The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-23
CONDITION OF WINTER cRors

especially to those interested in th' production of forage crops 70 rear the condition and stage of maturity < hardy towards winter, The past win ter was so mild that there was prac fically no winter killing or any k,ns of grain. Even Burt oats sown m ln' towards cold of the grains that " grow, came through the winter wltl scarcely a plant destroyed by heavlnt or by the direct effects of treeztnig a E A special effort was made to ,ascertair the hardness of Burt oats ana to m crease the resistence Of this variet. to winter killing, by planting Tn th' sion and comparing the hardness ol 1 this strain with that of strains which have heretofore been sown in the spring. Manifestly there would DC of Burt oats that would be hardy to wards cold, for this variety even when sown in the spring is the earliest tnai we grow, and by sowing It Tn the iail its maturity can stIll further be hast ened. At this date Burt oats are fully headed and on upland about two and one half feet high. so that we may reasonably expect these fall sown Burt or considerably in advance of Red oats sown at the same time The writer would be glad to have the experience of any reader as to his observation or the relative losses from winter killing of Burt and of Red Rust Proof oats.
 similar experiment with the aim of increasing the ability Of Red Rust Proof oats to withstand our winters has been in progres for four or five year with this variety. The mildness of the past winter prevents our know ing what progress we nave made Tn increasing hardness. but the yields will doubtless give interesting figures. One notable effect of continuously sow ing in the fall spring strain and a fall strain of Red Rust Proof oats IS now apparent in the greater earliness of the spring strain. The question IS whether the breeding of perfectly hardy strain of oats for fall sowing later than in the case of a strain that is sown promiscuously In fall or spring.
 While fall sown Burt oats will be ready to be mown as hay in a few by the tenth of May, we have growing here still earlier grain in beardIess barley. On April fifteenth we mowed mixture of beardiess barley. the Stage or within a few days of ripeness, and crimson clover. which latter plant was just beginning to bloom The mixture promises we'll as complete starchy concentrated food and the clo- cer affording the richest of hay.
 The earliest varietay of wheat in our collection is an Alabama strain of Blue
 
 the heads are showing, promising to be ready for having within a week or ten days In beardless barley, beardless wheat and fall strain of turf oats. on Johnson grass meadows. and re- moved before the Johnson grass would have made much growth if it had been grown alone. l am aware that in q dry fall there would be serious risk of injuring Johnson grass by preparing the land for these crops. but under these conditions the beardless barley and Burt oats could be sown in the early part of February. Beardless bar lev sown here February 18th is now al- most as high as Red Rust Proof oats
 Of the several forage crops now growing on the station farm hairy veteh is now making the best showing, covering the ground with mass Of vegetation about fifteen inches thick. The plants are just beginning to bloom and will probably double their growth before being converted into hay dur ing the first week in May. The native pink blossoms. borne in pairs. serving to distinguish it from the dense purple clusters of the hairy vetch. The great CT earliness of the native vetch makes l. worthy of larger share of experi- mental work than it has received in the past. For earliness is an important quality when vetch is grown on bur muda sod, on Johnson grass meadows
 
 followed by another crop Of otton or other growing plant.
 Burr clover is making a magnificent showing wherever conditions were just right, but this Is only in spots and patches. Sown October 7th, growth is somewhat irregular and spotted. the seed as usual germinating slowly, and many of them not germinating before winter This was the case when the burrs of the Southern burr clover was sown. On the other hand. the threshed seed of the California burr clover ger minated promptly. gave good stand, but failed to develop tubercles, in other words required inoculation, which op- eration Is not necessary when burrs are tions of burr clover l will refer to d small area that came as a volunteer growth, among rye and Vetch. on a tract where year ago California and The rye and vetch had been cut and re- moved for feeding green and the burr clover, now in full bloom. stands almost erect and from fifteen to eighteen in ches high. This is because of the earl fer Serminat of the seed, due to the rottfng of the burrs as they lay in the ground during the entire summer whoever would succeed with burr clo- yer. should purchase seed in Angus, and be ready to SOW the burrs in the latter part of that month or soon al- ter. , 
 inches high in some of our best up land Ioam soil and has not yet shown the first blooms. In spite or repeated discing and fresh applications Of seed the stand had become so thin that we were compelled to this spring again to make an effort to thicken It. How ever, wet weather continued so late that it was the last days of March be- fore the new seed could be sown on the freshly disced sod. Now these young alfalfa plants are coming up ana with them are coming innumerapie plants of crab grass, which bodes no good for the young alfalfa that must compete with the older alfalfa plants and with a thick stand of crab grass. As explaining the rather thrifty growth several years old. it must be stated that we applied a heavy dressing or stable manure during February or March, although l believe that the same amount of manure applied to cotton or some other cultivated crop would on By this l would not discourage the application of manure to alfalfa or thin, poor spots of prairie soil, where there Is little crab grass. but on our sandy soil not naturally adapted to alfalfa I do begrudge the manure ap- part of 1t goes to the fertilization of the crab grass. J. F. h.
 Irish Potatoes.
 Southern Ruralist.
 Early Irish potatoes are almost al- ways & profitable crop, and now that cotton is so cheap d great many farm CTS are looking about for some crop which they can sell for cash. There is always some risk in taking hold of any crop which you are not perfectly
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