FOR BETTER CROPS IN THE SOUTH 45 



for the oats should be done as early as possible and the ground 

 should afterwards be surface cultivated by the disk or harrow, 

 frequently enough to keep down weeds and keep the soil in good 

 tilth. 



Methods of Seeding — Of course, oats or any other grain 

 crop should be sown only with the drill or by such other method 

 as will give the crop similar conditions. The seed should 

 never be broadcasted. 



The Open Furrow Method — What is known as the "open 

 furrow " method is a good practice. By this method a machine 

 is used on which the hoes are considerably farther apart than on 

 the ordinary drill, each preceded in front by a shovel which 

 opens a furrow similar to the listed furrow in corn planting, 

 though not so wide and deep as the latter. By this method the 

 seed is put in deep in compacted soil, thus favoring germination 

 and root formation and the plants are thereby protected from 

 danger of heaving of the soil by freezing. A number of exper- 

 iments have shown that the yield per acre resulting from the 

 use of this method is considerably greater than that following 

 the use of the drill and, of course, much better than the yields 

 following broadcasting. » The rate of seeding, also, is a little less 

 per acre by the open furrow method than by the use of the drill. 



Time of Seeding — The time of seeding winter oats in the 

 Cotton Belt states is anywhere from October 15 to November 

 15} a good medium date probably being the last of October. 

 In the northern area, the date may be one to two weeks earlier. 

 Spring oats should be sown about February 15 in the Cotton 

 Belt and about March 1 farther north, these dates, of course, 

 being subject to variation because of changes of seasons or for 

 other reasons. 



Rate of Seeding— The rate of seeding is from one and one- 

 half to three bushels per acre. A good average rate with well- 

 cleaned seed should be about two and one-half bushels in the 

 case of broadcasting; two bushels if drilled; and a little less 

 than two bushels by the open furrow method. 



Winter-killing— Winter oats are much subject to winter- 

 killing and therefore much advantage results from the selection 

 of hardy strains. Such strains are being developed by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture and occasionally farm- 

 ers will be given the benefit of new varieties considerably hardier 

 with respect to winter-killing than others now grown. Winter- 

 killing may be partially prevented by other means, such as the 

 open furrow method of seeding already mentioned, and any 

 means of compacting the soil about the roots. Occasionally the 

 roller may be advantageously used to press the earth around the 



