Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1872-01-19
From tie Rural Carolinian.
The Oat Crop Its, Importance to
the South.

From actual experiment made by nIe,
am sa:isGea eha. the cat crop, next TO cotton,
is the most valuable prsduct Of, tie South J;
| as II not only requires less labor ~ cultivate
than cnrn but is less exhaustive "a, the land ;
in fact 10 gtuat impr.i4s,lent 10 Il as far No
that invaluable principle. humus, IL iooncet.
cd swli'e corn like cotton, IL j ,hd,i,as dps
Itfoyi9gp plsptss By huleus I Ltnsantheoreap,
/ tp vegetable n3httsr5 as Il Ia ngthipg but thhf
in rvttod OF deoompnsed state Z:
Cotton beiig the great staple of the South
he is the best farther whU illakes tile most
witlisthe leLst expense, and at the sa,ne time
improves his land. i, All the ooru, fodder,
oats, peas aud meat that cotton planter
makes Is only to feed his mules and his IL.
borers e. m,ke cotton with It becuu,es,
then, vital question, how can ho make the
ur,st horse food with the least labur IN tho
SMALLEST dIaught upon tho fertility vf h,s
lnnd This is Il very Important question,
now that labor is 50 scarce und 80 high iu tile
cDtton States. fa.
during the last season made enough oats
to last six mules tous months, with un outlay
of about s26 FIR seej, ploushng in ani cut
ting, not to estimate the cuttun seed which
n,orc titan paid for itself in the increased veg.
e,utle enrichment Of the soil The same
nniount uf oiriI and fodder made on the land
would have cost four times as lnush, the
cotton seed would have been clcar loss,
half uf it being evaporateL by tho procu>s
of heating aud killing gem the other half
lost in the clean culture system necessary
to make cvru. X ~ li s'i, ta.Hgt -,
But is not the oat crop very uncertain,
particularly as to getting u stanu Not hy
any means upon our plan. BY Supplying IA
good coat Of cotton seed, rs much an YOU have
u spare, from fifteen ~ fifty bushels to the
acre, sowing the seed stil them, md turning
all in together with turning shovel, you
may SOW any, time from October to February,
aud never fear about stand. The depth Of
the seed, together with the xnr:nth produced
by the fermentation ami rut,iug Of the cottpa
seed, prevents the freezes from killing them
out while in the sprout; aud plants BY tho
manure prevents freezing cut afterwards. -
Upou this plan also the whole Of the nitrogen
hhd other volatile uatters are saved in the
soil; while the plan Ut heating cotton seed,
and applying t. the corn in the spring, evol
YES large per cent Of these u,puftnnt gases.
The advantages Of this plan to the land
over that of the cultivation Of corn is i'm.
nicnse Fur fifteen months the plow docs
not in.orstro with the sjil. Every living
plant is allowed to grow, and mature, aud
decay, except the oats, which you cut aud.
take fr0ui it, leaving all the roots and
stutbla behind. which are luxuriant trutn the
efecte f thocotto seed as are the weeds and
grass, which come up in the spring. The
amount Of humus actually created for tn.
next cotton crop would quudrupe that ,ft
after corn. Aud when it is remembered
thst, us general rule our worn out soils 70
stored to them, viz: huGius, nitrogen, an
phosphoric acid, 10 order to make productive,
unj when the two latter, are furnished in
every good fertilizer, while the former cannot
be, tho wisdom of plan which makes the
most hunus 70 Make cuttOii, aud the must
horse fpod with the least labor, is apparent to
overy intelligent nind. 3 I .a.7 sisl
throw out these suggestions to the plan.
ters of the South that they may act upon
them if they cl,uose, for an well convinced
that it is the only plan by whiyh they can
Improve their lands aud gnther repeated crops
Of cotton from them. The rust, which of
late years is acting SO disastrously, is sowing,
/ doubt not. greatly to the lack Of humus in
the soil We,nust then either rest our lands
or sow them Ia small grains Corn and cot.
ton forms n bad rotation, as both Of them are
hunus destroying plsnts. lhaye no douht
thnt up,uthe plan above indicated, u planter
may gradually impro.e bis land, aud gather
a renIuurrative crop every year.
The effect Of cotton seed upon oats II more
rerurkuble than even on corn aud wheat
by sowing a large acreage of oats, less corn
iwould be requisite, und any good amu,opiated
fertilizer viii supply the place Of the cotton
seed for corn; mid, il. case Of y. drought. pro
duoa better results The oats is healthier
fmd f,r horses and mules during tho summer
than corn, Nh ll.ave we'll assured myself, and
will sustain them about as we'll. The black
oats is the hardest aud much tho most pro.
ductive.
aapa r. NJ. PENDLEToN. a
Sparta Ga. iet359.l (. gaH b8o8 asr
/, "A PoPULAR VIEW OF OUR STATE FiNAN.
oEs. --Tbs ;i'henicI says il The average tax
for ten years previous to the war, was but
S43l.O00. Daring tho year 1867, 1t was but
S392,UU0. aiAt' that ti,iie, the, ,2xable value
1T thellTorrrtylDs she State " asiS l90, ~ u, !.
GOO. Now snid value isi but Sl84.0OO, 900.
What i.uw, aye. the taxes raised since the
war The Charleston Nrscs says that the
State ana County taxes, ~ assessed. wSre rs
follows: Gtlaxea for lH6S, 1uos1S69 8 Sl.a85..
Jos. taxes f,rs 863, DIM 1870 81 632 658 ;
taxes for 1870. due 1871. 81 265 047--7tl,res
years taxes. $5.722.8U9.. According 10 this
showing, what sf,lluws? n This, viz ) 4 that
! whilst 10 three years before the war, vi ,2O3,
0OO' were r5nise'l hy taxutiGR ona hasis' .oi
I 400. .O00 0O0 44since the war. nShtiy S6 ,000,,