166 



The remedy for the depredations of stock is obvious, al- 

 though its discussion is not in place here. Moreover, on 

 many farms there are enclosed fields from which all stock can 

 be easily excluded. 



The danger of winter killing is usually overestimated and 

 the losses from this cause can be reduced by choosing the best 

 date for sowing. Moreover, oats sown in January or Feb- 

 ruary also run some degree of the same risk, though less fre- 

 quently killed than oats sown from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15. 



Several instances are in mind where in this vicinity both 

 spring-sown and fall-sown oats were killed on the same field 

 during the same winter, the latter having been planted in 

 January or February, after the fall oats had been destroyed. 



As intimated above, winter killing of oats is sometimes 

 due to sowing at the wrong time in the fall. The farmer who, 

 in this latitude, is just baginning to sow oats when Thanks- 

 giving Day comes, a case not uncommon, is inviting this 

 danger. 



To withstand the alternate freezes and thawings of winter, 

 oats should be sown early enough to develop a strong root sys- 

 tem before cold weather. On the other hand, it occasionally 

 happens that Red Rust Proof oats are sown so early in the fall 

 that on rich land they throw up seed heads before the cold 

 weather of early spring has passed, and in this "booting" 

 stage they are very susceptible to injury from cold. It is im- 

 possible to name any date as absolutely the best for sowing, 

 since this varies with difterent localities, with diflerent soils 

 in the same locality, and even with different seasons. 



Observation indicates that in the central part of Alabama 

 it is advisable to sow the bulk of the crop of Red Rust Proof 

 oats between October 1 and November 15. These dates are not 

 set as extreme limits even for the Red Rust Proof variety. 

 Hardier varieties, as Turf, Virginia Gray, etc., may be sown 

 earlier. The attempt to grow spring sown oats on poor land 

 has brought frequent failure and has done much to discourage 

 the culture of oats in the South. If spring-sown oats are to be 

 produced at a profit, they must have good land, and especially 

 they need low lying fields that are comparatively drought 



