The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1876-09-13
RED OATS,
ID. Wyatt Aiitcn IN The RwW Caroliuian for
Stpcniber

have sent them to SO many sections
OF the State and South, that wo
thought every farmer sowed them,
and that if he did not, he at
least had heard of their intrinsic
worth. But much to our surprise
we arc in almost daily receipt of
Letters making inquiry about this
invaluable grain. How much do
you SOW to the acre? When do
you SOW! Why do you SOW in
cotton Land What becomes OF th,
cotton stalks ? These and hosts Of
similar questions arc ask now i, days
ana "c Will answer most of them SO
that iherc can be no crror either
in the sowing or rcaping, and to be
plain and explicit, We will nlrrate,
as We have frequently dono here
tofoie, little experiment during
the past season
In 1870 one OF oln tenants plant
cd Il twelve acre field four wears
oid) i'll cotton--land GOOD and
strong, oak and hickory. We de.
tcrmincd to put this fold in red
oats, and hence advised the tenant
to postpone as late as practicable
the last plouglIing OF his cotton.
Ihs was done, and Oh the 10t:i
August VIC gave him cightocn
bushels Of rcd oats, and advised him
to run two "swccp' burrows in his
cotton, then SOW the oats at tho rate
Of one and IL half bushels per acre
and cover tho grain with one, some.
times two, more similar furrows
Taking his own timc about it, he
consumed Just two weeks in layinr
hy that field Of cotton, and we paid
nim two dollars for sowing orr oats
III h's cotton. The ploughin> we
Gid not pay for, because with his
own mule he was giving his own
crop what it needed before it was
laid by.
a fine stand was secured, and the
oats grew off worry rapidly. The
WINTER being warm, this crop would
nave made il itlNuriant sheep pasture
Ill tAc winter, but it WAS not touch
cl by stock except occasionally
when hunger would force II lot of
nc tenants COWS to mount the
fence and gorge themselves. This
",'s done SO Frequently shat at times
&C crop scen.cu literally ruined.
but We n,,i faith, for We never
ct nave had a crop of red oats t.,
come up missing at harvest time
ABOUT The miudie Of February
oAeac int usiUn5 wclc put II stop
~.
The first week in March the wife
md children of our tenant were
p,Ii twenty-five cents per acrc to
NnGck down tHe cotton stalks low
,nous;h not to interfere with
'r;ittlnS.
lI.u; ;y III June tie twelve acres
y2:c harvested by i've Graders, iiv,
n>;.rs, two shrGNciS, one wtir.
trtle,, at IN eXp1nac III twenty
W. dollars. The work WAS wei
ne, AMI was II good days work fog
&c idborer., tnc oats being III
aces 81 heavy taAt craIling WAS
una to z cat disadvantage. CoulG
ne c.op hive been havre3. ed witt.
o per, however, We believe ma%1
,o!o bushes would have D>u.
.svcu.
These oats were stocked in large
hooks, somctim =; thirty bundles III
shock, and capped hy simply lay
ng one or two bmidicS across tn,
Op Of tic shtc'.. 4 week after be
NJ cut, We began TO haul them il
ut the very next day rain fell ard
on>.nucu to fall for five conscrl-
i've days. Much apprehension W s
1T about about thu gram c!o.
'.c,y one WAS predicting ruin, be-
$50 the grain would sproES in the
I'd Gu: faith was not yct slakcn.
cy,ttsc we knew rcd oat, h.,d ncvci
ct disappointed the farmer.
In due time, after the lnlny sea
ended, we began to haul, hiring
IN tenants, with their own teams,
o haul those oats from that field t.
III dwelling place, IL distance OF
~ miles, paying one dollar and /
:lf for evoIy two-horsc iuA,:, haul
ng two loads II day, and twenty
lozen bundles to the load. We
auich rinctccn loads, and though
nor" Of these oats we. . intcnIcd t,
&c tin eShcl, but TO be cut up 6,
needed and fcd to animals off tl,'
'lantation, we have SO frequently
,hroshcd this grain and know So
:cli what it will yield, that we arc
warranted in saying that every lorG
would have measured twenty
'uShcls of shcllcd oats. They ar.
low housed snug'y, and c"icfully
';"kcd ;&w"y in Il loft that cxncri-
Jncc teaches us holds just enough
ats to feed three horses for twelve
months. We have tnat mans ROW
!redlng on Il II, ana wNare conf l~.:t
ohcse oats W.. feed t.icm and have
$ me to sD,ro when tic oat cop Of
1877 IS harvested.
Now let ns sec what these oats
ust u". First, there is tie sccl.
IEn'ran i',shals. wn.'th l..So fa.i
'Snte,G dollars. Then we p"iI
oy sowing two dollars. Then foi
knocking ucvn cujvon stalls ono