254 Twenty-First Biennial Ebpobt 



about tlie 28th of Marcli. Some plantings made at the 

 same season in the fall have never done so well. Still 

 it may be a matter of experience with us. We have done 

 most of our planting of grasses and clovers in spring, 

 and perhaps know better how to start them at that time. 



Annual Forage. 



While permanent meadows and pastures are of very- 

 great importance, they must be supplemented in most 

 countries by forage of other sorts. A very large amount 

 of this additional forage comes, as has already been 

 stated, from the grains, while annual grasses, clovers, 

 and many other plants help out when pastures and mead- 

 ows for any reason faU us. In the southwest an indiffer- 

 ent feed is obtained, as you know, from various species 

 of cactus, some spiny, others not. In Kentucky we have 

 some supplementary forage plants of far greater value. 



You doubtless know the old story of the Englishman 

 talking with a Scotchman and remarking, "In England 

 we feed oats to horses, but in Scotland you eat oats 

 yourselves," and to which the Scot replied, "That's why 

 we have such fine men in Scotland and you have such 

 fine horses in England. ' ' In America we feed both our- 

 selves and our horses on oats, which, I suppose, ex- 

 plains why we have both fine men and fine horses. 



Oats is a valuable food, and one of the best of feeds 

 also for stock. The plant does not show the vigor here 

 that it does in some other States, and unless we can, by 

 selection, find varieties better adapted to our conditions, 

 we shall never be able to compete with the oats-growing 

 States of the Northwest. This is a problem to be worked 

 out by some one. The crop is of the very highest value 

 for horses, and the person w^ho will discover, or produce, 

 a variety that will here average large yields of seed of 

 good nutritive value, will greatly benefit the stock rais- 

 ing interests of Kentucky. I am referring to spring 

 oats, because it is my belief that the chances are better 

 to improve and completely adapt a spring variety to our 

 conditions than it would be to produce a winter oats that 

 will invariably withstand our low winter temperatures. 

 Even as far south as Alabama winter oats is sometimes 

 killed by severe cold. The crop is more likely to suffer 



