OATMEAL IN AMERICA.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 1, 9 July 1874, Page 4

OATMEAL IN AMERICA.

Tt is well for farmers in certain parts of onr country to understand that within a few 3 ears oatmeal has rome into general u«e in many cities -and towns, and that it is certain to have a still greater demand. It is made into porridge, and eaten with or without milk, u*-iia ly for breakfast, and probably it is found on more than half the tables in New York, Philadelphia, and some other cities. In villages and country places it has scarcely yet appear* d, but it will soon appear. The porridge is made by simply b ihng the meal iv water, the same aa corn mea', and it come 3to the table ra'hrr thick. L*s advantages are, it sits ea«ilv on the stomach, never souring, as e-vejy pr*para 4 i)n of corn m< al is apt to; the taste is more pleasant than any pre-para-ion of Graham Hour; it U a mild •jpei-nt; it is gfil to be uneqi-aliei in niuscle-produc'n.- qualities, and in restoring the waste of tbe brain by iB phosphoric elements; and, above al),*it meets with general tcceptance from the delicate and fastidious American taste, which probably is correct, because it has been estabhshed by the use of great abundance and vai iety of food, a result oi then-tural "selection of the fittest." An anal} sis of Scotch oatmeal made by Liebig aod [Tassel sho*s that barley cont&ins 14, corn 12£, and oats 20 per cent of nutritious elements of life' and of the muscles ; and as its merits have stood tbe tf*t of cer-turit s there can be little question a- to its great value. The experience of our people long ago ("emonstrated that fine flour b eid was not the best for constant use, snd the opinion became general that a mixture of corn and rye bread is in almost exclu-ive use; but there are serious olirction.*, and it may be said that it is sbs-lutel* deficient iv such qualities as build up a high gade of mentally. Po*sibly co'-p, or a mixture of corn and of »ye was well suited to the condi'ion of our people 50 years ago, but now that we have thinner tknlls, finer bones and tissues, and a more highly organised nervous system, corn bread is more and more rejected, as if by instinct, and the rapiditj with which oatmeal has come into u-e indicates that it is a need for the race in its advancing stage of development. It is to be under-tood, now, that oats of the proper qualify for human food can be grown only in high latitudes, certainly not below 41 degrees, while they attain perfection in from 43 to 46 degrees. The oatmeal now in use in our cities comes from Canada, and Scotland, tut there is no doubt tbat equally good can be grown in Northern Michigan, Wisconsin, cud. in Minnesota, and it will be well for millers and farmers in those sections to pay attention to the subject, for wherever a superior quality of cats can be grown they should be more profitable than wheat or any other grain, though it is the universal testimony that no other grain taxes to so great an extent the fertility of the soil. Tbe standard weiuht of oats is 32 lbs to the bushel ; and their superior quality is to be ascertained by the increase in weight. The Rocky Mountain country ought to excel all others in producing fine oats, and tbe average weight is fully 46 lbs to the bushel. This is where ground is irrigated. But be*t*r oats still are grown on the mountains' t-lopes and plat* au°, at an eleva-ion from 6000 to 8,000 feet, often weighing 50 lb**, and the rainf til is amply sufficient to germinate aid mature the crop. The general idea is that cultivation is impossible among these lofty mountains, but there are millions of acres in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and NewMexico where heavy crops of oats, as well as pota-oee, can be grown, and in most years the cert ait. ty is so great that the profits are large. Sometimes grasshopers destroy every green blade, but even then this is only over limited sf ctions. It might be remarked in this connection th-t these regions are remarkably well suited to the breeding of fine horses, for grazing i-< tb he had tfce 3 ear round, and thus it would seem that what is best suited for horses, is aho best suited for men, and that their destiny is joined.