MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 3 



There is practically no danger of well matured oat seed 

 rotting in the ground unless water stands over it for some time. 

 Oat plants will stand quite severe freezing without injury. 

 There is practically no danger of planting too early, provided 

 the soil is dry enough to work. 



Fertilizer. 



Stable manure should be applied to the land in the fall before 

 it is plowed. It should be evenly distributed over the ground- 

 Ordinarily the Station has not had any manure to apply to its 

 oat land. 



In place of this we have used 500 lbs. per acre of a 4-8-7 

 commercial fertilizer. Ordinarily we have distributed this 

 broadcast before harrowing the land in the spring. Some labor 

 can be saved if the fertilizer is distributed in the drill. The 

 results are as satisfactory one way as the other. Under the 

 present conditions brought about by the war, potash will have 

 to be omitted in part, if not entirely. In fact at the price that 

 will have to be paid for potash it is doubtful if it can be profit- 

 ably used on any farm crops in 1916. 



Many farmers do not plan to fertilize their grain crops. In 

 Aroostook, grain usually follows potatoes. It has been the cus- 

 tom of many farmers there to use a ton or more of fertilizer to- 

 the acre. Under such conditions it is probably not necessary 

 to add fertilizer to the grain crop. However, the Station: 

 believes that much more satisfactory results are obtained by 

 using 1500 pounds of a high grade fertilizer to the potato* 

 crop and 500 pounds to the following grain crop. The total 

 outlay for fertilizer is the same and the results more satisfac- 

 tory. 



For the southern and central part of the State where oats 

 do not always follow potatoes we have only to say that a satis- 

 factory grain crop cannot be grown without sufficient plant 

 food. Much of the soil in Maine is so deficient in available 

 plant food that it must be added in some way. 



At the price of oats in the eastern market the increase in 

 yield and quality of the grain is ordinarily sufficient to more 

 than cover the cost of 500 pounds of high grade fertilizer. 



