The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-07-25
Oats and Oatmeal

That there is an abundant crop of oats
harvested in this section of; country there
can be no doubt, and since We are in
clinsd to the belief. that very little profit
! IL derived, from the oat crop by our farm
en- generally, it may be profitable to
s5me Of us 30 peruse the article lately
published in:the agricultural column of
the Charleston Neos. Too many Of our
farmers use their oats for. horse feed in
I tue sbeaf, BY throwing the whole bundle
into; the horse-trorgh, which he extrava-
gantly wastes BY = eating of;fthe heads
aud trampling under foot the straw.
This Is rather an expensive litter for.
horse beds. If oats are threshed they
should be ground into meal and mixed
with fodder and other long forage cut
short BY 5 cutting knife, or if fed in the,
lssheaf to either horses or COWS should be
9run through the cutting machine so as
to thoroughly mix heads and straw.
Read the reflections of Hon. D. w.
Aiken on.the subject: =.
Perhaps the State of South Carolina
never harvested such a crop of oats as
she will thisyear. Aaerlong experience,
sin aoat sowing, and continued effort to
procure sort of oat that would yield q
good crop, and be proof against, rust or
blast, ,,our farmers seem to have at last
discovered the article in the valuable red
foat, ,lnow SO extensively sown throughout
ishe State. What boon that little grain
sshas:been. to the farming interest of thea
STATE, few. men can conceive who have.
not watched its introduction and general
cultivation with sort of experimental
interest. 3...s,,
It's presence as o staple crop suggests
some moral reflections. It has come in 1
our poverty like a special providence.
To depend upon growing corn to feed the
beasts Of burthen, and 50 much of the
human race as soourn on South Carolina
soil, would entail upon our farmers an
endless poverty; and perhaps want and
starvation TO plough animals. But Just
in the nick of time comes tbered oats to
save us from industrial failure, and to
secure for us political independence; for
We believe the truthfnlness Of the asser.
stion we heard made not long since, by q /
distinguished lawyer of the back ,coun-
try, that stred oats whipped therfght in
1S76.p For, said he, when the red-shirt,
at. the proper signal, ,unhitched his9I
plough traces, mounted his steed and
threw the half.bushel sack of red: oats
behind him, he meant business, and bus
inesstwith him meant political victory.
And how many hundreds, yea thousands:
of such heroes did We see in 1852 Let
tieir epitaphs be engraved upon the
grateful memories of disenthralled,
people. 4
We heard another man say, land he
was practical farmer, and q successful
one too that in South Carolina we cam
raise odts atten cents per bushel. While
We think this somewhat e1travagant, we
are prepared to believe any man in South
] Carolina can grow q bushel of oats al
most as cheaply as he can a peck of
ccrn, snd we again assert, as we have
often asserted before, that three bushels
Os oats are equal to ten bushels of,corn
in maintaining plough animals. Then
why it is that we do not grow oats to ex-
port from South Carolina no one can
tell, except that the farmers have not
vet become weaned of from their inher-
tied farm policies.
But we have said that we are growing
this year an immense crop Of oats. Then
the next question is, what will we do with
them when harvested and threshed p
viii weglut the market, and almost give
them away, as we have done occasionally
heretofore3 We hope not. If properly
fed to any and all kinds of animals they
can be made to pay better than by selling
them upon q crowded market.
A fine market might be opened even
for home consumption, if our millers
would introduce the proper machinery
for grinding them. Our farmers, and
the negroes in the country, would laugh
at any man who would advise them to
eat their own, oats, anc yet there is moth
ing more wholesome; and to-day there
are menin South Carolina who eat, rs
portion of their daily food, oatmeal por-
ridge, but send all the way to Baltimore
pr New York to get the oatmeal out OF
which IL IS made. There can be little
doubt but that ii boiled oatmeal were to
become q prevailing break fast and supper
dish, We would require more mill, and
sthiBw6ult tHHqnife more: cattle, and more
Scatt more fresh rneatb and more
Hars lsSf tga; and Ii30fa.|