The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-12

The lOilOWlIS Sd5 >CotiViis7 fNtN AANAA' the office extension work in the south, United States department of agricul- ture.
 SEED CORN
 The valuable instructions given in the early spring with reference to se- lecting and testing of seed corn should not be lost or forgotten. but should bring results at this time Every farmer should go into his corn field. select suitable ears and so mark them that they may be readily distin guished at harvesting time. After the seed corn is harvested 1t should De stored so as to protect 1t from eX- tremes Nin weather, insects, rodents, etc The labor shortage makes it ab- solutely necessary to avoid the loss of time and effort spent in replanting.
 WHEAT
 The agricultural programme for 1919 calls for an increase in the acre age planted to wheat. Farmers should select the land to be planted to wheat and thoroughly prepare the seed bed, The yield per acre is as important as the acreage. hence the importance of selecting the farm land best adapted to wheat and the procuring of good seed free from disease and weed seeds. All seed suspected of having smut should be treated to insure against loss from this trouble
 CUTTING AND SHOCKING This is big problem of the farm to be solved in the month of September. The shortage of labor makes it neces- sary for farmers to use machinery, es- peejally where large acreages are nlanted to corn Farmers of every community should cooperate heartily in the exchange of labor and machin- cry to the end that the corn crop may be promptly cut and shocked
 OATS AND'RYE A relatively large acreage in oats and rye. which require less labor than cotton, tobacco, or other interilled crops. will materially assist in reliev- ing the acute labor situation which will undoubtedly prevail next spring and summer For this reason an in creased acreage in Ahese crops should be planted in all the cotton states. Good seed, a well-planted seed bed, and early planting are the important factors in growing a successful crop of either oats or rye in this section. That small grains must be planted req sonably early to insure against win ter Killing is shown by the experience of the past two years.
 Oats and rye, planted the latter half Of SeptemDer anu lHt IlrSt ildll OI Oc- tober in the central cotton belt have q better chance of going through the winter undamaged than when planted later In the fall. Oats should be planted, too, on firm seed bed, and not planted too deep. so that they will come up and be well rooted before the severe freezing weather of the winter sets in.
 Abruzzi oats should be more exten- sively planted as winter cover crop throughout the south. When planted in September in the cotton states. 1t produces good fall and winter graz ing and furnishes an excellent cover for the soil to prevent washing dur ing the winter months. Abruzzi rye also is a most excellent small grain crop for the south.
 The oat crop when put in at the proper time in the fall in the central part of the cotton states produces a cheap and excellent feed crop, which can be produced with a minimum out lay of labor.
 The benefit of early fall preparation of land are so conclusive that it would seem unnecessary to call attention once more to the desirabilIty of this practice. Tn many sections of west Texas and Oklahoma, the difference between success and failure in crop production has been measured by tse early c~>naration of tho laPS the nre-