The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-05-27
Cutting Oats Early.

Where it is designed to feed oats in the
sheaf to stock, it is better that it should
be cut early, just SO soon as the milk
forms into dough. The advantages de-
rived from cutting early may be stated
as follows:
l. There is no loss from sllattering of
the grain.
2. 1t renders the straw more digestible
aud more palatable.
8. 1t vacates the land ten to fifteen
days earlier for a fallow crop of peas or
for forage crops or sweet potatoes. In
fact, on rich land, cotton may follow
early cut oats or other grain.
When sheaf oats that have been al
lowed to ripen thoroughly before being
cut are fed to stock, they refuse general
ly to eat the straw, and not for the rea-
son that it is void of all nutriment even
in that case, but from the fact that they
waste and soil it in their efforts to eat up
the grain heads first, and because of the
harshness of the straw, resulting from its
over ripened condition. 1t is q very
great economy to have the oats cut up so
that the grain becomes mixed with the
straw and the straw cannot be pulled out
of the rack or manger and soiled under
foot. Oat straw possesses considerable
nutriment, and we ought to strive to
utilize it to its fullest extent.
For the purpose of fodder, ton and
half of sheaf oats, cut early, while the
stalk is more or less green to within four
or FIVE inches of the ground, is worth
two tons, and often more, of that which
is allowed to become dead ripe before
cutting. For all practical purposes it
may sometimes be worth twice as much,
taking into consideration all the gain
that may be secured by early cutting, as
above indicated. This is not a mere
matter of speculation or theory, for it
has been abundantly proven to be true.
Let the farmer that has any doubts on
the subject try it this season, and several
successive seasons if necessary, on half
acre if no more, and he will soon be con.
vinced that it is better to cut early.
AS soon as the stalk becomes dry near
the ground, or as soon as the grain is out
of the milk, is the proper time to cut.
Oats for seed should be left to mature, of
course. It should be tied and shucked
as fast as cut, letting it cure in the shuck.
If frst.class quality of fodder is de.
sired, do not let it lie in swath, exposed
to the sun even half day if avoidable.
Oats cut and cured thus and run through
fodder.cutter (nice work for wet
weather cutting up supply of it, is un.
doubtedly the cheapest food we can pro.
vide for our stock, and we ought to learn
how 10 preserve and feed it without
waste. Tender oat straw, as secured by
early cutting, is palatable and nutritious,
and makes very fair quality of manure,
and twenty-five to forty pounds OF sheaf
oats of this character, when cut up, is
ample allowance for any ordinary horse
or mule under rigorous work. The
wasteful practice of using oat or other
grain straw for bedding ought to be
stopped, by all those farmers especially
who have access to pine straw for this
purpose. By all means let the grain
straw be passed through the stock if its
full value would be realized. Unpalata.
BILE as it may often prove, yet stock will
eat and do tolerably well on it, but they
won't eat pine straw. Let the farmers
watchword be "a sound economy in all
things" S. A. G.