OATS 95 



crop raised on your father's farm compare with the per- 

 centages for the entire school district? 



4. What was the yield of oats per acre on your father's 

 farm this year? What is the yield of corn? Learn the 

 market price of each grain, and figure the value per acre 

 for each. Now ask your father to help you determine the 

 cost of raising and harvesting an acre of each crop. Which 

 is the more profitable crop, and by how much to the 

 acre? 



5. Which of the two types of oats is raised on your 

 father's farm? What variety? 



6. Make a collection of five or more different varieties 

 of oats, study the kernels, and the entire plant if possible, 

 and learn to identify quickly the chief varieties grown in 

 your region. 



3. Raising the Crop 



Oats are usually planted with less care than any other 

 crop. Where they follow corn in the rotation of crops, 

 they are often sown broadcast on the corn land without 

 previous cultivation or preparation of the ground. The 

 field is then either disked or gone over with a cultivator 

 and harrowed. This is a careless method of farming, and 

 undoubtedly results in a diminished yield. 



Preparing the seed bed. When oats are sown after 

 corn the seed bed should be prepared by plowing or two 

 thorough diskings before seeding. The oats may then be 

 covered by harrowing. The corn stalks should be broken 

 down before disking. This can easily be done by means 

 of a heavy pole dragged broadside across the rows when 

 the ground is frozen. A still better method is to cut the 

 stalks with a corn cutter. If the growth of stalks and weeds 

 is especially heavy on the field, it is best to rake and burn 

 the rubbish to get it out of the way of cultivation. 



It sometimes may not be necessary to plow the ground 

 for oats following a well cultivated crop. Especially is this 

 true if the plowing can not be done in the fall. One of the 



