The Sorghums 663 



kaoliaistg 



This group of sorghums, which- has been developed in Man- 

 churia, Korea, and northern China, is found described in litera- 

 ture under the names "■ kaoliang," " kowliang," and '^ gaolan," 

 Thev are dry-stemmed sorghums, rather sparsely leaved, with 

 widely varying colors in the glumes and seeds. The heads are 

 quite compact in some varieties and very loose in others. The 

 glumes are thin and paper}- and usually distinctly veined. The 

 seeds have a curved point or hook at the apex, which somewhat 

 resembles that on the seeds of the sweet sorghum, although more 

 pronounced. The koaliangs are primarily grain sorghiuns and 

 seem likely to be of value only in the northern Great Plains where 

 other sorghums will not mature and where it is too dry for corn. 



Numerous varieties of kaoliang have been introduced by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, but none of them prom- 

 ise to become valuable in New York. Twenty-seven varieties have 

 been described and classified by Mr. C. R. Ball in United States 

 Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 

 253. This bulletin gives a very complete discussion of this group 

 of sorghums. 



The most valuable koaliang varieties for the United States are 

 the Manchu Brown, a rather dwarf, early variety, maturing in 

 85 to 105 days, and the Valley Brown of medium height, also 

 early, maturing in 95 to 105 days. These are both brown-seeded 

 varieties. The Barchet Blackhull is one of the best of the white- 

 seeded varieties. 



BROOM CORN 



This group of sorghums, on account of its special use, is not 

 often considered among the sorghums by farmers. It differs little 

 from the kaoliangs, however, except in the head or panicle, which 

 has a very short central axis and very elongated branches, thus 

 providing a " brush " which is suitable for the manufacture of 

 brooms. Broom com was grown at a very early date by the 

 colonists along the Atlantic coast, but is now most important in 

 the Central West. 



There are three principal varieties of broom com — Standard, 

 Dwarf-standard, and Dwarf. These, as the names indicate, are 



