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

Where It IL designed TO feed oats In th
sheaf to stock, IL IL better that IL shoul,
| be cut early, just so soon no the mill
forms into dough. The advantages lie
rived from cutting early may be statet
as follows
l. There is no loss from shattering o
the grain.
2. Il rendem the straw more digestibl,
and more pala.able.
8. 1t vacates the land ten to fifteer
days earlier for fallow crop of peas Of
for forage crops or sweet potatoes. II
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 5e;Da
cut are fed to stock, they refuse general
ly 10 eat the straw, and not for The rea
son that it Is void Of all nutrinient even
in that case, but from the fact that they
waste and soil IL in their efforts to eat uf
the grain heads first, and because of the
harshness OF the straw, resulting from it.
over riPened condition. Il Is Yery
great economy 10 have the oa,a cut up Sc
that the grain becomes mixed with the
straw and the straw cannot be pulled Out
of the rack or manger and solled under
foot. Oat straw possesses considerable
nutriment, and we ought to strive "a
utilize 1t to It's fullest extent.
For the purpose Of fodder, o ton and q
half OF sleaf oats, cut early, willie the
stalk is moro or less green to via in 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 oil practical purposes II
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 theory, for II
has been abundantly piJven to be true.
Let the farmer that has my doubts ON
the subject Try it this season, and several
successive seasons ii necessary, on q 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 10 out
of The milk, Is the proper time to cut.
Oats for seed should be left to mature, OF
course. /. should be tied and shucked
as fast as cut, letting it cure in the shuck.
II q first 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
q fodder.cutter (nice work for wet
weather cutting up supply Of it) 10 un-
douotedlythe 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, Us secured by
early cutting, is palatable and nutEitious,
and makes very fair quslity of manure
and twenty-five to forty pounds of sheai
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
stepped, by all those farmers especially
who have access to pine straw for this
purpose. BY all means let che grain
straw be passed through the stock If its
full value would be realized. Unpalata a.
BILE rs it may often prove, yet stock will
eat and do tolerably we'll on it, but they
won't eat pine straw. Let the farmerit
watchword be 50 sound economy in al
things" ri s. 20.