* 46 



may be raked up and put into cocks from which, after remaining for a 

 few days, the hay may be hauled to a shelter or put into stacks and 

 topped off with fodder, rye straw, herd's grass or timothy hay. It will 

 be necessary if the crop is very rank to turn it over on the ground so that 

 all parts of it may, as far as possible, be equally exposed to the sun. 



The difficulty of curing is greatly increased during rainy weathei;, as 

 under such a condition the stalks are apt to blacken and ferment. Some 

 farmers find the best way to preserve it from fermentation is to make 

 alternate layers of sorghum and dry wheat straw, the latter readily ab- 

 sorbing any undue moisture which may remain. 



For a long time the farmers objected to growing it extensively be- 

 cause they believed it to be a very exhaustive crop to the soil. This is 

 true when the seeds are permitted to ripen fully. In fact the experience 

 of the writer is that if left to ripen seed it exhausts soils more than the 

 growth of corn or wheat. But when sorghum is cut just as the head 

 begins to blossom and before the draughts are made upon the soil for 

 maturing the seed, it injures the soil less than probably any other crop 

 yielding .as much forage. In many parts of Tennessee where there are 

 fields well suited for the growing of sorghum the same land is planted 

 with it for several years in succession without showing any diminution in 

 the quality or quantity of the forage produced. It is claimed by some 

 observant farmers that the land is benefited by the deep growing roots 

 through their agency in permitting the soil to be thoroughly aerated. 

 Very little injury is done to the soil by removing the crop in an early 

 stage of development. Many farmers claim that when planted late with 

 cowpeas or other field peas and cut before the seeds are matured, the 

 land is left in excellent condition. 



Mr. Bulow, of South Carolina, in speaking of sorghum, says: 



"I rely almost entirely on early amber sorghum as forage for my 

 sheep and cattle. I cultivate it in three-foot rows and sow the seed 

 rather thick. About the time the heads begin to get hard, cut and put 

 up in shocks and bind tightly at the top and it can remain in the fields for 

 three or four days, as we have but little rain during the fall months." 



Mr. Thompson, of Georgia, says: 



"Sorghum makes good roughness. Plant thick in the drill, cultivate 

 it, cut it and shock until cured. Make the shocks small; when partly 

 cured put two to four together. Sow about one and one-half bushels of 

 seed to the acre and mow and cure like millet." 



In Texas the hay is often baled from the cocks after giving it an addi- 

 tional exposure to the sun for several hours. The experiments made at 

 the Texas Station show that the percentages of fat and protein increase 

 as the sorghum ripens, but when ripened it is not so digestible, so that 

 the increase in fats and protein are more than ofF-sct by the indigestibility 

 of the forage. 



Georgia experiments show that the highest percentages of fat and 

 protein are found in the plant when cut during its inflorescence. Un- 

 questionably the consensus of opinion with a large majority of farmers is 

 that it makes the best forage when cut in bloom. The yield often runs 

 as high as 12 to 15 tons from one sowing. As a food for milch cows it is 



