26 
CoivORADo Experiment Station 
Proper surface irrigation will return heavier yields than sub¬ 
irrigation, because of the better aeration of the soil and increased 
root room which this method will give. 
Harvesting .—Occasionally a wheat crop will be caught by 
early frosts so as to render it unfit for milling purposes. Under 
such conditions it is sometimes advisable to harvest for hay. 
Wheat cut in the soft dough stage and cured makes an excellent 
quality of very palatable, nutritious hay. When not caught by 
frosts wheat should be cut in the yellow ripe stage. Stacking is 
advisable unless thrashing out of the shock can be done within one 
or two weeks of harvest. 
After the wheat is removed there will usually spring up many 
weeds, especially on the older lands. To prevent the seeding of 
these weeds and to preserve moisture and fertility it is well to disk 
the stubble and plow. 
OATS. 
r 
The cool climate of the Valley is especially favorable to oat 
production where soils have been kept up in proper fertility. The 
straw, after the grain is thrashed, makes very good feed, almost as 
good, in fact, as a great deal of hay grown in lower altitudes. 
The preparation of land for oats is much the same as for 
wheat. Oats should be seeded a little later in the spring than wheat 
as it is more liable to injury from spring frosts. It is safe to seed 
in April and even as late as early May if seasonable conditions war¬ 
rant. The order of planting with most of these crops should be 
barley, wheat, emmer, oats, as oats will stand the least frost of 
any of the crops. 
What has been said in regard to irrigation for wheat will also 
apply for oats. 
Varieties .—The two varieties that give the greatest promise 
for the Valley are the Colorado Number 37 and the Kherson. Colo¬ 
rado Number 37 is a Swedish type. The original selection from 
which it was originated was made by the Colorado Experiment 
Station in the San Luis Valley and the variety is consequently well 
adapted for Valley conditions. Kherson is the earliest maturing 
variety grown in Colorado. It has given very good results and 
heavy yields of grain. The production of straw, however, is very 
much less than in the case of Colorado Number 37, but either of 
these varieties is good. 
Growers should follow community growing to a considerable 
extent—that is, a neighborhood should grow either one or the 
other of these varieties in order not to have mixed seed or mixed 
grain. The Colorado Number 37 will probably do best on the 
