158 



against 9,7 bushels where German millet stubble had been 

 plowed under, an increase of 24.7 bushels of oats per acre. 

 Considering yield of peas and of hay and yield of the succeed- 

 ing oat crop, it was more profitable to cut cowpeas for bay 

 than to pick the peas and plow under the vines. 



Nitrate of soda applied as a top dressing on both fall- 

 sown and spring-sown oats, was most profitable when applied 

 not later than the last of March, or at least 55 days before 

 the grain was mature. 



Eighty pounds of nitrate of soda per acre afforded a 

 profit when applied in March. In one experiment this 

 amount of nitrate of soda afforded a yield of 29.3 bushels of 

 oats per acre, while 160 lbs. of nitrate of soda per acre result- 

 ed in a yield of 34.1 bushels. This was an increase over the 

 plot receiving no nitrate of soda of 12.9 bushels with the 

 smaller quantity of fertilizer and 17 7 bushels with the larger 

 amount; there was a greater profit on the investment when 

 80 pounds was employed. 



On soil well supplied with vegetable matter, plots receiv- 

 ing 660 lbs. of slaked lime per acre at time of planting yielded 

 more than plots not limed. But slaked lime applied as a top 

 dressing in March on oats growing on sandy land deficient in 

 vegetable matter failed to increase the yield. 



In a co-operative fertilizer experiment conducted near 

 Auburn with oats sown in February, drought caused the crop 

 to fail on all plots. The greatest resistance to drought and 

 the largest yields were obtained on the plots receiving kainit. 



Scalding seed oats for 10 to 15 minutes in water kept at 

 a temperature of 130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit effectually pre- 

 vented smut here. This is a standard, cheap, and effective 

 method of preventing smut, and the saving resulting from 

 this treatment of seed oats is usually 5 to 20 per cent, of the 

 crop, and sometimes more. 



VARIETIES. 



Several varieties of oats were imported from France, and 

 these were compared in the season of 1896-97 with varieties 

 obtained from T. W. Wood & Sons, Richmond, Va., and with 



