanching, it is much less 
trouble to cultivate it.; but when raised, it is 
not considered as valnable. 
The plants are started iu spring, in the same 
way as other varieties; then planted out iu rows 
two feet apart, and tho plants ten to twelve 
inches apart in the row. The soil needs to be 
very rich to produce large roots of Hue quality. 
Toward autumn the bulb-like roots appear quite 
rapidly, and at tins time a little earthing-up or 
covering of the base of the leaf-stalks is usually 
beneficial for the purpose of blanching and mak¬ 
ing the fleah tender and crisp. In cool climates, 
or where there is considerable ram during the 
season, Celeriac is of much linear flavor and the 
roots larger than under opposite conditions. 
The bulbs may be used all through the fall 
months, if the crop is started early, and what¬ 
ever remains at the commencement of cold 
weather may he dug and stored in damp earth or 
sand, in a cool cellar, or put in pits in the open 
ground. 
Celeriac is used very much in the same manner 
as the blanched leaf-stalks of the common celery, 
although not quite as tender nor of so mild a 
flavor; bnt it is much esteemed by our French 
and German residents, and is gaining favor with 
Americans. The accompanying illustration will 
give you a very good idea or the habit of growth 
and general appearance of this plant. 
Sow Sugar-Beets.— Every farmer who keeps 
cows should raise a quantity of beets for winter 
feeding, for there is no root more cheaply pro¬ 
duced of equal value. Sow the seed early before 
dry weather commences, and tho plants will get 
a good bold of the soil and penetrate deep 
enough to reach moisture before the heat of 
summer begins. 
t, It is useless for farmers to attempt to ignore 
,g tuc necessity of sheep husbandry in conjunction 
m with any good system of farming. Although in 
modern days ideas differ essentially from those 
1 - held in olden times, at least in many respects, 
yet in regard to the value of sheep there never 
w as a rnral people in any age who prospered in 
the long run without, a flock of sheep and a shep¬ 
herd to take care of them. Jacob served Laban 
for his wives by attending to sheep, and became 
possessed liimsclf of immense flocks, and all 
through the historical part of tho Bible sheep are 
repeatedly alluded to; Abraham and Lot bad 
many, and sheep-shearings were commonly ended 
with considerable feasting. 
In the New Testament, too, the shepherds were 
the first to be apprised of the good tidings, and 
the good shepherd and bis flock aro so represent¬ 
ed as to show that sheep were valued and cared 
for and thought a deal more of than by tho pres¬ 
ent inhabitants of this conntry. 
About ft century ago Mr. Coke of Norfolk, En¬ 
gland, owned a largo traot. of land and made up 
hia mind to improve it by bringing sheep perma¬ 
nently into notice. Annually be bad a great 
time at his sheep-shearing, aud induced his ten¬ 
ants to increase tho number of their sheep, 
thereby enriching Ids estate and himself till, at 
the age of 70, bo was created Earl of Leicester. 
It is probable that many who read this will 
have beard of his being a widower, with three 
daughters of middle age, but no son to inherit 
the title, and bow ho married a young lady of 26 
who had three daughters by the time the Earl 
was 80 years old, aud then bad one son who suc¬ 
ceeded to his father's wealth and honors. 
The Norfolk domain is one of the finest culti¬ 
vated estates in England, and Las the character 
of being the best managed. This may be attrib¬ 
uted, in a great measure, to the excel lout system 
of sheep husbandry established there. Again, 
to show the effects of sheep on poor soil, 52 years 
ago the writer -a boy with his father, mother, 
etc.—moved from Northamptonshire into the 
Cotswoid Hills, at that time only partially iu cul¬ 
tivation, and where comparatively few sheep 
were kept. Tear by year, however, their num¬ 
bers wore increased, and roots were grown upon' 
the improved system of ridging in rows, called, 
then, the Scotch way, because a Scotch bailiff 
first introduced it. As this system progressed 
crops became heavier till, at the jireseut day, the 
sheep have become a renowned breed, and from 
having been made up by dashes of other blood, 
not, only have they been used to improve other 
breeds—as the Leicester and Lincolns—but they 
have also been the means of establishing entirely 
new breeds, by crossing as, for instance, the 
Oxford Downs. 
At the time mentioned, bait' a century only 
ago, the Cotswoid sheep was a great, coarse, big¬ 
headed, clumsy animal, very difficult to fatten 
to nice ripe mutton. Knowing this, and seeing 
the Cotswolds and Oxford Downs of the present 
moment, what an encouragement, to go vigor¬ 
ously into the breeding aud improvement of the 
sheep in the United States! 
The Leicester sheep were improved and 
brought promiuently into notice long before the 
Cotswoid was thought much of, and the good, 
old-fashioned South Down was an established 
breed, the origin of which is as remote as the 
black Welch cattle and Welch mountain sheep. 
As everybody knows Eumx, Webb, Ac., im¬ 
proved upon the native stock the same as Bake- 
wei.i. did on the Leicester.*?, and will be histori¬ 
cal in agriculture in England, as the great im¬ 
provers of fine-wooled sheep in the United States, 
will be here. 
As the long-wooled and short-wooled English 
sheep become acclimated in the United States, 
they will gain favor; but the manner in which 
they are confined in the winter aud the small 
quantity of roots given to the tegs iu their grow¬ 
ing state, cause them to fail sadly in the round, 
barrel-lilce shape, and iu the weight of the fleece. 
Tho grado or common sheep in the United 
States, are like dunghill fowls, easily improved; 
because, like them, there is a mixture of blood, 
aud they are thus susceptible of giving very great 
influence to a thoroughbred male; hence it is 
easy for tho common farmer to bring his flock to 
be what is desired by buying bis rams from the 
pure breed he admires, and continuing to use 
none hut pure-bred ones. 
As the wealthy families in cities and the first I 
class hotels will give a price in proportion to the I 
quality of the meat, there is' always a sale for 
prime mutton, and as Dowu mutton has a pecu¬ 
liar dark shade of lean, which is well known to 
the caterer for the epicure, this meat commands 
a higher figure than the very finest Cotswoid, 
Lincoln or Leicester; a fact which may tend 
to eventually be the means of making the Ox¬ 
ford Down the favorite breed. For although it 
is admitted that a two or three years old wether 
