160 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



is not likely to thrive. Then, too, when the oats crop is taken off the 

 clover is exposed to the sun very suddenly, and sometimes damage is 

 done in that way ; especially is this likely to happen where the shading 

 has been very heavy. However, with proper methods of seeding and 

 watching this one point, very satisfactory stands can quite frequently 

 be secured in oats. 



Rolling the oat field after the clover seed has been sown is con- 

 sidered by many farmers to be of great importance. This covers the 

 seed just about deep enough and firms the surface of the soil in such a 

 way as to insure a good moisture supply to the young plants. Some 

 prepare the ground and sow the oats with a drill, and the clover with 

 the grass seeding attachment, allowing the seed to fall back of the hoes 

 or disks. The roller is then run over the field. Others sow the oats either 

 with the drill or broadcast, using the roller to cover the seed. The bene- 

 ficial effects of the roller on the clover is very marked where the soil 

 is in fit condition for rolling. It usually insures a good stand which is 

 quite uniform on the ground. 



Another very good method of seeding with oats is to sow in stalk 

 ground and allow the stalks to remain on the surface of the soil. This, 

 again, is only a repetition of, and brings again to our notice, the value 

 of the accumulation on the surface of the soil of some protection in the 

 form of vegetable matter, which will prevent the baking and drying 

 out of the soil. In doing this the stalks are usually broken down and 

 the ground disked, after which the oats are sown and disked in. If the 

 stalks are not too large and are well cut up a disk drill can be used, but 

 the former method is most generally practiced. The clover seed is sown 

 after the seeding of the oats, and the roller in this case also should be 

 used. This, together with the great protection which the stalks furnish, 

 practically insures a good stand. A great many farmers have been 

 visited during these investigations who follow this method exclusively 

 and very rarely fail. The following illustration shows a field which 

 has been sown after this method, although the rolling was omitted : 



In the field shown in the following illustration it was very noticeable 

 that wherever there was, a slight accumulation of stalks or corn husks 

 on the surface to hold the moisture and serve as a slight shade and pro- 

 tection, the young clover was getting a much more vigorous start than 

 it was in the open ground, where exposed to the full force of the wind 

 and sunshine. The folly of raking and burning such litter, as is some- 

 times done, should be at once apparent. Not only is it greatly needed 

 in the soil, but as a surface protection for the clover crop its value can- 

 not be too highly appreciated. The accumulation of litter in the way 



