Alice York, age 11, of New Bedford, Mass., for her question:

WHERE ARE THE MOST OATS GROWN?

Oats is one of the most important of the world's food crops. It belongs to the same family of plants as wheat, rye, barley, corn and rice. In North America, the leading oat growing states and provinces,

in order, are Minnesota, Alberta, Saskatchewan, South Dakota and North.

Dakota.

The United States is the second most important oat growing country in the world, trailing only Russia. Canada rates a close third spot with West Germany and Poland coming in with numbers four and five.

There are nearly 100 varieties of oats raised. They include yellow, white, black, red and gray oats.

Scientists believe that oats developed from wild grasses and that the grain first grew in Asia. Oats were not widely known in early Christian times. By the 1200s, oats were grown in England and known there as pilcorn.

Oats grow in nearly every state of the United States and province of Canada. The grain is best suited to cool, moist climates. It also does best in loam and clay soils rather than rich soils.

Spring is the time for sowing oats except in regions of mild winters, such as the South. There, oats are sown in autumn.

In most areas, however, sowing starts just as soon as the ground is free of frost. The seeds may be sown in drills, or close rows, or it may be scattered over the field. Two to three bushels of seed per acre are usually planted.

The oat crop is usually harvested in July. Reaping times at different latitudes may be a few weeks apart.

The average yield in the United States is about 47 bushels per acre.

Oats are a very nourishing food, rich in proteins and starch. Prepared forms include oatmeal and rolled oats.

Oats are also an important food for livestock. Oats are the best of all grains for horses. They are equal to corn as a tissue builder and they have fewer calories and more roughage. No other cereal produces straw that makes such good feed.

Scientific methods of cultivation are presently raising the average yield of oats.

The diseases and insect enemies of other cereals also attack oats. Smut and rust, both of which are parasitic fungi, destroy millions of bushels of oats each year. Some headway against trust is gaining by growing varieties which can resist it.

Insects that destroy oats include the chinch bug, the "green bug," and the army worm.

In harvesting oats, a farmer may use a combine. This machine downs the stalks and separates the grain from them.