The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-09-12
INCREASE THE YIELD.
By Sowing Oats in Open Burrows.

By Sowing Oats in Open Burrows. R. J. Bedding in Atlanta Constitution.
 From the nun Der of letters received asking for detailed Information in regard to sowing fall oats, and particularly about sowing in "open furrows," am satisfied that a considerable degree of interest has been aroused in the subject of oat cul- ture, in general. and the ''open furrow' system in particular. It will not be amiss, therefore, to repeat what has al- ready more than once been published on the subject. To this end I cannot do a better service than to quote from Bulle- tin No A. prepared by myself and pub lished by the Georgia experiment 'station in September, 1899, as follows:
 "On the station farm we have found, even when the drills were laid one and a half or two feet apart using a common scooter blow, or better. a single row fertilizer and seed distributor-that oats so sown always produce larger yield than when sown broadcast and narrowed in. But a much more important discov- cry is the fact that when the seed are sown in open furrows and barely cover ed, leaving the furrows open or thrilled, the oat plants are very much less liable to be killed by a severe freeze. The idea was conceived several years ago, and annually since we have sown the larger portion of the fall sown oats in furrows IS to A inches apart. latterly using Can't fertilizer distributor. This sows but one row at a time, has no covering attachment, but simply opens small furrow and sows the seed. the single wheel following in the furrow and bare ly covering the seed. The result Is the plants come up one ana a half to two inches below the general surface. and the crown of each plant Is formed and established say two to two and half inches below the general surface. The winter rains, light freezes and thaws gradually, but only partly. fill in the open furrow; and the more vital and sensitive parts of the plants are left at the original depth below the reach of even very se- were freezes.
 ''The long anticipated freeze at last came and our theory was put to a cru cial test. On Feb. 8, 1899, the thermome- ter sank to 15 degrees, followed on suc- cessive mornings by readings Of l9 and IT degrees. On the 12th 1t was down to Il degrees and on the morning Of the l3th if stood at degrees below zero-the cold est day since Feb. 8, 1885. The result was that fall sown oats and January soWn oats were pretty generally destroyed everywhere But our open furrow drilled oats, excepting two acres. stood the test remarkably well, and although seriousy injured, made 40 bushels per acre.
 Tn order to make sure of the correct ness of the preconceived theory that the open furrows would secure the oats from fatal freezing, on two 1-acre sections that were SOW min open furrows running east and west. on every alternate tenth-acre the furrows were filled up flush by run ming over them a clod-crusher and smoother. The result was that the oats on these alternate tenths were almost en- tirely destroyed, not one plant in ten surviving the severe freeze. and the plots were resown in the spring with Burt oats. But the other tenths, of which the furrows were left open. produced 40 bushels per acre or more than half of the expected full crop.
 It is well to add that the open furrow method of sowing oats has been contin- ually practIced since 1899 and the correct ness of the theory upon which it is bas- ed has been more than once confirmed Very many farmers throughout the South, and as far west as Arkansas and Texas. have been led 10 try the plan. and the results secured by many of these have