ich is to be made of the
oats. If the crop is to be threshed, the harvesting should be done when
the kernels have passed out of the milk into the hard dough state. The
lower leaves of the stalks will at this time have turned yellow, and the
kernels will be plump and full. Do not, however, wait too long, for if
you do the grain will shatter and the straw lose in feeding value.

On the other hand, if the oats are to be cut for hay it is best to cut
them while the grains are still in the milk stage. At this stage the
leaves are still green and the plants are rich in protein.

Oats should be cured quickly. It is very important that threshed oats
should be dry before they are stored. Should they on being stored still
contain moisture, they will be likely to heat and to discolor. Any
discoloring will reduce their value. Nor should oats ever be allowed to
remain long in the fields, no matter how well they may seem to be
shocked. The dew and the rain will injure their value by discoloring
them more or less.

Oats are muscle-builders rather than fat-formers. Hence they are a
valuable ration for work animals, dairy cows, and breeding-stock.

SECTION XLIII. RYE

Rye has the power of gathering its food from a wider area than most
other plants. Of course, then, it is a fine crop for poor land, and
farmers often plant it only on worn land. However, it is too good a
cereal to be treated in so ungenerous a fashion. As a cover-crop for
poor land it adds much humus to the soil and makes capital grazing.

[Illustration: FIG. 208. RYE READY FOR CUTTING]

There are two types of rye--the winter and the spring. The winter type
is chiefly grown in this country. Rye seeds should be bought as near
home as possible, for this plant thrives best when the new crop grows
under the same conditions as the seed crop.

Rye will grow on almost any soil that is drained. Soils that are too
sandy for wheat will generally yield good crops of rye. Clay soils,
however, are not adapted to the plant nor to the grazing for which the
plant is generally sowed. For winter rye the land should be broken from
four to six inches. Harrows should follow the plows until the land is
well pulverized. In some cold prairie lands, however, rye is put in with
a grain-drill before a plow removes the stubble from the land. The
purpose of planting in this way is to let the stubble protect the young
plants from cold, driving winds.

Rye should go into the ground earlier t