IMPORTANCE OF MILLETS 323 



and oval. Hungarian millet is later in maturing, with 

 shorter, erect, compact, dark purple heads. The leaves are 

 narrower and darker green than those of common millet, 

 and the plant produces rather less hay. The seeds are 

 purple, but there are usually some yellow, partially ma- 

 tured grains. German millet does not stool as freely as 

 the other two varieties, is later in maturing, and the growth is 

 ranker and coarser. It yields well, but the stems are stiff 

 and woody and the hay is less palatable than that from either 

 Common or Hungarian. The heads are 6 to 8 inches long, 

 broader than those of Common millet, and usually nodding. 

 The seeds are small and round, and yellow or golden in color. 



426. Importance. The millets are quick-growing plants 

 which are grown more generally as a catch crop than for any 

 other purpose. They do not grow well until the hot weather 

 of summer, but if sown in June or July they will make a hay 

 crop in six or eight weeks. They are usually sown where 

 some earlier-planted crop has failed, as where fall-sown grain 

 has winterkilled, or where corn has not germinated or has 

 been destroyed by insects or rodents. As they are decidedly 

 drought-resistant, they grow well in dry seasons or in regions 

 of slight rainfall. The area sown to millet in the United 

 States, according to the 1910 Census, was 1,113,000 acres. 



427. Culture. Millet should not be sown till the weather 

 is warm, not earlier than the middle of June in the Northern 

 states, and in May and June in the South. Millet grows well 

 on a variety of soils, but succeeds better on sandy loam than 

 on heavy clays. As the seed is small, the ground should be 

 well prepared. The plant has abundant feeding roots and 

 will grow fairly well on poor soil. Like other forage crops, 

 however, it makes a much more abundant growth on fertile 

 land and responds readily to applications of manures and 

 fertilizers. The seed is usually sown broadcast and har- 

 rowed in, though it may be sown with the grain drill. The 

 rate of seeding for grain production is from 1 to 13/2 pocks to 



