The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1874-08-06
An Experiment in Small Grains.

All LII Sll3tll Wld diuSs
In the August number of the Rural Carol
aian, Col. D. Wyatt Aiken repeats his old ad
vice to planters and farmers to seed their cottol
land at the last working of the crop in August
either in barley, oats or rye. This advice Is
recommended and illustrated by his own eNpe,
rence We place it before our agrlcultura
friends for their consideration. The time is
now at hand when it may be put into practice
We believe that it is practicable and likely tc
prove profitable in most of the soils on Whlcn
cotton is grown in this State, and the results as
shown in COL Aiken's last years experiment
are certainly very encouraging. In Whatever
walk of life men may be engaged, they should
alwavs aim to achieve the hi CHEST results
Love of excellence, united with sense OF profit
call out the most strenuous endeavOrs. There
is much to be learnt, both of the theory and
practice of agriculture, simple as it may seem
to most folk. The example of Mr.. Warthen
of Georgia, raising five bales of cotton on one
acre of land, almost without work, except that
of most careful preparation of the soil in ad'
vance. ought to effect revolution in that crop
Five bales on one acre, instead of one bale
from five acres So this experiment OF Col
Aiken points the way to an economical produc-
tion of grain and forage for stock, with benefit
to the land, upon the very land and almost at
the same time on which the money crop is
grown. 1t is worth thinking about and trying
to equal in results. We give the article below,
commencing it particularly to the attention OF
our planting friends. He says:
eff Book Farmer has an acre of land under
cultivation this year that will, on 1st August,
promise yield of '1,750 lbs. cotton let him
SOW that land broadcast in barley, one and a
half bushels to the acre, and then lay by with
three shallow sweep furrows With fair luck,
the barley crop will sell for as much as the cot
ton crop. He can, as we'll as l, count the cost
of cultivating and harvesting the two crops.
Let him treat any land he has under cultlva.
ton, with prospective yield OF 600 lbs. OF
cotton per acre, the same way with red oats,
and his oat crop will buy the cotton crop, bag
ging, ties and seed, and treat the harvest hands
beside Let him treat his thinncst cotton lands
the same way with rye, and next May, (nott
allowing a hoof to make a track on the land
from the day of sowing till May, turn under
the rye crop and SOW the land broadcast in
peas q bushel and a half per acre, and in Sep
tember or early in October turn the pea crop
under, without feeding leaf or pod to his
stock, and SOW the land in wheat He will
then eat better -four than he can buy, and his
thin lands will improve An experiment to
the point: The first week in August, 1873, !
hired six plows (mules and hands, and laid
by twenty acres of cotton with them, as ad-
wise above, I going ahead of the plows and
sowing blshel and half of red oats per acre.
In March, 1874, 1 hirea some hands to knock
down the cotton stalks On the 18th June, l
hired six Graders, six binders, one 'shocker,'
one water carrier and two boys to throw bum
dies to the shock, and gave the entire gang
three meals, and paid for the cooking. The
twenty acres were harvested in one day and
about two hours. On the 11th, 18th and 18th
June, hired teams and drivers, and hauled
this crop of 500 shocks land [ am sure each
shock will make bushel, for each contained
twelve large bundles or sheaves, six miles,
from my plantation to my stable lots in Cokes.
bury. My account stands thus: 80 bushels of
seed oats, at 81, $50; my own services as
hand, days, at IS cts, 81 SO; plows, 2 days
each, at $l.l2, $780, feeding same days,
mules and hands, at Is Cts, 50; knocking
down cotton stalks, IS; harvesters at .25
each, $3.50; binders, at 81 each, So; shock
ers, at 1925, boys, at so cents, $3.50, 1919 !;
raw material, and cooking the same, 81; 3
two-horse teams, 8 days, at So each, S27; ex-
ira hands, 8 days, at 81 each, S9-tota Sl24.25.
I now have 500 bushels of oats securely housed,
with straw as good as fodder, as drop Of rain
never fell on it,) for Sl24.25, or just 25 cents
per bushel The option of hauling them six
miles, of course, increased their cost, and was
more than ten times the tax on the land.
Book Farmer may say this is an exception.
If have failed to do as we'll in ten years, /
am not aware of it and there are farmers in
nv vicinity that do as we'll, or better, every
year."