168 FIELD CROPS! 



Sixty Day, or Kherson, is coming rapidly into favor, though 

 Silvermine and some of the later white oats are popular in 

 some sections in these states as well as in those farther east 

 and north. In the South the most common varieties are Red 

 Rustproof and Winter Turf. The former may be sown 

 either in the fall or in the spring, while the latter is sown 

 only in the fall. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE CROP 



206. World Production. Oats grow best in a cool, rather 

 moist climate, and are most largely produced in the North 

 Temperate zone. Among the leading countries in the pro- 

 duction of this crop are the United States, European Russia, 

 Germany, France, Canada, Austria-Hungary, and the United 

 Kingdom. Such northern countries as Sweden and Norwaj^ 

 also produce large quantities of oats, but they are not im- 

 portant factors in the w^orld production on account of their 

 comparatively^ small area. According to the figures of the 

 Bureau of Crop Estimates of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture, the world production of oats is about 4,500,- 

 000,000 bushels annually, or about 500,000,000 bushels more 

 than that of corn or wheat. On account of the much 

 greater weight of a bushel of either of the other grains, 

 the total weight of those crops is considerably more than that 

 of oats, and the value is also much greater. 



In the five years from 1910 to 1914, the average annual 

 production of oats in the United States was 1,158,000,000 

 bushels, or a little less than one fourth of the world produc- 

 tion. European Russia averaged 928,000,000 bushels in the 

 same period; Germany, 596,000,000 bushels; Canada, 365,- 

 000,000 bushels, and France, 309,000,000 bushels. 



207. Production in the United States. In the United 

 States, oats rank second to corn in the number of bushels 

 of grain produced, but are exceeded in total weight by wheat 

 as well as by corn. In value, they rank fifth among our 



