The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1880-03-25
Correspondence Of
SOWING OATS.
IN REPLY TO "CLoDHOPPER."

IN REPLY 10 "CLODHOPPER."
Ed. News In his article on oats
culture, "Clodhopper" gives some
directions for sowing oats, which
would insure failure on the clay lands
of Highland county.
This land is naturally rich, but by
constant working has had the grit
or liveliness taken out of it. If plow-
ed deep, Is or 6 inches,) in March or
April, the spring rains will surely
make a cement of it, forming a sur
face crust almost imperious to air
and water. If plowed too wet, the
acrust reaches the depth to which it
has been plowed. "CIodhopper"
must know that nothing is more
common than this running togeth-
er" of clay soil.
If, after plowing, his prescription
be followed, the ground "well pull
verized and tightly packed, then, in
an ordinary season, he may consider
himself fortunate if he succeeds in
harvesting his oats crop without the
use Of the hoe. If the rolling has
been done after seeding, and is fol-
lowed by dashing rains, I will insure
half the oats not to come through /;
if done before sowing, the seed can
not be covered so well by drill, har-
row or any other implement and so,
after termination, is much more ex-
posed to drouths, which so frequent
ly occur in April and May. Irepeat,
if this kind of soil be "well pulver-
lied and tightly packed, " it is non
sense to talk about a crop of oats, in
an ordinary season, simply because
the treatment renders the ground
impermeable, or rather invites nature
to make it so. I except seasons
when there are frequent rains until
harvest. know that in such sea-
sons this kind of land will mostly
produce good crops.
I know that oats are generally
sown on poor land-on what we call
the clay knobs. But, treated in the
right manner, these 'knobs" produce
heavier oats-I mean soldier, heavier
grain-than our loose, black land.
Speaking of this cold, clammy soil,
an English farmer once said, "chop
'Un over with an 'eavy 'Oe," and this
''ohOpping over, instead of plowing,
is the secret of success in working
these knobs, or the clay swamps of
Union TIP.
But we have a great improvement
on the hoe, in our two-horse cultiva-
tors. I SOW oats On ground that has
been in corn the previous year. The
cultivator I use has an extra shovel,
which is placed in the center of the
space allowed for the corn-row in cul-
tivating. I lock the shovels in the
ground, so they cannot skip or slide
over the ground without lifting
the whole weight of the implement,
then drive regularly over the field, !
setting theshovels so as to run about
2 inches deep on level ground; then
turn and Cross the first plowing with
the same implement. This makes
the ground look very rough, but it is
in just the right condition to prevent
baking. Stagger the hoes Of the
drill, and drill across the last plow- |
ing, or, if in a hurry, the drill may
follow the cultvator. If broadcast
sowing is preferred, SOW before the
last cultivating. Don't you bring the
roller into the oats-feld.
A great advantage of this method
is, that oats can be sown before it is
fit TO take a breakng-plow into the
field. I have put in oats in this man
ner, and with good results, when the
ground was so wet that it curled ND
over the shovels in great shiny shay
ings. But these shavings lie so
loosely on the surface, that a few
hours sun dries them out, and the
ground never bakes. Don't go anv
deeper than is necessary to get dirt
to cover with, and leave the surface
as loose and rough as possible.
I believe 'FClOdhopper's" method