OATS AS GRAIN AND FODDER. 1 9 



and the soil reduced in fertiiity. This combination makes one of 

 the best soiling crops for feed in July and August before corn 

 or Hungarian is mature enough to cut. If the crop is allowed to 

 mature and the two grains are ground together, the result is a 

 most excellent feed for dairy cows and is much used by Canadian 

 farmers. The chief objection to the material for making hay is 

 that it dries rather slowly. The pea vines are like clover in this 

 respect and should be cured in much the same manner, in the 

 windrow or cock. When well cured without too much exposure 

 to moisture and sun it makes a fodder fully equal to our best 

 English hay. In case of bad weather the silo can be resorted to 

 as a means of caring for the crop, but the material should be run 

 through a silage cutter before ensiling, otherwise it is liable to be 

 poorly preserved. In sections of the State where corn cannot 

 be grown on account of frosts, peas and oats make a valuable 

 substitute with which to fill the silo. For composition and diges- 

 tibility of oat and pea silage see pages 21-23. 



The amount of seed to apply depends somewhat on the condi- 

 tion of the! land and whether it is to be seeded to grass. The 

 usual amounts sown are ijH; bushels oats and 1^2 bushels peas to 

 the acre, but several plots were grown on the Station farm with 

 good success on fairly good soil, with a seeding of one bushel 

 oats and two bushels peas to the acre. Three different varieties 

 of peas were used and the yields of cured hay are given below. 



Oat and Canada blue pea hay, 5440 pounds to an acre. 



Oat and Canada white pea hay, 5,408 pounds to an acre. 



Oat and Mummy pea hay, 5,952 pounds to an acre. 



For composition and digestibility see pages 21-23. 



BY-PRODUCTS OF THF OAT. 



In the manufacture of oat products for human food, the kernel 

 of the oat is separated from the hull. Oat hulls are in them- 

 selves, low in food value, being worth but little more than the 

 same weight of oat straw. Their value may be materially 

 greater if broken kernels or small oats are ground in with them. 

 Manufacturers of oat products are putting ground oat hulls on 

 the market in many forms and mixtures, such as oat feed, bat 

 chop, corn and oat feed, chop, etc. The bulk of all these mate- 

 rials is ground oat hulls, with admixtures of oat kernels, ground 



