SOME WHITE VARIETIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3035, 15 May 1912, Page 14

SOME WHITE VARIETIES.

No attempt can be made to describe the different varieties of white oats—their name is legion; but the standard oats of the South Island are Cartons and sparrowbills, and by virtue of cross fertilisation and regeneration the former is superseding the latter. If we possessed a nlant-breeding establishment, an oat like the sparrowbill, which has proved itself eminently suitable to the South Island, might be renewed and reinvigorated by crossing with some suitable variety, and produce an oat even more serviceable than it has been itself. It is a short, compact oat, which has run on for years, and withstands rough weather better than any other variety; but in a season like the present it is apt to be depreciated in value from defective colouring. It carries the grain in clusters mostly on one side of the ear. On heavy ground the straw is rank and strong, but it" stands well on its feet, and is a great yielder, with a white and fairly plump grain. The Garton oat, on the other hand, has heavy straw and grain, which cannot be excelled for size or quality. The best land is not too good for it, and on light soils it does as well as the sparrowbill. The demand for Gartons by shippers is practically universal. The quality may be kept up" by changing the seed frequently, but it is inclined to develop awns if the seed is not carefully selected, and an effort should be made to secure seed free from

them. The Algerian oat has come into favour in recent years, and there was a considerable demand for seed this year. It has superseded all other varieties in the North Island on account of its ability to resist rust. The straw is of medium length, and it ripens with a reddish tinge. It has a very light grain per bushel, and a thick, sandy-coloured husk, but makes splendid chaff. It is the favourite milling oat of Australia. Then there is a class of oat known as "storm resisters." suitable for growing on heavy, swampy ground, where other oats would be down. Tartar King and Storm King are examples of this class, and they both have heavy, strong straw, and* large-sized grain, well-coloured and full, with thick husks. Fov the ground that needs them they are invaluable, but they have too large a proportion of husk to be good feeding oats. The Waverlev oat has an excellent colour, well filled, but inclined to be a little shellv, and is sometimes shipped as a Garton, from which it is hard to distinguish it. Short Tartars and Sutherlands are also well known varieties, the latter, like the sandv oat, was"at one time much sought after by millers on account of its thin husk and large kernel. Another of Garton's regenerated oats is the Record—an oat which has been put oil the market this year, having only recently been introduced into New Zealand. It gets the name of being 20 per cent, higher as a yielder than any other variety introduced into the Dominion, and is a cross between the Storm King and the original Garton. It is stated to have all the good points of the Garton, wkh the added advantage that the strength of its straw and size of its grain has been increased to that of the Storm King. The varieties mentioned are typical of many others and need not be enlarged upon; but there is another oat going heavilv on the market this year—viz., the Yielder, which is another of Garton's breeding. I here very heavy crops of this oat in the Taien this year, and it is being largely grown in Oamaru and Southland. It stands well, and yields a grain of the highest quality and feeding value The oat crop is grown mostly for quantity, so that it pays to push it along on any land which needs help, and the best application for this purpose is a complete manure. I n p ro f esS or Wright's experiments, carried on on 15 farms 'for three years it was found that 2cwt of superphosphate per acre added to a small dressing of nitrate of soda on the braird produced an average increase of-five bushels of grain and 2ewt of straw. Superphosphate acts specially on the .grain, and improves- the intrinsic value of the oats, whether used for feeding purposes or for seed. Potash helps to strengthen the straw, and on light land would help the crop but is not an invariable preventive for lodging Lodging is more a matter of the want of available nourishment and careless cu tivation than anything else Jesnect P th°if° a V S reS ? mble « Wheat in this sends its roots down into the subsoil in search of its necessary food , consequently the same preparation of the soil is rl quired-viz., that the soil must be freed uuv Syr*/***" and tuied aa 22 fully and deeply as possible.