Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-08-31
sow WINTER OATS THIS
FALL THROUGHOUT SOUTH

WASHINGTON, ID. C., Aug. 29.-Because OF
the shortage of corn in some sections of the
south and the more than usual need for growing
at home all the feed that stock viii require, Il
liberal acreage should be to winter oats
this fall wherever that crop is adapted. While
many farmers had disastrous experience with
oats last winter when large part of the
crop destroyed by the February freeze, a
repetition of that occurrence this year is not
very probable. Oats general yrecOgnzed
as being ordinarily the best grain crop for
fall sowing in the south, ii usually yields
etter than other grains, natures early, and
both the grain and the, straw may be fed to
live stock. In fact. it is very general prac-
tice in many sections, either to cut oats for
hay or to feed them in the bundle, to work
stock, thus providing both grain and roughage.
SEED ECONOMY.
The scarcity and high price of seed oats this
MI, due to the short crop last spring, make
IL desirable to use special precautions to get
good stand with little seed possible. As
less seed is needed when the seed is sown arly
o nwell-prepared land, attention to tbs points
will pay we'll Oats usually do best after
cultivated crop, such as corn cotton If
these crops have been kept free from weeds,
il is best not to pillow the land, hut TO make
fine, mellow seed bed two OF three inches deep
with the disk spring-tooth or spike-tOoth har
row. The disk harrow is the best Of these
tools for this purpose, though the spike tooth
or smoothing harrow SHOULD be used the last
time over the field TO break clods left by
the disk and to leave the surface fine and
smooth for the seed. A good sed bed may also
be made with the disk harrow land from
which a crop of cOwpea soy-bean hay has
been removed Flowing is mt usually advisable
unless the land is very hard r weedy, it
leaves the ground loose that il dries out
readily IL the field must be plowed, the work
should be done at least two weeks before seed
ing time and the land then disked or dragged
thoroughly to firm it.
FERTILIZATION.
IL the land is rich or If II has been heavily
fertilized for the preceding crop, further fer
ailization is necessary. On mmost soils. how
ever, the addition of 100 to 200 pounds of acid
phosphate or some other form of phosphate fer
tilizer before at seeding time is beneficial
Fertilizers containing nitrogen are usually ap
piled to best advantage about the time growth
starts in the spring.
In the gulf states, Georgia and the Carolinas
the best oat to grow is the Red Rustproof or
some Of its various forms, as Appler. Bancroft
Cook, Hundred Busheu or Patterson. The Full
is quite similar to Red Rustproof, but has the
advantage Of ripening ten days to two weeks
earlier. In Arkansas Tennessee and Virginia
the Winter Turf is the best variety to sow in
the fall as it is harder than Red RustproOf
SEEDING DATES.
Winter oats should be sown in Tennessee and
Virginia from September Is to October Is ac-
cording to the locality In the Carolinas and
the northern portions of the other southern
in the southern half OF Georgia and the gulf
states SOW from October X TO November -
The farther north the higher the elevation
at which the seed is to he sown, the earlier
should be the dat of Of seeding T1i,n
The grain drill is the best method of sowing
oats. II one is not available, the seed may be
sOwn with an ordinary cotton planter
or a onahorse drill. Sowing broadcast and
blowing or diskng in requires more seed and is