| (1) | Iris. | Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas
Of Wheat, Rye, Barley, Vetches, Oats, and Pease. | | Tempest, act iv, sc. 1 (60). | | | (2) | Spring Song. | When shepherds pipe on Oaten straws. | | Love's Labour's Lost, act v, sc. 2 (913). | | | (3) | Bottom. | Truly a peck of provender; I could munch your good dry Oats. | | Midsummer Night's Dream, act iv, sc. 1 (35). | | | (4) | Grumio. | Ay, sir, they be ready; the Oats have eaten the horses. | | Taming of the Shrew, act iii, sc. 2 (207). | | | (5) | First Carrier. | Poor fellow, never joyed since the price of Oats rose—it was the death of him. | | 1st Henry IV, act ii, sc. 1 (13). | | | (6) | Captain. | I cannot draw a cart, nor eat dried Oats,
If it be man's work, I'll do it. | | King Lear, act v, sc. 3 (38). | Shakespeare's Oats need no comment, except to note that the older English name for Oats was Haver (see "Promptorium Parvulorum," p. 372; and "Catholicon Anglicum," p. 178, with the notes). The word was in use in Shakespeare's time, and still survives in the northern parts of England.
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