RAPE 



RAPE 



.531 



the last cultivation is sometimes used as a seed-bed, 

 and where the rainfall is sufficiently heavy and the 

 corn not too thick, good crops may be secured. 

 However, the season is an exceptional one in which 

 this method will meet with success, as the corn crop 

 usually makes use of all the sunlight and moisture 

 that are available. 



Another method which has proved very success- 

 ful in some sections is to sow rape with oats. The 

 rape in this case should be sown one to two weeks 

 later than the oats, to give the best results. If the 

 rape is sown at the same time, it is likely to grow 

 as rapidly as the oats, causing great inconvenience 

 in cutting the grain and sometimes producing 

 moldy bundles. Because of the great succulence 

 of the leaves, they are slow in drying. When the 

 rape seed is sown a week later than the oats, it can 

 be harrowed in with a light smoothing harrow 

 without much damage to the oats. The oats thus 

 get well along before the rape starts and at harvest 

 time very few of the rape leaves get into the 

 bundles and no damage results. After the grain is 

 cut the rape comes on rapidly, and in the course of 

 three or four weeks sheep may be turned on it. 



Varieties. — There are several varieties of rape, 

 some of which make good forage and others of 

 which do not, so that in ordering rape seed it is 

 necessary to designate the kind. Experiments at 

 various experiment stations, notably at Ottawa 

 (Canada), Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, have 

 demonstrated the Dwarf Essex rape to be the best 

 variety for forage purposes. If seed-growing for 

 purposes of oil production is contemplated, then 

 seed of some annual variety should be sown. 



Seed. — The rate at which the seed is to be sown 

 depends on the seed, the soil and the method of 

 sowing. The seed should be well developed and 

 give a strong and vigorous germination. Before 

 ordering the bulk of seed for sow.ing, it is well to 

 request one or more dealers to send samples of 

 seed. These can then be examined to see whether 

 there are any weed seeds or other impurities in the 

 seed, and germination tests can be made. [See 

 article on Seed-testing, page 141.] Rape seed that 

 will not give a germination test of over 90 per 

 cent should not be purchased. The seed weighs 

 sixty pounds to the bushel and can be purchased 

 in quantities for about five cents a pound. 



Seeding. — Rape seed is sown in drills or broad- 

 casted. When broadcasted, the seed should be sown 

 at the rate of three to four pounds to the acre, de- 

 pending on the physical condition and fertility of 

 the land. It may be sown to advantage with a grain 

 drill, set to sow the proper amount, or with a hand- 

 seeder if the field is not too large. 



When sown in drills, rape should be seeded at 

 the rate of two or three pounds to the acre, and 

 the drills should be thirty inches apart. The rape 

 can then be cultivated and its growth will be more 

 rapid. It should be cultivated often enough to keep 

 down the weeds, and after every rain to conserve 

 the soil moisture. The seed should be sown with a 

 hand drill of some kind, or it may be sown with a 

 grain drill by stopping the intervening holes in 

 some way and leaving open those which are the 



proper distances apart. This is the best method of 

 sowing, as when stock is turned on the rape tko 

 tendency is to keep between the rows and much 

 less of the rape is trampled on and wasted. The 

 plants remain upright until nothing but the stem is 

 left, and if the stock is then removed for a time a 

 second growth of leaves appears and often a third 

 growth. This is seldom the case when the rape is 

 broadcasted, as the plants are injured by trampling. 



If the land is exceedingly rich, the seed can be 

 sown more heavily than on soils of a poor grade, 

 and this point must be considered in sowing. It is 

 well not to sow the seed too thin in any case, as 

 the forage is likely to be coarse and not so pala- 

 table. If rape is to be raised on very low ground, 

 the seed should be sown on raised ridges, leaving 

 opportunity between for good surface drainage. 

 On ordinary soils this has been found to be un- 

 necessary. 



Place in the rotation. — Rape can be used almost 

 anywhere in a rotation of crops, taking the place 

 of the cultivated crop, such as corn, roots or pota- 

 toes. When grown by itself in this way the land 

 should be free from weeds if the seed is broad- 

 casted. If sown in drills, the land may be kept 

 clean by cultivation. Rape may also be used, when 

 sown broadcast, as a nurse crop for clover, for 

 when the rape leaves are eaten off the clover 

 begins to shoot up. Many good catches of clover 

 have been secured in this way. 



Harvesting and handling. 



Owing to its great succulence it is impossible to 

 cure the forage or biennial rape satisfactorily, and 

 if it is in exceptional cases well cured it is not 

 palatable and animals as a rule refuse to eat it. 

 As a result, the forage rape is almost never cut for 

 hay or for the silo, but is pastured or cut for 

 soiling. 



When rape is grown for seed it may either be 

 cut with knives or be pulled. In either case it must 

 be allowed to cure until thoroughly dry, after 

 which it may be piled up in a barn or stack and 

 threshed, at the convenience of the grower. If 

 stacked outside, care should be taken to handle 

 while damp enough to prevent shelling, and the 

 stack should be covered with some rain-proof sub- 

 stance, such as marsh hay or boards. 



Storage of seed. — ^Af ter threshing, the seed should 

 be stored in not too great bulk. Owing to the high 

 oil content of the rape seeds they are liable to be- 

 come rancid and to heat to an extent to spoil the 

 germinating power. 



The storage of the seed after cleaning is very 

 important. The seed should be- put in piles, not 

 over three inches deep unless perfectly dry. When 

 in a perfectly dry condition, the seed may be piled 

 a foot deep in summer, and two feet deep in winter, 

 but must be stirred with a shovel frequently to 

 drive oif the moisture which is absorbed in damp 

 weather. When seed is to be dried rapidly, it should 

 be turned twice a day. In all cases the drying bins 

 should be subjected to a good circulation of air. 



Cleaning the seed. — Before rape seed can be used 

 for oil manufacture it must be thoroughly cleaned 



