THE SMALL GRAINS 219 



No matter which type is used, the oats are certain to be 

 injured if they are subjected to many soaking or beating 

 rains. To avoid the danger of this injury, many good 

 farmers make it a practice to stack their grain as soon as 

 it has ripened and dried out properly in the shock, unless 

 it is to be threshed very soon. The advantages of this 

 practice, provided the stacking is well done, are : 



(1) It prevents loss due to injury in the shock, thus 

 yielding grain of better quality than would otherwise be 

 obtained. 



(2) It prevents heating and sweating in the bin after 

 threshing. 



(3) Less labor is required at threshing time. 



(4) The straw is Igf^i, in a convenient place and is 

 usually of a superior^uaKty'. 



152. The Uses of Oats. — Oats are used largely as a 

 feed for horses and to a limited extent for cattle and 

 sheep. They are not considered a desirable feed for 

 hogs, other than brood sows, on account of their coarse 

 hulls. 



Oat hay is an excellent forage and is used extensively 

 in the southern and Pacific states. It is cared for just 

 as is any other crop of hay, but if handled too much, 

 both leaves and grain are lost by shattering. 



Oats are sometimes sown with field peas or with rape. 

 In the first case, the mixture of oats and peas makes 

 excellent ,bay, while in the latter case,- the rape is used 

 for pasture after the oats are harvested. 



163. Oatmeal. — Oats, freed from their hulls and rolled, 

 make the most nutritious cereal food we have, though 

 oatmeal was not used as human food until machinery was 

 perfected for removing the hulls. 



