322 THE SMALL GRAINS 



two, every three, and then all together, making eleven 

 separate tests, in which the highest yield was of oats and 

 barley. In 90 per cent of the tests the mixtures yielded 

 better than the same cereal grown alone. Afterward it 

 was attempted to determine the proper rates of seed- 

 ing, and best variety of each cereal to use. In still 

 other experiments, emmer, durum wheat, hulless bar- 

 ley, and flax were added, in a proportion of \ bushel of 

 each to a mixture of 1J bushels of barley and 1 bushel 

 of oats. 



The oat-barley mixture yielded best in all experiments. 

 The varieties Early Daubeney oat and Manchuria barley 

 made an excellent oat-barley mixture, and Siberian or 

 Banner oats and Chevalier barley gave good satisfaction. 



GROWING THE CROP 



350. Preparation of the land for fall seeding. The 



general principle of soil preparation for sowing small 

 cereals is that the seed bed must be firm and moist, com- 

 pacted beneath, with a fine mellow surface. For fall 

 seeding following another cereal crop, the stubble should 

 be plowed at least 6 or 7 inches deep, immediately after 

 harvest, and, if possible, harrowed the same day. There- 

 after the harrow, disk, or drag should be used several 

 times, particularly after heavy rains, to conserve moisture, 

 firm the soil, and kill weeds, and finally once again 

 just before seeding. If the fall-sown cereal follows a cul- 

 tivated crop, simply disking and harrowing the ground is 

 sufficient, if cultivation of that crop has been well done. 

 If corn is the preceding cultivated crop, the grain may 

 usually be drilled directly in the corn ground without 

 previous treatment of the latter. If the stalks are still 



