510

ON THE ARABLE LAN B

culated to bring this grain to perfection; as when a dry sum-mer occurs in Scotland , oats, it is said, rarely yield welleither in the barn or mill, being of a smaller size, thicker inthe husk, and having longer tails than they usually have inmoist seasons To these observations it may be added,that in all the best cultivated districts of Scotland , oats arcalways taken as the first crop after grass, in which case fullcrops are generally obtained.

The produce of the oat crop is applied in various ways ;part to the consumption of the farmer’s family, and part inlieu of wages to the married servants; the work-horses ofthe farm also use a considerable quantity, especially of the in-ferior qualities. After these demands have been supplied,and a sufficiency reserved for seed to the ensuing crop, thesurplus is sold to corn-dealers, or to millers for making intooatmeal. In some districts of Scotland , the farmers arebound to manufacture all their surplus produce of oats at themill belonging to their landlord, paying certain fixed dues orlordships, for the benefit of the proprietor or his mill tenant;which, though fixed by law or paction, are said to be veryunsatisfactorily exacted, often in measures of no legal, or ge-nerally known standard.

The price of oats, like that of all other articles, varies accord-ing to produce and demand, so that nothing satisfactory canbe stated on this subject. Within the last twenty years thisgrain has averaged as low as 2 s. and as high as 7 s. per Win-chester bushel; perhaps in the present circumstances of thecountry, 4 s. 6 d. may be reckoned a lair average price forthe best oats f.

The straw of oats is used both as fodder, and as litter for

* Brown’s Treatise on Rural Affairs. Much must depend upon the climate.What might be considered rather a dry summer in the western parts of Scotland ,might be accounted a wet one on the eastern; and a summer as dry as has beenknown in East Lothian , is hardly ever experienced in Clydesdale.

f In 1788, it is said that some oats were sold as low as 1 a. <3 d. per Winches-ter bushel, even in East Lothian .