THE GRAINS 157 



should be classed as forage plants, since, as a rule, 

 they are utilized fully as much for green forage as 

 for the grain. 



German millet (^Setaria Italica G-ermanica) is soAvn 

 as a hay crop in tlie more northerly portions of the 

 Southern states ; it is seldom seen in the lighter soils 

 of the Gulf region. 



The pearl millet QPennisetiiyyi tyijlioideuni) is often 

 planted in small patches for use as a soiling crop. 

 When cut, this suckers from the roots and yields 

 successive cuttings. 



A number of different sorghums are considerably 

 grown in all parts of the South and also in Cuba and 

 other tropical countries. In the drier regions of the 

 Southwest they replace corn, and constitute the 

 principal grain and forage crops. 



The sorghums are usually grown in drills, three or 

 four feet apart, and are given much the same culti- 

 vation as corn. Sometimes, however, the seed is sown 

 broadcast and the crop is cut and harvested like hay. 

 Some varieties sucker from the roots when cut and 

 thus give two or more crops from a single planting. 



The sorghums may be roughly divided into two 

 classes, the saccharine and non-saccharine. Besides 

 their use as a forage, the stalks of the former yield a 

 sweet juice which is used for making a table syrup in 

 those regions where sugar cane cannot be successfully 

 grown. Persistent efforts were formerly made to 

 manufacture sugar from sorghum ; the juice con- 

 tains sufficient sucrose, but also contains impurities 

 which prevent free crystallization, and these attempts 

 have not been commercially successful. 



