743 



fiber is very much increased, and it is this fact that detracts most from its value. 

 At the last cuttiug nearly all tlio non-saccharine varieties were " pithy" and almost 

 devoid of taste. 



If we take the individual varieties, either among the saccharine or the nonsac- 

 ciiarine, there is hardly sufficient uniform difference to warrant the statement that 

 one variety is better than another. While there Avould be a difference in the sugar 

 content, this difference would be so small, or be partially neutralized by a chauge 

 somewhere else, that no perceptible variation would appear in a practical feeding 

 test. 



Silage. — To comi)are the value of corn silage and sorghum silage one 

 pit was filled with fodder corn, another with mixed sorghum, and a 

 third was divided into four compartments, filled respectively with orange 

 cane, dhoura corn, yellow field corn, and Kaffir corn. Three samples 

 of silage from each pit or compartment were analyzed separately, and 

 the results, together with the averages, are tabulated. These indicate 

 " slight difference in favor of the field corn, but not so much difference 

 as we anticipated. While the Kaffir corn compares very favorably 

 with the field corn, except for its larger percentage of crude fiber, 

 it is quite the equal of the field corn. If we take the field corn alone 

 it does not differ sufficiently from the analyses of that reported from 

 other stations to create noticeable comment. The difterence still exists, 

 apparently in favor of Southern-grown corn, but is not so marked here 

 as in analytical results before obtained and referred to." 



Analyses of stalk and head of sorghum. — Separate analyses are given 

 of the stalk and the head or seed, with reference both to food and fer- 

 tilizing constituents, and from the latter an estimate is made of the 

 amounts of fertilizing ingredients removed from the soil by a crop of 

 20,000 pounds of green sorghum per acre. These figures are compared 

 with the amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash removed by 

 a crop of 20 bushels of wheat and its straw per acre, and of 30 bushels 

 of corn, with cobs and husks, but exclusive of stalks. 



Amounts of plant food removed by crops of sorghum,, wheat, and corn from one acre. 



Phosphoric acid 



Potaah 



Nitrogeu 



Sorsiliuni. 



Pounds. 

 38.5 

 94 

 39 



Wheat. 



Poundg. 

 16.77 

 22.4 

 28.5 



Corn. 



Pounds. 

 11.91 

 13.3 

 31 



Digestihility of green sorghum. — To determine the digestibility of sor- 

 ghum in the " dough state," two milch cows were fed exclusively on 

 green sorghum. The analyses of the moist and water-free silage, and 

 data relative to the calculation of the digestibility are tabulated. 



