Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1902-01-10
Oats For Hays

an easy and profitable crop; Dut TO pe
a success, they should be planted IN
the fall. The quality Of the soil must
determine largely the time Of plant
ing. We want to get the oats we'll
started; but we do not want too large
a growth before real cold weather
sets in; for if they have begun to run
up, they are more liable to be killed
back badly. On the other hand II
the cold comes before they are firmly
established, the freezing and thaWing
is likely to throw the plants out OF the
ground, especially On clay land. for
such land expands and contracts very
much more than loamy or sandy soil
| under the action Of cold and moisture.
The Georgia Experiment Station has
adopted q system Of drilling their cat
i seed in the bottom Of small burrows,
which places the bud Of the oats below
the general surface. thus making the
| soil give it partial protection. buC
their method of planting only two rows
| Mt q time Is rather laborious, and until
| some better tool has been found fof
| uniting in the seed than the drill they
use. the practice will not be generally
adopted. If the oats are planted at the
right time the danger from winter Kill
inc Is not great, and only in very
exceptionally cold time will your STAND
br DESTROYED. Also, if the winter graz
ing or Turf Oats are sown instead Oh
the Rust Proof, the chances of success
will be still greater; while if your OBJ
iect is hay, these Turf Oats are de-
cidedly preferable, as the stray is more
tender and stock eat it up clean, where
thew leave q large part of the Still
Rust-Proof straw.
We had one exceptionally fine acre
Of these Turf Oats last spring. IRON
; | which we gathered ten big tWo-horse
wagon loads of excellent hay. Inc
oats stood from four to six feet hlSE
all over the field, and were cut JUS
as the top grains began to reacn th'
dough state, and while the straw wa
-, green. We have been feeding oul
p nine head Of horses and mules Oh thl'
:. hay all summer, with the ADDITION CT
small feed Of corn once q day, AM
they have kept in fine condition. uoih'
n heavy work all the time.
= The land OIL which these best oat
f were grown was a stiff clay loan, an
8 had been manfred the year before
l. the land was in tomatoes at the tim
! we broke it up for oats. Where ian
=, has been we'll broken in the spflh
; we do not usually rebreak for oats
3 Int in this case we had had some veI
hard rains. and the land had run Il
n rether and become hard, making i
y physical condition so poor that Il
u Moving seemed necessary. 1t WI
i rather dry at the time. and the ial
- broke I'D lumpy, necessitating consl
IA cradle work to make it fine; put V
worked it down, reploWed' ana Worh'
&c it down again before sowing two DuS
n els of seed to the acre.
If land is broken deeply for any WI
ter grain crop, great care must
taken to work it down until the see
e. he'd is fine and firm, otherwise I
81 Grain roots cannot get good holu a
~ will be more liable to suffer from
an cold. The unusual success Oh thls az
m of oats was undoubtedly due to I
tai extra work put On the seed-Ded,
cd, we had other cats on equally 80
me land planted at the same time Wh'
NC yield was not much over half as lar
-. Oats are strong feeders ana VI
oif large users of potash and nitrogen;
nc ANALYSIS of oats in bloom about
ere time they are cut for hay, show III
TO contain ammonia, 1.19 per Gel
is phosphoric acid, CT per cent, Q
potash, 254 per cent. If your land
ve strong and you have good pea-V
i,;s stubble to SOW your oats On, your
will probably contain suTlciency
ammonia; il 1t does not, 1t Will
shown by the oats themselves by Il
vas light green or yellowish appearai
lad and this can be corrected in the spr
by an application Of about l00 pou
DIV, of nitrate Of soda to the acre.
IL main thing to concern ourselves aD
the man ''i,-o oe,,,1,o,.;c ocid and notf
- now Is the pnOSpuoIlc uClu "iA" Pt
.a,- Now, if we wish to obtain the
Ter results, the proportions OF these
gradients should vary according
ory the texture Of our soil; Of course,
tie iron-clad rules can be laid down,
4 general experience has shown US
light, sandy soils are more dehc
in potash than red clay soils; Wo
>.o therefore, recommend for light sol
Dc fertilizer Analysing ten per cent. p
r,d Dboric acid, and ten per cent. pot
ayt, made by combining 1000 pounds
the phosphate with 400 pounds muriat
our potash to make ton; for heavy
ing soils o fertilizer Analysing about tW
per cent. phosphoric acid and five
i'''' cent. potash, made by combining
nv pounds acid phosphate with 200 POI
tcen muriate of potash. This fertii
applied at the rate Of 300 Oh 400 POI
to the acre should insure line
You can apply it broadcast after
half, oats are plowed or worked in; or
the Ter still, harrow it in about two w
n.. before plantlng,-Professor &. j.
IL Ram, Battle Hill, Ca. 80
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