382 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



broom corn, Dwarf Essex rape, cowpeas, soy beans, and velvet beans. 

 The yield obtained on each plat, nutrients per acre, and character and 

 value of each crop are noted. 



The Evergreen broom corn produced the highest ^aeld of total 

 nutrients per acre. Its high percentage of fiber and the fact that it is 

 not readil}^ eaten b}^ stock make it an undesirable forage crop. Corn, 

 on account of its succulence, palatability, and total food vahie is placed 

 at the head of the list. The douras are not as desirable a forage crop 

 as corn because they are not so palatable. Velvet beans, while rich in 

 protein and readily eaten by stock, are too expensive as regards seed 

 to occupy a place in a forage crop rotation at the station. The low 

 yield obtained with soy beans prevents their recommendation as a 

 general forage crop. Dwarf Essex rape, while rich in protein, can 

 not be recommended for the dairy because of the flavor it imparts to 

 the milk. It is considered admirably suited for sheep and hogs. 



"The sugar canes, Kafir corns, and teosinte do not possess any 

 marked advantages over Indian corn, and are found to be much inferior 

 in yields of nutrients per acre. The cowpea stands lower in total 

 nutrients than many of the other crops, but it is valuable because of 

 its palatability and the high percentage of protein it contains.'''' 



Cooperative experiments -with grasses and forage plants, P B. 

 Kennedy ( U. S. Dejjt. Agr. , Division of Agrostology Bui. ^^, JU^- S^-, 

 pis. 13, fg. 1). — A tabular register is given of the different grass and 

 forage plant seeds distributed throughout the United States and foreign 

 countries for the fiscal years 1897-1899, inclusive. Of 251 varieties of 

 seeds sent out, reports of investigators are presented covering 40 of 

 these. These reports are from many States and discuss soil, planting, 

 harvesting, ripening, .yield, quality, and value of the plants for the 

 different localities. 



The varieties of plants most extensively distributed were Turkestan 

 alfalfa, blue grama, burr clover. Dwarf Essex rape, hairy vetch, 

 Japanese barnyard millet, meadow fescue, Metcalfe bean, Russian 

 clover, rescue grass, Rhode Island bent grass, shad scale, smooth brome 

 grass, slender velvet grass, side oats grama, soy beans, sorghum, sulla, 

 velvet bean, and Virginia lime grass. 



Kafir corn, PL M. Cottrell, D. H. Otis, and J. G. Haney {Kan- 

 sas Sta. Bui. 93, 2>2)- '^^^-h^^-jfiil^- h-^ "Kips 2). — A popular bulletin sum- 

 marizing the results of cultural and feeding experiments with this crop 

 at the station. The feeding experiment is noticed elsewhere (p. 375). 



Two varieties of Kafir corn are grown in Kansas, the red and black- 

 hulled white. The latter has proven the more profitable at the station. 

 In three-year comparative trials Kafir corn was found to be superior 

 to rice corn, Jerusalem corn, and millo maize. The averages of 11 

 years show a production of Kafir corn of 46 bu. per acre, and of corn 

 31:. 5 bu. per acre. 



