Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-07-25
Oats for Hay.

The season thus far has been little
cold for Indian corn, but it could hardly
have been better for oats. This grain
seems to delight in cool weather, and
succeeds better at the north than in
southern ATTITUDES. The crop is pecu-
liarly subject to rust, often blasting just
as the grain begins to fill, especially if
the weather is extremely hot and show
cry at that time In Southern New
England, where hay sells nearly twice
as high as in the more northern por--
tons, oats, as g. grain crop, have become
more and more unpopular from year to
year, till at the present time, probably,
more than half of all that are sown are
intended more for fodder than for the
grain. Some farmers let them stand
till the grain will pay for threshing, but
cut while the straw is yet green. Others
cut when in bloom, and thus get the:
hay when it is in its best condition for
feeding. Oats have usually been grown
on old ground where corn or potatoes
had been cultivated one or more sea-
sons A few farmers make practice
of manuring oats the same spring they
are sown, but usually this crop is COM
the soil, such as has been applied to pre-
vious crops and not wholly consumed.
In unfavorable seasons, when the wealth
er is hot and damp, oats are thought to
do best under such treatment, but in a
season like the present, they do equal
ly well upon newly plowed land, and
with fair dressing of stable manure.
For the past two years we have made
special efforts toward raising, upon the
farm, all the fodder to be used by the
stock kept, and in order to do this have
experim ented in various ways Among
them we have tried growing oats for fod-
der upon old moving fields, which were
producing too little hay for profit. The
land has been plowed in the autumn,
after the hay crop was secured. Then
it is narrowed fine and smooth during
the leisure days between harvesting and
other work Before winter the soil may
be made to look almost like an old field,
provided the blowing and narrowing is
thoroughly DONE Manure of some kind
is applied before the ground freezes, and
if convenient is cultivated lightly into
the soil.
Early in spring, or soon as the soil is
dry enough to work well, it is cultivated
thoroughly and sowed to oats, at the rate
Of from four to five bushels per acre. If
the grain is small, four bushels may be
enough, but otherwise, five would be
better. This will give straw nearly as
fine as ordinary stout timothy. 1t is
easily cured, and, when cut early and
well cured, makes hay that is better than
timothy and red-top which are allowed
to stand until dead ripe. We have had
nearly five acres of such oats this sea-
son, most of which have been grown
upon greensward, and the result has
been quite equal to our highest antici-
pations. Two fields were MANFRED with
Brighton fertilizer, applied in the fall
after the ground froze, and left exposed
during the winter, and with no percepti-
BILE loss from such exposure, even
though upon land somewhat subject to
washing. More labor is required for
growing such crops than is required for
cutting the hay upon old fields, but from
our experience we should claim that
such labor pays. e.a.si f.Y
- Itwouid seem that land producing two
or three crops of grain straw in season,
each being fairly MANFRED and the stub
BILE plowed in, must be gaining in fertil-
ity. 1t certainly improves in mechani-
cal condition, being light and exceed
ingly mellow. We doubt if oats as a
fodder crop are yet appreciated accord
ing to their real merits.-N. E. Farmer.