22 HINTS ON RAISING FARM CROPS 
to cure out. They can be stacked later, or 
left in the shock, but better results will be 
obtained if they are stacked before being 
threshed. 
The insects and diseases that attack the oat 
crop are the same that harm the wheat and 
barley grains. As was said before, there is 
little chance to combat rust successfully, but 
the treatment for smut has already been given. 
Oats are used in rotation the same as bar¬ 
ley, that is, they follow a corn crop, and pre¬ 
cede a grass crop. When the oats are sown, 
it is customary to sow the grass crop at the 
same time, if a legume, as alfalfa and the 
clovers require two years to become fairly 
established. If the oat crop is harvested the 
first of August, for instance, and clover was 
seeded with the oats, then the clover will con¬ 
tinue to make growth after the oats have 
been removed from the land, but should not 
be pastured to stock this year. This gives the 
clover a chance to make sufficient top growth 
to withstand the winter, in order that a good 
crop of clover can be had the following sum¬ 
mer. 
Oats are becoming more and more popular 
as a nurse crop. This is especially true with 
alfalfa. But when this crop is used as a nurse 
crop with alfalfa, it is cut before the oats 
ripen, and used for hay. The reason for this 
operation is the following: if the oats are left 
to ripen, and later cut for grain, during this 
ripening process, they draw heavily on the 
moisture supply of the soil. But this period 
is just the critical time of the young alfalfa’s 
