THREE MUCH-MISREPRESENTED SORGHUMS. 9 



moldy ami rotten. At thrashing tune this moldy material is scat- 

 tered through the good seed and causes further loss. 



There has also been trouble with the shattering of the seed. This 

 results especially where the crop is allowed to stand in the field until 

 past fully ripe. It also occurs where the crop is cut when ri])e and 

 allowed to remain in the shock through the fall. When these shocks 

 are taken uj) for thrashing or fee(Hng, the seed shatters very readily 

 and much is lost in spite of careful handling. 



CONCLUSION. 



It is not claimed that shulki is without value for the sorghum- 

 growing regions. Its alleged superiority to other well-known and 

 quite satisfactory varieties has not been proved, however. On the 

 contrary, there is strong evidence that it is somewhat inferior to 

 milos and kafirs. In any case it should be tried only on a small scale 

 at first. For grain production a seeding of 2 to 4 pounds to the acre 

 will be quite sufficient, the quantity varying with the soil, elevation, 

 and latitude. There is no reason whatever for paying an exorbitant 

 price for the seed in either large or small quantities. 



The following statement by Prof. A. M. Ten Eyck, of the Kansas 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, published recently in the Kansas 

 Farmer, is to the point : 



The tests of the crop at this station indicate that it is not so valuable as sorghum 

 or kafir com either for fodder or for seed. The yields of the grain have been less than 

 the yields of kafir corn, and the crop is objectionable because the stems are usually 

 very slender and the crop lodges badly and is hard to harvest. In my judgment seeds- 

 men are selling it at a high price simply because it is a novelty or not well known. 



SUMMARY. 



Shallu is a variety of sorghum first introduced about 1890 by the 

 Louisiana State Experiment Station, and soon discarded. 



It has lately reappeared under such misleading names as "Cali- 

 fornia wheat," " Eg3"ptian wheat," and several others. 



Shallu l)eIongs to a group of sorghums quite distinct from the other 

 groups grown in this country. 



It is easily distinguished by the loose conical panicle with slender, 

 drooping branches and the lanceolate glumes which spread wide apart 

 and become inrolled at maturity, completely exposing the oval seed. 



Shallu is claimed by some to be superior to all other sorghums in 

 drought resistance, yield and value of the grain, and tonnage and 

 (piality of the forage. These statements are misleading. 



It is now l)eing advertised and sold at exorbitant prices as a drought- 

 resistant variety capable of yielding 200 to 400 bushels of grain to the 

 acre. Such claims are absurd. 



ICir. .50] 



