FIELD CROPS 481 



in all these figures indicates the necessity for increasing the acre 

 yield of oats if the crop is to be grown at a profit. 



WINTER OATS FOR THE SOTJTH. 



Some of the problems in the production of winter oats in the 

 Southern States are quite different from those which must be solved 

 by the grower of spring oats in the northern and central portions of 

 the United States. Not only are the varieties different, but the 

 proper selection of soils and fertilizers and the time and manner 

 of seeding to secure the best results in the production of the crop 

 are quite at variance with the best practices in the sections where 

 spring oats are extensively produced. 



The production of winter oats is more or less practicable 

 throughout the sections usually known as the South Atlantic and 

 South Central States, which, for convenience, will be referred to 

 as the Southern States, although they include some to which that 

 term is not usually applied. 



Value of a Winter Grain Crop in the South. Farm conditions 

 in the South can be improved by the use of a greater variety of 

 crops and of definite systems of crop rotation and by the keeping 

 of a greater number of live stock. A rational crop rotation in the 

 South is one which occupies the land practically the entire year, 

 protecting the soil from washing during the winter by the use of a 

 growing crop, such as crimson clover, vetch, or winter grain. In- 

 creasing the number of live stock requires the production of more 

 grain for feeding. Winter grains combine the two essential fea- 

 tures, grain production and soil cover, in one crop. Within rea- 

 sonable limits they supply a third desirable feature, winter pasture. 

 On the other hand, spring-grain production in the greater portion 

 of the Southern States is far from certain. Winter varieties of 

 wheat and barley have almost entirely replaced the spring types of 

 these grains, so that the only spring-grain crop now generally sown 

 in the Soutn is oats. 



Fall-Sown Compared with Spring-Sown Oats. The advan- 

 tages of fall seeding of oats over spring seeding wherever the winter 

 varieties can be grown are numerous. The yields are usually 

 better, the fall-sown oats mature earlier, the land can usually be 

 prepared in better shape in the fall than in the spring, fall seeding 

 interferes less with other work than does spring seeding, poorer land 

 and less fertilizer can be used for the fall-sown crop, and the fall- 

 sown crop furnishes a cover for the soil during the winter and pre- 

 vents washing. 



Winter pats almost invariably yield more than spring oats, 

 owing to their earlier maturity, stronger growth, and greater free- 

 dom from disease. If a part of the stand is lost from winterkilling, 

 the giants which are left stool vigorously, so that the stand at har- 

 vest is much better than was apparent in early spring. Fall-sown 

 oats usually grow more vigorously and mature from ten days to 

 two^ weeks earlier than those sown in the spring. This earlier ma- 

 turity often marks the difference between success and failure, as 

 the later maturing grain is more likely to be injured by storms 



