84 FORAGE CROPS 



"They are not recommended as being valuable as 

 a part of the regular rotation, but as catch -crops 

 or special crops they have their place. They are 

 very depleting to the soil and many have had un- 

 satisfactory experience in feeding them to stock. 

 . . . One value of millet lies in the fact that it 

 can be sown late ; in fact, it must not be sown until 

 all danger from frost is over. It develops rapidly, 

 and during midsummer is ready to begin cutting 

 for forage about thirty days from time of seeding. 

 The Hungarian is quicker maturing than the others 

 and for late sowing is preferable to either the com- 

 mon or the German millet. In such a year as 1894 

 or 1895, when many farmers found their hay crop 

 a disappointment and were at a loss to know 

 how to supplement it, Hungarian or other millets 

 would possibly have served the purpose well. 



"The soil should be rich and given thorough 

 preparation. Clay soils which are inclined to be 

 lumpy require extra precaution in fitting. The 

 amount of seed required varies from one-half 

 bushel to three pecks per acre, which should be 

 harrowed in lightly and rolled. On freshly cleared 

 or bottom-land soils it makes a rank growth and is 

 available for forage at a time when it is usually 

 found necessary to supplement the pastures. 

 Though it is a gross feeder, yet this fact may be of 

 actual benefit to the kinds of soil just mentioned. 



"When stock is turned in upon a field of green 



