Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-03-08
Government Bulletin.)

Oats usually follow cultivated crop
such as corn or potatoes. hence it is
not generally necessary to pillow the
land before sowing. Oats do well on
fall-plowed land; but if the land has
not been plowed in the fall, better
yields are usually produced from
sowing in a seed bed made by disc1ng
and narrowing than one made by
spring blowing. Early seeding for
oats is very desirable. AS good seed
bed can be made much more quickly
with the disk harrow than with the
pillow on land that was in cultivation
last year, the saving in time is an ad-
vantage. Two diskings and one har-
rowing with the spike-toothed harrow
will put clean land in good shape for
sowing with the drill.
| Oats grow best in a seed bed that
has 2 or 8 inches of loose surface soil,
but which is firm below that depth.
This is another reason why disklng
/ is to be preferred to spring blowing,
for there is no time for plowed land
to settle before the seed is sown. Still
another reason why the disk is better
is that a field can be disked much
more cheaply than it can be plowed,
and the cheaper way of doing a job
should be always chosen if it gives
| lust as good results as the more ex-
pensive way.
Buying Seed.
If the local supply of seed oats is of
poor quality, care should be taken In
getting a new stock for sowing. 1t is
better to get this supply from points
in the east or west than from points
north or south, as the varieties are
more likely to be those which will do
we'll locally. Varieties which may be
best two or three hundred miles to the
north or south may not be at all suit
able. If new seed is wanted, ask the
county agent or the state experiment
station where to get it and what va
rieties to buy.
If you have been growing variety
which does we'll in your locality it is
better to sow well-cleaned seed of that
variety grown on your own farm or in
your county than to get seed from
distance. 1t takes oats year or two
to get used to the soil and climate in
any locality, and they will not do their
best until they become adapted to 10
cal conditions. If the oats grown To-
cally were injured more or less last
summer by rains after harvest, make
termination test and prove that they
will not grow before you decide to
send away for seed. If your oats are
light and chaffy take out about two
thirds of the lightest of them with the
tanning mill and use the other third
! for seed.
The idea that oats run out and that
! it is necessary to get new seed every
few years is quite common, but it is
not justified by the facts. There is no
reason why a good variety of oats
should not be just as good 20 years
| from now as it is now, if care is taken
to keep it pure.
The seed should be cleaned and
graded each year, taking out the weed
seeds and the small kernels. 1t should
also be treated for smut at least once
in two or three years. If the seed is
of good quality it will not pay to run
| it through the tanning mill more than
once, to take out the small kernels
and weed seeds. If the seed is poor
or very weedy, running it through
second time and taking out two-thirds
or more of the grain is we'll worth
while.
The reason it is best to take out
the small kernels is that they do not
make as strong plants as the large
ones. The weak plants from these
small kernels usually produce little
grain. If the kernels that are sown
are all of about the same size the
ylants will be uniform, the crop will
all ripen about the same time, and
the yield will be better.
Sowing With Drill.
The best way to SOW oats is with
the grain drill Drilling gives a more
even stand than broadcast seeding,
for all the seed is covered to about
the same depth. In sowing broadcast
some of the seed may not be covered
at all and some may be covered too
deeply. termination is better from
drilled seed and the growth is more
uniform throughout the season. In
numerous tests at the experiment sta
tions drilled oats have outyielded oats
sown broadcast by several bushels to
the acre. Better stands of grass and
clover can also be obtained in drilled
than in broadcast oats.
The best depth to SOW oats varies
with the soil and the season. In any
case they should be covered with half
an inch to an inch of moist soil. They