4 FORAGE-CROP EXPERIMENTS AT SAN ANTONIO. 



the supply of forage must depend upon the production of cultivated 

 crops. The increasing demand for roughage has brought the price 

 of forage crops to the point where their production for sale is nearly, 

 if not quite, as profitable as cotton growing. While it is to be expected 

 that cotton will continue to be the most important crop for the dry- 

 land farmer, yet certain forage crops might well be grown on nearly 

 every farm, either for sale or as the basis for live-stock production. 



It should be understood, however, that while under present condi- 

 tions the production of forage may be more profitable than cotton 

 growing, yet if the area devoted to forage crops were greatly increased 

 prices would be depressed unless live-stock production or dairying 

 were also developed. Increasing local production of such a staple- 

 as cotton, on the other hand, would have little or no appreciable 

 effect on its market value. 



The experiments with forage crops herein reported were conducted 

 on the San Antonio Experiment Farm during the years 1907 to 

 1912, inclusive. The objects in view were (1) to test forage crops 

 not generally known and select from these the ones best suited to 

 the region and (2) to test the best methods of planting and tillage. 



The United States Department of Agriculture has introduced 

 from foreign countries during recent years numerous new or little- 

 known varieties of forage crops, many of which were deemed worthy 

 of trial in this region. These have been on trial in comparison with 

 local varieties. Some very promising new crops have been found,, 

 and experiments with methods of planting and tillage have shown 

 that there are better ways of growing forage crops than those now 

 generally followed by the farmers of the region. 



CROP SEASONS. 



In the San Antonio region the crop seasons are much less definite 

 than in most of the semiarid regions of the United States, because 

 of the mildness of the winter. By proper selection, forage crops may 

 be grown throughout the year, and green forage may be had at any 

 time except during a protracted drought. Oats, rye, and Can- 

 ada, iield peas are winter crops and may be planted at any time 

 from October to the latter part of February, with the expectation 

 of securing a crop. The summer crops, such as sorghum, millet, 

 and cowpeas, may be planted from the first of March to the first of 

 August, although very late planting is not recommended. Corn is 

 ordinarily planted soon after February 20. 



An examination of the records of the United States Weather 

 Bureau at San Antonio for a period of 20 years shows that the last 

 killing frost of the spring occurs about February 24, but in 1900 it 



[Cir. 106] 



