The Millets 649 



sota and Iowa. It has never been popular in New York or other 

 parts of eastern Unite.d States. Its value is greatest as a substitute 

 for corn in regions too dry or too cold to produce the latter crop 

 successfully. Proso has been utilized as a forage crop to a much 

 greater extent in the United States than it has in Europe or Asia, 

 but it is recognized here as the one distinctly grain millet. Yields 

 of 15 to 30 bushels of seed an acre are normally obtained in the 

 states where it is most largely grown. 



For forage, proso is not so desirable as the foxtail millets, tlie 

 yield being less as a rule and the hay inferior in quality. The 

 plants are not so leafy and the rough, hairy leaf sheaths make the 

 hay less palatable. In New York it cannot be recommended 

 except for the driest hillsides, where other crops will not thrive. 

 A limited amount of seed grown in such situations might be dis- 

 posed of at a profit to manufacturers of poultry and bird feeds 

 in the larger cities. The low freight rates from Europe, however, 

 enable these manufacturers to import seed at a very reiasonable cost 

 and much of the seed used in such prepared feeds is obtained in 

 that way. 



The culture of proso is essentially the same as that of foxtail 

 millet. In the dry climates of the Northwest 10 to 15 pounds of 

 seed an acre is the customary amount sown, but in New York 20 

 to 25 pounds an acre would iiot be too much. 



PEAEL MILLET OR PENICILLAUTA 



This millet is probably native of Africa, for numerous varieties 

 of it were found by the earliest travelers under cultivation there. 

 In India, though second in rank to the sorghums, it is grown 

 extensively under the native name of " bajra." In 1882-83 India 

 had 12,382,939 acres of pearl millet as against 16,740,439 acres 

 of sorghum and 18,524,704 acres of wheat. 



Pearl millet is a tall, erect-growing annual grass, 6 to 15 feet 

 high, with rather slender stems and numerous long, narrow leaves. 

 It stools freely from the basal joints and also branches from the 

 upper intemodes, producing heads (Fig. 646) on the branches as 

 well as the main stem. In general appearance pearl millet resem- 

 bles the sorghums and corn more than it does the other millets. 



This crop is adapted to the same climate as the sorghums and 

 does best in the southern states because no early varieties of it have 



