Green Forage Crops 265 



potash to the acre would be a sufficiently liberal dressing 

 for the crop on good soils, since the plant possesses good 

 foraging powers, though it is not so desirable a forage 

 crop for northern climates as the winter rye. The ni- 

 trogen, in any case, should be in quickly available forms. 



Oats. 



Oats and millet are also suitable crops for forage pur- 

 poses, and are largely grown; the first, because it is 

 adapted for cool, moist weather, and makes a rapid early 

 growth, and the second, because adapted for late spring 

 seeding and for summer conditions. 



The oat crop for forage purposes is even more generally 

 benefited by manuring than when grown for the grain, 

 and the constituents particularly useful are nitrogen and 

 phosphoric acid, though on sandy soils, and on those of 

 medium fertility and not previously fertilized with potash, 

 this element should also be added. 



A good dressing, keeping in mind the value of the 

 possible increased yield, may consist of 12 pounds of 

 nitrogen, 20 of phosphoric acid and 10 of potash, the 

 nitrogen largely in the form of a nitrate and the phos- 

 phoric acid in soluble and available forms. 



The oat crop is peculiar in that shortly after the 

 germination of the seed there usually occurs a period of 

 a week or ten days during which the growth is extremely 

 slow, which experienced farmers call the "pouting" 

 period. While the exact cause of this well-known habit 

 is not understood, it is believed to be due in part to the 

 absence of an available plant-food of the right sort early 

 in the season, since liberal applications of nitrates and 

 superphosphates seem to shorten the period of "pouting," 

 if not altogether preventing its occurrence. Its avoid- 



