The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-12-05
Small Grain.

the Iadiaaa FaIuer, says :
Further South a variety Of win
ter pats is successfully cultivated,
as it rIpcns 80 early a. to escape the
midsummer heat and drouth. The
experiment. Of c|ultlyatnug winter
oats in Central Indiana IS 6 being
made with a falr prospect OF sue
cess. The crop Of last summer,
however. must not be considered a
fair test. IL the preceding winter
was exceedingly mild. If the winter
oats sowed this fall shall stand the
test of the approaching winter, we
may, perhaps, consider the question
fairly settled atlirmatlvely. II we
can ripen oats by the goth OF June,
the crop will be "A success, but u
failure, at present, should not dis
courage us-wInter oats IS il posi-
bility, and by proper care and
knowledge Of the laws governing
the accIimation Of vegetables, q
variety can be produced which will
endure our winters as well as winter
wheat does.
In tins region, oats is exclusively
a feed crop, and almost entirely
confined to the feed Of horses. &c.
casionally Il crop of sats Is raised to
be "hogged down" IN order to give
the pork crop an early start III fat
ting. Oats, when ground and mixed
with an equal weight of wheat bran,
makes one Of the best mixtures for
feeding cattle that can be used. In
%wintering sheep, oats IS an almost
Indispensable article OF food. The
oats crop, IN this country, is nearly
always made to precCde wheat. This
practice, however. violates the inst
law of the rotation of crops
that is, never to raise two crops IN
succession which have glazed straw.
But if the wheat crop be followed
by clover, a good soil will not be
materially injured by an oats fallow.
Oats has the reputation, among
farmers, OF being "hard on the
ground" but, if land can have the
same rest after Il crop OF oats as
after other crops, it will be found
to be not more exhaustive than
they. The mineral matter taken
from the soil by an oats crop differs
but little from that taken by a cor
responding wheat crop.
RYE.
This can hardly be considered Il
general crop in this region-lndeed,
when it is raised, it is for It's
pasture and forage value than for
the grain produced. In the Eastern
States rye is extensively raised, both
for bread and stock feed, but rye
bread is seldom found on a Western
table, and corn and oats have almost
entirely superseded it as stock feed.
On poor land Il more profitable crop
Of rye can be made than of any other
grain, but from some cause, or
combination of causes, not well I'M
derstood, rye is an uncertain crop
in our rich Western soils. 1t is,
however, frequently sown among
corn at the last blowing, and fur
nishes Il large amount Of excellent
fall and winter pasture without
materially interfering with the corn
crop. This is sometimes turned
under as a green dressing for an
other corr crop, and sometimes it
is suffered to ripen and is followed
by wheat. This last practice is at
tended by the danger of fouling the
wheat with the volunteer rye. Rye
is a very nutritious grain, contain
ing a larger per cent. of sugar and
gluten than any other grain, except
it be barley. But while it builds
up the wastes of work animals, it
cannot compare with corn for fat
ting purposes. 1t is probably that
us our farms grow older, rye will
become a more certain crop and be
more extensively cultivated.
BARLEY
is raised to a considerable extent in
the neighborhood of our large cities,
where it is chiefly used by brewers.
1t is hardly known as a bread mate
rial in this country, though extern
siyely used for this purpose among
the lower classes In many countries
of the old world. To a limited
extent it has taken the place of oats
as stock feed, being considered a
more certain crop. But, while corn
can be raised as cheaply as it can in
this region, neither barley nor oats
will supercede it as stock feed, and
especially if it be used for fatting
purposes.