566 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 24 
where they could be raised as a winter crop and from 
such a region could be gradually worked North, and 
the so-called winter oats be developed. So far as I 
am aware, however, no variety has yet been developed 
to endure the temperature we get here during some 
part of the winter. Just how far North they can be 
safely counted upon, I am unable to say. 
Illinois Ex. Station (Urbana). eugknk davenfort. 
1 have had no experience or information which 
touches the winter oats question, except what I have 
observed on our ranch, 700 miles south of Chicago and 
200 miles north of New Orleans. There oats are fre¬ 
quently sowed in December, but they are often winter- 
killed. The same varieties are sowed in the winter as 
in the spring. My impression is that winter oats bear 
the same relation to what is known as spring oats, as 
spring wheat bears to winter wheat—simply a hardy, 
acclimated, sub-variety of that which is usually 
grown. The advantages of sowing oats in September, 
i f it can be successfully done are, that they ripen earlier 
and thereby escape damage from rust. They are 
almost certain to be plumper and of a better quality 
than when sown in the spring My experience in 
raising oats leads me to the conclusion, that the 
earlier we can get them in—in the spring—the better. 
I have often known a week’s delay in sowing to make 
the difference between 70 and 25 bushels per acre, 
and the lesser yield, the late sown, would be of a 
quality far inferior to those which are sowed early. 
Then, too, early sowed grain does not require as much 
seed as late sowed, and the straw of the early is very 
much brighter and stiffer, and, therefore, is not so 
likely to lodge. From what I can learn, I believe 
that fall-sowed oats will not be likely to be very 
profitable except in rare cases, because they will be 
winterkilled or injured so frequently as to make them 
unprofitable. r. p. Roberts. 
Director Cornell Ex. Station (Ithaca). 
The most northerly point that I have learned of oats 
surviving the winter, is in .Jennings County, Ind., 
about 39 degrees N. latitude. I have also received 
letters from farmers informing me that they grew 
winter oats in Jackson and Washington Counties, near 
by Jennings. These were grown on quite an exten¬ 
sive scale, and last fall quite a large acreage was 
sown in Jackson County, I am told. If it is sufficiently 
demonstrated that winter oats will survive the winter 
at these points, no doubt they will live through the win¬ 
ter in other points in southern Indiana. In Tippecanoe 
County, between 40 degrees and 41 degrees N. latitude, 
we sowed last fall two lots of winter oats, from seed 
grown in southern Indiana. These plots were entirely 
winterkilled. In New York State, at Geneva, I at¬ 
tempted to grow numerous varieties of winter oats, 
but they were killed out completely by freezing. A 
seedsman in Indianapolis has been extensively adver¬ 
tising winter oats seed, claiming that the plants 
would withstand the severest cold. This, however, 
was an unfair statement, not based on fact. Some of 
the plants killed here were grown from seed from this 
firm. At a later date I shall expect to hear from some 
of the growers in southern Indiana as to how their 
oats survived the winter. 
I have never seen winter oats north of Virginia. We 
cannot raise them in Massachusetts, but that is not 
proof that they may not be grown even further North 
than this State in localities where the snow fall is 
greater, and (because the snow lies later in spring) 
the trying period of alternate freezing and thawing 
shorter. Thus, for example Alfalfa and Crimson 
clover do better in parts of Canada than here ; Crim¬ 
son clover almost invariably “ spring-kills ” here. To 
do their best, oats require a long period of cool, moist 
weather, for root extension and tillering ; and these 
conditions are better secured with winter than with 
spring varieties. In consequence of more extensive 
root development, and greater tillering before the 
plant shoots, winter varieties will yield more than 
spring. wm. p. BKOOK8. 
Massachusetts Agricultural College (Amherst) 
In all of my experience, I have not mulched oats 
here, and the practical growing of them in this State 
has been without winter protection, 1 believe. The 
advantages of winter oats are important. They may 
be sown in the fall on lands which teams cannot plow 
or cultivate early enough' in the spring to get in the 
seed to the best advantage. Further, the plants will 
get an early start, so that the prospects are more 
favorable for securing a crop of grain before summer 
droughts begin, or before rust occurs. Winter oats 
are, in nearly all cases, a so-called rust-proof form. 
This is, in a measure, due to their early maturity, 
rather than to their notably great resisting power 
to rust. They mature before rust has favorable con¬ 
ditions for growth. Another advantage from this 
class of oats, comes from winter or spring pasturage, 
the same as winter wheat or rye may be pastured. In 
some parts of the South, this is a very important 
matter. 
