Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-10-18

the oats to be destroyed by freezes.
Flowing the land. disSing and narrowing
il until a fine seed bed is secured does
much to insure a good crop of oats. OF
course. where the land has been devoted
TO the cultivation OF cotton. and it is
desired to plant oats in between the
drills, the open furrow method of plant
ing will prove successful in most in
stances 1t should be remembered, how
ever, that the farmer has probably given
greater care and attention to the prepa-
ration and cultivation Of his land for
! cotton than for any other crop, and
there is possibly some residue Of fertil-
TIER which has escaped the cotton plants
which will be Of material benefit to the
oats.
After preparing the land with care,
the most important matter is to secure
seed adapted to the climatic conditions
and which by test is shown to be viable.
In the elevated regions of the Piedmont
cumberland. the Virginia Gray or Winter
Turf is likely to give the best satisfac-
ton for fall seeding. In the coastal
plains region and in the gulf states, the
Texas Rust Proof. or some of its deriv-
atives. such as the Appler. Culberson
and Bancroft, will prove the most salts
factory for fan seeding. If oats are to
be sown after Christmas. say from Feb.
1 to April l. the Burt will be the type
to select. There is much variation in
oat seed. and it is of the. utmost impor-
lance that care be exercised in the
choice of the grain.
From one and three pec1s to two and
half bushels of seed per acre should
be sown. Where the open furrOw method
is followed or the drill 5 used. the
smaller amount will answer; where
broadcasting is 'practiced. the larger
amount should be used. Farmers who
desire to secure yields of oats will aban-
don broadcast seeding. The open furrow
method is commended to all sections and
| localities where oats have frozen out
/ in the past. 1t may take "A little more
effort ana trouble to seed by this meth
Cd, but it is by all means the most de-
] sirable. OF course, on rich land oats
seeded with an ordinary grain drill will
often come through the winter They will
also do well in mild seasons when seed
ed with a grain drill, but the farmer
runs so much risk by this method that
the loss of one crop will Offset the cost
of seeding by the open furrow method.
The cat crop draws more heavily on
plant food than most farmers seem to
realize. Forty bushels of oats remove
J from an acre approximately 22.55 pounds
of nitrogen, SIS pounds of phosphoric
acid. and 6.14 pounds of potash. The
straw Amounting to about 1,500 pounds
per acre takes from the land about S.4C
pounds of nitrogen, 40 pounds of phos-
/ phOric acid and 243 pounds of potash
The total OF 20 bushels of grain and l.
| 800 pounds OF straw thus remove from
/ the land 30.55 pounds Of nitrogen, 1870,
pounds OF phosphoric acid, and 1914
pounds OF potash The seeding OF oats
after such exhausting crops as corn and
cotton, which Is a common practice in
the south, without additional fertilizer,
is a mistake. OF course, many wlu ar
que that the straw should be returned
to the land. Naturally, argument here is
unnecessary In practice, however, this
I is frequently not done
I The above figures indicate that a fer
tilizer for oats should contain consider
I able quantities OF nitrogen. phosphoriC
acid and potash. On heavy clay land
so much potash is not as necessary as on
thinner, sander soils. On the heaviest,
richest types of soil devoted to this crop
an S-2-2 formula will answer fairly well.
On intermediate soils-that is. containing
some clay and some sand and with a
little loan. the use of 1928 is advisable.
On the thinnest, sandiest soils from TO