412
any of the crops commonly cultivated, lias rarely been averageed*. Its value is ordinarily estimated at half the price of hay,weight for weight; but this only'refers to such small quanti-ties of straw as one farmer may occasionally procure fromanother for thatch, or when his own runs short.
The universal application of the whole straw producedupon every farm, in what may be called the more improveddistricts of Scotland , is for litter and fodder to the live-stockon the farm, so that it may be converted into muck, or forthatching houses and offices, and corn-stacks. For horselitter, the straw of wheat and rye is preferable; and of theculmiferous crops, the straw of oats is accounted the bestfodder. The haum or straw of beans and pease, if well, harvested, is an excellent food for work horses, and little in-ferior to good hay, perhaps superior to rye-grass hay that hasbeen threshed.* Indeed, when rye-grass is allowed to ripenits seed, and the seed is threshed out, what remains oughtrather to be named rye-grass straw than hay. The haum ofbeans and pease is not thought good food for riding horses,being apt to thicken their wind; and when not properly har-vested, it disagrees with some horses, producing botts, or se-vere gripes.
♦ Mr Brown of Markle estimates the average produce of straw from the dif-ferent crops, as under:
Beans and peas, . 130 —
Oats, .. 130-
Total, . 520 stones.
Or, on an average of these crops, 130 stones per acre, 22 lbs, avoirdupois perstone, in all 2860 lbs.; or 1 ton 5 cwt. 2 quarters and 4 lbs.