GROWING GRAIN CROPS IN DRY AREAS 255 



on a rainfall of 15 inches and even on less than that 

 amount, but it is not so easy, nevertheless, to grow good 

 crops of oats with assured certainty in* the semi-arid 

 belt as some of the other small grain crops. This arises, 

 first, from the fact that oats may not be sown quite so 

 safely early in the season as these, and, second, because 

 of the heavier drain on soil moisture which it is claimed 

 is necessary to meet the needs of the crop. . This crop is 





DRY LAND CANADIAN WHITE OATS, FERGUS CO., MONTANA. 

 Courtesy Northern Pacific Railway Co. 



of both spring and winter varieties. The latter of course, 

 can only be grown in the milder latitudes. It is grown 

 both for the grain and to provide hay. 



Soils. The oat crop will grow on a wide range of 

 soils, but it does not succeed well in the semi-arid coun- 

 try on soils that lose moisture readily. Loam soils that 

 are reasonably friable and moist have highest adapata- 



