NINE'TEBNTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IX 509 



less fibrous the crop grows, the higher will be the palatability and the 

 smaller the waste. Experience indicates that at least 70 pounds of seed 

 should be sown per acre, and 90 pounds will produce finer forage. 



The main drawback which has been found in the use of cane for soiling 

 Is the difficulty of handling the crop. Where it is thickly sown so that the 

 crop does not become too coarse it may be cut with a small grain binder 

 with little difficulty. It should be mentioned that the second crop is apt to 

 be poisonous after it has been frosted or markedly checked by dry weather. 

 In this part of the state, however, there is but little second crop produced. 



Amber cane has been grown alone at this station for the last three 

 years and has given excellent results. From two to three sowings per 

 season were made from about May 20 to July 10 at the rate of 70 pounds 

 per acre. The season of harvesting covered the period from about July 20 

 to the end of October. The yields obtained were larger than those of 

 any other crop — averaging 12 tons of green feed per acre — and the cost of 

 production was also low, being between SP2.00 and $2.25 per ton. 



The cows relished it and ate on the average of about 70 pounds of cane 

 per day. It proved to be the most successful soiling for the latter part of 

 the season and could be used until the time of frost. 



SUDAN GRASS. 



This crop is especially suited to the arid and semi-arid regions altho it 

 is being grown to some extent in this state. It gives rather large yields 

 of feed but dries out very rapidly while growing and is apt to become 

 fibrous when mature, a fact which decreases its palatability and detracts 

 from its value as a soiling crop. Under some conditions Sudan grass may 

 be profitably used although usually other crops can be more successfully 

 grown for soiling purposes in this state. 



It has been grown at this station on a few occasions and given good 

 yields, the average being 11 tons of green feed per acre at a production 

 cost of $4.00 per ton. It was sown in the latter part of May and used from 

 August 25 to September 10. It was a palatable and useful feed when not 

 too ripe but dried out very rapidly and so did not have a very long period 

 of usefulness. 



NON-LEGUMINOUS SOILING CHOPS UNSUITED TO IOWA. 



The wide range of non-leguminous crops makes it impossible to treat all 

 of them individually. Many forages not heretofore mentioned have direct 

 value for soiling purposes, although they are not primarily suited to Iowa 

 conditions. The more common of these are flint corn, oats, barley, wheat, 

 Japanese and pearl millets, orange cane, milo maize, feterita, kafir-corn, 

 timothy, red top, brome, and orchard grass. 



MIXED CROPS. 



Mixtures of leguminous and non-leguminous forage crops have been 

 widely grown for soiling purposes. Many of these mixtures have much 

 to recommend them since they possess many good characteristics of each of 

 the other two classes. Their value depends upon the suitability of the crops 

 for the locality in which they may be grown and upon their adaptability for 



