200 Practical Farming 



to be great advances on the older ones. But, as we have 

 said in regard to the winter oats, the progressive farmer 

 may take any good variety and greatly improve it for his 

 own use by thoroughly eliminating the light grain and 

 sowing only the heavy and plum oats. 



Oats are usually the first grain crop sown, and it is im- 

 portant that they should be sown early, for later sown 

 oats are apt to suffer from the advancing heat of the 

 summer. But in their anxiety to get oats in early, many 

 farmers do serious damage to their land by plowing it 

 when too wet. The land is then cloddy for the whole 

 season and when, as is common in some sections, the 

 wheat crop follows on the oats stubble, it is impossible 

 to get the land into that fine and well-compacted condition 

 that the wheat crop demands. Better be a Httle late than 

 plow wet soil. If the preceding crop of com was well 

 prepared and properly cultivated, there will be no need 

 for replowing it in the spring for the oats crop. In fact, 

 it will be far better to use the cutaway harrow only, but 

 to use it thoroughly till the surface is fine. This can be 

 done more rapidly than by replowing, so that the farmer 

 need not rush into wet land for the crop. Then sow two 

 bushels per acre with the grain drill, a disk drill working 

 much better on the com stubble than a hoe drill. 



Over a large portion of the Middle States 

 r^*^ d ^ p ^^^ ^^^P ^^ Canada peas and oats can well 

 for Storage ^^^^ ^he place of the Southern cow pea as a 

 forage crop. By sowning two bushels of 

 oats and one of peas the oats will sustain the pea vines, and 

 the whole crop cut when the oats are passing out of the 

 milky stage will make a valuable feed and one that is be- 



