The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-11-05

amount of preparation. Fertilize ana i seed this exactly as the rest or .nt
 field. Observe the difference at harves'
 time if there is any. There IS put ,,I, lai,
 prove the wisdom of thorough prepar.
 ation even for such crops as whea' | and oats. When the disc has been used untii l the surface Is well cut up ana puI- verized it may pay to use a sooo spihe
 toothed or smoothing harrow 10 put 2
 nice finish on the job. work spent in
 will result in adding bushels Of grain
 to the yield in the spring. This woIk will not be without It's rich reward :. | When the surface is well dfsced ana | then smoothed we are ready TOT the l seed.
 | Southern grown oats will give surer and more satisfactory yield than those from the north or west. Of the varieties usually offered by seedsmen n there are none superior to the Appler and Red Rust Proof They are the surest croppers and the best ana most satisfactory yielders for the south AL lantic and Gulf Coast States How ever. even though it Is claimed Of these varieties that they are proof against rust and fungus diseases in general it will be wise to render immunity doubly sure by treating the seed be- fore planting. There are several treatments any one of which Will give good results.
 Directions for Fighting smut.
 The following are simple and satis- factory methods of fighting smut ana other fungus diseases:
 l. Hot Water-Place seed grain in a bag or other receptacle which will admit water readily and dip or i'm merse for a period of ten minutes In water at temperature of 133 degrees Fahrenheit. then cool quickly by i'm mersing in cold water. Dry the seed then by spreading on the floor for few hours. or until dry enough to ad- init of sowing in usual manner.
 2. Bluestone Treatment-Dissolve one pound of bluestone Cooper sul- phate) in five gallons of water. Place seed in a bag as for hot water treat ment and immerse in the bluestone so- lution. Allow grain to stand in bags ten minutes to drain and dry; then finish by spreading as in the first treat ment.
 3. Formalin Treatment-Immerset the seed for thirty minutes in a solution of one pound of formalin GAO per cent. solution of formaldehyde) to fifty gal Ions of water.
 In any of the above treatments 1t is desirable to first stir the seed in a tub of cold water and thereby separate loose hulls or smut or other foreign materials. After treatment the drying may be hastened by frequent stirring or by sprinkling with dry ashes or slaked lime, but this is not an essen- tial part of the treatment.
 These treatments apply to other small grains and seed as readily as to oats. For fuller consideration of thi, subject read Cereals in America" pages 97 and 9S also 306 and 3o7
 There is only one best way to plant oats in the South. That way is known as the open furrow system. Its introduction is due to the efforts of our own State experiment station. In that work the officers of the station have something to be proud of.
 How Best to Plant Oats.
 The method is as follows: Place a six-inch blow or shovel on a Cant" cotton planter. Regulate the feed so that from forty to fifty oat grains will he put out each foot of the row. Reg ulate the blow so it will open a fur row five or six inches wide and from three to four in depth. Into this fur row the oats will drop. The dirt roll ing in from the sides will give the seed all the covering needed. This places the seed down where they get an abundance of moisture to start growth. The plants do not get up above the crest of the ridge between the rows in time to be injured by freezes of winter and early spring As the soil freezes and thaws during win ter loose particles of earth crumbling from the furrow sides roll down on the plants and thus their roots ar kept well covered and loss from freez ing is prevented or reduced to mini mum.
 In the open furrow system the rows can be placed from sixteen inches to two feet apart. The best and most economic distance is about twenty inches. The strongest objection we have heard SO far is that it takes con- siderable time to plant anything like n liberal acreage in this manner. This objection is more imaginary than real, as one man and good quick mule should get over three to four acres per day of ten hours when the rows are placed twenty inches apart
 When the crop is sown broadcast at least two and half to three bushels of seed are required to give anything like T good stand. If they are nut in with an ordinary grain drill not less than two bushels should be sown to the acre While fully one half bushel less per acre will suffice for the open furrow seeding. By this system oats becomes one of our surest and most profitah hlc crops.
 Let us see something now about planting oats on corn or cotton land Soil conditions on these lands are usu- ally not so favorable to good crops. Prepa ration and fertilization Is apt to be somewhat against the small grain crop rather than in favor of it. How ever this should not deter the farnnar from the effort If 1t Is corn land quite wccdy and grassy 1t should he lrst broken with two-horse blow to cover up all grass. weeds and corn stalks. After which the harrows and drags should be used to give good even. fine and smooth surface upon which to work, An application of fer tliizer may be made broadcast. Tho seed should then be put in the open furrow just as described above for the rca stuhhlc idnd.
 We have Just seen a good crop of oats in the open furrow made on cot- ton land simply by keeping the culti | Vator running little later than usual | in the cotton field, thereby keeping grass and weeds down J.ata jp co~