PREPARING THE LAND FOR OATS 



187 



most largely grown, they are usually sown on the corn land 

 without plowing. The common practice is to disk the ground 

 thoroughly in the spring, making a mellow seed bed to a^ 

 depth of 3 or 4 inches, fining and smoothing the surface with 

 the spike-tooth harrow. In this way, very good results 

 may be expected at reasonable cost. In some cases, oats 

 are sown broadcast on land that has been neither disked nor 

 plowed, the only preparation given being the disking or 



Fig. 63. A sample of oats as it came from the thrashing machine; weight, 30 

 pounds to the bushel. 



cultivating necessary to cover the seed. This is a cheap 

 but a very slovenly method of farming, which, while it may 

 occasionally produce as good returns as the more thorough 

 preparation, is quite likely to result in reduced yields because 

 it does not put the soil in proper condition for the germination 

 of the seed or the retention of moisture for the growth of the 

 crop. 



