The Wilmington morning star., 1940-09-16

this stage of growth. However. Y
may be sown in September, grazed
closely during November, and ear
ly December, then Above d to
make grain. One bushel of rye
should be sown per acre.
Barley should be sown between
October q and November 10. Sow
two bushels per acre.
Seed Bed: 1t is better to have
the soil finely pulverized four in
ches deep and left undisturbed be-
low that depth. The reason for
this is that deep blowing so loos-
ems the soil that the crop may be
injured by freezing. When it is
necessary to pillow the land in or
der to cover grass or weeds, the
blowing should be done about four
weeks before sowing the grain.
This permits the seed bed to settle.
Discing and rolling the plowed,
ground will also help to make it
firm.
Most fields, however, can be put
into excellent condition, with a
disc harrow, followed by a sec
ton harrow. Where row crops have
been planted on ridges, first lev
Ell each ridge with the disc, then
double disc and harrow the field.
In the Tidewater section the wa
ter table is often so near the sur
face that small grain has to be
sown on beds. These beds are
made by back furrowing with a
pillow, the depressions between the
beds serving for drainage. tt e
beds should be made ten to fifteen
feet wide for convenience in SOW
ing and harvesting. They should
be built long enough before plant
ing to give them time to settle
before the seed is sown.
Fertilizers: Most small g r n
crops in the coastal plain receive
no fertilizer; except a ~top-dressing
of nitrate of soda, or similar ma
terial in the spring. This practice
is usually satisfactory after heavi-
ly fertilized crops, like tobacco.
But after other crops, especially
exhaustive crops like corn, hay
crops and peanuts, it pays to fer
tilize as follows:
300 to 400 lbs. - 4-8-4 or 2-8-6 at
planting.
100 to $50 lbs. nitrate q soda
Cor similar materially when growth
starts in the spring. (about March
y.
Many farmers fail to get the
full benefit of their top-dresser be-
cause they wait too late to apply
it.
Spring oats should receive the
complete fertilizer at planting, and
the top dresser four or five weeks
later.
Lime is not necessary for small
grains on most coastal plain soils.
Where needed, the amount indicat-
ed by the soil test should be har-
howed in before planting.
Sowing the Seed: The grain drill
is by far the best method of SOW
ing small grains. With this nipple
ment the seeds r distributed
more uniformly than is possible
by hand. They are also covered
deep enough Il to 1 IL inches) to
allow the roots to take firm hold
in the soil below the prepared seed
bed. These roots hold the plants
in place when freezing heaves'
tn topsoil. The plants are also at
the bottom of a furrow, which
helps to protect them from cold.
Less seed is required with the
grain drill, and a better yield may
be expected. The drill can also
be used for sowing lespedeza, soy
beans, cowpeas, crimson clover,
vetch, Austrian winter peas, pas
ture grasses, and other seeds. 1t
should be equipped for distribu-
ting fertilizer, then it may be also
used for distributing inoculating
Soil for legumes.
The one-horse open furroW drill
is used to SOW small grains or
other seeds between row crops,
without other preparation Of the
seed bed. This method is a good
one, if the field has been kept clear
of grass and weeds.
Where no drill is available, the
grain may be sown by hand, sow
ing half of it at right angles to
the other half, and covered with
a section harrow.
Small grain and lespedeza: Les
pedeza fits in so well with small
grains that a word about it is not
out of place here. The lespedeza
seed is sown on fall grain in Feb
ruary or early March. 1t is usually
broadcasted, and should then be
covered with a weeder or section
harrow, to prevent its being
washe to the low places in the
field.
A still better way is to use the
grain drill; %loosening the pressure
springs and raising the gear lever
a notch, so that the discs run
about half an inch deep. This oper-
alton may appear to be running
the grain, but the grain will re-
cover quickly and be better for
having been cultivated.
Lespedeza may be sown immedi'
ately after sowing spring a s,
without covering.