402 CEREALS. 



acre. And, right here, our Tennessee farmers differ so 

 widely from the Northern farmer that it is difficult to de- 

 termine a just means of observance. In all the Northern 

 States from three to five bushels are sown to the acre, while 

 in Tennessee two bushels and a half is the limit of quantity. 

 The man in Tennessee who sows three bushels is considered 

 extravagant. The agent of the State farm in Massachu- 

 setts laid off four lots, consisting of one and a half acres 

 each, to establish this fact of quantity of seed per acre. All 

 lots were sown broadcast early in April, equivalent to our 

 February. No. 1 received five bushels per acre; No. 2 had 

 four bushels per acre; No. 3 had three bushels per acre, and 

 No. 4 had two bushels per acre. They were manured with 

 100 pounds of plaster per acre, spread broadcast, except a 

 strip of one acre running across all the lots, which received 

 no plaster. The oats were cut in three months and threshed 

 about two months afterwards. No. 1 yielded 42 bushels: 

 No. 2, 35 bushels; No. 3, 40 bushels, and No. 4, 26J 

 bushels. The acre that got no plaster yielded 20 J bushels. 

 The crop was small, the land being unfavorable for oats, 

 and the season bad. Although the experiment was unsat- 

 isfactory, yet it will be seen that the lot sown with three 

 bushels did nearly as well as that sown with five; while that 

 receiving two bushels fell off very considerably. But in 

 our quick, hearty soil, three bushels will probably be the 

 best measure to sow, though a less quantity will often make 

 a heavy yield, as many stalks often come from one seed. 

 J. B. McEwen, Esq., of Williamson county, brought in one 

 stool of oats this spring, (1878), that had from one single 

 seed seventy-seven separate stems. This, of course, is un- 

 usual, but it is no uncommon thing to see from fifteen to 

 twenty culms from one seed. 



In the colder climates of the North, oats will mature 

 much earlier than in Tennessee. This is due to the short 

 summers, there vegetation seeming to be aware of the 

 necessity of escaping the destructive effects of frost. Oats 



