380 SORGHUM. 



bushel more for it than they do for corn, because it agrees with their sheep bet- 

 ter. Here is a crop that really costs nothing. You are paid for the use of your 

 land, for the raising of the crop, in the seed alone, and the cane then can be 

 put at your mills for a mere song. What other sugar producing plant will do 

 the same? Will beets do it? No. Beets do not pay in this country. Labor 

 is too expensive. Every beet establishment in the country is pla3edout. Will 

 the southern sugar-cane equal it? B3' no means. There is no compensation 

 in the seed there, because there is no seed obtained there. Here is a plant 

 that pays for its own production, and all you have to do is to use your 

 stalks. Capt. Blakeley will tell you that thej^ have told him, at the Rio Grande 

 place, that wherever they have fed this seed at dairies there was an increase of 

 milk. In Philadeli^hia they will pay 05 cents a bushel for all thej' can get to 

 feed to dairy stock, and farmers all over the country tell of its great value for 

 feeding purposes. So that if you only got the seed it would pay you ; but, in 

 addition to that, yon can raise from 10 to 20 tons of product for which j'ou can 

 get two dollars and a half a ton. I would like to know what other crop will 

 bring the farmer as good returns as ibis? 



At this same meetiug otlier testimony was given, as follows : 



Ml'. Clements. — In our countr}' there are about 3,000 acres of cane raised, and 

 they are as careful in saving the seed as the cane. ' The results, as to the seed, 

 are equal to corn. We consider it equal to corn, pound for pound. 



Mr. Poland. — I feed my horses and milch-cows with it, and make a mush of 

 it for the pigs. There is no one has fatter hogs than we have, just fed on the 

 seed. It is excellent feed; corn has no preference over it for feeding purposes, 

 in my opinion. I do n't feed it dry, but soaked. 



Profe.«sor W. A. Henry, of Wisconsin Agricultural College, reports 

 as follows : 



For several reasons the value of cane seed for feed has received little 

 attention. Its importance has not yet impressed itself upon cane growers. As 

 will be seen from Mr. Swensen's report, from one-fifth of an acre of ground, 6f 

 bushels of seed, weighing 53 pounds per bushel, were obtained, or at the rate of 

 32 bushels per acre. 



The average yield of oats in the vicinity of Madison this season was about 35 

 bushels. 



J. M. Edwards, Oak Hill, Jefferson County, reports 230 bushels of seed, weigh- 

 ing 58 pounds per bushel, from 9 acres. 



There is no difficult}' in saving the seed, as the heads can lie upon the ground 

 a long time, unless there is an excessive amount of rain. The heads can be 

 drawn and spread on the barn floor, or, what would be better, arranged on 

 racks in a shed like broom corn. Some bind the heads in bundles, and stand 

 them on end in the field, like bundles of wheat, to dry. 



During the past few years the manufacture of glucose has grown 

 to immense proportions, and vast quantities of corn (maize) has been 

 used in its production. It will be seen, from the analyses, that sorghum 

 seed contains the same percentage of starch as corn ; and its employ- 



