The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1885-11-04

Smith oat, but we doubt It's making a
good Yield OH poor land. Not msny
crops do well IN poor land. Next to
Inc He'd HGst-proof oats we have valu-
ed the BurG OAKS, out several years
since discarded all other kinds for the
rnst-proof, as it is generally known. If
sown during September and the early
part Of October they will not be killed
by the cold of the severest winters in
middle Georgia; aid we have uniform
ly made a good yield when thus man
aged. Ii sown later in the winter, or
the early spring, they stand q doubtful
chance, and not more than Ole time i'm
five will they pay for the labor of SOW
ing.
Land upon which the oats are to be
sown should be broken with q two
horse pillow just as early as the soil can
DO turned and the vegetable matter
well covered up. About the 10th of
September, after the manure has been
disti ibuted over the surface, we SOW
the cats ut an average of two bushels
to the acre, and harrow them in nicely
and well. Stable manure and cotton
seed are here found a most excellent
fertilizer, and we do not know that we
can commend anything better. The
cotton seed are crushed before being
applied, to prevent termination.
Treated in this way any ordinary farm
should average thirty-five bushels of
oats to the acre, and realize one hum
drcd per cent. on the cost, if the crop
sell at forty cents per bushcl.
Oats cannot be raised with uniform
success if ~slovcnly planted. The land,
in our opinion, should be thoroughly
prepared and the seed deposited upon
a mellow, fertile bed, thoroughly pull
verified. 1t may be that we can take
n Disc harrow and 90 over much moro
ground and leave it in fair shape as to
appearances, but we doubt if the sue
cess can be made equal to the yield of q
deeply prepared and thoroughly pull
verified soil. We have tried purchas-
ing seed south of us with no apprecia-
BILE benefit.
The great trouble with the oats crop
has been lack of preparation and fer
tilizaticn, and seeding at the wrong
season. Cotton occupies the attention
of farmers in September and October,
and they are unwilling to employ ad.
ditional labor to put in this valuable
crop. The teams stand idle i'm the sta
bles, or worse, they are put into the
field to CLEAN the last vcstige of vegeta-
bic matter from the soil, and the gold.
en- opportunity for all abundant harvest
is lost, to secure q crop that frequently
costs us o money than we receive
for it. When we get ready, in mid
winter, to put in the crop, the oats are
badly scratched into the wet ground
and left to freeze ont and die without
roots or fertilizer to stimulate them in
the struggle for life.
Every farm that is large enough to
have a gin should have a cotton seed
crushcr, and az fast as the cotton is
ginncd the seed can be utilized for oats.
lfthe area is reduced, the land properly
prepared and fertilized, and the Ned
Rust-proof oats sown the latter part OF
September, in Middle Georgia, an
abundant crop, in our opinion, will be
assured. The largest yield of oats we
ever made was from ali acre sown OH
the 9TH of November. Everything that
winter was favorable for a good crop.
We have not been able to repeat that
experiment since.
In our opinion our farmers make q
great mistake in relying upon corn for
their teams. We are glad to have this
question suggested just at this time by
Il correspondent, as it is one Of vast
import and should be considered by
our readers. If we can supply our
teams with other grain grown in the
winter and without cultivation, we
then nave the more time to devote to
cotton and other surplus crops for an
income to the farm. Let every farmer
SOW five acres for each mule and sec
that it is well done at the proper time
and the question Of stock food will be
settled Southern CultiUatOr.