167 



proof. Of course fall-sown oats succeed best also on rich land, 

 but these can often be produced at a profit on land too poor 

 to afford a profitable crop of spring oats. 



Even if fall oats should be completely winter killed one 

 year in three, the two remaining crops of fall oats, according 

 to our experiments and observations, would afford more profit 

 than three crops of spring oats. Another consideration in 

 favor of fall oats is the fact that the winter growing vegeta- 

 tion tends to prevent injurious leaching of the valuable nitrates 

 from the soil. This is especially important on rich soils. 



That spring sowing is more convenient in some re- 

 spects is a fact not to be ignored. For example, it permits 

 oats to follow cotton, a crop which is not usually removed in 

 time for oats to be sown at the favorable period in the fall. 

 This objection to fall sowing may be overcome by adopting a 

 rotation in which oats follow corn, thus : 



First year, cotton ; 



Second year, corn ; 



Third year, fall-sown oats, followed by cowpeas ; 



Fourth year, cotton again. 



Or where a larger proportion of cotton and a smaller pro- 

 portion of the other crops is desired, cotton might be the crop 

 during the first and second years of the rotation, followed by 

 corn, which in the fourth year is followed by oats (or other 

 small grain) and cowpeas. 



Both the above named rotations allow the oats to be sown 

 in the fall, the corn crop being easily removed in time for this. 



Cotton Seed and Cotton Seed Meal as Fertilizers for 



Oats. 



In order to compare cotton seed with cotton seed meal, 

 and to note the effects of each when applied in fall and in 

 spring, the following experiment was made. November 17, 

 1897, on poor sandy land, five plots of Red Rust Proof oats 

 were sown. All plots on that date were fertilized with 20© 

 lbs. of acid phosphate and 30 lbs. of muriate of potash per 

 acre, a combination which for brevity may be designated 

 " mixed minerals." In addition two plots received 472 lbs. 



— 95-3 



