Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1916 — SEEDING OATS. [ARTICLE]

SEEDING OATS.

Practical Suggestions for Prci»aring the Seed lied, Procuring and Grading Seed and Sowing. Oats Usually follow a cultivated

crop, such if ; .> corn or potatoes, hence it Is not generally necessary to plow the land before sowing. Oats do ell on fall plowed land; hut if the land has not been plowed in the fall, better yields are usually produced from sowing in a seed bed made by disking and harrowing than

in one made by spring plowing. Early seeding for oats is very desirable. As a good seed bed can he made made more quickly with the disk barrow than with the plow on land that was in a cult ivated crop last year, the saving in time is an advantage. Two diskings and on* harrow will put clean land in good shape for sowing with the drill.

Oats grows best in a seed bed that has two or three inches of loose surface soil, but which is firm below that depth. This is another reason why disking is to he preferred to spring plowing, for there is hot time for plowed land to settle before the seed is Sown. Still another reason why the disk is better is that a held can be disked much more cheaply than it can be plowed, and the cheaper way of doing a jod> should always be chosen if it gives just as

good results as the more expensive way. If the local supply of seed oats is of poor quality, care should be taken in getting a new stock for sowing, it is better to gei' this supply from points to the east or west than from points north or south, .as the varifties are more likely to he those which will do well locally. Varieties which may be best two or three hundred miles to tlie north or south may not be at all suitable. If new seed is wanted, ask the county agent or the state experiment station where to get it and what varieties to buy.

■ If you have been growing it variety which doeswell in your locality !' Is better to sow well-cleaned seed of that variety grown on your own fa rn i or in vo 11 r c ounty tit a n to ge t seed from ;t distance. It. takes oats a year or two to get used to the soil and climate in any locality, and they will not do their best until they he- < ome adajited to local conditions, if tl.e pats grown locally were injured fore or less hist summer by rains alter harvest, tmike a germination •test and prove that they Will not grow before you decide 10 send away for peed. If your oats are light and chaffy take out about two-thirds of tin* iighest of them with the fanning 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, hut it is not justified by the facts. There is no reason why a good variety of oats should not be iust as good 20 years from now as ii is now, if Care is taken to keep it pure. T lie seed should he cleaned and graded each year, taking out the weed seeds and the small kernels. It should also lie treated for smut at leaat once in two or'three years. If the seed is of good quality it will not pay to run it through the fanning mill more than once, to take out th*; small kernels and weed seeds. If the seed is poor or very weedy, running it through a second time aiul taking out two-thirds or more of the grain is well 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 plants will be uniform, the crop will

all ripen at the same time and the yield will be betteT.

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 he covered at all and some may be covered too deeply. Germination is better from drilled seed and the growth is more uniform throughout the season. In numerous tests at the experiment stations; 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 should be sown deeper in sandy soils than in loams or clays. peeper seeding is also necessary when the ground is dry than when it is moist. On the average the best depth is from ] to 1% inches. a

Oats should be sown as early in the spring as it in possible to make a good seed bed. The exact date of course varies with the season and with the locality. This does not mean that the preparation of the land should be neglected.in order to sow early. Better yields will be produced from seed sown in a good seed bed than from that sown a few days earlier in ground too cold and wet for th."' seed to germinate, w In a good seed bed the best rate of seeding in the corn belt'is about - 1 1- bushels to the acre. If the seed is sown broadcast, more is necessary. More seed is required in a poor seed bed than in a good one, as fewer weds arc likely to grow. A lower rate of seeding may be used for

small kerm lcd varieties than for larged, kernbled ones, for there are many more of the former in a bushel. In the great plains, where the rainfall is usually scanty, less seed should be sown, the proper rate, of seeding being 1 to 5 pecks to the acre.—Weekly -News’ Letter r. s. Dept, of Agriculture.