511
ON THE ARAHLE LAND
oaten cukes are seldom made thicker than the eighth part ofan inch. Notwithstanding the illiberal definition of the cele-brated lexicographer, that “ oats are the food of horses inEngland, and of men in Scotland, ” oats constitute a materialportion of the food of the people in several counties in Eng-land, and in most parts of Wales , perhaps extending to apopulation little short of a million of hardy and industriouspeasants and manufacturers.
Before closing this subject, mention may be made of awasteful and pernicious manner in which oats are sometimesmanufactured in the Highlands and Western Islands of Scot-land . The earsof the oats, with a small portion of the straw stillattached, are thrown in small heaps on a clean swept hearth,where the straw and husks are burnt, and the grain parchedor partially roasted. After being winnowed in the air or windfrom the ashes of the straw and husks, the grain, now of abrown or half-burnt colour like roasted coffee, is immediate-ly broken or grinded in a small stone hand-mill, called a quern,into a coarse sort of meal, which is afterwards baked into cakes,as already described. This is called in the Highlands graddanbread, which the natives allege to be particularly wholesomeand palatable, but its burnt taste is unpleasant to strangers.Its only recommendation is simplicity and quickness of ma-nufacture, as in the course of half an hour after plucking theears from the standing corn, the bread may be ready for eat-ing *. In this view, it may be useful for an army in an ene-my’s country, but can never be advisable when husbandry isthe object of pursuit, being destructive of the means of afterfertility.