Small Grains 149 



71. Climate and soils for oats. A cool, moist climate is 

 most desirable for oats. In the United States they make their 

 best yields in the northern part of the country. However, 

 they are grown successfully in the South, although the yield 

 and bushel weight is somewhat less than in the North. Only 

 rust-proof varieties should be planted in the South. 



Loam and clay soils that are not too heavy usually produce 

 better crops than sandy loams, because of their greater water- 

 holding capacity, but sandy soils containing abundant plant- 

 food and having fairly stiff subsoils can be made to produce 

 good oats. Heavy soils are too cold for oats and do not pro- 

 duce good crops. Because of their tendency to lodge, oats 

 should not be grown on exceedingly rich soil. 



72. Preparing the ground for oats. Less preparation is 

 given to the ground for oats than for any of the other cereals. 

 In the corn-belt states this is due to the desire of the farmers 

 to get the crops planted early. Oats, being hardy, seem to 

 stand this treatment better than other cereals. Often the 

 ground receives no preparation before the oats are planted. 

 Some farmers sow the oats broadcast and cover them by means 

 of a disk. Others use a disk drill to plant the seeds. Still 

 others go over the ground with a disk or harrow and level it 

 before planting the grain. At times the land is plowed and 

 harrowed before the seed is sown. The best method to follow 

 varies with conditions. If the ground is very wee'dy, plowing 

 or disking may be profitable ; in other cases the difference in 

 yield may not pay for the extra cost of preparation. Expe- 

 rience in a particular region is the best guide, and often it will 

 pay farmers to experiment on their own fields to find out which 

 method seems to give the greatest net profits. In the South 

 good preparation of the seed-bed is profitable ; plowing and 

 disking the land to make the soil of good tilth before the seed- 

 ing has given good results. 



73. Planting the seed. Oats are often broadcasted and 

 covered by means of a disk or a spike-tooth harrow, but better 



