The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-10-03

A short Talk with Those Who Guide
the D1xles.

great 0XCcnC, ana Dr1nR 10 Cn0 SOIL C1IlorS
pocket-book remunerative prices. An
other reason, it will, in great measure,
put stop to the shipment of Northern
hay to Florida, which is a disgrace to
farming and burning shame. Right
here also urge every farmer to put up
more hay this fall than he ever did during
any one fall before. Thousands of tons
are now growing almost everywhere the
eye is cast and was put here for good
purpose; but l am depressing. I COM
menced to talk about oats and will stick
to the text.
will admit that fall oats have been
known to make failure, so has every
other crop known to our soil; but is that
any reason why cattle should be half
starved each spring because an oat failure
was made once up N time. No! never!
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try
again, is a good farm motto.
Fortify yourselves every way you can
in order that you may have "dead loads''
of old corn in the crib until another crop
is made-that's good farming the world
over.
Just so sure as grass grows and water
runs there is going to be a change in the
previous policy of farming in Middle
Florida. Will you help bring about this
policy? If so, SOW fall oats and cut hay;
these are some of the methods There is
not one farmer who is subscriber or
reader of this paper but what g1umbles
year after year about the weavil; they
never trouble the oa', and they can b.
grown and housed cheaper than any other
grain grown on the farm, and there is no
grain grown that contains any more
nutriment. Certainly we think this crop
deserves and demands more attention
than it has heretofore received.
To be successful with oats or with any
other crop care must be taken. Sowing
on the poorest land without applying any
manure is not a good plan. The selection
Va cCou 10 AuOCACI AdCCCI CildC ouOulu ue
attended to. If in doubt as to
the variety best to be sown inquire of
those who have been successful hereto
fore and purchase the same variety used
by them.
From all information I can gather the
rust proof oats seem to be decidedly the
best. There is an oat called the No. 3
Western mixed that has been tried by
several of our acquaintance and proved
to be no food in any shape or form. They
have been known to yield not much over
four bushels to the acre. and oft-times
the straw cannot be saved because of its
weak character. One who has been sue
cessful gives us the following as the
proper way to be successful. He says:
"Sow one bushel to the acre, and dis
tribute broadcast 200 pounds of some
good ammoniated guano to the acre.
With a five or five-and- ne-half-inch
turner, turn under the guauo and oats
together. Then lay off the same land
again at right angles with the first laying
off, in lands twelve feet wide, and SOW
again one bushel of the same rust-proof
oats to the acre and 200 pounds of the
same ammoniated guano, and pillow guano
and oats in with five-inch steel scooter.
Let the blowing be deep and close and
we'll done in both cases.
Where farmers cannot have the use of
harrows, large blackjack, gum or dog
wood brush, drawn by two mules, and
rail fastened across the brush to keep the
limbs down and properly spread, answers
a good purpose as substitute for
smoothing harrow. 1t is very necessary
to have the land smooth; in case the oats
fail to grow tall they can be cut and
saved much better than if the land is un-
even and rough. Owing to drought in
the spring it is sometimes the case oats
head out low and yet have fine heads In
such cases, If they are we'll saved, the
field is very little cut of, except as to
straw. Oats grow better after cotton and
peas than after any other crop. They
grow very well after corn. They do not
grow and yield so well when grown on
stubble land.
There are many other plans which may
be better than the one suggested and in
different sections in the hands of different
farmers under different circumstances
may be better. The general virtue of
the plan which have suggested is to Sc
lect good land, sow early, fertilize heavily,
break the land we'll and leave it in good
condition. Other things being equal, the
earlier oats are sown the greater the
probability Of raising a. successful crop.
No crop sown on the general plan which
I have suggested is more certain than the
oat crop. have never known the rust.
proof oat, when sown in September, o.
tober or November, to fail, except for
two causes. One was from extremely
cold weather and the other from extreme
" poor land. We can avoid the extremely
poor land by not sowing ON such land.