ANNUAL FORAGE PLANTS 115 



drills and cultivating between the rows. Millet may be harvested 

 and handled as any cereal and threshed with a grain separator, 

 using a clover screen and a light draft. (C. A. 166) The 

 average yield of seed per acre is estimated at 20 bushels, al- 

 though a yield of 85 bushels has been reported. Yields of 

 from one to two tons as a "catch" crop, and, under favorable 

 conditions, from three to five tons of well-cured hay per acre, 

 may be obtained. Millet cures rather slowly, but when properly 

 stacked will stand considerable rain without material injury. 

 Where live stock, especially horses, are fed largely or too exclu- 

 sively on millet hay, ill effects are sometimes observed, because of 

 the action of the millet upon the kidneys. The short, stiff hairs 

 or bristles so abundant in the spike may cause injury in some 

 cases. For these reasons millet should be cut before the seed 

 is well formed and should not form the exclusive roughage of 

 domestic animals. When harvested sufficiently early and fed 

 in moderation, millet hay makes a nutritious and desirable food 

 for horses, cattle, and sheep. 



120. Broom Corn Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is the 

 species which is chiefly grown in Europe and hence is there 

 known as common millet. It has been given the name broom 

 corn millet in this country because the inflorescence is a panicle, 

 as in broom corn, instead of a spike, as in foxtail millet. The 

 leaves and stems are covered with stiff hairs. As compared 

 with foxtail millet, the seeds are larger, rather more than half 

 the number per pound, and may be white, yellow, or red, some- 

 times nearly black in color. Usually it does not grow as tall 

 as foxtail millet and produces rather less forage and more 

 seed or grain. It may be sown later in the season or farther 

 north. Because of its ability to mature a crop of seed in short, 

 hot, dry seasons, it has been grown in the Dakotas and adjacent 

 sections as a substitute for maize, and hence is sometimes called 

 hog millet. It is said not to have the diuretic effect of fox- 

 tail millet. 