I was surprised to find that oats would survive the 
winter in Indiana, and it has occurred to me that 
ultimately, through selection and gradual acclima¬ 
tion, we may be able to sow our oat crop in the fall, 
the same as the wheat crop. There is no doubt that 
the boundaries for the winter growing of the oat, are 
gradually moving northward. C. s. plumb. 
Indiana Experiment Station (Lafayette). 
Winter oats have not been grown with success, to 
my knowledge, in this State. They do not work into 
the Ohio rotation to advantage. If they could be 
sown after the harvesting of the corn crop, in late 
October or early September, our farmers would be 
more willing to try them. j. fremont hickman. 
Ohio Experiment Station (Wooster). 
We know of no winter oats of any account in the 
State of Michigan. w. j. beal. 
Michigan Agricultural College. 
What Two Farmers Say. 
I have no personal knowledge of winter oats suc¬ 
ceeding “ without mulch or protection ” beyond the 
southern boundary of Pennsylvania. Here the early 
seeding of the spring oats, indispensable to a fair 
crop, gives the winter variety one important advan¬ 
tage. The soil in early spring, as a rule, is too full of 
water to plow without more or less injury to it, and 
loss of fertility. Besides this, putting wet soil in con¬ 
dition to receive seed, is an agricultural impossibility. 
The greater yield of the winter variety, is another 
important point in its favor. The strong, robust con¬ 
dition of the plants, that have had all the opportuni¬ 
ties nature provides for sending their roots deep into 
the soil, insures to them greater ability to resist hot, 
drying weather which generally occurs at the critical 
stage of the oat plant’s growth here. In short, the 
winter variety, is a stronger grower, heavier yielder, 
and surer cropper than the spring oat. j. w. kerb. 
Caroline County, Md. 
In the summer ol 1879, my brother brought out from 
Boxley, near Maidstone, Kent, England, a quart of 
drab-colored oats, which were used there, and in other 
parts of England for feeding to race horses. The oats 
were a fair size and very plump and heavy, weighing 
about 40 pounds per bushel. I sowed*the sample on 
fairly good land and harvested six sheaves which the 
next year gave four bushels of clean seed. This I 
sowed on four acres which yielded 1G9 bushels by 
measure, weighing 40 pounds per bushel. From this 
crop, the seed was sent to Delaware, Maryland and 
Virginia. I am still raising the same oats, which 
have never failed, no matter what kind of a winter 
we had. Here the winter oats will yield three bushels 
to one of spring oats. They will go two to one sowed 
as a spring oat. c. H. constable. 
Richmond County, Va. 
A Success In Northeast Virginia. 
In the fall of 1892, I purchased 10 bushels of a variety 
of so-called winter oats which was named Virginia 
Gray. They were drilled in about October 15, with 
400 pounds of a fertilizer containing about two per 
cent of nitrogen, seven or eight of phosphoric acid, 
and three of potash. The land had produced that 
year a fair crop of corn. The oats came up well and 
grew rapidly until cold weather set in ; but before 
spring opened, the brown appearance of the field was 
very discouraging, and it appeared that the predic¬ 
tions of my neighbors that they would prove a total 
failure, were to be verified. In March, however, to¬ 
wards the end of the month, the plants began to show 
some signs of life, and we finally harvested about 40 
bushels to the acre of oats that weighed 3 8% pounds 
to the struck bushel, as they came from the thrashing 
machine. The following year, we seeded about 10 
acres, some 10 days earlier than the preceding year. 
About four acres of these were so rank and contained 
such a tall growth of Timothy that we cut them for 
hay, and from the remaining six acres harvested 45 
bushels to the acre, of oats that weighed 39 pounds 
when thrashed. Last fall, we seeded 23 acres about 
September 20, on land which slopes gently to the 
north. Notwithstanding the severity of the winter, 
which is said by our oldest residents to have been the 
most severe in their recollection, the entire field came 
through without any loss from winterkilling, and is 
now (J illy 1), covered with a crop that is breast high, 
and ready to cut. I have no doubt that the yield per 
acre will be as great this year as before, but the oats 
may weigh a little less because, just as they were 
heading, we had several very hot days and nights. 
We do not feel any doubt as to the hardiness of 
winter oats in this locality, and from the way in which 
they came through the recent hard winter, 1 should 
think that they might prove hardy in New Jersey and 
Long Island, and probably along the Connecticut 
coast. The tops always turn brown in the spring, but 
the roots seem to retain their vitality almost as well 
as winter wheat. I suppose that the average crop of 
spring oats in our locality will not exceed 30 bushels 
to the acre, and any farmer who gets spring oats from 
his land which weigh more than 30 pounds to the 
bushel, considers himself fortunate. 
