112 



DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



foxtail makes a fine and very nutritious hay that compares favorably in 

 feeding value with a good quality of oat hay. The following table shows the 

 digestible components of these two kinds of hay: 



Digestible Components of Foxtail and Oat Hays 



Teosinte is an annual forage plant, closely related to Indian corn. 

 It is believed to be the ancestor of our corn, and has similar habits of growth. 

 It is not grown as a forage plant outside of the southern States, as it needs a 

 long season of hot weather, abundant moisture, and a rich soil in order to do 

 well; under such conditions it is a remarkably vigorous grower, the stalks 

 reaching 10 to 12 feet in height, with an abundant supply of leaves and slen- 

 der stems, which continue to grow until killed by frost. The Louisiana station 

 reports a yield of over 50 tons of green forage per acre of this crop on rich 

 alluvial soils. Harvests of 18 to 30 tons per acre are not uncommon, accord- 

 ing to Spillman. Teosinte makes one of the best soiling plants in the South 

 on account of the immense yields of green forage which it produces. It stools 

 freely and sometimes grows as many as 50 stalks from a single seed. Its 

 leaves are similar to those of sweet sorghum, but much larger, and the stalks 

 contain 8 to 10 per cent of sugar. 4 If cut when from four to five feet high, it 

 makes an excellent fodder and will produce a second cutting fully as large as 

 the first. If left until September or October, it furnishes good material for 

 silage and yields more heavily than either Indian orn or sorghum. 



These remarks apply to conditions in the Gulf States only ; the value of 

 teosinte outside of this region is rather doubtful. In green condition it is 

 very watery, containing only about 10 per cent of dry matter, with a similar 

 percentage of digestible protein as green corn (0.9 per cent), and less than 

 one-half as much digestible carbohydrates and fat as corn. 



Japanese cane is another Southern forage plant that has come into some 

 prominence of late years. It is a variety of sugar cane, well adapted to the 

 climate and soil of the Gulf States. It will do well in any section in which 

 the velvet bean will mature seed, i.e., a territory within 200 to 250 miles 

 north of the Gulf of Mexico. It is used as a silage crop, for winter pasture, 

 or stored as dry forage. The Florida station found it one of the cheapest and 

 most economical forage crops that a farmer in that State can grow for silage."' 

 The chief value of the plant lies in its high content of carbohydrates, particu- 

 larly sugar. Like sorghum, it should be left to mature before cutting, 

 whether intended for silage or for dry forage. 



QUESTIONS 



1. State the relation of grain to fodder secured by different methods of 



planting Indian corn. 



2. What proportion of nutrients is found in the ear corn and the corn 



stover in the ordinary method of growing Indian corn? 



3. Describe the value of Indian corn, grain hay, sorghum, and millets for 



feeding farm animals. 



4 Farmers' Bulletin 509 f 



5 Bulletin 105. 



