278 AGRICULTURE ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



Oats are chiefly used for feed, both as hay and grain. Oat- 

 meal for breakfast mush or gruel is made by sifting after 

 grinding the whole grain, or sometimes from "hulless" 

 oats. 



The wild oat grows abundantly in California, on natural 

 pastures and waysides, and in fields is considered a weed the 

 world over. Its grain is small and covered with a bristly 

 hull which sometimes chokes stock. But when this oat is 

 cut early, these bristles remain soft and it makes excellent 

 hay; it is sometimes sown on purpose for hay, because its 

 thin stems dry easily. 



All these grains may be sown broadcast or in drills, and 

 (excepting rice) their culture is very much alike, but must 

 be varied to suit soils and climate. Wheat is generally 

 thought to require the " strongest " lands, which in the 

 humid regions means clayey soils. But in the arid region, 

 sandy soils being fully as rich in plant food as clay soils, 

 wheat is very largely grown on sandy lands, having very 

 little clay. 



Maize, or Indian corn. Maize is an American grain, 

 and was being grown by the Indians when the white 

 men came. It will grow from the Gulf coast to Canada, 

 having many varieties suited to different climates. 

 The flinty ones (hard like popcorn) are more generally 

 grown in northern regions, the softer ones farther 

 south. The great "corn belt," Where 'most of the 

 maize is produced, runs east and west from Illinois 

 and Iowa. Maize is not much grown in California, 

 because other crops pay better, except for green summer 

 feed and silage. Maize will stand much dry weather 



