120 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



seed is sown with a hand drill, in rows about two feet apart. 

 Large fields are always sown broadcast. It takes about two 

 pounds of seed to sow an acre when sowed in rows and about 

 three or four pounds when sown broadcast. When the rape 

 -is twelve inches or more tall, pasturing may begin. Sheep and 

 cattle should have some dry feed before they are turned on 

 the rape, else they will eat too greedily and become bloated, 

 which may cause death. Hogs do not bloat, but they should 

 not be turned on when the rape is wet with dew, for the dew 

 irritates and chafes the skin, causing sores. If the rape is not 

 eaten down too close to the ground it will grow up again. It 

 is a good plan to pasture part of the field at a time and let the 

 other grow up again after being eaten off. 



Rape is often sown with oats in the spring. The rape 

 plants do not grow much until the oats are cut, then they begin 

 to grow and furnish pasture for the late summer and autumn. 

 Many farmers also sow rape in the corn at the time of last 

 cultivation. Rape grown this way can be pastured off in the 

 autumn with sheep or hogs. 



Miscellaneous Forage Crops. — Cabbage and pumpkins 

 are sometimes grown for forage. They are not such good 

 forage as the crops that have been mentioned and are not 

 grown extensively. The crushed canes from mills where 

 sorghum is ground for syrup are frequently fed to live stock. 

 These crushed canes are known as bagasse. Sugar beet pulp 

 from beet sugar factories is also much used for feeding ani- 

 mals, especially cattle and sheep. 



