12 SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



Turf oats are suitable for sowing with hairj' vetch when both 

 vetch and oats are to be threshed for seed. On rich land, the 

 two plants ripen together, and usually enough seed of both are 

 shattered in harvesting to reseed the land the next fall. On 

 poor and medium land Turf oats grow off too slowly to be ready 

 to cut for hay when hairy vetch is in the best condition for hay 

 making. Therefore, for purposes of making hay it is usually 

 better to sow vetch with Red Rust-proof oats than with Turf 

 oats. 



The weight of straw is usuaU3' about double that of grain. 



13. Improvement of varieties. — Much less work has 

 been done in improving the oat by selection and breeding 

 than in cotton, corn, and wheat. Breeding experiments 

 at the Alabama Experiment Station with the Red Rust- 

 proof variety have shown clearly that most samples of seed 

 of this variety are badly mixed ; that even in apparently 

 uniform samples there are numerous strains or elementary 

 species ; and that careful selection of individual plants 

 may result in modifying the j'ield, the time of maturity, 

 and other qualities. 



Desirable improvements in the Red Rust-proof variety 

 are: (1) increased yield ; (2) greater uniformity ; (3) elimi- 

 nation of the beards and of the black grains ; and (4) in- 

 creased resistance to rust. 



Desirable improvements in the Burt oats are: (1) larger 

 yields ; (2) increased uniformity ; (3) elimination of the 

 tendency to shatter; (4) greater plumpness of grain; 

 and (5) adaptation of this variety to fall so\^ing, by selec- 

 tion of plants that withstand the cold of winter. 



For sowing in the fall, preference should be given to 

 seed from a strain which has been repeatedly so^vn at this 

 season. 



