The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-08-05
The Value of Red Rust-Pr0Of Oats.

In August, 1874, [ published an ex-
pertinent with red oats, that several
friends asserted was an exception, be-
cause "it was growing oats too cheap"
Another year has come and gone. !
have repeated the experiment, succeeded
equally as we'll, and am pleased to say, l
have witnessed better success with more
than one of my neighbors. Red oats can
be grown at an expense of twenty-five
cents per bushel upon any ordinary farm
in the South, every such bushel will
weigh thirty pounds, and pound ofoats
will produce just as much muscle and
fat as pound of corn. I have kept a
horse for two years without ever feeding
him an ear of corn or blade of fodder,
his daily diet being shelled oats and
straw, or cut oats from the sheaf; he has
been ploughed, wagoned, hacked about
in a buggy, and ridden under the saddle,
and there never was time he was not
ready and willing to do a full share of
work. Any land that ever I have seen
in the South will produce two bushels of
oats where it will grow one bushel of
corn; each farmer for himself can calcu-
late the cost of growing the two crops.
Red oats will yield more grain to the
straw, and more delicate straw than any
oats I have ever grown. Sown in the
fall, they will produce a remunerative
crop on good land, even if frozen out
during the winter to single stool to
every square foot. They are heavier
than anY other and have never been
known to take the rust. A few years
ago, selected eight adjoining acres, and
on them sowed bushel to each acre of
eight varieties of oats. Some were en-
tirely destroyed by the winter, some were
ruined by rust, and all but the red oats
were more or less damaged by this para
site. Not even blade of the red oats
was touched, though the acre was in the
midst of those most thoroughly ruined.
The time is upon us when they should
again be sown, though they are remune-
rative if sown at any time between this
and the 1st of next March.
l prefer to SOW in cotton-land broad
cast, and plough in with three or four
sweep-furrows. This lays by cotton
crop as we'll as sows a small grain crop,
hence saving of half the labor. 1t is
cheaper to SOW in the cotton field even if
postponed till September Or October, be-
cause cotton requiring clean culture the
land is in better tilth, and fewer furrows
are necessary. The hands while picking
cotton during the winter will tramplc
upon the young sprigs, and make them
stool out better therefor. Sheep will
winter on oats in cotton field and never
modest the cotton till they have eaten up
the oats.
Where cotton is the exclusive crop,
there is no little vexation and harrassing
doubts at harvest time to him who VEN
lures to SOW small grain. In June the
cotton and corn need the attention of the
laborer constantly. Hence, the policy,
almost necessity, of interesting the labo-
rer in the ownership at least of the oat
crop. A fair contract, in this regard, is
for the employer to furnish the seed, fer
tilizer, and land, and require the en-
ployee to supply the labor of seeding and
harvesting, and at harvest time divide
the crop, one-fourth to the laborer and
three-forlrths to the employer. An acre
of land, producing twenty bushels of oats,
would thus give the laborer five bushels
of oats for about two days work, plough
ing, scattering manure, knocking down
stalks, and harvesting and fifteen bush
els to the owner, one and q half bushels
of seed, three and half bushels to pay for
fertilizer, and ten bushels rent. | have
never known red oats to sell for less than
seventy-fve cents per bushel, and even
at fifty cents per bushel, ten bushels are
a very fair rent for land that will not
produce more than twenty bushels of oats
per acre. Fair uplands in middle South
Carolina will average twenty bushels
without manure; and have seen 1t
stated that the Mississippi bottoms have
yielded one hundred bushels per acre
during favorable seasons.
D. WYATT AIKEN.
Rural Caro5inian for August.