256 DRY LAND FARMING 



tion for the growth of oats. They will also grow better 

 relatively on soils that are impregnated with considerable 

 quantities of alkali than any of the cereals. Soils natur- 

 ally dry and leachy and low in the elements of fertility 

 are illy adapted to the growth of oats, but they have 

 greater power than wheat to gather plant food under 

 untoward conditions. 



Place in rotation. The oat, crop may be given al- 

 most any place in the rotation, but, of course, not equally 

 well. The most favorable conditions for oats are on 

 summer-fallowed land or on land that has grown a well 

 cared for crop. But where the rainfall is more than 15 

 inches, the crop may come as the second on land thus 

 prepared, as wheat is usually assigned the first place 

 on fallow or cultivated land. It does better, relatively, 

 on sod newly broken than many other crops, but it 

 should not be sown on such land unless it has ample 

 moisture in it to insure germination. Where the rainfall 

 is less than 15 inches, farmers should be slow to sow oats 

 after other grain, unless the previous season has been 

 of a character to store the subsoil with an ample supply 

 of moisture. This crop should, as a rule, be followed by 

 the bare-fallow, or by a cultivated crop, such as corn. 

 Under very dry conditions, oats will not succeed after 

 a grain crop, no matter how the land may be prepared. 



Preparing the soil. When the oat crop is sown on 

 fallow land, or on land that has grown a cultivated crop, 

 the preparation of the land is the same as for wheat. 

 When it is sown on sod land newly broken, the breaking 

 should be done early and should be reasonably deep. A 

 good, fine seed bed should be made, though firm below. 

 The aim should be to have the surface as free as possible 

 from sods, that the harrow may be used on the growing 

 crop, if necessary, without detriment to it. If oats is 

 the second crop on breaking, it may be better to disc 

 the ground autumn and spring rather than plowing it, 



