The Harrison times., 1920-02-28
Nelson Gives Important Factors In the
Growing OF Oats.

/ kdilodS, dCCOIuluS " .hnitih A'oiOch'
Vice Dean of the College OF Agricul-
ture, University Of Arkansas.
There are several factors innuenc'
ing the success Of growing oat; IL
Arkansas, any one of which may deter
mine in large measure the kind of
crop one will ralse," says Dean Mel.
son.
"The first important thing to strive
for is to do the seeding early. The
season is soon at hand when oats may
be seeded in some parts of the state,
and if plowing remain to be done, it
should be done Immediately no matter
what the location, Experience has
proven that fall plowing or early win
ter plowing is better than spring plow-
ing. Before seeding, the soil should
be worked into perfect condition; The
disk harrow should be used wherever
necessary and the skipe tooth harrow
always used for smoothing the surface.
The seeding must be carefully done.
The practice of plowing the seed under
by plowing shallow is a poor one in
deed, and the practice of plowing the
land in rough condition, scattering on
the seed and narrowing lightly is like
wise a poor one. The seed should be
planted evenly in depth, but not too
deep. Just one thing will make prop
er seeding possible and that is the
grain drill. The seed should be cover
ed from one to two inches deep so that
it may come up promptly and begin
growing Immediately after seeding. 1t
is to bring about the early establish
ment of perfect and even stand that
makes all processes, including plow-
ing, disking, narrowing and seeding so
important. The preparation for seed
ing must be perfect for it cannot be
remedied after the seeding is done.
Rarely are oats seeded too early
but they are often sown too late. The
delay Of week often means big re-
duction in the yield. The Experiment
Station has conducted work running
thru a period of ten years or more,
with seeding oats at different dates
one week apart, beginning as early as
possible and covering period of about
two months each season. The earliest
seeding is, as a rule, the best or as
good as any other, and after the first
two or sometimes three seedlings the
yield falls off very rapidly. The late
seeding usually brings a thin stand,
shorter growth, late maturity, and
light yield of chaffy grain.
'Do not use seed sparingly. Two
bushels per acre is the standard rate
for most states, and it is the least
that should be considered for Arkan-
sas. Experiments conducted in seed
ing at different rates show that ten
to twelve packs per acre bring the
largest yields and most profitable re-
turns. Even on the thinner soils, seed
should be used literally because on
those soils there is less stooling and
thickenins Of stands than on rich soil,
consequently about as much seed is
needed
The variety will make a difference
in the yield, and one should know
that he has a variety that yields well
or he should try to get better seed.
Spring grown Red Rustproof oats are
good. Fulghum is a desirable variety
and Burt oats yield well consistently.
In buying seed oats, try to get seed
that has been recleaned. If that is not
possible, run the seed through some
tanning mill or other cleaner. 1t is
important that weed seed, cheat brok.
EN- straw and chaffy grains be thrown
out before seeding. Do not try to
grow oats on wet lands. They will not
thrive there.
ITO summarize the important points
are; Early seeding, with grain drill,
on well prepared soil, using a good
variety and using seed literally"
Dehorned Cattle Brnu More Money in