198 DRY LAND FARMING 



The place for the oat crop in dry areas is important, 

 but less so relatively than in humid areas. This arises 

 from the somewhat greater difficulty found in growing 

 it. It is more easily injured by frost in the spring than 

 certain other cereals, hence it cannot be sown safely 

 quite so early, which hinders it from making use of the 

 moisture in the soil at so early a period. Moreover, the 

 oat crop calls for relatively more water to grow it than 

 these, hence the adaptation of the oat crop for being 

 grown over wide areas of the dry country is not so 

 complete as that of some various other cereals. In some 

 areas the winter oat may be grown where the spring- 

 varieties would not succeed. Especially is this true 

 southward, where the bulk of the precipitation comes 

 in the late autumn and winter months. As a rule, the 

 varieties that usually prove the most satisfactory are 

 those which call for a relatively short period in which 

 to grow and which mature relatively early. 



Speltz is a hardy and rugged grain. Its distribution 

 in the dry belt will fully equal that of rye, and will 

 probably exceed that of wheat. It has much power to 

 endure cold when the plants are young, hence it may 

 be sown early as early, as a rule, as it will be proper 

 to work the soil. It would also seem safe to say that 

 it will be less injured by dry and hot conditions than 

 most other grains. When its properties come to be 

 better understood than at present, the crop will be more 

 extensively grown than has been the case previously in 

 the semi-arid area. The grain furnishes good food for 

 all classes of domestic animals kept upon the farm, when 

 properly fed to them. It is especially valuable in fur- 

 nishing food for horses. This crop will probably prove 

 more satisfactory southward in the dry area than other 

 cereals, because of its ability to stand up under both 

 heat and drought. 



