Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-09-21
SOWING OF WHEAT AND OATS.
Sow Early In the Fall. The Land
Should Bs Well Prepared.


studied and they are given proper
conditions for growth. Wheat on the
Lother hand, will probably not be found
so profitable except on our clay loam
soils and in higher sections of our ter
ritory.
Climatic conditions materially influ-
ence the growth Of both these cereals.
They seem to like rather a cool cli-
mate and the oat especially demands
rather a large degree Of moisture.
They may be grown successfully
throughout this territory, but to OBJ
tain large crops they probably require
better methods Of cultivation than are
necessary in more northern latitudes.
Wheat Is never sown in the spring
throughout tile south, but oats are un-
fortunately still very largely sown in
the spring. This Is perhaps due to
the fact that fall sown oats frequent
ly winter kill. Methods Of sowing
have now been developed, chiefly
through the work Of Reddins, at the
Georgia experiment station, by which
winter killing Of fall sown oats Is al
most entirely prevented, and there Is
no longer any question about the wis
dom of sowing the entire oat crop In
the fall At the Alabama experiment
station, Duggar found as a result Of
seven years tests Of November and
Ivol, 60 hof hn n
ber seedlings gave 7S per cent greater
yields of grain than the February
seedlings. Six years out Of the seven
the yields were decidedly better from
the fall seedlings and the other year
nearly as good yield was made with
the fall sown oats although they
were badly winter killed.
Wheat or Oats should Follow Le-
suminous Crop.
From the foregoing facts we are
forced to consider the preparation Of
the land for wheat and oats as fall
work, and the crop rotations and farm
work must be made to conform to that
condition. The better preparation Of
the land for these crops cannot be
considered as properly beginning with
the suitable breaking and pulverizins
Of the soil, Immediately before seed
ing. The oat crop heretofore has been
generally given the poorest land on
the place, largely because 1t would
give some much-needed early feed,
even on these poor lands. The wheat
crop, where grown, has been better
treated simply because it forced bet
ter treatment to produce a fair yield.
But neither the wheat nor the oats
has been given land as rich and well
prepared as is needful for the best
yields.
A wheat or oat crop should always
be preceded by some legume crop,
and this is not only possible, but 1t Is
also entirely practicable and exceed
ingly profitable; as, for instance it was
illustrated in a recent article on win
ter cover crops. wherein was given a
rotation which not only furnishes a
winter cover crop for every acre, but
also places a legume, or nitrogen
gathering crop, before each nitrogen
consuming crop. Each crop Of corn,
cotton or small grain may and should
be preceded by legume crop to
gather nitrogen for it. In sections
with less rainfall and more severe
winters, the lands may not demand
the beneficial effects of the nitrogen
gathering plants, so often; but with
our long, hot and moist summers,
which favor rapid decay Of all organ
ic matter in the soil, and our open
winters, with their torrential rains to
leach and wash our plant foods away,
our soils imperatively demand this
frequent and constant replenishing
of the humus-and nitrogen-supply-
ing materials. Many farmers are dis
couraged by the slow progress they
are making in building up their soils
by the use Of legumes, but If they will
adopt the plan Of never planting a
nitrogen consuming crop except after
some lesume, they will no longer have
cause for disappointment.
The Necessity For Good Seed Bed.
In those sections where the corn Is
cut and shocked, wheat Is frequently
sown after the corn without rebreak-
ing the land. Oats are also often
sown on unbroken land and plowed In.
Whether the land should be broken for
the wheat and oat crops is to be de-
termined entirely by the condition the
land will probably be in at seeding
time.
The first necessity in this discussion
is to arrive at an understanding OF
what constitutes proper or ideal
seed bed for crop. We frequently
hear 1t stated that wheat, or perhaps
especially cotton, requires hard or
firm seed bed. We are rather Of the
opinion that cotton and wheat require
a seed bed that Is no way different
from that which Is best for all other
crops. It Is not that other crops will
not do better on the sort Of seed bed
which has been found best for such
crops as wheat and cotton; but these
latter crops show more clearly their
appreciation Of an ideal seed bed.
There is no point at which the aver
age southern farmer falls farther short
of good farming than in the prepara-
ton of the seed bed for his crops;
nor is there anything which he can do
at the same expense that will return
him greater profit than the better prep
aration of his soil before planting his
crops. When the crops have come up
they are in the way and effectually
prevent the most economical cultiva-
ton Of the soil. Before the crops are
planted larger implements may be
used, and hence the oft repeated state
ment that the time to cultivate crop
Is before it Is planted. With the wheat
and oat crops little or no cultivation
is given after the crops are sown;
therefore, the necessity for thorough
preparation of the seed bed becomes
plainly more important.