The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-22

Growing oats is one OF the most
profitable methods of general grain
farming, says the Tri-State Farmer.
The crop is always saleable and often
commands high prices. Seed may be
sown in the spring and a fall crop of
turnips or potatoes taken from the
same land. The crop has become so
generally recognized as a money max
er that one variety has justly been
named the mortgage litter. The first
forty bushels will generally pay for
the seed, land rental harvesting and
threshing, and the remainder coming
from the machine be counted as profit
Many farmers report yields ranging
from eighty bushels to $50 bushels
per acre. This at 80 cents is a fair
crop.
Oats do we'll on all kinds of soil
from the thin clay land to the marshy
fields of reclaimed swamps. OF course
the plant does better on a rich mel
low loam, which seems to be the ideal
soil. The field will always show
wherein the proper plant foods are
lacking, and the yield will be propor-
tiOnate to the presence of potash,
phosphoric acid and nitrogen in the
SOtiE Il lnGSG dIG IlOA III Nn6
land they must be supplied by the
application of fertilizers. A perfect oat
fertilizer should contain at least per
cent. nitrogen. This should be applied
to the soil at the rate of 600 to 800
pounds per acre, and we'll worked in.
Another good mixture would be about
300 pounds of ground bone and 100
pounds of muriate of potash per acre.
The fertilizer should be mixed with
ha hot Ill rrrsl1
afford an opportunity for the fertilizer
to become dissolved and disseminated.
Fall planting is often advisable at
the South, as the crop may be pas
tured to a limited extent during the
winter In the Central and Western
states spring is almost universally the
preferred time for sowing. The land
will always give better returns if pre-
pared thoroughly by plowing and pull
verizing some time before the planting
season. The quantity of seed required
for an acre varies from one to two
bushels or thirty-two pounds each.
That sown in the fall will often stool
out and may be planted thinner than
in the spring. AS a general rule it is
well to SOW enough, so that some seed
may be lost and a good stand Sc
cured.
The loose and stinkng smuts are the
worst enemies of the oat crop. and it
is estimated that they cost the grain
farmers of the United States at least
$lS,0O0,000 every year in the loss of
what would otherwise be good grain.
The Department of Agriculture has
been making extensive Investigations
into the cause of and cure for smuts.
1t is generally conceded that smut
comes from spores that become at
tached to the seed before planting. In
that case the seed should be treated
to something that will kill the spores.
Seed dipped in water having a tenn
perature of 1872 degrees, and left there
for ten minutes, will be free of smut
Another formula consists in soaking
the seed for two hours in a solution
made by dissolving or making one
pound of formalin in fifty gallons of
water.
Seed treated to any process for kill
ing the smut should be well dried be-
fore sowing. This can be done by
spreading lightly on a floor or wagon
cover and occasionally shoveling over
AS a general rule the seedsmen throw
away smutty seed or treat that which
may be supposed to contain any fun
gus or other diseases. 1t is always
better to get good seed from reliable
growers even though the price may be
higher. Seed changed from one alti-
tude to another is generally free from
local fungus and diseases and this Is
a course that farmers should pursue
Freight rates are low and seed may
be shipped from the North to the
South, or from the South to the North
for a little money. The plan of ex-
changing should be discouraged
There are several good varieties of
oats that may be sown with profit
in almost any grain-growing section.
The mortgage litter is an old variety,
having good, stiff straw. and weighing
out fifty pounds to the bushel, The
Michigan Wonder is said to have
yielded III bushels to the acre. A new
variety known as the English Won
der, produced at the rate of 276 bush
els to the acre in Pennsylvania in
1901. An Illinois farmer reports get
ting 234 bushels an acre from this
variety last year. Other varieties are
said to be equally as good. Seedsmen
are always ready to tell about them.
There is money in oats and every