The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1885-11-04
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT,
What Variety OF Oats Shall tho Farmers

Sow
In this section q {inc corn crop was
grown In the year 1876; for five years
after that season the dry weather of
July cut of the corn crop to less than
half. The farmers began to despair of
growing on old upland corr in sufi-
cient quantity TO feed the farm stock.
IN the faii OF . 5 an unprecedentedly
large crop OF Red rust-proof oats were
fail oats, so the farmers harvested all
enormous oats crop in MAY, 1882.
Most farmers thought they had at last
hit upon the plan of raising grain
crops for stock, as the yield of oats
that season per acre was in many cases
fully five times greater than corn and
the cost of growing an acre in oats
was much less than growing an acre in
corn. But since the year 1882 the oats
crop has been q complete failure in
Monroe county, A few years since a
gentleman from Hancock county spent
a night with the writer. After supper
the subject of growing oats came up,
and this gentleman remarked that Mr.
w. j. Northen, of Hancock, had been
heard to say that he had kept an accu-
rate account of the different farm
products raised or grown on his farm,
and that he had realized moro clear
money on sheep than on any other
farm product; and that next to sheep
he had realized more clear profit from
growing oats.
AS the season is near at hand when
armers SOW fall oats, it occurred to
the writer that the readers of the GU
hcat0r would be pleased to hear from
Mr.. w. j. Northen on the subject of
oats raising. Does Mr.. Northen SOW
R.9tsr. r%ust-prOof oats or has he found
Some variety less likely to be killed by
hard winters3 A short time since |
received n letter from Mr.. John II.
Dent, of Cherokee, Ga, and he sug-
gested that | should write an article
on oats for the Cu%lttUdtOr. Mr.. Dent
says in his section Of Georgia the Red
rust-proof oats arc q failure rs they
are too liable to be killed by cold win.
ters. He said for o number of years
he was enthused on the subject of Red
rust-proof oats, but he has now aban-
doned them. He thinks they are suit.
cd for a more tropical climate where
the winters are mild and the springs
are humid.
Mr.. Dent says: "Thc oats l want
is q hardy variety that stands cold and
grows tall, for l value straw as much
as the grain. l want long straw SC
that l can cut high and have a heav,
stubble to turn under for the benefit
of the land" This, l presume, is the
variety that most farmers are after,
Let us hear from you, Mr.. Editor, or
this question. For a number of wears
an oats club in Baldwin county has
been experimenting in growing large
crops Of oats, but l do not know what
variety is sown Some large Yields
have been published rs grown by men
in that section. In 1882, Mr.. w. f.
Dcwberry, who is a neighbour of mine,
had q field Of eight acres that he
thought made 100 bushels per acre; he
did not, how ever, measure them. DR..
Moss, of Monroe, made 1877 bushels
that year on an acre. Some six OF
eight years ago, Mr.. jim Rose, of
Epson county, made 1873 bushels per
acre on a plat of eight acres. Three
years ago the writer made sixty-four
bushels Red r%ust-proof oats on an acre
of land that was only moderately good
land; but in 1877 the writer sowed on
the 10th day of August oats in q field
of thin gray land he had in cotton al
the last plo wing he gave his cotton
The yield was twenty bushels per acre,
and as the cost Of the crop was simply
what it cost to cut them they did not
cost to lay them down at the crib ovcl
five cents per bushcl.
But on the following year he sowed
again at the last blowing of cotton,
but August and September were very
hot and dry SO that the oats were badly
killed by heat. OF all the varieties Of
oats sown in this section, none have
yielded such large crops as the Red
rust-proof; but they have become toe
uncertain q crop to rely on.
Does the editor know anything about
the TON Smith" oats? 1t is said OF
them that they grow tall on poor land
and yield we'll. If such is the fact,
and they are rust-proof, it would be
well for the farmcIs to give them
trial. IN the August number Of the
CMIfUator, for the year 1884, page 257,
Bill Arp says seed oats and wheat
ought to come from south of the sec.
ton in which they are sown. Let the
farmers also hear from the editor on
this subject. Has he tried the plan of
sowing oats from more southern luti.
tude, and if so, what was the result;
One of my neighbors, Mr.. A. G. Jack.
son, brought some oats from Macon
county, known in that section as the
chapman" oats, because Mr.. William
chapman, OF Dooly, first brought
them in that section. They are, how.
ever, the same as the "Burt" oats. ]
obtained one bushel of this variety o.
oats and sowed them the 1st of March
l used acid phosphate OH them at the
rate of 200 pounds per acre. The oats
grew tall but the grain wa very light.
l shall not sow them again. Men
differ in regard to the time to SOW Red
rust-proof oats. Capt. McMullin, OF
Monroe, who was a very successful
oats grower, said from the goth OF
September to the 10 OF October was
the proper time to seed that variety of
oats. MIR. Thomas Marshall, of Mon
roe, who is also q successful oats
grower, prefers to begin sowing the
10th of December and SOW until
Christmas. My observation is that
early own oats arc heavier than late
W If cotton seed would admit of