6 SUDAN GRASS. 



FEEDING VALUE OF SUDAN GRASS. 



All reports agree on the high palatability of Sudan grass, either 

 green or cured. At Chillicothe, Tex., the farm horses even ate readily 

 the straw from which the seed had been thrashed. Until feeding 

 experiments can be conducted no definite statement of the compara- 

 tive feeding value of this grass can be made. 



Table I shows the analyses of a series of hay samples cut at 

 various dates at Arling-ton Farm, Virginia, in 1912. Perhaps the 

 most interesting feature shown is the close comparison of the mature 

 straw with hay cut at earlier stages. 



Table I. — Analyses of Sudan grass grown at Arlington Farm, Virginia, in 1012, 

 cut at various dates in different stages of maturity. 



EXPERIMENTAL TRIALS WITH SUDAN GRASS. 



Owing to the fact that Sudan grass came from a dry tropical 

 country and that the quantity of available seed was very small, the 

 preliminary tests were all made in Texas. The remarkable adapta- 

 tion of the grass to Texas conditions led to its being tested in 1911 

 at Arlington Farm, Virginia, and in various Southern States. At 

 tlie former place it succeeded beyond expectation, so that seed of it 

 was sent in the spring of 1912 to many experiment stations with the 

 request that it be tried, but for various reasons comparatively few 

 stations made a test. The reports of these trials are given later in 

 this circular. As most of these tests were very small the results can 

 only be regarded as indications of its j^ossible value. In most cases 

 the grass was seeded in cultivated rows, under which condition it is 

 usually too coar.se for hay of high quality. By thick planting, how- 

 ever, this difficulty is easily overcome. 



Practically every test of the grass made in the semiarid regions 

 from South Dakota to Texas has given remarkably favorable results. 

 There is scarcely room to doubt the very liigh value of the grass for 

 this portion of the United States. A single test in eastern Oregon 

 also gave very promising results, so the grass is doubtless adapted 



[Cir. llT.] 



