Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-02-08
"sowINc THEIR WILD OATS" +"
Some Opinions Expressed by an Honest
Farmer on the Bohemian Oats Business
and Other Matters.

and Other Matters.
To the Editor of the Globe Republic:
CLIFTON, February Sit is an old
proverb that when person was spending
their money foolishly and wasting their
time THAT they were sowing their wild
oats" 1t is my honest opinion that there
are many persons now in the winter sowing
their wild oats. While passing up the pike
one morning met two men, well dressed,
with fine horse and buggy and splendid
robe. They signalled me to stop and asked
my name; said they were just going to see
me; that had been recommended to them
by the best business men of the city as a
prominent, influential farlNer, and they
wished me 10 20 with them and introduce
them to the farmers ana assist them i'm SELL
ing Bohemian oats; that John Howell. pres
ident of the Lagonda bank, had gone into
1t: that many farmers In this state had made
from one to five thousand dollars year by
it, etc. told them that they would get no
assistance from me, but l would do all
could against them; that | had heard of
their scheme and that considered it one of
the most bare-faced swindles ever intro
duced, and that they ought to be arrested
forthwith for swindling the farmers.
They drove on, and called back that
if did not engage in it this year / would
next A few days after neghbors Of Greene
county called on me and introduced to me
Mr.. of Crawford county, Ohio.
They made about the same fiattering state
ment that the other parties did, including
Mr.. John Howell. &c. Farmers said he had
bought some of the oats and expected to
make fine thing of it. told them it was
a grand swindle; that no oats in the world
were werth over one dollar per bushel; that
the best oats In Australia could be shipped
here and sold at good profit for that price;
that there were no such oats as the Bohemi
an oats; that they had given them this name
10 suit their fancy, that the proper name
was the ''hulless" or naked" oats. This
the cat man admitted to be true That in
Europe they were considered low grade of
oats, and If they would come into the house
/ would prove it to them. They said they
Taking the book in my hand | said this is
Chambers encyclopedia. standard work
Vol. 4, page 81, article cat, speaking of the
different kinds of oats it says: The naked
cat is cultivated in Austria, but
is not much esteemed. Bohe-
mian is province of Austria
| again told farmer S. that those engaging
in this oats Business in the end would find
it great swindle, as the old Dunkard said,
"a snake in the grass, snake in the grass"
they made no reply, bade me good evening,
and left In the report of the commission
er of agriculture, made to the president of
the United States, vol. 1877, page 1870,
speaking of the seeds received for the mu-
scum he says: There is also q specimen of
the sO-called hull-less Oats.r Thus we find
that the agricultural department at Wash
ington had specimen of these oats eight
years ago, and had they been considered
worthy of introduction they would have
bought hundreds of bushels of them for dis
tribution and sent them to the farmers free
of charge, as they have done of other kinds
of oats. By the kindness and promptness
of General Keifer l have received the
United States agricultural reports for nine
years; the general has also been very dill
gent in the distribution of seeds in his dis
trict In the Mill Stone, volumn Z, No. 9.
page 265, the writer says: '.And species OF
oat '(even anuda) having its grain free from
chaff, grows wild in Sweden, and is
cultivated in Austria" In an article Oh
oats in the Farm, Herd and Home, March,
1889, the naked oats are mentioned as
a species, but not recommended. Ii hull
less oats would make good meal, oat meal
millers would long since have ceased to be
at the trouble and expense of putting ma
chinery in their mills to hull the oats and
as food for stock the hull is a great advan-
tage. Does any good feeder think of feed
ing rye to his horses without getting il
ground and mixing cut straw with il. Ii
some Of our young farmers and others would
spend each year the money for good books
and papers that they spend for tobacco
they would soon have splendid library.
and If they read it they wound not be de
ceived by those steel-faced. impudent sharp
ers. The American Encyclopedia says sew
erai attempts have been made to introduce
the naked oats" of Austria into the United
States. but they did not succeed. Farmer
should look out for all kinds of swindlers.
One of my Greene county farmers has NOR,
tanning mills ON his hands than he know.
what to do with.
An OLD SUBSCRIBER.
p. S.-The Torchlight claims that Greene
county farmers are too intelligent to b,
swindled. How was it with Linkhart and
Andrew? A. o. S.