The Millets (541 



the best results are obtained by seeding on spring plowing, espe- 

 cially if care is used to level and compact the seed bed. 



Millet can be sown broadcast and harrowed in or planted with 

 a grain drill. When good seed is used, 20 to 25 pounds an acre is 

 sufficient. 



It is 'often possible to grow a crop of millet after another crop, 

 such as oats, barley, or wheat, has been removed from the land. 

 In such cases the ground may be prepared for seeding by disking, 

 but plowing is preferable. Such double cropping, however, is not 

 good practice, since it is hard on the land, both crops being surface 

 feeders to a large extent. 



One feature that should be borne in mind is to have the ground 

 level after seeding, so that clods and other rough places will not 

 interfere with the mowing machine. This smoothing may be 

 accomplished by rolling or planking the field after it is seeded. 



Harvesting 



The foxtail millets cure easily and are handled in the same 

 w^ay as any other hay crop. If the hay is designed for general 

 use — namely, for feeding both cattle and horses — it should 

 be cut just after blooming; if it is intended for cattle or sheep 

 exclusively, it may be allowed to become somewhat more mature 

 and can then be cut when the seed is in the late milk stage. If a 

 seed crop is the object, the millet should be allowed to stand until 

 seed can be shelled from the earlier heads by rubbing them in the 

 hand. When it has attained this degree of ripeness, it is best har- 

 vested with a grain binder, placed in shocks like bundle grain, and 

 thrashed in the same wav. In some sections where millet is being 

 grown for seed the farmers plant it in rows sufficiently far apart 

 to cultivate. This practice gives an especially good quality of 

 seed, but, of course, requires more labor. 



FEEDING VALUE OF THE HAY 



Millet hay is usually considered inferior to that of timothy and 

 some of the other tame grasses. To some extent, this is due to its 

 lesser palatability, but also to the injurious effect that it often has 

 on horses when fed continuously as the sole roughage. 



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