The variety of winter oats above mentioned is not 
very attractive to look at, as the kernels are a dark 
gray in color, and dull looking, but the oats are sweet 
and heavy. I shall have no seed for sale because (and 
here comes in my only unfortunate experience) the 
field contains a large proportion of chess. Every 
grower of winter oats in my locality reports the same 
condition. None of us noticed it last year, but I think 
that there was a small proportion which was unob¬ 
served, and that, without knowing it, we seeded our 
fields. Some, however, think that the prevalence of 
chess this year is owing to the season, though there 
seems to be none growing in the* winter wheat. 
Winter oats should be seeded in the fall in this 
locality not later than October 1, in order that a fair 
growth of tops and roots may be made before winter 
sets in. They mature only a few days after winter 
wheat, being usually ready for harvesting by June 20 
to 25. I fancy that this year's crop is hardier than 
the first one, though I may be mistaken in this. I 
forgot to say that, except the first year, we seeded 
with oats of our own raising, and that the fertiliza¬ 
tion each year was about the same. The present crop 
of winter oats, however, is on land which produced, 
last year, a very good crop of spring oats. Grass 
seeding with winter oats seems to be quite as success¬ 
ful as with winter wheat. We have this year a good 
stand of both Timothy and clover. Our soil is a mix¬ 
ture of sand and clay, the clay predominating, and 
appears to be deficient in humus. It is only mod¬ 
erately fertile, but responds readily to cultivation 
and fertilization, being particulax-ly susceptible to the 
influence of stable manure. A. x. ii. 
Fairfax County, Ya. 
A MODEL DAIRY FARM IN OHIO. 
THE EQUIPMENT FOR A BUTTER FACTORY. 
How the Business Started. 
Last winter, I called on L. S. Condit, who has, per¬ 
haps, the most complete farm dairy in this country. 
Mr. Condit formerly followed mixed farming and 
stock raising. Three years ago, when a creamery was 
built in a neighboring town, he took a share in the 
stock and began disposing of his horses and sheep, 
and replacing them with cows. He hauled his milk 
to the village creamery one year. The returns were 
very satisfactory, but being over four miles distant, 
he soon began to think that the labor of hauling so 
far, and the inconveniences, were too great. Not 
infrequently, there would be a can of sour milk, and 
usually the skim-milk would sour and thicken in hot 
weather before he could get it home, where it was 
designed for calves ; this was a great annoyance and 
loss. He began to investigate the equipments for a 
private dairy and soon decided to establish a butter 
factory at home, and run the risk of finding a profit¬ 
able market. 
He built his creamery between the house and barn, 
and just at the edge of a well. The power for separ¬ 
ating, churning and pumping water, is supplied by 
his bull, which works a tread-power. The building 
and equipment cost about $500 and is 15x32 feet. He 
has a U. S. separator No. 5, with a capacity of 300 
pounds of milk an hour. This is the average amount 
actually put through. He works his butter by hand 
with a Eureka worker. The only objects sought in 
working it are to press out the water and buttermilk, 
and thoroughly to incorporate the salt. When I 
called, there were about 70 pounds upon the worker. 
I staid to see this cut into one-pound blocks, and each 
pound separately wrapped in parchment paper, and 
carefully put away in the storage room. 
Mr. Condit now has a contract with one of the State 
institutions at Columbus, to take all his butter for a 
year at 25 cents per pound, and they pay the express- 
age. He also, sends his buttermilk to the same insti¬ 
tution at five cents per gallon. During the winter he 
churns three times a week, and does not churn any 
cream less than 12 hours old. During the summer, he 
churns every day. To my query regarding the tem¬ 
perature at which the churning is done, he named 68 
degrees for winter, and 58 to 60 degrees for summer. 
The cream is ripened by the natural ferment. 
Something About the Farm. 
The farm, which he himself conducts, contains 230 
acres. He has thrown 70 acres, a corner of the farm 
bordering the road on two sides, into one field, and 
taken away the road fence. This he farms in a three- 
year rotation, corn, wheat and clover. All the ma¬ 
nure after harvest until the ground is plowed next 
spring, is put upon the clover. This gives each strip 
of ground a coat of manure once in three years. His 
land was previously thoroughly tile drained, hence he 
has a pretty good assurance of heavy crops. How¬ 
ever, the large Southern corn has not proved satisfac¬ 
tory for ensilage with him, and he now thinks that 
he will depend upon the common field variety he has 
