The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1882-02-28

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TO zee bills presented, aud laws enacted,
that may aim to remedy some of the
worst evils that prey upon the vital in.
terests of the farmers and the people.
Why spend so much time In small amend.
ments TO old laws, and in making new
laws that are of not much importance
while the most glaring and crushing evils
call for the immediate and earnest atten.
ton of the law-makersf Here is the sheep
interest why not inquire into this mat.
ter particularly, and find out as nearly a.
possible how much the State loses yearly
by bad dogs, and how much she would
probably make, or might make, were
sheep protected from such dogs? Why
not give us estimates like those-of Geor-
| gia, whose lawmakers enact, 80 many wise
and wholesome lawsP A few years ago
the Commissioner of Agriculture of Geor-
| gia reported that that State lost Is per
cent. Of her sheep by neglect and bad
management, and large number by dogs,
and yet the aggregate profits of sheep
raising in Georgia was IS per cent. Is
not branch of husbandry that will paw
IS per cent. and more profits annually,
worth the special attention of law-makers?
AO1 IuO Ice AcAaGuFcc 6uDWeT.
RAISING OATS.
Farmer" in the Southern LiUe Stock
Journal, writing from Harrison, Miss,
says: stI
l see in your last issue of the eth inst.
an inquiry from ID. w. Foster, in regard
to the culture of oats.
Plant in October or early November
if the soil is thin or badly worn, manure
with stable or COW manure, vegetable
mould, or anything that will strengthen
the soil-distribute manure well, SOW
broadcast II bushels to the acre and
cover with turning pillow not less than
three inches deep; four inches is better in
sandy soil.
Do not be afraid of sod, dry grass,
weeds or any decaying vegetation that
may be on the ground. If the ground is
rough after blowing, level with harrow.
When the growth of the oats begins to
quicken in the Spring, (which will vary
as to time, according to the late or early
season,) SOW bone dust broadcast and har-
row with very light harrow. There is
no fertilizer equal to bone dust for oats.
Some people are prejudiced against har-
rowing oats in the Spring in that event
SOW your bone dust, the ground will abb
sorb it very quick without the aid of the
harrow.
If the land is only ordinarily good,
| fifty, pounds of bone dust to the acre is
enough.
/ came to this section late in January
last, sowed seven acres of red rustp-roof
oats late in February, on poor piny woods
| ground my neighbors induced me to har-
row in my oats after the ground was
broken, the consequence was that the
birds got about half of them. l had no
manure Of any kind, used little less than
| fifty pounds of bone dust to the acre, and
harvested 233 dozen of as fine seeded oats
as ever saw grow in any country.
The first of November last planted
eight acres in oats on ground that had
been cultivated in corr. Sowed them
down on top of mass of corn stalks,
crab grass, tie vines and weeds genera
ally The ground was in ridges, and the
oats were covered at irregular depths,
varying from three to five inches. lev
eled the ground with the harrow,
after blowing, and three weeks later
turned two calves and ten head of
merinO sheep on the oats; the calves have
run on them continually, the sheep about
half the time, and occasionally when the
| ground was dry, three horses and two
cows, and / do not think ever saw q
finer prospect for good oat harvest. The
calves are three months old, are perfectly
fat, do not get over one quart of milk per
day, and have to be driven up morning
and night to get that.
All stock should be taken off when the
bone dust is sown in early Spring, which,
as before stated, varies according to the
season.
Of course your oats should not be over
pastured the practical man only has to
consult common sense in this regard.
CORN FODDER AND MANGAL wURzELs.
In your issue of this date you have an
article from J. A. G. on "Corn Fodder as
Green Food" The result was satisfacto-
ry to him and is to me, but if he will fol-
low my plan think it will be still more
satisfactory to him. On the 9th of last
April | broke up and thoroughly pulver-
lied with roller and wheelbarrow one and
half acres of ground that had been in
mangel wurzels the previous season.
Then with the Bickford & Huffman drill.
all the tubes open, set with wheel No. 6,
and gear lever in notch No. 6, drilled in
about eighteen pecks of corn and two
bags of dissolved bone. I began to cut
the fodder about the 18th of July, and
from that time until October LIST, / fed,
giving them all they wanted, seven horses,
FIVE cows, eight heifers and calves, with
an occasional feed to thirty-four sheep,
from that patch alone, cutting nearly two
carloads per day. With my pasture
completely exhausted, and but little hay
left over, would have been in pretty
bad fix without my green fodder corn.
| follow this practice every year, using
stable manure, about forty carloads to
the acre, whenever have it, instead of
the bone, giving, of course, a much
heavier yield, The large quantity drilled
| in gives a act thick enough to prevent a
| growth of more than four or five feet,
keeping the stalks green and slim and
full of juice, the stock eating them up as
clean as the blades.
l have now about eight hundred
bushels of mangel wurzel raised on one
and . half acres. Same land, few years
ago, yielded about l,4O0 bushels, having
had plenty of rain. / give Q feed every
night to horned stock and sheep, using
about six bushels. / expect the supply
to last until the latter part of April, when
our pasture viii be ready. The stock are