642 



Grasses and Leguminous Crops in New York 



Chemical analyses show that millet compares favorably in 

 digestible nutrients with timothy and Johnson grass. The follow- 

 ing analyses are taken from Henry and Morrison's Feeds cund 

 Feeding : 



Table I 



Digestible Nutrients in 100 Pounds of the Dry Matter of Millet, Timothy, 



AND Johnson Grass 



Crop 



Crude 

 Protein 



Pounds 



Carbo- 

 hydrates 



Pounds 



Fat 

 Pounds 



Total 

 Pounds 



Millet 



Timothy . . . . . 

 Johnson grass 



5.0 

 3.0 

 2.9 



46.0 



42.8 

 45 



1.8 

 1.2 

 1.0 



55.0 



48.5 

 50.1 



The Connecticut (Storrs) Experiment Station found Hun- 

 garian millet inferior to red clover hay when it was fed to dairy 

 cows. Not only the amount of milk, but the percentage of butter 

 fat, was increased by a change from millet to red clover hay. 



The general opinion among feeders is that millet hay is some- 

 what more effective than prairie hay as a roughage for growing 

 stock, especially cattle and sheep, but inferior to alfalfa or clover 

 hay. 



The injurious effect of a continuous ration of millet hay on 

 horses was studied in 1896 by Dr. T. D. Hinebauch"^ of the North 

 Dakota Experiment Station. He found that when a horse was 

 fed millet exclusively as a roughage for any considerable period, 

 a general debility was evident which later developed into a soft- 

 ening of the bones and inability to stand. Cessation of the use 

 of the millet hay resulted almost immediately in improvement in 

 the condition of the horse, while a resumption of the millet feeding 

 was followed by a relapse. Dr. E. E. Ladd later found that the 

 injury was caused by a glucoside called setarian, which is present 

 in millet hay whether mature or not. 



The belief is general that millet cut before seed has formed is 

 much less injurious to horses, but the North Dakota experiments 



* Hinebauch, T. D. North Dakota Experiment Station, Bulle*in No. 26, November, 1896. 



