SMALL SORGHUM GRAINS 



325 



430. Barnyard Millet. Barnyard millet, Echinochloa 

 crus'galli, is the common barnyard grass, which is occasion- 

 ally sown for forage. It is a weed everywhere in damp, rich 

 soils. A variety of it from Japan has been widely advertised 

 by certain seedsmen as a very prolific forage crop, under 

 the name of ''billion dollar grass." 

 It grows best on wet lands, and on 

 rich soil makes a heavy growth of hay 

 or green fodder. The stems are rather 

 coarse and the crop is slower in ma- 

 turing than the foxtail millets, which 

 are generally preferred. 



431. Pearl Millet. Pearl, or cat- 

 tail, millet, Pennisetum spicatum, is 

 a coarse annual grass which is grown 

 mostly as a soiling crop in a very 

 limited way on rich land in the South. 

 It grows from 6 to 10 feet high, pro- 

 ducing a long, compact spike similar 

 in appearance to the common cat-tail 

 of the swamps, hence one of the com- 

 mon names. It suckers freely, and 

 will produce two or three crops in a 



season if cut for soiling before it produces heads. The young 

 growth is readily eaten by stock, but it soon becomes woody 

 and is of little value for forage. It has never become 

 popular, and has no advantages over sorghum as a soiling 

 and fodder crop. It is not adapted to the North. 



Figure 112. — Barnyard grass, 

 or cocksfoot. 



THE SMALL GRAINS 



432. According to the Census of 1910, there were 4,254,- 

 000 acres of grains cut green for hay, with a production of 

 5,278,000 tons. This total is largely made up of the cereals, 

 though it also includes some of the annual legumes, such as 

 cowpeas and soy beans. About one half of this area is in 



