FIELD CROPS 479 



Storing the Grain. Oats, like other grains, should be stored 

 in bins that are protected from the weather and well set up from 

 the ground, so that the grain will not absorb moisture. The grain 

 should be dry when it is put in the bin and should be kept dry, as 

 otherwise there is considerable danger that it will become musty 

 and discolored. Mustiness not only lowers the feeding value of 

 oats, but may make them dangerous to the health of the animals. 

 It is important that the bins be so constructed that they may be 

 kept free from vermin and so that the grain can be easily handled. 

 Placing the bin as near as possible to where the oats are to be used 

 is desirable. In sections where grain weevils and other insects 

 seriously affect stored grain, the building of tight bins which can 

 be fumigated is sometimes necessary. 



Yields. In the United States the highest yields of oats are 

 harvested in the North Pacific and Rocky Mountain regions where 

 the crop is irrigated or the rainfall is heavy. Under irrigation the 

 production of 100 to 125 bushels to the acre is not uncommon, while 

 yields of 150 to 175 bushels are sometimes reported. 



In several of the states where irrigation is practiced the average 

 yield is more than 40 bushels to the acre. In comparison with the 

 average yield of the United States of about 30 bushels to the 

 acre, the average yield of oats in Germany is about 50 bushels, in 

 the United Kingdom 45 bushels, in France 28 bushels, and in 

 Russia 20 bushels. The cool, moist climate of Germany and of 

 the United Kingdom is particularly well adapted to the production 

 of high yields of oats, which are further increased by the good 

 methods of cultivation practiced. 



VARIETIES FOR DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Varieties of oats may differ in the size, shape, or color of the 

 grain, in the length of time they require from seeding to maturity, in 

 me shape and size of the panicle, in the yield of grain or of straw, and 

 in the time when they may be sown. The grain may be large, 

 medium, or small ; it may be long and slender or short and plump ; 

 the color may be white, yellow, black, gray, or brownish-red. The 

 difference in the time necessary to reach maturity for different 

 varieties at any given place is from fifteen to twenty-five days; all 

 varieties mature more quickly in the central portion of the United 

 States than in the northern part. In the southern and central por- 

 tions of the country the earliest varieties may mature in eighty-five 

 to ninety days ; in the cooler climate of the north the later varieties 

 may require one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and forty 

 days. Most of the varieties grown in the United States are adapted 

 to spring seeding, but a few, like Winter Turf, are sown in the fall 

 in the Southern States, while others, like Red Rustproof, may be 

 sown either in the fall or the spring. 



The number of varieties of oats grown in the United States 

 is very large, though a number well adapted to the conditions in 

 any particular section is comparatively small. Several hundred 

 varietal names are to be found in the catalogues of American seeds- 

 men, but in many instances different names are applied to the same 



