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NEW YORK, AUGUST 24, 1895 
$1.00 PER YEAH 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER WINTER OATS. 
They Lived Through the Cold Season. 
Is there a variety that will stand the winter as far North aa 
northern New Jersey. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, etc., or even 
further North ? _ 
The R. N.-Y.’s trial of last year shows that there may 
he. Rust-proof , early, a sure crop. Not one plant 
injured during the past severe winter. 
Not to use the convenient “about,” but to be 
accurate, The R. N. Y. began to investigate oats in 
1881. The investigations were to help decide (1) the 
most productive kinds; (2) those with the stiffest 
straw; (3) the earliest; (4) those which would best 
resist rust, and (5) finally to detect whether the so- 
called new kinds being introduced were really new or 
merely old kinds in¬ 
troduced under new 
names. At that time, 
much was said of 
winter oats as raised 
in Virginia. Georgia, 
and other Southern 
States. Desiring to 
find out just how 
hardy these winter 
oats were, we secured 
samples of several 
supposed-to-be differ 
ent varieties, and 
sowed them in the 
fall. Not a plant 
ever survived the 
winter. 
Last summer, Mr. 
C. M. Taylor, of Bar- 
boursville, Va., sent 
us a small quantity 
of a winter variety, 
which he requested 
us to sow during 
August—a variety 
that he had sown for 
many years, selecting 
every year his seed 
with much care. The 
history of this varie¬ 
ty, in so far as he 
knows anything 
about it, is given be¬ 
low. We often try 
experiments without 
the least faith that 
they will amount to 
anything, or prove of 
any practical value. It was so with these oats. In 
truth, we prepared a plot, and sowed them more to 
oblige our correspondent than for any other reason. 
It will be remembered that last August was a 
droughty month at the Rural Grounds. So dry was 
the soil that we could not fit it for oats, or any other 
were suffering from dry weather. On June 10, they 
averaged three feet seven inches tall, and about half 
the panicles were out of the sheaths. Other oats 
were not over one-third that height. June 15 the 
height averaged four feet, the panicles all out. “ A 
splendid mass of rank verdure without a particle of 
rust. June 19 the average height of the oats was 
four feet eight inches, the panicles 10 inches, spread¬ 
ing. The spring oats of the several fields about us 
were not yet headed out, and but a foot in height, 
owing to drought, from which the winter oats were 
not suffering in the least. 
On June 25, the plants averaged nearly five feet 
high. On the evening of that day, a gale and a heavy 
shower lodged about halt of the plot. They were 
sown much too thick. The oats were then in the 
milk, the widely spreading, loose panicles from 8 to 12 
inches long. There were about 50 pairs to the panicle, 
the larger of the pair being larger than most spring 
oats, the smaller, smaller. 
Because these oats passed the exceptionally trying 
winter of 1894-5, without injury, are we justified in 
assuming that the variety may fairly be considered 
hardy for this climate? If so, it will appear to our 
Mr. Taylor says: “I shall consider it a compliment if 
you will name the variety The Rural New-Yorker 
winter oats.” Now let us give our readers what Mr. 
Taylor has to say : 
“ My father raised these winter oats in the seven¬ 
ties, near Richmond, Ya. He does not know where 
the variety originated. The sample I sent you was 
of those I have been sowing continually in the fall 
from selected seed for the past 12 years. The winter 
of 1883-4 was exceedingly cold after Christmas, the 
thermometer showing five degrees below zero. The 
following summer was dry. There was a heavy crop 
of winter oats ; spring oats a failure. The winter of 
1890-91 was very mild, and followed by a dry summer; 
the winter oats gave a tremendous crop, while the 
spring oats failed. The winter of 1892-3 was very 
cold, with little snow. The spring was seasonable, 
and crops of both spring and winter oats were har¬ 
vested. The winter 
of 1894-95 the ther¬ 
mometer registered 
12.degrees below 
zero ; we had a good 
crop of winter oats. 
“ No spring oats 
are sown in this vi¬ 
cinity. These winter 
oats, if sown early 
in the spring, are su¬ 
perior to any spring 
variety I have ever 
tried. If sown late, 
the chances are that 
they will be a fail¬ 
ure. 
“ The yield of win¬ 
ter oats is much 
greater per acre, and 
much heavier in 
weight—t hose fall- 
sown weighing from 
38 to 42 pounds per 
bushel. 
“ These winter oats 
ought to be sown the 
latter part of August 
or September. They 
may be sown regard¬ 
less of any drought 
if the land is well 
prepared, as they do 
not dry or rot as 
wheat does; the fly 
does not molest them, 
so there is no danger 
to be apprehended 
from sowing too 
early. In this climate, they may be grazed all winter 
by calves and colts.” 
What the Experts Have to Say. 
On June 2, the following note was mailed to a num¬ 
ber of our friends and correspondents : 
winter crop until September. A small plot was then 
spaded under and raked, and the oats sown not until 
September 15. We may say that last winter was one 
of exceptionable severity. Near the oats plot was 
one of Crimson clover, in which it had passed two 
preceding winters in safety. Every plant was killed. 
The following notes will show our friends how the 
winter oats behaved. 
They made a thrifty growth until frosts, more 
thrifty than either rye or wheat. Not a plant was in¬ 
jured by the winter. The first heads appeared June 3, 
when the plants were three feet high, the leaves 
three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The spring 
oats of several fields near by were not half so tall, and 
friends that the discovery is a most important one. 
If the variety is what it seems to be from this trial, 
many, if not most, farmers will prefer it to spring 
varieties, because it is exempt from all the objections 
that can be made to spring oats. They mature long 
before spring oats ; they are not affected by drought 
or rust ; the oats are heavier than spring-sown oats, 
the yield greater of both straw and oats, and for hay 
or pasture, the variety may have an exceptional value. 
History of the Oats. 
In consideration of the fact that The R. N.-Y. has 
been the first to show that there is a variety of oats 
hardy enough to endure, possibly, severer climates, 
Will you please tell us how far north you have known the so 
called winter oats, sown from August 15 to September 15, to stand 
the winter without mulch or protection ? What do you consider 
the advantages of winter oats ? 
And the answers follow : 
The winter oats have been tested on our Experi¬ 
ment Station farm, but were entirely unable to endure 
our winters. This is all that I can say in regard to 
this crop in the West. e. 8. goff. 
Wisconsin Experiment Station. 
As oatsare by nature adapted to a cool, moist climate, 
the only way they can be pushed very fax' toward the 
tropics, is by getting them out of the way before the 
hot, dry season. The point would soon be reached 
